Over the summer School Library Journal floated out the idea that many children’s authors would consider doing a free 20′ Skype author visit.  That sounded just great to a third grade teacher and me.  We scoured the list for the authors with the most appeal to our kids and sent a few Tweets to inquire.  No dice.  (But we’re not giving up!)

But in the meantime, I had also heard from Michelle Bayuk, head of marketing for Albert Whitman, that Whitman was going to launch five Twitter feeds: one for the narrator of the Boxcar Children and one in the voice of each of the four characters. 

AND, as I’ve mentioned before, I learned that the Boxcar Children (which remains a favorite with our second and third graders) is now a graphic novels series!

There was just one hurdle: how could we connect our young learners with the five Twitter feeds without having them log into Twitter (which restricts access to users over 13) and with all the feeds appearing on one page? We just wanted the Boxcar Twitter feeds, not everything else.

Leave it to my intrepid (and, sadly, about to depart) student teacher Raya, who figured out a way to get the Twitter feeds we need and embed them into our new media center wiki.  Voila! We had what we needed.

Now we had a cool opportunity to talk about how there are many ways to tell a story in the 21st century: with “regular” books, with graphic novels, AND with (a safe version of) Twitter. 

Our wheels started turning.  Would Michelle consider Skyping with our kids?

Michelle had an even more interesting idea: let Boxcar ghostwriter and editor Wendy McClure do the interview!

So we planned a three-day set of activities in lieu of the regular book talks we give when kids come to check out:

• Day One: Introduce/re-introduce kids to Chapter 1 of the chapter book, graphic novel, and Twitter feed
• Day Two: Talk about the role of an editor, with a role-play in which I played the author and Raya and the class played the editor.  (See our efforts on Etherpad - a wonderful tool! - here). Talk about what comprises a good interview question.
• Day Three: In classrooms, kids and teachers worked HARD to create great questions.  They then came to the media center for the interview!

Wow! Our kids did a phenomenal job.  Even with a double-class, they were glued to the screen, poised, attentive, and did ask great questions.  Best of all, they listened for the answers because the answers mattered to them.

We didn’t have the typical author visit, but we had something that empowered our kids to do their best and to think more deeply. And next time they get a paper back from their teacher with editing suggestions, I bet they’ll think just a bit more about how all authors have editors, even the famous ones!

Thanks so much to Michelle and Wendy for giving our kids the chance to dig into some authentic work and to feel proud of their results. There is a wonderful feeling that comes over a media center when kids are really engaged with what they are learning about, and we’ve had three great days of that.

You can view:

• our Boxcar Children Skype plans (they didn’t go exactly according to Hoyle, but it worked out OK!)
• our Etherpad page where we modeled the author/editor relationship
• our school library blog post with more details!

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Curiosity may have killed the cat, (and in this photo, perhaps the bird, too) but it sure makes library learning better!  Unfortunately, too many school libraries still report seeing low-engagement, low-cognition projects that don’t challenge our kids.  

As much as we school library media specialists believe in inquiry, the reality is that sometimes, making the leap from low-level to high-engagement research projects is a bit more than a teacher can take on, for various reasons.  So how can school library media specialists implement the AASL Standards?

Perhaps it’s a case of the tortoise and the hare (sorry for all the animal metaphors).  Instead of leaping forward like the hare, a more pragmatic solution might be a gentle nudge in the direction of inquiry … and then another nudge …. and then another nudge, until the project evolves. 

That’s the theory behind a new page that will run in School Library Media Activities Monthly throughout the 2009-2010 season.  We’re calling it “Nudging Toward Inquiry,” and it’s our way of thinking practically about those small steps that can lead to a big change in student engagement. 

We’re seeking submissions for the first three articles now.  Click on the links below to read the scenario and share your ideas!

• Re-envisioning the Biography Report - closes Wednesday, June 17
• Re-envisioning the Country Report - closes Thursday, July 2
• Re-envisioning the Animal Report - closes Thursday, July 2

And if you have an idea for a “classic” but shopworn lesson plan that needs a tweak, leave a comment here or email me at slmamblog [at] gmail [dot] com!

Image from the calling and visiting cards collection of the George Eastman House, posted to Flickr Commons

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American Libraries is reporting a surprise announcement by Nashville’s mayor that the Nashville Public Library system would begin taking over the city’s school libraries in 2009.  Funnily enough, they didn’t ask any school librarians or school officials:

Nashville Public Library Director Donna Nicely confirmed … that she and Mayor Dean had been conferring with each other for several months about the prospect of combining public and school library operations … “[H]ere’s an idea that truly could transform the public library and the school libraries because we would be enfolding them into the public library structure,” Nicely said, explaining that the idea was “strictly a proposal at this point.” However, she told CBS affiliate WTVF-TV at the press conference, “It‘s just a matter of organizing it and understanding how it all works and going forward with it.”

