When I think back to what has resonated with me the most from this class, the research process comes to mind. I will admit to being naive, I just assumed the research process was a little more black and white. Now I understand how many different factors can color the process. There was discussion in my History of Youth Literature class concerning the fairness of certain book award criteria. For example the Coretta Scott King Award can only be won by an African American author. An author of another color could write an outstanding book about African Americans, but is not eligible to be recognized by this specific award. It makes me wonder about research as well. Should research about specific ethnic groups be conducted by researchers within that ethnic group? And if so, how does that alter the results. Can someone outside the ethnic group really have a through understanding of the subjects? I understand the importance of differences of cultures and ethniticities. Many experiences are similar because we are human beings, but that could just be my naivete.

The Dynamic Youth Services textbook has been my favorite so far. I am not yet done with it, but find it very exciting. How nerdy is that! I find it exciting because it makes me feel empowered to address issues at my library in a way that is research based and gets staff on board. Working in a small town library has its advantages and its disadvantages. One disadvantage is the lack of influence from the outside library world. I really want to approach our director about doing an Outcome-Based Planning and Evaluation in the youth services department. Actually, I think the whole library would benefit from one. Last week I was looking over circulation statistics and noticed that circ is down across the board in all departments. It would be great to know why. Technology usage is up, and it seems reasonable that more people can't afford the Internet at home. I think I am going to start with a single program evaluation, that will involve only me and my staff. After gaining some experience and confidence, then I could go to the director.

I can't believe so much time has passed since my last entry. The semester is flying by! Our readings for the three weeks of discussion really caused me to think. There is so much to take into account when conducting research and yet, there is no way to be completely unbiased and neutral. A person's race can interfere with the gathering and interpretation of data and they may be totally unaware. Until reading the Taft article, I didn't know that the white culture ignores race. It's not an "We are the World" mentality, but like it is wrong to bring attention to the differences. It has made me reflect on how I treat non-white patrons and what the library looks like to people of color. Our library board is all white as is our Friends Group and all the staff except an African American high school page and a clerk with an Egyptian linage. I wonder if we even see the whiteness of our world.

I assumed the Distributed Group Project and the Literature Review would help me find a resolution to the issue of rewards for our local summer reading program. As I have been planning the impending winter reading program, I realize that I am still ambivalent about what to do. Research indicates that rewards do help certain students with low-interest tasks. Will the children who consider the public library program a low-interest task participate? Parents will push and insist, but that turns the reading program away from a low-interest task into a power struggle between parent and child. I really want to keep on disliking Oriental Trading Company. In my collection development class it was stressed that keeping our personal belief system in check was very important. I am struggling with determining what is personal belief and what is research based. Deci and Cameron looked at many of the same studies and came to completely opposite conclusions. Part of my struggle is the waste of resources in making these trinkets and the zillions of catalogs I get weekly from Oriental Trading Company. I have call many times to cancel catalogs. As children's librarians we are care takers of public money and resources and expected to be knowledgeable about reading. Parents assume we are promoting reading in healthy ways. I want Johnny to be a life-long reader, but first he must pick up the book.

October 31, 2011

I have really enjoyed the readings for the gatekeeper discussion. My favorite article was Will the Least-Adult Please Stand Up? The idea of being an ethnographer is fascinating; to completely emerge yourself in a culture. The challenge of observation while being an active participant is tricky. How would an ethnographer deal with a bullying situation? Would they step out of their least-adult role and miss the opportunity to gain research or would they step in? Maybe it would depend on your topic of study.

I am very curious as to whether or not the parents or students had any choice in this research. The government of Taiwan is much different than our democratic society, they do not value autonomy as we do. I realize that for an adult to immerse themselves in the child's culture the barriers of language and culture close the gap. But, is it ethical of the researcher to continue with the research if the parents and children were not given a choice?

October 29, 2011

It is October and I am up to my ears in the Summer Library Program! Yesterday for work I attended the annual workshop put on by the state library to support local libraries and their summer efforts. After all the reading I have done for my 2 assignments, I am looking at the program a little differently. I don't feel the need to pull rabbits out of hats to get people to programs, but I do want to draw more people into the building to use our services. My goal for next summer is to somehow measure what we do and accomplish. I want hard numbers to support what works and what doesn't, so I am not just going through the motions and doing things how they have always been done. The research does not come down clearly against extrinsic incentives, but suggests that they harm long term motivation.

Again, my question is, what is the library's purpose for the summer program? Is it to make life-long readers, to promote reading for the summer, or free fun activities for the community. The answer to that question will affect what our program looks like. One article mentioned that we could do "summer reading" all year long. And, I think that is where I am leaning. Why pull out all the stops for only 6 weeks ? Encouraging reading and providing access to books is a year long goal and I want my department to reflect that.

