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[Music]

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it's a great honor and uh pleasure for
me to uh be able to introduce marianne

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wolfe who we had in the kansas city
public library who i've been a fan of

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since i read proust and the squid but i
will tell you this i promised uh

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marianne that i would give her the
shortest introduction i am capable of

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giving
she laughed as she is laughing now

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um
but

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you want to hear her not me
so i will tell you very quickly she's a

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been a professor at tufts she's now at
ucla

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she runs the center for dyslexia diverse
learning and social justice there

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she's the author of proust in the squid
which is a book about reading and brain

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science what we know about that
uh and and and what a two-way street the

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brain uh and uh and reading are
uh the development of the brain the

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development of reading it is itself
uh a mind-altering book

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uh about the ability to read
the leading to develop thinking uh to to

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analysis uh to discovery uh and uh to
aspiration

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ultimately real critical thinking and
reading

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is relational dialogic
and

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interactive
and i think she's the best descriptor a

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describer of that uh in in our world
today

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reader come home her most recent book is
about reading in the digital age

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the positives and the negatives which
we've been talking about today marianne

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social media is not reading my view i
think her view as well

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both books
i have marianne's signature

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which is that reading is not an act
not only an act but maybe the greatest

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act of aspiration of human beings ladies
and gentlemen mary anne wolf

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thank you so much and welcome to all of
you uh to my living room

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my
my son's painting behind me um i want

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this to be a kind of dialogue if you
will

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which is the nature of my last book
because i will be giving you a very

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particular perspective that some of you
will agree with and many of you will

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have some discomfort um and so i'm going
to

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i'll show you my first slide
which is an unusual title

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information knowledge and wisdom and
apologia

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for reading and books in a digital
culture the heart of my work as

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crosby and i think all of us all of you
have as a shared mission

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is an understanding
that literacy is a basic human right

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that we must share across not only our
cities and our neighborhoods but across

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our world
and i want you to realize in my very

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short amount of time that literacy
itself is being transformed

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and even though there are very many
positives i'm going to give you a

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cautionary tale
because reading as

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as crosby mentioned for me is far more
than the vonneguty and canary in the

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mind
it is one of the most important ways

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that our brain changes itself elaborates
itself adds information and becomes

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ultimately an empathic critical analytic
reflective

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not just reflective brain reflective
mind reflective citizen

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and so we have to understand those
changes that are happening and i want to

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begin with t.s eliot
who

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said something always says something so
important for us to think about but this

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is a question for our moment in time
where is the wisdom

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lost in knowledge where is the knowledge
lost in information

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and this brought me to
the thought of

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the library as peter briscoe in his
small but very powerful book the

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bookseller
calls

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one of the most important if
if you will a space time machine

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in which we can go what he calls
anywhere microscopically telescopically

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past present and future and especially
into the minds of others into the

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knowledge of others but he goes on to
say that the modern library he laments

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and worries
is changing so that it is not so much

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about knowledge
as about information retrieval and the

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inventory and
inventory control of information rather

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than
the previous goal of every person in

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library in library science and services
which is to provide knowledge as the

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basis of wisdom
for all of our people and so i i hold

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that i want you to hold that in mind as
a particular

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look at our digital culture and where we
are and where libraries are and where

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museums are
and it begins with the paradox we are

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all overloaded with information
and i'm going to if you will give you a

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quick tour over how information may or
may not be translated into knowledge and

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how knowledge
is the basis of wisdom but not

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necessarily and so they're all the all
these amazing people doing

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great work that i will not be able to
quote for you today but that i want you

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to realize are dealing with the problem
that is a paradox you would think that

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with more information we would have more
knowledge but in fact how we absorb how

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we
retrieve that information and use it in

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our own lives
either becomes knowledge that is stored

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or does not
and here we go to areas of critical

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importance for libraries
what we are seeing in many reports is a

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decrease
in children's use of books children as

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crosby knows a special area of
importance to me there's a decrease in

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reading longer texts and there's brand
new reports by kirchik and naomi barron

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and anne mangan and others that we are
changing in in the nature that of our

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book not only in how long they are but
even in the density of content

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well
what is spurring that on in part is how

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we read and so my talk is going to be a
lot about how we read because the medium

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matters
just as

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most of you know
you read differently when it's digital

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and yet
the libraries are spending so much more

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as as peter briscoe and gerald beasley
from the university of alberta are

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saying our budgets are going more into
the storage of digital books rather than

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the ordering of books well what does
that mean

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for the people that are using our
libraries and museums what are the

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library's role in these big questions
especially given their multiple

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functions i look at la where they are
dealing with homelessness and all kinds

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of issues that one would not think that
libraries must take on the

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responsibilities of the society which
couldn't do it and yet they are but i

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ask you during this short time together
to think about what the role the library

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is in this big question of how we read
and

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how we bring different perspectives to
it i'm bringing a particular perspective

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to it that you may agree or disagree
about

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but it's one that i believe is necessary
for us to have a dialogue so i'm

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bringing it as a cognitive scientist
looking at the brain circuit and how it

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changes according to how we read and
what processes are emphasized

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in digital reading what processes are
emphasized in book reading but i begin

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with a philosophical perspective that
comes from the great thinker walter ong

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who said technologies are not mere
exterior aids

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but also
interior transformations

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of consciousness and never more than
when they affect the word

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now what we have especially during colon
is a if you will a coincidence of

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opposites that's what nicholas accuses
said as a philosopher centuries ago what

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do you do we need digital technology
digital technology increases knowledge

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exponentially
and yet it is changing how we read that

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information what do we do to resolve it
well nicholas of cusa used the term

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we take a stance of learned ignorance
and we examine it and i i want to as as

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a april you to the rest of my talk
especially for those of you whose

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funding budgets are funding much more
of our digital world in books than than

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than our our print books i want to bring
a comment i heard at the university of

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alberta from their librarian at the time
i do not know if he's still there gerald

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beasley who said the present situation
between digital and the printed book is

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unresolvable
until it is

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we must be the guardians
of the book's attributes now i i i hope

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someone sends a recording of this talk
to him

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we have never met and yet that
that

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that is
the reason in part why i am giving you

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and many other people talks about how
understanding the reading circuit

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points us to a cautionary tale about how
we're reading today and it begins with a

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very important concept actually it's the
first line in

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prison the square the story and science
of the reading brain

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we were never born to read the human
brain doesn't have a single gene for

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reading or a single region no it is
connecting the parts that were existing

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there vision and language and affect and
motor and conceptual knowledge

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it's it's making new
connections among that to bring a new

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circuit but
because there's no genetic program that

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means that circuit is plastic it's going
to be changed by

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multiple
factors the writing system the writing

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system of a chinese or a japanese
country reader is emphasizing more the

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visual areas than the alphabetic systems
so we have different even we have

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different kinds of brains even within
alphabets

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we have different circuits depending on
the educational formation

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we have different
uses of that reading circuit according

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to our purpose of what we're reading i
would never read any my email in any

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deep way unless it's an important
something we can read for different

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purposes but the reality is that that
circuit is not reading the same when

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it's reading on different mediums
so

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my my work is to ensure that people
understand

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that that
original circuit

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is plastic and over time
that it moves from this very basic

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decoding to a circuit that is able to
consolidate knowledge when given enough

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time to do so
and here we move into what are those

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processes that are being elaborated and
i call them the deep reading processes

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those of you who studied literary
criticism would call them close reading

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processes but because i'm in cognitive
science and i want to be more specific i

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want to talk to you about what is
involved in that breeding brain circuit

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that we do not want to lose well the
first is that we are analogy makers we

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are building
from what we know

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and bring it as background knowledge to
what is there and the great alberto

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mongol who wrote the one of the finest
books on reading a history of reading

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said reading is cumulative and proceeds
with geometric progression everything

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builds upon everything but it has to be
there

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well there's another aspect that that
peter briscoe quote was saying has uh

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the the
the reader is able to enter the minds of

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others that is the nature
of what is enabled by reading

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because it allows us to leave ourselves
enter the thoughts and feelings of

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another which is the basis
for

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of if you will empathy but a
compassionate imagination it's like a

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moral laboratory we are given from frog
and toad and charlotte's web all the way

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up to some of the most important novels
in your life for me i will simply say

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middle march is one of the great ways
that i was able to understand

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perspectives i would never have had it's
just an example however of how fiction

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enables us to take on a piece of
consciousness and the theologian john

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dunn used the term passing over books
allow us to pass over into the

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perspectives whether they're scientific
perspective perspectives our fictional

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ones we're able to leave ourselves and
bring something that enriches us now all

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of that all these deep reading processes
that i describe much more in my book my

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reader come home i hope some of you read
it that's letter three

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all of this prepares our brain to enter
the most one of the most important

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things we do with information
we connect it to the background

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knowledge we make inferences and we
evaluate using our frontal cortex

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quartets or both hemispheres are
involved in generating hypotheses is

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this true do we refute it because of
what we know and because of what we

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infer do we discern the truth value this
cannot be more important in an age of

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false information intentionally
sometimes non-maliciously other but we

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are in an age in which truth
is not being discerned in part because

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the entirety of that reading brain
requires the time we aren't giving in

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digital mediums oh there's many other
reasons that are going on

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and we aren't that's not what this talk
about is about this talk is about how

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complex that reading brain circuit is
and it requires time to give its all

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now one of the last things that brain
does is contemplate and reflect it's

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what i call the prostate pause
st thomas aquinas said we must hand on

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to others the things we gain in
contemplation well we have the

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opportunity
to as true said leave the wisdom of the

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author behind to discover our own but
that takes time and it takes time in two

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ways it takes time to build a deep
reading brain to form it and it takes

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time by us who have a form deep reading
brain circuit to use those milliseconds

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they this is never a given
now i want to use my colleague patricia

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greenfield to say something very
important

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every medium
has both its costs and weaknesses

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and its gifts
our job my job is to really look at both

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and see
out of this

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knowledge where should we go
but one of the things patricia is saying

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and it's it haunts me is that the cost
in the digital medium seems to be deep

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processing why
because we have this plastic circuit

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that's going to reflect
the medium's characteristics and the

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medium of digital is fantastic for
giving us

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rapid fire
massive information

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but it's not giving us
the set the way a printed book does our

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print does
towards processing it

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in deeper ways and that's where purpose
we can read deeply on digital of course

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we can't but it requires intentionality
and purpose

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there are no binaries here you are
probably talking about all the benefits

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and advantages of the digital culture
especially in this time of covid i am

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not a if you will talking about the past
versus the future the traditional

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or the innovative in terms of print
versus digital no

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i'm talking about what are the cognitive
linguistic and affective processes

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encouraged or advantaged by
both

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and we need to think
about what sherry turkle said we

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transgress not because we try to build
the new

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but because we do not allow ourselves to
consider what it disrupts or diminishes

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both the medium and the purpose for
reading are changing under our

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fingertips and we have evidence to show
this that we are changing

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how our children's attention
is being developed and in very different

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ways in that zero to five now some of my
colleagues from

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pediatric neurology are doing images of
what happens when children are getting

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the same story in print
which is

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read to them by their parent or
caretaker versus an audio version versus

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a video digital animated version
there is no question

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the best activation of language regions
is when the parent is reading the book

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not when it's being heard though that is
better than when all the bells and

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whistles are just distracting and not
even in our young encouraging their own

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participatory act their own
reap

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if you will
learning to to to establish this this

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the the content in memory and so we have
evidence in every age we have evidence

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in our in our youth that basically they
are needing ever higher levels of

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stimulation they're always bored when
they go off what we're talking about is

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is is is a change and we even have brain
imaging to show that there are

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differences in white matter the
myelinization the connective tissue if

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you will with increased screen use
so

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what about you
i i'm most interested in children to be

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sure but i'm interested in you and all
the people that we deal with and there's

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no
question that evidence is mounting

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that we are all becoming skimmers of
information rather than the kind of

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immersive readers that all of us who who
love books

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once were but it's and it's if you read
my letter four you will see i it has

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affected me as much as it affects you
because the medium the dominant use of

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any medium
is really changing the mode with which

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we read and so we're becoming these
skimmers who do it like an f or a z we

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go zoop z
we get these word spotted

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word spotting browsing uh
information um but we aren't necessarily

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giving the time
to consolidate that in knowledge and

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therefore
there are implications for the rest of

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the deep reading processes now we have
children

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whom we've studied and we have had young
adults who my colleagues in the e-read

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network are studying and when you look
at what they are finding

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if they
if if

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if i can convince you through 171
000 young adults who've been studied

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from the year 2000 to 2017-18
i i hope this this data can just

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convince you of how important this is
these all these studies it's a meta

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analysis of more than 50 studies have
one and only one task

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the young adults read the same exact
fictional story

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on digital or in print
the comprehension is superior in print

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their ability to sequence details plots
and then you do a subset and say oh but

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what about the kids who are the digital
natives at the very end of the studies

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they have even a higher superiority
effect

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on print why for comprehension why when
asked and what's their perception they

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say oh we're always better on digital
why

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because they say we're faster
exactly right they're faster

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at the expense of deeper processing and
so this meta-analysis of over

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171 thousand subjects is showing us that
print is better for comprehension

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when we look at different genres
and this is increasing over time i look

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at another wonderful author italo
calvino who said

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way before
any of this was so obvious it seems to

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me that a pestilence has struck the
human race in its most distinctive

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faculty the use of words
it is a plague afflicting language

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revealing itself as a loss
of cognition that levels out all

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expression in the most into the most
generic anonymous

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he goes on
but the implications

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of whether it's a novelist an essayist
or a psychologist or a neural imager is

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that we are are changing
the way we read

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the results are and back to that
information silo information overload

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the results are many and they're so
important for all of you to realize when

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you have all of this information
the tendency is not

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to
try to grasp all the different

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perspectives the tendency as we see in
the polarization of our country in our

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world is that we go to the silos that
are basically confirming what we thought

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before
we are not using those silos with our

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full capacity of critical analysis in
essence we are

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failing to grasp complexity by living in
those silos of confirmatory bias we are

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failing also
to perceive beauty or to to to have that

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reading sanctuary that we all believe
we we once possessed and i hope most of

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you still possess it we can go back to
it which is why i called my book reader

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come home
but there are such broader implications

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for society if we give less attention to
other perspectives if we give less

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attention to others we become more
susceptible to demagoguery

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to those who will mislead us with false
information

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when we talk this moment
about democracy versus autocracy

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we
can do something about it

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by
refusing to let this question of how we

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use our information and change it to
knowledge and wisdom or not

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00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:54.720
we
in the library sciences in cognitive

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neurosciences and education we have to
think about how we can build a better

