“Everyone has a different idea of what constitutes ‘appropriate content’”

September 23, 2013 JennyLeave a comment

There is lots of great Banned Books Week-related stuff on Twitter this week (#BannedBooksWeek), and today’s Library Link of the Day was an NPR segment from Tell Me More called “Could banning books actually encourage more readers?” (Answer: we hope so!) My favorite find via Twitter (so far, at least) is this post from Shoshana at the Brookline Booksmith. It was a good reminder that librarians aren’t the only ones fighting for intellectual freedom and defending everyone’s right to read; publishers and booksellers are in it with us.

Shoshana wrote, “Everyone has a different idea of what constitutes ‘appropriate content.’ I’ve talked with a lot of parents about what’s right and what’s not right for their kids to read. Some parents want to avoid anything “scary.” Others ask about the The Hunger Games and relax as soon as they learn that although it’s about teenagers being forced to fight to the death, it doesn’t have any sexual content….What I love about the customers in our kids’ section, though, is that the question is pretty much always what’s appropriate for the particular kid in question, not what should be published or be on our shelves….People around here seem to get that what’s all wrong for one reader might be just right for another; even siblings have different levels of scariness tolerance or ability to understand difficult topics.”

She makes a great point: what is “appropriate” for one reader may not be appropriate for another (this is one of the reasons that putting ratings on books is a terrible idea). This is part of readers’ advisory, and it’s a great skill – as a bookseller or a librarian – to be able to talk with parents about what their kids are ready to read (or to talk directly with kids; I know an eight-year-old who didn’t feel ready to read Harry Potter when he was seven, but feels like he might be ready now).

Remember: Every reader his/her book, and every book its reader.

Banned Books Week 2013

September 22, 2013September 20, 2013 Jenny1 Comment

Banned Books Week is probably my favorite event on the calendar of library and literary events. It is a celebration of the freedom to read whatever you want, the freedom from censorship. It also provides encouragement to those who are still fighting for the right to read – those whose state Board of Education presidents want Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye out of the classroom, those who miss out on hearing Rainbow Rowell – author of the excellent Eleanor & Park – speak at their school or public library because a few parents in the community object to the swear words in the book. (Those are just two recent examples; read more about them in my Banned Books Week post on the Robbins Library blog.)

Last year for Banned Books Week, I wrote about which books were most commonly banned or challenged, and who did the challenging; I also shared a few of my favorite “better book titles for banned books.” Two years ago, less punctually, I shared a quote from Jenny Lawson, author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir (which I am certain has been challenged many times since its publication). Also in 2011, I wrote about attending the panel “Whose Common Sense?” at the ALA Annual Conference, where the four panelists (including David Levithan!) discussed why books for teens should not be labeled or censored.

Even if you don’t pick up a book this week, take a moment to appreciate the fact that you could, if you wanted, and that no one would try to control your reading choices, or keep something out of reach because they thought it was inappropriate. We should all get to make our own reading choices.

To close, I’ll quote my co-worker Rebecca, who authored a column for the local paper about Banned Books Week. She wrote, “There’s great value in discussion, and books are, by far, the safest route into many of these discussions (i.e., reading and talking about that book the deals with teen pregnancy is preferable to your teen talking to you about what it’s like to be pregnant). Books are safe spaces to experience new things. New thoughts. New ideas. Different points of view. They are a way to journey back in time and careen far into the future. Books teach us how to empathize with each other, how to stand up for the little guy, and how to recognize the bad guys in our lives….We experience strong emotion alongside our favorite characters – joy, catharsis, loss, excitement. Books are a safe way to learn about life, without all the painful bumps and bruises.”

When the opportunity arises, stand up for your own right to read, and help defend others’ right to read as well. Books change lives – almost always for the good. What’s one book you read that changed your life? A book you’re glad you didn’t miss out on? A book you’d recommend to others? Here are a few banned/challenged books that I wholeheartedly love and recommend:

E-books in libraries

September 12, 2013September 20, 2013 Jenny3 Comments

Cross-posted, in modified form, from the Robbins Library blog.

