The future of textbooks?

January has been a busy month for librarians. Not only were a lot of new books unveiled at ALA's Midwinter meetings, but tech news kept coming out too. One of the products that's causing the most buzz is a tablet e-reader designed to replace textbooks. Take a look at the story in the LA Times and also take a look at the video of how a textbook appears on the Kno. Although the designers appear to be looking at the college market right now, it's also clear that textbooks for high school and elementary school could easily appear on this format. In fact Jon Bard of Write 4 Children predicts that the future of children's publishing is likely to lie in the use of a tablet like Kno. The double screen allows it to be opened like a book, a feature that is comforting to book readers and protects the screen. The full-color illustrations rival anything that can be produced on paper and for textbooks, information can be quickly updated. Many textbook producers are planning to make some of their content available for testing on the Kno. Libraries should keep watching this trend.

Are publishers keeping up?

The exhibits floor at ALA's Midwinter Meeting in San Diego were crowded last weekend with librarians looking for the latest offerings. Everything from library furniture to databases, publicity materials, and of course books were on display. Children's librarians could look at demos of a dazzling database that could help a high school student choose a career, and an amazingly flexible version of the OED for research-minded teachers. But children's publishers were sticking to tried-and-true paper formats. There were many graphic novels, but no sign of the apps that are changing children's experiences of books. Those of us who flew to the conference city were able to see children in the airport and on the plane looking at small screens that showed familiar children's stories, but these were nowhere to be seen at the exhibits. Have the mainstream publishers we have relied on for years let us down? No one wants to give up books and it is still a delight to see the many beautifully written, illustrated and designed books, but it is not enough. We have to go where the children and their parents are heading--toward small screens that can carry a dozen picture books on a pocket-sized screen. Librarians, especially those who work in large library systems or school districts, should use their clout to tell publisher that we want to see the best of children's books made available on many platforms. Sure it will be difficult to work out the details--the rights, the royalties, the new skills that must be developed--but publishers should be looking toward the future. If John Newbery were around today he wouldn't be looking at hornbooks, he'd be designing for the i-Pad. Let's get our modern day publishers to catch up with the 21st century world.

Prizes worth considering

The major event of Monday's award ceremony at the ALA conference was the awarding of the Caldecott and Newbery medals, but librarians are not content with two prizes. There are too many good books published each year for us to limit ourselves. One of the most important awards is the Coretta Scott King award and this year the author award went to "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia published by Armistad. It was a crowd favorite and cheers erupted when the award was announced. If you don't have it in your library yet, be sure to order soon. The Coretta Scott King illustrator's award went to "Dave the Potter: Artist,Poet, Slave" written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier (Little Brown). The unusual glimpse of a 19th century African American who put his talent to good use will make many children dream of possibilities for themselves. Teachers as well as children will love this one. And speaking of teachers, we mustn't forget one of the newest of the ALSC awards--the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for an easy reading book. This year it went to "Bink and Gollie" by Kate DiCamillo, published by Candlewick. Even the title will bring a smile to the face of a young child struggling with reading, and the story will win over the most reluctant learner. Almost all libraries have standing orders for the Newbery and Caldecott winners, but these aren't the only ones that should be automatically bought when the awards come out. This year's crop of winners presents a strong field of varied books--something for every child who comes to your library. Don't forget to promote them them at storyhours and during school visits. These are books that adults should see to understand the face of children's publishing today.

Today is Medal Day

As many children's librarians already know, today is the day when the winners of the ALA Children's literature awards are announced. The Association of Library Services to Children has responsibility for choosing the award winners through a complex committee system. Each award has its own committee, elected by AlSC members--these committee appointments are among the most cherished assignments in the organization's mandate. Most of the members are children's librarians with several (sometimes many) years of professional experience with a few other professionals such as instructors in LIS schools sometimes included. All year long members read and think about a long list of books recommended by publishers, librarians, and others. It's a joke at ALA conferences that you can pick out the Newbery committee members because they are constantly reading a book, even on the bus shuttles between hotels. At conferences, the committee members meet for long sessions of discussion and voting. Unlike most ALA committees, these meetings are closed. Finally the whole process culminates in the announcements of the awards on the Monday morning of ALA's Midwinter Conference. Today this event occurred in San Diego.