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brain if you will i call it a biliterate
brain i hope that you read about it or

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00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:10.159
ask me questions about it but it's never
a binary it's learning how to use deep

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00:26:10.159 --> 00:26:16.240
reading across mediums it's learning how
to preserve what is best in our present

305
00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:21.200
deep reading brain and with books and
expand it and there's so many people

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00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:26.640
doing wonderful work my colleague judy
coke and and and and her all of her

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00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:31.520
colleagues and bring me a book are
taking this question so seriously

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00:26:31.520 --> 00:26:36.480
they're working with the rotary they're
trying to bring books as a community

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catalyst for literacy
there's

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what they call the virtuous cycle of
book abundance they're working with a

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beautiful app called bookalicious and
remember we're not only talking about

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printed books
though we are although we will always

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00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:56.559
emphasize printed books but we're also
talking about

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00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:02.240
digital books as well
but what i what what i really see from

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00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:07.120
things like bookalicious is they're
trying to encourage in this case through

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00:27:07.120 --> 00:27:11.200
a digital app
how do we meet the particular if you

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00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:16.320
will
level of reading of of our children and

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00:27:16.320 --> 00:27:22.640
their areas of interest and link it to
books in our libraries link it to public

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00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:28.320
libraries link it to school libraries
link it to publishers but to bring books

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00:27:28.320 --> 00:27:34.320
and give children choice and agency so
there are so many things that we can do

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00:27:34.320 --> 00:27:39.600
but what we must not do
is develop only this what martha

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00:27:39.600 --> 00:27:43.679
newspaper calls this these technically
competent

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00:27:43.679 --> 00:27:48.720
children who've lost the ability to
think critically to examine themselves

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00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:52.000
and respect the humanity and diversity
of others

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00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:57.039
most of you have heard or read
essays by joseph epstein in which he

326
00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:01.520
says basically
a biography of any person ought to deal

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00:28:01.520 --> 00:28:06.640
at length with what he read he or she
because we are what we read well i will

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00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:13.520
say something that goes
a bit beyond and that is we are not only

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00:28:13.520 --> 00:28:17.600
what we read
we are also

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00:28:17.600 --> 00:28:22.240
how we read
for how we read

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and for what purpose
depends on our knowledge

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that is now not readily accessible to
people

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00:28:32.080 --> 00:28:38.240
this half hour with you
is simply my way of telling you

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00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:43.600
the seriousness
of some of your funding choices

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00:28:43.600 --> 00:28:50.559
like gerald beasley and and peter
briscoe i say we must protect

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00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:56.240
the attributes of books
and what i will call

337
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the
deep reading processes that allow our

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00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:06.960
species to become ever
more critically analytic knowledgeable

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00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:11.360
empathic and wise
i'm going to end with a quote i've never

340
00:29:11.360 --> 00:29:15.919
done this before i'm going to end with a
quote from reader come home in other

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00:29:15.919 --> 00:29:20.240
words i'm quoting myself
i have to laugh

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00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:26.480
but i really want you to know why
i read as a way

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00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:33.440
as a if you will my last words to ask
you why you read and why you have joined

344
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:37.679
one of the most important
first responding

345
00:29:37.679 --> 00:29:41.520
um
services acts of service professions of

346
00:29:41.520 --> 00:29:45.840
service to our world through museum and
library sciences

347
00:29:45.840 --> 00:29:51.360
so why do i read
i read both to find fresh reason to love

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00:29:51.360 --> 00:29:56.000
this world and also to leave this world
behind

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00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:02.720
to enter a space where i can glimpse
what lies beyond my imagination outside

350
00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:08.880
my knowledge and my experience of life
to expand an ever truer more beautiful

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00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:13.120
understanding
of a universe with

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00:30:13.120 --> 00:30:19.200
gods footprints everywhere
and to lead a life based on this vision

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for my students my children and those
who will follow

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00:30:24.080 --> 00:30:29.600
so i thank you for your service
and i wish you

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00:30:29.600 --> 00:30:36.039
godspeed in all that you do thank you so
much

356
00:30:45.679 --> 00:30:48.840
thank you

357
00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:59.279
so uh now i want to call our uh panel up
and we have a very uh distinguished

358
00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:02.320
panel
first of all thank you marianne for uh

359
00:31:02.320 --> 00:31:06.480
for wonderful wonderful presentation and
kicking this

360
00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:11.760
part of our conversation off
first panelist is a depression of zaria

361
00:31:11.760 --> 00:31:16.240
he's a pediatrician
with graduate degrees in

362
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:20.960
public health children's librarianship
physician assistant studies and medicine

363
00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:25.840
a unique combination of interests he's
an associate professor of pediatrics at

364
00:31:25.840 --> 00:31:28.960
the school of medicine and public health
uh

365
00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:32.640
and human ecology at the university of
wisconsin wisconsin-madison

366
00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:36.880
uh he has also i've been very involved
in reach out and read i believe is the

367
00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:40.240
incoming chair of reach out
and and reid

368
00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:43.840
as well as the american academy of
pediatrics

369
00:31:43.840 --> 00:31:48.720
monroe richardson who is an old friend
of mine from the days he was at the

370
00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:52.799
kauffman foundation
and user of the kansas city public

371
00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:56.799
library dedicated user who homeschooled
his kids i like to think that the

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00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:59.760
library was the place where a lot of
that happened

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00:31:59.760 --> 00:32:03.600
monroe is the executive director of read
charlotte a community initiative that

374
00:32:03.600 --> 00:32:07.760
unites families educators and community
partners with the goal of improving

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00:32:07.760 --> 00:32:12.720
third grade reading proficiency in
mecklenburg county and his course

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00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:16.799
partners with the with many
organizations in charlotte including uh

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00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:20.559
the library
british robinson

378
00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:24.960
british thank you uh
british robinson is the president and

379
00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:28.480
ceo of the barbara bush foundation for
family literacy

380
00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:32.480
she has 20 plus years of experience in
international and domestic health

381
00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:36.000
corporate responsibility public and
private partnerships and government

382
00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.279
relations
she served as the founding ceo of the

383
00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:43.039
women's heart alliance and in leadership
positions at women for women

384
00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:48.000
international and susan g komen
thank you all for being here

385
00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:53.559
we really appreciate it so
terry

386
00:32:57.200 --> 00:33:00.880
so with this panel we're going back to
yesterday's format we'll get to here 10

387
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:05.200
minutes from each of them um they have
their their light indicators down here

388
00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:08.399
and i think we have some signs we can
wave at you when you're getting to two

389
00:33:08.399 --> 00:33:13.600
minutes to the end of your time uh so we
are five minutes what have we got there

390
00:33:13.600 --> 00:33:18.399
uh we will wave it uh we appreciate you
being here and after we finish this

391
00:33:18.399 --> 00:33:22.880
section we'll head into a break so again
with the sticky notes and the questions

392
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:26.240
if you have things you would like to
feed to your imls

393
00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:29.360
table representative they will come to
me during the break and then we'll go

394
00:33:29.360 --> 00:33:32.720
into a question and answer period
all right

395
00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:37.120
so i will leave it to you as to the
order who would like to go first why

396
00:33:37.120 --> 00:33:41.360
don't you go first doctor graham look at
me great thank you

397
00:33:41.360 --> 00:33:45.120
so
hi folks so um it's really really a

398
00:33:45.120 --> 00:33:48.960
delight to be here and um i i just have
to say um

399
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:54.080
marianne peck's more
thoughtful information and

400
00:33:54.080 --> 00:33:59.200
notions and ideas and
thinking on one slide than i think i

401
00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:03.679
have encountered in entire semesters in
some training

402
00:34:03.679 --> 00:34:07.039
so always a delight to hear her hear her
talk

403
00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:13.839
um so you know one of the things that i
get the wonderful privilege of doing is

404
00:34:13.839 --> 00:34:18.159
sometimes musing on how
what what i get to do in the different

405
00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:22.800
worlds that i inhabit i am a practicing
pediatrician i

406
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:27.440
still do see patients and all i spent
many years in primary care

407
00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:31.919
but i also get to teach i get to think
about books i get to think about reading

408
00:34:31.919 --> 00:34:35.679
i get to think about parenting i get to
teach about parenting

409
00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:41.040
um and and so forth
and it occurs to me that um as as

410
00:34:41.040 --> 00:34:46.800
marianne was speaking she
hit a point about

411
00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:49.440
where she was talking about
how

412
00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:53.440
the parent reading to the child right
was

413
00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:57.520
the best right out of those various
modalities that were being being looked

414
00:34:57.520 --> 00:34:59.599
at
and

415
00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:04.320
we've known this for a long time
all over and this is one of the reasons

416
00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:09.119
reach out and read does what it does we
we work with clinicians to have them

417
00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:13.359
talk at the regular checkups that kids
get in the first five years of life

418
00:35:13.359 --> 00:35:16.960
about the importance of shared reading
you know um people think we're a book

419
00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:20.720
giveaway program and i say
yes but actually we're secretly a

420
00:35:20.720 --> 00:35:24.079
parenting support program right that's
that's the behaviors we're trying to

421
00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:27.920
change
and one of the things that

422
00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:33.680
we we've noted and that i i talk about
is that

423
00:35:33.680 --> 00:35:37.440
in that parent-child relationship
is

424
00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:40.800
is is a whole there's a lot wrapped up
in there

425
00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:46.240
right and we talk about this in um
in pediatrics in general there's a lot

426
00:35:46.240 --> 00:35:50.560
of work that's been going on over the
last

427
00:35:50.560 --> 00:35:54.960
really decades but i want to say it's
come together in the last five five

428
00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:59.359
years about this notion of what we call
relational health right what's the

429
00:35:59.359 --> 00:36:04.079
health of relationships like not just
the parent not just the child

430
00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:09.200
but the interaction that's between them
and how do we notice that and how do we

431
00:36:09.200 --> 00:36:13.599
help support it
how do we help protect it because often

432
00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:18.079
it's going really well right so let's
not screw it up right

433
00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:23.040
how do we help repair it when it's not
right and thinking about all those

434
00:36:23.040 --> 00:36:26.800
different things
and one of the observations we made was

435
00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:30.800
that
when shared reading is going well

436
00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:35.839
in a family when we observe a child so
one of the things i do we talk about

437
00:36:35.839 --> 00:36:39.440
this all the time is
you the health care provider walk in

438
00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:44.320
with the book in your hand
right and give it directly to the child

439
00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:48.079
okay don't give it at the end like it's
a sticker don't have the front desk do

440
00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:52.560
it whatever because you're missing a
really really really critical moment

441
00:36:52.560 --> 00:36:57.520
you're it's your uh your opportunity to
observe what's happening right and when

442
00:36:57.520 --> 00:37:01.920
that little kid
hopefully takes that book from you

443
00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:06.240
studies it for a moment
and toddles over to their parent and

444
00:37:06.240 --> 00:37:11.280
holds it out in that wonderful
read to me gesture right

445
00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:16.160
they have just told you volumes
my goodness they've told you tons right

446
00:37:16.160 --> 00:37:21.839
they're saying i know what this thing is
that you handed me this is that thing

447
00:37:21.839 --> 00:37:26.320
that if i bring it to you
there's a good chance you're going to

448
00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:29.680
pull me up in your lap
and we're going to open it and you're

449
00:37:29.680 --> 00:37:32.720
going to do this thing called reading
aloud with me

450
00:37:32.720 --> 00:37:35.520
and i want you to do it
right

451
00:37:35.520 --> 00:37:39.760
and it's it's a sign of not just
familiarity with books and literacy but

452
00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:45.280
it's familiarity with the act of reading
right and family and a trust that if i

453
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:48.480
bring this to you i think you're going
to do this

454
00:37:48.480 --> 00:37:52.320
right it's almost like there's a button
on the parent that says press here and i

455
00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:56.880
will read to you right um this is like
my kids knowing that you know i will buy

456
00:37:56.880 --> 00:38:01.200
them any soccer jersey from our local
third third division soccer team um you

457
00:38:01.200 --> 00:38:05.280
know like that oh yeah dad will always
do this right but that's the thing

458
00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:09.119
there's this trust this feedback loop
that happens there

459
00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:15.599
so this notion of relational health is
really central to this job of parenting

460
00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:19.200
and there's a second and related notion
that i want to talk about here for just

461
00:38:19.200 --> 00:38:23.520
a second
which is when you say what is the work

462
00:38:23.520 --> 00:38:28.640
of parenting right what's the core thing
let's get really meta about this yes yes

463
00:38:28.640 --> 00:38:32.960
feed and clothe and all that stuff right
really important and so many families

464
00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:36.400
are challenged in being able to do that
and then they need help and support with

465
00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:40.880
that
but what is it that a parent does

466
00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:45.680
with their child when we say they are
parenting right and and anyone who's in

467
00:38:45.680 --> 00:38:49.520
a parenting role not just an identified
biological parent it can be other

468
00:38:49.520 --> 00:38:53.520
caregivers etc
i think of it as this world where we're

469
00:38:53.520 --> 00:38:58.480
helping them make sense of the world
around them right that the parent is

470
00:38:58.480 --> 00:39:03.920
helping this child understand
what is this universe we live in right

471
00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:08.960
if you've never seen a dog then to have
someone name this thing called a dog

472
00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:13.119
and give you ways of
don't pet a dog unless you know you're

473
00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:16.160
allowed to or that you've asked
permission right just don't go running

474
00:39:16.160 --> 00:39:20.960
up to them um you know other things
about the world and this sense making

475
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:25.119
goes on my i have two kids that are now
in college right and you know

476
00:39:25.119 --> 00:39:28.480
occasionally they'll come up to me with
the thing from my daughter from her

477
00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:33.200
starbucks job going dad i got this thing
about a tax thing what do i do with this

478
00:39:33.200 --> 00:39:36.400
help right
um and i try to do sense making but i

479
00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:39.680
gotta admit i don't really understand
these things either i say here let's

480
00:39:39.680 --> 00:39:43.599
throw it at the tax accountant here you
figure it out right right but we're

481
00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:47.599
doing this job of this thing called
sense making right and we spend our

482
00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:53.680
entire lives doing that for those that
that we care about and care with

483
00:39:53.680 --> 00:39:57.839
i would argue
that these two notions this idea of

484
00:39:57.839 --> 00:40:02.720
relational health of these connections
that are happening of the strength

485
00:40:02.720 --> 00:40:06.240
and an ability of relationships to do
well

486
00:40:06.240 --> 00:40:09.760
and this notion of sense making apply
not only to the parent child

487
00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:15.760
relationship but they also apply to the
professional slash client relationship

488
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:21.359
right what am i doing when a parent
comes to me and says my child has a

