Hosting my monthly book club for Fifth Grade students is a delight. My Black-Eyed Susan Book club just completed its’ fifth straight year. The beauty of the Black-Eyed Susan Book club program is that it is student driven. I order multiple copies of the 10 titles nominated in the Grade 4-6 category and buy dessert for us to share while we meet over packed lunches in the Library. Students read at their own pace a minimum of 6 nominated books and vote on their favorite in April when the program comes to a close. The girls in my book club typically read all of the nominated books, discuss and recommend the titles they liked, and then start trading opinions about other books. Student voting is a powerful catalyst and it engages the students long after the book club is over. Like other rites of passage on our campus, students remember which book they voted for long after the ballots have been counted.

For the second year a group of readers from my Black-Eyed Susan Book Club formed a team to compete at our area Battle of the Books competition. I have never seized an opportunity to coach a team in my years’ as a school librarian. But the experience of bringing teams to the Battle really crystallized for me what a coach may feel while his or her players are on the field.

Last year I had a wonderful group of students in my Fifth Grade book club who had a strong interest in competing at the Battle. When our official book club lunch meetings ended, we still met as a team and practiced asking one another questions about the books. The students even used a Google Doc to capture practice questions and track what books teammates were reading. In their inaugural year the team tied for third place. Moving on to Middle School I invited the students from that team back to my Library for a special book club lunch this year where we talked about the Battle of the Books and what committing yourself to a team entails.

This year, another small group formed out of the members of the lunch time book club to become a Fifth Grade Battle of the Books team. We even had an alternate! In their competition this week, the Fifth Grade team was the only team to successfully initiate and win a challenge answer to a question in their round. That action was evidence of the team’s grit and determination! I am very grateful to the other independent school librarians who organized and hosted this years competition – it is no small undertaking.

It is very satisfying to see students of all ages, parents, administrators, and librarians as audience members engaging in the competition by supporting the teams. And Battle of the Books is great opportunity for our students to showcase their reading skills and interact with other students who share their passion for books. I would love to hear about other Battle of the Books competitions and any advice on how to better coach a team.

As part of my work as the Lower Division Librarian, I give presentations on various topics at our morning meetings. With each passing year I have come to own certain topics for the morning meeting schedule. As an example, I create a presentation on the Caldecott and Newbery winners just after they are announced in January. I see these presentations as an opportunity to create a lesson for a wide audience since attendance at morning meeting includes our Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students as well as faculty. These presentations are also an opportunity to promote the Library and the resources I carefully select for the collection.  

In recent years I have created a poetry themed presentation to coincide with our lower school poetry recitation contest during National Poetry Month. For this year’s presentation I began by describing my morning commute to school while listening to an NPR program Here & Now and coverage of the National Cowboy Poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada.  What struck me about this story (what literally almost made the car veer off the road!) was the straightforward, relaxed way Gail Steiger described the tradition of cowboy poetry and the incredible recall he had in reciting, singing, and playing examples of the genre. He describes cowboy Poetry in this way:

“Well, yeah, cowboy poetry, it’s kind of a broad brush. I mean, there are purist who think it’s all about, you know, cowboy hats and boots and spurs, but there are a bunch of us who realize it’s a lot more to do with just what a gift it is for all of us to come here and get to live on this planet, you know, where life just grows up out of the ground.”

In the segment, Steiger recites Wendell Berry’s “Her First Calf” which is utterly mesmerizing. What I especially loved about sharing this poetry with my students was its distinctly American roots! And in my research reviewing the plethora of resources available on the internet, I found this video of Joel Nelson reciting Lasca at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada in 2013. My work in researching content for morning meeting presentations demands that it reaches a wide, yet juvenile audience. And although it would not have worked for my students primarily based on the 7 minute length, I found Joel Nelson’s recitation captivating.

