Youth librarians have a tool belt full of skills that make us successful working with kids. I'm thinking programming, eagle-eye/mind youth literature chops, organization and planning, creativity, advocacy, child development and behavior management know-how, budgeting, PR, partnership-making, IF, digital chops and far-future seeing.
But I have to say the one that is perhaps the dearest to my heart and present in the very most successful youth librarians (and really anyone who works with kids) may be the simplest and the one most taken for granted - translating adult concepts into readily understandable language that kids "get" immediately.
This isn't talking down to kids in a babyish or patronizing way. It's simply taking something complex - whether a word or concept - and making it kid-friendly/understandable.
It's easy when we get into any occupation, hobby group or organization, to quickly become submerged into the jargon associated with that activity. I mean it's just the shorthand used with those we are in close contact with so we can zip through what we're doing. I would for-instance ALA's many unit acronyms that, while they scare some librarians, are really a quick way to communicate.
I applaud youth librarians who come up with great ways to let kids know how our library works or to introduce a concept. Here are a few samples from our shop.
How This Whole Library Thing Works:During field trips, we ask the kids who the books belong to (the librarians? Nooooooo; the library? Noooooo; You? YESSSSS!!!!) The books belong to and are shared by all the kids and grownups in the community! Then we tell the kids them the library is like a house that the books live in. But books love to visit with kids at their house. With a library card, children can take home materials for a nice visit. And, just like a visit from a friend (we all know that visiting friends don't stay forever), the books have to return home to the library after a few weeks so they can visit with other children.
Old Maps = Google Earth?During a tour with middle schoolers of our amazing archives, our archivist was showing the kids a huge old map book used for fire insurance purposes. Peeking over her shoulder, it struck me how to make the experience connect for the kids. Our archivist facebooked:
"Shout out to my colleague Marge Loch-Wouters - when I was showing groups of 7th graders a Sanborn Fire Insurance map, Marge summed it up by saying "This map is like an ancient Google Earth image." Nailed it!"The Animals Made Us Do ItWhen we closed off a running/jumping/general amok portion of our big boat, the preschoolers were a bit taken aback. But our colleague
Brooke came up with a great way to navigate them through the change. She shared with the team: "I’ve started calling it our animal boat. Because all of our animals decided they needed a place to live, so they picked the boat. The other side is our “people boat”. If they say they want to go up to the giraffe I just ask, 'Are you an animal? No, you’re a person, silly!' "
How to Say It So Kids Listen/UnderstandIn her "Management with an Iron Fist" series and
soon to be taught CE course and day-to-day work, colleague
Bryce breaks down how to communicate in a way that kids can easily understand and get the behavior you expect. These now classic posts break it down.
What do you say to help kids understand how and why the library works that translates into real-kid-world understanding?
I promised I'd let you know what was going on with our room rearrangement. For the past twenty years, our desk had us facing a boat (patrol duty) with our backs to 80% of our service area.
Now our desk faces the public and we have a view of the entire area. The giraffe proudly helms the front of the boat (complete with travel posters that we "inserted" a photo of him into) and other animal characters reading in the front nook. The back of the boat is still there for kids to read in.
Staff Reaction? Overall, we love it. Still some tweaks (wires we need to get safely hidden - hence the old SLP banners) but having a view of our entire service area is revelatory (imagine years of facing four red doors). The space is more open and the new carpet's slightly more subdued colors seem to bring down the crazy level.
Patron reaction? Not bad. We point out that the ancient giraffe is now protected and we now can see the whole area to help serve everyone better. There's been a grumble or two but that is the vast minority. We find if we address the change in a cheerful, friendly way as families come in, we get a more positive response.
Most kids are good about the change. The preschoolers are a bit taken aback. But
Brooke came up with a great way to navigate them through the change. She shared with the team: "I’ve started calling it our animal boat. Because all of our animals decided they needed a place to live, so they picked the boat. The other side is our “people boat”. If they say they want to go up to the giraffe I just ask, 'Are you an animal? No, you’re a person, silly!' "
Of course this is just the first week. We still have a heavy first few months of "Wha?!?!?!" and a good year ahead of people who come in less frequently being startled by the giraffe's new exalted no-kid area. But the team is ready to meet and greet to get our community through the transition.