489
00:40:21.359 --> 00:40:24.960
fever and a runny nose and a cough help
right

490
00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:29.599
yes yes yes i'm coming to a diagnosis
right but a diagnosis is fundamentally

491
00:40:29.599 --> 00:40:34.079
also about sense making the parent is
saying help me understand what is going

492
00:40:34.079 --> 00:40:37.440
on here
right and we sometimes discount this in

493
00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:41.040
all the you know imaging and tests and
blah blah blah and blood work yeah

494
00:40:41.040 --> 00:40:44.079
whatever
what is the thing we're actually doing

495
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:46.560
is that we're helping make sense of
things

496
00:40:46.560 --> 00:40:52.480
right and there's a relationship based
there i hope based on trust i trust that

497
00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:56.720
you know what you're doing that you care
about me you care about my child and

498
00:40:56.720 --> 00:41:00.240
that you're going to do the best thing
possible for us

499
00:41:00.240 --> 00:41:04.640
and furthermore last part of my my
thesis here is

500
00:41:04.640 --> 00:41:08.000
i would argue that this is what you do
as well

501
00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:11.520
okay as you heard i went to library
school in the middle of med school long

502
00:41:11.520 --> 00:41:16.640
story um
right and i remember sitting in some of

503
00:41:16.640 --> 00:41:21.760
her basic library science classes and
saying hold on i've heard some of these

504
00:41:21.760 --> 00:41:24.960
things before
i've heard them over in medical school

505
00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:27.680
of course in medical school we believe
no one else could possibly know these

506
00:41:27.680 --> 00:41:32.079
things right i mean whatever right
and i was like wait a minute reference

507
00:41:32.079 --> 00:41:36.000
interview right the whole open-ended
close-ended sort of thing right

508
00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.319
that's medical interviewing in a
different form right that what you all

509
00:41:40.319 --> 00:41:45.520
are doing or helping others do
is to make sense of the world

510
00:41:45.520 --> 00:41:49.760
when people come in and they say i need
a book i need this they email you you're

511
00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:53.599
making collection development decisions
you're deciding what ebooks to buy what

512
00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:57.680
print books to buy whatever the case may
be what programming to put on

513
00:41:57.680 --> 00:42:02.800
you're contributing to this whole notion
of sense making of helping populations

514
00:42:02.800 --> 00:42:06.079
make sense of the world around them
and

515
00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:09.839
you're building that trust
right there's a reason that libraries

516
00:42:09.839 --> 00:42:13.440
are held in such high esteem is that
trust is still there

517
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:17.760
right because it's this idea that you're
there for your patrons and not with some

518
00:42:17.760 --> 00:42:21.680
other ulterior motive or agenda or thing
of that nature

519
00:42:21.680 --> 00:42:25.680
right so again i would say that when you
pull all these things together you start

520
00:42:25.680 --> 00:42:29.359
to recognize that there's more in these
different streams around parenting

521
00:42:29.359 --> 00:42:34.079
around healthcare around libraries right
that makes incredible sense that these

522
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:38.240
are the same meta things that are that
are going on to the point that i said

523
00:42:38.240 --> 00:42:42.160
once well if you take away prescriptions
and procedures i would argue that

524
00:42:42.160 --> 00:42:46.560
librarianship is merely a high that
medicine is merely a highly advanced

525
00:42:46.560 --> 00:42:49.760
form of librarianship so there there you
go

526
00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:54.319
so i wanted to offer that to pull out
that nugget there that i think is so

527
00:42:54.319 --> 00:42:58.240
important because i think it helps us
think and maybe make sense about the

528
00:42:58.240 --> 00:43:02.079
world around us so thank you

529
00:43:04.240 --> 00:43:08.319
okay
well good afternoon and thanks for

530
00:43:08.319 --> 00:43:11.680
having me across me thanks for inviting
me i'm monroe richardson i'm the

531
00:43:11.680 --> 00:43:17.440
executive director of reed charlotte
i'm going to do three things in my 10

532
00:43:17.440 --> 00:43:20.400
minutes one i'm going to give you a
little snippet about who we are what we

533
00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:23.520
do
second i'm going to talk about why

534
00:43:23.520 --> 00:43:27.119
reading and why i think it's incredibly
important and third

535
00:43:27.119 --> 00:43:30.319
i'm going to
share with you three

536
00:43:30.319 --> 00:43:34.160
evidence-informed ideas that i think

537
00:43:34.640 --> 00:43:40.000
libraries can contribute to to to
improve reading outcomes first i want to

538
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:43.119
say
reach out and read is one of my favorite

539
00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:46.240
programs reach out and read carolina's
and the

540
00:43:46.240 --> 00:43:49.359
executive director kelly boulware is
fantastic it's been one of our very best

541
00:43:49.359 --> 00:43:54.400
partners i love this program has great
bones there are 15 well child visits

542
00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:58.640
between 0 to 5 13 or in the first 36
months

543
00:43:58.640 --> 00:44:02.720
i can't think of a better way to be able
to reach families who

544
00:44:02.720 --> 00:44:05.599
in very high numbers take their kids to
well-child visits even if they don't

545
00:44:05.599 --> 00:44:10.160
take care of their own health so i can
never fail to give a love this program

546
00:44:10.160 --> 00:44:15.839
um later all right all right
just give give callie some more money um

547
00:44:15.839 --> 00:44:20.240
so i'm going to try to leave you with
some nuggets today and

548
00:44:20.240 --> 00:44:23.760
you know the first one i want to share
is one of my favorite quotes if you go

549
00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:27.520
to my linkedin profile you'll see it
it's from larry page

550
00:44:27.520 --> 00:44:31.680
um and i think about it often in the
context of our work he says most people

551
00:44:31.680 --> 00:44:35.680
tend to assume things are impossible
rather than starting from real world

552
00:44:35.680 --> 00:44:39.599
physics and figuring out what's actually
possible so for the last seven years

553
00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:42.400
we've been engaged in the work of trying
to figure out what are the real world

554
00:44:42.400 --> 00:44:47.680
physics of literacy
our kids demand and need rigor just like

555
00:44:47.680 --> 00:44:52.480
we would have with anything else it's
not ideas our experiences my experience

556
00:44:52.480 --> 00:44:56.480
as a reader is irrelevant
it's what is the very best evidence tell

557
00:44:56.480 --> 00:44:59.440
me
that works for our kids for whom under

558
00:44:59.440 --> 00:45:03.920
what conditions and how do we actually
use that to help our kids improve in

559
00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:07.599
their reading
read charlotte is not a program

560
00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:11.920
we i am part of the national campaign
for grade level reading

561
00:45:11.920 --> 00:45:15.440
one of 350 communities we focus birth
through third grade

562
00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:19.680
i don't run programs
right we are a capacity building

563
00:45:19.680 --> 00:45:23.920
intermediary we help our partners in the
community organize and work together we

564
00:45:23.920 --> 00:45:27.680
work from the smallest grassroots
organizations to the the largest in our

565
00:45:27.680 --> 00:45:32.400
community
and we combine a deep knowledge of

566
00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:37.119
reading both parts of the science of
reading how kids learn to read

567
00:45:37.119 --> 00:45:40.720
as well as how adults effectively teach
in the read i would call the science of

568
00:45:40.720 --> 00:45:44.079
reading acquisition and science reading
instruction we combined that with deep

569
00:45:44.079 --> 00:45:47.200
knowledge about evidence-based
interventions and then we focus on

570
00:45:47.200 --> 00:45:50.480
bridging the research to practice gap
we're big fans of improvement science

571
00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:55.200
implementation science
we also serve as an outsourced program

572
00:45:55.200 --> 00:46:00.480
officer for the funding community in
charlotte north carolina

573
00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:04.400
in some ways people refer to us as
either harbor master quarterback

574
00:46:04.400 --> 00:46:08.240
sometimes
field general to get everybody moving in

575
00:46:08.240 --> 00:46:13.119
the direction to improve early literacy
when i came to charlotte from kansas

576
00:46:13.119 --> 00:46:15.839
city seven years ago i had two big
questions

577
00:46:15.839 --> 00:46:18.880
what can i know
that other people don't know and what

578
00:46:18.880 --> 00:46:22.800
can i do that other people don't do
because reading is actually the most

579
00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:26.480
research
area in academics and people have spent

580
00:46:26.480 --> 00:46:30.720
millions of dollars
think about reading first billions of

581
00:46:30.720 --> 00:46:34.880
dollars and we didn't see reading
outcomes improved so why do i think that

582
00:46:34.880 --> 00:46:38.319
we can do something different so i was
on a hunt to figure out what other

583
00:46:38.319 --> 00:46:42.480
people haven't figured out
i actually think we found something

584
00:46:42.480 --> 00:46:46.560
that's not the that's not the topic you
want to ask me i'll tell you um but i

585
00:46:46.560 --> 00:46:50.079
will say to the point earlier that was
raised around digital the most powerful

586
00:46:50.079 --> 00:46:53.440
thing we found actually is digital to
actually guide

587
00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:56.640
the behavior of adults around meeting
the needs of each kids but i'm not going

588
00:46:56.640 --> 00:47:01.040
to talk about that today
okay so why reading

589
00:47:01.040 --> 00:47:04.319
reading
especially by third grade is what

590
00:47:04.319 --> 00:47:08.160
someone's referred to as a keystone
outcome third grade is a critical pivot

591
00:47:08.160 --> 00:47:10.960
between learning to read and reading to
learn

592
00:47:10.960 --> 00:47:14.480
it is one of the greatest predictors of
how well kids will do in school

593
00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:18.560
unfortunately we don't have a we have a
lot of ideas about connection between

594
00:47:18.560 --> 00:47:22.720
prison and other things actually there's
very little hard data on that

595
00:47:22.720 --> 00:47:26.559
i'm working right now with some
researchers at unc chapel hill we got a

596
00:47:26.559 --> 00:47:29.440
nice longitudinal data set
uh

597
00:47:29.440 --> 00:47:32.880
the duke endowment is helping to
underwrite it hopefully in the spring

598
00:47:32.880 --> 00:47:36.400
we'll actually have something that we'll
publish and do in presentations later so

599
00:47:36.400 --> 00:47:40.720
siobhan i've already talked to ralph
about doing a presentation later for the

600
00:47:40.720 --> 00:47:44.079
campaign
but

601
00:47:44.079 --> 00:47:49.280
reading really matters it makes a big
impact and the problem is and i want to

602
00:47:49.280 --> 00:47:52.800
take something that's often flat and i
want to make it round so first of all

603
00:47:52.800 --> 00:47:55.359
when i'm talking about children i'm
talking about children from zero to

604
00:47:55.359 --> 00:47:58.480
eight
and so i want to segment that some of

605
00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:02.240
the things that we talk about love of
reading and all that i know that matters

606
00:48:02.240 --> 00:48:06.240
when we're talking about a six-year-old
the issue isn't i would argue as much do

607
00:48:06.240 --> 00:48:10.240
they love to read can they read like
they're you cannot skip over the

608
00:48:10.240 --> 00:48:13.839
fundamental skills that kids need to
learn learning to read is the most

609
00:48:13.839 --> 00:48:16.960
important job of children in elementary
school they don't teach themselves to

610
00:48:16.960 --> 00:48:20.160
read guess who does it the adults in
their lives so either we are helping

611
00:48:20.160 --> 00:48:23.119
them or we are failing them and
unfortunately we're failing too many

612
00:48:23.119 --> 00:48:26.720
children one of my favorite sources of
data is the national

613
00:48:26.720 --> 00:48:30.559
assessment of educational progress the
nate americas report card i looked it up

614
00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:35.200
this morning 2019.
i was telling british this over lunch i

615
00:48:35.200 --> 00:48:37.760
could have inundated you with numbers
but you wouldn't remember them all so

616
00:48:37.760 --> 00:48:40.800
i'm just gonna gonna give you two
statistics today

617
00:48:40.800 --> 00:48:46.480
in 2019 52 of black fourth graders in
the us had below basic reading skills

618
00:48:46.480 --> 00:48:50.960
i'll say it again 52 percent of black
fourth graders have below basic reading

619
00:48:50.960 --> 00:48:55.440
skills this is in your communities
only 18 percent one out of five were

620
00:48:55.440 --> 00:49:00.480
proficient readers so all the thing that
marianne talked about wonderful cannot

621
00:49:00.480 --> 00:49:06.160
access it if i can't read
if you want to guarantee

622
00:49:06.160 --> 00:49:08.559
failure however you want to talk about
it

623
00:49:08.559 --> 00:49:11.200
make sure that child doesn't learn to
read and i guarantee you a high

624
00:49:11.200 --> 00:49:15.680
probability they will fail in life
that's what we're doing

625
00:49:15.680 --> 00:49:22.319
right so the question is as libraries is
is this part of your mission or not

626
00:49:22.319 --> 00:49:24.960
right
um

627
00:49:24.960 --> 00:49:30.640
there's more that i could say um
we have two systems in our community

628
00:49:30.640 --> 00:49:35.119
right and the reality is it has never
been all about schools never been right

629
00:49:35.119 --> 00:49:37.839
you've had parents making sure their
kids can learn to read before they go to

630
00:49:37.839 --> 00:49:41.200
school we've had private tutoring
services they're not there out of the

631
00:49:41.200 --> 00:49:44.640
goodness of their heart there is a
business model they're making money

632
00:49:44.640 --> 00:49:47.760
people need help parents are sending
their kids the problem is it's

633
00:49:47.760 --> 00:49:52.559
inequitable in the sense that some kids
who need it don't have access right

634
00:49:52.559 --> 00:49:54.880
um
[Music]

635
00:49:54.880 --> 00:49:58.480
impact of the pandemic i think british
is going to talk more about this but

636
00:49:58.480 --> 00:50:03.680
recent data from two weeks ago
communities in schools in charlotte

637
00:50:03.680 --> 00:50:07.520
had their staff assembled in seven
elementary schools i think these are all

638
00:50:07.520 --> 00:50:12.000
title one schools
the teachers are reporting only 14 to 17

639
00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:16.240
percent of children in the elementary
schools all grade levels are on level

640
00:50:16.240 --> 00:50:21.119
right now this impact the pandemic
i looked at incoming kindergarten data

641
00:50:21.119 --> 00:50:25.680
from fall of last year only one out of
five kindergartners and title 1 schools

642
00:50:25.680 --> 00:50:28.960
on level for reading
that means they don't know their letters

643
00:50:28.960 --> 00:50:33.520
no letter knows no letter id letter
sound correspondence

644
00:50:33.520 --> 00:50:37.839
all the other stuff flow
right unless we organize ourselves like

