Past Topics

Winter 2020: Volunteers in Libraries

icon-communityCommunity Engagement

This month we’re looking into the Community Engagement category. Volunteers in libraries are a long standing practice, though their implementation and use varies widely. We’re looking at the history of volunteers in B.C. and exploring questions about their validity, use, pros, cons, and current practices.

Articles

Curry, A. (1996). Volunteers in unionized Canadian public libraries: A Finely Tuned Partnership. Libraries & Culture, 31(1), 144.
Note: This article gives a historical perspective to volunteers in a specific context. Despite the publication date, it provides a needed frame for discussion. If your group is outside of Canada (or B.C. specifically), you may find the supplementary report below enough fodder for discussion. Or you could investigate the history of volunteers in libraries in your locale.

Optional Supplementary Report
“Engage, Cultivate, Provide, Assess: An Outreach Model for Serving All Children and Families White Paper“, American Library Association, December 30, 2019.

Discussion Questions

  • Does your library utilize volunteers? In what capacity?
  • What are the challenges and rewards of volunteers in libraries?
  • What are best practices around volunteers in libraries, specifically with regards to outreach services?

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, February 23rd from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Fall 2019: Social Emotional Learning

icon-developmentChild Development

This month we’re looking into the Child Development category. The articles we selected examine the concept of social emotional learning. What does it mean? Why is it important? How can we support it at the library? These are the questions we’re investigating this quarter.

Articles

Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl (2019) Advancements in the Landscape of Social and Emotional Learning and Emerging Topics on the Horizon, Educational Psychologist, 54:3, 222-232, DOI: 10.1080/00461520.2019.1633925

Stephanie M. Jones, Michael W. McGarrah & Jennifer Kahn (2019) Social and Emotional Learning: A Principled Science of Human Development in Context, Educational Psychologist, 54:3, 129-143, DOI: 10.1080/00461520.2019.1625776

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, November 17th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Reflection Pieces

Summer 2019: Evaluating Summer Reading Clubs

icon-policyPolicy and Practice

This month we’re looking into the Policy and Practice category, though there are definite overlaps into child development, inclusivity, and community engagement. The articles we selected tackle the penultimate children’s program – the Summer Reading Club. How do we get kids to attend? Do summer reading programs help kids become better readers? What are our goals? How are libraries changing the ways they do things over the summer? These are the questions we’re investigating.

Article

A Hook and a Book: Rewards as Motivators in Public Library Summer Reading Programs (2017) by Ruth V. Small, Marilyn P. Arnone, Erin Bennett

Optional Supplementary Articles:

Collaborative Summer Library Program White Paper
This paper examines the research done on the effectiveness of summer programs in schools, at home, and in libraries. Pages 25 – 36 of the article contain the research synthesis related to public libraries.

Libraries at the Center of Summer Learning and Fun by the Urban Libraries Council  This brief guide gives examples of libraries transitioning to summer learning programs. Check out the five strategies to evolve at the end of the article.

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, July 28th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Discussion Questions

Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.

Critical Appraisal:

  • What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
  • What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
  • What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)

Current Practice:

  • What types of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations does your library provide to kids to read over the summer?
  • What are the goals of your summer reading program? How are they similar and different to other community partners such as schools?
  • How core is “reading” to our summer programs? Discuss this in relation to the transition to summer learning programs, library collections, and serving underrepresented kids in your community.
  • If you could design a summer program in libraries from scratch, what would you change? Are there ways to lessen the stress on staff? How can we reach kids who normally don’t participate?

Can’t Make It To the Meeting?

There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.

Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.

Reflection Pieces

  • TBA

Winter 2019: Early Literacy and Library Websites

icon-inclusivityInclusivity

This month we’re looking into the Inclusivity category. The article we selected investigates how Canadian public libraries share early literacy information on their public websites with a specific look at how different community groups are invited to participate.

Article

Prendergast, Tess. “Growing Readers: A Critical Analysis of Early Literacy Content for Parents on Canadian Public Library Websites.” Journal of Library Administration. 2013, Volume 35, p234 -254. Download article here.

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, March 31st from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Discussion Questions

Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.

Critical Appraisal:

  • What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
  • What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
  • What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)

Current Practice:

  • Critique the early literacy messages on your library’s public website.
  • What phrases or key words are you using to be inclusive to all of your community members?
  • Is there anything you would change about your library’s public website after reading this article?

