I decided to do my Inspiration Report on a proposal of a new program revolving around the power of storytelling. I found the concept fascinating and I wanted to see what it could be for a program. Then as I did my research I was reminded of my time visiting Colonial Williamsburg as a child and discovered their digital resources and how it could be applied to digital storytelling.
So I present to you all my Inspiration report
From a Previous module, there was a reading that discussed how the Prado Museum in Spain had integrated a new art exhibit for blind and visually impaired museum goers. In the exhibit, there are a selection of paintings that have been recreated into 3D using ultraviolet light and specialized ink to create the 3D effect on the recreation of the paintings (Minder 2015).
It is from this article then that sparked an interest to find out what can librarian learn from museums about accessibility as the library should be a place for everyone. To begin is to figure out if a library is ADA compliant which is the bare bones. But what I wanted to look for was what was going a step further. One of these steps forward is the utilization of digital initiatives. One such example is Virginia Deaf Culture Digital Library which is a program that began in 2021 (which houses materials on Deaf History, Deaf culture, (both locally to Virginia and Nationally) and online resources (deaflibva.org)
Another example is communication with the community and making room for community needs which is what the Main Library at the University of Illinois did in remolding a study room on campus for students registered with the Disability Resources & Educational Services. What was important in the room was that it was to be a place of privacy rather than a room well stocked with assistive tech. According to one librarian “for patrons with visible disabilities, always being visible as having a disability is exhausting, so the desire for quiet and privacy makes sense” (Pionke 2022).
This is not every example of accessibility, but I think it is a good starting point to help us see that there are ways that we can do more in the library. It will vary depending on patron needs, but communication is very much key.
Works Cited:
Minder. (2015). The Prado Museum creates the first art exhibition for the visually impaired, using 3D printing. Open Culture. https://www.openculture.com/2015/03/prado-creates-first-art-exhibition-for-visually-impaired.html
Pionke, J. (2022). Creating accessibility in libraries. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/Creating-Accessibility-in-Libraries
Find books, magazines, and more. Deaf Culture Digital Library. (n.d.). https://deaflibva.org/
(The Magic Book Bus of Asheville, NC)
Bookmobiles, something that many of us are familiar with at least in concept if not in personal experience. The idea of a library of wheels for direct dilivery to those who are unable to make it to the library or for further community outreach is not a new concept. It began in 1905 in Hagerstown, Maryland of Washington County which was a horse drawn book wagon created for outreach to the rural community (Nix 2012). Since its inception though, we have seen the bookmobile take on many various forms. In our reading for this module for example we have the Rolling Library of Sacramento which is the bookmobile for the digital age using the Sacramento library’s e-collection to be accessed by commuters on the light rail train.
There has also been even more creative forms of bookmobiles globally such as book boats bokbȧten and Epos in Norway and Sweden and El Biblioburro – ‘The Travelling Library in Columbia. Both of these services providing the same goal of reaching out to undeserved and rural towns/communities (Gutman 2023).
But to what end? Do we see an improvement from these bookmobiles? Yes. In one case in Graves County, Kentucky, it’s reported that about quarter of the library books that get checked out in the county are from the bookmobile [in 2017, it] averaged about 1,600 books a month” (Fifild 2018). People that are reached out to in the community from the bookmobile feel a connection. That there’s someone who cares for them enough to reach out and to bring the love of reading to them again. And that is a beautiful thing.
Works Cited:
Fifield, J. (2023, June 6). Yes, Bookmobiles are still a thing. (we checked.) • stateline. Stateline. https://stateline.org/2018/03/28/yes-bookmobiles-are-still-a-thing-we-checked/
Gutman, C. (2023, April 24). The most creative bookmobiles from around the world. BOOK RIOT. https://bookriot.com/bookmobiles-from-around-the-world/
Nix, L. T. (2012, April 11). A Tribute to the Bookmobile . The Library History Buff. http://www.libraryhistorybuff.com/bookmobile.htm
Ride and Read on the Sacramento Rolling Library Train. Sacramento Regional Transit District. (2023, July 1). https://www.sacrt.com/apps/ride-and-read-on-the-new-sacramento-rolling-library-train/
Book Banning, something that has become a more wide spread concern within the most recent years especially due to state government involvement in what should or shouldn’t be allowed. Because of this increase, it is easy for us to be frightened or disheartened when seeing list upon list of various banned books with common themes of portraying life from a different perspective whether it be race, sexuality, or gender.
