November 22, 2022 • 40 mins
Christie Folsom works at the Chippewa River District Library. Whether you are a regular in the library or are not sure what street you'd drive down to find yours, this episode is for you. Our conversation spans early literacy and the role of libraries in the community. We end our interview with our favorite reads of 2022. We guarantee this interview will is one you'll enjoy.
Links:
Chippewa River District Library
Book Eaters
Fairy Tale
Now What
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse
A World of Curiosities
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Intro Music by:
David Biedenbender
Other Music and Sounds:
Coma-Media
Music for Video
Lexin
Pixabay
Nullhertz
Audio Coffee
Find us on social media:
Instagram: cmichcese
Facebook: cmich_cese
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ashley O'Neil (00:00):
So before we start this episode properly,
let's talk about books. I'm abook person, Julie's a book
person. In fact, I'm such a bookperson that my family teases me
because I don't remember someevents and big details from get
togethers in our childhood.
Because I was so deeplyengrossed in a book, I was the
kid who was burning throughbooks faster than my parents or
my teachers could keep pacewith. So getting a library card
(00:22):
in middle school was a gamechanger for me. I remember
getting stacks of books forsummer break, and the covers
would all be a bit crispy fromthat protective film that they
put on them. And he would openthem up and it would just be
this smell and this experienceand this excitement of a story
that was about to begin. In ourinterview. Today, we're talking
(00:42):
with Christie Folsom, shearguably has the job that my
eight to 18 year old self, andeven my adult self these days
would absolutely love. She worksat the library. And our
conversation today spans fromearly literacy skills and theme
kits to the role of the libraryin a community and how Christy's
thinking about books andliteracy has changed over time.
(01:02):
It was great to geek out withChristie over a shared joy found
in books. And in reading thisepisode. If I've been talking
and you've been nodding along,you're a fellow library lover,
and this episode is for you. Butit's also great if you're
someone who doesn't quiteunderstand the role that
libraries play in the community,especially beyond just the
checkout system. If you're aperson who's wondering how
(01:25):
libraries play into a person'seducation, this episode is for
you as well. Christy'sperspective on the role of the
library really expanded her nowhow I think of community spaces.
So Christie will say more aboutthis in detail. But libraries
are one of a kind. They are apart of a community. And they're
one of the few places that youcan go and get things without
having to give something inreturn. The library is free,
(01:45):
it's open and it's staffed forlong hours. It's filled with a
book selection that's unique tothat location. And it's for you
for the community. It doesn'task anything in return you know,
when you check out books fromlibrary
(02:07):
so you know, when you check outbooks from the library. So these
days I do, it fits our familyseason, audio books from the
library for me, and a bag ofpicture books selected by my
son. But back when I waschecking out books by this
stack, sometimes you'd find thatgentle doggy or in a hardback,
and you'd know that someone elsehad paused at that same page
that someone else in my town hadread and laughed at that spot or
(02:31):
been shocked by a plot twist.
And well, I couldn't even at thetime, that feeling was the spark
of a connection to the people inmy town to the fellow readers.
librarian that recommendedrecommended that book for me,
you know, when you enter thestory library, and that
connection is Christian becauseit fits my family season. I have
audio books and the Library appfor me and the back of picture
books that has been selected bymy son. But back when I was
(02:53):
checking out books by the stack,sometimes you'd find a gentle
doggy or and a hardback. Andyou'd know that someone else had
paused on that same page thatsomeone else in my town had read
or laughed at that spot or beenshocked by twist or had to pause
because family dinner wascoming. And I couldn't name that
feeling at that time. Thatfeeling was the spark of a
connection to the people in mytown to the librarians that
(03:16):
recommended that book for meinto the story. And that
connection is something thatChristie really explained so
well. So I hope you appreciatethe insight and joy that we
found in this interview today.
links that we mentioned will bein the show notes. There's also
going to be a bonus section atthe end of this episode that you
will not want to miss.
Christie Folsom (04:25):
Sure, so my name is Christy Folsom, and I am
the Youth Services person hereat the Chippewa River District
to library which basically meansI am working with the ages birth
to five. For the most part. Wehave a whole team and that's
kind of my category that Imostly work in. We also have a
(04:49):
family programmer who doesthings for family ages, early
elementary, middle school alittle bit and then a teen
person who does all of our teenprograms. I'm
Julie Cunningham (05:00):
Christie when you say that you're with the
Chippewa River District Library.
Does that mean the MountPleasant branch only? Or do you
also oversee any of thesatellite locations?
Unknown (05:11):
Yes, so So the Chippewa River District Library is the
whole system that includes ourfive branches. So the Veterans
Memorial Library is our mainbranch here in Mount Pleasant.
And then we also have branchesbranches in rosebush, Shepherd
Blanchard and when.
Ashley O'Neil (05:32):
So, have you always been with the birth to
five group? Or has that been?
Like, has that always been yourold library? Or how did you get
there?
Christie Folsom (05:41):
No. So when I started off in libraries, I did.
All ages, I was still doing, youknow, programming mostly for
kiddos, I actually started alittle farther north working at
a library open Claire. And thereI did, you know, teens to
storytime, the whole gamut ofthings. It was just smaller
(06:02):
library. So we, so I dideverything. And storytime was
actually one of the things thatI think was like, most
intimidating at first, becauseI'd never worked with kiddos
that young before. And I, it wasdefinitely a learning process to
educate myself on that agerange. And, and since I've just
(06:24):
found it, it's so amazing. Iremember when I first started
working there, I felt like I wasjust sort of like singing all
these songs to myself, becausewe had a really young group,
and, and then all of a sudden,one day, one kiddo comes in, and
he starts like singing along andyou. So it's a really amazing
group to work with. Because theyare just absorbing everything,
(06:44):
even when you think that they'renot. And then, you know,
everyone's from while you getthis like reward where they
start showing you all of thethings that they've learned. So
Ashley O'Neil (06:54):
that's awesome.
So what guides you when you planyour programming? I know you
mentioned story hour. So do howdo you pick those books? Or how
does that come about for you.
Christie Folsom (07:03):
So we do different themes, and try to
pick themes that incorporatekind of like larger themes
within the library. So likeright now, the whole library is
doing a whole die November kindof theme. So we've got lots of
different programs, we'reworking with the STEM center on
a couple of dyno themedprograms. And so then my
(07:26):
storytimes are also themed withthat diagnosis theme. So when
the kids come in, they've got alot of reinforcement of that
theme, and different activitiesthat they can do. Throughout the
library. Sometimes I pick themesbased on the season. So before
that, we were doing a not sospooky storytime and a fall
storytime. And then moregenerally, I tried to pick
(07:49):
beyond just like theme I triedto pick books that are not just
age appropriate, but are goingto engage the kids in kind of a
group kind of activity. I liketo pick books where, you know,
for example, in our storytimetoday, we did dinosaur versus
library. And we did a lot ofroaring along with the dinosaur
(08:11):
and getting the kids reallyinvolved. But I also like to
pick books that would be goodbooks for parents to read with
children. So we can kinda likemodel that that's part of what
storytime is about is building,not just building early literacy
skills with the kiddos, butbuilding like a confidence for
(08:32):
parents who might feel like alittle intimidated about the
idea of one on one reading astory. So I tried to pick books
that fit both a storytime nicheand can be used with parents as
Julie Cunningham (08:44):
well. How often does that group meet?
Christie Folsom (08:48):
So we meet once a week on Thursdays at 1030. And
my coworker Tina also has a sheruns the storytime I plan it for
her and then she runs it inShepherd at 2pm. Every other
week. We have a storytime inrosebush, on Wednesdays at 1030.
(09:09):
And then every other Friday, wehave a music and movement
program, which is just all ofthe dancing and music that we do
in storytime but put into oneactivity for the especially good
for our wiggly kids who like todo lots of dancing and moving so
Julie Cunningham (09:27):
so so basically, you probably see
repeat families then once a weekor repeat children. Yeah, yeah,
Christie Folsom (09:34):
we do a lot.
And in fact, we're we juststarted our music and movement
back and you definitely see thefirst time maybe one family
comes and then you definitelybuild a rapport where it becomes
part of the family's routine andstuff.
Ashley O'Neil (09:48):
That's great. So when you talk about building
early literacy skills, thisisn't a question I told you I
was gonna ask. You sit down andyou talk about like modeling or
kind of sharing with adults orcaregivers. This is how you
could read, what are some thingsyou like? Keep in mind. So if I
was wanting to read at home withmy, my child, what were some
(10:10):
things that you kind of keep inmind are things you hope parents
take back with them?