It’s a real struggle sometimes to refrain from prefacing the name Cory Doctorow with the phrase “my hero.” In addition to being an author (Little Brother and Homeland, among others), blogger, journalist, and the co-editor of Boing Boing, he is also a tremendous advocate for libraries. In particular, he often writes about the relationship between libraries and publishers.

Most public libraries have jumped on the e-book bandwagon, and have found some platform from which to lend e-books for patrons to borrow. However, these platforms are usually somewhat clunky (though they are improving), and publisher restrictions hamper what books libraries are able to buy and how we are able to lend them. Thus, for the most part, e-books work much the same way print books do: one person can use them at a time, and if more than one person wants to read a particular book, there is a waitlist.

The “one copy/one user” model, as it is called, is an artificial constraint put in place by the publishers, who require each e-book to come wrapped in digital rights management (DRM) software. DRM limits what readers can do with their e-books: an e-book with DRM will only work on certain devices, usually can’t be moved from one device to another, can’t be lent or shared, and can’t be copied.

Of course, publishers are correct to be concerned. E-books are new territory, and it’s much easier to copy a digital file than it is to copy a print book. However, as Doctorow points out, libraries are, and always have been, publishers’ greatest allies. Especially with the decline of brick-and-mortar bookstores, it is often librarians, not booksellers, who connect readers with new authors.

Here are a couple of paragraphs from one of Doctorow’s latest essays on the topic, but I encourage you to read the whole piece:

“There are libraries in every town, and even though they’re under terrible assault in the age of austerity, they remain the mark of a civilized society and benefit from librarians’ amazing organizational skills. The modern library has become something like a bookstore, where helpful staff who love books and authors take enormous pride in ‘‘hand-selling’’ the publishers’ products to their patrons. Libraries host some of the best author events, too, providing a vital space for readers and writers to connect.

Unlike every other channel for e-books, libraries are not the publishers’ competitors. They don’t want to sell devices. They don’t want to win over customers to a particular cloud. They just want readers to read, writers to write, and publishers to sell. They deserve a better deal than they’re getting.”

Librarians continue to push the conversation along, but meanwhile, we’re still buying (well, licensing) e-books for our patrons at unfair prices, under unfair restrictions. But it’s not all doom and gloom: some publishers, like sci-fi imprint Tor, are experimenting with DRM-free books, and so far that has not led to an explosion of e-book piracy, so perhaps more publishers will move in that direction.

What to read and how to read it: RSS feeds and library blogs

August 22, 2013 Jenny10 Comments

When Google Reader announced it was shutting down, I considered several options and chose to migrate to The Old Reader. The migration took a few days because of heavy traffic, but once that was done and I started using it, I liked it a lot; it was the most similar and therefore least disruptive change.

However, right around the time I went to NELLS, The Old Reader was having some issues and it looked like it was going to be down for quite a while. To their credit, they’re doing everything they can to make The Old Reader sustainable in the long term, but I didn’t want to be without my RSS feed for that long.

Instead of looking back at my first post on the topic (see link in first paragraph), I went ahead and chose Feedly. If I had looked back at my own research, I probably would have gone with Newsblur, but I’ve been fairly happy with Feedly. It’s easy to organize your subscriptions into folders and move the folders around; there are a number of view options; the app for the tablet is good. The left-hand sidebar menu tends to disappear (to give more room to what you’re reading), but reappears when you float over it.

But the RSS tool is only the how, not the what. The what, of course, is the content itself, and since NELLS I have added a few more blogs to my “Library Blogs” folder, including friends and fellow NELLS participants Anna at LCARSLIBRARIAN and Sarah at librarysarie. (Those links go directly to their posts about NELLS.)

