Promoting Reading with Tools-Old and New
By Al Smith
When teacher-librarians think of ‘new’ book displays they likely conjure up visions of Amazon.com, Shelfari, and other web 2.0 models. Despite immersing myself in new media and web 2.0 because of the power to share, I am in fact shifting my modus operandi to the traditional display- analog rocks! After reading Garr Reynolds’, Presentation Zen, I started rethinking some of the old faithful tools. I have been revisiting the craft I learned teaching elementary school. Tactile and visual chart paper, tripods, acrylic holders, furniture, hemp baskets, bookcases, sticky notes, chalkboards, etc. all have an attraction to particular students.
My creative instincts has led me to embrace ‘hi-touch’ has generating some benefits for students but also nurtured my librarians soul.
An Old Approach Feels New
I’ve changed my approach recently in that I now believe the process a patron undergoes to find a book, whether research or recreation, is more multi-dimensional than the past. The initial reason is that students (and teachers) now have so many digital tools at their finger tips; however, I also think that there are two other powerful variables in play. Smith Theory:
1. Students seem starved for more social interaction with peers and adults
2. The brain needs analog modalities to create new ideas and synthesize information.
I believe we miss out when we sacrifice analog devices for just digital tools. Nevertheless, the suite of new digital tools is easier and more powerful than ever. To ignore them is a peril as well.
Picture Frames
Picture frames are an attractive and efficient way to display promotional material. Whether new posters, self made promotions, or even photography, frames draw the attention of patrons. One simple way is to create a letter size sign of book covers with quotes or statements. Print the sign on Inkjet photo paper and hang with a matt board and glassed frame. (Opus, Michaels, etc. have sizes and options.) Display them on ends of stacks or any wall space. You can repeat the same process for smaller 5x7 signs for desks and counter space.
Simple Displays
The grand display or bulletin board obviously has a unique purpose and valuable impact; however, the small surprise display works well too. I’ve started tagging books by inserting a paper bookmark slipped in the books. A Just-Read slip has a patron and a brief rating or comment.
I’ve added more front cover displays and targeted and varied showcase titles and themes. Most librarians have used thematic displays to promote resources and learning opportunities. I have had some interesting success when adding more random and varied displays.
Example: I pulled a coffee table book during our annual Cancer Week fundraiser. Bryan Adams photography book was a Breast Cancer research project. I placed it along a shelf behind my desk. I had more amazing conversations with kids because they were invited to browse with an attached signage. The photo of a bald woman obvious was part of the initial attraction. It created a chance to talk meaningfully with teens about cancer, photography, rock and roll music. A display out front and center seldom gets my teenage students talking or even looking. The best interaction has been born of the smaller discreet display, especially those close to my desk. I invite kids to flip through the large coffee table books by having them out on the tables and counters. Although I may risk some damage to expensive books, most patrons I’ve surveyed find the visual clues valuable. Maybe the media is the message? Buy some coffee table books.
Book Shelf Signage
I have not finished some areas because of time and money but...shelf sign holders and some subject headings signage helps. You still need to teach classification systems but some clues benefit the browsing shy patron. Also place more book covers within your shelving. After a serious weeding, I started placing more books up on stands and vertical facing the aisles. My logic was if it is good for Chapters it must be good for us too. Our circulation evidence proofs it. Anecdotal and circulation data show that visible books, especially non-fiction, get borrowed more frequently than items tightly shelved in the stacks.
Adults As Readers
Modeling reading is perhaps the most important criteria for encouraging children to read. Research shows that boys, whose father was frequently seen reading, eventually read more themselves as adults.
A lively discussion can develop around the book we have all recently read. The discussion around the content is valued as much as the reading itself. Case in point? Literature Circles. I believe this strategy works because it sets up and values the social and conversational nature good literature can engender.
Margaret Ruurs wrote in the last Bookmark about ‘Teachers As Readers’-TAR.
"
...All participants who are teachers agree that the book group helps them to know what their students are reading and gives them a better grasp of which books to use and recommend….All of the TAR group participants I talked to agreed that the experience has enriched their lives as readers by making them read books they would not otherwise have selected and through the rich discussions that follow...."
