Thursday, July 26, 2012
Benefits of mistakenly leaving your homework in the library
I was tidying up and found some forgotten chemistry papers on a table at Teen Central today. I asked Mr. Jay, our Safe To Be Smart guy, if he knew the name and he did not. The young man happened to be present and heard his name, so he identified himself and asked why I was talking about him. I returned his chemistry papers, commenting on his good grades. I asked the young man his age and if he works. He is 18 and is unemployed. I told him with an understanding of Chemistry like he exhibited in these assignments; he could probably find a job in manufacturing and start a career. My advice for pursuing the manufacturing industry is based on this article I recently read in the D & C regarding job outlook for the manufacturing industry. It saddens me to know that young people believe that they will be unable to find work and therefore do not put a strong effort forward to pursue employment. They need to know that there are more options available to them than Tim Horton’s, Dunkin Donuts, or other fast food chains. I encouraged him to go up to the Business Division and ask for advice on how to apply for manufacturing jobs. He did not ask me for more time on the computer, and he is gone from Teen Central for the day, so I can only home and assume that he took my advice. I hope so. He should be proud of grades like those in chemistry. I told him if those were my assignments I would have hung them up on the refrigerator.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Implications of Web 2.0/ Web 3.0 on Libraries
I don't really need to remind you that web 2.0 and web 3.0 are drastically changing our collective cultural and intellectual experience, but I'm typing it anyway because it is on this premise that I wish to begin this blog entry. I am prepared to cite a few resources I have recently encountered that have brought this fact to the forefront of my mind. I refuse to allow my psychology to be swept away by this tsunami of cultural change, though I remain clinging to a rock or twig often times while striving to stay current.
Resource #1: Permanent Adolescence: Why Boys Don't Grow Up. Joe Carmichiel, MSEd.
I read this book based on the reccomendation of an awesome PsyD I know. In a nutshell, it duscussed various ways that the media has influenced child rearing, especially among males. The author offers in depth hypotheses on the connection between the violence problem here in Rochester and a careless overreliance on television on the part of parents. This connection is intermediated by biological gender differences and language skills. He notes that there appears to be an acute problem among young children who are learning incorrect emotional meanings of words and situations. There is not enough interpersonal interaction including appropriate emotional responses between adults and very young children. This book has virtually no reviews to back it up, though it cites numerous scholarly studies. At the present time it is not owned by MCLS. I would be highly interested in a book discussion/ community critique focusing on this book including educated, experienced, critical thinking members of this urban community.
Resource #2: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/08/is-the-internet-making-us-crazy-what-the-new-research-says.html.
I first got my hands on this article while waiting in line at Wegmans. Please read this article in its entirity. It starts out overly sensational, but I believe this was a journalistic technique used to suck readers in. There is at least some truth to the problem of Internet overuse, and we those of us who wish to happily survive this era of information overabundance MUST consider the effects of heavy technology use on the mind. There are biological studies to back these claims. Thank you Newsweek for attempting to inform Americans about what is really occuring not just in America, but in the world right now. Like it will do any good....
Resource #3: The Power of Now. Eckhart Tolle.
This would have to be on my personal list of the best books of all time. At the present time I am re-reading it slowly, allowing the concepts to settle deeply into my mind. I want to know this book forward and backward. I find it incredibly healing in contrast to the previous two resources listed here.
My reaction to these concepts has several levels of experience, and my personal beliefs are still evolving. As a parent, I am constantly pushing back against the media as a protective measure for my two young children. They want to use TV and Internet resources all the time. Naturally, this worries me. My son, who is nearly two years, old finds escape from the pull of media more challenging than my daughter appears to find it. When he was an infant I struggled with my own Internet addiction, especially facebook. I nursed him with my laptop on my right, which I deeply regret. When he was a little older I often used a tablet while the kids were playing on the floor. This is in stark contrast to my daughter who I spent significantly more time playing with directly. I protected her from the television based on the recomendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics: avoid all TV under the age of two. Her language skills were phenomenal. My son also has excellent language skills, and I do spend significant time working with his language, especially emotional meaning behind words. He is sensitive, strong, and assertive. I am confident he will grow into an exceptional man, even if he does enjoy the TV, Internet, and whatever else slides down the technology pike. I just hope he doesn't turn into one of those gamers. Enough about parental guilt. There's more to my thoughts on this than that.