I was lucky enough to attend the award announcements this morning at the Convention Center. In a large, dimly lit ballroom, hundreds of people gathered at 7:00 AM for the announcements. A variety of awards were announced (you can see the complete list at www.ala.org) but the culminating announcement came with the Caldecott and the Newbery Medal winners.

Caldecott Award for the best in illustration went to A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE illlustrated by Erin E. Stead and published by Roaring Brook Press. The Newbery Medal went to MOON OVER MANIFEST by Clare Vanderpool, published by Delacorte Press. Shouts and cheers arouse from librarians and from the winning publishers' reps in the auditorium. The large TV screens at the front showed the jackets of each winner, and everyone departed to celebrate with coffee and muffins for a good morning's work.

Later this week I'll talk about some of the other award winners.

Exciting year ahead

For children's librarians, 2011 opened with a buzz of news about new books, new ebooks, apps for libraries, and endless stories about how publishing is changing. At the same time that libraries around the country are running Mock Newbery contests to vote on which book will win the coveted medal next week, librarians, authors and publishers are wondering whether children's books have a future. Over the past few months we have seen stories in the New York Times about the death, or near-death, of picture books as a staple part of young children's lives, we have heard about and probably sampled the iPad app of Alice in Wonderland that has set new standards for pictorial beauty and interactive innovation, and most of us have listened to complaints from grandparents and others about how children don't read the old books any more. What does all of this mean for children's library services? Will library collections change drastically as children read ebooks on iPads or one of the other ubiquitous tablet ereaders? Should we shift our print budget to ebooks? What about the youngsters who still prefer print on paper? And more important, what about the parents and other taxpayers who see no need for a library when their children seem totally uninterested in traditional books? In these bad economic times we don't want to make big mistakes with the money entrusted to us, but can anyone tell us what the future holds?

Probably no one knows what actually will happen, and predictions are notoriously bad, but the American Library Association conference starting tomorrow in San Diego, CA, will at least address some of the questions from a library point of view. I am eager to get there to attend some of the meetings and listen to the opinions of other librarians. Equally important, I'll be spending a lot of time going around the exhibits to see what publishers are offering. These are the people who are already making guesses about the future. How do they read the tealeaves? I hope to find out as much as I can and will report some of my findings here during the next week or so.

Libraries are given a gift

Publishing tends to go into hibernation for the last few weeks of December. All the books available for holiday gifts have been published and all the companies can do is wait and see what the public (including libraries) will buy. This year there is a new factor in the equation--ebook readers were among the most popular gifts for the holiday. Thousands of people around the country found one among their gifts. Publishers celebrated the number of people who ordered ebooks the next day, but libraries have at least as great a reason for celebrating. According to library figures, the borrowing of ebooks jumped 93% in the two days following Christmas. This has been reported in Stephen's Lighthouse blog which points out that libraries now have a stronger mandate than ever to collect ebooks for borrowing and to make them available for many platforms. Amazon's Kindle is still limited to purchased books, but almost all of the other ebook readers are compatible with borrowed books from library collections, and as more people become aware of this, Amazon will be pressured to follow suit. The availability of ebooks in public libraries will encourage more people to read and perhaps will broaden their reading interests. Although there are no figures I have seen on how many children's books are among those borrowed, but these figures will follow. As long as librarians remain aware of what patrons want and are willing to offer them, the use of libraries will expand. Even though the use of ebooks has increased dramatically in 2010, many people are still not aware that most libraries have ebooks available for borrowing. Here's an effective area for more publicity throughout the library, including the children's room. This is the time to build awareness, while new ebook readers are searching for sources of reading materials. Let's make 2011 the year when every library became a resource for digital as well as print books.

