Tim Smyth, MS Reading Specialist, has been teaching social studies at Wissahickon High School in Pennsylvania since 2001 and travels the United States giving professional development on the use of comics in education. His presentations and workshops have been given at numerous comic book conventions (including San Diego Comic Con), museums, universities, schools, and educational conferences on both state and national levels. His teacher guides and articles, which focus on the integration of comics and the classroom, have been published by many notable organizations including MacMillan and PBS. Smyth maintains a comprehensive website at historycomics.net that shares many resources for educators around the world.

Thomas Maluck is a teen services librarian at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina with an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. He served on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens committee for its 2014 and 2015 lists and has presented about teen programming and collections at various library and pop culture conventions. When he’s not reading as a juror for book awards, he reviews and promotes for No Flying, No Tights, reviews and edits for Do You Even Comic Book, and co-hosts a podcast about comics and libraries, The Secret Stacks. A member of the library’s anime club gave him a Star Build Strike Gundam, the most prestigious award in teen librarianship.

SHOW NOTES:

Tim Smyth’s website

Tim’s PBS columns:

How I Use Comic Books As A Learning Tool In My Social Studies Classroom

How Bringing Comics Into The Classroom Made Me Love Teaching Again

History teachers are reading teachers. English teachers are history teachers. We are humanities – help one another. We annotate poems and more in my history class. Close read. Textual evidence. Create original WWI poems. Use of simile. Art. @ncte @NCSSNetwork pic.twitter.com/rhNnCFsvcM
— Tim Smyth @ Nercamp NJ (@historycomics) March 5, 2019

“Comics” vs “Graphic Novels”

Comics, education, and literacy

Padlet: online collaboration tool

Cross-curriculum applications of comics

ALA Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table

Issues vs Collected Editions vs Digital

Comics Discussed In This Episode

America
Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
Black
Black Panther
Captain America: Sam Wilson
Classical Comics
Dr. Seuss Goes To War
Faith
The Great War
Green Lanterns
The Harlem Hellfighters
Iceman
The Imaginary Voyages of Edgar Allen Poe
The Immortal Hulk
Madaya Mom (official links to this are broken – ABC is looking into it!)
March Trilogy
Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
New Kid (bonus: the book comparison in question)
Sense & Sensibility (Manga Classics)
The Silence of Our Friends
Solution Squad
Speak: The Graphic Novel
Thor

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.

154: Jim Lynch

April 2, 2019March 29, 2019 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with Jim Lynch, editor of TechSoup for Libraries, about TechSoup’s background and mission, how its programs and services work, and how your library can get involved.

Jim Lynch is the editor of TechSoup for Libraries and also a senior writer on nonprofit technology at TechSoup. Over his long career at TechSoup, Jim has seen all the fads and also the solid aspects of tech-for-good. He’s also written on nonprofit and library tech trends over the last 10 years. Jim has been interviewed extensively over the years on library tech and related issues by the Wall St. Journal, National Public Radio, PC World Magazine, and many other news outlets.

153: MK Czerwiec

March 19, 2019March 1, 2019 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with MK Czerwiec about her career as the Comic Nurse, what graphic medicine is, and why libraries should have it in their collections.

MK Czerwiec is a Senior Fellow of the George Washington School of Nursing Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement (Washington, DC) and the Artist-in- Residence at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL). Her clinical nursing experience is in HIV/AIDS care and hospice care. MK has been making comics under the pseudonym Comic Nurse since 2000. She has an MA in Medical Humanities and Bioethics from Northwestern University, where she teaches a course she designed called “Drawing Medicine” to first and second year medical students. She also co-teaches a cross-curriculum course on Graphic Medicine at the University of Chicago. She has a BSN from Rush University in Chicago and a BA in English from Loyola University Chicago.

She is the creator of Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 (Penn State University Press, 2017) which was chosen as one of JAMA’s “Best of Graphic Medicine 2017″ and nominated for a 2018 Excellence in Graphic Literature award. MK is a co-author of the Eisner-nominated Graphic Medicine Manifesto (PSU Press, 2014). She is a co-manager of GraphicMedicine.org and host of the Graphic Medicine podcast. MK travels widely to teaching about about Graphic Medicine, with specific focus on comics and end of life. Her next book will be an edited anthology of comics about menopause. She is also contemplating her next graphic memoir, which will be about medical decision making, the history of medicine, and her mother.

151: Melissa Powell

February 19, 2019February 17, 2019 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with Melissa Powell, editor of Becoming an Independent Information Professional, about her path to librarianship, her book, and how to find out if being an independent informational professional is for you, and if so, how to do it!

Melissa Powell has been working in libraries since 1980, starting out as a shelver at her local public library as a teen. Since then she has worked in Public, Academic, Special, and School libraries in public, technical, and administrative services. In 2006 Melissa created her own company and began working as a consultant for libraries, with a majority of her work being in cataloging and customer service. In 2017 she joined TLC as an Outside Sales Representative for the Northeast. Melissa earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science in 1989 from Northern Illinois University. She currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two cats.

Becoming an Independent Information Professional

148: Loida Garcia-Febo

January 8, 2019March 21, 2019 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with Loida Garcia-Febo, President of the American Library Association (2018-2019), about her path to librarianship, visiting Puerto Rice post-Hurricane Maria, highlights of her ALA Presidency so far, and the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession.