Christie Folsom (10:15):
Yeah, well, some of it is just reinforcing
that no matter what you do,you're doing a great thing just
to pick up a book and read fromthe get go. It seems like super
simple to us. But like a youngchild, just learning which way a
book opens, and, like engagingwith them. And flipping the
pages is, like, a huge thingthat that just really helpful to
(10:40):
them. And then also just thatone on one talking that you're
doing with them. So not just theact of reading the book, but in
like talking with them about thebook, right? So if the dinosaur
is going to the library, youknow, maybe after you read the
text of the book, you say, Oh,what do you think will happen
next, or look at that dinosaur,point out what's happening in
(11:03):
the, the images, or it can alsobe helpful, if there's a big
piece of text, maybe it says,roll are really big on on the
page, pointing that out so thatover time, the kiddo can realize
when you're saying the woodword, roar, that's actually
written there on the page, andthey can start to identify that.
(11:24):
So the biggest, I would say, thebiggest thing is like you are,
you're already doing thesethings, just by how you talk to
your children, and the fact thatyou're reading, reading to them.
So there are certainly there arethings that you can do to engage
them further. Like some of theexamples I just said, but the
biggest thing is just reading tothem regularly. And that one on
(11:46):
one attention that you're givingthem, they're absorbing all of
that, just conversationally. SoChris,
Julie Cunningham (11:53):
you just gave a lot of great examples about
early literacy, education, howdo you see yourself or the
library or your program? How areyou want to interpret this
putting into the community as aneducational entity,
Christie Folsom (12:06):
I'm gonna butcher this quote. But I, but I
know I've heard somewhere thatthere's that there's like, three
different places that a childneeds throughout their life,
right. And they need, like ahome environment that's
welcoming, they need a schoolenvironment that's supportive.
And then there's kind of theselike tertiary locations, like
(12:28):
maybe a Girl Scout troop, or achurch group. And I think that
that's also a space that thelibrary fits into kind of this
tertiary tertiary space thatgives a child mentors that they
can look up to, and just a spacethat they can explore outside of
their regular home in school,for a lot of the kids I'm
(12:49):
working with, I think one of thethings we're doing is we're
giving them a small sample ofwhat school is like and
preparing for them for that, Isee a lot of kiddos who come
into storytime for the firsttime, and they're either super
shy, and don't know how tointeract with other kids at all.
Or they're just this bundle ofenergy, who and they're still
(13:12):
learning all of that, like,sitting and listening and
sharing and all of those things,which are both, like totally
okay, and that's kind of what Ifeel like storytime is in some
ways, is validation for gettingall of that out. But then also
overtime, kind of learning,like, oh, I can I can sit and I
(13:33):
can listen or oh, I caninteract. And I can play with
this other kiddo. And just justa place to practice all those
skills before they get into aclassroom environment. And then
I do do some programs with olderkids and in the programs that my
my colleagues do, I feel likepart of what we're doing is just
being a people in a place thatis overall supporting the kids
(13:55):
of our community beyond whatthey're getting in school. And I
do think kids, especially today,really need that. And we saw
that a bit over the pandemic, wehave a couple of book clubs
where I noted that the not somuch, me, but the bonds that
they're able to build with otherkids and the reading that
(14:17):
they're able to do outside ofschool reading where they can
just come and geek out about abook, instead of it being like
an assignment, I think wasreally, really a good
experience. But I'd like to hope
Julie Cunningham (14:28):
it was. Yeah, I hear you saying it's a safe
space, right, a safe space whereyou can act within reason, how
you want for storytime and alsolearn kind of what do we expect
from social norms and just bywatching others or interacting
with others or and being aroundadults who care. I, this is
(14:49):
neither here nor there really.
But I think also that librarygives people a little piece of
ownership when you can get yourown library card to write I mean
I've can remember When I was ayouth just been so proud to have
gotten my first library card andbeing able to check books and
make decisions to check booksout by myself, I know your
little kiddos aren't doing thatmaking those decisions yet
necessarily, although maybe theydo point out which books they
(15:12):
want to their parents. But Ithink there's also like, that's
a community organization wherethere's some real direct
ownership and, you know,autonomy,
Ashley O'Neil (15:24):
I hear that in respect to what you said about
just like geeking out with abook, just because there aren't
a lot of places in which wedon't have expectations put on
each other, right? Like, evensometimes, you know, sports are
fantastic for many children, butthere's an expectation and an
outcome or performance that kindof has to happen. And I feel
like the library is one of thefew places in which students can
(15:46):
come and learn what it meanshave a hobby, and just to do
something for the pure joy ofdoing it. Like we're going to
read this book for the joy ofreading it and talk about it for
the joy of talking about it, notfor grades, not for a book
report, not to like advance ourDRA level to the next, you know,
bracket or whatever, but we'rejust reading it, because it's
really fun. And I think thatit's really wonderful that
there's a place where people cancome in, and you model that
(16:09):
really well. And then they canpractice or know that that's
valid. Like it's okay, if I justwant to come and read a book
just because and if I want toburn through a whole series, and
never touch a book of anothergenre for a while, that's also
okay. So that's really great.
Christie Folsom (16:23):
Yeah, absolutely. And I see that all
the time. And even, even withthe littlest kids, you know, we
encourage anybody to get alibrary card. And in fact,
kiddos under seven, when theysign up for a library card, get
a free book for signing up.
Because I do think that there issomething magical about that
whole experience. And, and asyou said, I do think it teaches
an ownership. And can we wantkids to feel like they are, they
(16:47):
are a member of the library,they they own the library in a
way that I don't, right. And onething I really like being able
to do with kids is if they havea book they want and it's not on
the shelf, okay, well, we'rethey're gonna find it from you
for a different library, ormaybe we'll order it for you.
And like you can participate inbuilding this community
(17:09):
collection of books as well. So
Julie Cunningham (17:13):
yeah, that's super cool. I question that
actually didn't originally haveon your list. When you talked
about you mentioned that youhave collaborated with us before
with our colleague AmandaCornwell. Right, and are doing
so through the dinosaur theme.
But in general, I thinkorganizations like ours and like
yours, we look forcollaborations, and we know that
(17:35):
our community organizations thatare perhaps stronger, more
viable, um, land more wellrounded together, right. And we
value those collaborations. Sowhen you think about who you're
going to collaborate with, orhow you're going to collaborate,
is there something that you lookfor from your community
partnerships? Or what types ofcollaborations do you think
(17:59):
about when you think aboutcollaborating?
Christie Folsom (18:03):
I think so I think we're, we're pretty open
to any kind of collaborationthat can be beneficial for that
person. I feel like we are hereto serve the community, and that
includes other organizationswithin the community. And
especially, I feel like thecollaboration with you guys at
(18:24):
the STEM Center has been one ofour most successful because I do
feel like we are where we havevery similar goals. And we're
targeting a lot of the same agerange and the same kids. So
being able to reinforce some ofthe same ideas between both
places, I think, has been reallybeneficial. But, but we also
(18:46):
have partnerships with otherother organizations that are
targeting that kid age range.
Other, as I said before, kind ofthose tertiary after school
organizations. So we have, wehave a great partnership with
Parks and Rec, Mount Pleasanthas just an amazing Parks and
Rec Department, and we've beenable to do a lot of things with
them. So and one of the greatthings about that partnership is
(19:09):
they have access to spaces thatwe don't. So in the summertime,
we're able to go over to thepark and meet people while
they're at the farmers market.
And, and that's been like, agreat collaboration. And that
is, and I would say that that'sanother thing we're looking for
is how can this collaborationmake things easier on the
(19:31):
community as a whole, right, sonow, now parents who are already
at the farmers market onThursday, and one last stop,
they have to make, you know, bycoming to storytime or they're
able to pick up a kit throughthe library and get some get a
really cool free baking kit todo while they're at the farmers
market. So looking for ways forthings to be easier for our
(19:55):
patrons and more accessible ormaybe to introduce them to you A
area of the community theydidn't know about, we try to
highlight sometimes businessesthat are local to the community
that maybe you would know aboutor, or we just want to support
those local businesses eitherthrough sending the patrons
(20:15):
there or giving them a gift cardthere, different things like
that. We do also. So one of theprograms that I've been pretty
passionate about working on iswe have a, a world language
program, where we try and itstarted off as a program and
then post COVID, it's moved intoa kit form, where you get a book
(20:36):
and a recipe based on adifferent language or part of
the world. And the biggest thingwith that is it's based on
people who live here in thecommunity, who are making all of
these recommendations for us andteaching us like a little bit
about the language and thestories and the food that's a
(20:57):
part of that part of the world.
