eBooks and eReaders in the School Library

Booktalk Interview with Travis Jonker – Part 3
Part 3 of an interview I conducted with Travis Jonker, an elementary school librarian in Michigan, founder and blogger of 100 Scope Notes, reviewer and  blogger for School Library Journal, former judge for CYBILS Awards, and member of the 2014 Caldecott committee.

You mentioned earlier the effect that has come from changes in technology and the rise of eBooks. Tell me other ways that has impacted school libraries.
Travis: Last year I wrote a grant in our school district to purchase eReaders. When it came through, we started a program where students could check out the eReaders and take them home like a normal book. It has been hugely popular. We keep trying to add more to keep up with demand. Whether you’re a school library or public library, there’s no denying that eBooks are going to be hugely important.  They’re growing so fast that I think now is the time for libraries to give it a shot.

What were some of your goals with the eReader program?
Travis: One of our goals when we started was to give all our students access to eReaders, especially kids that wouldn’t have access to that sort of thing at home. We felt that a lot of the features of eReaders would be good for students. They can take notes. They can change the fonts. A lot of times the eReader will even speak the words. There are a lot of features, especially for reluctant readers, that might engage the students a little bit more.

With the introduction of your eReader program, did you see a rise in reading with more students reading than before?
Travis: Definitely. We had students who hadn’t had the highest interest in reading before, but were very interested in checking out an eBook and reading it on an eReader device. It’s hard to know whether they were interested in trying something new or if they were interested in some of the eReader features that could make reading a better experience for them. But we had interest from kids who read all the time and from kids who weren’t really readers and hadn’t been checking out books very much. We have a waiting list for all five our eReaders that will take us all the way to the end of the school year. As soon as one comes in it goes out to another student.

What advice do you have for other schools that might want to kick off their own eReader or eBook program?
Travis: A big part is analyzing what you want out of the program. One thing to think about is what you want out of the experience. Do you want it to be mainly for reading? Do you want something where students will have more capabilities, such as from a tablet like an iPad, a Kindle Fire or something like that? That’s the first step. Once you settle on that, based on what your students need, you move forward from there.

I know cost is always a big issue for schools. Do you have advice for how schools deal with that as they look at launching their own eReader program?
Travis: That’s tricky. Our grant came from a local education foundation in our school district. But there are definitely other sources out there. FableVision Learning has an email subscription list that will send you different grants that are available. But in a lot of cases, school libraries are already portioning some of their budgets for digital spending, like databases or online subscriptions. So if a grant won’t work for them, they might need to look at using some of their digital funds for eBooks or eReaders. Or they might want to use a little bit of the money they would normally use on print and put it toward digital. I think more and more school librarians will have to put a little bit more money into the digital side of things.

Any other advice in terms of eBooks and eReaders?
Travis: That’s another situation where I think it’s just good to just jump in and try it. It is growing so quickly. Librarians definitely need to stay current and that’s a good way to stay current.

(Note: Travis recently wrote an article for School Library Journal about his school’s experience with its eReader program, which provides advice and guidance for other schools. You can read the article Travis's Excellent eReader Adventure at www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/08/information-technology/traviss-excellent-adventure-or-how-to-launch-a-thriving-ereader-program-in-a-rapidly-changing-world/)

Collaboration and Helping Students Navigate Information Resources

Booktalk Interview with Travis Jonker – Part 2
Part 2 of an interview I conducted with Travis Jonker, an elementary school librarian in Michigan, founder and blogger of 100 Scope Notes, reviewer for School Library Journal, former judge for CYBILS Awards, and member of the 2014 Caldecott committee.

You talked before about the importance of working with students and teachers in terms of information literacy. Tell me more about that.
Travis: I was telling somebody just the other day that I think this is the craziest time in history to be a librarian. There is so much change going on with technology, especially with eBooks and with resources being available online and for free. It’s just totally changed what the library looks like and what we do.