A few of my other favorite library blogs:

Brian at SwissArmyLibrarian: In addition to the always-interesting Reference Question of the Week, Brian also writes clear, concise, thoughtful posts relevant to the public library world. He has a lot of experience as a librarian, but I think his blog would be interesting for library patrons as well as other librarians. Plus, he works in Massachusetts, so if you’re in New England there’s a good chance you’ll see him in person at a conference. Say hi!
Sarah at LibrarianInBlack: Opinionated, honest, and unafraid to stand up for herself and her library, Sarah is the director of a public library in California. As she says on her “About” page, “I am a big technology nerd and I believe in the power of libraries to change lives. Combined, they make a fearsome cocktail.”
Jessamyn at Librarian.net: Jessamyn writes from Vermont about libraries, technology, politics and government (she covered the Kirtsaeng v. Wiley case, for example). A great writer, relevant and interesting content.
Gavia Libraria, the Library Loon: the pseudonymous Loon writes about issues within library school and academic libraries. I enjoy her opinionated style as well as the substance of each post. She recently linked to Meredith Farkas’ piece, “Managing the ‘whole person,'” which I highly recommend, especially to NELLS folks. Meredith’s blog is another good one for those interested in academic libraries and instruction in general.
Julie at Perfect Whole: Julie is a librarian, reader, and writer who until recently wrote twice-monthly essays, published on the first and 15th of the month. This schedule has been suspended recently but there are plenty of thoughtful, well-crafted essays as well as the occasional current post. Her “I can’t believe you’re throwing out books!” essay sparked a lot of conversations about weeding.
Linda at ThreeGoodRats: Linda is one of my co-workers (we both write for the Robbins Library blog) and ThreeGoodRats is where she reviews the many, many books she reads. Her reviews are neat, to-the-point, honest, helpful (if you’re trying to decide whether or not to read that particular book), and insightful. She also has a Sunday knitting feature that will knock your (handmade) socks off.
Young Adult blogs: I enjoy the unique review style at Forever Young Adult, though I don’t read 100% of the content. Some of their reviews are now featured on Kirkus. They also write TV show recaps. YALSA’s The Hub is another YA blog I browse (Anna of LCARSLIBRARIAN writes for them sometimes). There is a high volume of content so I don’t read everything, but a recent favorite post is “Too Many Trilogies.”

So those are a few blogs I make a point of reading. What are your favorites? And what have you found to replace Google Reader (assuming you were using it in the first place), and are you happy with it? Comment below!

Open Letter: Authors for Library E-Books

August 15, 2013 JennyLeave a comment

Naturally the subject of e-books in libraries arose during the week at NELLS. For those who are unfamiliar with the issue, Maureen Sullivan’s open letter to publishers (9/28/2012) is a good place to begin. In it, she explains how libraries support publishers by improving literacy, instilling a lifelong love of reading, and aiding discovery of new authors and genres. E-books in libraries will no more cannibalize e-book sales to consumers than print books in libraries have (i.e., they won’t; research shows that most people who borrow from the library also buy books).

The Authors for Library E-Books campaign (@Authors4LE on Twitter; #A4LE) is an effort to encourage authors to speak out on this issue. Libraries and authors are natural allies, and we all need to speak up to bring this change about. To this end, I contacted a few authors that I have met over the years – through publishing or through author events at bookstores and at the library. I’ve included a template of my letter here; if you know an author (or two, or five, or twelve) who supports libraries, feel free to tweak this and send it along. I personalized each one by mentioning a recent reading of theirs that I’d attended, a program they’d done at a library, or a new book of theirs coming out soon.

An Open Letter to Authors for Library E-Books

Dear [Author],

I hope you are having a good summer so far. I know you are a strong supporter of libraries, and I thought you might like to join ALA’s “Authors for Library E-Books” effort.

I’m sure you’re aware of the ongoing discourse between publishers and libraries on this topic. As it stands, each publisher has come up with a different solution: HarperCollins, for example, licenses e-books to libraries at a reasonable cost, but those licenses expire after 26 uses. Other publishers, such as Random House, charge libraries more than three times the consumer price for e-books and digital audiobooks.

Author and library advocate Cory Doctorow has made a short (four minutes) video about why he supports the Authors for Library E-Books campaign. He says, “Libraries have been so important to the careers of writers, and librarians are such fabulous advocates for authors….Libraries should be able to buy books and they should be able to buy them on fair terms.”