Our poetry recitation contest has evolved in the eight years I have been a part of the event. Our students have embraced the work of some of the most famous poets contributing to this form of literature. I have showed video from Poetry Out Loud the National Poetry Foundation’s recitation contest for high school students and we discuss our observations about the students and their performance. This year we viewed a video of the 2013 Tennessee  state champion Whitney Baxter reciting [i carry your heart with me (i carry it in] by E.E. Cummings. Students made the observation that while the orator was passionate about the poem she did not provide a dramatic rendering of it for the audience. She did not use props or hand gestures, yet we could still feel intensity that she conveyed in the way she said the poem.  This was an interesting point to illustrate as sometimes our students make their poem a dramatic art form!

Finally, in the poetry presentation, I wished my students good luck with their recitations and that as faculty we all recognized what hard work and effort went into this assignment on their part. And I asked them to not limit the presence of poetry in their lives to the month of April. Poetry is a wonderful literary form for our students to work with as it demands to be read, re-read, shared, and enjoyed. The Writer’s Almanac provides a simple pathway for accessing a new poem each day – even when you are not required to memorize it.

In a November 2013 School Library Journal article The Science of Interest: Pioneering research reveals a secret ingredient for real learning  the author Annie Paul defines interest as a psychological state of engagement, experienced both in the moment and what causes us “to engage with repeatedly with particular events, ideas or objects over time.” In my mind it is a call to question, to feel compelled to dig deep on a subject, and feel intellectual ownership of the topic. Interest equates with satisfaction.

Ms. Paul states “librarians are ideally positioned to become cultivators of student’s interests.” In our curated collections we can expose students to a wide variety of material on a range of topics. In doing so, we provide the mechanism that grabs a student’s attention, stimulates them, and keeps them coming back for more.  But what are the characteristics of something interesting? Working with young children I never lack for topics that can become an interest – from dancing, the universe, or sea turtles. But for material to be of interest, suggests the researcher Paul Silva, it has to be “novel, complex, and comprehensible.” A subject can be of interest when it’s new to a student or when it explores an aspect of something a student is knowledgeable about but has never considered.

It’s clear to see the connection in sparking an individual’s interest and our role as collection curators. We all rely on a range of resources that help us to get the best material in a variety of formats into our libraries. Ms. Paul goes on to say that librarians can develop student interest by “demonstrating their own passion for particular subjects.” While I do this through conversations and personal sharing with students, I have also highlighted the interests of adored teachers to help captivate students. Knitting, yoga, and gardening are all passions found throughout our faculty and keen observers in their classrooms have recognized these interests. In their discreet way, students have come to me wanting to find out more about topics they see their teachers so ensconced in learning!

Annie Paul also notes in her article that from all of this questioning students engage in while exploring their interest, they ask more questions as they learn. After reading this I am reminded to keep asking questions as a practice. Showing my student that I wonder about things, for example the next step for a character or why the setting in a story is Paris, helps to model questioning for them. And when questions are asked in the library they can be almost immediately answered with resources on the topic. As a librarian, seeing this in action puts me in a state of bliss! It is gratifying not only to see their interest sparked but to know that this particular experience of interest could be the start of a cycle. What more could a student explore? How knowledgeable about their interest could they become?

Finally, the author shares that “scientists have found that passionate interests can even allow students to overcome academic difficulties or perceptual difficulties.” I found this to be the most exciting information from the article because it hints at the power we have to unleash in our students. When librarians provide a nudge toward a topic or elicit interest through a well-planned and executed lesson we are making contributions to the development of a student’s academic interest. After reading the article I felt a renewed commitment to support students wherever they want to go in developing their interests (within reason). By doing so, I support their self-confidence and validate their sense of curiosity.

At the ALA Midwinter Meetings and Exhibits this January in Philadelphia, I attended a session sponsored by the Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT). The discussion, which included both public and K-20 librarians focused on the terminology we use to describe our services and resources. The conversation started with the premise that students transitioning to college have a steep learning curve, and librarians in school, public, and academic libraries can ease this transition by harmonizing the jargon we use and to which we expect students to adapt. Below are some highlights from the discussion.

