Participatory Culture and Learning: Knowledge Quest September/October 2012

Participatory Culture & Learning | American Association of School Librarians (AASL) via kwout

I’m delighted to share that the September/October 2012 issue of AASL’s Knowledge Quest is now available; I had the tremendous honor of co-editing this issue with my good friend and colleague Ernie Cox.  The issue’s theme, participatory culture and learning, is one that has been central to my work in recent years and as most of you know, a lens of practice and thinking that is close to my heart.  We hope that our readers will be as enthralled as Ernie and I are with the quality and diversity of articles; a talented range of practitioners and scholars who work in librarianship as well as related fields have contributed rich, thoughtful, inspiring, and provocative articles to this issue.  Not only am I honored to serve as co-editor with Ernie, but I’m also thrilled to have co-written an article with four of my Media 21 students for this issue.  Many thanks to Kristiena Shafer, Jordan Grandt, Bethany Roper, and Jacob Morgan who gave up a slice of their summer to co-compose our collaborative article.

Here are a few links of interest for those who may be waiting on their print issue to arrive in the mailbox , who may be looking forward to accessing the issue later this fall through their library databases, or who want to access additional resources and content independent of the print issue:

• The table of contents in PDF format--what a lineup!
• Mine and Ernie’s Guest Editor column
• Mine and Ernie’s podcast for the issue–we had tremendous fun sharing and thinking aloud with Editor Markisan Naso!
• View additional resources and opportunities for learning related to this issue by clicking on the journal page

A heartfelt thank you to all of our authors, Ernie, Markisan, and the entire AASL KQ team who worked diligently to help us take this issue from abstract musings that began in the early spring with mine and Ernie’s marathon Skype session to reality this fall.  Whether you are a librarian, classroom teacher, student, parent, administrator, or community member, I hope the issue will expand your thinking about the possibilities for participatory sites of culture and learning in schools and libraries.

Choosing an eBook Platform(s) for Your K-12 School Library

Many thanks to ALA TechSource for allowing me to do another webinar with them last week and to the gracious participants who took time to join us!  Be sure to check out my Scoop.it magazine on eBooks and eReaders.

Nook Program @ The Unquiet Library Update, March 2012

Catching Up

Many of you have been writing or Tweeting for updates on the Nook program we had planned to launch last fall; unfortunately, several factors slowed our launch date for the program, including:

• a lack of clerical help this academic year
• an incredibly busy schedule of instruction (a good problem to have!) in the library; since the teaching and learning focus comes first, we prioritize our energies into that effort first
• significant delays in the communication process with Barnes and Noble in processing our ebook purchase orders

At this time, we own 50 Nook Simple Touches; Nooks 1-35 are designated with our Barnes and Noble Managed Digital Locker program for classroom use, which could include literature circle book study or independent reading selections.  Nooks 36-50 are for circulation to students who return a parental permission form or who would like to use them in the library during a class or lunch visit.  I worked with Dan Boon, my Community Relations Manager at the Alpharetta Barnes and Noble,  to establish groups of Nooks so that it would be easy for B&N to deliver the eBooks we order via purchase order to the appropriate Nook devices.

Challenges with the Digital Managed Locker Program

In terms of the digital managed locker program, there have definitely been some problems that I have experienced as have many of you.

1.  Barnes and Noble has frankly not done a very good job in educating its employees about the Digital Managed Locker program.  As you can imagine, librarians who are trying to inquire and find out more information about the program feel frustrated when they can’t get the answers they need, and the B&N employees also feel frustrated that they may not have been provided the information and training they need to help implement the program with school librarians or classroom teachers in an effective manner.  I know these concerns have been concerned to B&N management from those of us in the trenches as well as from employees, so I’m hopeful they are committed to being more systematic in communicating the information more effectively.  If you are not able to get the answers you need from someone at the first store you visit or call, I recommend contacting a neighboring store or the regional Barnes and Noble manager for your area.