Join Cory Doctorow, Jodi Picoult, Ursula Le Guin, and many other authors who stand with libraries on this issue. You can sign on, speak out, and learn more at the A4LE site, or of course feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback.

Sincerely,
Jenny

NELLS Discussion Questions

August 13, 2013August 13, 2013 JennyLeave a comment

Many of our most lively and productive discussions during NELLS came out of asking questions; a single question could launch an hour-long conversation. I have included several of these questions below, including snippets of our discussions, but first, a definition:

Leader: a person who influences others in an identified situation or group to obtain a particular result that will benefit the organization. Such a position does not depend on a title or on some recognition of formal authority.

That is the definition of a leader from Developing Library Leaders by Robert Stueart & Maureen Sullivan (Neal-Schumann Publishers, 2010). The difference between a leader and a manager is not purely semantic; not all people in management positions are leaders, and many leaders are not in management positions. Thus, when a question is directed at “leaders,” it can apply to managers and non-managers alike.

What do you want to do/become? The scope of this question can be as large or small as you like, but keep in mind: “This is not a dress rehearsal – this is it.” As Maureen Sullivan said, “We are adults in development throughout our lives.” At the same time, she reminded us, “Perfection is not possible.”

What are the three greatest challenges that you face as a leader in your work? Identifying and articulating the challenges is a first step in beginning to address them in a productive manner.

Questions managers can ask those they are managing: What is one thing you would like to change and how could we do it? (One NELLS participant, a library director, said her approach was, “We’re not brain surgeons, no one’s going to die, let’s try it.”) What about [our library/this process] would you like to change? Managers can empower those they manage by saying, “Okay, try that.”

Where and when do challenges become opportunities? “Innovation happens most often through adaptation,” Maureen Sullivan pointed out. Sustained change does not happen by a revolutionary process, but by an adaptive process.

Who are you, what do you bring, how can you sustain it over time? Consider your strengths. Also consider how you can stay energized and focused. (“Work-life balance” was mentioned here.)

Why are we doing what we do? There was a flood of answers to this question, put to the group by Rob Maier. One participant said that patrons frequently approached the desk at her library and prefaced their question with the phrase, “I don’t know who else to ask…” As a group, we determined that libraries are (or can be): the heartbeat of the community, a community center, a social good, access to information and resources, a nonjudgmental space, a path to citizenship, the cornerstone of democracy. Some of these answers sound lofty, but all are true.

Would you rather have a boss/employee who is passionate or effective? This was one of the best discussions of the week. Ideally, of course, you work with people who are both passionate and effective: people who are inspired, energetic, and visionary, and who have the ability to get things done on a detailed, day-to-day level. In reality, however, most people fall toward one end of the spectrum or the other: some see the big picture but aren’t great at the details, while others excel at getting things done efficiently and effectively, but aren’t overflowing with big ideas. The solution? Not everyone has to be everything, but make sure your staff has some of each.

Why aren’t libraries on the radar of non-library users? In every community, there are people who don’t use the library – not to check out books or movies, not as a quiet work space, not to attend programs for themselves or their children, not to access the internet. What can we do to convert more non-library users into library users? Is it a matter of advertising what we offer, or offering different things?

Questions to ask when assessing a new process or program: What went well/what worked? What didn’t work? If we did it again, what would we change? Evaluation is an important part of trying new things and improving them for the next time around.

What if you’re happy where you are and don’t want to get to “the top”? Most libraries are hierarchical to some extent, but what if you have no desire to be a library director? We discussed how to grow within your current position, and considered the question, What do you need to know to do your work?

What steps can we take to prepare for the future and ensure that our libraries thrive? Like many organizations, it can be difficult for libraries to move with agility and speed to adjust to change. This question bypasses reactive steps and encourages proactive ones. Libraries are ideal environments to foster a culture of experimentation and learning. We can help – in nearly every case, are already helping – close the digital divide. We can take more risks, without jumping on every new trend. Libraries can be like nimble little goats, surefooted on a rocky surface.