So actually, right now we've gotone coming up on Anishnaabe, a
Merwyn, which is the languagespoken Anishnaabe, a by the
second Chippewa tribe here, andwe've had some really great
tribal members, and also acouple of native members of our
staff that have helped puttogether that kit, we also have
(21:19):
a kit coming up in January willbe the next one, based on a
storytime family. That has beenreally active. That is from
Shanghai. So she's teaching usall about Mandarin Chinese. And
since it will be the time ofyear for Chinese New Year,
she'll be teaching us a littlebit about that, we'll get to try
some fun snacks that she talkedabout how they, when she's
(21:43):
holding sick, these are thesnacks she goes to that make her
feel, you know, warm and fuzzy.
So So sometimes it's not even anorganization so much as just a
member of our community that wecan kind of highlight and point
out to the community, like lookat all of these cool people that
we have living here in MountPleasant.
Julie Cunningham (22:01):
That's super cool. How does one get involved.
Christie Folsom (22:07):
So if you go to our website, the so I it's
actually I apologize, the timingis a little off, because we're
just about to send out ourAnishinabeg kits. So I think
that the signup is already gonefor that one. But the the one
for China will be coming out inprobably in December. So yeah,
(22:28):
if you just keep checking ourwebsite, that that's a program
that happens every other month.
Um, but we have all kinds ofreally cool kit programs
happening too. So if you checkour website, we've got bake
kits, and we have this reallyawesome SPICE program that we've
been working with green tree onthe Andrea's put together where
you get a spice and you get toyou get a recipe, how to put
(22:50):
that spice into something. Andthere's spices from all over the
world. So yeah, lots of coolthings, I would recommend
checking our calendar,
Ashley O'Neil (22:58):
I'll put a link in the show notes. Check it out.
Yeah,
Julie Cunningham (23:01):
selfishly, that question that I asked has
turned out really well, mysources I need to check out.
Excellent. Thank you. So
Ashley O'Neil (23:13):
what are here a lot of really amazing programs.
And if we covered this questionalready, that's fine. But what
are you most passionate about inyour position?
Christie Folsom (23:22):
Um, so I would say, we have covered this a
little bit, but I would say justabout empowering kids, and
connecting them to not justliteracy but resources in
general. And I do think that alibrary is, is just like that
place where you should get to beyourself. And you should get to
(23:45):
explore whatever your interestsare. So if you are really into
like manga and anime, there'ssomething there free. You hear.
We had a really awesome PR themequite a while ago. And it was
all about like, what do yougeek. And I feel like that's
really what libraries are about,about getting to geek out about
(24:09):
your thing. And that being like,totally embraced and accepted no
matter who you are. And what itis that there's a library in
there that's going to help youlike, find out more about, you
know, knitting or baking ormovies we have. We have a patron
who comes in all the time and hejust talks to us about horror
(24:31):
movies all the time. And and wehave you know, we have people on
staff who are horror movie buffswho talk to them about it and
help them find good horrormovies to watch. So just like
connecting people, with theirpassions, and particularly I
enjoy connecting young peoplewith the things that they're
passionate about.
Julie Cunningham (24:52):
Yeah, that's, that's fabulous. And I know that
we're mostly referring tochildren at this point, but also
you You know, I'll tell you whenwe moved to this community, and
it was over 10 years ago now,but I think the library was the
first place I went when I wasnew to the community, right?
Because we're out there, you'regonna get a feel for what
resources are available for whatyour community is like, for
(25:14):
where you can go. I mean, forsupport, not just books, right.
But beyond that, like supports.
And so I think that was probablymy first step when I moved here
was, was the library and thelibrary card. Nope. Same.
Ashley O'Neil (25:28):
We just moved to Midland Blanca long ago. And we
think I think before we evenunpacked, had gone the library
just because we rely on it forall the things that you're
saying. And it really helpsdevelop, has your thoughts on
community and literacy andreading changed over time as
you've been at the library?
Christie Folsom (25:47):
I would say so, yes. Because I feel like I learn
so much from the community. Solike, I, when I first started at
libraries, actually, I rememberI, so I was a kid. I've always
been a nerdy kind of book kid.
And I was a kid who as as ateenager wanted to read like,
(26:07):
all of the classics, right? Andeven ones I didn't find
particularly interesting. I feltlike I had to read this, right?
I didn't particularly enjoyLittle Women at the time. Maybe
if I wouldn't have read it now.
I would. But I just rememberlike struggling through it. And
my friends being like, why areyou reading, so if you don't
like it. And so when I firstcame to libraries, I was like, a
(26:30):
little surprised that the smalltown library I was working at
didn't have like more classics,right? Like, we were I was
working in Claire at the PierreMarquette District Library,
which is another lovely library,and beautiful building. And they
have like a, they have a prettyhuge collection of like Amish
romances. And I remember beinglike, really surprised by that.
(26:53):
But but it's really not like ourplace as the librarians to say,
oh, there should be moreclassics here. Because it's
about what that community wants.
And that community has, like ahigh like Amish population. And
they have a lot of communitymembers who are not Amish, who
are also interested in likelearning about that, that
population and reading thosebooks. And so I remember, like
(27:15):
one of the other librariansbasically saying, like, don't be
a snob. And not that I wasparticularly snobby, per se,
but, but learning that like,it's not really about having to
read anything specific, it'slike about what that community
needs and wants and, and thatevery library collection is
(27:36):
going to be different based onthat community. And it really is
like this, like, almost livingentity within itself, the
library collection. And sincemoving here, I've learned so
much about this community, asyou guys kind of said that, when
you first came to thiscommunity, you you popped into
the library, and there's so muchyou can learn, just beyond the
(27:59):
resources that we have, like,those are also amazing, but just
like, looking around at who's inthe library can learn so much
about your community and thepeople who live in it. And
that's one of the things I'vecome to really, like, learn
about libraries and love is thatthey are, they are a hub for
everybody. So there are a ton ofplaces where you're going to
(28:23):
meet, like, you're gonna havekids, and you're gonna have, you
know, retired people picking outa book, and you're gonna have,
you know, people from alleconomic backgrounds and people
from all social and politicalbackgrounds. And this is a place
where they all get gets to haveaccess to the same resources and
(28:43):
get along with each other. And Ifeel like I have learned so much
about that whole concept of thisas a shared space where we all
get along and build somethingtogether. And I've also learned
so much about myself, and Ithink I've grown as a person in
terms of the things that I readand the things that I encourage
(29:06):
others to read. Yeah, that'sgreat. Yeah.
Ashley O'Neil (29:10):
So what are you reading right now?
Christie Folsom (29:13):
So, so as I've said, I am i I'm reading lots of
dinosaur dinosaur month. Sotoday at storytime we read
dinosaur versus the library byBob Shea, which is one of my
favorite dinosaur books. Andthen, on the complete other end
(29:33):
of the spectrum, I also lead acrime club with some of the
adults so we actually shareadult programming amongst all of
our staff. And so that's one ofthe things I do that's like
really unique and separate fromeverything else I do. So I'm
reading a book on the wine Villechicken murders. For that, that
(29:57):
group, it's actually it's reallyinteresting the In the movie
Changeling, with Angelina Jolie,if you familiar with that is
based on this case. So it was acase where, unfortunately, some
young boys ended up beingmurdered. And one of them as he
(30:18):
went missing, they found aanother young boy who was a
runaway, who didn't want to gohome. So it was like, oh, yeah,
I'm that boy. And he got, like,placed with this family. And his
mother was like, I don't thinkthat you're my son. Like, I
know, he's been missing for awhile, but you don't look like
(30:39):
him. And I, I know what my sonis like. And so that's the case
that we're working on. Right nowwith that. Group is just talking
about that this all happened inlike the 1930s. And so two very,
very different books. Nice. So
Ashley O'Neil (30:58):
I feel like I what you said about feeling like
there were certain books thatcounted as literature. I feel
that in my bones because I wasalso that teenager who was going
to read Frankenstein. And I wasgoing to read The Count of Monte
Cristo, not because I like I didlike them, but like, because
that was the books you'resupposed to read. And I remember
now I like I fully enjoy LouisePenny, even though she's like a
(31:18):
serial mystery writer and she'son her wet like 19th book, I
find that I love her stories.