(Bookmark Vol49 Issue IIII p.35 )
* International Reading Association Teachers as Readers: Perspectives on the Importance of Reading in Teachers’ Classrooms and Lives, IA book, Michelle Commeyras, Betty ShockleyBisplinghoff, and Jennifer Olson, editors, 2003,
see:
http://marketplace.reading.org
Reprinted from Reading Today, IRA February/March 2006 with permission from the author, Margriet Ruurs. see Bookmkark Winter 2009.
I believe the informal conversations with students are a force for learning. Varied displays increase the opportunity to talk to one another and can make the library space a stimulating environment. Anything in your library that generates conversation is not bric-a-brac but rather a powerful library tool. I used to always read books with my players during my coaching years. While riding a bus on a road trip, I always had a book front and centre. While sitting around in gym bleachers waiting for games, I always read a book- Always! I now bring the same logic to my teacher-librarian world. A day filled by a series of spontaneous unstructured librarian-student conversations is a good day.
OPAC
Y
our school catalogue is an obvious but often underutilized tool for your library program. Sometimes a catalogue system can be a challenge for library patrons. Using the OPAC is a good platform to teach K-12 search skills and online reading, including how web interfaces vary. I edit my station defaults to always show advanced boolean fields. The interface provides a daily teachable moment for rehearsing narrowing and broadening terms. Use your OPAC to ‘boolify’ students but also use the lookup station as a niche for books displays and other objects. I often place small acrylic signs near the OPAC to promote contests or events.
A relatively new addition to the catalog environment is the ability to link or integrate other web based services. One way is to create URL’s of your catalogue queries and use the links in emails, blog posts, and other bulletins- even Twitter updates.
https://twitter.com/literateowl/status/2299202937
Another powerful service feature that some cataloguing software have is ‘syndetics-the ability to embed book covers and other bibliographic information into your local OPAC queries. My Mandarin system( sadly old) can automatically display links to Amazon titles of individual search results. My favourite is the option to get Ebsco’s Novelist to provide a reference to my bibliographic records. The ability to research books and quickly see if the title is in a collection is very nice.
Another serendipitous benefit of having a variety of displays around your stations is just fun. For a couple months a year, I put out a scrabble board for open community play. No signs, no specific rules, just a public challenge to add to the board. I do the same with chess sets. The boys really seem to like it and if nothing else it is an ice-breaker.
Library Web Sites
An obvious asset to school libraries is their online platform. Regardless of what software or ISP you have, teacher-librarians have powerful tools to engage readers and promote reading resources. Email alerts, RSS feeds, Wish Lists, banners, links, widgets and other cloud computing options are free ways to share book related content. Amazon has a service called Amazon Associates. Their intent is to grow the store experience but the same power can be exploited for free. At no charge and some technical inquiry, librarians can provide value added information to their online library. Implementing Listmania or embedding search boxes can help engage more patrons. If you cannot manage the technical side, then try to find an ally or associate that can help implement your vision.
Amazon Wishlist:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=A77P7XMAYQUQ
User friendly blogging tools now make a powerful communication platform available to the average librarian. The scope can be as simple as posted news or complex with threaded group discussion activities and even online book clubs. The scope is almost infinite. The addition of RSS and Social Networking has added layers of potential for sharing and informing your library patrons.
Web 2.0
Whether book cover images, video content or user generated writing, web 2.0 has it all.
If have licensing or permission for images( Amazon, Novelist, etc.) then why not make a slideshow of new book covers. Try out Picasa or Flickr to assemble a web album from your computer files. Link or convert your slideshow for you blog, web page or .doc handout or pdf. One nice feature for Picasa I’ve used is I created a Picasa Screesaver from book covers and then I activate it all day long on my flatscreen so when I am idle patrons see an animated show of book covers that are in our collection.
Use Google Docs to share files and presentations of books, authors or new arrivlas etc.
Use your private network or favourite blogger to have a literature circle class share viewpoints, writing tasks, etc. Just plan your implementation and skill requirements in advance.
The web 2.0 world has offered us all the new technology RSS newsfeeds. Librarians can now automate the publishing of book news, messages, etc...by using RSS tools.
In Blogger you navigate the Layout Window to add Gadgets that provide extra utilities such as Blog Rolls, Search Boxes or Aggregated Posts from other blogs.
Example. The BCTLA web site now
has President Heather Daly’s blog posts scrolling in without the webmaster manually entering anything.
