Be a Library Advocate!

At our recent Utah state school library conference, Ann Ewbank gave the Keynote address on Advocacy entitled:  Ensuring Libraries for a Lifetime.  She challenged us to find the library goal that we felt passionate about so that we could be effective advocates for libraries.  

Immediately all the dazzling current library "buzz words"  popped into my mind, like information literacy, 21st century learning, technology enriched learning, social media enhanced libraries, best practices, and on and on.  But then I was struck with the basic truth.   When I strip away all the concealing layers to get at the real essential core of what is most important about libraries, I find the old-fashioned, and sometimes lost concept:  Reading enriches lives. I want children to love reading. 

Mark Twain knew the importance of reading when he said, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

There are three main reasons why life-long readers live more enriched lives:

Reading improves learning.  Readers have higher vocabularies and are introduced to a wider range of ideas and philosophies.  Thinking is an integral part of reading.  Just consider the number of Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs readers employ like critic, predict, select, argue, appraise, Evaluate, analyze, relate, and rank.   

Reading broadens horizons.  Anyone who reads is able to vicariously travel through time and space and have experiences they would likely never have.  Everyone is equal when reading a book.  Finances, social standing, and physical limitations are no longer barriers to participation.

Reading enhances tolerance.   Recently I read a book called, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.  I thought I had solidified my feelings on illegal immigration.   But this book caused a mind-shift and introduced concepts I had never considered.  This is just one of literally thousands of similar metamorphosis that people go through every day as they read.   By familiarizing ourselves with how others feel, we see all that makes us alike, rather than all that makes us different. 

During the Olympics, Lindsey Vonn, Apollo Ohno, Shani Davis, Shaun White, and the other outstanding athletes reminded us that the key to success is practice, practice, practice.  Libraries can give children resources that will help them practice.  Every child will benefit by being an Olympic reader.  I want our libraries to be the place where kids can find that there is something enjoyable for everyone to read and that reading will change their lives.

Role of libraries

I can see how instructional technology supports education for students.  Much irrefutable evidence, as well as much chatter,  supports this concept.  Besides, I remember how it was before IT departments and I wouldn't want to go back. 

However, I believe strongly that those of us who are involved in libraries are uniquely situated to aide students in a primary way to ensure that they succeed in college.  It is evident in our mission statement.  We are determined to make kids effective in acquiring, evaluating, and utilizing information.  If they leave our schools proficient in those skills, they WILL succeed in college.  Again there is irrefutable evidence and much said about how it is NOT  'what you know' that counts, it is how well you have honed your skills at locating critical information and knowing when you have found it and how to use it.  Technology is a vital tool for accomplishing that goal.

There is one point that I don't think gets said enough.  As supporters of libraries we offer a service that goes beyond the desire to help students succeed in college.   We have the opportunity to train kids to be lovers of reading that can greatly enrich their lives.  Books can be portkeys that take students anywhere or anywhen they wish to go, even if they decided to be eternal fast food employees.  What a gift.