2.  In some store locations, the community relations manager or person designated as the “go to” person for the Digital Managed Locker program is just swamped with multiple responsibilities; consequently, they may have difficulty dealing with the communications from librarians or teachers in a timely manner.  Since there is no electronic/virtual  interface at this time that librarians can access to submit purchase orders and manage eBook (or app) orders, eBook orders can be delayed significantly when there are gaps in communication.  We as librarians and teachers desperately need a virtual interface to manage these orders; email is simply not an efficient means of managing the orders; we as customers need the option of having more control over reassigning texts to different devices if needed.  While I appreciate that B&N is doing a lot of the management for me, I need to be able to have a point of access to do it myself when needed.

Our local store and representative are committed to helping B&N address these concerns; I very much appreciate that Dan has shared my suggestions for improving the communication channels and order management with those who work at a higher level in the company.  In addition, I appreciate that Dan is willing to come out to my school site if I need assistance with devices.

In terms of technical issues, they have been minimal so far.   We have not had any issues connecting to wireless, and the downloading process has been fairly seamless.  We did have one device go bad as we could not unlock it; after not having any success with the 1-800 technical support, our representative Dan was helpful in resolving the issue and actually bringing us a replacement device (a major time saver–thank you!).  We did have one device not receive the appropriate eBooks assigned to that device, but we are working on resolving that issue as we speak.  One other helpful hint:  it took me a while to realize that the power button is on the back of the Nook; thankfully, the covers we bought are designed to stay on and have the Nook symbol on them so that you can press it and power the device off and on without having to remove the cover.

First Steps of Implementation, Spring 2012

We have now started circulating devices to students for free reading (yes, I let them take the devices home—students and parents sign an acceptable use agreement, and we also bought a 2 year warranty), so I hope to have their feedback for you soon.  The initial impressions, though, have been very positive–students really seem to like the “swipe” technology as well as the size of the devices (it fits in their pockets).   One student in particular is absolutely thrilled to have the chance to use a modern eReader—I am not exaggerating when I say he was giddy and glowing when he left the library!  At this time, the free circulation Nook collection (36-50) is purely student driven like our Kindle eBook collection since students submit eBook request forms when they turn in their permission forms).   At this time, the loan period is one week although we hope to extend that in the future.

Our other initial pilot group is Deborah Frost’s 1st period  9th Literature/Composition class.  The majority of the class, boys, chose to read Monster by Walter Dean Myers; the remainder of the class, girls, selected The Secret Life of Bees.  Since many of the students in the class are self-described reluctant readers, we”ll be surveying them regularly about their reading experiences on the Nooks to see if the medium of reading has any impact on their feelings about reading.  The students are excited  (as are we!) to be the first pilot group; I hope to provide some updates in April when they finish their unit of study.

Questions via Email and the Blog

First I want to apologize if you have emailed me in the last month, and I have not answered your email individually.  For the last year or so, I have tried very hard to answer each inquiry individually and in a timely manner.  However, the number of inquiries has come to a tipping point, and I’m just not able to continue answering inquiries personally at this time.    I’m hopeful that either this blog, my Kindle LibGuide, my Nook LibGuide, or my recent chapter in No Shelf Required II edited by Sue Polanka, will give you the answers you’re seeking; you might also want to follow my Scoop.it magazine on eBooks and eReaders.

I’ve received several emails as of late about how we are circulating the eBooks via our OPAC and tracking what students read.   At this time, there is no way to do either–neither Kindle eBooks on a Kindle device nor a Nook book via a Nook device.   I do not assign MARC records to the eBooks for Kindle or Nook although I do catalog the devices; as I’ve written before, I don’t catalog the Kindle or Nook eBooks individually because 1.  you can’t really “circulate” them via your OPAC and 2.  I don’t assign them to the devices in the MARC record because media specialists in my district do not have rights to edit existing MARC records.    If you need to track that kind of data or circulate eBooks electronically, then you will need to look at an eBook platform like Follett eBooks or Overdrive that is designed to function in those ways.

