Edmonton Public Library Research Articles

Use of Hashtags by Two Canadian Public Libraries: A Comparative Review

This research presents a comparative review of hashtags in tweets posted by the two large Canadian public libraries, Edmonton Public Library (EPL) and Calgary Public Library (CPL), serving communities in the Province of Alberta. The descriptive statistics reveals variation between the two libraries in the number and types of hashtags. Both the libraries used a number of hashtags that had libraries’ names including initialism to contribute to their visibility, and local airport codes or the respective city names to establish their explicit and implicit associations with their geographical area of operations. The paper contributes to literature on the use of hashtags particularly in the context of Canadian public libraries. It will provide evidence-driven insights to other libraries on ways to create hashtags to strengthen their online presence, and digitally share information and promote events, programs and services.

From Copyright Cartels to Commons and Care: A Public Infrastructure Model for Canadian Music Communities

Using research on the political economy of the music industries, interviews with independent musicians about their lived experiences, and the authors' experience participating in government copyright consultations in Canada, this article discusses how the market power of major music companies, and their capture of the policy-making process through lobbying, has made copyright reform an extremely limited avenue for remedying the variety of hardships facing musicians in the streaming media era. Against the continued consolidation and concentration of power within the music industries, we explore a case study of Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City Records as an alternative model that may inspire further initiatives that advocate for artists and users. We conclude by discussing a commons-based, public infrastructure and governance model that could serve as a tool to circumvent uneven power dynamics in the music industries, facilitate stronger music communities, and provide sustainable livelihoods for working musicians in Canada.

Spotlight on Music Collections: Capital City Records: Edmonton Local Music

In the inaugural Spotlight on Music Collections column, Carolyn Doi interviews Raquel Mann, Digital Public Spaces Librarian at the Edmonton Public Library. In this interview, Mann speaks about the EPL's “Capital City Records: Edmonton Local Music” digital public space, as well as “Voices of Amiskwaciy”, a space for sharing and celebrating local Indigenous content, “Edmonton Stories: A Canada 150 Digital Storytelling Project” and “Open Data at EPL”.

Numeracy Programming at Major Canadian Urban Libraries: An Exploratory Study

The Government of Canada identifies numeracy as a foundational skill for work, learning, and life. Libraries have historically been champions of literacy; however, the role of libraries in developing numeracy skills is understudied. Specifically, there is a critical gap in studying numeracy programs offered by public libraries. This exploratory study examines the state of numeracy programming at five major urban public libraries in Canada (Calgary Public Library, Edmonton Public Library, Bibliothèques de Montréal, Ottawa Public Library, and Toronto Public Library) to understand the types and varieties of numeracy programs that they offer. The frequency of programs, the intended age range, and the program content are the main foci of this paper. The researchers examined 1166 program listings by scraping programming information from the five libraries’ websites. The data was collected for the second week of December 2015 and relied on programming descriptions from libraries' websites. Results showed that a total of 65 programs (5.6% of total programs) covered numeracy related skills. Overall, the options to learn about numeracy concepts were very limited at all of the libraries in the sample. Calgary offered the highest number of children-focused numeracy programs, while Toronto offered the greatest number of adult-focused numeracy programs. “Math/mathematics” was the most common term used to describe numeracy-related programs. This exploratory study underscores the need for greater investigation of numeracy programming in public libraries.

Becoming a Librarian Amidst a Professional Identity Crisis

Adopted in the late 1930s, the Library Bill of Rights grounded the profession in the core value of intellectual freedom. This core value was challenged in the 1930s, the 1960s, the 1990s, and again in recent years by calls for social responsibility within our ranks. The re-occurrent discomfort with upholding intellectual freedom is particularly evident today in the case of public library third party meeting room bookings by controversial speakers. Both the Toronto Public Library and the Vancouver Public Library (as well as the Edmonton Public Library for lending its support) have come under scrutiny by both specific voices within the field as well as the community more broadly. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that publicly funded libraries are faced with controversy surrounding intellectual freedom.
 