How is 24-hour access to the web changing your library and how do you want to lead that change? Again, the focus here is on leading change, not reacting to it. Library websites, accessible 24/7, are patrons’ only portal to library services when the building itself is closed. What resources can we offer, and how can we present those resources in a clear, organized, attractive way?

Do you feel barriers to political or community engagement? Can you overcome them? Librarians can and should be advocates for the library, which means community engagement and political engagement. The OCLC report, From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America, is a good place to start. (For those in Massachusetts, Krista McLeod, co-chair of NELLS and director of the Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen, can provide additional resources.)

NELLS exercises and evaluations

August 7, 2013 JennyLeave a comment

Throughout the week at NELLS, we did a number of exercises and self-assessments. I have shared three of these below (PDF). They were all valuable exercises, in that they cause you to think deeply about your experiences, inclinations, and preferences; also, by examining how you work best, you can consider how others work best, how your styles might differ, and how to manage those differences to achieve a positive outcome.

Leadership self-assessment: This assessment tool helps identify areas of strength and areas for development*: the categories include communication, professional ethics, decision making, planning, solving problems, entrepreneurship, team building, coaching, leading change, motivation, empathy, social skills, self-awareness and regulation, and supervision. The questions, over four pages, are “I” statements, with a 1-5 scale from “seldom” to “frequently” for answers (e.g. “I explain ideas and concepts so all can understand”).

Conflict_management_style_assessment: This assessment tool consists of 20 questions with two possible answers each (choose a or b) over two pages, with scoring key on third page to determine your conflict management/negotiating style(s). Answer the questions before consulting the scoring key. Consider how you might work best with someone whose conflict management or negotiation style is different from yours.**

Risk-taking in organizations: This is less of an assessment exercise and more of an opportunity for reflection; it is two pages of open-ended questions.

*”Areas for development,” not “weaknesses.” The old familiar SWOT model of analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) can be replaced with SOAR: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results. With this model, organizations can avoid getting bogged down in the negative and what has happened in the past by focusing on the positive (what is working) and on the future (what do we want it to look like, how do we want to function, what do we want to offer).

**One of the best discussions of the week came out of this exercise, when we regrouped to discuss our results. Someone who had one conflict management style asked those with a different style how best to approach them to deal with conflict in a positive way. Recognizing that your co-workers – no matter where they are in the organizational hierarchy – may have a different style from yours brings a new level of awareness to the process of conflict management and negotiation.

In the photo at right, the circled numbers in green represent the results of the NELLS group. Though many of us scored high on two management styles (collaborating and compromising, for example), these numbers reflect only the highest scores. “Collaborating” was the most prevalent style, followed by compromising, competing, avoiding, and accommodating.

NELLS resources

August 5, 2013August 7, 2013 Jenny2 Comments

On the first day of NELLS, each participant and mentor received a binder full of resources, including a “selected list of readings on leadership” compiled by Maureen Sullivan, which I have reproduced below (she said it was okay to share):

Bennis, Warren et al. Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor

Bennis, Warren and Joan Goldsmith. Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader

Berger, Jennifer Garvey. Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World

Bridges, William. Managing Transitions.

Cohen, Allan and David Bradford. Influence without Authority.

Farrell, Robert and Kenneth Schlesinger. Managing in the Middle (an ALA Guide for the Busy Librarian)

Fisher, Roger and Daniel Shapiro. Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate

Heifetz, Ronald et al., The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World

Kinlaw, Dennis. Coaching for Commitment. Jossey-Bass, 1999.

Kouzes, James M. and Barry Z. Posner. A Leader’s Legacy and The Truth About Leadership

McKee, Annie et al. Becoming a Resonant Leader

Patterson, Kerry et al. Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations

Sinek, Simon. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Stueart, Robert D. and Maureen Sullivan. Developing Library Leaders.