The story of our adventure is
here and
here. And below are a few more pictures (think panorama) of what we see in our service area now.
Yesterday, a pleasant person stopped by our desk, introduced herself and handed us a slip of paper with an url for a blog called
Every Library I Can. Ellen works part-time at a branch of the Ramsey County MN libraries but it is her avocation to visit libraries everywhere and share her thoughts and observations about them. Yesterday, it was our turn.
As an inveterate library visitor myself, I loved getting a chance to meet and talk with Ellen. We chatted on
our feelings about the behemothy boat that is a signature piece as well as an anchor around the neck of the staff. Most visitors fall in love with this thing...understandable but it is a director's/architect's dream that in reality has been a nightmare in the library. Well, at least the outside.
We were able to show our guest the inside of the boat which is truly and nautically delightful and might be one of the most perfect program spaces I have worked in or observed. The walls are almost all bulletin board; the carpeting is wonderful; there is a small tiled area for messy crafty, goopy stuff; there is a sink and seeming miles of closets, cupboards, drawers and hidey-holes to contain our program materials and props. Ellen was justifiably delighted. As we've talked about re-purposing the boat over the years, we always assure the public that the true boat -the inside -will always be there for them.
And we have made some progress over the past few years in making the outside of the boat more reader-friendly: comfy chairs; books on display everywhere; signs that indicate it is a Reading Boat. Staffers have become masterful at keeping reading the prime focus and running and climbing slightly less prevalent.
So it meant alot to us when Ellen introduced herself and we had a chance to talk about the good and bad on the boat. And it was fun to read her post and see her thoughts about what is truly special about that piece of nautica. Her blog is on my feeds now - not because she stopped here; but because she has a bright and lively eye and a clear love for the way each library adapts; solves and does uniquely fun things to create a special space for the community.
I want to join her journey and talk with her all day. Since I can't, I will content myself with being an armchair observer of her adventures.
Literally.
How many of us have been victimized by the "bright" idea of a director, architect or board president who thinks it would be a swell idea in the building project/remodel/re-do, to put a giant something in the middle of the Children's Area? "It will be a centerpiece, a signature piece, a piece de resistance," they coo. "It will bring people from miles around who will remember our library forever."
No matter what the children's staffers say and suggest (how about a wall mural; perhaps a small reading nook shaped like a boat or train; maybe a sculpture that climbs a pillar; could we have a stuffed bear chair), the project plods on and soon there is a ginormous elephant or boat or dragon or wooden climbing wall or structure that is just the perfect size for little children to climb, run, roll, leap, jump, scale, and cavort upon. Goodbye sanity.
I speak from experience. We have a boat facade with deck, wheelhouse and aft house (or whatever) that spans over half the wall on the long side of our room. I knew we were in trouble when I interviewed for the job three years ago and I saw that rather than the service desk facing the room, it faced the boat. Yep. When we serve our public our backs are to them because the boat and patrolling behavior is the most important part of our professional work. I took the job anyway.
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| Our desk facing the boat |
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| Computers and collections behind us |
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| More collections and computers behind us |
The boat forced desk staffers to be negative constantly (stop/no/don't/can't) or simply ignore the scrum and be beat down by the nuttiness. For the first time in my long and non-sto
I still want to take a crowbar to that thing.
I'm with you...but isn't she a pretty little thing....aaaaarrrggggh!
I had no idea there was an inside of your boat! You've been holding out on us!
As you know, I'm about to join you in the Boat Librarians Club.
Yes, we got a new camera today so I could actually get a decent picture of the treasure behind the boat's facade. And I am folding you a captain't hat as I type to welcome you to the club. Check Twitter!
I went home to Austin several (ok, more than several) years ago and went to visit the branch library I grew up in. They had finally renovated and some bright soul had decided the best wall material for the children's space was...raw brick. With corners at head height. At least our open brickwork ramp inside the library (used to be the outside, an addition was added around it) is optional. Kids can take the stairs, although naturally they prefer to run down the ramp and hopefully not smash face first into the brick wall.
Oh, the inside of your boat is so lovely!!!
I really, really love the inside of that boat! What great space features.
We get wrapped up in how challenging the outside of the boat is, we never talked about how mighty the inside is!