Can’t Make It To the Meeting?

There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.

Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.

Reflection Pieces

November 2018: Evaluating Early Literacy Programs

icon-policyPolicy and Practice

This month we’re looking into the Policy and Practice category. The article we selected investigates how one library system evaluated their Mother Goose program.

Article

Graham, Scott and Andre Gagnon. “A Quasi-experimental Evaluation of an Early Literacy Program at the Regina Public Library.” Canadian Journal of Information & Library Sciences. Jun 2013, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p103-121. Download article here.

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, November 4th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Discussion Questions

Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.

Critical Appraisal:

  • What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
  • What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
  • What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)

Current Practice:

  • Does your library run a similar type of early literacy program? How often do you evaluate this program?
  • What methods has your library used to evaluate early literacy programs? Compare and contrast to the method presented in this article.
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation method the article discusses? Are there other questions we can ask that help us focus our purpose for evaluation?

Can’t Make It To the Meeting?

There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.

Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.

Reflection Pieces

June 2018: Co-Designing the Library

icon-communityCommunity Engagement

This month we’re looking into the Community Engagement category. The articles look at how libraries are working with community members to plan and design their spaces, as well as investigating barriers community members face to accessing the library fully.

Articles

Miettinen, Virve. “Redefining the Library: Co-Designing for Our Future Selves and Cities.” Public Library Quarterly. 2018, Vol. 37, No. 1, 8–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2017.1379348. Download article here.

Pateman, John. “Developing Community-Led Systems.” Community -Led Work in Practice: Experiences from Canadian libraries. pg. 1-2. Download article here.

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, June 10th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Discussion Questions

Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.

Critical Appraisal:

  • What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
  • What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
  • What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)

Current Practice:

  • What kind of organizational and cultural changes would your library have to undertake to implement this model?
  • What skills and qualities do we as library staff need to do community-led work?
  • What barriers to access do your community members face? How can the library help alleviate these barriers?

Can’t Make It To the Meeting?

There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.

Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.

Reflection Pieces

April 2018: Play and the Learning Environment

icon-placeLibrary as Place

This month we’re looking into the Library as Place category. The articles look at how we can design learning environments that are conducive to play.

Articles

Feinberg, Sandra. (2010). Designing Space for Children and Teens in Libraries and Public Places. Chapter 10: Play and the Learning Environment. pages 256 – 285. Available here: https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/53567_ch_10.pdf

Carly Dauch, Michelle Imwalle, Brooke Ocasio, and Alexia E.Metz. The influence of the number of toys in the environment on toddlers’ play. Infant Behavior and Development. Volume 50, February 2018, Pages 78-87. Available here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163638317301613?via%3Dihub

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, April 8th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.

Discussion Questions

Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.

Critical Appraisal:

  • What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
  • What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
  • What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)

Current Practice:

  • How can we design our library spaces to foster play?  Are there other ways we can foster play outside of the physical library space?
  • How might play look for different ages?
  • How do we use toys in the library?  How do we select toys to be used in the library?  How does the amount we provide compare with the amount suggested in the article?

Can’t Make It To the Meeting?

There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.

Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.

Reflection Pieces

January 2018: Evaluating “Educational” Apps

icon-steamSTEAM

This month we’re looking into the STEAM category of technology. The article explores different criteria we can use to evaluate apps as “educational” using the Science of Learning research.

Article

Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy and Jennifer M. Zosh, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, James H. Gray, Michael B. Robb, and Jordy Kaufman. (2015). Putting Education in “Educational” Apps: Lessons From the Science of Learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Vol. 16(1) 3-34. Retrieved from: http://kathyhirshpasek.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Psychological-Science-in-the-Public-Interest-2015-Hirsh-Pasek-3-34.pdf

Discussion Group Meeting

Sunday, January 21st at 5:30 pm. Please email us for the Vancouver specific location.

Discussion Questions

Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.

Critical Appraisal:

  • What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
  • What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
  • What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)

Current Practice:

  • How might we share this information with families in a library setting?
  • How does your library support you as a media mentor to families? What can be done to strengthen this role?
  • How do the “four pillars of learning” apply to other things we do in the library such as programming for kids?
  • What are the risks and benefits of applying this knowledge in our work with children and families?

Can’t Make It To the Meeting?

There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.

Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.

Reflection Pieces

Read what others have to say about this month’s readings.