Of course, many other books and articles were mentioned by Maureen and others during the week. I have listed as many of those as I could find here, but if other NELLS folks want to add more in the comments, that would be great. Links for books go to the Minuteman or OCLC catalog, links for articles go to various websites.

Alexie, Sherman. “Superman and Me.” The Story and Its Writer: an Introduction to Short Fiction.

Amabile, Teresa. Growing Up Creative: Nurturing a Lifetime of Creativity

Boyatzis, Richard. The Competent Manager: a Model for Effective Performance

Brazelton, T. Berry. Touchpoints Birth to Three: Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Development (mentioned in the context of managing emotions)

Conger, Jay. “The Necessary Art of Persuasion.” Harvard Business Review, May 1998. (Article preview is available, the rest of the article is behind the HBR paywall.)

Conner, Daryl. Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail

De Rosa, Cathy, et al. From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America. OCLC, 2008. (Web | PDF)

Drucker, Peter. “Managing Oneself.” Harvard Business Review, January 2005. (Article preview.)

Gabarro, John and Kotter, John. “Managing Your Boss.” Harvard Business Review, January 2005. (Article preview.)

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Goleman, Daniel. “Leadership That Gets Results.” Harvard Business Review, March 2000. (Article preview.)

Gross, Valerie. Transforming Our Image, Building Our Brand: the Education Advantage

Hallowell, Edward. CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap: Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life and The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy and Connect

Harwood, Richard. The Work of Hope: How Individuals & Organizations Can Authentically Do Good (free ebook from link)

Heath, Chip. Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.

Heifetz, Ronald et al. “Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis.” Harvard Business Review, July 2009. (Article preview.)

Hesselbein, Frances, et al. The Organization of the Future

Kegan, Robert. The Evolving Self: Problem and Process in Human Development (he has written other books as well, including Change Leadership: a Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools, but I think The Evolving Self was the one Maureen mentioned)

Kotter, John. “Accelerate!” Harvard Business Review, November 2012. (Article preview.)

Kretzmann, Jody and Rans, Susan. The Engaged Library: Chicago Stories of Community Building. Urban Libraries Council, December 2005. (PDF)

Lankes, R. David. Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries for Today’s Complex World.

MacKinnon, Rebecca. Consent of the Networked: the World-Wide Struggle for Internet Freedom

Margolis, Michael. Believe Me. GetStoried.com

Maurer, Rick. Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Unconventional Strategies that Build Support for Change

Moore, Mary. The Successful Library Trustee Handbook. ALA, 2005.

Neiburger, Eli. Libraries Are Screwed. September 2010. (YouTube video, approx. 20 min. altogether, part 1 | part 2)

Nelson, Sandra. The New Planning For Results: a streamlined approach. ALA, 2001.

O’Toole, James, and Bennis, Warren. “A Culture of Candor.” Harvard Business Review, June 2009. (Article preview.)

Updated to add: Perlinska, Agnieska and Chapados, Chip. The Conversation: Simple Truths to Make Life Work

Sandberg, Sheryl. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Scholtes, Peter. The Leader’s Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done

Shewhart, Walter A. “Plan Do Check Act (PDCA).” (Wikipedia article)

Quinn, Robert. Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within

Underhill, Paco. Why We Buy: the Science of Shopping

Von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative

Neil Gaiman: Myth, Magic, and Making Stuff Up

August 4, 2013 Jenny4 Comments

Thanks to Twitter (see, it IS good for something!), I found tickets to the sold-out Neil Gaiman talk at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday, “Myth, Magic, and Making Stuff Up.” Gaiman is not only an excellent writer – of fiction for adults, teens, and children, of graphic novels, of nonfiction, of short stories – he is a great advocate for libraries, so I was doubly excited to see him speak.

His first words to the audience were, “Hello. So, the plan. And I have one.” He then said hello to those watching/listening from the overflow room, and consoled them, “You wouldn’t believe what it smells like in here.” For the rest of the hour, he gave a prepared talk, then read us a draft of a new story(!), then answered questions from the audience.