645
00:50:37.839 --> 00:50:40.640
we can predict with high probability
where these kids are going to be in 10

646
00:50:40.640 --> 00:50:46.160
years in 15 and 20 years right so the
question is what role does the library

647
00:50:46.160 --> 00:50:49.520
have right
in helping our communities because our

648
00:50:49.520 --> 00:50:52.000
schools are overwhelmed and they can't
do by themselves

649
00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:55.520
and particularly the families we're
talking about the kids we're talking

650
00:50:55.520 --> 00:50:59.680
about they don't have the resources
so who's going to come in and stand in

651
00:50:59.680 --> 00:51:05.920
the breach if not now when
okay so here are my um

652
00:51:05.920 --> 00:51:10.319
three evidence informed ideas these are
in order of increasing complexity the

653
00:51:10.319 --> 00:51:13.680
first one you're already doing i'm just
bringing rigor to it

654
00:51:13.680 --> 00:51:16.000
empower the adults in the lives of
children that help them with their

655
00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:21.040
reading outside of school by adults i
mean parents caregivers mentors

656
00:51:21.040 --> 00:51:25.680
uh 2015 study okay so we we've long
known mother's education

657
00:51:25.680 --> 00:51:29.359
is the most important predictor how kids
will do did you know there was a 2015

658
00:51:29.359 --> 00:51:32.880
study found there was one thing that
caught specific thing college educated

659
00:51:32.880 --> 00:51:35.680
mothers do for their children it makes
all the difference anyone want to guess

660
00:51:35.680 --> 00:51:39.839
what it is
reading three times a week that's a

661
00:51:39.839 --> 00:51:45.200
malleable variable malleable variable
that's not limited to college education

662
00:51:45.200 --> 00:51:49.359
educated parents who can help those
parents do that you all can you're

663
00:51:49.359 --> 00:51:52.800
already doing it we can bring rigor i
got more stuff but i'm going to skip

664
00:51:52.800 --> 00:51:57.119
over my time short
google home literacy model

665
00:51:57.119 --> 00:52:02.400
home literacy model
is one of the most researched proven

666
00:52:02.400 --> 00:52:04.960
ways that parents help their kids with
reading

667
00:52:04.960 --> 00:52:08.319
right
unknown research largely unknown right

668
00:52:08.319 --> 00:52:12.640
there's rigor this isn't nice to have
like you guys have strong stuff you can

669
00:52:12.640 --> 00:52:16.400
anchor what you're doing around how
adults are proven to help their kids

670
00:52:16.400 --> 00:52:19.839
okay number two

671
00:52:20.079 --> 00:52:23.280
all right this is gonna get harder
um

672
00:52:23.280 --> 00:52:26.400
increase reading readiness at school
entry i think pat's already doing that

673
00:52:26.400 --> 00:52:28.960
i'm gonna learn some stuff from from
their library

674
00:52:28.960 --> 00:52:31.920
um
here's the thing there are four big

675
00:52:31.920 --> 00:52:35.280
things that we want to focus on this is
just literacy i know there's a lot of

676
00:52:35.280 --> 00:52:39.280
other domains before four things kids
need little kids when they come to

677
00:52:39.280 --> 00:52:43.280
school letter id can you name your upper
and lower case letters do you know the

678
00:52:43.280 --> 00:52:47.359
sounds they make can you write your name
and do you have big vocabulary you do

679
00:52:47.359 --> 00:52:50.640
those four things you're going to set
them up it will never be this simple

680
00:52:50.640 --> 00:52:53.359
again
never

681
00:52:53.359 --> 00:52:56.079
right
this has to be within what you all can

682
00:52:56.079 --> 00:53:00.720
help adults do and help your kids do all
right last one this is harder

683
00:53:00.720 --> 00:53:04.000
it's the hardest one
get involved with literacy tutoring in

684
00:53:04.000 --> 00:53:08.079
your community there is not enough and
districts are not stepping up

685
00:53:08.079 --> 00:53:11.440
there are in my community alone there
are tens of thousands of children

686
00:53:11.440 --> 00:53:15.760
struggling
um three big areas

687
00:53:15.760 --> 00:53:20.480
phonics reading fluid comprehension
kids need all three

688
00:53:20.480 --> 00:53:24.400
um
big gaps in the community more schools

689
00:53:24.400 --> 00:53:28.480
that need tutoring we need way more
phonics tutoring and we need a lot more

690
00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:33.040
of it to help more kids if there's any
one entity that can help stand in the

691
00:53:33.040 --> 00:53:38.040
breach it's libraries thank you

692
00:53:42.160 --> 00:53:46.319
well he just about taken almost
everything i was going to say

693
00:53:46.319 --> 00:53:50.720
just kidding i think i'm going to sort
of come full circle um i had a no boss i

694
00:53:50.720 --> 00:53:54.319
have a deep public health background
actually i've not been in this field um

695
00:53:54.319 --> 00:53:58.079
so i'm a little bit where the where the
doctor is and now i have a new new best

696
00:53:58.079 --> 00:54:01.839
friend here but i want to bring this to
ground a little bit and bring it back to

697
00:54:01.839 --> 00:54:06.079
i think this has been a nice segue from
the doctor and monroe um is to bring it

698
00:54:06.079 --> 00:54:09.440
a little bit back and sort of connect
the dots um because he gave you a lot of

699
00:54:09.440 --> 00:54:12.800
stats and facts
in the first thing first thing i need

700
00:54:12.800 --> 00:54:18.400
you to know do not assume that every
adult can read

701
00:54:18.400 --> 00:54:22.400
do not assume that every parent and
every caregiver

702
00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:27.599
that's bringing that child in can read
unfortunately today

703
00:54:27.599 --> 00:54:31.760
54
of all adults in the united states

704
00:54:31.760 --> 00:54:38.160
ages 16 to 74 essentially read below a
third grade level

705
00:54:38.160 --> 00:54:42.480
that is a hundred and thirty million
adults in the united states

706
00:54:42.480 --> 00:54:46.079
this is data
this is evidence i'm not making this up

707
00:54:46.079 --> 00:54:53.760
i just told you 54 of our population
adults read below a sixth grade level

708
00:54:53.760 --> 00:54:57.920
that has implications from
the keynote we talked about right

709
00:54:57.920 --> 00:55:02.720
it can be a privilege it can be a luxury
well it's not for almost one in five

710
00:55:02.720 --> 00:55:07.119
adults those parents and caregivers
have to be able to read to those

711
00:55:07.119 --> 00:55:10.880
children but when you see them it
doesn't mean that they can right

712
00:55:10.880 --> 00:55:16.000
and so it's a multi-generational problem
and to monroe's point i'm just going to

713
00:55:16.000 --> 00:55:20.559
say amen amen amen because you've been
on the front lines from the very early

714
00:55:20.559 --> 00:55:23.920
days through the civil rights movement
through jim crow

715
00:55:23.920 --> 00:55:28.880
we got another issue here we got another
movement and another moment

716
00:55:28.880 --> 00:55:32.000
and i've heard a lot about should you do
this should you do that i wasn't here

717
00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:37.440
yesterday but i heard enough as monroe
said we need you to be not in the

718
00:55:37.440 --> 00:55:42.559
community but also of the community
to recognize that parent

719
00:55:42.559 --> 00:55:47.520
that is low literate that is struggling
with reading that is struggling to make

720
00:55:47.520 --> 00:55:51.520
sure that their child is not in fourth
grade is not below a third grade reading

721
00:55:51.520 --> 00:55:54.160
level
it is a plea

722
00:55:54.160 --> 00:55:58.000
that those of us in literacy have for
you as libraries

723
00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:02.079
barbara bush our founder
founded this organization six weeks

724
00:56:02.079 --> 00:56:05.280
after she walked into the white house
our former first lady

725
00:56:05.280 --> 00:56:11.119
and she did it because she said literacy
or reading is connected to everything

726
00:56:11.119 --> 00:56:15.280
it's connected to
improving our society it's connected to

727
00:56:15.280 --> 00:56:20.640
better health outcomes it's connected to
food security it's connected to housing

728
00:56:20.640 --> 00:56:24.559
security it's connected to jobs you read
below sixth grade level you can't read a

729
00:56:24.559 --> 00:56:29.040
ballot you can't fill a job application
you cannot read a medicine bottle you do

730
00:56:29.040 --> 00:56:32.960
not understand
protocols around diabetes and high blood

731
00:56:32.960 --> 00:56:37.520
pressure right so how are you gonna help
your child get on zoom which we've been

732
00:56:37.520 --> 00:56:42.240
doing for two years
we have a program uh early childhood

733
00:56:42.240 --> 00:56:46.079
with two early childhood literacy
programs one is called teen trendsetters

734
00:56:46.079 --> 00:56:48.799
and the others books boards i'm not
going to go too much into it but you can

735
00:56:48.799 --> 00:56:53.280
look at it online we do an evaluation
every year the program is 20 years old

736
00:56:53.280 --> 00:56:56.960
this year wildly successful we get kids
that are

737
00:56:56.960 --> 00:57:01.119
two grade levels or below in reading and
usually within seven to nine months get

738
00:57:01.119 --> 00:57:04.559
them back up not only on grade level
reading but some kids a year or two

739
00:57:04.559 --> 00:57:09.520
above that after the program we can
always do better the point here is this

740
00:57:09.520 --> 00:57:12.880
year during kovid
our evaluation came back and the

741
00:57:12.880 --> 00:57:17.119
evaluation essentially said that black
boys

742
00:57:17.119 --> 00:57:22.160
were suffering the most
even with this intensive tutoring this

743
00:57:22.160 --> 00:57:27.520
evidence-based curriculum
we would posit through our researcher

744
00:57:27.520 --> 00:57:31.599
that it wasn't just what else is going
on in the home this is going to bring me

745
00:57:31.599 --> 00:57:35.200
back to the parent or the caregiver in a
second what else was going on yes it was

746
00:57:35.200 --> 00:57:38.720
covet
lack of access to broadband you know

747
00:57:38.720 --> 00:57:42.240
tablets et cetera et cetera you guys
know this the digital literacy piece

748
00:57:42.240 --> 00:57:46.960
that was a huge factor right so we have
to take that into account but the parent

749
00:57:46.960 --> 00:57:52.400
and the caregiver matters because you
have to ask what is going on in the home

750
00:57:52.400 --> 00:57:56.880
why are those black boys those brown
kids below grade level reading because

751
00:57:56.880 --> 00:58:01.520
we haven't looked at adult literacy when
you have low literacy rates amongst

752
00:58:01.520 --> 00:58:06.440
adults and parents and caregivers we're
not truly fixing the problem it's a

753
00:58:06.440 --> 00:58:10.559
multi-generational problem and that's
why in our actual name it says family

754
00:58:10.559 --> 00:58:13.520
literacy
we would ask that as you go back into

755
00:58:13.520 --> 00:58:17.920
your communities that you're very
conscious not just of the child but of

756
00:58:17.920 --> 00:58:23.119
the parent the parent and the child as
monroe said it goes together we've been

757
00:58:23.119 --> 00:58:27.200
doing a lot pouring a lot of money as a
society and as a country

758
00:58:27.200 --> 00:58:31.839
just into those kitty programs and we're
forgetting about what's going on at home

759
00:58:31.839 --> 00:58:37.280
that kid we also have data there was a
study of boston uh boston university a

760
00:58:37.280 --> 00:58:41.760
study in boston a boston tent a study in
tennessee both of these were rtc studies

761
00:58:41.760 --> 00:58:44.880
in the last couple of years there were
decades-long studies

762
00:58:44.880 --> 00:58:49.040
and they showed that the tennessee
studies showed boston said oh it was

763
00:58:49.040 --> 00:58:51.839
wildly successful and look where the
kids are with early childhood

764
00:58:51.839 --> 00:58:56.319
interventions the tennessee study showed
something very interesting they followed

765
00:58:56.319 --> 00:59:00.640
these kids all the way to sixth grade
guess what happened right around fourth

766
00:59:00.640 --> 00:59:04.960
grade they started black brown white
didn't matter something started to

767
00:59:04.960 --> 00:59:07.440
happen
and you know what it was

768
00:59:07.440 --> 00:59:11.280
we kept paying attention to the kid
something was going on at home they were

769
00:59:11.280 --> 00:59:16.480
food insecure they were housing insecure
and so you sit as this hub in your

770
00:59:16.480 --> 00:59:20.720
communities
and we need you the second thing is we

771
00:59:20.720 --> 00:59:24.480
have good data on
library school

772
00:59:24.480 --> 00:59:28.880
after school or some excuse me summer
reading programs they're stellar

773
00:59:28.880 --> 00:59:32.559
the outcomes of your summer reading
programs are better than when a child

774
00:59:32.559 --> 00:59:36.480
goes to camp or even better than when
they participate oftentimes in school

775
00:59:36.480 --> 00:59:40.319
district programming
that's evidence-based that's a good

776
00:59:40.319 --> 00:59:44.640
thing because you're starting to break
that multi-generational cycle of poverty

777
00:59:44.640 --> 00:59:47.920
of low income of not being
full

778
00:59:47.920 --> 00:59:52.640
parents workers and citizens in society
so that's something we'd ask you to

779
00:59:52.640 --> 00:59:56.319
reflect on and to think about

780
00:59:56.640 --> 01:00:00.640
barbara bush you've already talked about
the mothers being so important we know

781
01:00:00.640 --> 01:00:05.200
that 88
of kids under six if their parents do

782
01:00:05.200 --> 01:00:09.359
not have a ged or a high school diploma
they're in low income or they live in

783
01:00:09.359 --> 01:00:12.480
poverty
so we have all this kind of social

784
01:00:12.480 --> 01:00:16.079
determinants of health and sort of all
these other factors

785
01:00:16.079 --> 01:00:20.640
around the kid and we ask that you take
those in do what you do somebody talked

786
01:00:20.640 --> 01:00:23.839
about reading
we're just asking you to help the

787
01:00:23.839 --> 01:00:28.319
community to learn to read and don't
forget about that parent don't forget

788
01:00:28.319 --> 01:00:32.319
that it is a multi-generational issue
and that's something we need to be

789
01:00:32.319 --> 01:00:36.720
concerned about if we're concerned about
society and democracy

790
01:00:36.720 --> 01:00:40.880
and economic mobility
reading is the through line

791
01:00:40.880 --> 01:00:46.319
reading and literacy are the
constraining factors that if we do not

792
01:00:46.319 --> 01:00:51.280
fix we will still be in the same place
and so that's for us that's the through

793
01:00:51.280 --> 01:00:56.000
line we have actively we've always
funded libraries we were grant making

