What kinds of programs do you think libraries should offer for adults (and/or teens)?
This answer could be its own book! I cannot possibly be comprehensive here, but will try to include lots of representative examples.
First, let’s break down what kinds of programs there are. I might be missing some nuance here, but the major categories would be educational, entertainment, and social. The short version of this answer is that I think libraries should offer all three. These three can be combined, and some programs might have elements of all three, but the distinctions could still prove useful to elaborate on further.
Educational programs are useful for all ages but, as mentioned previously, tend to have lower attendance. Within this category are passive programs with presenters/speakers, hands-on/
interactive programs, and programs that combine the two.
I tend not to favor passive programs, but sometimes there is no way around that format. One example of a good passive program is having Steve Darnall from the “Those Were the Days” radio
show come and present audio clips of old radio programs and talk about their context. It would be difficult to build an interactive version of such a program (though not impossible, if you had
buy-in from attendees willing to act out an old radio show).
Hands-on/interactive programs are ones where there is limited instruction; the attendees are encouraged to use their own creativity. Craft classes can be like this, with samples shown to the
class, but no expectation laid on them for what their finished craft should look like. I am, personally, no good at origami (I just don’t have the patience to get all the folds just right), but origami
is a good and inexpensive example of a craft project.
Combined passive/interactive programs are like computer classes, where the instructor is showing what to do, and the attendees follow along on their own computers. With so much to learn on
computers, this is a vital part of any library’s programming.
Entertainment programs can draw your library’s biggest numbers. Who doesn’t like to be entertained? Musicians, magicians, and showing popular films are all examples of passive entertainment programs. Drawing big numbers can be expensive, though -- popular musicians do not come cheap,
and libraries need to pay for licenses to show any non-public domain movies.
A passive entertainment program I always wanted to do was recreating the movie-viewing experience of the past for viewers today -- dedicating a large block of time to showing an old-time newsreel,
cartoon, serial, and movie that are all in the public domain today.
Interactive entertainment includes chess clubs -- long a hallmark of many libraries -- but have exploded in popularity in recent years thanks to video games. The Nintendo Switch is a hugely popular console today and there is a huge amount of hype associated with the upcoming release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments will likely be very popular events at libraries in the coming months.
Social programs get people to come to the library and interact there. All social programs are, by definition, interactive. There is an element of social interaction to every program, but these are
programs where the social interaction is the most important part.
Book talks, another hallmark of libraries, are social programs. It is less important if the book discussed is educational or entertaining, then that people get together and talk about it. Books are
only one medium that can be discussed in a group setting; movie discussion groups are being hosted at some libraries, and I have long wanted to start a comic book discussion group. Because comic books are serials constantly being updated, it would make more sense to discuss what we know
about the newest releases each month, rather than single out a single story to all read. It would be more like a newspaper discussion group (which are surely a thing somewhere, right?).
One of my favorite social programs is the Dungeons & Dragons club (though, really, any role-playing game will do). While on the surface RPGs appear to be entertainment, they cannot be enjoyed
passively; you get as much out of a RPG as the effort you put into it. The uniquely collaborative quality of RPGs allows people of all ages and education levels to play together. Shy teens might not be ready to play right away with much older adults in the same group, requiring adults and teens
to start out with different groups. The two groups could begin to have team-ups to deal with extra-challenging scenarios, and if they all play well together they could eventually be merged into one big group.
A celebration of everything librarian. Oh, and books too!
Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Bound by Blood and Sand
After two false starts on new YA novels, I finally latched onto one that I am for sure going to want to finish reading.
I knew nothing of author Becky Allen before this, and she seems to have won no accolades for this work, but this is a really solid fantasy novel. And I don't normally even like desert settings.
It's not so much that the world is a desert, but it's turning into one. Water is becoming more and more scarce on a world with three caste systems -- the Highest, the Closest, and the Twill. The Highest control the water, the Closest live like slaves under their control, and the Twill -- I'm over halfway through the book, and I know almost nothing about the Twill; none live in the remote area the story takes place in, so they are only talked about in passing. I have my suspicions about that, but let's say for now that the Twill exist in the story so that it's not just a dichotomy of haves and have-nots, which might have made the real world analogies too obvious. More on that in a bit.
This is a fantasy world with magic, but up until now magic use was just in the past. There were enormously powerful magic-users in the past who tapped ambient energy around them to bury armies and what not, but they're all gone. The Highest pretend to have magical powers, but they really don't anymore. The first magic-user we encounter in this novel is Jae, a Closest slave on a remote ...well, plantation, let's say (there are some nods to how most of the Closest are forced to work the fields for the Highest, but it's only the household slaves that we get to know). She unlocks magic that was hidden away by one of her ancestors and uses it to get some immediate payback against her oppressors. The book jacket text really plays this up, making it sound like Jae is going to go on a Kill Bill-style revenge spree next, but that's not really what this book is about.