Online Catalog: What do you call your online catalog? Do you refer to it as the electronic access to books and more? Do you have a name or acronym for it – Destiny/BobCat/LEO/OPAC? Or is it referred to by the name of the app/program? We agreed that we overwhelming referred to our catalogs as just that – the catalog of materials found in the library. Also important to remember is that students have research needs that may aptly suit the title of the resource. For example, if the student needs to find books for the assignment, the catalog can be referred to as the way to “find books” in the library for the project.

Searching Strategies: Do you use Boolean operators in search instruction, and if so do you refer to them as Boolean or AND/OR/NOT limiters? We found that while we all employ and demonstrate Boolean logic to show our students how to get optimum search results, we do not name them as such. As instructors, nearly all of us use the advanced search interface within the databases and get students to think critically about their search terms and what strategies will yield the most relevant resources.  This segued into how we refer to online databases? Do you refer to it as EBSCO or GreenFile, which is the name of the specific product? One librarian offered the analogy of a cable company and the channels that it offers to viewers as a way for her students to understand the relationship of the parent publishing company to the specific database provided. Additionally, another librarian recounted how when her first year student scoured the university libraries web page for a link to EBSCO he did not find it. With her assistance he found all of the university’s EBSCO products which was significantly more than what his elementary, middle, and high school had offered. We should include in our instruction the fact that several database companies provide multiple offerings in specific categories. Understanding that concept should help move students forward when they start research assignments as an undergraduate.

Professional Branding: What do you call yourself? Librarian/Information Professional/Media Specialist/Teacher Librarian/Agent of Excellence? This question prompted a lively discussion of the various names by which we are known. “Librarian” is the term that students know and use. Furthermore, we should capitalize on the word that library users so strongly identify a meaningful and positive impression. In the December 11, 2013 report by the Pew Research Center titled How Americans Value Public Libraries in Their Communities survey respondents stated they “strongly value library services such as access to books and media; having a quiet, safe place to spend time, read, or study; and having librarians to help people find information.”

What about the terminology for subject specific guides for research projects? Do you use Pathfinder/Libguide/Subject or Course guide? We found that most of us referred to the guides as subject or course guides. “Libguides” was a product specific term and pathfinder is no longer widely used.

References and Plagiarism: How do you refer to references? Realizing that these have specific terms as they are associated with each discipline’s preferred style format, do you call them works cited/resources used/citations/bibliography? This was a topic where no one term surfaced as most widely used. One librarian shared that she simply referred to resources used as “documentation” that supported the student’s research project. This dovetailed into a discussion about the use of Turnitin and other plagiarism tools. Overwhelmingly, many of the librarians operating at colleges and universities said use of plagiarism tools were in violation of the honor code. Students were expected to research and write ethically. At GFS, we are currently using Turnitin for students within the history department to proactively check their assignments prior to completion to help improve their writing. This experience will benefit these students as undergraduates.

As librarians, I believe we have an aerial view of what our students experience at our schools. We can be a place where continuity is built in not only the language of Libraries but in cementing students’ understanding of research and the expectations of that process. This session and idea exchange supports our work and steadfast commitment to keeping commonality in our terms between divisions and beyond the K-12 experience. But it also proved to be a reminder that our work can be fraught with technical jargon that doesn’t breed understanding. I am charged now to make sure that the terms we use in the library and classroom are relatable, for the long haul.

Information on Bridging the Terminology: A Collaborative Effort to Help High School Students Transition to College, a transcript of the Chatzy discussion, and the documents from the session are available at: http://alamw14.ala.org/node/13214

One of the simpler problems I have as a librarian serving preschool-age students is the tendency of some to check out the same book again and again. During my first few years in my current position, I was dismayed when I observed this habit.  I questioned myself: Had I failed to provide enough variety in the collections for this grade?  Were my displays missing the mark? Did the picture book collection need a good weeding?

