RESOURCES:
Ann Arbor District Library (AADL)
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU and today we want to take a look at literacy and opportunity and libraries. I'm David Fair and welcome to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. When it comes to reading, Michigan currently ranks 44th out of the 50 states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. It's often referred to as the nation's report card. In the most recent testing under 39 percent of third-grade students were proficient in English language arts. It's alarming. One of the best tools we have in fostering better reading skills, a love of learning, and opportunity to engage in activities that foster both is our local libraries. Our guest today is the director of the Ann Arbor District Library System. Eli Neiberger, thank you so much for the time. I'm grateful.
Eli Neiburger: Thank you for having me, David.
David Fair: I characterized Michigan's literacy grade as alarming. How does it sit with you?
Eli Neiburger: You know, I think that there's a lot of ways of measuring literacy, and I think that in some cases the world of standardized testing doesn't always show the whole picture. I think there's lot of reading that's going on in all of our communities, and in some cases a more expansive understanding of reading and literacy can be helpful, but there's no doubt that the work to support reading skill development among kids in our communities. Needs a lot of help.
David Fair: Well, Governor Gretchen Whitmer last year convened a literacy summit, and she declared then and again in her state of the state address, literacy would be a top priority in her final year in office. To what level the state invests in that priority is dependent on how the state budget turns out. That is uncertain at best. From your vantage point, is the legislative branch doing its part in the societal responsibility of fostering literacy and supporting the programs that would help move it forward?
Eli Neiburger: Well i think that there's a lot to be gained through recognition of all the informal way for kids learn to read in the public libraries a big part of that and you know increasingly we can see that kids learn the best when it's been presented as dessert not vegetables right so that's a big that's the big role that the library place in that we're not the place to find the homework right where the place that you come when you love something and that that's that great opportunity for libraries and we've really seen that over years and that you know the kids who uh... Love to read they certainly come to the library and then there's all kinds of things happening at the library to get kids in the door and get families in the door and then they discover all the other things that are happening there too
David Fair: Well, to use your term, what kind of dessert offerings do you have?
Eli Neiburger: Well you know the summer game that we do here in Ann Arbor is a very big part of that it is the extremely intense engagement with reading and writing and we can see so many very little kids question their little golf pencils in their paper and we're going around the library and writing down the code that they find and we hear from parents and teachers that the kids are doing more reading and reading to prefer summer then they might be doing in the curriculum at their age, just because it's something they really want to do and they're engaged to do, and they are excited to do it, and we know that the route to making life-long recreational readers out of people goes through it being a leisure activity and not through it being something that is prescribed to them.
David Fair: You know that particular program received national attention last summer when NPR's Neda Ulaby did a feature report on it and I was just curious, did you have other library districts from around the country reaching out and saying, hey what are you doing over there?
Eli Neiburger: I mean, only several hundred. Yeah, and it's something where, you know, we heard from a lot of different types of libraries all over the country, and a big part of it is that the way we do it is just the way that we do that works for our community, and really the core idea is let self-directed exploration of reading and writing and learning become something that kids want to do for fun. And incentivize their use of the library as opposed to this is your assignment that must be completed. I mean, the birth of the summer game came from the fact that we were hearing from parents that our traditional game that we've been doing for decades, where you read 10 books and then you get a book to keep, was telling their children to read less. Because the library said all you had to do was read 10 book that summer. So you know, a standard seven-year-old, that's one bedtime. And then they're like, okay, done reading. Right so adapting it into an open-ended program that could meet all types of readers and library users, where they are, has just led to unforeseen successes it's been really just a breakout it grows by double digits every year and you know it takes a takes a whole library to make it happen.
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU's Washtenaw United. We're talking literacy and libraries with Ann Arbor District Library Director Eli Neiberger. The internet and technology can be such a valuable tool in the learning process. We also know it can be a real hazard, particularly in young minds. How do you see that playing out among the young people you serve in the libraries?