Items to Research

• Investigate what research has been done since 2009 on the effects of incentives on SRP-Suzanne Stauffer claims in 2009 article that none has been done.
• Public library summer reading programs and the reading gap
• Search Terms: summer reading programs and public library-Academic Search Premier

October 23, 2011

According to Suzanne Stauffer in the article Summer Reading Incentives: Positive or Pernicious, the precursor to giving away rewards for reading started with the Library Club of America in 1955. The LCA was founded by the Book Manufacturers Institute. I did a quick Google search and couldn't find the Library Club of America, but the Book Manufacturers Institute is still around and celebrating its 77th year. After only a quick perusal of the site, they exist to support all aspects of the book industry.

This makes me ponder whether or not the original promotion in 1955 of membership pins, buttons and certification for reading was a way to promote the selling of books and not necessarily to promote reading. If so, then we have loosely based our efforts to promote reading on a marketing plan. Is this good or bad? I'm not sure if it is positive or pernicious, but it has had an impact on our efforts to promote reading. For a marketing plan, this incentive strategy works. Customers need a short term reward to aid their purchasing decisions, but what about the long term?

If reading is so important, should we use any means necessary to 'turn kids onto reading?' The research shows positives and negatives associated with extrinsic rewards. I wonder about the moral question. Should we bribe children or adults to use a skill that will serve them their entire lifetime? Is it for the good of society. Not sure I'll solve that question this semester, but it is interesting to follow the links in the chain and see where you end up.

October 23, 2011

Sources for further reading about Summer Library Programs and Incentives:

• Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise and other bribes by Alfie Kohn

October 13, 2011

Because of time constraints I have worked at finishing my Distributed Research Assignment and now am working on the lecture and reading materials. I wish I would have interacted with the readings either before or during my assignment. While reading the research articles I kept wondering how working with children could be quantified, they are so diverse in abilities, development and personality. Reading the Ellis article gave me a better understanding of a recommended way to gain reliable results from children. One of the most unexpected findings of the class readings has been the interpretive value of research. The researcher is not an invisible entity observing and reporting results. The researcher is part of the process and has a large effect on the result, specifically in qualitative research. My reading for the Distributed Assignment found that different studies produced different results when trying to research similar issues. There are tons of variables when working with children, but I think the researcher and their treatment of the subjects and how they approach the study is just as great a factor.

October 9, 2011

I am surprised by the research about incentives. A ton of studies have been done about reading motivation, but very little about the effect of the type of rewards or the choice of rewards. There are so many variables that I'm not sure a definitive answer can be found. Children have different learning styles and skill levels, so the research participants will never be completely homogeneous. Reading is a skill just like playing an instrument or sport. What about the kids who just aren't good at reading. Will they respond to an intrinsic or extrinsic reward. Barbara Marinak states in Intrinsic Motivation and Rewards: What Sustains Young Children's Engagement with Text? That extrinsic rewards have had some positive effect on reluctant readers. In my Materials for 5-8 class, we read a book about reading that explored the idea of reading as a skill that not everyone will attain at the same level. Chapter one in Representing Youth briefly discusses the idea that research on teens is not pure, developmental stages are taken into account. So many things bouncing in my head. Hopefully further reading will help connect the dots.

October 4, 2011

The research articles I have read indicate that interaction with an adult is a huge motivator to kids for reading. This has helped me to view my job differently. I read to an after school group each Monday. Yesterday, after I read to the group, a couple girls asked if we could read together. Normally, I would say yes and spend a small amount of time with them. The reason I would only spend a small amount of time is that I am so behind. We are down two staff members currently and we were spread very thin before that. But, after reading about how important a culture of reading is to motivating readers, I decided yesterday than my priorities needed an adjustment. As a librarian my goal is to help patrons gain access to materials and in the case of children, gaining access means wanting to read! I spent a blissful 20 minutes reading and listening and having a very positive experience with these two elementary girls. Several boys kept walking past and checking out what was happening. I would like to think that that 20 minutes will have some effect in each of their reading lives.

October 2, 2011

While reading, A Never-Ending Story: Action Research Meets Summer Reading, the author makes the point that achievement during the school year is similar between students from differing socio-economic backgrounds. But, due to issues of access, there is a disparity in achievement during the summer months. I have come across this fact in several articles while working on my Distributed Research Assignment. The research also suggests that after the issue of access is met, that choice is an important determiner for free reading. The article discusses 'action research' as a way librarians or teachers can do their own research. I would like to investigate further and see if anything like this has been done in a public library setting. This information really shines the light on the need for collaboration between the school and the public library.

September 28, 2011

Akin-Little, K., Eckert, T. L., Lovett, B. J., & Little, S. G. (2004). Extrinsic reinforcement in the classroom: Bribery or best practice. School Psychology Review, 33(3), 344-344-362. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/62112959?accountid=10361; http://www.nasponline.org

This article is a meta-analysis.