Try it now>>> http://bctf.ca/bctla/
My current favourite is using Ebsco Alerts to promote using Novelist Plus Database. You create a specific query and subscribe to the query RSS feed. The messages can be a Blogger gadget or a web page asset. I use the URL alerts for emails to faculty booked into the library. Example. History teacher gets an email link focused on Ebsco alerts of the upcoming unit. It also works well for other Ebsco databases such as author study, sciences, etc.
The link below will request you subscribe to Ebsco query Passchendaele.
http://rss.ebscohost.com/AlertSyndicationService/Syndication.asmx/GetFeed?guid=1838083
Other web 2.0 resources harness technologies that have potential for a teacher-libarian wishing to expand service points online.
Use Delicious tags and bundles to deliver content to students with one specific URL. You can create your own tags( subject headings) and bundles ( groups ) so that a grade, curriculum or class can be targeted with a your list of pre-selected web addresses.
LibraryThing.com is your own personal catalogue platform with many add-ons and network of fellow readers. You can query titles from Amazon or UBC Library. Collect, Sort, Comment, Rate...etc.
Goodreads and Shelfari follow similar functions. The power of these services is any user can aggregrate content and implement the data as they need it. Example. Doing a Unit Next Week- Romantic Poetry? Query and tag items of interest and then creates links to your tag.
http://www.librarything.com/author/vassanjimg
http://www.librarything.com/tour/
Writeboard
is a service where users can write, share, revise, compare web based documents. Writeboard is perfect for...
-
-Authors, journalists, PR folks, editors, and publishers
-
-Bloggers or freelance/independent writers
-
-Letter writers, songwriters, poets, comedians, creatives
-
-Students, professors, and groups collaborating on a paper
http://writeboard.com/
Slideshare
is a popular presentation service that allows sharing of powerpoint files and other common files. Similar to the functionality of Google Docs.
http://www.slideshare.net/
Odiogo
is a service that digitizes your blog post into an audio file. The directory of posts include links and downloadable mp3. You can even have the audio versions subscribes via iTunes podcast.
http://podcasts.odiogo.com/the-virtual-bookmark/podcasts-html.php
With iTunes the scope of possibilities is endless. iTunes-U is an academic vault for seniors or college( too american) but the free podcast library at iTunes is huge. CBC channel is terrific for books or current news promo.
While you are investigating CBC try out YouTube channels. ‘TheHour’ has many contemporary authors, scientists, etc...Better yet, get your kids to create their own author podcasts. In 2009, I’m going to try ‘Hamlet Radio 1079’ ....the podcasts don’t need to stored on a public server. Access from behind a private group or school LAN.
Wallwisher.com
is a simple way to post news or get others to share- such as planning an event or discussing a novel.
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/kelowna2010
Lastly an attractive tool is streaming video. The ability to easily integrate clips from YouTube or GoogleAuthors, etc...provides potential to share insight in reviews, author biographies, etc.
Example. Like her freckles, Julianne Moore’s second book, Freckle Face Strawberry has literary and personal hooks everywhere. A small display could match up with a storytime or book talk.
"... Actress Moore’s exuberant heroine with strawberry-red freckles and hair is back in this second outing. A bright palette and a classic cartoon feel should prove eye-catching, as Freckleface navigates the world of playground activities: ..."(Novelist Plus)
Read More at
Novelist.:
Peresitant Link
http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=qvZl1x670K8
Another library resource is television or webTV. There are often short segments on authors and books that can be used. If you have a PVR even better....Example: WTNH- interview with Katie Davis ‘Books
http://www.youtube.com/user/WTNH
Dad’s and Kids Can Enjoy Together’. Ms. Davis is the award-winning author/illustrator of seven picture books, including Who Hops and Kindergarten Rocks!
Read More about author Katie Davis at Novelist:
Persistant Link
Be Creative and Have fun but be aware about copyright and reprinting anything online! So polish up those traditional ‘hi-touch’ displays play with a new web 2.0 device in order to build a stimulating library environment that promotes reading.
-Al Smith. Kelowna
__________________
Moore, Julianne. "Freckleface Strawberry." (01 Jan. 2007): 32. Novelist Plus. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 23 June 2009 <
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=neh&tg=UI&an=250607&site=novp-live
>.
‘Katie Davis’. WTNH.com. May 23 2009. Online. June 21, 2009.<
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