Eli Neiburger: It's interesting you know we're kind of at this moment here where there's uh... Unprecedented levels of falsehoods online and now uh... Algorithmically generated falsehood uh... As opposed to pedagogical situation that is designed to more around having trusted sources and now even the trusted sources are harder to trust. So, I think a big part of making that work for young people at this time is embracing the things that they're interested in and supporting that. And you still hear from libraries where graphic novels don't count toward the summer reading goals, which is very counterproductive. Graphic novels are absolutely reading, audiobooks are reading and working with the material that you're interested in is always going to be a rewarding experience, and the library is a great situation to encourage people's leisure pursuits and the things they want to know about. And when you've got little kids starting from a young age, seeing the library as a place where they can get accurate information, where a person is going to help them, that's not something that really still in our society in a lot of places.
David Fair: You spend a lot of time, thought, and effort in putting together a program, then implementing it. How do you go about assessing the success to determine whether to keep them, advance them, replace them, or provide enhancement to them?
Eli Neiburger: You know, it's based on having a strong relationship with your patron base, to the point where they'll tell you everything, right? And when you show them that you are responsive to their interests and their feedback, and you know, they make a comment or complaint, and they might hear from me within a number of hours. That establishes a strong relationship of feedback with the public. So, we know very well what's working and what's not working because our patrons tell us, because we've shown them, they can trust us with their feedback and that it is meaningful and handled in a thoughtful way and that we adapt programs all the time in response to patron feedback. And that's not something you see in the corporate world anymore and, increasingly, it's a hard thing to find out of government. When libraries are in that position of being just the most responsive part of the government the people interact with routinely it can lead to great things and great feedback in continuous improvement of library service
David Fair: With all of the programs and opportunities available, I suspect there is still a perception among many that libraries are just where you go to check out books. Is perception a barrier to progress when it comes to community library systems?
Eli Neiburger: A little bit. I always say our competition isn't really Amazon and Netflix. Our competition in someone's middle school librarian and how that person made them feel about the library so really it's library families are library users and our goal is just to make more families into library users by offering them a broad set of options and things that they're interested in and then they discover all the things that the library has to offer.
David Fair: Sometimes, the success of any business organization or institution is adapting to better meet people where they are. Sometimes it's not in your exact location. How do you go about meeting people where they are in once and all carry and Ann Arbor specifically?
Eli Neiburger: So, you know, we have a number of locations so that everybody in our district lives within just a couple miles of a library location. Our library locations are situated so that there's easy access to transit. And also, we have robust online services and you can always call or text us. So, we try to make ourselves very accessible also for people with any sort of difficulty reading printed matter, whether that's visual or physical. We are the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, so anyone who has any trouble at all reading traditional print in the entire county. Can get service from the Washington Library for the Blind and Print Disabled at AADL. And that's an outstanding service, and in many cases, you don't have to come to the library at all. Items are either mailed to you, or you can get them digitally. So, if there's anyone in your life who has any trouble reading standard print, I encourage you to sign up for WLBPD, as we call it, and you can really get an astounding service for that.
David Fair: As a parent, one of my favorite things to do was to attend the kids' programs at my library. I still love it as a grandparent. To get to watch kids light up at learning, not be able to wait to get home to read the next book, it's good for an old man's spirit. What is your favorite part of what you do?
Eli Neiburger: I mean, you hit right on it. Getting to see kids run into the library, see how excited they are just to come to the library, having them walk out with a stack of books from knee-to-chin. You know, they are just so excited, filled with that love of learning and filled with that excitement about information, all of the things that are available to them. All summer long, I wear a t-shirt with the Summer Games code on it and I practically get tackled at the grocery store by a six-year-old and it's delightful to see young people telling us how much they love the library and most importantly for them to feel that it is theirs and they can come in and anything in that in that library is to them.
David Fair: I love that story! Eli, thank you so much for the conversation today! I appreciate it!
Eli Neiburger: Well, it's my pleasure, David! Thank you for your interest, and thanks to everyone for using your library!
David Fair: That is Eli Neiberger, Director of the Ann Arbor District Library, our guest on Washtenaw United. Stop by our website at WEMU.org for more information. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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