As a librarian I fully recognise the American Library Association's stance on violence in media. It is an essential principle of librariesthat individuals have a right to freedom of speech, and libraries are bound to uphold those rights. However, libraries also exist to ensure there is access to balanced information. We are a cornerstone of democratic society, because democracy must be rooted in educated decision making. I feel personally obligated to help spread the word to library patrons about the effects of media, web 2.0, and web 3.0 on the mind, while also providing access to a variety of quality resources on numerous interest levels. This is a fine line to walk, and professional librarians must maintain current training to remain qualified to make judement calls in these regards. We must also keep our footing solidly grounded in the interests of our patrons, building intellectually supportive relationships in a non-judgemental, balanced, learning environment. This is no small task. So who said something about libraries becoming irrelevant?
We need to also follow the model of meeting patrons at their point of need. In other words, we find where their intellectual interests begin, and draw out support from there. The definition of the "location" of intellectual interests has changed as we now have virtual locations such as Facebook, Twitter, public computers within the library in addition to location within Dewey, genre, etc. Professionally we must guard ourselves against the harmful effects of media overuse while catering to individuals who may be incapable of existing beyond those capacities. Don't forget to promote reading good old fashioned paper books. It can be quite grounding.
Resource #1: Permanent Adolescence: Why Boys Don't Grow Up. Joe Carmichiel, MSEd.
I read this book based on the reccomendation of an awesome PsyD I know. In a nutshell, it duscussed various ways that the media has influenced child rearing, especially among males. The author offers in depth hypotheses on the connection between the violence problem here in Rochester and a careless overreliance on television on the part of parents. This connection is intermediated by biological gender differences and language skills. He notes that there appears to be an acute problem among young children who are learning incorrect emotional meanings of words and situations. There is not enough interpersonal interaction including appropriate emotional responses between adults and very young children. This book has virtually no reviews to back it up, though it cites numerous scholarly studies. At the present time it is not owned by MCLS. I would be highly interested in a book discussion/ community critique focusing on this book including educated, experienced, critical thinking members of this urban community.
Resource #2: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/08/is-the-internet-making-us-crazy-what-the-new-research-says.html.
I first got my hands on this article while waiting in line at Wegmans. Please read this article in its entirity. It starts out overly sensational, but I believe this was a journalistic technique used to suck readers in. There is at least some truth to the problem of Internet overuse, and we those of us who wish to happily survive this era of information overabundance MUST consider the effects of heavy technology use on the mind. There are biological studies to back these claims. Thank you Newsweek for attempting to inform Americans about what is really occuring not just in America, but in the world right now. Like it will do any good....
Resource #3: The Power of Now. Eckhart Tolle.
This would have to be on my personal list of the best books of all time. At the present time I am re-reading it slowly, allowing the concepts to settle deeply into my mind. I want to know this book forward and backward. I find it incredibly healing in contrast to the previous two resources listed here.
My reaction to these concepts has several levels of experience, and my personal beliefs are still evolving. As a parent, I am constantly pushing back against the media as a protective measure for my two young children. They want to use TV and Internet resources all the time. Naturally, this worries me. My son, who is nearly two years, old finds escape from the pull of media more challenging than my daughter appears to find it. When he was an infant I struggled with my own Internet addiction, especially facebook. I nursed him with my laptop on my right, which I deeply regret. When he was a little older I often used a tablet while the kids were playing on the floor. This is in stark contrast to my daughter who I spent significantly more time playing with directly. I protected her from the television based on the recomendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics: avoid all TV under the age of two. Her language skills were phenomenal. My son also has excellent language skills, and I do spend significant time working with his language, especially emotional meaning behind words. He is sensitive, strong, and assertive. I am confident he will grow into an exceptional man, even if he does enjoy the TV, Internet, and whatever else slides down the technology pike. I just hope he doesn't turn into one of those gamers. Enough about parental guilt. There's more to my thoughts on this than that.
