Libraries Change Lives

Libraries Change Lives
Huffington Post: 11.19.2013 by Vicki Cobb

Want to hang out with a bunch of really smart people? Spend a day at a convention of school librarians. That's what I did on Friday, November 15 in Hartford, Connecticut at the biannual convention of the American Association of School Librarians. What makes them so smart? They are exemplars of what the Opening Session speaker, Tony Wagner, author of Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, says the country needs if we are going to produce the many young innovators needed for our technology-driven new world order. According to Wagner, it is play, passion and purpose that drive young innovators. They succeed because some adult in their lives feeds their passions and honors their purpose. School librarians are always on the lookout for the child who wants to know more and feeds his/her interests with books and resources that resonate. This is the essence of their job description.

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 Barbara Stripling, president of the American Library Association is not taking this challenge lying down. She is spearheading a presidential initiative: Libraries Change Lives -- which promotes and recognizes the crucial role libraries play in literacy, innovation and community engagement for all ages. She told me: "The Declaration for the Right to Libraries affirms the values and impacts that school, public, academic, and special libraries provide for those they serve. In today's fast-paced and isolating society, libraries offer a safe and inviting space where every member of the community can read, access the Internet, learn, create, and engage in civil discourse -- in fact, change his life.

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So, everyone, this is a no-brainer. Stand up for libraries. Support your local school librarians. Information may be at everyone's fingertips but knowledge and wisdom still need the human touch. Libraries and librarians are where it's at. READ MORE !