Yet this phenomenon has persisted, and the pattern seems to be consistent among my youngest patrons. A quick scan of the research shows that a main criterion emerging readers use to make selections is to choose what is familiar to them. This refers to both familiarity of the specific book and the topic of the book. We may also conclude that students repeatedly select the same book for check out simply because they enjoyed their first (or fifth!) reading of the book. Moreover, the effects of repeated book reading on children’s early literacy and language development is indisputable. Repetition helps to foster an understanding of story-related vocabulary and boost story comprehension. So, while checking out the same material is normal and potentially helpful to young readers, a student’s tendency to do this can be alarming to the classroom teacher and the parent.

When a student of mine is stuck on a book, I use the following tactics to expand our offerings into his or her home. First, I applaud their selection! In building young readers, providing encouragement is vital. Then I let the student demonstrate all that they know and can read from the book. This affirms their role as an “expert” when it comes that title. I ask them to share what they like best about the book and suggest that we may find these attractive and engaging elements in other titles. When it is possible, I may invite the student to look with me at the titles on that topic that are available from my book jobber. They may share that they own a specific book or have seen a title at the book store. I then add their selection to my book order, making sure that is appropriate and of quality, and look forward to setting aside the book for the student when it arrives! When students participate in collection development, they have a greater sense of ownership in the library program and more importantly are invested in the library by their recommendation.

As librarians we know that the world of reading possibilities is infinite. As with many puzzling preschool behaviors, repetitive book selection is a phase that passes. As students get older and acquire more varied interests, I particularly like using the Brain Food Pyramid to highlight all there is to read and enjoy! For more on the Brain Food Pyramid I recommend Tammie Failmezger’s article Feed Your Brain! in Library Media Connection (November/December 2006).

“Why the Brain Prefers Paper” in the November 2013 Scientific American prompted me to reflect on my daily observations of students choosing and using print and electronic books. I am no expert on the brain, but Ferris Jabr cogently summarizes our current understanding of the brain and its function and ability to engage in print and digital reading.  What follows are some key findings and trends from the article.

“Together laboratory experiments and polls and consumer reports indicate that digital devices prevent people from efficiently navigating long texts, which may subtly inhibit reading comprehension.” Based on my observations, I agree with this statement.  In my own library class I started a project in which students researched an inventor. Students were required to use digital resources in accomplishing their research. Upon finding an age appropriate web site on her topic, one student stared at the screen and said, “Where do I go?” She was overwhelmed by the page design and had no idea of where to begin navigating that site for information on her topic. I worked one-on-one with her to help focus on the information she needed and scanning, digging, and reading the text. The type of reading we did was very different from print reading. I know that with more experience using web sites this student will gain proficiency navigating pages. The experience she had with that web site, however, halted her steady progress, left her with many questions unrelated to her research, and ultimately had a negative impact on her passion for investigating her topic.

“The implicit feel of where you are in a physical book turns out to be more important than we realized.” Paper has, as the author describes, an inherent landscape. When we pick up a text we create a mental road map of how we get from the beginning to the end. With paper, readers have a sense of location and a clear image of their own expectations for reading. If you work with elementary students, you may notice that many of your patrons choose books based only on their length. With a digital text the reader cannot easily trace what came before or what lies ahead. Cognitive energies are drained both by navigating the text and by comprehending it. Additionally, I have observed that the students in my classes that meet at the end of the academic day, are not fully supportive when I ask them to go online. Many of them have spent the majority of their day using online texts and in the library they want to gather physically around some books and share them with their classmates. Thanks to Jabr’s writing I now better understand the drain to which they have been subject prior to coming to the library!

