Foreword
Every library, no matter how small or how large, including public, academic, and others, can and I believe should be a special kind of makerspace: a makerspace for the mind.
-Walt Crawford, “Foreword: Makerspaces for the Mind,” Library Publishing Toolkit
What took me so long? What took me so long to commit to paper, to share with my fellow librarians, my passionate insistence that every youth services librarian, public and school, should—yes, should—have a writing component in every reading program and every class period, every makerspace, every preschool program? Yes, I see the irony.
I am passionate about supporting writing in libraries because of its obvious connection to one of our core missions. We librarians accept our role in providing support materials for a literate population. That literacy has been defined in the general consciousness simply as reading is a disconnect. Reading is the ability to decode symbols (the alphabet) on a page or tablet or sign or label and make meaning from them. To be a reader is to be able to understand what is being communicated through writing.
It is indisputable that most people need to know how to read to make their way successfully in life. Most people must also be able to write competently, and communicate by putting symbols on the page. Who would argue that these skills are exponentially of value to English language learners? Competency, and the enjoyment of reading and writing from intrinsic motivation, are critical for active participation in a democracy.
The ability to write is essential to the skills of literacy, but the role writing plays in reading fluency is often overlooked—especially in libraries. School librarians may say that writing is the purview of the classroom teacher, and public youth services librarians may say “This isn’t part of my job.” I disagree. If we accept that facilitating literacy is the responsibility of all youth services librarians, facilitating writing is an essential facet of our mission. The public or school library is the perfect center for “out of the classroom” literacy activities.
It’s not unusual for a librarian to hear a third grader proclaim that she “HATES reading.” We know this statement is rooted in negative classroom experiences or the insistence of the adults in her life that she read only “good” books. Many adults claim to “HATE writing” because of their own history of schoolwork or homework struggles. We librarians can intervene. We can short-circuit the negativity. If we can inspire fluent reading, we can inspire fluent writing. We are The Librarians. (Cue dramatic music: Dum dum dum dum.)
We are already reading mentors. We should be writing mentors as well.
I am asking youth services librarians to deliberately embed writing into their programming and classroom practices. To have Writing Boxes available for note taking, list making, and map making. To make wish lists, book suggestions, and building-renovation fantasies. I am asking that we partner with classroom teachers, parents, and caregivers to build an expectation of writing in libraries. Writing is part of what we do to support literacy in our communities.
My gratitude to Sharon Edwards and Robert Maloy for inspiring me to write and permission and encouragement to write this book.