 Using critical information theory, this presentation examines important questions: How is intellectual freedom defined, redefined and confined today? What is the relationship between the core value of intellectual freedom and sister core values such as social responsibility, diversity and democracy? How do we uphold professional ethics (e.g., IFLA Code for Librarians and Other Information Workers) in instances when our personal, professional, institutional and/or association commitments do not align? As a 2019-20 SLIS research assistant, these questions are rooted in my ongoing academic explorations with Dr. Samek of the nature and extent LIS curricula (for both professionals and paraprofessionals) prepares graduates to negotiate the perpetually complicated core value of intellectual freedom from a position of confidence, and not fear, defensiveness or divisiveness.

Evaluating Customer Experience through Customer Journey Mapping and Service Blueprinting at Edmonton Public Library: An Exploratory Study

This paper presents an overview of the design, implementation, and findings of an exploratory project to evaluate customer experience at Edmonton Public Library (EPL). The EPL Intern Librarian Project had three objectives: to establish the current state of customer experience at EPL, identify pain points, and develop recommendations for improvement. The study used the ethnographic methods of Customer Journey Mapping and Service Blueprinting to directly engage with customers and staff to produce visual documents reflecting respondents’ customer experience at EPL. In order to gather data for Customer Journey Maps, participants were simultaneously observed and interviewed as they completed different activities in the library. During the creation of the Journey Maps, pain points were identified. Interactive focus groups and interviews with EPL staff members unpacked pain points and informed the creation of corresponding Service Blueprints. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations were proposed to improve the customer experience including enhanced digital wayfinding,clearly identifiable catalogue stations, and revised website FAQs. Suggestions for applying these methods include the use of multiple techniques for participant recruitment, focusing on specific library activities, and actively promoting the project internally.

Icky Mr. Fox and the Missing Friend by A. Bitskoff

Bitskoff, Aleksei. Icky Mr. Fox and the Missing Friend. IckyPen Ltd, 2017. Vers. 19.0.1. Apple App Store, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/missing-friend/id1236379583?mt=8.
 Age range: 0-5Price: $2.79.Also available in a Lite version with ads at no cost.
 This simple, quirky digital text takes children on a journey to rescue Mr. Mole from Icky Mr. Fox and builds early digital navigation and vocabulary skills. Children experience the story read aloud, with the text displayed on the screen along with charming illustrations.
 The app features some interactive elements. Many objects on the screen are clickable and the name of the object appears in writing and is spoken aloud. Other interactive elements include the ability to make the sun rise, turn lights on and off in a room, or move characters in one direction or another. The interactions are intuitive and young children should easily be able to identify the interactive features and navigate the interface. The app somewhat replicates the experience of reading a book, moving from screen to screen with the touch of an arrow.
 The illustrations are highly appealing, with adorable characters, painterly background illustrations and harmonious colour schemes. The tone of the illustrations and sounds is gentle and pleasing, and would not stretch the tolerance of parents for annoying levels of noise. The language and storyline are simple and lack creativity, but keep the interest of a child with a certain level of suspense.
 The app enables children to follow a story in sequence, to recognize the relationship between sound and text, and encourages them to build fine motor skills and touch-screen computer skills. Children touch the screen to make text and sound appear and swipe to make characters move. Children in the higher end of the age range may build early reading or text decoding skills through seeing and hearing words. The stated age range for the app is 0-5; children aged 2-5 would benefit most. This app is fun for both adults and children and is an engaging way for children to learn digital skills. Children can find more adventures featuring Icky Mr. Fox created by the same developers.
 
 Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Merran Carr-Wiggin
 Merran Carr-Wiggin’s experience at Edmonton Public Library includes positions as a Summer Programmer, in the Children’s Department, and at the Strathcona Branch. She is a candidate in the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta, and her work as an actor includes theatre for young audiences.

Enacting property: Making space for the public in the municipal library

The space of the municipal library is changing. Libraries are no longer the traditional haven for quiet contemplation. In many cities across North America and the UK, municipal libraries have become a central social hub, a social service provider and a place of shelter for the marginal. In combination with technological advances and the hovering threat of budget cuts, the space of the library and the multiple publics it serves has becoming increasingly debated. We argue that the library and its changing mandate can be usefully understood through a property lens. The library is not only public space, we argue, but also public property. The manner in which the library, as public property, is enacted, is complicated most immediately by the competing conceptions of the ‘public’ that the library is to serve, but also by the ambivalent relationship between the ‘public’ and the ‘private’, and by the spatiality of the library itself. We demonstrate these complications in the context of changes to the sleeping policy in the Edmonton Public Library in Alberta, Canada (2014–2015).

