ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 130 / C&RL News ■ M arch 2004 PARTNERSHIPS A N D CO N N EC TIO N S Building community partnerships The “One Book, One Community” experience by Mae L. Rodney How do librarians get young adults to read a classic novel or an inspiring biogra­ phy? H ow can libraries com pete with the lure o f n ew technologies an d the entertainm ent industry for the attention o f young minds? These are some of the questions today’s librar­ ians are asking themselves and attempting to an­ swer with new programming. To bring patrons into the library, some libraries have imitated book­ stores by setting up coffee shops and setting aside sections for popular books and videos. “One Book, One Community” draws patrons into the library and heightens interest in reading and discussion by choosing a single work (often a novel or play) for discussion by established groups or by new groups formed for the purpose of the discussion. The one book, one community concept has proven to b e successful in building a sense of belonging to a community, encouraging the for­ mation o f n ew communities, and, in som e in­ stances, opening up communication on sensitive issues. Adopting the one book, one community expe­ rience within the academic environment can fos­ ter community am ong students, librarians, fac­ ulty, and administrators. Students are often un­ aware of the many research resources university libraries provide, and if faculty members do not include library/research activities in their course syllabus, academic libraries can easily become store­ houses rather than centers of learning. The one book, one community approach gives students new research topics and varied opportunities to build critical thinking, creative writing and oral communication skills, while at the same time pro­ viding exciting and intellectually stimulating ex­ periences that will encourage reading and open discussion and debate beyond the classroom. Bringing "O ne Book, One C o m m u n ity" to cam pus This approach has been used very successfully at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), a small historically black liberal arts institution with a rich 110-year history that includes being the first African American college chartered (1925) to of­ fer a degree in elementary education. Throughout its history, the university has expanded to offer new instructional programs and higher degree lev­ els, including, since 2000, master’s degree-level programs in business, computer science, elemen­ tary education, nursing, and physical therapy. En­ rollment has grown from 25 students in 1892 to 4,100 in 2003-04. To better serve this thriving community, the library staff has embraced tech­ nology. Significant advancements have been made in library programming for the last five years, in­ cluding creating a wireless environment with more than 100 public access computers located through­ out the building and supporting an environment where students can conduct library research from A b o u t th e auth o r Mae L. Rodney is director o f library services at Winston-Salem State University, e-mail: rodneyml@wssu.edu ©2004 Mae L. Rodney mailto:rodneyml@wssu.edu C&RL News ■ March 2004 / 131 any location on or off campus with Internet ac­ cess. Library programs include a multitiered li­ brary instruction program, a brown-bag lunch se­ ries, a fall and spring book discussion session, as well as an annual benefit. For the last four annual library benefits, the library has collaborated with the WSSU Drama Guild to spotlight African American writers with mini theatrical productions. This year the Drama Guild director recommended featuring Lorraine Hansberry and her play “What Use Are Flowers?” To focus the university’s attention on the fundraiser and meet the 2003-04 benefit's goal of increasing student participation and faculty atten­ dance, the library director recommended asking all faculty and students to read and discuss ‘What Use Are Flowers?” Merging the book discussions and the library benefit in this way would ensure that several segments of the Winston-Salem com­ munity would read and explore the same African- American writer and book. T he library staff h ad long w an te d to ex ­ pand student’s reading materials because uni­ versity reading requirements w ere fairly p re­ scribed. Several upbeat “one book” presenta­ tions and conversations by the library director w ere necessary to encourage m any campus groups to read the play, discuss the thought- provoking script, and learn more about an Af­ rican American literary icon. The presentations helped form new partnerships to involve the enthe university community. The provost set a precedent w hen he ap­ proved and adopted the concept as a campus- wide activity. He recommended that the cam­ pus bookstore and student government asso­ ciation become partners and offered his finan­ cial support to advertise the project. The book­ store becam e an im portant agent w h en p ro ­ spective students came to campus during the summer for preregistration sessions and wanted to purchase the book while they were on campus. In almost every instance, another partnership was formed after a new presentation. Several large campus groups—incoming fresh­ man, English classes, education, and nursing ma­ jors—were selected as the primary potential par­ ticipants in the one book, one community experi­ ence during the initial planning process. Leaders of the targeted groups were identified. A Web site with a study guide, list of activities, and a short biography of the author was created and posted. The experience of reading the short play and re­ searching Hansberry s life and political beliefs was enriched by a variety of fall activities—a lecture, reader’s theater, book discussion, and a mini the­ atrical