Loida Garcia-Febo is an international library consultant, researcher and expert on topics such as human rights, advocacy and services to multicultural populations. She has served communities as academic, public, school, and special librarian in Puerto Rico and Queens. She has taught in 21 countries and has advocated on behalf of libraries at the United Nations, US Congress, NYC City Hall, NY State Senate and on streets and sidewalks of New York. She completed two terms on the IFLA Governing Board where she Chaired the Action for Development through Libraries Programme (ALP) and is currently a member of CPDWL. Loida is the President of the American Library Association (2018-2019).

146: Danielle Borasky

December 4, 2018March 21, 2019 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with Danielle Borasky, Vice President of NoveList, about her path to librarianship, the differences between working at a vendor vs. working in a library, the importance of books and reading, and some powerful features in NoveList.

As Vice President of NoveList, Danielle Borasky leads a team working to help readers find their next favorite book. For the last 20 years, NoveList has developed innovative solutions for connecting readers, books, and libraries. Prior to her current role, Danielle was the Director of Sales & Marketing for NoveList. And before NoveList, she worked in several different kinds of libraries including public, academic, and special libraries. Even though she has worked in many different settings, she always feels most at home when browsing the stacks with a pile of books in hand.

145: Purpose-Based Library, Part 2

November 20, 2018March 22, 2019 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with John Huber and Steven V. Potter, co-authors of The Purpose-Based Library. In Part 2 of their discussion, they chat about dashboard metrics, marketing libraries (and why libraries have traditionally been bad at it), and sustainability.

John Huber is an author, Lean Library Consultant and international speaker. After assisting over 100 manufacturing, distribution retail organizations dramatically improve their service and cost performance, Mr. Huber turned his attention to the Library world. This partnership has been impactful. Due to Mr. Huber’s leadership, libraries have established and met heretofore-unexpected new levels of service and cost performance. Sample library clients include the Pubic Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, The New York Public Library, Austin Public library, Houston Public Library, Texas A & M University, Multnomah County Library, Gwinnett County Public Library, and many, many more. Sample manufacturing clients include Thomas & Betts, Midas, American Airlines, Safelite Glass, Rheem/Ruud, Zebco, Home International Products, and B. E. Aerospace.

Mr. Huber is the author of these popularly received books, Lean Library Management, Eleven Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Services and The Purpose Based Library, Finding Your Path to Survival, Success and Growth by visiting J. Huber & Associates website: http://www.jhaconsults.com.

Mr. Huber has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management from Oklahoma State University and holds three U.S. patents. He can be reached at jhaconsults@gmail.com.

Steven V. Potter is the CEO and Library Director of Mid-Continent Public Library. He has been with the Library system since 1988, where he started as a typist after finishing his undergraduate work in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In the years since, Potter has held multiple positions at the MCPL. He was responsible for the system’s first website and the project to bring public Internet computers to the Library as well as developing the largest public genealogy library in the U.S. (The Midwest Genealogy Center). Potter is now overseeing the MCPL’s shift to providing library access in a digital age. The innovative Woodneath Library Center gathers many of these innovative efforts in one place. For these reasons, and many more, MCPL was recognized as a recipient of the 2014 National Medal from the Institute for Museum and Library Service.

Potter coauthored The Purposed Based Library and was named Public Administrator of the Year by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration in 2015. Under his leadership, MCPL placed a question before the voters asking for the first increase in funding since 1983. The voters soundly endorsed the library’s vision in November 2016 setting the library’s course for the next decade and beyond. He has become a leader in the field of local economic development and its impact on public entities.

He serves on multiple boards of directors and is an adjunct professor for the University of Missouri. He holds an MLS from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MPA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

144: Purpose-Based Library, Part 1

November 6, 2018March 22, 2019 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with John Huber and Steven V. Potter, co-authors of The Purpose-Based Library. In Part 1 of their discussion, they chat about Lean Library Management, the purpose of libraries, and managing change through tough economic times.

Mr. Huber has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management from Oklahoma State University and holds three U.S. patents. He can be reached at jhaconsults@gmail.com.

143: David Beard

October 23, 2018March 22, 2019 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with journalist David Beard about his work at the Poynter Institute and Mother Jones and how librarians and journalists can thrive in the future and fight off fake news.

David Beard is a contributing editor to Poynter and writes the Morning MediaWire. He is a former digital content editor of The Washington Post, editor of Boston.com and executive editor of Public Radio International’s pri.org. He also covered Latin America and the Caribbean as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press.

Troy A. Swanson is Teaching & Learning Librarian and Library Department Chair at Moraine Valley Community College. Troy is the author or editor of several books and articles including co-editor of Not Just Where to Click: Teaching Students How to Think About Information which received the Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award from ARCL’s Instruction Section.

138: Karen Green

August 14, 2018March 23, 2019 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the creator of the graphic novels collection in Columbia’s Butler Library, about her (Eisner-winning!!) path to librarianship, defining comics, and how she teaches comics as literature.

Karen Green is the Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the creator of the graphic novels collection in Columbia’s Butler Library. She has been an Eisner Awards judge, a Pulitzer Prize juror, a co-producer of the documentary “She Makes Comics,” and has spoken about comics at universities and comic cons across the country and around the world.