Thing 20: Books 2.0

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=4&_r=1&ref=books This is a link the the article about literacy and young people in the New York Times.

Some things that struck me: Of course the skills required by online searching and reading are different from those required for sustained reading. Both types of skills are important. On line navigation, reading, and critical evaluation are necessary today, esp. in the work force. On the other hand, sustained reading of "good" literature can lead to insight and growth in the same way that other art forms can.

I was happy to read that struggling readers are aided from graphical cues when reading on-line, and thus might read more.

I disheartened to read that reading for pleasure by young people (of literature) is down. Then I think back to when I was a teenager. I read for pleasure in the summer and on vacations and before homework took over my life. But when school and other activites kept me very busy, I only read what was required. If I had any free time, I would watch re-runs of the Brady Bunch. That's not very productive or educational. Usually I was with my friends, though. It seems that a lot of the time teens spend on-line is social in nature. That just goes with the territory.

What really gets me mad is when parents forego reading to or interacting with their child because they want to go online. That's my pet peeve.

How Libraries Can Survive in a New Media Ecosystem: I wish there was a way to make the PowerPoint bigger and I wish I could hear the speaker. I'm having to do a lot of guessing. But enough complaining.

One of the slides contains a quote of Henry Jenkins and David Weinberger that includes the idea of collective intelligence asserting itself through collaboration. That's fine, but it makes me think of how important it is to have critical reading and thinking skills in order to evaluate your sources. Even when you have those skills, it's hard to know if the person speaking has anything to back up what he's talking about.

One slide says, "Be findable. Be available." Absolutely. Interesting perspective suggested by Rainie: think of yourself as an information hub, node, or link.

Future of the Book: I have to admit, thinking of this makes me antsy. Books seem almost peripheral to what we do every day in the library, especially when it comes to young adults. So much reading for pleasure is online. I wonder if one day, reading books will be considered quaint and eccentric.

Exploring Tools:

*DailyLit: I like the free "poem a day" feature. Personally, I would not want to read a book on a mobile device given to me in installments. Even if I had a daily train ride to work every day, I wouldn't want it. Give me the book any time. Maybe that will change as digital natives replace people like me.
*What Should I Read Next? Excellent! For the patron who has read everything and you don't know what to do, try this! Unfortunately, an error message came back after my second search.

What's Next? Keep this in your book marks, both for yourself and your patrons!

Which Book? Do you have the patron who says, "I only want something 'clean.' Nothing racy!" Or (and this really happened last week): "I want a book with a happy beginning, a happy middle, and a happy ending." Go to this site! There are little sliders that you can move back and forth in a range, for example, between "sex" and "no sex" or "optimistic" and "bleak."

Online Book Communities:

BooksVideos.tv Good, but there aren't that many of them.

*Booksprouts What a find. I am trying to start a teen book club, but last week only one member showed up. Another teen wanted very much to come and had even chosed the title, but had another commitment. It would be great if we could have looked her up on this site and at least looked at her comments.

Book Reviews:

*BookBrowse Okay to browse, but how could M.T. Anderson not be in there?

Book Rental:
BookSwim Plans range from $19.98 to $39.94 per month. If this is based on the NetFlix model, it could spell trouble for booksellers, but I don't think it'll affect library use as much (I hope!) College text books for rent is a great idea, but you won't be able to write in them.

Apps for Facebook:
WeRead (Books iRead) Sort of like LibraryThing. I'll stick with the latter.

I think these tools will enhance, not hamper, the reader's experience. In fact, this thing has given me a lot that I can use on the job!