When I was a little boy growing up on the prairie...

My son had a tendency to roll his eyes whenever I began a conversation with "When I was a little boy growing up on the prairie..." because he always knew it would followed by some improbable statement like "...we only had 2 1/2 TV channels in black and white and programming only ran from 6AM to 11PM." Or "... we didn't have pizza delivery." Or, "...I had to pay for my own car insurance and drive a car without air conditioning." (Insert copious eye rolling here.)

In The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bill Bryson shares his experiences growing up in the most cosmopolitan of all Iowa cities, Des Moines. Anyone who was a kid in the 1950s will certainly see shades of his/her childhood in this very, very funny memoir by the author of A Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburnt Country. This is Jean Shepard’s A Christmas Story – with a bite and some bad language.

I know a number of people in my family who will be getting it as a Christmas gift.

I took the weekend off to read Bryson and spend some time hiking with the LWW at Perot State Park near Trempaleau, Wisconsin. Beautiful country as you can see from the photo below taken from Brady's Bluff looking down the Mississippi River. This weekend is the last for awhile I'll actually have to relax since I am out speaking and consulting for much of the next three weeks.

Before you start feeling too sorry for me, know that the speaking will be for the EARCOS folks at their administrators' conference in Bangkok and the consulting will be for the  Instituto Educacional Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Lima, Peru. (And I am managing to squeak in a 4 day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - one of my life-long goals.)

So, I guess this is leading up to - don't expect many entries in the Blue Skunk for a while. 

And please, don't let anything exciting happen while I am away!

The professional stick and library design

This was sent in as a comment by friend and colleague Rolf Erikson (erikson (at) tiac.net), but I think it deserves its own entry (with Rolf's permission). Rolf is one of the nation's top school library media center design experts and co-author of, Designing a School Library Media Center for the Future (ALA).

Doug,

Since you asked for library planning advice, here is my "facilities version" of  the professional stick:

• Whack! would be unable to whine, “no one ever asked me for my advice,” but would be proactive, not reactive, and become involved early in the process.
• Whack! would have a good idea of what he/she wants and needs in a new facility before the design process begins.
• Whack! would realize that designing a facility is complex and requires more than posting a “how do you do it” query to a listserv.
• Whack! would spend much time outside the contract day reading about facility design, visiting other libraries (and bookstores and other places where kids hang out), and talking with other librarians who have facility design experience.
•  Whack! would NOT refuse to become involved with designing a facility because he/she will be retired before the facility is completed.
• Whack! would actually welcome the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students and teachers rather than grousing about all the extra work involved in designing a facility.
• Whack! would be able to work and communicate skillfully with all stakeholders—students, teachers, administrators, parents, school board members, custodians—and the architectural team.
• Whack! would not fail to involve kids in the planning process.
• Whack! would be adventurous, question any and all assumptions and traditions, and strive for a facility that is relevant for today’s generation of students.
• Whack! would recognize that the facility must be based on the library’s mission, goals, and program requirements.
• Whack! would understand that a school library is first and foremost a place  of learning, not a warehouse or monument.
• Whack! would understand that a school library must be designed with as much flexibility as possible.
• Whack! would reject the outdated concept of the library as a hushed, quiet space, where all students study individually and silently, sitting up straight on uncomfortable, wooden chairs.
• Whack! would assume nothing.

Hey, this professional stick thing seems to be working! 

Two views on librarians

"O wid some poo'er the giftie gie us tae see oorsels as ithers see us." Robert Burns

Two popular education technology pundits have recently commented on the value of librarians:

Miguel Guhlin in  "Librarians are Obsolete" in his Around the Corner Blog

David Warlick in "Laptops Are Not the Answer" in this 2 Cents Worth blog.

(and librarian Chris Harris has poseted a pretty funny rejoinder.)

Have a good weekend and leave a comment on these guys blogs!