Day 2 - YOUmedia at Harold Washington Public Library

We started the day in the YOUmedia area of the  Harold Washington Public Library with Adrienne Strock, YOUmedia Manager, and Matt Jenson, CyberNavigator.  YOUMedia spaces are in 5 branches of the Chicago Public Library system where their core philosophy is that "youth are best engaged when they are following their passions, collaborating with others, and being makers and doers, not passive consumers."  YOUmedia are spaces that are flexible and open with areas designed for students to "hang out, mess around, and geek out" based on the research and findings of Professor Mizuko Ito and colleagues after interviewing and observing 700+ youth.  Their findings are published in the book Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning.

In the Hanging Out area, we explored the stage that hosts Lyricist Loft each Wednesday evening that frequently sees 100 students, teen fiction books, furniture organized to promote conversation, a Playstation, audio books, and the digital tree of learning featuring YOUmedia students.  Adrienne shared that when the teen fiction books were brought down from the main fiction/literature room floors above, the circulation of these books increased 400%.  That is AMAZING!!!  Books were also seen as we moved into the other areas..  

  

We then moved into the Messing Around area where kids take their interests a little deeper than just talking about it.  Also in this area is the circulation desk where you will find many kids in discussion with the Librarians and CyberNavigators.  When talking with Matt about his role, he said his job is to get to know the kids, their interests, ideas, etc. and guide them to connect with others with similar interests, join workshops and/or projects, and find resources within the space and virtually.  This is the only space that has eight computers that are stationary.  Almost everything in the entire YOUmedia space is movable.  This enables groups to arrange seating as needed and much more.  Messing Around also has a Playstation with musical instruments, portable ping pong table, recording studio, more books, kid's work displayed everywhere, whiteboard of workshops being offered during the week, printer stations, scanner stations, and many places to gather together.  Digital cameras, laptops and other equipment are available for check out and use within the YOUmedia space.  Some equipment requires the kids to work with a mentor or staff in order to use it.  Adrienne stated that 18% of YOUmedia learners receive homework help while the remaining percent use the space for personal interest and expression.  YOUmedia was created in 2009 and the items that they have had to replace were laptops, tablets and the legs of the club chairs due to heavy use.

     

The last area is Geeking Out.  In this flexible space, kids sign up for workshops offered by Digital Youth Network Mentors and YOUmedia staff.  Workshops offered are: digital music production, digital video production, radio + podcasting, graphic design, spoken work - Lyricist Lab, and Library of Games.  Project Groups are: YOUmedia Records, YOUlit Magazine, Lyricist Loft: Open mic for Teens, Girl-illa Media, Library of Games, and The Change Society @ YOUmedia.  The best workshops/projects are those that kids can drop into and not have to attend multiple sessions in a time frame Matt stated.  During workshops, kids take their learning very deep by getting hands on learning with mentors in the industry with specific software, equipment, etc. where they create and publish their work.  Projects and workshops are created by the mentors and staff based on interest of students.  Some are labor intensive to create and run while others are not.  The team meets frequently to reflect on projects/workshops, redesign and/or design new projects/workshops.  Matt stressed that the most important feature of YOUmedia is building and maintaining relationships with the kids.

Mentors
Vivian Alvarez, Photography Mentor
Taylor Bayless, Librarian
Camellia Boyd, CyberNavigator
Marshall Caal, Librarian
Mike Hawkins, YOUmedia Coordinator / Lead Mentor
Matt Jensen, CyberNavigator
Jeff Lassahn, Video Mentor
Marcus Lumpkin, Library Associate
Julia Pyatetsky, Librarian
Adrienne Strock, YOUmedia Manager
Daniel Tamayo, CyberNavigator
Jami Thompson, CyberNavigator
Nigless Tognoni, Graphic Design Mentor
Also Vasquez, CyberNavigator

After the tour, we went back to the Innovation Lab to visit our new friend, Mark Andersen, to see how the opening of the lab went.  We were excited to see he had a full class and the level of interested everyone showed.

Later, we spent time back at the hotel sharing, discussion, getting ideas, making plans, etc. based on what we have learned.  We also began reading and discussion other articles to further our understanding and discussions about Learning Commons, Maker Space, and libraries in the 21st Century.  The articles are: Raising the Bar, Engaging Staff and Students in a Culture of Participation by Sue Kowalski; Playful, Students at Creekview High School Discuss Participatory Learning by Buffy Hamilton; Makerspaces Take Libraries by Storm by Tracey Wong; Participatory Culture in the School Library by Buffy Hamilton and Ernie Cox; Opening the Space, Making the School Library a Site of Participatory Culture by Andy Plemmons; The Transliterate Learner by Gail Bush; The Power of Podcasting by Melissa Purcell; Reinventing Ourselves in the Digital Age by Joanne K. Hammond and Chris Barnabei; Ditching Dewey by Kristie Miller; and Looking at Common Core Performance Tasks for K-12 School Library Programs by Peggy Milam Creighton.  

Our Google Drive folder is getting a workout with all the information and collaboration we are adding.  We ended the day with a great dinner and conversation of the thoughts and ideas each have to implement what we are learning in our libraries.