Next Steps

We’ll now provide students post-reading surveys about the Nook reading experience to determine if they are a good fit for our students;  I’ll also be working with Ms. Frost to get her feedback as a classroom teacher.   While I’m still looking for an eBook platform whose licensing agreements are acceptable for my library and learning environment, especially as our district is now ready to implement a bring your own device policy for 2012-2013, I still think there is a place for circulating the devices themselves since so many don’t have one of their own.  I look forward to giving you a new update in a few weeks as I document our journey of learning and exploration of eBook and eReader experiences and options.

Why I Am Not Signing The “Save Libraries” Petition

A steady barrage of listserv messages, tweets, Facebook postings, and blog entries have been making the rounds in recent weeks urging people to sign a petition that states the following:

“Any school receiving Federal funds should be required to have a credentialed School Librarian on staff full time with a library that contains a minimum of 18 books per student. Failure to have a school library open to all students and/or failure to have a credentialed School Librarian to run that library should be punishable by a immediate withdrawal of all Federal monies.

Study after study has shown that well-stocked, well-funded, well-organized school libraries staffed by a “highly qualified” School Librarian, or other similarly qualified credentialed individual, improve student reading scores, test scores, and literacy rates. All children have the right to read and to have access to materials that will help them grow as learners and as people. No Library = No Freedom to Learn.”

While I know the intent was noble and well-intended in creating this petition, petitions like these are often a slippery slope, so I’m going to be politically incorrect and offer a dissenting perspective.  We need to advocate for more than  being “properly staffed, open, and available for children every day” because truly effective school librarians and programs go beyond staffing, accessibility, and materials.  I assert that a “credentialed” school librarian and 18 books won’t guarantee an effective or relevant library program.  These criteria are a gross and superficial oversimplification of the complexity of cultivating meaningful library programs and the possibilities for school libraries in a learning community.  Plenty of schools have “credentialed” school librarians who are ineffective on many levels—pinning language to such a narrow term that unfortunately can’t equate “credentialed” with highly qualified is problematic.

It’s also a false premise  that either of those requirements will guarantee or help deliver an effective library program that is worth a public school losing federal monies/funding.  Here in Georgia, we have a state requirement that calls for every school library to be staffed by a certified school library media specialist [see specific rules requiring media center staffing here and here as well as state of Georgia code], but some school districts participating in the state IE Squared program (which among other things, gives districts more spending flexibility), like our neighboring Forsyth County District, have received waivers from the state that gave them permission to eliminate school librarians from a number of their elementary schools.  This example illustrates how districts will find ways to circumvent mandates when it serves their economic challenges or educational philosophy.  I hate to sound cynical, but in these economically-challenged times, I think it’s realistic to expect many states or school districts would seek waivers to such mandates or even worse, lower the bar for what it takes to be “credentialed” as a school library media specialist in that state.

I’d also rather have seen language in the petition that emphasized tools and mediums for learning, not just books—by privileging a requirement of 18 books, we continue to perpetuate and privilege the stereotype (or what grains of truth are in that stereotype, I wonder?) of the library as a book warehouse rather than the library as a place of learning.  As many of you know from your own state and regional accreditation agency mandates, requiring a certain number of books rarely results in funding for a rich, current collection (which should be more than just print for learners of all ages).  At my last high school, we met the now-defunct requirement for 10 books on paper, but guess what?  Because previous library staff was afraid to weed the collection regularly due to insufficient funding to purchase new and timely materials to replace the weeded materials, we had a collection with an average copyright date in the 1970s; this  phenomenon is sadly commonplace across the country.