Gender differences in the strength of association between motivation, competency beliefs and reading skill. Source:

Educational research [0013-1881] Logan yr:2011 vol:53 iss:1 pg:85 -94

Search term: The effectiveness of summer reading programs in public libraries in the United States

This is promising, if I can get my hands on the full text.

September 24, 2011

Yesterday I attended a roundtable discussion with children's librarians from the southeast area of Iowa. The topic of summer programming came up as usual. I am always interested to hear what other libraries are doing and what was successful or not. Each librarian took a turn talking about last summer's program. It was a small group with 6 librarians and 4 libraries represented. It is a small sampling, but everyone agreed that prizes don't work. Having a culminating event like a pool party seemed to be very successful. The thought that I am pondering is, how does the pool party fit into a 'prize' or a 'reward'. Technically, it is a reward, but a group one with social aspects. Does this type of event help reading motivation, or is it just a carrot in disguise? Do the children need to read a specific amount of books to gain entrance or can any reader participate. Our culminating event this summer was a Sundae Sunday. We provided all the 'fixins' for patrons to make a sundae and a caricature artist was there to draw portraits. I am positive no one participated in the SLP just to attend this event. It was not greatly attended. There are many factors why attendance was low; date, time of day, other community activities etc. I don't want to be hung up on stats, but they are an indication of how the word is getting out. This is turning into a ramble. I need to focus on the needs of my community and best practices according to research.

Search terms: reading and intrinsic motivation-LISTA

September 20, 2011

I am knee deep in research with my 5 abstracts for the Distributed Research Group. My topic is "Do physical (extrinsic) incentives work? Research shows that in the long term it does not. This makes me wonder, what is our actual goal with the summer reading program? Are we trying to get kids to read for one particular summer or is our goal loftier? Are we trying to make life long readers? I mentioned this to one of my staff members who is adamant that we should have buckets of small incentives, think Oriental Trading Company. She looked at me like I had two heads. I am just new enough to my job that I still have big goals and dreams. Why do we have to be short sighted with our programs? Yes, I want great statistics, but I want my patrons to gain for the long-term, not just one summer. Because a few staff member's children respond to the small trinkets and ask for them, I am perceived as out of touch with reality. One reason I chose this topic was that it hit so close to home. As a supervisor, I have to weigh the input from my staff, but also implement best practices. If becoming a life-long reader is the goal, then researching what works becomes harder. I look forward to continuing my assignment and gaining more information.

September 10, 2011

September 10, 2011-

The explanation of the different methods of research was really interesting. Not only does this information inform any research that I may take part in, but also, my reading of other’s research. I feel like I have the ‘big picture’ a little better now.
Our state library uses Survey Monkey quite frequently. Each time I have attended a conference or workshop that they have provided a survey appears in my mailbox the next week. While I agree and understand Littleton’s comments in Navigating Pitfalls of Web-Based Survey Development and Administration, about the quality and reliability of Survey Monkey for formal research purposes, it is a useful tool to find out if the attending librarians thought the workshop or session was useful. One reason I think it works is that the survey is directed only to participants and asks 4 or 5 closed ended questions. Littleton is correct, there is ‘survey fatigue’. If I open the survey and it looks like it may take longer than 2 or 3 minutes, I delete it. This is especially true during an election year. Citizens are so bombarded with information, that even if someone shows up at my door for a brief survey, I am inclined to not answer. An interesting survey would be to find out how many surveys a typical person participates in each year.


Used Library Literature and Information Science Full Text:
Search Terms: children and reading and incentives

September 6, 2011

September 6, 2011-

Reading through the week 2 discussion posts about other classmates reaction to the articles and their previous research experience, I realize that the experience I bring to this class is adequate and I will be able to keep up. Research on an informal level takes place often in our lives. If I look at my experiences through the lens of research, I realize it happens frequently. At times I think I would like to be a researcher, the work sounds fascinating and very mission oriented. But, I used to think I want to be a cataloger until I took 248. I am confident that researching will be a better experience and I look forward to the challenge.

September 2, 2011

September 2, 2011-

After reading the articles by Pollard and Armstrong, I was struck with the difference in each researchers tone. Pollard, after 30 years of research experience seemed to have lots of good advice, and was still passionate about his work. Armstrong on the other hand, has lost his rose-colored glasses way back on the yellow brick road. As I am just starting on my own research journey, I am grateful to have both perspectives, a healthy dose of reality along with the passionate apologist.
The term ‘post modernist perspective’ has been bouncing around in my brain. How does someone ‘prove’ something if each of our realities are different and based on our own experiences. The article said …” we can construct rather than merely report or reflect realities through research.” I am hoping it is my lack of knowledge on the topic, but I don’t see how research can be reliable if the researcher is unduly influence by his or her experiences and that is acceptable practice. This is like the Reader-response theory in English literature.