And it's okay, that that youread what you wrote feels really
good to myself. Yeah, good. I
Christie Folsom (31:29):
think the older I get, the more I learned that
like, like, I used to hate happyendings. Like, somehow if it
ended happily, it was just not agood book somehow. And, and the
unhappy endings, you you live inyour real life, the more you
would like a book to have ahappy ending, right? So the
older you get, I think the morethose are, those are nice. And I
(31:54):
also remember, some someclassics that, like I remember
reading The Great Gatsby. And,and I was like a sophomore in
high school, and I had no ideawhat it felt like to be, you
know, a 30 year old man in the1920s. Like, pining for his
love, like, it was just like,not a concept I had experienced
(32:16):
in life. And so I do think thatas great as some of the classics
still are, it's okay to be like,This is not my thing. I'll pick
this up in another 10 years, or,you know,
Ashley O'Neil (32:30):
I'm helping my son write his Great Gatsby
essay. And I have that samethought, I'm like, you don't
have the context. I didn't havethe context to fully understand
this, like pining in the socialstructures. And it's great that
he's exposed. But I did say tohim, and like I bet, once you
like, in a while, you'll revisitthis story in your head, and it
will make a different kind ofsense to you, then, to your
(32:52):
like, 16 year old brain.
Christie Folsom (32:54):
Yeah. And meanwhile, I remember reading
Catcher in the Rye. And I justloved that book. And I think if
I read it now, I would just belike, Holden Caulfield, you're
so annoying, and or, you knowwhat I mean? Because it's, it's
so much captures this feelingof, like, teenagehood. So yeah,
(33:14):
I definitely think that, whetherit's a classic or or you know, a
be treat or anything else,there's definitely a time and a
place where books have to catchyou at the right moment. For
sure,
Julie Cunningham (33:27):
totally. Do you allow yourself to not finish
a book? If it doesn't catch youat the moment? Or do you have to
see it all the way through?
Christie Folsom (33:34):
I do. I think that's, that's another thing
I've learned working atlibraries is just like, life is
too short for a book that is notdoing it for you. And, and also
that, like, it's okay to skim abook, you know, I read a lot
more nonfiction than I used to.
And I think I'm also I'm ingraduate school right now. And
if I read every, if I picked upthat there are so many
(33:57):
nonfiction books that interestsme, and if I picked up every one
of those, and read it, likethoroughly covered a cover, I
would have no time left for mygraduate schoolwork, right? So
I'm giving myself permission tolike, skim a book, and then come
back to it at a later date andstill get something out of it,
even if I'm not reading it coverto cover I think, yeah, believe
it or not, I feel like thelonger you work in libraries,
(34:19):
you'd think it would make youmore thoroughly academic minded.
But I think that you actuallylearn to give yourself a lot
more grace with stuff like that.
And if you don't, you know, ifyou don't like the book, if you
don't finish it, because youdon't have time, if you just
want to skim it, I think thoseare all very valid ways of
reading
Ashley O'Neil (34:39):
totally. I started using audiobooks in my
time because I'm driving moreand I have less time to
physically hold a book, then Iwish that I would and I used to
say that wasn't reading but Iknow I totally feel like it's
reading because I've consumedthe same story you have and live
I don't know if your librarydoes but our library has a great
online book source for ebooksand for audiobooks and that is
(34:59):
like feeds my that feeds myhobby fully every month, which
is great. What would are theresources or things that you
would like people to know aboutthe library that we haven't
mentioned yet?
Christie Folsom (35:10):
Yeah, well, speaking of audiobooks, I would
say that that is a hugeresource, and ebooks as well. So
the library has to onlineresources that you can access
different apps. So one is calledLibby. And then that's the other
one is called hoopla. Andthey're both a little different.
But if you go to our website,which is C rdl.org, you can find
(35:34):
both of them there. And both aregreat ways to get accesses
access to books prettyinstantly, whether you're
reading them on a device, oryou're listening to them. And I
would definitely say I feel thataudiobooks are another valid
form of reading. I see a lot ofkiddos who, you know, I think
(35:55):
it's really important to readthe books that interest you. And
if because you're, you know, ifyou're an adult who's commuting
to work, and you can't sit downand read a book, but you have an
hour in the car where you canlisten, or you're a kid who is
struggling with reading, but ifyou're reading and listening
along, that's gonna help you,that's like, I just think
(36:15):
audiobooks are great for some ofthose things. And I would also
just say, the biggest thingabout the library is I run into
people all of the time, and Iwas, as a kid, this person
myself, like, you would besurprised by all of the
resources that we have, and allof the things that we do. And so
I think the biggest thing I wantpeople to know about the library
is just that we're here. And weprobably have something for you
(36:38):
that you didn't know we had, wehave you think of us as is
exclusively for books, but wehave a pretty big video
collection, and audiobooks, CDs,a ton of programs and different
things. And, and as I've said, alibrary collection is built by
the community. So if we don'thave it, it might be something
(36:59):
that we would be interested inhaving. And we're definitely
interested in your feedbackabout it. So definitely, if
you're not a library user, andyou don't think that you
wouldn't be you might be youshould stop in and see what
we've got. So
Ashley O'Neil (37:17):
we're gonna close out this episode with a few
sound clips that we took the daythat we were editing this
podcast, we felt like it wasonly appropriate in a podcast
that was all about books andreading to talk with everybody
in our space a little bit moreabout books that they're
reading.
So two questions, favorite bookof 2022? What are you reading
Mike (37:37):
right now? I don't know if I have a specific favorite book
of 2022. Because I have beendoing a nerdy deep dive into old
Conan books from the 50s 60s inthe 70s. So you know, that's
sort of a personal disclosure.
So I don't know if I have afavorite. But right now I'm
reading Fairy Tale by StephenKing, which is fantastic.
Ashley O'Neil (37:59):
You're enjoying it? Would you recommend it to
other people?
Mike (38:01):
Yes, very much so. And it's not a particularly gory or
adult? So I think it has apretty broad audience.
Ashley O'Neil (38:11):
Thank you. So best book of 2022. And what are
you reading right now?
Amanda Cornwell (38:17):
I would also say that, I think that this is
among the top books that Ialways hesitate for those words
like best favorite, mostamazing. But I think it's
fitting. So the one that I'veread, that came out in the
spring was called Now What (38:30):
How to Move Forward When We're
Divided About BasicallyEverything. And I thought it was
just a really, I don't know,timely read, helped me think
through a lot of things thathave happened in the recent past
and gave me some good insightsas to how I want to move
forward. But another one that Ireally appreciate. That was just
(38:53):
kind of an unexpected surprise.
And I'm gonna say this on apodcast, but I do think you have
to see the physical book becausethe illustrations are beautiful,
and also listen to the audiobook, but it's called the boy
the mole, the fox and the horseand it was just a delight. It's
a children's book. But if you'rea parent, it's fantastic.
Ashley O'Neil (39:16):
What are you reading right now?
Lauren (39:18):
I'm currently reading a book by Colleen Hoover. I'm on
page two. And I don't know whatit's called. But everyone said
it was really good. My studentactually recommended it to me.
Ashley O'Neil (39:28):
What do you bet three to 2022 What are you
reading right now?
Julie Cunningham (39:32):
All right, so my best read of 2022 that I'm
willing to record is the FairyTale by Stephen King. And I love
Stephen King. That's my favoriteauthor of all times and the
fairy tale is definitely worthit regardless of whether you're
a Stephen King aficionado ornot. But the reason I say I'm
torn is because book eaterswould make a close second but I
(39:54):
think I've already recorded thatone and everybody in our space
has read it and loved it so isafraid to have the same answer
somebody get ups. And what I'mreading right now is The
Passenger by Cormac McCarthy.
Okay, so what's your best readerfavorite read of 2022? And what
are you reading now?
Ashley O'Neil (40:13):
Okay, best reader 2022 would be Book Eaters, my
best read of 2022 that is likenow on my list for maybe all
time was Cloud Cuckoo Land,which I kind of stumbled across
on accident and it was Iprobably just like abandoned my
family for a couple of days tofinish quickly. And I'm not
currently reading anything. I'vecleared my calendar because when
(40:35):
my favorite author's leastPenny, her newest book is coming
out in a week, so I'm preparingso that I don't have a mid book
to pause and I'm ready to readher book when it comes out.