As a librarian I fully recognise the American Library Association's stance on violence in media. It is an essential principle of librariesthat individuals have a right to freedom of speech, and libraries are bound to uphold those rights. However, libraries also exist to ensure there is access to balanced information. We are a cornerstone of democratic society, because democracy must be rooted in educated decision making. I feel personally obligated to help spread the word to library patrons about the effects of media, web 2.0, and web 3.0 on the mind, while also providing access to a variety of quality resources on numerous interest levels. This is a fine line to walk, and professional librarians must maintain current training to remain qualified to make judement calls in these regards. We must also keep our footing solidly grounded in the interests of our patrons, building intellectually supportive relationships in a non-judgemental, balanced, learning environment. This is no small task. So who said something about libraries becoming irrelevant?
We need to also follow the model of meeting patrons at their point of need. In other words, we find where their intellectual interests begin, and draw out support from there. The definition of the "location" of intellectual interests has changed as we now have virtual locations such as Facebook, Twitter, public computers within the library in addition to location within Dewey, genre, etc. Professionally we must guard ourselves against the harmful effects of media overuse while catering to individuals who may be incapable of existing beyond those capacities. Don't forget to promote reading good old fashioned paper books. It can be quite grounding.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
We Need Legos!
My kids and I recently had the wonderful opportunity to share a few days with my friend's son. Their family had relocated to the city of Rochester from a rural home in the southern tier, and Hadley was adjusting to a major lifestyle change. I brought him and my children to the Central library for an outing as Hadley needed a library card and we love visiting "the big echoy library" as my kids call it. This turned out to be such a cool outing! The children's room was full of kids excited to be enjoying one of the first days of summer vacation. Hadley signed up for his card and found an awesome comic book about Greek myths. Come to find out, there was also a really great jazz concert happening in the reading garden at the library. Hadley loved it so much, he begged me to borrow money to buy a CD. Vinny danced in circles until he fell down, and Beatrice just stared at the musicians as if in a trance.
I thought the library might be a great place for Hadley to meet some new friends with similar interests as his own, so we also visited the Monroe branch in his new neighborhood. Sadly, that library does not open until noon, so we were unable to go inside the morning we stopped by. Hadley was excited about the Monroe branch because they also have a Lego club, and he seriously loves Legos. Monroe is the only branch in Rochester Public Library with the small Lego blocks for club members to use. The club meets four times during the summer and once a month during the school year and I have heard it is a popular program.
Via Facebook I learned about an amazing grant opportunity/contest to get $5,000 for legos and books to support literacy in libraries. Maybe we can win! Please go online to vote for Rochester Public Library here in Rochester, NY http://www.readbuildplay.com/index.cfm so that maybe we can get some Legos sor kids like Hadley and his potential new friends have plenty of materials to support their learning.
There is also a very nice activity guide available here: http://www.readbuildplay.com/LEGO-DUPLO_Parent-Activity-Guide.pdf that parents and early childhood professionals may use to support Lego use. With this guide I think you will find it very easy to share hours of fun learning with young children. It includes activities to share with kids under age six. enjoy!
Don't forget to vote for us!!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
Bea attends a new school and befriends the biggest social outcast. Together they develop a close platonic friendship because they both feel so different from everybody else.
How to Say Goodbye in Robot has a satisfying, quirky plot that keeps readers interested. Plot elements such as loyal listening to a late night radio show, agonizing over decisions regarding a close family member with severe disabilities, intentionally befriending social outcasts, and attending bizarre theme parties full of strangers were appealing in unexpected ways. Pink pages at the beginning of each chapter contributed to the freshness of this novel. One theme of the book is "understanding what to do if one's emotional responses to situations are not socially appropriate."
How to Say Goodbye in Robot has a satisfying, quirky plot that keeps readers interested. Plot elements such as loyal listening to a late night radio show, agonizing over decisions regarding a close family member with severe disabilities, intentionally befriending social outcasts, and attending bizarre theme parties full of strangers were appealing in unexpected ways. Pink pages at the beginning of each chapter contributed to the freshness of this novel. One theme of the book is "understanding what to do if one's emotional responses to situations are not socially appropriate."