production for the annual library benefit— and a further array of spring activities, including a faculty presentation, a full production of the play, and a writing contest. First-year college, freshm an sem inar and learning com m unities The strongest initial partnerships were formed with first-year college coordinators who had established personnel clusters, schedules and programs, where information could be readily shared and incorpo­ rated. The coordinators endorsed the reading project as an excellent new learning experience that could be shared with parents during orienta­ tion sessions for prospective students. The first- year college coordinators viewed the reading ex­ perience as a positive learning opportunity that would be well received by parents. Following this endorsement, and presentations during summer orientation sessions, several parents of prospec­ tive students became participants in the experi­ ence. Faculty members w ere informed about the “What Use Are Flowers?” reading experience through presentations to freshman experience fac­ ulty, administrative retreats, and general faculty meetings. The study guide for the play offered discussion questions under a number of subjects and was used to help faculty members visualize how a discussion of “What Use Are Flowers?” could easily be woven into a syllabus. Presenta­ tions also illustrated how learning communities (nursing, education, business, etc.) could benefit from reading the play. For example, nursing stu­ dents could research and discuss the medical im­ plications of a nuclear catastrophe, while educa­ tion majors could consider the impact of children growing up without adults. Some questions in the study guide encouraged critical thinking and exploration of current top­ ics, such as the war in Iraq or the ethics of war. The study guide was always distributed during presentations. To get upper-level students in­ volved, all faculty members were invited to lead at least one class discussion on a relevant topic from the study guide. An education faculty mem­ ber w ho had used the play as a project during summer session endorsed the venture and encour­ aged faculty to include such assignments in their classes. The one book, one community experience was emphasized as a way to build students’ read­ ing habits, to extend students’ exposure to litera- 132 / C&RL News ■ M arch 2004 The one book, one co m m u n ity concept has proven to be su ccessfu l in bu ildin g a sen se of belo ng in g to a com m unity, en co u rag in g th e fo rm a tio n o f n ew co m m u n ities, and, in som e in stances, o pen in g up co m m u n ication on sen sitiv e issues. ture beyond their textbooks, and to help students develop friendships by fostering the development of study groups during their initial days at the university. These were all established objectives of the learning communities. Several faculty members went beyond the ba­ sic expectation of requiring students to read and discuss the play. A marketing professor required her students to compile an innovative marketing plan, w hich included the concepts from “What Use Are Flowers?” as well as marketing concepts, environmental analysis, sample promotional items, marketing objectives, and other marketing tech­ niques. The library’s associate director partnered with this class and served as the evaluator for the students’ end-of-semester presentations. A different experience occurred in a “Social Work as a Profession” class. In this class students discussed the impact of violence on society, vio­ lence as a primary issue in the social work envi­ ronment, an d h ow positive reinforcement can counteract aggression. The students created a part­ nership w ith the library’s artist in residence to present a short play on violence during the spring semester. The university’s Center for Community Safety has been invited to cosponsor the produc­ tion and invite their community partners to dis­ cuss the impact of violence on children and com­ munities. Lyceum co m m ittee The Lyceum/Hall-Patterson Lecture Series com­ mittee was approached to sponsor a fall lecture on “What Use Are Flowers?” Working with this com­ mittee, a long-established group with an effective routine for recruiting an authence, was easy and effective and eliminated the need to create a new lecture time that w ould conflict with established routine. The library staff was responsible only for identifying, communicating with, and hosting the lecturer. Having an outside guest lecturer offered an even broader perspective on Lorraine Hansberry. To provide students the opportunity to hear local faculty beyond the classroom, a WSSU psychol­ ogy professor w ho lectures nationally will discuss the impact of w ar on children during the spring semester as part of the library’s Brown Bag Lec­ ture Series. The objective of these discussions is to examine issues in the play in as many forums and formats as possible. The lib rary and th e one book experience The library staff participated in the one book, one community experience through the library instruc­ tional sessions scheduled during the freshman ex­ perience course. Several assignments on “What Use Are Flowers?” and Hansberry were created to further extend students’ awareness of the author and play, while helping students develop library and research skills. The assignments were specifi­ cally designed to reinforce the instruction. The students benefited from this experience because they had a specific assignment to complete. Several displays about the author and play were posted throughout the library to keep Hansberry and “What Use Are Flowers?” in the forefront of the community’s mind. A Web site that included the basic information required to begin a discus­ sion on either the book or the author was posted and could be accessed