“The latest research suggests that substituting screens for paper at an early age has disadvantages that we should not easily write off.” Studies by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Julia Parrish-Morris concluded that enhanced e-books distracted young readers from the narrative. Those readers were more able to recall details and follow the story in print. The follow-up survey with parents confirmed this. I use the library’s e-book collection, Tumblebooks and iBooks with my youngest students, but I wholly support their emergent reading by encouraging them to check-out a lot of print material. I am very grateful to our Preschool and Elementary faculty members who are among the most avid users of the collection providing their students with an extension of the library in their classrooms!

This article reminds me to keep monitoring what works for my students and figuring out why certain strategies work. I am dedicated to curating my program’s digital collection and refining the purposeful way I help them access and use those materials. I will continue to amplify digital offerings and keep in mind the best practices. As librarians, however, we are on the frontline of these e-reading trends and their application in our students’ academic lives. We can make valuable contributions to the growing body of knowledge on e-reading through our documented observations.

Do you notice that some or all of the habits seen in digital reading among your students are the same in print?

Are your students gravitating towards print materials for academic work or for pleasure reading?

From what source do they learn and remember best and does that vary from student to student?

Work cited:

Jabr, F. (2013, November). Why the brain prefers paper. Scientific American, 309(5), 48-53. 

One of the more fulfilling aspects of my work in the Lower Division library is my monthly book club meeting with a group of fifth grade girls. The books we read and share propel us into conversation. All too often, however, our conversations stray from focus areas such as character analysis and plot twists and move toward the personal. In these more candid conversations, I still strive to guide the girls and develop their ability to converse.

Implementing 21^st century skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem solving not only make for a more interesting classroom, but are necessary for assisting students with critical skills.  In Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley found that the amount of interaction between typical American parents and their 1- and 2-year-old children had important ramifications for the children’s vocabulary growth rate, vocabulary use, and test scores. Children who did not engage in conversation were found to be at a serious disadvantage with regard to their vocabulary at an early age.  As librarians, we have numerous opportunities to foster rich conversations with our students and develop their social skills.

In Growing a Reader from Birth, Diane McGuiness makes several suggestions about behaviors parents should avoid based on Hart and Risley’s work. Her guidance can be easily applied to our work as librarians in order to make our daily interactions with students more meaningful. In this post, I have highlighted and adapted three of McGuiness’s recommendations for working with students.

Engage passive or inattentive students in conversation or an activity. Not every student looks forward to time in the library. For students who may find reading difficult or have not yet mastered the art of reading for pleasure, I try to offer resources aligned to their interests. Although it’s not a maker space yet, origami books and piles of pretty paper have been a huge success in my library. Through subscriptions to both Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy and flipping through the issues side by side with my students, I have learned about aspirations to be a veterinarian and the responsibilities my students have for their pets. Cake Pop and Holiday cookbooks have opened up doors to conversations about nutrition, eating out, and family rituals.  When students learn to enjoy their time in the library and are at ease talking with me, the road to reading gets shorter.

Let students lead the interaction. When I choose a new book to share or revive an old classic, I am extremely mindful of my own perceptions and connections related to the book. As I read aloud, I always strive to let the children lead the discussion.  I allow conversations to unfold as students contribute to learning and making meaning from the text. My approach is a think-aloud model, guiding the active thinking of the listeners. Moving from a teacher-centered focus to a student-focused classroom has been a journey for me. It represents a complete shift from my own schooling experience and a very welcome change.

Pay attention to all of your students. We are all doing more work than ever, and far too often the depth with which I can prepare for classes or devote to reading professional journals is limited. The student who enjoys reading and loves the library may often be the student to whom I don’t specifically reach out because they are self-sufficient in accessing the library and selecting materials. In short, they are the students who do not need my help or recommendations. In overcoming this habit, I ensure that I keep these students engaged with conversation, typically through a quick discussion about a new book I have read or an article online that I think would interest the student. This contact initiates conversation and keeps the students coming back to talk and share.

How do you keep your students engaged in conversation?

Works cited:

Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

McGuiness, D. (2004). Growing a reader from birth: Your child’s path from language to literacy. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.