If you are a regular visitor to the Seattle Public Library, you may have noticed the addition of iPads mounted to a table in the children’s sections. We first noticed this a few months ago in the Fremont Library, and it was the first time our son showed no interest in the books on offer. He sat in front of the iPad playing games while my husband and I searched for picture books to check out.
There is an iPad at the Greenlake Library. There used to be an iPad at the Wallingford Branch, but I was told it was put away because the library itself is very small and the children’s section is tiny, but I was told that it may return. The Wallingford librarian encouraged me to send feedback to the main office, so I sent the following email.
I admit, I was a little perturbed.
My son and I have been going to the Fremont Library and Wallingford Library for 3 years now. For the first time ever he showed zero interest in the books that you have. Why? Because he was looking at your ipad. Every chance we had to get him to choose a book to take home, he ignored us. He sometimes would look up for a second but would quickly go back to the ipad. If you want children to remain interested in books and ensure the future viability of libraries, then I think it would be best to remove the ipads completely.
The response I got was boilerplate and I could tell it was cut and pasted as the font was different from the rest of the email.
Recently the Library installed iPads in children’s departments across the city. This service provides access and opportunities for children and families to engage with quality digital resources that have been vetted and selected by trained Library staff. Many families across the city do not have regular access to technology and high-quality digital resources. By providing this access in our libraries we are helping to mitigate the impact of the digital divide so that all children have the same opportunities for informal and formal learning. As children grow up with devices, such as iPads, and as a result read and learn using these tools as a part of their daily lives, it’s important to assist them, and their parents and caregivers, in using these tools in meaningful ways and that includes playing games which support learning and literacy and reading books and other materials on the screen.
Thank you again for your feedback and we hope that you and your child will continue to visit and use the library and are able to use the resources that are most beneficial to your family.
Linda W. Braun
Youth and Family Learning Services Manager
I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority here, and I know it is swimming against the tide to oppose technology of any kind. I guess I just romantically think of libraries as places for books and reading. What do you think?
When I was growing up, I wanted a Nintendo really bad. All my friends had them, and when I would go to their homes, I would fixate and binge on playing them because I knew I couldn’t when I went back to my own home. I finally got one when I was in high school, and I played it a lot for a few weeks, but it wore off and I played less frequently over time. I still own one as an adult, but I don’t play it much. My mother is a librarian, and I’m sure she had the same worries expressed in this post when I was an elementary kid begging for video games. But here’s the good news, I didn’t lose interest in books. I still read books as an adult. And I’m sure your child will, too.
This is a great point Ben.
Also, there are a lot of kids who technology based media is an entryway to learning that may not occur otherwise, specifically thinking of individuals who may experience autism. We all learn and consume media differently, some visual, some audio, some kinesthetically, some a combination and it’s important to be mindful that just because it’s not your preference for your kids doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be an option for others.
The Wallingford library now has MagnaTiles you can check out while you’re there. Their particular box is called Picasso tiles. You have to specifically ask for them, though. I think that might be a better way to handle the iPads, a parent needs to request one locked to the table.
Also, in order for libraries to stay relevant, most of them are embracing new technology and new ways people are interacting with media and books.
Also, they make a good point about access to technology. A lot of people use the library for computer access. There are lots of libraries that have computers in the kids area for kids to gain exposure, iPads make sense given how they’re showing up in schools. I was recently at a 6 year olds birthday party and the kids were having a heated discussion about what was on their iPads and tablets.
If I were raising kids now, I would make every effort to keep them away from technology while they were very young. Books are magic entrees into a complex and competitive world, while providing time to think and reflect on what has been read. The electronics seem to emphasize instant gratification and competition. When Baby Einstein was so popular, it broke my heart to watch a 2 month old watching it, when the parent should have been the primary source of education and socialization. On of my major concerns is that if allowed unchecked, it replaces physical activity, opportunities for playing and using imagination. Some of my best childhood memories are making forts inside and outside, and staying outside until the ironclad rule that I had to come home when the streetlights came on. But that was then, and this is now.
However, devices and electronics are a part of our world. Without it, kids are at a disadvantage at school, and for the rest of their lives. For some kids, it is the best way to learn.
Moderation in all things is the best answer.
I hope that in the future, there will be longitudinal studies on brain changes and development, comparing and contrasting kids 60 years ago,
with the kids of today.
Information technology is creating not only a digital divide – a phrase I dislike for reasons not germane here – but exacerbating a human divide. Today’s (Sunday, 2 august) PNW Magazine cover shows a mass of pedestrians downtown, a great many of whom have on ear plugs or ear phones. Oddly, i can make out only one who might be gazing into a cell phone.
I anticipate that the mental stimulation of games and other online interactions will have a beneficial effect on brain development, but social skills may be sorely deficient. At this point, parenting comes in. Parents will have to get children out of the monitor and into the real world, perhaps through sports, Scouting, religious affiliations, charitable work, or just taking a hike. I recall a photo of two kids, all decked out with too large backpacks, oversized safari hats, and walking sticks in a deep woods, with the caption, “Kids don’t remember their best day of television.”
And society can play a part. As suggested above, perhaps libraries should limit children’s access to some of their technology. This may get the usual suspects howling about discrimination, unfairness, etc., but we can figure that out. History has shown that society at large will shift and adapt to cope with technology that may be sucking kids into Neverland, or opening up vistas never before available.
I think it’s great to have them accessible for those without one at home. And the novelty may or may not wear off for your son. Maybe they have books loaded onto the iPads. Your child can look at the book online, then go find the 3D version. Careful consideration of where the libraries are choosing to place them could also help with the distraction issue. Having them prominently seen as soon as you enter the children’s section is unfortunate and takes away from encouraging books. It would be nice if they had a cozy iPad corner. I’m not opposed to technology but prefer balance, and books first.