However there is still hope, not everyone is advocating for the removal of literature. There are still those who champion novels based on their content. Take for example the open letter from our reading of this module. In it, the author, Bill Konigsberg, writes to the Elliots known for their push to ban 282 books in a Texas school district due to inappropriate material. While much of the response is focused on Konigsberg’s own novel The Bridge, a section speaks to me and I think is important to remember. He writes “do you think there should be books in the library that might help a depressed teenager feel a bit more understood? A book that stresses the importance of staying another day, even when everything feels hopeless? Knowing how concerned you are for the safety of your daughter, I would actually guess you would want a book like that available to your child when she gets older. Perhaps I am wrong” (Konigsberg 2022). This is something that we should remember in a case of a book being challenged if we are faced with that. We need to consider not just the concerns of the one individual who brings the complaint, but how the removal of material would affect the community overall.
What can we do about book banning? Handle it as best as we can when we are faced with it. Some places will be easier to deal with with little to no challenged books and others will have very high levels. What it takes is understanding and remembering how according to the ALA an important part of the Library Bill of Rights is that “a primary goal of the library profession is to facilitate access to all points of view on current and historical issues” (ALA.org). In applying to banned or challenged books, this involves librarians having to utilize careful consideration of the material in question.
Works Cited:
Admin. (2019, July 13). Restricted access to library materials: An interpretation of the library bill of rights. Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/restrictedaccess
Konigsberg, B. (2022, February 20). An open letter to parents who wish to ban my books from School Libraries. An Open Letter to Parents Who Wish to Ban My Books From School Libraries. https://billkonigsberg.com/an-open-letter-to-parents-who-wish-to-ban-my-books-from-school-libraries/
Weeks, P. (2020, September 21). The fiery history of banned books [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKqRC-9Avc&t=388s
In this current day and age with so much going on in the world, there is a growing desire in many communities to want to discuss current events. The question is, time and place. When is it appropriate and where? Combining one of our readings for class and a program idea that I have had in the back of my head, I have created an action plan that connects the world of current event discussion and debate and film viewing and discussion. Feel free to see what I have in mind for my plan.
Keep it Reel: Current Events and Film Coming Together
(library display from the Wellington Library in Berkshire, UK)
Since the rise in social media usage, there has been a corresponding book community connected to it. One of the first was Booktube which began roughly around the early 2010s on youtube with a main focus on YA literature though in later years this has expanded into many different age levels and genres (Doulami 2015). This isn’t to say that Booktube is nonexisitent today, quite the contrary. It however is a very different landscape from what it once was, it has changed and for the better. For example much of the current recommendations coming from booktube and booktubers are more diverse and intersectional. To demonstrate I have two reviews one from one of the OG booktubers around the early 2010s focused on a YA fantasy novel and one from a new booktuber released within the past five years focused on an YA urban fantasy.
Now onto the scene of video book recs, we have the most recent community booktok which has its positives and negatives. The positives of booktok is how the platform overall has influenced the library system and book retailers through use of either display or reading recommendation. Unlike booktube in the past, booktok’s focus is not necessarily focused on the newest releases instead they can highlight backlisted items that have peaked readers interests such as We Were Liars (Jensen 2022).
@annapenbrooke Who else is always buying books??? #booktok #books #readersoftiktok #reading #bookbuddies #bookish #bookgirlies #bookstore #bookbuying #bookrecommendations #bookreview
I hadn’t really considered the positives of booktok before reading the article for class as much of what I heard was a lot of negative around it such as promoting over-consuming (buying books and never reading for example). However it seems booktok has a staying power that librarians should be taking note of.