794
01:00:56.000 --> 01:01:00.079
for 27 years we're now more of a thought
leader partner a little closer at the

795
01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:04.400
national level to what monroe was doing
but barbara bush

796
01:01:04.400 --> 01:01:08.799
for 27 years gave libraries around this
country grants

797
01:01:08.799 --> 01:01:13.040
millions of dollars of grants in fact
her very first grants were after the

798
01:01:13.040 --> 01:01:17.119
election this is a great story after the
election she they had money left over

799
01:01:17.119 --> 01:01:20.960
the inaugural committee she went to her
house when she took all the money and

800
01:01:20.960 --> 01:01:25.839
she gave it to 5 000 libraries across
gave five thousand dollars to about over

801
01:01:25.839 --> 01:01:29.680
a hundred a thousand libraries in the
united states with the leftover um

802
01:01:29.680 --> 01:01:34.240
inaugural money
so libraries are in our dna um and we've

803
01:01:34.240 --> 01:01:40.640
been talking to tracy hall um at
ala and we want to do more with you

804
01:01:40.640 --> 01:01:44.240
and figure out the best way that doesn't
take you off your mission

805
01:01:44.240 --> 01:01:48.880
but recognizes the moment that we are in
now

806
01:01:48.880 --> 01:01:54.240
um and that you are critical
to us turning around the low literacy

807
01:01:54.240 --> 01:01:58.480
problem in america today
that is reflected in one in five adults

808
01:01:58.480 --> 01:02:02.480
but also in all of our children
so we ask that the biggest call to

809
01:02:02.480 --> 01:02:06.720
action is that you join us and know how
serious the problem is and we can't do

810
01:02:06.720 --> 01:02:10.000
it without libraries thank you

811
01:02:15.359 --> 01:02:19.359
marianne wolfe
start us off

812
01:02:19.359 --> 01:02:23.839
thank you um
i want to say this with absolute

813
01:02:23.839 --> 01:02:30.000
sincerity that it is with the greatest
gratitude that i listened to each member

814
01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:34.640
of the panel
as some of you know i think dr

815
01:02:34.640 --> 01:02:40.640
um navisaria knows this from other talks
my entire life has been devoted to the

816
01:02:40.640 --> 01:02:44.960
themes
which each of you have discussed

817
01:02:44.960 --> 01:02:48.480
i worried that the talk that i gave you
in

818
01:02:48.480 --> 01:02:53.200
in in my words which was an apologia for
reading

819
01:02:53.200 --> 01:02:58.319
in this moment in which democracy in my
opinion is being threatened

820
01:02:58.319 --> 01:03:02.880
i believed that was my goal for this
wonderful group

821
01:03:02.880 --> 01:03:07.680
but my heart
my whole life has been dedicated to the

822
01:03:07.680 --> 01:03:14.319
themes which each of you expressed and
therefore my gratitude is truly

823
01:03:14.319 --> 01:03:18.960
overflowing
to dr navisaria you know that i have

824
01:03:18.960 --> 01:03:24.960
been in fact
um something of an apologist for roar

825
01:03:24.960 --> 01:03:29.280
for 20 years i've given several keynotes
for you

826
01:03:29.280 --> 01:03:36.319
but the reality is that you represent
one of the most important and powerful

827
01:03:36.319 --> 01:03:42.160
sources for the first area of the three
areas i'm most concerned with and that's

828
01:03:42.160 --> 01:03:46.960
the first area of zero to five what
happened then

829
01:03:46.960 --> 01:03:53.119
and reach out and read has played such
an extraordinary role i cannot be more

830
01:03:53.119 --> 01:04:00.160
grateful usually i have three slides
dedicated totally to reach out and read

831
01:04:00.160 --> 01:04:05.440
secondly to
monroe richardson i could not agree with

832
01:04:05.440 --> 01:04:10.799
you more about the need for
evidence-based practice the second major

833
01:04:10.799 --> 01:04:15.920
area of my work and that i want as a
campaign for the nation

834
01:04:15.920 --> 01:04:22.720
is to have early assessment early
intervention based on evidence practice

835
01:04:22.720 --> 01:04:29.680
half of my research is based on that and
it is with pride that i hear about reed

836
01:04:29.680 --> 01:04:35.039
charlotte doing this kind of work on the
science of reading for all our teachers

837
01:04:35.039 --> 01:04:41.039
and for your emphasis on tutoring i
could not be in more in greater support

838
01:04:41.039 --> 01:04:44.640
our appreciation
and finally

839
01:04:44.640 --> 01:04:51.599
i i have to say that i also could not
agree more with the emphasis

840
01:04:51.599 --> 01:04:58.240
um that uh british
really gave to one of the areas of

841
01:04:58.240 --> 01:05:04.000
inequity that has often gone under under
underground

842
01:05:04.000 --> 01:05:09.359
and it was brought to the fore by jeanne
shaw one of the most prominent breeding

843
01:05:09.359 --> 01:05:12.799
researchers
days before she died she said the

844
01:05:12.799 --> 01:05:17.760
educational system
must try to understand and figure out

845
01:05:17.760 --> 01:05:22.599
why the greatest failure in american
education are fourth grade

846
01:05:22.599 --> 01:05:27.839
african-american boys
why is that happening looking at the

847
01:05:27.839 --> 01:05:31.200
home
looking at trauma looking at poverty

848
01:05:31.200 --> 01:05:36.720
looking at equity but i also ask you
british to understand that from another

849
01:05:36.720 --> 01:05:42.000
viewpoint we are never and this goes
back to uh dr richardson we never get

850
01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:47.359
fluency by grade four for so many of our
children therefore the first three

851
01:05:47.359 --> 01:05:53.839
grades are essential for getting fluency
because grade four is the drop out from

852
01:05:53.839 --> 01:05:59.520
that point on we are losing so many of
our children of color and even later nap

853
01:05:59.520 --> 01:06:05.680
results are worse than what you said
so we are we could not be in more if you

854
01:06:05.680 --> 01:06:11.680
will
uh on the same pages of your work and i

855
01:06:11.680 --> 01:06:18.079
salute each of you i could not thank you
more for giving the talk that i usually

856
01:06:18.079 --> 01:06:23.520
give others and felt guilty of not
giving i didn't need to the three of you

857
01:06:23.520 --> 01:06:29.400
did better than what i could have done
thank you so much

858
01:06:33.039 --> 01:06:38.000
wonderful and we we have certainly felt
all four of your calls to action so i

859
01:06:38.000 --> 01:06:43.039
think we have some questions um the
first one might be more of a research

860
01:06:43.039 --> 01:06:46.720
realm
but it asks how much of the tendency to

861
01:06:46.720 --> 01:06:51.359
shallow reading of e materials is that
most people do not know how to make

862
01:06:51.359 --> 01:06:56.640
e-books their own by marking them up
with highlighters or tab-like markers to

863
01:06:56.640 --> 01:07:01.680
help you find your way back to important
bits i don't know if any of you would

864
01:07:01.680 --> 01:07:04.720
like to take that on

865
01:07:05.119 --> 01:07:09.039
shallow tendency to shallow reading was
how it was framed

866
01:07:09.039 --> 01:07:14.000
well maybe i can start with with an
observation and and this is not my my

867
01:07:14.000 --> 01:07:20.000
own observation but is the work of um
uh that was articulated well by um naomi

868
01:07:20.000 --> 01:07:24.480
baron who marianne referenced in a
number of her slides um

869
01:07:24.480 --> 01:07:29.680
you know she talks about that there's
something about the modality of of

870
01:07:29.680 --> 01:07:34.559
ebooks and recognizing that there's not
one way in which they're all programmed

871
01:07:34.559 --> 01:07:37.920
but
physical books right you turn pages

872
01:07:37.920 --> 01:07:42.640
right this thing we call a codex this
discrete turning of pages to sort of a

873
01:07:42.640 --> 01:07:46.000
marker in your head when you move from
page to page

874
01:07:46.000 --> 01:07:49.920
you don't get that necessarily with
ebooks

875
01:07:49.920 --> 01:07:54.160
often there's sort of the infinite
scroll kind of concept

876
01:07:54.160 --> 01:07:59.680
and the argument was that it made it
much harder for people to chunk or to

877
01:07:59.680 --> 01:08:05.119
kind of have a natural break in certain
ways to process that um and i think

878
01:08:05.119 --> 01:08:09.920
there's other elements of that that that
play into it i think for young children

879
01:08:09.920 --> 01:08:13.280
there's other elements also that that
are

880
01:08:13.280 --> 01:08:18.400
key issues um
most many e-readers are also

881
01:08:18.400 --> 01:08:22.480
do other things right and there's all
sorts of distractions notifications

882
01:08:22.480 --> 01:08:25.600
there's bells and whistles that are
programmed in there

883
01:08:25.600 --> 01:08:30.480
which mind you are
attractive to parents who think well

884
01:08:30.480 --> 01:08:35.199
isn't this better than a static you know
paper book which is far from the truth

885
01:08:35.199 --> 01:08:38.400
they're actually distracters
right

886
01:08:38.400 --> 01:08:40.880
but
parents get sold on this that this is

887
01:08:40.880 --> 01:08:45.199
more educational let's remember by the
way that the american public has no idea

888
01:08:45.199 --> 01:08:48.960
that the word educational is not a
protected term

889
01:08:48.960 --> 01:08:55.120
i could i could take a fistful of grass
and tell people this is educational and

890
01:08:55.120 --> 01:08:59.759
sell it to them for 25 and they'll go oh
great point you know um so i think we

891
01:08:59.759 --> 01:09:03.679
need to recognize that that there's a
number of different factors that that

892
01:09:03.679 --> 01:09:07.120
play into this i don't know if my
colleagues have other observations on

893
01:09:07.120 --> 01:09:09.279
this

894
01:09:11.520 --> 01:09:16.239
well i can say briefly there is in fact
a whole group of researchers who are who

895
01:09:16.239 --> 01:09:20.640
are doing work on what is called the
shallowing hypothesis and it's very

896
01:09:20.640 --> 01:09:26.239
similar to what doctor no sorry and and
actually naomi barron and mangan and the

897
01:09:26.239 --> 01:09:31.520
e-reed network are are all doing that
kind of work and the point is the screen

898
01:09:31.520 --> 01:09:37.759
even with notes has an evanescence
tendency to hasten this on and not take

899
01:09:37.759 --> 01:09:43.920
those notes and not know where we where
we are spatially so there's an actual

900
01:09:43.920 --> 01:09:48.719
spatial element to memory that the book
reinforces but

901
01:09:48.719 --> 01:09:53.839
most people do not know about the
notation so it's a good thing that as we

902
01:09:53.839 --> 01:09:59.520
move into the future we are thinking how
can the medium address its own

903
01:09:59.520 --> 01:10:02.520
weaknesses

904
01:10:02.560 --> 01:10:06.159
excellent
all right i think i'll ask one more

905
01:10:06.159 --> 01:10:10.400
question and then if folks want to take
to the mics we'll open it up to the

906
01:10:10.400 --> 01:10:13.040
floor
uh this question actually came up during

907
01:10:13.040 --> 01:10:16.880
the last panel but i think it's relevant
to yours

908
01:10:16.880 --> 01:10:20.480
um
what kind of literacy are we talking

909
01:10:20.480 --> 01:10:26.640
about do we have a common definition
um

910
01:10:26.880 --> 01:10:31.360
literacy so let's start so first of all
um the american libraries association

911
01:10:31.360 --> 01:10:35.679
has an incredible
a white paper um on literacy and the

912
01:10:35.679 --> 01:10:39.600
definition of literacy um so i suggest
because i don't have it in front of me i

913
01:10:39.600 --> 01:10:42.560
can't read it to you
and i don't want to watch it but it's a

914
01:10:42.560 --> 01:10:45.520
beautiful definition of literacy but it
really is from

915
01:10:45.520 --> 01:10:49.199
you know sort of life from the beginning
because you're supposed to really start

916
01:10:49.199 --> 01:10:54.480
reading to your child literally in utero
and when it's born um really to the end

917
01:10:54.480 --> 01:10:57.920
of your life and if we're talking about
lifelong learning that's the space that

918
01:10:57.920 --> 01:11:02.239
we're talking about and again
family for us is in our name that

919
01:11:02.239 --> 01:11:05.040
doesn't
have to mean you know parent child it

920
01:11:05.040 --> 01:11:10.880
can mean whatever family means in 2022
so we'd ask you to take the broadest

921
01:11:10.880 --> 01:11:14.080
definition as possible and if you go
back to what i said earlier

922
01:11:14.080 --> 01:11:18.960
not just the child not just the parent
but both looking at the space that

923
01:11:18.960 --> 01:11:23.520
you're in and how you can support that
family unit through reading and let me

924
01:11:23.520 --> 01:11:26.800
just add a corollary something i didn't
mention it marianne you mentioned you

925
01:11:26.800 --> 01:11:30.800
mentioned the word inequity um and i
missed saying that

926
01:11:30.800 --> 01:11:35.440
reading is about equity and and
leveling the playing field more than

927
01:11:35.440 --> 01:11:39.520
leveling the playing field if a child
can read the parent can read it changes

928
01:11:39.520 --> 01:11:43.920
your whole life we have this line that
we say so that you can be a full worker

929
01:11:43.920 --> 01:11:47.840
parent and citizen but if you can read
write and comprehend you can live your

930
01:11:47.840 --> 01:11:51.679
life with dignity
whatever dignity means to you whatever

931
01:11:51.679 --> 01:11:56.320
that progress is that might mean an aaa
degree that might mean a phd it might

932
01:11:56.320 --> 01:12:00.239
mean whatever that is
but that's the piece that in some ways

933
01:12:00.239 --> 01:12:05.280
marianne you were getting it it's this
societal sort of compact if you will

934
01:12:05.280 --> 01:12:10.640
it's a recognition of that humanity and
that other person and we firmly believe

935
01:12:10.640 --> 01:12:16.239
and our founder firmly believe that
literacy as wide as we define that and

936
01:12:16.239 --> 01:12:22.560
reading in particular is core to having
and living a life with dignity and i tie

937
01:12:22.560 --> 01:12:27.520
it back to equity because we're in this
moment right we had george floyd we had

938
01:12:27.520 --> 01:12:30.640
all these things we had this reckoning
wherever you stand on the political

939
01:12:30.640 --> 01:12:35.040
spectrum and we're all trying to figure
out what does equity mean and inequity

940
01:12:35.040 --> 01:12:38.640
and that sort of thing
libraries are all about equity you've

941
01:12:38.640 --> 01:12:43.120
been about equity since the beginning
when blacks couldn't go to libraries in