But school officials seem to have been left out of the loop. “We can’t say whether or not this is something we could do or could not do,” MNPS spokesperson Olivia Brown told AL. “At this point, we’ve not had any discussion, we’ve not had any proposal presented to the school board.”

The plan as envisioned by Nicely and Dean starts with the public library taking on the acquisition of materials for high school libraries “because Ms. Nicely says those libraries most reflect, in size and setup, what our branch libraries are like. So those would be the easiest to enfold into our library system,” mayoral Public Information Officer Janel Lacey told AL …

The next day [after the November 20 press conference], Dean and school officials disclosed letters dated November 20 that they had just exchanged. Dean’s letter to MNPS Acting Director Chris Henson cited a prior conversation between the two about “the benefits of consolidating the library services of Metro Schools and the Nashville Public Library” and advised Henson that library Director Donna Nicely “is prepared to move forward with this endeavor . . . with preparation starting in January 2009 and the first phase, primarily focused on combining the procurement of materials [for the public library and high school libraries], taking effect July 1.” Asserting that “this decision is common sense,“ Dean went on to say, “I know the libraries in Metro Schools have staff devoted to supporting the education we give our students in the classroom, and I believe this collaboration will greatly enhance their ability to do so.” (MNPS spokesperson Brown told AL that the system of 137 schools currently budgets for almost 200 librarians and aides.)

…[S]chool board Chairman David A. Fox … emphasized, there had not yet been any “meaningful conversation” between city and school officials about a library merger aside from comments that “seemed to be just exploratory and . . . confidential.”

Anticipating that “we’ll be sitting down with school officials soon to talk over what this means,” with the phase-in of consolidation starting by the end of 2009, Nicely told AL that idea of NPL overseeing school-library services emerged from a series of public hearings about the public library’s 5–10-year plan that began eight months ago. “We heard such a strong concern from people in the city about the teenagers. What are they doing after school? Could the public library assist them with after-school activities?” she explained, characterizing citizens’ comments as reflecting “an urgent concern, worrying about gangs.” Asked repeatedly by members of the public “how much more closely could we work with the public schools,” Nicely said she and Dean began to discuss the possibilities.

Nicely added that she saw enormous benefits for high-school students, who would have access from their school-library catalogs to Nashville Public Library’s 1.5-million holdings and—thanks to NPL’s online link to the records of area universities—a gateway to an additional 5 million items “if we can merge the automation systems.” Noting “all the programming that goes on in these public libraries after school for our teens,” she asked rhetorically, “Why can’t all of those programs be across the city in all the libraries,” with school libraries remaining open after hours thanks to the merger.

“If we’re going to make this work, then the school libraries need to be under the purview of the public library,” Nicely mused, adding, “If you think about all the staff as one entity, then you’re moving among and strengthening all the libraries.” Citing the profession’s often-expressed dream of “making [libraries] the center of life in the schools and the community,” Nicely predicted, “This is going to do it.”

I don’t know the specifics of this case, but I do know one thing: nobody asked what was “wrong” with school libraries that could only be fixed if the public libraries took them over.   I’m working hard to tamp down my feelings of public library colonialism. I am fighting my fingers as they yearn to type words like “presumptive” as I struggle to describe the behaviors of officials who went so far as to create a timeline for project implementation without ever consulting the schools or school librarians to assess their current or future needs. 

There are a few small towns in Michigan where the public and school libraries share space, generally with a combined public/school library staff. I know a family who lives in one of these communities and enjoys how they can feel connectd to the school via the library, even though they no longer have school-aged children.  Those projects are partnerships with mutual responsibilities and benefits.

As reported in AL, this isn’t.  It takes chutzpah to announce a takeover without even asking the other folks if they want to surrender.  And it is a narrow vision when one limits the role of school libraries to acquisitions, programming, and a union catalog.   And the assumption that the only solution to finding after-school options or teens is if the public schools take over – not share, collaborate, or combine resources?  I’m speechless.  Even reading the interview with Nicely in Library Journal doesn’t ease all of my concerns.

Someone please leave me a comment telling me I’ve read this story wrong and that this was just a bad dream.  Please.

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