“Media mentorship” is only one aspect of working with youth and families, but one that is garnering more attention with a growing body of work in the professional literature. After Lisa Guernsey coined the phrase in her 2014 TEDxMidAtlantic talk, discussion among librarians has focused on finding solid research and developing relevant services. Naidoo’s Diversity Programming for Digital Youth: Promoting Cultural Competence in the Children’s Library (ALA Editions, 2014) and Family Engagement in the Digital Age: Early Childhood Educators as Media Mentors (Routledge, 2016) edited by Chip Donohue, PhD are two recent titles that offer distinct perspectives on media mentorship.
However, for a front-line public librarian working in youth services, time constraints, budget limitations and a schedule filled with traditional offerings such as story times and sing-a-alongs among other responsibilities means this aspect of our job can easily be neglected.
It can also be daunting if we do not posses what we perceive as “strong” technology skills. Perhaps parents have never approached us for media guidance, so therefore we don’t offer it. Families in our communities may be so technology ‘poor’ or technology ‘rich,’ beginning to meet their needs in an engaging way seems difficult.
It is in this scenario–frontline librarians working with youth and families–that Haines & Campbell’s Becoming a Media Mentor (ALA Editions, 2016) is imminently readable and useful. Building on the idea of Lisa Guernsey’s TEDx talk, that parents need informed guides in the “digital wild west,” Haines and others started a professional discourse on the uses that new technologies present for librarians and families, and where librarians fit in this new knowledge and learning economy. Out of this collaboration came convergence of academic studies and new professional literature such as this informative volume, which includes chapters written by Lisa Guernsey, Chip Donahue, and other voices in the field. The appendices include important whitepapers from ALSC, including Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth (2015) and Naidoo’s The Importance of Diversity in Programs and Material Collections for Children (2014).
Positioning ourselves as media mentors ensures we will be relevant to the everyday lives of families and we can offer resources that enrich and reinforce the goals of youth services: providing access to quality resources. Even more importantly, the authors write from the standpoint of cultivating relationships, not just being technology experts. As Chip Donahue, PhD writes in the introduction, “Children and their families need relationships with mindful media mentors who are positive, enthusiastic tour guides and curious co-explorers in the digital age” (xiii). We do not need to be experts or tech gurus; parents just want supportive guidance.
Becoming a Media Mentor is divided into two parts: one about becoming a media mentor and another about media mentors in action. Each chapter in part one defines media mentorship in different contexts and covers salient topics on professional development; part two showcases numerous ways these principles have been put into action with innovative, creative programming and outreach ideas. All of this pertinent and inspiring content is fit into an easy-to-read 176 pages.
Included in the appendix is ALSC’s must-read white paper, Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth (2015), which is also written by the authors and contributors of this book. This means that the broadening recognition of the importance of this role extends to ALA, so if your professional ears aren’t itching, they should be! As the authors of the white paper argue, “We must recognize the prevalence of media in the lives of our service populations and equip ourselves to best support them in their intentional, appropriate, and positive use of media” (p. 112).
In short, Becoming a Media Mentor is a brief synthesis of foundational service principles applied to media and a practical how-to guide. It is a perfect starting point to embark on what is an on-going aspect of professional development and an imperative aspect of serving families. The authors hope that this book “will be a catalyst for conversation, innovation, and connection” (p. xx). It’s always the right time to join the professional discussion and start asking what your community needs!
What can you do?
- Read this helpful, concise guide
- Grow your professional development collection in this area (or make a recommendation to do so!)
- Model enthusiasm for, not fear of, new technologies
- Try new technologies in your personal and professional life
- Have more to share than just your opinions; be ready with resources
- Demonstrate easy strategies for using new technology and assessing the quality of content
- Don’t be afraid to “not know” something, be an enthusiastic co-learner!
- Proactively introduce technology through responsive programming that meets the needs of your community
- Consider including technology-based resources (not just print books) in handouts or web guides on various topics
Reading Becoming a Media Mentor will give you a tool-kit to start working on all of these points and more, with tangible, practical ideas.
For additional leads, consider checking out these resources:
- ALSC’s media resources page
- Claudia Haines’ personal blog, com (particularly her helpful rubric for evaluating apps and media for children)
- The archived resources available at LittleeLit
- The Children’s Technology Review Exchange
- Weekly app reviews from The Horn Book and Library Journal
Photo credit
Little girl using tablet image courtesy of kdshutterman at Free Digital Photos
Megan Smith is a first-year MLIS student at SJSU, pursuing the youth services track. Her academic interests include literary criticism and theory, rhet/comp, philosophy and children’s literature. Her passions are reading, early literacy, working with children, perfecting silly dance moves, bubble machines, and good coffee. She works part-time substituting at two different libraries while juggling being a wife and mother to two young girls. You can find her on the SJSU blogging platform here, at her personal blog, Too Many Cardigans, or on Goodreads.