from the library’s homepage. When the university Drama Guild presented a mini theatrical production of segments of “What Use Are Flowers?” and other Hansberry works during the library’s annual benefit, the authence was fascinated to learn about Hansberry’s politi­ cal beliefs and see that her message was still rel­ evant. A videotape o f the mini-production will b e broadcast via the campus TV station during Black History month, and during the spring se­ mester the Drama Guild will present the full pro­ duction of the play for the student body. All freshman composition classes will read and discuss the play during the spring. The WSSU Friends of the Library became the partner for this assignment by providing the funds to purchase photocopying privileges for the play so all stu­ dents could have a copy. It is h o p ed that some students will be inspired to submit a narrative, song, poem, or other reaction through art during the spring writing contest. Students w rote (con tin ued on p a g e 155) C&RL News ■ March 2004 / 133 C&RL News ■ M arch 2004 / 155 tion, “Don’t these people use the library?” We know they do use the library, but as ad hoc users, students cannot possibly be asked to know the lingo of li­ braries. That is not to say that students do not need to understand the various concepts behind the ter­ minology, but that they n eed not becom e “little librarians.” Students are already bogged dow n with new terminology from their courses and a new way of life (leaving home and coming to college). Why should they be burdened with trying to learn yet another set of terms that they see n o n eed for understanding? What is driving them to under­ stand this terminology? While we seek answers to these and similar questions, we need to find a way to explain library collections and systems to o ur students w hile minimizing the use o f “li­ brary lingo.” Compounding this issue, our students come from more diverse backgrounds than ever before and no two students have the same baseline knowl­ edge of libraries. Many have never set foot in their high school library and some may not have had a high school library to use at all. Many may have used their library but never needed to know the finer points of library lingo. They had no rea­ ( “Building community… ’’continued from page 132) memories and songs during the summer and fall after reading and discussing the play. Although the schedule of activities has not been completed, conversations with a cross-sec tion of university faculty members w ho created unique assignments are being held regarding se­ lecting the next book and enhancing the learning experiences. An English teacher is interested in improving critical thinking activities and getting more fac­ ulty to buy into the experience. Another idea is to choose a book by an author who can visit campus and participate in the discussions, thus increasing the glamour of and adding interest to the experi­ ence. Also being discussed are determining the best time to present the new title to the faculty in order to ensure that more faculty plan class activi­ ties and the need to give administrators an oppor­ son to do so then, and w e believe they really shouldn’t be expected to do so in college. Learning, not lingo Perhaps we can find a way to pu t an en d to the heavy use of library lingo in our reference transac­ tions and in our instruc­ tion sessions. By no means do we have the answers to this problem right now. Many libraries already recognize this problem and have created guides to library lingo for their students (some examples are listed above). We hope to come u p with other solutions to this problem with an investiga­ tion w e are about to begin. We plan on sur­ veying students at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington to find out which library- related terms our students do understand and w hich ones they do not. O nce w e collect this information, w e will make sure that all our library staff and faculty are aw are of the terms that w e all use that are meaningful to our students, and w e also hope to share our findings with the profession as a whole. Hopefully, w e will be able to better communi­ cate with them and actually teach them only that which they really need to know: how to obtain and evaluate information. tunity to lead a discussion to ensure that they do more than just endorse the concept. The one book, one community experience has not increased the number of books checked out of the O’Kelly Library collection, but because of an aggressive library instruction program and assign­ ments given when instruction is provided, the num­ ber of students coming to the reference desk seek­ ing assistance with their assignments has increased. Projects such as “One Book, O ne Commu­ nity” enrich and extend the WSSU learning envi­ ronment and illustrate to faculty that the library is an innovative campus agency. As a result of ad­ vertising their services, projects and availability, librarians are being seen outside of the library. Because of their demonstrated willingness to ac­ tively participate in learning experiences, maybe librarians will be given new opportunities to part­ ner in the enthe learning process. Guides to library lingo • University o f Texas-San Antonio: www.lib.utsa.edu/Instruction/lingo.html • Colorado State University Libraries: manta.library.colostate.edu/lingo/ • Arizona State University Libraries: www.asu.edu/lib/help/liblingo.htm • University o f Tennessee-Knoxville: www.lib.utk.edu/~instruct/fys/lingo.html • New Mexico State University (library lingo crossword puzzle): lib.nmsu.edu/instruc tion/ENGL111 crossword.htm http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Instniction/lingo.html http://www.asu.edu/lib/help/liblingo.htm http://www.lib.utk.edu/~instruct/fys/lingo.html