Teach wonder is brought to youby the Center for Excellence in
STEM education. You can find afull transcript for this episode
and all episodes on our websiteon Buzzsprout and links are in
(40:58):
the show notes
So before we start this episode properly,
let's talk about books. I'm abook person, Julie's a book
person. In fact, I'm such a bookperson that my family teases me
because I don't remember someevents and big details from get
togethers in our childhood.
Because I was so deeplyengrossed in a book, I was the
kid who was burning throughbooks faster than my parents or
my teachers could keep pacewith. So getting a library card
(00:22):
in middle school was a gamechanger for me. I remember
getting stacks of books forsummer break, and the covers
would all be a bit crispy fromthat protective film that they
put on them. And he would openthem up and it would just be
this smell and this experienceand this excitement of a story
that was about to begin. In ourinterview. Today, we're talking
(00:42):
with Christie Folsom, shearguably has the job that my
eight to 18 year old self, andeven my adult self these days
would absolutely love. She worksat the library. And our
conversation today spans fromearly literacy skills and theme
kits to the role of the libraryin a community and how Christy's
thinking about books andliteracy has changed over time.
(01:02):
It was great to geek out withChristie over a shared joy found
in books. And in reading thisepisode. If I've been talking
and you've been nodding along,you're a fellow library lover,
and this episode is for you. Butit's also great if you're
someone who doesn't quiteunderstand the role that
libraries play in the community,especially beyond just the
checkout system. If you're aperson who's wondering how
(01:25):
libraries play into a person'seducation, this episode is for
you as well. Christy'sperspective on the role of the
library really expanded her nowhow I think of community spaces.
So Christie will say more aboutthis in detail. But libraries
are one of a kind. They are apart of a community. And they're
one of the few places that youcan go and get things without
having to give something inreturn. The library is free,
(01:45):
it's open and it's staffed forlong hours. It's filled with a
book selection that's unique tothat location. And it's for you
for the community. It doesn'task anything in return you know,
when you check out books fromlibrary
(02:07):
so you know, when you check outbooks from the library. So these
days I do, it fits our familyseason, audio books from the
library for me, and a bag ofpicture books selected by my
son. But back when I waschecking out books by this
stack, sometimes you'd find thatgentle doggy or in a hardback,
and you'd know that someone elsehad paused at that same page
that someone else in my town hadread and laughed at that spot or
(02:31):
been shocked by a plot twist.
And well, I couldn't even at thetime, that feeling was the spark
of a connection to the people inmy town to the fellow readers.
librarian that recommendedrecommended that book for me,
you know, when you enter thestory library, and that
connection is Christian becauseit fits my family season. I have
audio books and the Library appfor me and the back of picture
books that has been selected bymy son. But back when I was
(02:53):
checking out books by the stack,sometimes you'd find a gentle
doggy or and a hardback. Andyou'd know that someone else had
paused on that same page thatsomeone else in my town had read
or laughed at that spot or beenshocked by twist or had to pause
because family dinner wascoming. And I couldn't name that
feeling at that time. Thatfeeling was the spark of a
connection to the people in mytown to the librarians that
(03:16):
recommended that book for meinto the story. And that
connection is something thatChristie really explained so
well. So I hope you appreciatethe insight and joy that we
found in this interview today.
links that we mentioned will bein the show notes. There's also
going to be a bonus section atthe end of this episode that you
will not want to miss.
Christie Folsom (04:25):
Sure, so my name is Christy Folsom, and I am
the Youth Services person hereat the Chippewa River District
to library which basically meansI am working with the ages birth
to five. For the most part. Wehave a whole team and that's
kind of my category that Imostly work in. We also have a
(04:49):
family programmer who doesthings for family ages, early
elementary, middle school alittle bit and then a teen
person who does all of our teenprograms. I'm
Julie Cunningham (05:00):
Christie when you say that you're with the
Chippewa River District Library.
Does that mean the MountPleasant branch only? Or do you
also oversee any of thesatellite locations?
Unknown (05:11):
Yes, so So the Chippewa River District Library is the
whole system that includes ourfive branches. So the Veterans
Memorial Library is our mainbranch here in Mount Pleasant.
And then we also have branchesbranches in rosebush, Shepherd
Blanchard and when.
Ashley O'Neil (05:32):
So, have you always been with the birth to
five group? Or has that been?
Like, has that always been yourold library? Or how did you get
there?
Christie Folsom (05:41):
No. So when I started off in libraries, I did.
All ages, I was still doing, youknow, programming mostly for
kiddos, I actually started alittle farther north working at
a library open Claire. And thereI did, you know, teens to
storytime, the whole gamut ofthings. It was just smaller
(06:02):
library. So we, so I dideverything. And storytime was
actually one of the things thatI think was like, most
intimidating at first, becauseI'd never worked with kiddos
that young before. And I, it wasdefinitely a learning process to
educate myself on that agerange. And, and since I've just
(06:24):
found it, it's so amazing. Iremember when I first started
working there, I felt like I wasjust sort of like singing all
these songs to myself, becausewe had a really young group,
and, and then all of a sudden,one day, one kiddo comes in, and
he starts like singing along andyou. So it's a really amazing
group to work with. Because theyare just absorbing everything,
(06:44):
even when you think that they'renot. And then, you know,
everyone's from while you getthis like reward where they
start showing you all of thethings that they've learned. So
Ashley O'Neil (06:54):
that's awesome.
So what guides you when you planyour programming? I know you
mentioned story hour. So do howdo you pick those books? Or how
does that come about for you.
Christie Folsom (07:03):
So we do different themes, and try to
pick themes that incorporatekind of like larger themes
within the library. So likeright now, the whole library is
doing a whole die November kindof theme. So we've got lots of
different programs, we'reworking with the STEM center on
a couple of dyno themedprograms. And so then my
(07:26):
storytimes are also themed withthat diagnosis theme. So when
the kids come in, they've got alot of reinforcement of that
theme, and different activitiesthat they can do. Throughout the
library. Sometimes I pick themesbased on the season. So before
that, we were doing a not sospooky storytime and a fall
storytime. And then moregenerally, I tried to pick
(07:49):
beyond just like theme I triedto pick books that are not just
age appropriate, but are goingto engage the kids in kind of a
group kind of activity. I liketo pick books where, you know,
for example, in our storytimetoday, we did dinosaur versus
library. And we did a lot ofroaring along with the dinosaur
(08:11):
and getting the kids reallyinvolved. But I also like to
pick books that would be goodbooks for parents to read with
children. So we can kinda likemodel that that's part of what
storytime is about is building,not just building early literacy
skills with the kiddos, butbuilding like a confidence for
(08:32):
parents who might feel like alittle intimidated about the
idea of one on one reading astory. So I tried to pick books
that fit both a storytime nicheand can be used with parents as
Julie Cunningham (08:44):
well. How often does that group meet?
Christie Folsom (08:48):
So we meet once a week on Thursdays at 1030. And
my coworker Tina also has a sheruns the storytime I plan it for
her and then she runs it inShepherd at 2pm. Every other
week. We have a storytime inrosebush, on Wednesdays at 1030.
(09:09):
And then every other Friday, wehave a music and movement
program, which is just all ofthe dancing and music that we do
in storytime but put into oneactivity for the especially good
for our wiggly kids who like todo lots of dancing and moving so
Julie Cunningham (09:27):
so so basically, you probably see
repeat families then once a weekor repeat children. Yeah, yeah,
Christie Folsom (09:34):
we do a lot.
And in fact, we're we juststarted our music and movement
back and you definitely see thefirst time maybe one family
comes and then you definitelybuild a rapport where it becomes
part of the family's routine andstuff.
Ashley O'Neil (09:48):
That's great. So when you talk about building
early literacy skills, thisisn't a question I told you I
was gonna ask. You sit down andyou talk about like modeling or
kind of sharing with adults orcaregivers. This is how you
could read, what are some thingsyou like? Keep in mind. So if I
was wanting to read at home withmy, my child, what were some
(10:10):
things that you kind of keep inmind are things you hope parents
take back with them?
