Manager Resource Evaluation Project

Manager Resource Evaluation Project

The Short Version

We’re evaluating management and leadership books by reading and reviewing their usefulness and beneficial aspects (or not).  Pick a book from the list, read it, submit an evaluation, and you’ll help create an annotated resource list for all interested staff members. 

 There are over 25 books on the current reading list, and more waiting to be added. Here are a few from the list:

 

8 paradoxes of leadership agility : how to lead and inspire in the real world by Chuen Yeo

Arrive and thrive : 7 impactful practices for women navigating leadership by Susan Brady, Janet Foutty, and Lynn Perry Wooten 

First Time Manager by Loren Belkner, Tim McCormick, and Gary Topchik

Twice as good : leadership and power for women of color by Mary J Wardell

The antiracist business book : an equity-centered approach to work, wealth, and leadership by Trudi Lebron

Building trust : exceptional leadership in an uncertain world by Darryl Stickel

The Culture Question – How to Create a Workplace Where People Like to Work by Randy Grieser et.al.

How to Be an Inclusive Leader by Jennifer Brown 

 

 You can view the full list on the shared drive 

or stop by the office to see what grabs your attention. 

 

If you have a suggestion that isn’t on the list we can discuss adding it to the project.

This project will run to the end of the year, and can be extended as needed.

Authors adapt to social distancing

 

Image Credit: Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press. Source: @BennettCartoons. “Much Easier!” Twitter, 17 Mar. 2020, 6:25 a.m., https://twitter.com/BennettCartoons/status/1239905644737712128?s=20.

MLA 2019 - Using Children's Literature to Help Children of Trauma

The theme of “What if…?” at this year’s MLA conference inspired librarians to focus on the
possibilities of librarianship and ways we can improve our services to have a greater relationship
with our community. One program particularly made me consider our potential to facilitate healing
with our youngest customers.

In the program “What if…We used Children’s Literature to Help Children of Trauma Heal?” Dr.
Colleen Lelli outlined the needs of young children exposed to trauma and how we can use children’s
literature to create “bibliotherapy” opportunities for conversations and healing around  books. She
outlined the effects of acute (short term) or chronic (repeated) stress and how toxic stress can
manifest in children’s behavior. She explained that stress comes in different levels.

While mild/moderate stress can be motivating for a child, chronic or toxic stress quickly leads to trauma. She also explained that our understanding of trauma is constantly changing and affects something like 66% of the population, but our vocabulary for dealing with it is unfortunately limited. This is especially tragic for children affected by chronic/repeated stress, which can have the effect of
limiting children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary, leading to confusion and trouble with
problem solving. Dr. Lelli left me with many simple strategies I’m excited to implement when
working with our young customers.

Here are some of the simple strategies offered for helping children connect with texts:

• Since children of trauma are often unfocused readers, ask them questions of the text to keep them focused on subtler details. 
• Since they often act instead of plan, set goals for them to help with their task analysis and participation in classroom activities. 
• Practicing simple phrases like “Please focus on the directions I’m about to give,” cues these children to be prepared for the directions. Asking them to summarize directions once you’ve given them reinforces these connections.
• Create visual task cards to show each step of a task, and have children work in groups so that they can summarize together what they have heard. 
• To help with expressive language encouraging children to use graphic organizers to keep track of ideas they are interested in writing or talking about.  Encourage them to practice talking about areas of personal interest for 2-3 minutes at a time. 
• Provide children with verbal prompts to solve problems and resolve conflicts with peers.
• Try exercises like cutting up a comic strip and asking them to put it in the correct sequence can encourage critical thinking. 

Matthew Hickey
Children's Dept. CEN

Further reading:
https://goo.gl/tYicwz - Books to Teach Grit and Resilience
https://tinyurl.com/y5jy5xb8 - Books in which Children Witness Violence or Trauma

Tsundoku - when you have more books than you could ever read

The Japanese word tsundoku refers to a situation where you have books piled up in your home that you don't read.  I expect that this situation is familiar to many of us, perhaps you are even guilty of it yourself (I know that I am).

There was an interesting article about this in the Huffington Post, you can read it here:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/theres-a-japanese-word-for-people-who-buy-more-books-than-they-can-actually-read_us_58f79b7ae4b029063d364226

Amazon Opens Book Stores

Amazon has entered the book store market, opening stores in 7 states:  California, Illinois, Massachusettes, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

The bookstores are designed to offer the same curated experience as the website, with shelf content determined by online sales and interest.  Popular books are shelved with several other books that an interested reader might purchase.

Someone I know visited the bookstore in Columbus Circle, NYC, and said he purchased more books than expected and planned to buy 4 more online. 

If you are wondering, MD will be getting a store in Bethesda so you can check it out yourself.



For a list of the locations:  https://www.amazon.com/b?node=13270229011

For an interesting article on the stores, check out these articles:

USA Today:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/05/24/amazon-brings-its-physical-bookstore-new-york/102071054/

NY Magazine:  http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/06/why-is-amazon-building-bookstores.html