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2016 ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS • ORLANDO
COGNOTES 11
“A Good Side Order of Stubbornness” – Brad Meltzer
by Caroline Gardner, Simmons College SLIS
What is your legacy? What will you be remembered for, and by whom? These questions were the crux of award-winning author Brad Meltzer’s talk as part of the Auditorium Speaker Series at the ALA Annual Confernece on June 26. Meltzer spoke at length about the importance of legacy, and how we can implement positivity and change into the world through the power of individual legacy.
The main thing, Meltzer said, is to consider what you do for yourself versus what you do for other people. It is what you do for others that is most special, most impactful. The world can be changed just by ideas, by getting a community to believe in the power of ideas, and making things happen from those small ideas. With “a good side order of stubbornness” and determination, Meltzer thinks that nothing is out of reach for us to create positive forces in our communities.
He has four areas of legacy to be considered:
- Family;
- Friends/colleagues/teachers;
- Communities; and
- Strangers.
Leveraging these four types, Meltzer outlined many personal anecdotes of the ways these legacies can be made. The librarian who, in one brief afternoon, changed his life at a Brooklyn Public Library branch but whose name he never got, and who in fact may not remember the young boy she helped, is an example of the power of a stranger’s legacy (he is trying to track her down, if any librarians have ideas on finding her!) Meltzer firmly believes that ordinary people can change the world and that you can impact someone’s life just by being kind to them for even one moment. These small moments, added together, become the legacy you leave behind for people to remember you as the kind of person who made a positive impact and tried to make the world a better place.
Meltzer continued, “We all know what it’s like to feel boring and ordinary and want to do something amazing,” and the moments in which you lead with good examples, find everyday heroes to champion, and set goals that are both reachable and celebrate-able for the people we interact with can be the most important and most lasting. For every one of us here, no one can ever capture the very best parts of who we are – but you can live your best life and thank those people who’ve helped you, and they will remember your legacy.
An impassioned and inspiring speaker, Meltzer really wanted to impress upon us, the librarians and professionals of the audience, how important saying “thank you” can be to those who have left their legacy on us, as well. The teacher from ninth grade who may have no idea they helped a budding award-winning author on his way, or the information desk assistant who made you smile when you were at the end of your tether at the end of a long day – these people leave their marks on us, large or small, and should be thanked for their kindnesses and thoughtfulness in shaping our lives.
He closed by talking about his idea that writers and librarians have a lot in common: “We’re weird and subversive,” and we need to stay that way and use it to our advantage. Staying weird and subversive, by Meltzer’s philosophies, is the perfect way to enact changes in our communities – personally, professionally, familialy, educationally, and more.
Material “Born Digital” Does Not Equal “Born Accessible”
By Sara Zettervall, Hennepin County Library
Dr. Lisa Wadors Verne, in her presentation “Accessible Books for All” on June 27, reminded ALA attendees “If you can’t see the text, understand the meaning, or hold the book, you are not reading.” Benetech, a non-profit organization that promotes global literacy, created Bookshare in response to the increasing need for digital content that is accessible for people who cannot read standard print. Patrons who have visual disabilities or physical handicaps that don’t allow them to turn the page can use Bookshare.
Picture books can be hard to understand if one has a visual impairment. For instance, imagine a child with visual problems trying to read Pete the Cat – I Love my White Shoes by Eric Litwen. Pete, who is wearing brand new white shoes, is standing on a pile of strawberries and the text asks the reader the color of Pete’s shoes. Vital information is lost because the child cannot see the picture. Bookshare edits the sentence to read “Pete is standing on a pile of strawberries, what color are his shoes now?” and the child is able to understand and participate in the reading experience.
Bookshare is not just for children. It is the world’s largest accessible online library of ebooks to leverage the collections of individuals who scan books. It is open to all students, schools, and libraries free of charge for qualified patrons with print learning disabilities. Bookshare currently has over 400,000 titles available including the last three years of the New York Times best-sellers, top 100 picture books, Pulitzer Award winners, and Newbery Medal winners. Textbooks, common core material, college prep, and career titles are also available. They are searchable by author, subject, language, and grade level. Users have the ability to customize the readings with different voices, reading speeds, font size, and many more options. It is important to note that libraries, schools, and patrons do not have to invest in expensive software or hardware to access titles as all Bookshare titles are accessible on web browsers, tablets, or smartphones.
Benetech offers the following advice on how to purchase ebooks that are accessible:
- Main text should be distinguished from supplemental information.
- Content should not be presented as an image.
- The table of contents should be linked to the text to make it easy to navigate through the book.
- Tables should have headers and captions.
- Images should have descriptions.
- Page numbers should be included.
- Math should be presented in MathML format.
- Video and audio content should be accessible.
- Interactive content should be made accessible.
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