Christie Folsom (10:15):
Yeah, well, some of it is just reinforcing
that no matter what you do,you're doing a great thing just
to pick up a book and read fromthe get go. It seems like super
simple to us. But like a youngchild, just learning which way a
book opens, and, like engagingwith them. And flipping the
pages is, like, a huge thingthat that just really helpful to
(10:40):
them. And then also just thatone on one talking that you're
doing with them. So not just theact of reading the book, but in
like talking with them about thebook, right? So if the dinosaur
is going to the library, youknow, maybe after you read the
text of the book, you say, Oh,what do you think will happen
next, or look at that dinosaur,point out what's happening in
(11:03):
the, the images, or it can alsobe helpful, if there's a big
piece of text, maybe it says,roll are really big on on the
page, pointing that out so thatover time, the kiddo can realize
when you're saying the woodword, roar, that's actually
written there on the page, andthey can start to identify that.
(11:24):
So the biggest, I would say, thebiggest thing is like you are,
you're already doing thesethings, just by how you talk to
your children, and the fact thatyou're reading, reading to them.
So there are certainly there arethings that you can do to engage
them further. Like some of theexamples I just said, but the
biggest thing is just reading tothem regularly. And that one on
(11:46):
one attention that you're givingthem, they're absorbing all of
that, just conversationally. SoChris,
Julie Cunningham (11:53):
you just gave a lot of great examples about
early literacy, education, howdo you see yourself or the
library or your program? How areyou want to interpret this
putting into the community as aneducational entity,
Christie Folsom (12:06):
I'm gonna butcher this quote. But I, but I
know I've heard somewhere thatthere's that there's like, three
different places that a childneeds throughout their life,
right. And they need, like ahome environment that's
welcoming, they need a schoolenvironment that's supportive.
And then there's kind of theselike tertiary locations, like
(12:28):
maybe a Girl Scout troop, or achurch group. And I think that
that's also a space that thelibrary fits into kind of this
tertiary tertiary space thatgives a child mentors that they
can look up to, and just a spacethat they can explore outside of
their regular home in school,for a lot of the kids I'm
(12:49):
working with, I think one of thethings we're doing is we're
giving them a small sample ofwhat school is like and
preparing for them for that, Isee a lot of kiddos who come
into storytime for the firsttime, and they're either super
shy, and don't know how tointeract with other kids at all.
Or they're just this bundle ofenergy, who and they're still
(13:12):
learning all of that, like,sitting and listening and
sharing and all of those things,which are both, like totally
okay, and that's kind of what Ifeel like storytime is in some
ways, is validation for gettingall of that out. But then also
overtime, kind of learning,like, oh, I can I can sit and I
(13:33):
can listen or oh, I caninteract. And I can play with
this other kiddo. And just justa place to practice all those
skills before they get into aclassroom environment. And then
I do do some programs with olderkids and in the programs that my
my colleagues do, I feel likepart of what we're doing is just
being a people in a place thatis overall supporting the kids
(13:55):
of our community beyond whatthey're getting in school. And I
do think kids, especially today,really need that. And we saw
that a bit over the pandemic, wehave a couple of book clubs
where I noted that the not somuch, me, but the bonds that
they're able to build with otherkids and the reading that
(14:17):
they're able to do outside ofschool reading where they can
just come and geek out about abook, instead of it being like
an assignment, I think wasreally, really a good
experience. But I'd like to hope
Julie Cunningham (14:28):
it was. Yeah, I hear you saying it's a safe
space, right, a safe space whereyou can act within reason, how
you want for storytime and alsolearn kind of what do we expect
from social norms and just bywatching others or interacting
with others or and being aroundadults who care. I, this is
(14:49):
neither here nor there really.
But I think also that librarygives people a little piece of
ownership when you can get yourown library card to write I mean
I've can remember When I was ayouth just been so proud to have
gotten my first library card andbeing able to check books and
make decisions to check booksout by myself, I know your
little kiddos aren't doing thatmaking those decisions yet
necessarily, although maybe theydo point out which books they
(15:12):
want to their parents. But Ithink there's also like, that's
a community organization wherethere's some real direct
ownership and, you know,autonomy,
Ashley O'Neil (15:24):
I hear that in respect to what you said about
just like geeking out with abook, just because there aren't
a lot of places in which wedon't have expectations put on
each other, right? Like, evensometimes, you know, sports are
fantastic for many children, butthere's an expectation and an
outcome or performance that kindof has to happen. And I feel
like the library is one of thefew places in which students can
(15:46):
come and learn what it meanshave a hobby, and just to do
something for the pure joy ofdoing it. Like we're going to
read this book for the joy ofreading it and talk about it for
the joy of talking about it, notfor grades, not for a book
report, not to like advance ourDRA level to the next, you know,
bracket or whatever, but we'rejust reading it, because it's
really fun. And I think thatit's really wonderful that
there's a place where people cancome in, and you model that
(16:09):
really well. And then they canpractice or know that that's
valid. Like it's okay, if I justwant to come and read a book
just because and if I want toburn through a whole series, and
never touch a book of anothergenre for a while, that's also
okay. So that's really great.
Christie Folsom (16:23):
Yeah, absolutely. And I see that all
the time. And even, even withthe littlest kids, you know, we
encourage anybody to get alibrary card. And in fact,
kiddos under seven, when theysign up for a library card, get
a free book for signing up.
Because I do think that there issomething magical about that
whole experience. And, and asyou said, I do think it teaches
an ownership. And can we wantkids to feel like they are, they
(16:47):
are a member of the library,they they own the library in a
way that I don't, right. And onething I really like being able
to do with kids is if they havea book they want and it's not on
the shelf, okay, well, we'rethey're gonna find it from you
for a different library, ormaybe we'll order it for you.
And like you can participate inbuilding this community
(17:09):
collection of books as well. So
Julie Cunningham (17:13):
yeah, that's super cool. I question that
actually didn't originally haveon your list. When you talked
about you mentioned that youhave collaborated with us before
with our colleague AmandaCornwell. Right, and are doing
so through the dinosaur theme.
But in general, I thinkorganizations like ours and like
yours, we look forcollaborations, and we know that
(17:35):
our community organizations thatare perhaps stronger, more
viable, um, land more wellrounded together, right. And we
value those collaborations. Sowhen you think about who you're
going to collaborate with, orhow you're going to collaborate,
is there something that you lookfor from your community
partnerships? Or what types ofcollaborations do you think
(17:59):
about when you think aboutcollaborating?
Christie Folsom (18:03):
I think so I think we're, we're pretty open
to any kind of collaborationthat can be beneficial for that
person. I feel like we are hereto serve the community, and that
includes other organizationswithin the community. And
especially, I feel like thecollaboration with you guys at
(18:24):
the STEM Center has been one ofour most successful because I do
feel like we are where we havevery similar goals. And we're
targeting a lot of the same agerange and the same kids. So
being able to reinforce some ofthe same ideas between both
places, I think, has been reallybeneficial. But, but we also
(18:46):
have partnerships with otherother organizations that are
targeting that kid age range.
Other, as I said before, kind ofthose tertiary after school
organizations. So we have, wehave a great partnership with
Parks and Rec, Mount Pleasanthas just an amazing Parks and
Rec Department, and we've beenable to do a lot of things with
them. So and one of the greatthings about that partnership is
(19:09):
they have access to spaces thatwe don't. So in the summertime,
we're able to go over to thepark and meet people while
they're at the farmers market.
And, and that's been like, agreat collaboration. And that
is, and I would say that that'sanother thing we're looking for
is how can this collaborationmake things easier on the
(19:31):
community as a whole, right, sonow, now parents who are already
at the farmers market onThursday, and one last stop,
they have to make, you know, bycoming to storytime or they're
able to pick up a kit throughthe library and get some get a
really cool free baking kit todo while they're at the farmers
market. So looking for ways forthings to be easier for our
(19:55):
patrons and more accessible ormaybe to introduce them to you A
area of the community theydidn't know about, we try to
highlight sometimes businessesthat are local to the community
that maybe you would know aboutor, or we just want to support
those local businesses eitherthrough sending the patrons
(20:15):
there or giving them a gift cardthere, different things like
that. We do also. So one of theprograms that I've been pretty
passionate about working on iswe have a, a world language
program, where we try and itstarted off as a program and
then post COVID, it's moved intoa kit form, where you get a book
(20:36):
and a recipe based on adifferent language or part of
the world. And the biggest thingwith that is it's based on
people who live here in thecommunity, who are making all of
these recommendations for us andteaching us like a little bit
about the language and thestories and the food that's a
(20:57):
part of that part of the world.