How do these technology changes tie into information literacy and what you’re trying to teach students?
Travis: Information literacy involves skills that kids will need as they grow up and throughout their lives. So, we’ll work with students doing research projects and I’ll introduce them to some of the different databases that we have online. I also talk to them about formulating guiding questions for their research, such as what exactly is it that they want to answer. I’ll talk to them about being methodical about how they go about answering those questions and being really thorough about it. My goal is to make students self-sufficient in terms of navigating everything that is out there and finding answers to their questions.

What advice do you give other librarians to help students learn how to navigate all the information resources that are available?
Travis: The big thing for me is to just try things. I think a lot of time people are hesitant to try a new project or something with a student because they’re nervous it might not work or the outcome might not be exactly what they want. But I think it’s really important for school librarians to work with students and teachers at every opportunity they can.

 Why is it important for school librarians to work with teachers in terms of teaching information literacy to students?
Travis: Collaboration is such a big part of what we do. Sometimes it’s really difficult to collaborate. Everybody has their own things going on. But making those connections would be one of the first things I would tell a new school librarian. You need to keep working with teachers and getting into the classrooms of students that you’re teaching. You can even collaborate without collaborating. Meaning, you proactively look at what teachers are working on and then you look for resources and suggestions that might help the teachers even if they don’t come to you first.

Tell me a little more about the importance of school librarians collaborating with teachers.
Travis: School librarians really are well versed in doing research. They’re well versed in what books might fit with a particular reading or with the interests kids might have. The more times that you can work with a teacher, the better the students will benefit because you’ll be able to share your expertise and what you’ve learned over the years; whether it be working on research or suggesting a great new book to read.

The students won’t learn those things if you don’t make connections with those teachers. There are a lot of times when I’ll be eating lunch in the lounge and through a normal conversation a teacher will mention something she’s going to be teaching and we’ll end up planning to work on a project together. Even though it sounds simple, if that connection hadn’t happened, the students wouldn’t have benefited as much.

I understand that one such collaboration led to a rather unique experience for you. Please share.
Travis: You never know what you might be doing during the course of a day as a school librarian. But a couple years ago when Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday was coming up, I mentioned to one of the teachers who was coordinating our school’s celebration that a couple years before I had gone as Abe Lincoln to Halloween. She picked right up on that and before you know it, on Lincoln’s 200th birthday I came riding up to the school in a horse drawn carriage and delivered the Gettysburg Address on the front steps to a bunch of students dressed up in period clothing. We even had all the local news and TV cameras there. It was just the kind of thing where one little thing led to another. And it was a lot of fun.

Read part 1 (Everything is Reading) now and watch for part 3 (eBooks and eReaders in the School Library) of this interview to show up the first part of next week.

We're going to be friends

One fun clip from librarian, Besty Bird's Fuse8 blog post on turning Pop songs into children's books. Enjoy!

Everything is Reading

Booktalk Interview with Travis Jonker – Part 1
Part 1 of an interview I conducted with Travis Jonker, an elementary school librarian in Michigan, founder and blogger of 100 Scope Notes, reviewer for School Library Journal, former judge for CYBILS Awards, and member of the 2014 Caldecott committee.

In addition to being a school librarian, you’re involved in a lot of different things books related, such as your blog, reviewing for SLJ and other things. How do you hope make a difference in all that you do?
Travis: First and foremost I’m looking to make an impact on the students in my school district, making sure we have for them the latest and greatest books, books that are interesting to them. Also, I want to work with students and teachers in our district, teaching information literacy skills. If I can, I’d also like to share some of those things with other people through my blog or with things that I write. I think that’s a cool way to spread the word a little bit and let people know what has worked for me, and that it might work for them too.

What is the “word” or message you want to spread?
Travis:  As far as books go, the big thing I want to get across is that everything is reading. One of my favorite parts about the last 10 years or so is that a lot of things that people didn’t really consider reading before have become a lot more legitimate. Especially things like graphic novels and comic books. When I was in middle school, I hardly checked out any books from our school library because I was reading comic books, magazines and those sorts of things, but I was still reading. What you read today might get you interested in something else later. As long as you’re reading, it’s a good thing.