942
01:12:43.120 --> 01:12:47.520
the deep south and during jim crow and
doing civil rights carnegie built black

943
01:12:47.520 --> 01:12:51.760
libraries one of the first ones in
atlanta because it was always about

944
01:12:51.760 --> 01:12:56.480
equity i think we're in a moment just
the way we were in the 60s when we

945
01:12:56.480 --> 01:13:00.080
talked when monroe gives you all those
stats and facts about black and brown

946
01:13:00.080 --> 01:13:04.159
kids it's the black boys but it's also
black and brown kids it's also poor

947
01:13:04.159 --> 01:13:07.679
white kids in appalachia
yeah

948
01:13:07.679 --> 01:13:11.600
it is about poor white kids in
appalachia it is not us versus them

949
01:13:11.600 --> 01:13:16.640
which marian you talked about
it's all of us and so we have to look at

950
01:13:16.640 --> 01:13:23.360
equity and literacy is inextricably
linked and therefore reading

951
01:13:23.360 --> 01:13:28.239
and you have evidence you sit on a
platform that is evidence-based over

952
01:13:28.239 --> 01:13:33.600
hundreds of years that tell us that you
are part of the solution as libraries

953
01:13:33.600 --> 01:13:36.800
and as library systems

954
01:13:37.520 --> 01:13:40.480
thank you yeah

955
01:13:42.320 --> 01:13:45.520
i'm going to go to the mic on the far
side of the room

956
01:13:45.520 --> 01:13:49.280
well you know it's digital so i had to
talk

957
01:13:49.280 --> 01:13:54.320
i represent a very large library system
50 of our circulation is in a digital

958
01:13:54.320 --> 01:13:59.440
form
7.8 million per year digital checkouts

959
01:13:59.440 --> 01:14:03.120
and i think it's great we're having this
conversation it's a great reset for us

960
01:14:03.120 --> 01:14:07.679
because as i said yesterday digital was
our savior to our public

961
01:14:07.679 --> 01:14:11.600
saying what are you doing we pay your
salaries what are you doing and digital

962
01:14:11.600 --> 01:14:18.480
saved us i respect the pedagogy
however you say that behind all this

963
01:14:18.480 --> 01:14:23.600
and it's good for us to think about this
however there are two things first of

964
01:14:23.600 --> 01:14:28.159
all i really think we the economics is
part of the problem if digital books

965
01:14:28.159 --> 01:14:32.800
were less expensive
libraries rural libraries this wouldn't

966
01:14:32.800 --> 01:14:36.080
be a problem we wouldn't be
having to

967
01:14:36.080 --> 01:14:40.880
choose between print and digital it just
would be it we would have both it would

968
01:14:40.880 --> 01:14:46.159
be a good thing because digital does
save a space it saves us rural counties

969
01:14:46.159 --> 01:14:50.320
such as mine that has both
it's you know it's it's for people that

970
01:14:50.320 --> 01:14:54.960
can't get to libraries whatever
but the other thing that i've learned

971
01:14:54.960 --> 01:15:00.719
from these past two years
hiring a dei director

972
01:15:00.719 --> 01:15:05.360
working through the digi the
diversity concerns of our county and

973
01:15:05.360 --> 01:15:08.159
doing we're doing a really in-depth
study

974
01:15:08.159 --> 01:15:13.840
is we do nothing about us without us
and my job now is to take the

975
01:15:13.840 --> 01:15:17.600
information you have given me
the science

976
01:15:17.600 --> 01:15:21.679
and
have it work with a community

977
01:15:21.679 --> 01:15:26.080
and not prescribe it
so in other words go to my communities

978
01:15:26.080 --> 01:15:30.560
where reading is an issue that love of
reading um where are you it was

979
01:15:30.560 --> 01:15:32.960
wonderful

980
01:15:33.360 --> 01:15:38.560
learning to to read how do you do that
and not be prescriptive because

981
01:15:38.560 --> 01:15:43.520
prescriptive doesn't work anymore
prescriptive does not work anymore if

982
01:15:43.520 --> 01:15:48.239
we're going to truly have diverse
equitable and inclusive public library

983
01:15:48.239 --> 01:15:50.080
systems
so

984
01:15:50.080 --> 01:15:53.719
that is my comment

985
01:15:57.040 --> 01:16:01.600
okay all right we'll go to the mic in
the center

986
01:16:01.600 --> 01:16:05.120
i'm michelle martin the beverly cleary
professor for children and youth

987
01:16:05.120 --> 01:16:08.960
services in the information school at
the university of washington yay beverly

988
01:16:08.960 --> 01:16:14.000
cleary
and i wanted to go back to one

989
01:16:14.000 --> 01:16:18.960
thanks to imls for
helping me and my research team work on

990
01:16:18.960 --> 01:16:23.360
helping creating through project local
and project voice

991
01:16:23.360 --> 01:16:28.719
creating mechanisms for librarians to do
more outreach

992
01:16:28.719 --> 01:16:32.880
with a social justice lens with
participatory design in communities

993
01:16:32.880 --> 01:16:37.199
asking you know what do you need and
then going from there so i'm grateful to

994
01:16:37.199 --> 01:16:41.440
to imls for the work that we're able to
do um at the university but i want to go

995
01:16:41.440 --> 01:16:46.560
back to a comment that came up yesterday
about that reading is a solitary act um

996
01:16:46.560 --> 01:16:49.679
i also have a nonprofit called
read-a-rama that for

997
01:16:49.679 --> 01:16:54.239
12 years has been doing literacy
immersion camps for kids that help them

998
01:16:54.239 --> 01:16:57.360
learn how to as we say live books and
it's all about using children's

999
01:16:57.360 --> 01:17:00.880
literature as a springboard for all the
other activities and one of the things

1000
01:17:00.880 --> 01:17:04.880
that i feel when we get to the point
where kids are talking to each other

1001
01:17:04.880 --> 01:17:09.760
sharing books with each other and really
helping to cultivate a culture of

1002
01:17:09.760 --> 01:17:15.120
reading among each other
that is a level of success beyond the

1003
01:17:15.120 --> 01:17:20.480
adults sharing books with kids and we've
also been able to pivot that to uh

1004
01:17:20.480 --> 01:17:25.520
online as of march 2020 and now we're
piped into living rooms where we can

1005
01:17:25.520 --> 01:17:29.199
also encourage you know parents little
brothers little sisters to participate

1006
01:17:29.199 --> 01:17:34.000
in that but i think that um
yes reading can be a solitary act but i

1007
01:17:34.000 --> 01:17:37.679
think that there's a level of uh success
with that sharing and

1008
01:17:37.679 --> 01:17:42.320
creating a community of readers that um
that is beautiful because that goes

1009
01:17:42.320 --> 01:17:46.000
beyond what the teachers or the
librarians or whoever are able to do and

1010
01:17:46.000 --> 01:17:50.159
it it has a life of its own so i just
wanted to bring that up thank you thank

1011
01:17:50.159 --> 01:17:52.400
you

1012
01:17:56.320 --> 01:18:00.239
okay
we'll go to

1013
01:18:00.239 --> 01:18:02.719
sorry
where's the third one sorry these lights

1014
01:18:02.719 --> 01:18:05.840
are blinding because i think everybody
up here can attest all right we're gonna

1015
01:18:05.840 --> 01:18:09.120
go to the other far side of the room
mike hi my name is greg gilpin i'm a

1016
01:18:09.120 --> 01:18:12.560
professor of economics at montana state
university

1017
01:18:12.560 --> 01:18:17.760
i study student achievement and the
nexus of how public libraries

1018
01:18:17.760 --> 01:18:22.480
impact student achievement
the last couple days there's been a lot

1019
01:18:22.480 --> 01:18:27.840
of information that has
flowed but i just want to articulate

1020
01:18:27.840 --> 01:18:32.320
today of just how bad kovid has
destroyed

1021
01:18:32.320 --> 01:18:37.280
student achievement and learning
my wife's a first grade teacher so

1022
01:18:37.280 --> 01:18:42.000
i get to hear a lot she's at a title one
school seven of 22 of her students went

1023
01:18:42.000 --> 01:18:47.679
to kindergarten last year
15 did not

1024
01:18:48.000 --> 01:18:50.400
75

1025
01:18:50.480 --> 01:18:54.239
okay and
i'm we're in bozeman it's a pretty

1026
01:18:54.239 --> 01:18:59.120
higher income area
and yet 15 didn't go

1027
01:18:59.120 --> 01:19:02.640
she has four that are at
reading

1028
01:19:02.640 --> 01:19:06.159
level
okay so

1029
01:19:06.159 --> 01:19:09.199
today
what i want to articulate

1030
01:19:09.199 --> 01:19:13.679
is just how much our our house is on
fire

1031
01:19:13.679 --> 01:19:17.040
i want to articulate that the whole ship
is

1032
01:19:17.040 --> 01:19:20.840
is sinking
and we need to do a lot more as

1033
01:19:20.840 --> 01:19:23.920
educators and as librarians to get it
back

1034
01:19:23.920 --> 01:19:27.199
some of my research again is on the
nexus of libraries and student

1035
01:19:27.199 --> 01:19:32.000
achievement i worked with
bozeman to tie those records together

1036
01:19:32.000 --> 01:19:35.920
because i wanted to know how many books
does it take to get rid of the summer

1037
01:19:35.920 --> 01:19:38.719
slide
sometimes my kids come home they're like

1038
01:19:38.719 --> 01:19:44.480
oh i have to read 5 or 10 books or 20
books this summer and i was like surely

1039
01:19:44.480 --> 01:19:48.840
20 books can't make up for 100 days of
learning

1040
01:19:48.840 --> 01:19:54.080
loss so my estimates
you're looking into the hundreds of

1041
01:19:54.080 --> 01:19:56.560
books
for a child

1042
01:19:56.560 --> 01:20:01.600
to not have a summer slide
so i think we really need to shift how

1043
01:20:01.600 --> 01:20:04.880
we're viewing this like we need to
understand how public libraries are

1044
01:20:04.880 --> 01:20:08.719
interacting with public schools
especially

1045
01:20:08.719 --> 01:20:12.400
when public schools aren't in
session

1046
01:20:12.400 --> 01:20:15.199
they're off for over 100 days during the
summer

1047
01:20:15.199 --> 01:20:18.480
and where do they go what do they do and
what are we doing what are we

1048
01:20:18.480 --> 01:20:23.280
facilitating what are we allowing
access and what do we want them to do

1049
01:20:23.280 --> 01:20:27.760
so we
did a read 100 program where the

1050
01:20:27.760 --> 01:20:32.400
the superintendent said you know what
kids try to read 100 books this summer i

1051
01:20:32.400 --> 01:20:35.920
don't know if it matters if it's like
number of minutes reading

1052
01:20:35.920 --> 01:20:38.960
number of books read i don't know i
don't think that matters because i know

1053
01:20:38.960 --> 01:20:41.679
it's a really big number that we have to
hit

1054
01:20:41.679 --> 01:20:47.199
um so i hope that like we we try to
reach really high now because we're in a

1055
01:20:47.199 --> 01:20:50.719
big hole
that we need to kind of somehow get out

1056
01:20:50.719 --> 01:20:55.280
of especially for
the k through three right now

1057
01:20:55.280 --> 01:20:58.960
that have lost over two years of
education

1058
01:20:58.960 --> 01:21:03.040
like they're going to be behind and it's
scary to think about this generation of

1059
01:21:03.040 --> 01:21:06.480
just how far they've been
they've fallen behind if you were like

1060
01:21:06.480 --> 01:21:10.880
me during the recession if you had to
work remotely

1061
01:21:10.880 --> 01:21:14.239
i i
i wasn't a teacher for my kids like i

1062
01:21:14.239 --> 01:21:16.880
had to do my job my wife had to be a
teacher

1063
01:21:16.880 --> 01:21:22.000
really tough so
that's what i wanted to say

1064
01:21:24.320 --> 01:21:29.199
okay we've got a few responses to that
so um

1065
01:21:29.199 --> 01:21:33.360
part of what i didn't share earlier um
over the last seven years like i've

1066
01:21:33.360 --> 01:21:36.639
looked under
like every rock to try to find things

1067
01:21:36.639 --> 01:21:41.600
that people have missed and there's a
researcher named carol connor who

1068
01:21:41.600 --> 01:21:45.920
in 2000 i'm so glad to see you shaking
your head because not enough people know

1069
01:21:45.920 --> 01:21:49.760
carol who passed away two years ago too
early tragically i got to meet her

1070
01:21:49.760 --> 01:21:53.600
before she passed away i've been
watching her work since summer 2017 his

1071
01:21:53.600 --> 01:21:56.960
most phenomenal work
singularly focus on how do we

1072
01:21:56.960 --> 01:22:00.960
effectively teach children read and what
dr connor figured out is that there's an

1073
01:22:00.960 --> 01:22:04.719
interaction between children's reading
vocabulary and comprehension skills and

1074
01:22:04.719 --> 01:22:07.120
four different types of reading
instructions when i heard the last two

1075
01:22:07.120 --> 01:22:11.600
comments like i'm plugging you into what
dr connor taught us so there's reading

1076
01:22:11.600 --> 01:22:14.639
instruction it teaches kids code focus
skills everything from phonemic

1077
01:22:14.639 --> 01:22:17.920
awareness through phonics and fluency
and then there's reading instruction

1078
01:22:17.920 --> 01:22:20.480
that teaches kids what are called
meaning focus skills vocabulary

1079
01:22:20.480 --> 01:22:24.560
comprehension writing
there's two modalities to deliver it

1080
01:22:24.560 --> 01:22:28.880
there's adult managed and child managed
manage means who's guiding the learner's

1081
01:22:28.880 --> 01:22:32.320
attention and child manage can be
individual peer work

1082
01:22:32.320 --> 01:22:36.239
so when you're talking about the kids
together i'm thinking oh that's a child

1083
01:22:36.239 --> 01:22:40.960
managed meaning focus activity but also
greg when i'm listening i'm thinking the

1084
01:22:40.960 --> 01:22:44.159
expansion and what we're seeing in
charlotte because we're using what dr

1085
01:22:44.159 --> 01:22:47.679
connor created this is what i didn't
tell you all before

1086
01:22:47.679 --> 01:22:52.480
look up a to i stands for assessment to
instruction the company is called

1087
01:22:52.480 --> 01:22:57.760
learning ovations ovation like standing
up right it's the best this is the worst

1088
01:22:57.760 --> 01:23:02.000
kept secret
in reading research ies has put millions

1089
01:23:02.000 --> 01:23:05.840
of dollars into it the director told me
in december 2020 is the best example