Works Cited
Adri. (2020, September 23). 5 Reasons to read: “Cemetery Boys” by aiden thomas [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-IXMo5ZobU
Anna and Brooke. [@annapenbrooke]. (2023, August 22). Who else is always buying books???#booktok #readersoftiktok [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@annapenbrooke/video/7270130407276875054
Doulami , M.-C. (2015, July 3). A new digital phenomenon: the rise of the Booktubers. Cafe Babel. https://web.archive.org/web/20180321181229/http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/culture/article/a-new-digital-phenomenon-the-rise-of-the-booktubers.html
Jensen, K. (2022, February 10). As seen on BookTok: Inspiring young readers, TikTok is a boon for books. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/as-seen-on-booktok-inspiring-young-readers-tiktok-is-a-boon-for-books-libraries
Riccio, C. (2014, March 29). Cinder by marissa meyer | booktalk with xtinemay [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV9x32PTVZU
Wellington Library [@Welly_Library]. (2022, January 20). Thank you to the many school libraries who’ve shared this idea. View: https://twitter.com/Welly_Library/status/1484248273661661184
Library Fines and Fees have been a standard practice for libraries. The fines were created to promote a behavior which encouraged timely returning of materials so that others would be able to enjoy them. However it is because of this standard practice that many people have a particular view of the library, that of fear and harsh treatment where if you don’t pay then they will hound you done like a loan shark. It is because of this that both children and adults have a common fear which prevents them from returning to the library.
Fines are not only an issue for the stereotyping of the library in the eye of the public, but is also a hassle for the staff. For example according to Dixon & Gillis in their article Doing Fine(s)? | Fines & Fees they discuss how the collection and enforcment of fines is a stressful task as the vast majority of libraries train their staff in how to handle it, particularly in libraries serving over 100,000, where 98 percent of staff receive training, although 88 percent of staff in midsize libraries and 79 percent in smaller libraries receive training as well” (Dixon & Gillis 2017). While this statics proves that majority of the staff of various sized libraries is trained on handling fines, that is also another responsibility to handle among the many others that librarians have to do on a daily basis.
Source: The New Yorker
So is there a way to fix this? This is one solution that has grown in popularity which is for libraries to go fine-free. This has become a newer practice for many libraries, but is one that several have seen vast improvement overall. Going fine free has the benefits of lessening stress for both librarians and patrons as the collection and enforcement of fines would no longer be implemented. It would also benefit as it would build goodwill within the community. There would be less hostility between patron and librarian which is important to know as someone going into the information field.
There are those who will argue for fines to remain as it helps with revenue for the library space. This is very dependent on the size of the library. For example, the San Francisco Library which is one of the largest in the Bay Area and most well funded would have in total fines “about $300,000 a year, a tiny fraction of the library’s $138 million budget” (Stuhldreher 2019). In contrast, urban libraries or libraries in lower income areas will have higher numbers in fines which will in turn affect their budget more. It is in this case that creating fine-free libraries across the board can happen as that is not possible everywhere, not currently and not in 2009 as Sifton was writing his article.
Overall, the elemination of fines in the library would have a net positive for many libraries and speaking from personal experience many of the libraries in the three cities that intersect in the tri-valley have adopted this practice and have noticed an uptick in patronage because of it
https://x.com/mychal3ts/status/1752768207335915704?s=20
Works Cited:
Dixon, J. A., & Gillies, S. A. (2017, April 4). Doing Fine(s)? | Fines & Fees. Fordham Library News. https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=staff_publications
Sifton, D. J. (2009). The Last Taboo: Abolishing Library Fines
Stuhldreher, A. (2019, February 28). Why California libraries are ditching fines on overdue materials. CalMatters. https://calmatters.org/education/2019/02/library-fines/
Hi everybody,
I’m a born and raised bay area kid living in the tri-valley area. I’m in my last semester of the MLIS program and I am both excited and terrified for the future. Through this program I have learned the many different pathways that I could take, and while I’m not sure where I will end up the main goal I want to do is to work with teens and young adults.
In my professional life, I had wanted to be a teacher, but learned that classroom management is not my strongest skill. But my passion is wanting to help the next generation learn to love the library like I did at that age.
Unrelated, but I have a passion for film and discussing films so if anyone wants to talk about movies, I’m your gal.
Now while I don’t have a furry friend, I thought I would share the dog I often petsit. So introducing Maggie!