There were no magic users, but there is a big magical problem at the core of this book --- all of the Closest everywhere have lived their whole lives under a magical curse; it compels them to do whatever they are told to do. It's a horrific situation and the book does not shy away from the many ways it can be exploited. There are hints from the start that Jae has been raped before, but thankfully we are 100 pages in and invested in her story before we have to deal with this issue.
The book tackles lots of real world social issues. The most obvious one is the water shortage. Water is itself a stand-in for wealth, highlighting wealth inequality and how the rich keep resources from the poor to hold power over them. There are social ills such as slavery and caste systems -- presented interchangeably here -- and the magical curse itself sort of resembles the socioeconomic pressures that hold people down today. Magic is a form of empowerment that liberates our female lead and, if the book wasn't published in 2016, I could have sworn this book was about the Me Too movement too.
It may not be without flaws. Lord Elan, the king's son, is a likeable character and the catalyst for change at the plantation when he comes to inspect. His slow awakening to empathy for the Closest is a highlight of the book. But I have a sneaky suspicion that I am being set up for a romance between Jae and Elan that seems completely unnecessary. And the timeline for the setting is sometimes confusing. Sometimes we are told that the magic-users existed many generations ago, but at other times it seems like all this change took place just two generations ago.
Like I said, these might not even turn out to be flaws; maybe everything will be explained to me in the second half (even the Twill!). Though I know there is a sequel book that finishes the story, so even when I'm done with this one, it looks like I'll have to read another!
(Incidentally, I found the author's website before writing this and I think -- http://www.beckyallenbooks.com/ -- is a great example of how authors can make themselves accessible to fans.)
[Update: After finishing the book, I'm pleased to say that Elan's presence winds up making perfect sense for the story, and he was not shoehorned in for romance.]
I knew nothing of author Becky Allen before this, and she seems to have won no accolades for this work, but this is a really solid fantasy novel. And I don't normally even like desert settings.
It's not so much that the world is a desert, but it's turning into one. Water is becoming more and more scarce on a world with three caste systems -- the Highest, the Closest, and the Twill. The Highest control the water, the Closest live like slaves under their control, and the Twill -- I'm over halfway through the book, and I know almost nothing about the Twill; none live in the remote area the story takes place in, so they are only talked about in passing. I have my suspicions about that, but let's say for now that the Twill exist in the story so that it's not just a dichotomy of haves and have-nots, which might have made the real world analogies too obvious. More on that in a bit.
This is a fantasy world with magic, but up until now magic use was just in the past. There were enormously powerful magic-users in the past who tapped ambient energy around them to bury armies and what not, but they're all gone. The Highest pretend to have magical powers, but they really don't anymore. The first magic-user we encounter in this novel is Jae, a Closest slave on a remote ...well, plantation, let's say (there are some nods to how most of the Closest are forced to work the fields for the Highest, but it's only the household slaves that we get to know). She unlocks magic that was hidden away by one of her ancestors and uses it to get some immediate payback against her oppressors. The book jacket text really plays this up, making it sound like Jae is going to go on a Kill Bill-style revenge spree next, but that's not really what this book is about.
There were no magic users, but there is a big magical problem at the core of this book --- all of the Closest everywhere have lived their whole lives under a magical curse; it compels them to do whatever they are told to do. It's a horrific situation and the book does not shy away from the many ways it can be exploited. There are hints from the start that Jae has been raped before, but thankfully we are 100 pages in and invested in her story before we have to deal with this issue.
The book tackles lots of real world social issues. The most obvious one is the water shortage. Water is itself a stand-in for wealth, highlighting wealth inequality and how the rich keep resources from the poor to hold power over them. There are social ills such as slavery and caste systems -- presented interchangeably here -- and the magical curse itself sort of resembles the socioeconomic pressures that hold people down today. Magic is a form of empowerment that liberates our female lead and, if the book wasn't published in 2016, I could have sworn this book was about the Me Too movement too.
It may not be without flaws. Lord Elan, the king's son, is a likeable character and the catalyst for change at the plantation when he comes to inspect. His slow awakening to empathy for the Closest is a highlight of the book. But I have a sneaky suspicion that I am being set up for a romance between Jae and Elan that seems completely unnecessary. And the timeline for the setting is sometimes confusing. Sometimes we are told that the magic-users existed many generations ago, but at other times it seems like all this change took place just two generations ago.
Like I said, these might not even turn out to be flaws; maybe everything will be explained to me in the second half (even the Twill!). Though I know there is a sequel book that finishes the story, so even when I'm done with this one, it looks like I'll have to read another!
(Incidentally, I found the author's website before writing this and I think -- http://www.beckyallenbooks.com/ -- is a great example of how authors can make themselves accessible to fans.)
[Update: After finishing the book, I'm pleased to say that Elan's presence winds up making perfect sense for the story, and he was not shoehorned in for romance.]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)