Additionally, studies referenced in the language of the petition don’t actually show a definitive cause and effect between a “well-stocked, well-funded, well-organized school libraries staffed by a ‘highly qualified’ school librarian or other similarly qualified credentialed individual”  [what does "other similarly qualified credentialed individual" mean?], and the  improvement of “student reading scores, test scores, and literacy rates”.  While these popular and oft-referenced studies show correlation between the two, they do not show an direct actual cause and effect; to actually prove such would be exceedingly difficult as there are many variables in what contributes to academic achievement, and defining what counts as excellence  in these areas can even be debated.   While the reference of many of the popular studies has proven effective as a form of library advocacy in some states and districts, on the whole they have failed to convincingly sway stakeholders on a national scale.  Perhaps the time has come to concede that while these studies do yield useful data with important implications, they don’t have the definitive data decision makers are seeking.  As a profession, I hope we will  point to more data (qualitative) in addition to standardized test scores as a measure of the impact of school libraries on teaching and learning.  If there are quantitative or qualitative studies that show direct, unequivocal cause and effect of school library programs and student achievement, I would appreciate any links or publication information for such studies.

I do not mean any disrespect to those who think this petition will make a difference, but I would encourage us a profession to unpack the language and assumptions laden in the wording of this petition before we write off lack of participation in this petition as apathy or indifference.  I’d encourage each of us to contemplate what exactly this petition actually means and the values about school libraries implied before we market this petition as something that will actually ensure the highest quality of school library services because it most certainly doesn’t guarantee that.   We would all love a simple fix to the challenges our profession is facing, but the reality is that it’s going to take more than being federally mandated on paper for us to gain real and meaningful traction in being regarded as a relevant and necessary component of a successful school–that is the real elephant in the little red schoolhouse.  The challenge of changing perceptions about the role and value of school librarians and school library programs is not an easy endeavor as we try to position ourselves as learning specialists and teachers who are as valuable as any content area teacher–I think our time may be better spent engaging in some honest dialogue and open, candid critique about what is working and what is not as a profession in taking on this challenge rather than counting on a federal mandate to “save” us or our programs.  The mandate that will yield the most powerful and authentic impact we need to grow and sustain effective school library programs that contribute to school learning communities must ultimately come from the administrators, school board members, teachers, students, and parents we serve as that is where the true power of “buy in” lies, not in a federal mandate forced upon schools.

FREE eBOOK: SCHOOL LIBRARIES: WHAT’S NOW, WHAT’S NEXT, WHAT’S YET TO COME

Smashwords – School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come – A book by Kristin Fontichiaro via kwout

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the over 50 authors who contributed to School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come, we are delighted to announce that our crowdsourced eBook is now available for free download!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96705

We hope you will enjoy downloading and reading these diverse perspectives on where school libraries are and what school librarians are doing to redefine, stretch, and expand traditional services.

Please feel free to share this link with your colleagues, administrators, professional and union organizations, Board of Education members, and more. Help us spread the word and build the conversation about the possibilities of school libraries!

We have it available for free download in three formats:

• PDF for those who want to read it on a desktop/laptop
• .mobi for those who want to read it on Kindle software or a Kindle device
• .epub for those who would like to read it on Adobe Digital Editions software, iBooks, Sony Reader, the Bluefire Reader app, Nook, and most other eReaders

While you can find the eBook on Smashwords now; in about 2-6 weeks, Smashwords will send it out to the major eBookstores (including Apple’s iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, Sony Bookstore, and others, although Amazon is in negotations) for free distribution.