1090
01:23:05.840 --> 01:23:09.760
research to practice
happy to share through crosby

1091
01:23:09.760 --> 01:23:15.120
what we've been doing
but um what i hear greg is there's and

1092
01:23:15.120 --> 01:23:18.880
i've seen it from data in charlotte
because we're using this expansion of

1093
01:23:18.880 --> 01:23:22.159
kids that need a lot of code focus if
you're behind you need a lot of adult

1094
01:23:22.159 --> 01:23:24.239
code focused
right

1095
01:23:24.239 --> 01:23:27.520
the stuff that you do around reading
individual reading that's meaning focus

1096
01:23:27.520 --> 01:23:31.120
but there's an interaction between the
four types and and kids reading skills

1097
01:23:31.120 --> 01:23:34.560
so the big challenge and this is what
tutoring has to solve how do we get

1098
01:23:34.560 --> 01:23:38.320
enough to the right kids in the right
ways at the right time how do we make

1099
01:23:38.320 --> 01:23:41.760
shifts over time
as kids progress

1100
01:23:41.760 --> 01:23:46.159
that's the big challenge for us in our
community and so the challenge of giving

1101
01:23:46.159 --> 01:23:50.560
bits and pieces you're doing some some
parts the meaning focus but if we're not

1102
01:23:50.560 --> 01:23:54.080
getting them the code focus and we're
not doing the adult instruction the

1103
01:23:54.080 --> 01:23:58.880
adult part there are no shortcuts to the
adult manage there is something about i

1104
01:23:58.880 --> 01:24:02.480
don't understand what it is i trust dr
connor's research seven randomized

1105
01:24:02.480 --> 01:24:07.280
control trials
it works right i've seen the data

1106
01:24:07.280 --> 01:24:11.840
but that's the big challenge how do we
get enough to enough kids they need all

1107
01:24:11.840 --> 01:24:16.800
of those so the rigor the work you do
around helping adults reading with kids

1108
01:24:16.800 --> 01:24:20.239
dialogic reading we call it active
reading in charlotte we build out a

1109
01:24:20.239 --> 01:24:24.560
program partnered with charlotte
meckenberg library starting 2017 that's

1110
01:24:24.560 --> 01:24:28.800
covering a piece of it but we also need
the code focused parts and our kids

1111
01:24:28.800 --> 01:24:32.320
we're on fire because they need a lot
more of it

1112
01:24:32.320 --> 01:24:36.320
and they're really behind and so that's
going to be the challenge for us if it's

1113
01:24:36.320 --> 01:24:40.480
not you can you partner with someone
that can help with the code focus part

1114
01:24:40.480 --> 01:24:44.239
where you do this you've always been
doing the meaning focus part really well

1115
01:24:44.239 --> 01:24:48.000
either adult or child managed but they
need both and they need to work together

1116
01:24:48.000 --> 01:24:51.679
that's our big challenge in front of us

1117
01:24:52.480 --> 01:24:58.000
i'd like to
if you will reinforce can you hear me i

1118
01:24:58.000 --> 01:25:03.120
don't know go for it go for it can i
reinforce exactly what you said not only

1119
01:25:03.120 --> 01:25:08.159
do i do we all appreciate carol's work
and think it's been under

1120
01:25:08.159 --> 01:25:12.960
underrepresented but many of us from a
slightly different perspective are

1121
01:25:12.960 --> 01:25:18.480
finding the exact same thing but i want
to emphasize for you based on this

1122
01:25:18.480 --> 01:25:24.239
research we have found in nichd
randomized controlled trial studies that

1123
01:25:24.239 --> 01:25:29.040
if you do early assessment now when we
talk about screening we're not talking

1124
01:25:29.040 --> 01:25:34.080
about over diagnosing over identifying
anything we're talking about identifying

1125
01:25:34.080 --> 01:25:39.679
just as you're saying monroe identifying
areas of strength and weakness based on

1126
01:25:39.679 --> 01:25:44.080
that either tier one or tier instruction
gives

1127
01:25:44.080 --> 01:25:49.600
the appropriate emphases to the
particular students only then if that

1128
01:25:49.600 --> 01:25:55.199
doesn't work do we do intensive
diagnostic work and give intensive tier

1129
01:25:55.199 --> 01:26:02.159
3 intervention but the point is we have
found without a doubt that early school

1130
01:26:02.159 --> 01:26:09.040
if you will early assessment
leads to targeted early intervention in

1131
01:26:09.040 --> 01:26:13.920
which all those things are integrated
and then

1132
01:26:13.920 --> 01:26:19.120
some of them are more emphasized for
individuals so this is a new study we're

1133
01:26:19.120 --> 01:26:23.840
doing for the office of special
education i can't support more what you

1134
01:26:23.840 --> 01:26:26.080
said

1135
01:26:26.400 --> 01:26:30.639
i
thank you um these are wonderful and

1136
01:26:30.639 --> 01:26:35.040
i'd like to say that while we're looking
at the house on fire and calling the

1137
01:26:35.040 --> 01:26:39.920
fire department
we should also be looking and saying

1138
01:26:39.920 --> 01:26:42.480
and
is there someone standing there with the

1139
01:26:42.480 --> 01:26:46.159
gas can that we also need to kind of you
know take care of

1140
01:26:46.159 --> 01:26:49.840
because when
well because when i had to

1141
01:26:49.840 --> 01:26:53.120
just to make sure they sleep with the
fishes yeah no um

1142
01:26:53.120 --> 01:26:55.280
that uh
i

1143
01:26:55.280 --> 01:26:58.000
i grew up in new york what can i say um
you know

1144
01:26:58.000 --> 01:27:01.199
so
because here's the thing when you say

1145
01:27:01.199 --> 01:27:04.639
that so many of these kids didn't go to
kindergarten

1146
01:27:04.639 --> 01:27:08.639
and all the the effects that have
knocked on from that

1147
01:27:08.639 --> 01:27:13.280
i'm saying here going okay
what else is going on besides their lack

1148
01:27:13.280 --> 01:27:17.520
of reading achievement their lack of
educational progress etc how many of

1149
01:27:17.520 --> 01:27:23.679
those parents lost their jobs
how many of those parents are possibly

1150
01:27:23.679 --> 01:27:27.840
not even alive we know that thousands
upon thousands of children have lost

1151
01:27:27.840 --> 01:27:33.199
their parents in this pandemic
how many have themselves or in their

1152
01:27:33.199 --> 01:27:36.560
families um
diagnosed or undiagnosed or

1153
01:27:36.560 --> 01:27:43.600
under-treated anxiety depression etc um
loss of homes you know you name it right

1154
01:27:43.600 --> 01:27:46.560
and
i want to be really clear about this i

1155
01:27:46.560 --> 01:27:51.360
am not at all suggesting that libraries
need to go and fix all that

1156
01:27:51.360 --> 01:27:55.520
when because one thing i've been wanting
to get up and say this entire time and i

1157
01:27:55.520 --> 01:27:58.800
figured whatever now i'm up here i can
say this is that

1158
01:27:58.800 --> 01:28:02.960
i think there's a point where
libraries need to say

1159
01:28:02.960 --> 01:28:07.440
we are not the right people for this we
can connect people with those right

1160
01:28:07.440 --> 01:28:11.120
services but if other people would just
do their jobs

1161
01:28:11.120 --> 01:28:16.159
we wouldn't need to be the the budget
social worker right whatever

1162
01:28:16.159 --> 01:28:17.840
so
there

1163
01:28:17.840 --> 01:28:21.440
so
that and that's the part where i say and

1164
01:28:21.440 --> 01:28:26.000
someone needs to also be asking and
why aren't we also putting in smoke

1165
01:28:26.000 --> 01:28:30.719
detectors etc so that that fire doesn't
start in the first place right so this

1166
01:28:30.719 --> 01:28:34.080
is the public health model right
tertiary primary secondary prevention

1167
01:28:34.080 --> 01:28:38.320
you know
etc that i think i would say yes to

1168
01:28:38.320 --> 01:28:40.639
everything you said
and

1169
01:28:40.639 --> 01:28:44.320
we need to be asking and what else is
going on because many of you are

1170
01:28:44.320 --> 01:28:47.520
probably familiar with maslow's
hierarchy of needs etc

1171
01:28:47.520 --> 01:28:50.719
you're not worried about your
educational progress if you're wondering

1172
01:28:50.719 --> 01:28:53.600
what's going to hap when i get home from
school today

1173
01:28:53.600 --> 01:28:59.600
is is mom going to be a mess is dad
going to be drinking is is is because

1174
01:28:59.600 --> 01:29:03.440
then we're dropping back into survival
and who cares whether you can identify

1175
01:29:03.440 --> 01:29:08.840
the letters at that point
right from that kid's perspective

1176
01:29:10.000 --> 01:29:12.960
right i know we have a question on the
side this might be our last question

1177
01:29:12.960 --> 01:29:16.800
we've got about four minutes left four
minutes great hi team i'm john i'm with

1178
01:29:16.800 --> 01:29:20.320
every library the every library
institute we do politics for libraries

1179
01:29:20.320 --> 01:29:24.480
and policy for libraries i have a
question for a funders and systems

1180
01:29:24.480 --> 01:29:27.840
perspective
what

1181
01:29:27.840 --> 01:29:32.880
do libraries need to do in order to talk
to the funding community properly

1182
01:29:32.880 --> 01:29:36.719
about their current alignments or how do
we need to realign

1183
01:29:36.719 --> 01:29:41.440
in order to be more attractive to the
funding community and a stub on that is

1184
01:29:41.440 --> 01:29:46.239
where do you uh expect to see us
in systems conversations where we're not

1185
01:29:46.239 --> 01:29:50.880
showing up
can i i'll start with that i want to

1186
01:29:50.880 --> 01:29:53.679
answer your question i kind of want to
go back to i'm going to call you mr las

1187
01:29:53.679 --> 01:29:58.639
vegas las vegas
um mr vegas

1188
01:29:58.639 --> 01:30:01.440
what happens in vegas stays in vegas no
um

1189
01:30:01.440 --> 01:30:06.480
that creativity that marketing that
branding around libraries and their

1190
01:30:06.480 --> 01:30:11.360
value add or their return on investment
is number one i think big funders we

1191
01:30:11.360 --> 01:30:15.040
just had a one of the things we
conceived of and convened is a national

1192
01:30:15.040 --> 01:30:18.719
action plan it's a five-year plan to
reduce low literacy in america today and

1193
01:30:18.719 --> 01:30:22.480
we've brought in uh academic
institutions governors associations

1194
01:30:22.480 --> 01:30:26.000
mayors our peer sort of groups in the
field

1195
01:30:26.000 --> 01:30:30.400
and one of the things we're looking at
is the ecosystem at the table

1196
01:30:30.400 --> 01:30:34.080
the american library's association
association was at the table in essence

1197
01:30:34.080 --> 01:30:39.600
representing all of you because we
believe you are core to the ecosystem in

1198
01:30:39.600 --> 01:30:45.280
fact we spent two hours on fundraising
and one of the the number one issues was

1199
01:30:45.280 --> 01:30:49.440
mr vegas here
was the marketing you've got to be in

1200
01:30:49.440 --> 01:30:52.960
public health um i used to say you've
got to meet people where they are but

1201
01:30:52.960 --> 01:30:58.000
what does that mean where they live play
pray and work i'm going to say it again

1202
01:30:58.000 --> 01:31:02.239
where they'd live play pray and work and
that's what he told us about this

1203
01:31:02.239 --> 01:31:05.920
morning
everywhere in the bar in the church

1204
01:31:05.920 --> 01:31:10.800
everywhere and what's getting funded
to the tune of tens of millions of

1205
01:31:10.800 --> 01:31:15.679
dollars how do we steal from the arts
community um the the current director

1206
01:31:15.679 --> 01:31:19.920
from ala right is that is in the from
the arts community and that's the model

1207
01:31:19.920 --> 01:31:24.000
that i think we have to look at you are
part of the ecosystem number one so lean

1208
01:31:24.000 --> 01:31:29.679
into that and number two it's a it's a
marketing issue um to to stay relevant

1209
01:31:29.679 --> 01:31:33.199
be relevant but that you have a return
on investment that i don't believe some

1210
01:31:33.199 --> 01:31:37.440
funders truly understand and recognize
and that's actually why bring it back to

1211
01:31:37.440 --> 01:31:42.000
us why you're a part of this national
effort uh to reduce low literacy in

1212
01:31:42.000 --> 01:31:45.520
america we don't think we can do it
without you so marketing marketing

1213
01:31:45.520 --> 01:31:49.440
marketing
there's a huge part of it not the only

1214
01:31:49.440 --> 01:31:52.080
part but i just want to raise that so we
don't forget it

1215
01:31:52.080 --> 01:31:54.800
monroe i know you have something to say
i can feel it

1216
01:31:54.800 --> 01:31:57.679
well i mean
part of my job is working with the

1217
01:31:57.679 --> 01:32:02.560
funding community in charlotte so we're
sort of a quarterback and um

1218
01:32:02.560 --> 01:32:06.320
part of what i do is put together high
quality philanthropic deal flow and then

1219
01:32:06.320 --> 01:32:10.000
bring co-investors together and we've
done that for seven years

1220
01:32:10.000 --> 01:32:13.600
at the end of the day there's i mean
it's the value proposition i always say

1221
01:32:13.600 --> 01:32:18.080
as a long-time funder myself i'm trying
to buy impact right right so how do you

1222
01:32:18.080 --> 01:32:22.000
position and market so that they can buy
impact because that's what they have to

1223
01:32:22.000 --> 01:32:26.080
do that's what they're looking for they
don't do it themselves they fund and so

1224
01:32:26.080 --> 01:32:30.239
understanding um
you know that intersection between

1225
01:32:30.239 --> 01:32:35.199
your mission values priorities and the
impact you can offer and

1226
01:32:35.199 --> 01:32:39.120
like your ability and i'll just say as a
former funder i remember one of the best

1227
01:32:39.120 --> 01:32:42.639
grants we made was i made was to the
missouri um

1228
01:32:42.639 --> 01:32:47.280
was it uh college advising corps it took
two years for me to finally get it

1229
01:32:47.280 --> 01:32:49.600
right
and i think part of it was i just didn't

1230
01:32:49.600 --> 01:32:52.719
position it in a way that i could
understand it i'm busy

1231
01:32:52.719 --> 01:32:56.480
as a funder i used to say i was i'm
professionally in the business of saying

1232
01:32:56.480 --> 01:32:59.600
no
right and so

1233
01:32:59.600 --> 01:33:03.600
um i actually had a venture capitalist
help me um when i was um doing a pitch

