Kids are Customers, Too

Kids Are Customers, Too

October 26, 2014

Future Makers made a very interesting presentation with hands-on activities during the General Session. Matt Barinholtz, founder of Future Makers, presented clearly the makers’ end goal which is to boost creative learning, especially among families. Based on the MIT research about learning in a family context, he stressed out the positive aspects of developing family workshops, and offering them at the library. These workshops give parents and children opportunities to support each other, give feedback, ask questions, and persevere in a safe environment. They also help families build connections with other families. He described the makers’ role as “facilitators of relationship building”.

Given the fact that computers and electronic devices are contributing to less face-to-face interactions, this presentation made me realize that the maker movement has a vision that goes well beyond making things. It is about bringing people together, and giving them the tools to enjoy creative learning with each other. Matt Barinholtz believes that libraries are great places where this kind of connecting can happen. So, he encouraged us, librarians, to conceive of an activity that would engage our customers, and would result in a showcase of their creations. Good questions to keep in mind while designing a challenge for that activity are:

·         What would families be learning?

·         How will they create?

·         How will they connect?

A good place where to start is to check what subjects are popular among our customers, and what is their level of engagement, meaning how much time do they spend exploring the subject?

I noted two resources that will be helpful in getting ideas and advice to create workshops:

·         MIT Facilitator Guide, and

·         FutureCraft, a website created by Future Makers to help parents, educators, librarians, and other caregivers, to learn about Minecraft.

In addition to these resources, it is also possible to contact Matt Barinholtz at matt@kidsmakethingsbetter.com

The highlight of the day was to hear Greg Pizzoli talking about the art in his picture books, and David A. Kelly telling us how he became the writer that he is today.

Finally, I want to mention the poster session that presented wonderful ideas for interactive book displays. Here are some pictures of the posters. Enjoy!

Sylvie Merlier-Rowen
Children's Department Central

Library Lessons Learned at a Non-Library Conference

Library Lessons Learned at a Non-Library Conference

National Training Institute’s Zero to Three Conference

December 2014

Aside from a few trainings hosted by MSDE or City Schools, I’ll admit I’ve never attended a non-library sponsored conference. The National Training Institute’s Zero to Three Conference wasn’t focused on libraries and librarians, but rather on providing services of all kinds to children ages birth to three and their caregivers. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in a room with my colleagues who are equally dedicated to libraries and kids, but there is something very eye-opening and reaffirming about sharing a passion with folks outside of libraries.

And hey, going to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in December doesn’t hurt either, right? (Those of you who go to ALA midwinter and annual can feel my pain, right? Chicago in January?!)

By and large, those who attend the Zero to Three Conference are social workers, Early Head Start teachers, daycare providers, and psychologists. I’m fairly certain that I was the only librarian there. I was able to meet people who spoke highly of their local relationships with their public library, like one Head Start teacher from Brooklyn, NY, while others were really surprised by the type of work and rich service the Pratt Library provides to young children and their families, like another woman who is a social worker from Miami, Florida. Conferences like this provide a chance to help colleagues in related careers and fields see the opportunities and advantages of partnering with their local library, no matter where they are. As many of you know, not only are we ambassadors of the library’s good work to our own patrons, but also to our people in Baltimore, Maryland, and around the country.

While some of the sessions had components that were a bit over my head--like the one on epigenetics which was fascinating--I found all of them to have implications for work in libraries. Issues like the proven influence of fathers on very young boys and in particular, boys of color, equity versus equality of services and opportunities for children in our society (and no, they’re not the same thing!), and how various early interventions can positively affect a child’s well being and eventual success in life.

In addition to having a chance to attend some great sessions, I was also co-presenting a poster on the Pratt Library’s partnership with the Baltimore Infants and Toddlers Program to positively affect their families’ relationship with the library and participation in our Summer Reading Program. You can see a photo of me and my co-presenter, Tody Hairston-Fuller with our poster below!

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a conference that’s not library focused, take it! I had such a great time getting to know folks in related, but very different fields, as well as share my own passion and enthusiasm for the incredible work the Pratt Library and public libraries are doing in their communities around the country.

Jessica Hoptay-Brown
Children's Services Coordinator