{"id":3782,"date":"2012-02-23T00:01:04","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T05:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=3782"},"modified":"2012-02-22T16:20:31","modified_gmt":"2012-02-22T21:20:31","slug":"the-power-of-eight-simple-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2012\/02\/the-power-of-eight-simple-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Eight Simple Words"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
This is the Place Where the Magic Happens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s easy to focus on those rare but disheartening comments from parents we hear on occasion as youth services librarians.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I\u2019ll let you check out a DVD today but no more books.\u201d\u009d\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve already read that before.\u00a0 Pick a book that\u2019s not so easy.\u201d\u009d\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t be quiet, that librarian (or teacher, as we are often called) will make you leave.\u201d\u009d\u00a0<\/p>\n

We can combat these statements by celebrating the joys of reading at every opportunity, encouraging youth to channel their energy by attending our interactive programs.\u00a0\u00a0 We can engage both parents and children during brief readers\u2019 advisory moments, sharing that we support reading for pleasure for even our youngest patrons.\u00a0 We can help parents become their child\u2019s reading advocate.<\/p>\n

We can also hold fast to those unassuming remarks from our patrons that demonstrate the incredible impact of our work in the community.\u00a0 We gain insight when we learn from those parents who share how their children model their story time experience at home.\u00a0 We also strengthen our perspective when we hear how our youngest customers view our libraries when they walk through those doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My colleague overheard a child\u2019s comment he made to his friend.\u00a0 As she greeted the children and adults arriving for preschool story time, she heard this boy\u2019s casual introduction to our library. \u201cThis,\u201d\u009d the child said, \u201cis the room where the magic happens.\u201d\u009d\u00a0<\/p>\n

These words have transformed the way we view our work at our Hope Mills Branch of the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center in Hope Mills, NC.\u00a0 We\u2019ve altered this sentence by focusing on the magic we create for customers of any age.\u00a0 We\u2019ve focused on the library not as a room but as a destination.\u00a0 We find reading material for all patrons.\u00a0 We assist adults with finding employment; we connect individuals to their larger community.\u00a0 Our libraries are the place where the magic happens.<\/p>\n

This message now defines our work as library staff.\u00a0 We have discussed the impact of this statement at our branch meeting.\u00a0 We\u2019ve used this sentence in our celebratory events and are looking at wearing t-shirts with this message during our system\u2019s Staff Development Day.\u00a0 Our library\u2019s community relations department has designed signs for our branch with these words from this young patron, and customers comment on this signage when they enter our programming room.<\/p>\n

As a library staff, we knew our work had the ability to change lives for the better, but this acknowledgement from the mouth of one of our youngest customers has reinvigorated our efforts.\u00a0 These eight words have reinforced and challenged us to review how we value our professional work\u2019s impact in the community.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Inevitably, we will all hear words that temporarily discourage us, but we must take heart.\u00a0 There are children and parents seeing the magic in what we do, and they are spreading the word.\u00a0 What spectacular statements have you heard from your youngest patrons that demonstrate that your library is the place where the magic happens?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s easy to focus on those rare but disheartening comments from parents we hear on occasion as youth services librarians.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I\u2019ll let you check out a DVD today but no more books.\u201d\u009d\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve already read that before.\u00a0 Pick a book that\u2019s not so easy.\u201d\u009d\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t be quiet, that librarian (or teacher, as we are often called) will make you leave.\u201d\u009d\u00a0 We can combat these statements by celebrating the joys of reading at every opportunity, encouraging youth to channel their energy by attending our interactive programs.\u00a0\u00a0 We can engage both parents and children during brief readers\u2019 advisory moments, sharing that we support reading for pleasure for even our youngest patrons.\u00a0 We can help parents become their child\u2019s reading advocate. We can also hold fast to those unassuming remarks from our patrons that demonstrate the incredible impact of our work in the community.\u00a0 We gain insight when we learn…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[197,7],"tags":[803,238,237],"class_list":["post-3782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-meg-smith","category-call-to-action","tag-blogger-meg-smith","tag-call-to-action-2","tag-communication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}