Gaiman likened myths to compost – an analogy he has used elsewhere – old, essential stories broken down into their rich, earthy components, ready and waiting for writers to plant their own seeds and harvest their own new plants from the old material. Myths evolve to suit – and help explain – a particular time and place. In one version, Sleeping Beauty might sleep for a hundred years, and in another version she might sleep for just a day; in many versions she is the protagonist, but in another it’s the queen who is the hero. “Too often myths are unexamined,” Gaiman said. “It is the function of imaginative literature to show is the world we know but from a different direction.”

After his prepared talk, Gaiman read us a story called “Freyja’s Unusual Wedding,” a retelling of an old Norse myth featuring Freyja, Thor, Loki, and the giant Thrym. I’m unfamiliar with the original, but in this version, Thrym steals Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and demands Freyja’s hand in marriage in exchange for its return. Freyja, naturally, declines to be married off to the giant, and Thor and Loki must come up with an alternative plan. “Freyja’s Unusual Wedding” is to be part of a collection of retellings of myths that Gaiman plans to spend 2014 working on (among other things, I’m sure), and the audience reaction was strongly positive.

The question and answer session was relatively brief. One person asked about the role of rules in myths, citing examples from Gaiman’s newest adult novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Gaiman responded that myths once had a useful function as a teaching tool in society, but noted, “I have always been very fond of not telling what the rules are.” He pointed out that whenever he has met with people in Hollywood meetings about his projects, someone has inevitably said, “I don’t really understand what the rules are,” to which he replied, “No one understands what the rules are.” That’s what makes life – and stories – interesting (or scary).

Another person asked, “Do you ever create something that becomes part of your belief system?” Yes, Gaiman said; writing can be a way of learning what you believe, and at least, “I believe what I’m writing while I’m writing it.” But, he added, “It’s weirder for me when other people believe it.” (“I have a very weird kind of head.”)

The last question was from a teacher, who mentioned the recent change in the core curriculum, a shift toward more nonfiction. He asked if Gaiman could recommend some nonfiction he liked. Gaiman said that he hadn’t really started reading nonfiction until he started writing fiction and realized “It all had to come from somewhere.” He recommended two of his favorite nonfiction books: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay (1841), London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew (1967).

A few additional quotes from the first part of the event:

On turning into a werewolf: “I dreamed I did once, so I know what it’s like.”

On writing: “We [authors] cannibalize ourselves.”

On stories: “Without our stories we are incomplete.”

On fairy tales: “Fairy tales are not true, they’re more than true.”

On the imagination: “It’s a strange place, the imagination…a dangerous place…you can always use a guide.”

For those who missed this event and are interested in what Gaiman has to say, I recommend his recent commencement speech (video). For those who are interested in reading some of his work, check out A Calendar of Tales for free – twelve short stories, one for each month of the year, inspired by prompts on Twitter.

Note: The above photo of Neil Gaiman is from the Boston MFA website. Photography during the event was “strictly prohibited.”

New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS) 2013

August 2, 2013 JennyLeave a comment

I returned home from NELLS just a couple hours ago. We were all instructed to “take time for yourself” and stay away from our notes for a few days, so this will just be a brief post before I revisit all of the excellent materials from the past week.

On Monday, 28 participants, six mentors, and two co-chairs from Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont met at Rolling Ridge in North Andover, MA to spend a week learning about leadership in libraries.

ALA President (2012-2013) Maureen Sullivan joined us for the week to teach the symposium, and we had visitors throughout the week as well, including former Director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Rob Maier, New England Library Association (NELA) President Deborah Kelsey, Maine Library Association (MLA) President Nissa Flanagan, Connecticut Library Association (CLA) Past President Carl DeMillia, New Hampshire Library Association (NHLA) President Diane Lynch, and Vermont Library Association (VLA) President Amber Billey (via a Google Hangout).

Photos from the week – of the grounds, of our brainstorming and discussion session results, and our social activities – are available on Flickr.

It was an incredible experience, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much from Maureen, as well as the mentors and all of the other participants. More on NELLS to come soon.