So actually, right now we've gotone coming up on Anishnaabe, a
Merwyn, which is the languagespoken Anishnaabe, a by the
second Chippewa tribe here, andwe've had some really great
tribal members, and also acouple of native members of our
staff that have helped puttogether that kit, we also have
(21:19):
a kit coming up in January willbe the next one, based on a
storytime family. That has beenreally active. That is from
Shanghai. So she's teaching usall about Mandarin Chinese. And
since it will be the time ofyear for Chinese New Year,
she'll be teaching us a littlebit about that, we'll get to try
some fun snacks that she talkedabout how they, when she's
(21:43):
holding sick, these are thesnacks she goes to that make her
feel, you know, warm and fuzzy.
So So sometimes it's not even anorganization so much as just a
member of our community that wecan kind of highlight and point
out to the community, like lookat all of these cool people that
we have living here in MountPleasant.
Julie Cunningham (22:01):
That's super cool. How does one get involved.
Christie Folsom (22:07):
So if you go to our website, the so I it's
actually I apologize, the timingis a little off, because we're
just about to send out ourAnishinabeg kits. So I think
that the signup is already gonefor that one. But the the one
for China will be coming out inprobably in December. So yeah,
(22:28):
if you just keep checking ourwebsite, that that's a program
that happens every other month.
Um, but we have all kinds ofreally cool kit programs
happening too. So if you checkour website, we've got bake
kits, and we have this reallyawesome SPICE program that we've
been working with green tree onthe Andrea's put together where
you get a spice and you get toyou get a recipe, how to put
(22:50):
that spice into something. Andthere's spices from all over the
world. So yeah, lots of coolthings, I would recommend
checking our calendar,
Ashley O'Neil (22:58):
I'll put a link in the show notes. Check it out.
Yeah,
Julie Cunningham (23:01):
selfishly, that question that I asked has
turned out really well, mysources I need to check out.
Excellent. Thank you. So
Ashley O'Neil (23:13):
what are here a lot of really amazing programs.
And if we covered this questionalready, that's fine. But what
are you most passionate about inyour position?
Christie Folsom (23:22):
Um, so I would say, we have covered this a
little bit, but I would say justabout empowering kids, and
connecting them to not justliteracy but resources in
general. And I do think that alibrary is, is just like that
place where you should get to beyourself. And you should get to
(23:45):
explore whatever your interestsare. So if you are really into
like manga and anime, there'ssomething there free. You hear.
We had a really awesome PR themequite a while ago. And it was
all about like, what do yougeek. And I feel like that's
really what libraries are about,about getting to geek out about
(24:09):
your thing. And that being like,totally embraced and accepted no
matter who you are. And what itis that there's a library in
there that's going to help youlike, find out more about, you
know, knitting or baking ormovies we have. We have a patron
who comes in all the time and hejust talks to us about horror
(24:31):
movies all the time. And and wehave you know, we have people on
staff who are horror movie buffswho talk to them about it and
help them find good horrormovies to watch. So just like
connecting people, with theirpassions, and particularly I
enjoy connecting young peoplewith the things that they're
passionate about.
Julie Cunningham (24:52):
Yeah, that's, that's fabulous. And I know that
we're mostly referring tochildren at this point, but also
you You know, I'll tell you whenwe moved to this community, and
it was over 10 years ago now,but I think the library was the
first place I went when I wasnew to the community, right?
Because we're out there, you'regonna get a feel for what
resources are available for whatyour community is like, for
(25:14):
where you can go. I mean, forsupport, not just books, right.
But beyond that, like supports.
And so I think that was probablymy first step when I moved here
was, was the library and thelibrary card. Nope. Same.
Ashley O'Neil (25:28):
We just moved to Midland Blanca long ago. And we
think I think before we evenunpacked, had gone the library
just because we rely on it forall the things that you're
saying. And it really helpsdevelop, has your thoughts on
community and literacy andreading changed over time as
you've been at the library?
Christie Folsom (25:47):
I would say so, yes. Because I feel like I learn
so much from the community. Solike, I, when I first started at
libraries, actually, I rememberI, so I was a kid. I've always
been a nerdy kind of book kid.
And I was a kid who as as ateenager wanted to read like,
(26:07):
all of the classics, right? Andeven ones I didn't find
particularly interesting. I feltlike I had to read this, right?
I didn't particularly enjoyLittle Women at the time. Maybe
if I wouldn't have read it now.
I would. But I just rememberlike struggling through it. And
my friends being like, why areyou reading, so if you don't
like it. And so when I firstcame to libraries, I was like, a
(26:30):
little surprised that the smalltown library I was working at
didn't have like more classics,right? Like, we were I was
working in Claire at the PierreMarquette District Library,
which is another lovely library,and beautiful building. And they
have like a, they have a prettyhuge collection of like Amish
romances. And I remember beinglike, really surprised by that.
(26:53):
But but it's really not like ourplace as the librarians to say,
oh, there should be moreclassics here. Because it's
about what that community wants.
And that community has, like ahigh like Amish population. And
they have a lot of communitymembers who are not Amish, who
are also interested in likelearning about that, that
population and reading thosebooks. And so I remember, like
(27:15):
one of the other librariansbasically saying, like, don't be
a snob. And not that I wasparticularly snobby, per se,
but, but learning that like,it's not really about having to
read anything specific, it'slike about what that community
needs and wants and, and thatevery library collection is
(27:36):
going to be different based onthat community. And it really is
like this, like, almost livingentity within itself, the
library collection. And sincemoving here, I've learned so
much about this community, asyou guys kind of said that, when
you first came to thiscommunity, you you popped into
the library, and there's so muchyou can learn, just beyond the
(27:59):
resources that we have, like,those are also amazing, but just
like, looking around at who's inthe library can learn so much
about your community and thepeople who live in it. And
that's one of the things I'vecome to really, like, learn
about libraries and love is thatthey are, they are a hub for
everybody. So there are a ton ofplaces where you're going to
(28:23):
meet, like, you're gonna havekids, and you're gonna have, you
know, retired people picking outa book, and you're gonna have,
you know, people from alleconomic backgrounds and people
from all social and politicalbackgrounds. And this is a place
where they all get gets to haveaccess to the same resources and
(28:43):
get along with each other. And Ifeel like I have learned so much
about that whole concept of thisas a shared space where we all
get along and build somethingtogether. And I've also learned
so much about myself, and Ithink I've grown as a person in
terms of the things that I readand the things that I encourage
(29:06):
others to read. Yeah, that'sgreat. Yeah.
Ashley O'Neil (29:10):
So what are you reading right now?
Christie Folsom (29:13):
So, so as I've said, I am i I'm reading lots of
dinosaur dinosaur month. Sotoday at storytime we read
dinosaur versus the library byBob Shea, which is one of my
favorite dinosaur books. Andthen, on the complete other end
(29:33):
of the spectrum, I also lead acrime club with some of the
adults so we actually shareadult programming amongst all of
our staff. And so that's one ofthe things I do that's like
really unique and separate fromeverything else I do. So I'm
reading a book on the wine Villechicken murders. For that, that
(29:57):
group, it's actually it's reallyinteresting the In the movie
Changeling, with Angelina Jolie,if you familiar with that is
based on this case. So it was acase where, unfortunately, some
young boys ended up beingmurdered. And one of them as he
(30:18):
went missing, they found aanother young boy who was a
runaway, who didn't want to gohome. So it was like, oh, yeah,
I'm that boy. And he got, like,placed with this family. And his
mother was like, I don't thinkthat you're my son. Like, I
know, he's been missing for awhile, but you don't look like
(30:39):
him. And I, I know what my sonis like. And so that's the case
that we're working on. Right nowwith that. Group is just talking
about that this all happened inlike the 1930s. And so two very,
very different books. Nice. So
Ashley O'Neil (30:58):
I feel like I what you said about feeling like
there were certain books thatcounted as literature. I feel
that in my bones because I wasalso that teenager who was going
to read Frankenstein. And I wasgoing to read The Count of Monte
Cristo, not because I like I didlike them, but like, because
that was the books you'resupposed to read. And I remember
now I like I fully enjoy LouisePenny, even though she's like a
(31:18):
serial mystery writer and she'son her wet like 19th book, I
find that I love her stories.