Politics for preschoolers

Children seldom see political messages in picture books. Even the strong pro-peace and cooperation messages of Dr. Seuss often pass them by although adults are strongly conscious of them. And the emphasis on equality and ecological issues in many modern picture books don't add much to their appeal. But the liberal emphasis in many children's books have not escaped the notice of conservative writers who want to shift the point of view to extol more traditional conservative values. Writing in the Boston Globe, Tom Scocca discusses several of the latest offerings by conservative writers. A number of writers immersed in Washington politics have turned their attention to writing for children, among them Lyn Cheney and William Bennett, both of whom try to counter what they see as a liberal bias in most books for children. Librarians, parents and teachers should be aware of the politics of the books they offer as well as of the stories. There is nothing wrong with extolling the political views of various groups of Americans, but the story and presentation will always be most important to children and should take precedence for book selectors too. A well-balanced collection is the goal of any public or school library and neither the political attitudes of authors nor those of the librarian should dictate which books will be chosen. We can take comfort in knowing that children presented with a wide range of materials have the best chance of developing reasoned preferences both in books and in politics as they grow up.

Stretching the boundaries

How do you feel about Street Lit? For many of us it is hard to accept books for young teens that paint a bleak picture of life. We try to shove it off as applying to "other kids" usually the minority children growing up in cities. Not true--young people can have bleak, difficult lives in suburbs and rural areas too and family problems and unhappy endings aren't reserved for minority children. For those of us who were not at the recent YALSA Lit Symposium, SLJ offers a blog that gives some of the highlights of presentations by authors and librarians. These speakers know the material and they know the readers. They point out that as librarians we are committed to giving our patrons the materials they want. Reading improves skills and helps a child move toward a happier and more successful future even if the reading is about other kids who have tried drinking, drugs and sex in ways unacceptable to many parents. One of the most important points made is that Street Lit or Urban Lit or whatever you call it is not just for underprivileged youth. Our society is more and more polarized between the have's and have-not's and books are one of the most important ways to bridge that gap. Reading widely helps kids understand their lives and the lives of others. Whatever we can do to encourage that is good, and reading this blog with the un-urban title "A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy" is a good way to start.

How many apps in your collection?

Publishers Weekly's recent Webinar "Children's Books in an iPod Age" presented a panel of experts who talked about how devices like the iPad and other ebook readers might impact picture book publishing. Susan Katz of HarperCollins explained how the new digital devices had given her company the opportunity to sell directly to teens and the parents of younger children. Rick Richter of Ruckus Media said his company is focusing on apps as a way to function in the digital world. He expects that apps will offer links to "drive people to bookstores." Perhaps librarians may speculate how apps could drive children and their parents to the library instead. With even very young children becoming familiar with iPhones and iPads and the wonders to be found on them, libraries could consider featuring material in their collection which is also available as an app. The recent appearance of Alice in Wonderland as an app on iPad may very well encourage some patrons to look for the original print version. Librarians ought to follow trends in the release of app and the growth of app-related websites. Just as publishers can offer both digital and print media, libraries also can become sources of linkage between old and new media. Books are not likely to disappear anytime soon, but libraries will have to find new ways to make patrons aware of them.

Librarians listen to users

Once again the School Library Journal has provided youth librarians with an article that should make us all think about what we do best. "The Big App" is an account of how New York City librarians tackled the problem of too little use of their thoughtful homework help page. Despite having it filled with useful materials for students, somehow the students didn't flock to it in any great numbers. So, with the help of a grant from IMLS, the librarians decided to ask young people what they wanted. One of the things they don't want, it turns out, is to have to go to the library site for help. They know and use Google; they follow-up their teachers suggestions about websites for homework; but they seldom turn to the library. New York's answer was to provide apps that could be accessed through sites the kids use like Facebook and MySpace. The NY team is working on making homework apps available where the students actually are and integrating the different kinds of help they want, including having recommended websites, the opportunity for online chat with a librarian, and the ability to bring it all together for their research. It looks as though the days of having a knowledgeable library staff decide what their public wants and providing it are over. Today's young people are moving into a collaborative future where help and resources provided by libraries will be designed and made available through channels chosen by the users. Besides giving us a glimpse into the future of the New York libraries, this article provides lots of ideas that might be applied in localities across the country.