The opening “Big Idea” session set the tone for my entire day. It created a framework that I brought to each of my subsequent sessions. The program featured the co-writers of the book, Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series. Two of those writers, Tony Buttino Sr. and Pam Johnson, Ph.D., were a part of the team that created Reading Rainbow.
Growing up, I frequently checked out the yellow-cased Reading Rainbow VHS tapes from the St.Charles Public Library. I had no idea the show had its roots in Buffalo, NY where a desire to stop the summer reading slump led to the program many of us know and love.
Hearing how the idea transformed from initial concept to the popular videos I checked out at my library, I was struck by a few key themes that resonated in sessions throughout my day:
Reading Rainbow was created to address a key need for children.
As mentioned above, the creators of Reading Rainbow hoped to address the summer reading slump. Every decision they made ran through that singular focus. What would motivate kids to seek out books and read them outside of school? They could have chased a lot of shiny objects but their success makes the case to let the need be the driver.
Reading Rainbow embraced its television medium
While creating instructional television, Tony Buttino asked himself, “What does television do best?” He believed it could motivate kids to read. I loved this focus on medium. It made me reflect on how sometimes we are trying to drag kids away from the things that have their attention. The creators of Reading Rainbow intersected with kids because they knew their audience was sitting in front of their TVs all summer. Are there ways we can enter into what already has kids’ attention to motivate them to learn and play?
Reading Rainbow utilized collaboration to maximize their impact
The team enlisted the help of schools and libraries to spread the word and engage children in their programming. They provided flexible opportunities for participation. Libraries could do as little as putting up a display of featured books or go all in by running clubs and aligned. programming. They could choose their level of engagement. These multiple points of entry ultimately helped reach more children. While today we think of Reading Rainbow as a national phenomena it started as a localized effort, not unlike many of the projects in our own libraries.
Reading Rainbow iterated and utilized research to get better
The team encountered many setbacks along the way. The project succeeded because the creators chose to keep iterating and refining their concept. They even got rejected by Mr. Rogers at one point! As the team tried to get funding to create a full season of Reading Rainbow, their proposal received renewed attention once they teamed up with a researcher. Using data, they showed the impact of their programming and the ways children interacted with the content. It’s a reminder that quantifying and qualifying our work helps those with resources to buy in.
These takeaways echoed throughout my day at ALSC. Carrie Banks’s presentation, Libraries Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline showed how the needs of incarcerated youth drive her work. The Westchester Library System shared how the medium of a documentary on play sparked rich conversation that fueled a community-wide initiative. Multiple presenters showed the fruit of iterating and improving their work through feedback and evaluation.
These takeaways echoed throughout my day at ALSC. Carrie Banks’ presentation, Libraries Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline showed how the needs of incarcerated youth drive her work. The Westchester Library System shared how the medium of a documentary on play sparked rich conversation that fueled a community-wide initiative. Multiple presenters showed the fruit of iterating and improving their work through feedback and evaluation.
If you are in the midst of starting something new in your community, I highly encourage you to check out this book to see how one group of passionate people developed something with a lasting impact.
As Lavar would say, “You don’t have to take my word for it.”
PS If you want to add a little joy to your day, I encourage you to give that theme song a listen, it still slaps.
Our guest conference blogger today is Meredith Bazzoli (she/her). Meredith is a Youth Librarian at Glen Ellyn Public Library in the Western Chicago suburbs. She’s been a youth librarian for about 4 years after coming over from the dark side, adult services! Meredith is looking forward to the “think space” conferences provide to dream, plan, and get a fresh perspective on her work. In addition to her library work, she’s also taught special education and performed as a part of one of the house improv teams in iO theatre in Chicago!
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
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