Tell me a little bit more about the idea that “everything is reading”.
Travis: A couple years back they started naming children’s literature ambassadors. The first year was Jon Scieszka and his big push throughout his career had been getting boys to read more. But I was so pumped up when he made his platform a push for giving kids choice and letting them choose books they’re interested in. Whether it’s a magazine, book, or even a website, all of that is reading. It might not be what has traditionally been considered reading but it really is.

Do you find sometimes that there is pushback from parents or others from some of these other things that in the past weren’t considered reading?
Travis: Sometimes, but I think it’s becoming less and less of an issue. If there‘s pushback, a lot of times it’s going to be with graphic novels and comic books. Sometimes at book fairs I’ll hear a parent say, “You can’t choose that because it’s not a book.” When that happens I try to explain that it is reading. A lot of times I just open the book up and flip through the pages with the parent to help show that there is reading involved here. I also think sometimes it can be important for a child to have more of a transition. They grow up on picture books, where pictures take up the entire page and tell the story. To then switch to text-only is a pretty abrupt switch.

How does reading help students get the skill sets they’ll need for the future?
Travis:  Reading is the basis for everything. If a kid is a good reader and reads a lot, it’s just going to help them out in whatever they do. It’s the foundation for everything else.

What advice do you give parents, teachers or other librarians to help students get the latest and greatest books?
Travis: I think one thing that is important to keep in mind is to give students choice. In the Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, one of her big pushes is to let kids read what they want to read. In her classroom, she saw choice create great advances in her students’ interest in reading. It seems like common sense, but for awhile we were so bogged down in whether a book’s reading level was a little bit too high or low? So finding the latest and greatest book for a child is about finding something they’re interested in.  For school librarians it means offering a really wide variety of books on a wide variety of topics. For parents I think it’s just important to remember to let kids read what they’re interested in. That might mean comic books. Sometimes it might be middle grade novels or a classic. I think it’s all legitimate.

Are there certain books you tend to recommend more than others?
Travis: Horror is always popular. Half-Minute Horrors is one I like to recommend. There’s a newer series by Patrick Carman called Skeleton Creek that’s been very popular for 5th and 6th grade. Nonfiction remains popular, especially with books that get more specific like visual encyclopedias.

In terms of fiction, sports remain really big. A lot of Tim Green books get checked out. One series that’s been really popular is the Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger. There’s also When You Reach Me and Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead.

Some of the graphic novels like Lunch Lady and Baby Mouse definitely grab kids and have been really popular as well. Some of the lesser known graphic novels I like to recommend include Jellaby by Kean Soo and Mouse Guard by David Petersen. It’s a great time for books right now to be honest. There’s just tons of stuff coming out that is interesting and that kids are interested in picking up.

Watch for parts 2 (Collaboration and Helping Students Navigate Information Resources) and 3 (eBooks and eReaders in the School Library) of this interview to show up later this week.

Great children's book review site

Discovered this great children's book review site, appropriately called Great Books for Children. Oh, and it happens to have a review on one my new books. Yay. Have a look. greatbooksforchildren.com

Fun with Book Trailers

Today, I came across a Watch. Connect. Read. (www.mrschureads.blogspot.com/), a fun blog that explores children's literature through book trailers. Check it out. Here's a sample of one of the videos on the site.

How to Connect with Teen Readers and Non-Readers

Booktalk Interview with Allison Tran – Part 2
Part 2 of an interview I conducted with Allison Tran, teen services librarian in Orange County, California, children's and YA book reviewer for the blog Reading Everywhere, and co-host of the Authors are ROCKSTARS! podcast.

In your role as a teen services librarian and with your Reading Everywhere blog, you focus a lot on teens. Tell me what you enjoy most about working with teens.
Allison: Teen literature is really exciting right now and it’s what I like to read, personally. Teens are at a really exciting point in their life, where they have so many opportunities available to them. They’re just learning how the world works and where they fit into it all. Their options are wide open. They have the rest of high school and then college to look forward to. They’re making a lot of big decisions that are going to shape the rest of their life—which also means there’s a lot of pressure. And it’s just really interesting to see them grow. And they’re really enthusiastic. I love the way teens get so excited about a book or a movie or whatever they’re in to. I also love that they’re very free to express their opinions.