With deep thanks,

The Authors of School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What Comes After

Editors:
Kristin Fontichiaro, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Buffy Hamilton, Creekview High School, Canton, GA

Foreword:
R. David Lankes, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Photographs:
Diane Cordell, Retired Teacher Librarian, Queensbury, NY

Contributors:
Kelly Ahlfeld, Mettawee Community School, West Pawlet, VT
Diane Erica Aretz-Kernahan, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Emilia Askari, Living Textbook Project, McCollough Unis School, Dearborn, MI
Kathleen Atkin, Louis Riel School Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Robert Baigent, National Library of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand
Susan D. Ballard, Consultant and Simmons College, Boston, MA
Angela Washington-Blair, Emmett J. Conrad High School, Dallas, TX
Dan Bowen, ICT Learning and Teaching Consultant, Surrey, England, UK
Holli Buchter, St. Vrain Valley School District, Longmont, CO
Jennifer Branch, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Len Bryan, Cedar Ridge High School, Round Rock, TX
Jennifer Colby, School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Diane Cordell, Retired Teacher Librarian, Queensbury, NY
William Cross, Copyright and Digital Scholarship Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Meg Donhauser, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Joanne de Groot, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Stacy Dillon, LREI – Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY
Andrea Dolloff, Ethical Cultural Fieldston School, New York, NY
Meg Donhauser, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Laura Fleming, Cherry Hill School, River Edge, NJ
Lorna Flynn, American International School in Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Elizabeth Friese, University of Georgia,Athens, GA
Rachel Goldberg, East Middle School, Plymouth, MI
Beth Gourley, Western Academy of Beijing, Beijing, China
Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
Alida Hanson, School Library Teacher Program, Simmons College GSLIS, Boston, MA
Violet H. Harada, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Heather Hersey, Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Valerie Hill, Ethridge Elementary School, The Colony, TX, and Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Studies, Denton, TX
Kimberly Hirsh, Butner-Stem Middle School, Butner, NC, and G. C. Hawley Middle School, Creedmoor, NC
Shannon Hyman, Byrd Middle School, Henrico, VA
Pamela Jackson, East Wake High School, Wendell, NC
Melissa P. Johnston, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Jesse Karp, LREI – Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY
Sara Kelley-Mudie, The Forman School, Litchfield, CT
Tricia Kuon, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Neil Krasnoff, New Tech High School at A. Maceo Smith, Dallas, TX
Jennifer LaGarde, New Hanover County Schools, Wilmington, NC
Teri S. Lesesne, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Margaret Lincoln, Lakeview School District, Battle Creek, MI
Kate MacMillan, Napa Valley USD, Napa Valley, CA (see also Chap. 9)
Adrienne Matteson, White River Elementary, Noblesville, IN
Kathleen McBroom, Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, MI
Walter McKenzie, ASCD, Alexandria, VA
David Meyer, TMC Furniture, Ann Arbor, MI
Ben Mondloch, Cherry Lake Publishing, Ann Arbor, MI
Leslie L. Morgan, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Cathy Jo Nelson, Dorman High School, Spartanburg District 6 Schools, Roebuck, SC
Beverley Rannow, Otsego Public Schools, Otsego, MI
Howard Rheingold, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Nikki D. Robertson, Auburn High School, Auburn, AL
Daniella Smith, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
Evan St. Lifer, Scholastic Library Publishing, Danbury, CT
Jennifer Stanbro, South Portland School Department, South Portland, ME
Caitlin Stansell, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Jeff Stanzler, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Carolyn Jo Starkey, Buckhorn High School, New Market, AL
Wendy Steadman Stephens, Buckhorn High School, New Market, AL
Michael Stephens, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
Linda Straube, New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL
Cathy Stutzman, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Mega Subramaniam, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Margaret Sullivan, Smith Systems, Plano, TX (see also Chap. 6)
Joyce Kasman Valenza, Springfield Township High School, Erdenheim, PA
Karen Villegas, Grosse Pointe North High School, Grosse Pointe, MI
Jeanna Walker, Portage Public Schools, Portage, MI
Donna Watt, Invercargill City Libraries, Invercargill, New Zealand
Holly Weimar, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Senga White, James Hargest College, Invercargill, New Zealand
Erin Drankwalter Wyatt, Highland Middle School, Libertyville, IL
Amanda Yaklin, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Alice Yucht, Retired/rewired Teacher-Librarian, NJ
Marci Zane, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ

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