1234
01:33:03.600 --> 01:33:07.760
in silicon valley for a tech company i
was a co-founder of he said your job is

1235
01:33:07.760 --> 01:33:12.639
not to get them to say yes your job is
to remove the reasons for them to say no

1236
01:33:12.639 --> 01:33:17.280
and so if the if the impulse immediately
say no it's how do i peel that onion so

1237
01:33:17.280 --> 01:33:22.080
i can get to a conversation so
um at the end of the day it's about

1238
01:33:22.080 --> 01:33:28.159
they're trying to buy impact and
you're recording this um

1239
01:33:28.159 --> 01:33:32.880
don't assume they know as much as you
think they know

1240
01:33:32.960 --> 01:33:37.280
all right good point
enough all right

1241
01:33:37.280 --> 01:33:42.159
i think we might have to
wrap it up but let's thank our wonderful

1242
01:33:42.159 --> 01:33:44.719
panelists

1243
01:33:47.840 --> 01:33:52.000
so i'd like to i'd like to start off to
tell you a

1244
01:33:52.000 --> 01:33:56.960
story that a young man boy
probably just coming out of third grade

1245
01:33:56.960 --> 01:34:00.719
returns home to school from school to
his parents

1246
01:34:00.719 --> 01:34:04.800
and he throws his
not very good report card

1247
01:34:04.800 --> 01:34:09.040
down in front of them and he says okay
what is it

1248
01:34:09.040 --> 01:34:12.480
environment or heredity

1249
01:34:15.040 --> 01:34:17.199
so
we

1250
01:34:17.199 --> 01:34:20.639
i hate to explain a really good joke but
you know we

1251
01:34:20.639 --> 01:34:26.400
we we've inherited a lot of problems as
as librarians and and i'll talk in in

1252
01:34:26.400 --> 01:34:30.719
one minute just a little bit more about
the state of our world that we we have

1253
01:34:30.719 --> 01:34:35.760
inherited and our environment in the
library and the pandemic environment is

1254
01:34:35.760 --> 01:34:40.000
of course incredibly difficult
but

1255
01:34:40.000 --> 01:34:44.080
we need to grade ourselves on what we do
about it not not

1256
01:34:44.080 --> 01:34:48.880
what we can complain about and and
what's going on in the world that limits

1257
01:34:48.880 --> 01:34:52.800
us it does limit us but within those
limits there's much that we can do and i

1258
01:34:52.800 --> 01:34:55.600
think we heard a lot about that
particularly i think

1259
01:34:55.600 --> 01:35:00.320
uh in our last panel
the the second the second thing i i want

1260
01:35:00.320 --> 01:35:03.040
to say is that
uh

1261
01:35:03.040 --> 01:35:06.159
the
the proposition before you about our

1262
01:35:06.159 --> 01:35:11.280
resources and how we use them and how we
focus them is not an attack on the

1263
01:35:11.280 --> 01:35:15.199
digital world didn't i didn't get tim to
come here to do that and i don't think

1264
01:35:15.199 --> 01:35:20.080
he intended to do that the digital world
is a part of our world we're engaged in

1265
01:35:20.080 --> 01:35:24.719
it i understand everything that lisa was
saying um maybe a little bit more

1266
01:35:24.719 --> 01:35:28.639
difficult on the pricing side but
um but

1267
01:35:28.639 --> 01:35:31.600
uh
and and i've been very engaged as many

1268
01:35:31.600 --> 01:35:37.520
of you know uh as the chair of shelby uh
after after jenny my my uh my mentor and

1269
01:35:37.520 --> 01:35:40.880
all these things after jenny staff uh
school's healthcare libraries and

1270
01:35:40.880 --> 01:35:44.320
broadband the major advocacy
organization working with angela c for

1271
01:35:44.320 --> 01:35:47.199
who angela are you still here
um

1272
01:35:47.199 --> 01:35:53.119
uh there she is you know who uh who is
the the engine of the internet i believe

1273
01:35:53.119 --> 01:35:56.960
uh now
and and so i think you all know that i

1274
01:35:56.960 --> 01:36:01.199
care about the digital divide i think
it's very important i also believe that

1275
01:36:01.199 --> 01:36:06.159
digital information is a huge boon it's
mentioned a couple of times the

1276
01:36:06.159 --> 01:36:11.280
information flow and flood is a huge
boon to us if we use it well you boone

1277
01:36:11.280 --> 01:36:15.119
to the library world and and boone to
all citizens

1278
01:36:15.119 --> 01:36:18.800
um so i i make that that point and i
also want to make the point though i

1279
01:36:18.800 --> 01:36:22.159
felt roosevelt's pain
i felt roosevelt's roosevelt's still

1280
01:36:22.159 --> 01:36:25.679
here
um i felt his pain you know he when we

1281
01:36:25.679 --> 01:36:29.600
were talking about the many things we're
asked to do

1282
01:36:29.600 --> 01:36:34.639
um and uh
we are being asked to do things

1283
01:36:34.639 --> 01:36:39.119
during the pandemic incredible things
natural disasters incredible things and

1284
01:36:39.119 --> 01:36:42.239
in the kansas city public library when i
was director we did all kinds of things

1285
01:36:42.239 --> 01:36:47.600
we were the center of the home uh
homeless coalition um you know we we

1286
01:36:47.600 --> 01:36:52.400
made eviction a a major issue in in the
in the city we did all kinds of

1287
01:36:52.400 --> 01:36:56.960
programming i'm very proud of our
our programming and and it connected us

1288
01:36:56.960 --> 01:37:01.360
to the community in a way that led to
when we're talking about funding led to

1289
01:37:01.360 --> 01:37:07.760
the community voting 84 for our tax
increase so it also was pretty pragmatic

1290
01:37:07.760 --> 01:37:10.480
so
i want i want you to understand i come

1291
01:37:10.480 --> 01:37:13.840
with that background and understanding
and what i'm about to say and what i

1292
01:37:13.840 --> 01:37:18.800
think we heard uh yesterday
and today the state of our world is

1293
01:37:18.800 --> 01:37:21.520
tough for everybody because of the
pandemic

1294
01:37:21.520 --> 01:37:27.440
bob putnam and shaylynn romney garrett
explained to us in the iwei framework

1295
01:37:27.440 --> 01:37:32.719
not only the polarization that we have
but the huge economic divides racial

1296
01:37:32.719 --> 01:37:37.119
divides
the divides in our community are as high

1297
01:37:37.119 --> 01:37:41.280
as they've ever been
and it is not our job to solve every

1298
01:37:41.280 --> 01:37:45.440
problem we don't solve the economic
problem we can work certainly on the on

1299
01:37:45.440 --> 01:37:49.280
the racial problem
but one thing we can do

1300
01:37:49.280 --> 01:37:54.400
uh from an equity point of view
uh is is work on reading i mean i i do

1301
01:37:54.400 --> 01:37:57.920
think if there is a takeaway from this
and if i have one thing that i wanted to

1302
01:37:57.920 --> 01:38:02.080
share with you that i i wanted to share
with you through our our panelists and

1303
01:38:02.080 --> 01:38:05.360
our speakers
is that there is really something

1304
01:38:05.360 --> 01:38:08.719
important that we can do about equity in
this world

1305
01:38:08.719 --> 01:38:12.239
the bite administration is very focused
on this i come from a completely

1306
01:38:12.239 --> 01:38:17.280
different political background
than president uh biden but i share that

1307
01:38:17.280 --> 01:38:20.800
with him and i think it's a library
world value

1308
01:38:20.800 --> 01:38:24.800
that we can do something about equity if
we can do something about it we should

1309
01:38:24.800 --> 01:38:28.080
do something about it and i think we
heard today i think from this panel and

1310
01:38:28.080 --> 01:38:32.159
from mary ann we heard exactly what we
can do about it it's not the same thing

1311
01:38:32.159 --> 01:38:36.000
in every library because there are
hundreds of different activities we

1312
01:38:36.000 --> 01:38:40.960
heard about maybe a dozen or or two
dozen today from uh from panelists from

1313
01:38:40.960 --> 01:38:44.960
uh folks from the floor and from
marianne and one of the one of the jobs

1314
01:38:44.960 --> 01:38:48.239
of the imls should be to put all this
together

1315
01:38:48.239 --> 01:38:51.920
um and to talk about best practices is
what we should be doing we haven't done

1316
01:38:51.920 --> 01:38:56.480
enough of it this is an inspiration for
us to do more of that with your help

1317
01:38:56.480 --> 01:39:00.480
well you know i talked to pat lucinski
uh after and he's talking about a

1318
01:39:00.480 --> 01:39:06.080
program that uh that he's doing with 200
volunteers uh uh in in the coming summer

1319
01:39:06.080 --> 01:39:12.000
uh uh doing doing reading programs one
of the great things about the a2i

1320
01:39:12.000 --> 01:39:16.960
program that monroe talked about is that
it can be done with volunteers and where

1321
01:39:16.960 --> 01:39:22.400
is the best place in america to generate
volunteers it's the library

1322
01:39:22.400 --> 01:39:27.840
we have connections to so many groups
the trust in libraries is so high the

1323
01:39:27.840 --> 01:39:33.440
third grade reading project is frequent
is significantly based on volunteers

1324
01:39:33.440 --> 01:39:38.639
and is significantly based in libraries
we can do this we can work on this we're

1325
01:39:38.639 --> 01:39:42.560
not going to solve every problem in the
world we will not wake up in edward

1326
01:39:42.560 --> 01:39:46.560
bellamy's paradise
um we

1327
01:39:46.560 --> 01:39:50.880
we can however in our communities do
more and we heard from previous

1328
01:39:50.880 --> 01:39:55.119
panelists from from carmen and diane and
felton about things that they can do in

1329
01:39:55.119 --> 01:39:59.199
their community different size
communities that are transformative that

1330
01:39:59.199 --> 01:40:02.800
are extraordinary
but if we if we decide that there's an

1331
01:40:02.800 --> 01:40:06.000
issue we should focus on
and i think

1332
01:40:06.000 --> 01:40:09.840
i think this is the issue i think
reading is the issue

1333
01:40:09.840 --> 01:40:13.440
it is after all the traditional thing
that libraries do

1334
01:40:13.440 --> 01:40:19.119
we are good at talking about the joy of
reading that was mentioned today

1335
01:40:19.119 --> 01:40:23.119
we are very good about doing that we are
good about curating books for kids of

1336
01:40:23.119 --> 01:40:27.280
all ages of all kinds of all backgrounds
we're doing we're doing a better job let

1337
01:40:27.280 --> 01:40:31.040
me put it to you that way than we than
we have uh done in the past for certain

1338
01:40:31.040 --> 01:40:34.000
kids
and we can do a really good job for all

1339
01:40:34.000 --> 01:40:36.800
kids
so i think

1340
01:40:36.800 --> 01:40:41.760
if if if we have a call to action it is
about that

1341
01:40:41.760 --> 01:40:45.679
i want to say that there is research out
there that shows

1342
01:40:45.679 --> 01:40:50.719
uh and and bob putnam talks about this
in more than one book um there's a man

1343
01:40:50.719 --> 01:40:54.960
named peter sharkey at nyu talks about
this in our own reinvestment fund

1344
01:40:54.960 --> 01:40:57.920
research
mike norton i think is here who helped

1345
01:40:57.920 --> 01:41:00.800
us do that
that research

1346
01:41:00.800 --> 01:41:05.280
shows shows this simple fact and it's a
simple fact and it needs to be

1347
01:41:05.280 --> 01:41:08.880
delineated in much more detail and there
are a lot of people working on it uh

1348
01:41:08.880 --> 01:41:13.920
there's a group uh represented here by
nate hill who's working on uh something

1349
01:41:13.920 --> 01:41:18.400
called a new york digital equity
uh project um

1350
01:41:18.400 --> 01:41:21.520
plan
i'm not gonna get that exactly right

1351
01:41:21.520 --> 01:41:26.560
portal sorry portal portal
um and and the point of of this research

1352
01:41:26.560 --> 01:41:29.280
is
that we know that the cultural

1353
01:41:29.280 --> 01:41:33.679
institutions and the neighborhood
institutions the network and connection

1354
01:41:33.679 --> 01:41:36.719
you heard that those words from bob
putnam

1355
01:41:36.719 --> 01:41:40.320
which is you know his
his research over the years and so much

1356
01:41:40.320 --> 01:41:44.560
other research says that the more
connections we've got in the community

1357
01:41:44.560 --> 01:41:49.280
the better the community will function
in all ways all these ways about equity

1358
01:41:49.280 --> 01:41:54.080
and we know that we know that a key to
that is the library particularly the

1359
01:41:54.080 --> 01:41:59.360
neighborhood branch library we know that
the the neighborhoods that raj chetty

1360
01:41:59.360 --> 01:42:01.199
studies
where

1361
01:42:01.199 --> 01:42:04.639
neighborhoods with
almost identical demographics some

1362
01:42:04.639 --> 01:42:08.239
neighborhoods perform better than others
and the one thing we know about that for

1363
01:42:08.239 --> 01:42:12.080
sure is that there are cultural and
neighborhood institutions that are

1364
01:42:12.080 --> 01:42:16.239
functioning
in those communities you are functioning

1365
01:42:16.239 --> 01:42:19.600
in those in those communities
and

1366
01:42:19.600 --> 01:42:22.719
uh you know we heard about so many
different things that that we can do but

1367
01:42:22.719 --> 01:42:26.639
i will just say this i'll end
as i like to uh with alexis de

1368
01:42:26.639 --> 01:42:31.280
tocqueville
the uniquely american thing is at the

1369
01:42:31.280 --> 01:42:35.360
neighborhood level at the local level
what he used to call the township level

1370
01:42:35.360 --> 01:42:40.000
that we can associate to to deal with
problems well that's really what

1371
01:42:40.000 --> 01:42:43.840
libraries do there weren't there weren't
any public libraries or very very few

1372
01:42:43.840 --> 01:42:48.239
real public libraries in the 1830s when
tocqueville was writing this i think if

1373
01:42:48.239 --> 01:42:51.760
he saw
what you are and what you do today he

1374
01:42:51.760 --> 01:42:54.880
would say
that's the continuation of the unique

1375
01:42:54.880 --> 01:42:57.760
american thing
that

1376
01:42:57.760 --> 01:43:00.960
if we've been talking about the soul of
the library that's the soul of the

1377
01:43:00.960 --> 01:43:05.520
library and i think we can do this work
we can expand this work

1378
01:43:05.520 --> 01:43:09.760
and it's the real equity work of this
country and so i charge you to go out

1379
01:43:09.760 --> 01:43:15.159
and do it and thank you very much for
being here