“Having them prominently seen as soon as you enter the children’s section is unfortunate and takes away from encouraging books. It would be nice if they had a cozy iPad corner. I’m not opposed to technology but prefer balance, and books first.”
Precisely. I don’t want them sitting on the table when I bring my kids in to look at books. We’re a no-TV household and we tightly limit screen time.
I don’t want an iPad on the table in the library for when my kid walks into the little children’s area. That’s not why we go to the library. I think having it available to sign out is a better idea. The conflict that would ensue between my kid and me over the iPad vs. the books would most likely result in us being asked to leave. 🙂
I don’t think very young children need to be, or ought to be, be using devices. They need to develop the attention needed to read a book or finish an activity. Older children can use the regular computers; a child to young to use a keyboard doesn’t need to be on a computer at all. (harrumphed the old fogey)
I totally agree with this. Love the library for…..books. Good old fashioned paper books.
Now, we are not Luddites, but last year our house went totally non-digital (except for our phones of course!).
We don’t have any screen-time, because we don’t have any screens, and that’s lead to a super increase in both of their reading, art, and comprehension abilities.There is no TV, no ipad, just books, paper, crayons, etc.. And guess what, our kids both 8 and 5 have started to read and draw voraciously because they are now MAKING their entertainment, instead of just being mind-numbingly Entertained.
This WAS hard initially, because there was TV or pad to “watch” the kids for and hour or two each day, to keep them quiet and out of my hair. What replaced that time? Now they are being “watched” by Books, playing make believe, dress up, drawing, and games. My 5 year old now begs me to play Monopoly and Connect4 with her, which had led to more time spent directly engaged with her. Win-Win.
I was also worried that by doing this they would lag behind their peers at using technology, but so far they haven’t. They are still using tech at school, and that will of course continue.
For now, I’m really happy how this is going, and wish my own parents hadn’t let me watch all that Scooby Doo in the 70’s.
LOOSEN UP, PEOPLE! Not everyone is old and farty and anti-technology. Some people don’t have access to it at all, let alone COOL and easy to use technology. I fail to see how iPads should not be a resource the library offers along with everything else they offer…like regular computers. The same way an adult uses the computer at the library to search for information or reserve a book a child could do on an iPad with a sweet app that’s especially for children. It makes perfect sense to put iPad’s out in the kid space because the sit down computers are always being used and the express computers are stand up desks which littler kids can’t reach. So, yes, I am all for making sure anyone who wants to use technology has access to it, especially if they are a lower socio-economic status than what I think most of Wallingford are( check your privilege!). I also don’t believe that iPad’s take the place of books or that books should be used to teach literacy over technology. It’s possible to have the two being used together. Don’t forget about the little people! Don’t forget about the people who can’t afford slick smartphones and tablets! They should be able to have fun too.
i agree! make it something kept off the children’s table so it’s not a distraction and people can check it out if they want. but it’s incredibly distracting for toddlers.
I have no idea where people who think libraries are just about paper books have been for the last couple of decades, but the Seattle Public Library pioneered the availability of digital resources to its patrons a long time ago. I was on the board of the Friends of the Seattle Public Library in the early nineties when we provided a grant to purchase CDs and CD-ROMs for circulation (not just use in the library). The purpose was exactly as Ms. Braun wrote in her thoughtful letter (which may have been “canned” only in the sense that the library considers these policies thoughtfully and is aware that they will be subject to criticism, and therefore prepares germane responses in advance): to ensure access to members of the community for whom the decisions about those resources would be economic and not just a choice. It’s a parent’s job to deal with how a child reacts to the resource when it’s made available. The library’s mission is to ensure access for all.
“Parent’s job to deal …” The way I read it, parents who are really interested in getting younger children in front of books might be better off finding someplace else to do it, not the library. Good deal for Apple, though, eh?
Did you actually look at the iPad with your child to see what they could do with it? Of course technology belongs in the library! It’s not as if you’re going to be spending the entire day there – your child is not going to be damaged by spending a short time exploring the device and might even learn something along the way. (See Dan’s post) Making tech the “forbidden fruit” could take you places you don’t want to go. Rather, talk to your children about it – discuss the pros and cons – be open to hearing what they find so compelling. You can pick some books to check out, let the child have a chance to explore the tech, go home and read the “real books”.
The library also carefully curates the apps available on the iPad. I also feel like most of you have never visited a branch where they have computers reserved for kids, at kid sized tables, with headphones and learning software. Or where the libraries have large play areas with toys. Like the Central Library or Lake City.
My daughter is struggling with learning to read. You know what’s helped her the most with letter recognition? A computer game. Because while it’s drilling her to recognize letters, she just thinks she’s playing game and at home it’s the only time I let her use the computer.
Ban technology at home if you want, but remember, the libraries are for everybody. And some people don’t get to choose whether or not they have technology, the economy makes that choice for them.
This has been a great discussion with the exception of “old and farty and anti-technology” comment. LOL. I’d like to respond to a couple comments asking where the fear about these devices comes from? I can’t speak for the other commenters but my fear comes from my own experiences. When I am using a device, I tune out the whole world — including my kids. I can’t say I ever use devices for educational purposes. I do read a lot of the news but it has the effect of making me angry usually and not necessarily more fully informed.
It feels addictive in that I find it very difficult to put down my device. Will I be speaking to my child one day and find them doing the same thing and returning a blank stare with one word answers so they can get back to social media? That is a fear. But I agree that opposing these things is swimming against the tide as this is where we seem to be headed. I’d just like to add that my son is four and I think it is perfectly reasonable to be concerned about how much screen time he gets at this age.
The first image in this link I think is very relevant to this discussion. http://illustrationconcentration.com/2013/01/04/schooled-chris-wares-new-yorker-covers/