ALA Highs & Lows
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A Few Highlights from the Washington DC convention of the AmericanLibrary Association, June 25 – 28, 2000.
At this point in my library career, I go to conventions to stay in touch with friends and colleagues more than to attend committee meetings or sit through programs.
However, one program (Purple Crayons, Random Dots and Peanut Butter Sandwiches) caught my eye. It dealt with using children’s books to trigger adult creativity and to motivate staff toward change. Frances R. Yates, Director of the Indiana University East Library, led the session. While I arrived late, I was quickly engaged and could see real possibilities in using children’s books far beyond their use as an “ice breaker” – as an introductory activity to set people at ease. They could help staff unblock creativity, cope with limited resources, and to take a silly idea, play with it and arrive at a workable solution, etc. Ms. Yates used several classical kid lit titles, with responsive reading from the audience: The Dot, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, That’s Good! That’s Bad! and, possibly my favorite, Peanut Butter Rhino. Also, Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette, was much fun. I hope to use these books in my Fulbright teaching.
Another highlight (or insight) came at a dinner with two colleagues. One friend had only recently moved from an HR position in a mega-research library to a smaller university as the head of public services. My other colleague is a professor at a highly regarded library school. Both told me they were impressed with the very good young librarians entering the profession. What concerned them most were the type of organizations these new, talented, and motivated librarians were entering. Would the employers support creativity and different ways of working, and would the newbies have free reign to excel and be genuinely empowered? Or, would the employers restrict and limit? Both friends worried that the new talent might encounter resistance, not only by less talented peers, but by senior staff - the hierarchy would inhibit and retard the newcomers’ skill and energy. Of course, the book is about liberating the work place, about democratization to free up the individual to do the best they can do.
I usually circle the annual Book Cart Drill Team competition in my program. This year’s event was much anticipated, a huge crowd forming at the entrance to the staging area, a half hour or more ahead. Well, for whatever reason, this year’s competition had less oomph than in years previous. Maybe it was that only five teams participated or that the competition had adopted an American Idol format (with ALA celebrity judges) that lengthened the process. And, the non stop amplified commentary by two Click and Clack types, entertained at first, then annoyed. Or maybe it is me, expecting smooth moves to thumping tunes like Born in the USA.
Some creativity did issue forth from the winner in a repressed, classically creepy way - more Day of the Dead than Zombiesque: Night of the Living Librarians – the University of Pittsburgh’s SLIS spinning their tombstone book carts to classical music. You Tube has several videos for viewing.
August 5 2010: I've been thinking how to rev up the book cart drill competition and here is my idea and theme: Captain Underpants. We could go as characters from this iconoclastic series of books. Don't know who Captain is?
Now for the music!
A winner for sure.
At this point in my library career, I go to conventions to stay in touch with friends and colleagues more than to attend committee meetings or sit through programs.
However, one program (Purple Crayons, Random Dots and Peanut Butter Sandwiches) caught my eye. It dealt with using children’s books to trigger adult creativity and to motivate staff toward change. Frances R. Yates, Director of the Indiana University East Library, led the session. While I arrived late, I was quickly engaged and could see real possibilities in using children’s books far beyond their use as an “ice breaker” – as an introductory activity to set people at ease. They could help staff unblock creativity, cope with limited resources, and to take a silly idea, play with it and arrive at a workable solution, etc. Ms. Yates used several classical kid lit titles, with responsive reading from the audience: The Dot, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, That’s Good! That’s Bad! and, possibly my favorite, Peanut Butter Rhino. Also, Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette, was much fun. I hope to use these books in my Fulbright teaching.
Another highlight (or insight) came at a dinner with two colleagues. One friend had only recently moved from an HR position in a mega-research library to a smaller university as the head of public services. My other colleague is a professor at a highly regarded library school. Both told me they were impressed with the very good young librarians entering the profession. What concerned them most were the type of organizations these new, talented, and motivated librarians were entering. Would the employers support creativity and different ways of working, and would the newbies have free reign to excel and be genuinely empowered? Or, would the employers restrict and limit? Both friends worried that the new talent might encounter resistance, not only by less talented peers, but by senior staff - the hierarchy would inhibit and retard the newcomers’ skill and energy. Of course, the book is about liberating the work place, about democratization to free up the individual to do the best they can do.
I usually circle the annual Book Cart Drill Team competition in my program. This year’s event was much anticipated, a huge crowd forming at the entrance to the staging area, a half hour or more ahead. Well, for whatever reason, this year’s competition had less oomph than in years previous. Maybe it was that only five teams participated or that the competition had adopted an American Idol format (with ALA celebrity judges) that lengthened the process. And, the non stop amplified commentary by two Click and Clack types, entertained at first, then annoyed. Or maybe it is me, expecting smooth moves to thumping tunes like Born in the USA.
Some creativity did issue forth from the winner in a repressed, classically creepy way - more Day of the Dead than Zombiesque: Night of the Living Librarians – the University of Pittsburgh’s SLIS spinning their tombstone book carts to classical music. You Tube has several videos for viewing.
August 5 2010: I've been thinking how to rev up the book cart drill competition and here is my idea and theme: Captain Underpants. We could go as characters from this iconoclastic series of books. Don't know who Captain is?
Now for the music!
A winner for sure.
John Lubans - portrait by WSJ