MN Book Awards - and the winner is...

A good friend is one of the judges for the Minnesota Book Award "Genre Fiction" category this year. (He himself is a past honoree.) I am not exactly sure what all his responsibilities are, but I know he has to at least read all four of the nominees. It may take him awhile since he moves his lips when he reads. Happily though, he suggested I read them as well. I did, and here are my short reviews.

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The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman

A very good mystery set in a remote small town in either Minnesota or Wisconsin. The narrator, a deputy sheriff, attempts to discover how and why a boy has disappeared, leaving only his bicycle by the roadside. (Shades of Jacob Wetterling.) The disappearance remains a mystery for 10 years until another clue is discovered. The book has unusual depth for a mystery novel - a mysterious adoption of an abandoned child, older adults in stages of dementia, and complex relationships among the members of the small community. Highly engaging read in which I actually cared about the characters. Bought a copy for my mom. 

From the Grave: A MacKenzie Novel by Dave Housewright

While I enjoyed this book (especially the references to Twin Cities locations and restaurants), I was disappointed that the plot revolved around supernatural happenings that were never resolved by non-supernatural explanations. This is the first McKenzie novel I have read in the series and I wish I could say I liked the protagonist more but he seemed, well, a bit bland and insensitive to me. Fast, entertaining read.

Get Idiota by Nate Granzow

Very funny (silly, actually) fast paced read. Being immature myself, I did enjoy the immature humor. Plot revolves around two simpletons trying to escape a deranged Mexican drug lord and his sexy assassin with an old truck full of marijuana and an emu, encountering a village of sex-crazed Amazons along the way. Improbable situations and broad, nutty characters might make this a good movie, but I am not sure it has the gravitas to be given a Minnesota Book Award.  Oh, neither the characters nor setting had anything to do with Minnesota.

Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green

I was not prepared to like this book. I usually prefer male authors of historical fiction, straight narrative rather than epistolary style, and less religion. But this book was extremely well researched, brilliantly written, and so relevant to today's atmosphere of xenophobia that it really kept me reading - and thinking. The female protagonist is articulate and assertive (to the dismay of much of her small town) and the other characters fully-drawn. Interesting details on WWII POW camps in Minnesota that I had not given much thought to previously. A bit heavy on the prayer and such, but enjoyed it so much I bought a copy of this title for my mother too.

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So there you are. You can probably tell from my reviews how I would rank them were I a contest judge. Knowing these books were all submitted for recognition of being the best in their category, I perhaps read them with a bit more critical eye. And I had to ask myself - what exactly makes a high quality book? For me, it revolves around readability, uniqueness, and especially, characters about whom one cares. And a little sex and violence plus a murder or two, never hurt.

I may make reading the genre fiction entries of the MBA an annual event!

Here we go again - libraries and budget challenges

For over 40 years, I fought and helped others fight a persistant battle - strong library programs vs district budget cuts. Due to COVID related challenges, this year seems especially dire for many school districts - and school libraries - as evidenced by both newspaper articles and personal emails to me from concerned librarians.

One of the reasons I took a job in 1984 with the ARAMCO schools in Saudi Arabia was that the small rural district in which I was  junior-shigh librarian was reducing its secondary library staff - due to a budget shortfall. West Branch (IA) was going from a full time high school librarian and half time junior high librarian to a single librarian who would be responsible for both buildings - despite having built a brand new school and state-of-the-art school library the prior year. A year after taking the job in Saudi, the library supervisor position for the schools was cut. The camp in which I was serving as the school librarian closed the following year, so the school and its library was being moth balled as well. And jobs were tight when I came back to the U.S. in 1989. I was beginning to think I may be a library jinx!

For the 23 years I supervised the libraries in the Mankato Schools, rarely a year went by without having to defend library budgets. Happily, the program grew throughout my tenure there - but it was always a conscious effort and librarians added to their plate of responsibilities each year. Especially in the area of technology integration and teach PD for teachers. In my 5 years with Burnsville, I did not have much success in rebuilding the elementary library program which was already run by paras. I did manage to get a district-wide materials budget and a professional library supervisor in place, creating more district-wide equity of access to all students in the distrct. But again, each year I was part of a process that looked at budget cutting and library programming was always on the table.

Over the years, I tried to share strategies that seemed to help me not just protect, but grow, school library programs. In general, these included 1) having a voice in the decsion-making process by serving on committees, 2) building voices of advocacy from parents and teachers, 3) understanding the district's budgeting processes, and 4) actually having a clearly described  budget and program to support. I have no clue if any of this advice helped a single program.

In retirement, I have purposely stepped away from offering my "wisdom" to others in my profession, expecting that younger, smarter, more energetic, and more effective library advocates will step forward to guide the profession. That they will be able to accomplish something I never could - find a fool-proof method for protecting students from library budget cuts. 

I look forward to seeing their efforts and genuinely wish them success.

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For what it's worth, a few selected articles and columns from ancient history on the topic. All my writings can be found on my website..

 Articles

• Budgeting for Lean Mean Times, MultiMedia Schools Nov/Dec 1995
• Minnesota Can’t Afford to Skimp on School Libraries Minneapolis Star-Tribune, April 7 1994
• Politics of Money for the School Library Media Professional Minnesota Media, Fall 1994
• Results of a Survey on Library Media Professional Staffing Cuts. np. September 2002
• Shy Person’s Guide to Lobbying, Minnesota Media, 2007
• Using Planning and Reporting to Build Program Support The Book Report, May 1992
• When Your Job is on the Line [MEMO’s Strategies for Assisting Library Media Specialists Whose Positions are in Jeopardy] Minnesota Media, 2004 and Library Media Connection, Feb 2005

Head for the Edge columns

• Rules of Advocacy, March/April 2012
• The Power of Parents, November 2006
• Whose Voices Are Most Powerful? November/December 2004
• No Principal Left Behind, March 2003 
• Advisory Advice, October 1997

BFTP: Teachers who can be replaced by a computer should be

I remember 1981.

I was a 1/2 time language arts teacher and a 1/2 time librarian for a 150 student junior high in rural Iowa. And 1981 was the year I got my first computer in the library - an Apple II. I used it with (as memory serves), AppleWriter and the MECC Gradebook. The principal used VisiCalc to calculate teacher salary proposals during teacher negotiations. The kids played Oregon Trail, Lemonade Stand, and Eamon after school. An inauspicious beginning to a career dominated by technology.

Professor Smith's prediction in the article above that computers in the classroom would kill literacy has not come true. His prediction that computers would replace teachers has not come true. (Although I still like to say that teachers who can be replaced by computers, should be.)

Today the same Cassandra-like warnings can be heard about computerized learning systems and AI and robots. I'd say the same thing: if what you do can be done by any one of these technologies, they should replace you.

As an educator, you are hired for your judgement, your passion, and especially your compassion.

Original post 9/5/18