What Comes After by Steve Watkins
What Comes After is the story of a young lady who's life takes her down a sad, tragic road. Forced to live with an abusive aunt and cousin, she was transplanted far from the home she's always known while her best friendship dissapated and her support network is removed. The best thing she has going for her is a herd of goats whom her aunt compels her to care for, milk twice daily, and make cheese to sell. As her situation continues to deteriorate Iris must find her way out tragedy into a better life, while maintaining loyalty to those who have been there for her in her times of need.
This story was heart wrenching, and the details of the plot stayed vivid in my memory. It was easy to feel the paralysis the abuse and its aftermath explained very realistically within the story. Iris, the main character is easy to love even as she makes less than ideal choices and decides loyalties. Her strength is beyond admirable. It would be interesting to hold a book discussion about key decisions Iris makes that includes teens, social workers, and abuse survivors.
This story was heart wrenching, and the details of the plot stayed vivid in my memory. It was easy to feel the paralysis the abuse and its aftermath explained very realistically within the story. Iris, the main character is easy to love even as she makes less than ideal choices and decides loyalties. Her strength is beyond admirable. It would be interesting to hold a book discussion about key decisions Iris makes that includes teens, social workers, and abuse survivors.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Ever since a traumatic event years ago, London Lane life experiences life differently than the rest of us... Instead of remembering days gone by, as most people do, she only remembers today and days in the future. Each night, before bed she writes herself reminder notes to read in the morning so as to appear normal to everyone who doesn't know her unique secret. Things get complicated when she starts to fall in love.
Cat Patrick did an outstanding job of making this bizarre premise believable and highly engaging. I found myself sucked into the plot, feeling as though I belonged in London's outsider world as she went to great lengths to successfully navigate typical teenage experiences through an atypical lens. The characters are highly believable and it is easy as a reader to believe one's self in going to great lengths to hide a strange secret, as London must do. This novel illustrates inner conflict beween social acceptance and maintaining personal integrity. After reading this novel, which is Cat Patrick's first book, I was anxious to get my hands on more by this outstanding emerging author.
Cat Patrick did an outstanding job of making this bizarre premise believable and highly engaging. I found myself sucked into the plot, feeling as though I belonged in London's outsider world as she went to great lengths to successfully navigate typical teenage experiences through an atypical lens. The characters are highly believable and it is easy as a reader to believe one's self in going to great lengths to hide a strange secret, as London must do. This novel illustrates inner conflict beween social acceptance and maintaining personal integrity. After reading this novel, which is Cat Patrick's first book, I was anxious to get my hands on more by this outstanding emerging author.
Recently...
Books I enjoyed include:
Patrick, Cat. Forgotten.
McBride, James. The Color of Water.
Pena, Matt de la. I Will Save You.
Debeurme, Ludovic. Lucille.
Games:
Swish!
Lessons learned:
Don't talk to others about my personal life at work. Remember to focus on my own tasks. Understand the most important aspects of public library work and focus on upholding those ideals.
It is important not to step on other people's toes when trying to carve my own niche. My enthusiasm to encourage high standards and excellent service can easily be misinterpreted as threatening to my peers also striving to carve niches. I have been warned that if I step on the wrong toes I might suffer consequences that I may not have anticipated. At the same time I have administration offering to meet with me and collect my observations regarding branches or branch staff whenever I am interested in doing so. I am not interested in stepping on other people to claw my way into a position. I would rather be offered work based on my merits, interests and needs. Now is not an appropriate time for my unsolicited critiques.
Patrick, Cat. Forgotten.
McBride, James. The Color of Water.
Pena, Matt de la. I Will Save You.
Debeurme, Ludovic. Lucille.
Games:
Swish!
Lessons learned:
Don't talk to others about my personal life at work. Remember to focus on my own tasks. Understand the most important aspects of public library work and focus on upholding those ideals.
It is important not to step on other people's toes when trying to carve my own niche. My enthusiasm to encourage high standards and excellent service can easily be misinterpreted as threatening to my peers also striving to carve niches. I have been warned that if I step on the wrong toes I might suffer consequences that I may not have anticipated. At the same time I have administration offering to meet with me and collect my observations regarding branches or branch staff whenever I am interested in doing so. I am not interested in stepping on other people to claw my way into a position. I would rather be offered work based on my merits, interests and needs. Now is not an appropriate time for my unsolicited critiques.
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