How can books help or make a difference to teens during this time of their life?
Allison: Books can be so many different things for a teen. They can be an escape from anything—from a really bad home life to stress about the SAT. It’s something that can just take them away. Also, books can really speak to them and let them know they’re not alone. Maybe they’ll open the pages and discover a character who is going through the exact same thing that they are. They might find another character who is being bullied or is dealing with an illness. Books can make them feel that they’re not the only one going through what they’re going through. They can be a source of inspiration that gives them hope.

What do you say to teens who don’t have a love for reading?
Allison: I have a real sympathy for non-readers. Everyone constantly pressures them, telling them they have to read something, that they just need to find the right book. And of course I hope they do find the right book, but… what if they don’t?  I imagine they feel about reading the way I feel about math. Let’s just say math is not my strong point. It doesn’t matter how many people tell me that math is awesome and that if I just find the right math program, then I’ll love math. Sadly, that’s not going to happen.

So, I really respect those teens that don’t like reading, and I realize that it won’t necessarily change their mind about reading by simply sitting them down with a big novel and telling them what a super-fun time they’ll have reading it. I want them to know that I’m on their side and that I understand what they’re going through. Still, I’ll always try to recommend a few different books that that might catch their interest. Hopefully one of those choices will speak to them

What if the teen ends up not like any of those book choices?
Allison: Even though I empathize with the non-reader, I still emphasize the importance of reading. Let’s face it: they’re going to have to read at some point. So, I try to open their minds to the fact that there are different forms of reading, including magazines, comic books, websites and blogs. There are also different styles of learning. Some kids aren’t visual learners and that’s simply what turns them off about books. In that case I try to sell them on the idea of listening to an audiobook and experiencing the story that way. Sometimes that’s what they need to get them through.

What are some of the best ways to connect both readers and non-readers with the right book?
Allison: Probably one of my favorite parts of being a librarian is finding the right book for a reader. Avid readers are pretty easy. I just find out what they’ve been reading, what they like, what they’re into, what they’re in the mood for and give them a few choices and they’re usually happy. Since I’m an avid reader of teen books myself, I can always make personal recommendations. For non-readers, I try to approach it by asking, “What kind of movies do you like? What kind of video games? What kind of TV shows?” Then l try to find them something that fits in with those interests.

What advice do you have for teen parents?
Allison: I try to reiterate to parents that no matter what their teen is reading, they’re going to be okay. For example, some are concerned that their teen reads too much fantasy— I think they’re worried the fantasy books aren’t going to help their child succeed academically. They say, “Can we find something that is not fantasy, please?” I can certainly do that for them, but at the same time I’m thinking, “What’s wrong with fantasy? I really believe that if the kid is reading- whatever he’s reading- he’s going to turn out great. Let him read what he likes!” I think parents need to trust in their kids to choose the right books for themselves.

Also, one of the best thing parents can do for their kids, especially at a younger age, but even as they get older, is to model reading behavior. Read together as a family. When they get too old for read-alouds, have a family reading time. Mom and dad can read their books while the kids read theirs, and everyone just kind of chills together and reads for 20 minutes or so. Make it a habit. The more that young people see their parents reading, the more they’re going to do it too.

Do you have some favorite books that you like to recommend for teens?
Allison: There are definitely different books for different readers, but there are a few series that I can recommend to almost anyone and it will be a hit. Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series has wide appeal with its snappy dialogue and fast paced action. Romance, adventure-- it’s pretty much a win-win for both boys and girls. Scott Westerfeld is another author that I can generally recommend to just about anyone. Holly Black is really great too—fantastic urban fantasy. For girls who want something realistic, often Sarah Dessen or Jessi Kirby are winners.

Clearly, I could go on and on!