And it's okay, that that youread what you wrote feels really
good to myself. Yeah, good. I
Christie Folsom (31:29):
think the older I get, the more I learned that
like, like, I used to hate happyendings. Like, somehow if it
ended happily, it was just not agood book somehow. And, and the
unhappy endings, you you live inyour real life, the more you
would like a book to have ahappy ending, right? So the
older you get, I think the morethose are, those are nice. And I
(31:54):
also remember, some someclassics that, like I remember
reading The Great Gatsby. And,and I was like a sophomore in
high school, and I had no ideawhat it felt like to be, you
know, a 30 year old man in the1920s. Like, pining for his
love, like, it was just like,not a concept I had experienced
(32:16):
in life. And so I do think thatas great as some of the classics
still are, it's okay to be like,This is not my thing. I'll pick
this up in another 10 years, or,you know,
Ashley O'Neil (32:30):
I'm helping my son write his Great Gatsby
essay. And I have that samethought, I'm like, you don't
have the context. I didn't havethe context to fully understand
this, like pining in the socialstructures. And it's great that
he's exposed. But I did say tohim, and like I bet, once you
like, in a while, you'll revisitthis story in your head, and it
will make a different kind ofsense to you, then, to your
(32:52):
like, 16 year old brain.
Christie Folsom (32:54):
Yeah. And meanwhile, I remember reading
Catcher in the Rye. And I justloved that book. And I think if
I read it now, I would just belike, Holden Caulfield, you're
so annoying, and or, you knowwhat I mean? Because it's, it's
so much captures this feelingof, like, teenagehood. So yeah,
(33:14):
I definitely think that, whetherit's a classic or or you know, a
be treat or anything else,there's definitely a time and a
place where books have to catchyou at the right moment. For
sure,
Julie Cunningham (33:27):
totally. Do you allow yourself to not finish
a book? If it doesn't catch youat the moment? Or do you have to
see it all the way through?
Christie Folsom (33:34):
I do. I think that's, that's another thing
I've learned working atlibraries is just like, life is
too short for a book that is notdoing it for you. And, and also
that, like, it's okay to skim abook, you know, I read a lot
more nonfiction than I used to.
And I think I'm also I'm ingraduate school right now. And
if I read every, if I picked upthat there are so many
(33:57):
nonfiction books that interestsme, and if I picked up every one
of those, and read it, likethoroughly covered a cover, I
would have no time left for mygraduate schoolwork, right? So
I'm giving myself permission tolike, skim a book, and then come
back to it at a later date andstill get something out of it,
even if I'm not reading it coverto cover I think, yeah, believe
it or not, I feel like thelonger you work in libraries,
(34:19):
you'd think it would make youmore thoroughly academic minded.
But I think that you actuallylearn to give yourself a lot
more grace with stuff like that.
And if you don't, you know, ifyou don't like the book, if you
don't finish it, because youdon't have time, if you just
want to skim it, I think thoseare all very valid ways of
reading
Ashley O'Neil (34:39):
totally. I started using audiobooks in my
time because I'm driving moreand I have less time to
physically hold a book, then Iwish that I would and I used to
say that wasn't reading but Iknow I totally feel like it's
reading because I've consumedthe same story you have and live
I don't know if your librarydoes but our library has a great
online book source for ebooksand for audiobooks and that is
(34:59):
like feeds my that feeds myhobby fully every month, which
is great. What would are theresources or things that you
would like people to know aboutthe library that we haven't
mentioned yet?
Christie Folsom (35:10):
Yeah, well, speaking of audiobooks, I would
say that that is a hugeresource, and ebooks as well. So
the library has to onlineresources that you can access
different apps. So one is calledLibby. And then that's the other
one is called hoopla. Andthey're both a little different.
But if you go to our website,which is C rdl.org, you can find
(35:34):
both of them there. And both aregreat ways to get accesses
access to books prettyinstantly, whether you're
reading them on a device, oryou're listening to them. And I
would definitely say I feel thataudiobooks are another valid
form of reading. I see a lot ofkiddos who, you know, I think
(35:55):
it's really important to readthe books that interest you. And
if because you're, you know, ifyou're an adult who's commuting
to work, and you can't sit downand read a book, but you have an
hour in the car where you canlisten, or you're a kid who is
struggling with reading, but ifyou're reading and listening
along, that's gonna help you,that's like, I just think
(36:15):
audiobooks are great for some ofthose things. And I would also
just say, the biggest thingabout the library is I run into
people all of the time, and Iwas, as a kid, this person
myself, like, you would besurprised by all of the
resources that we have, and allof the things that we do. And so
I think the biggest thing I wantpeople to know about the library
is just that we're here. And weprobably have something for you
(36:38):
that you didn't know we had, wehave you think of us as is
exclusively for books, but wehave a pretty big video
collection, and audiobooks, CDs,a ton of programs and different
things. And, and as I've said, alibrary collection is built by
the community. So if we don'thave it, it might be something
(36:59):
that we would be interested inhaving. And we're definitely
interested in your feedbackabout it. So definitely, if
you're not a library user, andyou don't think that you
wouldn't be you might be youshould stop in and see what
we've got. So
Ashley O'Neil (37:17):
we're gonna close out this episode with a few
sound clips that we took the daythat we were editing this
podcast, we felt like it wasonly appropriate in a podcast
that was all about books andreading to talk with everybody
in our space a little bit moreabout books that they're
reading.
So two questions, favorite bookof 2022? What are you reading
Mike (37:37):
right now? I don't know if I have a specific favorite book
of 2022. Because I have beendoing a nerdy deep dive into old
Conan books from the 50s 60s inthe 70s. So you know, that's
sort of a personal disclosure.
So I don't know if I have afavorite. But right now I'm
reading Fairy Tale by StephenKing, which is fantastic.
Ashley O'Neil (37:59):
You're enjoying it? Would you recommend it to
other people?
Mike (38:01):
Yes, very much so. And it's not a particularly gory or
adult? So I think it has apretty broad audience.
Ashley O'Neil (38:11):
Thank you. So best book of 2022. And what are
you reading right now?
Amanda Cornwell (38:17):
I would also say that, I think that this is
among the top books that Ialways hesitate for those words
like best favorite, mostamazing. But I think it's
fitting. So the one that I'veread, that came out in the
spring was called Now What (38:30):
How to Move Forward When We're
Divided About BasicallyEverything. And I thought it was
just a really, I don't know,timely read, helped me think
through a lot of things thathave happened in the recent past
and gave me some good insightsas to how I want to move
forward. But another one that Ireally appreciate. That was just
(38:53):
kind of an unexpected surprise.
And I'm gonna say this on apodcast, but I do think you have
to see the physical book becausethe illustrations are beautiful,
and also listen to the audiobook, but it's called the boy
the mole, the fox and the horseand it was just a delight. It's
a children's book. But if you'rea parent, it's fantastic.
Ashley O'Neil (39:16):
What are you reading right now?
Lauren (39:18):
I'm currently reading a book by Colleen Hoover. I'm on
page two. And I don't know whatit's called. But everyone said
it was really good. My studentactually recommended it to me.
Ashley O'Neil (39:28):
What do you bet three to 2022 What are you
reading right now?
Julie Cunningham (39:32):
All right, so my best read of 2022 that I'm
willing to record is the FairyTale by Stephen King. And I love
Stephen King. That's my favoriteauthor of all times and the
fairy tale is definitely worthit regardless of whether you're
a Stephen King aficionado ornot. But the reason I say I'm
torn is because book eaterswould make a close second but I
(39:54):
think I've already recorded thatone and everybody in our space
has read it and loved it so isafraid to have the same answer
somebody get ups. And what I'mreading right now is The
Passenger by Cormac McCarthy.
Okay, so what's your best readerfavorite read of 2022? And what
are you reading now?
Ashley O'Neil (40:13):
Okay, best reader 2022 would be Book Eaters, my
best read of 2022 that is likenow on my list for maybe all
time was Cloud Cuckoo Land,which I kind of stumbled across
on accident and it was Iprobably just like abandoned my
family for a couple of days tofinish quickly. And I'm not
currently reading anything. I'vecleared my calendar because when
(40:35):
my favorite author's leastPenny, her newest book is coming
out in a week, so I'm preparingso that I don't have a mid book
to pause and I'm ready to readher book when it comes out.
Teach wonder is brought to youby the Center for Excellence in
STEM education. You can find afull transcript for this episode
and all episodes on our websiteon Buzzsprout and links are in
(40:58):
the show notes
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