It is Our Flagship: Surveying the Landscape of Digital Interactive Displays in Learning Environments

This paper presents the findings of an environmental scan conducted as part of a Digital Exhibits Intern Librarian Project at the Edmonton Public Library in 2016. As part of the Library’s 2016–2018 Business Plan objective to define the vision for a digital exhibits service, this research project aimed to understand the current landscape of digital displays in learning institutions globally. The resulting study consisted of 39 structured interviews with libraries, museums, galleries, schools, and creative design studios. The environmental scan explored the technical infrastructure of digital displays, their user groups, various uses for the technologies within organizational contexts, the content sources, scheduling models, and resourcing needs for this emergent service. Additionally, broader themes surrounding challenges and successes were also included in the study. Despite the variety of approaches taken among learning institutions in supporting digital displays, the majority of organizations have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with these technologies.

Community-led Digital Exhibits Service at the Edmonton Public Library: Research and Consultation

This paper presents the findings of the community consultation and research conducted as part of the Digital Exhibits Intern Librarian Project at the Edmonton Public Library in 2016. The research project aimed to understand the local context for a new technology service in Edmonton, including the capacity for content creation and partnership among community organizations aligned with the Library’s mission. The study consisted of a survey and a series of semi-structured interviews. Findings include identification of various audiences and topics for digital projects, prioritization of Library and community partner roles in digital project collaborations, and identification of major components of digital exhibits as areas of project management workflows.
 Cet article présente les résultats d'une recherche et d'une consultation communautaire menées dans le cadre du Digital Exhibits Intern Librarian Project de la bibliothèque publique d'Edmonton en 2016. Ce projet de recherche visait à mieux comprendre le contexte local pour un nouveau service technologique à Edmonton qui comprend la capacité de créer du contenu et d'établir des partenariats avec des organismes communautaires alignés à la mission de la bibliothèque. Un sondage et une série d'entrevues semi-dirigées ont été utilisés lors de cette étude. Les résultats incluent l'identification de divers auditoires et sujets pour des projets numériques, la priorisation des rôles de la bibliothèques et des partenaires communautaires au sein des projets numériques collaboratifs, et l'identification de principales composantes des expositions numériques en tant que déroulement de projet.

The long tail of search and topical queries in public libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to elaborate the long tail of topical search queries, including the influence of current events, posed to a large, urban public library discovery system.Design/methodology/approachSearch queries from the months of June, July, August and September 2014 (1,488,339 total queries) were collected from the Edmonton Public Library’s BiblioCommons database using Google Analytics and exported to Excel. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts and textual analysis to explicate the long tail of search, (including the most popular searches) and to explore the relationship between topical search queries and current events.FindingsThe findings support the long tail theory, as the aggregate tail of topical search queries comprised the vast majority of the total searches and current events exert some influence on the nature and frequency of topical searches.Research limitations/implicationsData collection was limited to four months of the year; thus, comparisons across the year cannot be made. There are practical implications for public libraries in terms of marketing and collections, as well as for improving catalogue functionality, to support user search behaviour.Originality/valueNot much research attention has been focused on the nature of topical search queries in public libraries compared to academic libraries and the Web. The findings contribute to developing insight into the divergent interests of intergenerational public library users and the topics of materials they are searching for.

If I Was Your Girl by M. Russo

Russo, Meredith. If I Was Your Girl. Flatiron Books, 2016.At 18 years old, Amanda is taking a cautious approach to her new lease on life. Assigned the male gender at birth and named Andrew, Amanda endured bullying as a child and disappointment from a father who viewed his “son” as effeminate and ill-equipped to handle life’s challenges. Post-transition life in Atlanta wasn’t much easier, and a traumatic instance of violence led Amanda’s mother to decide to send Amanda to live with her father in small-town Tennessee. While the rural American South might not seem like an accepting environment for a transgender teen, Amanda is keeping her past sex a secret.As Amanda decides not to reveal her past to the Lambertville locals (known in the transgender community as going “stealth”), she starts to live the life of an average teenager for the first time. Her beauty attracts much attention from boys, and she finds friend groups with both the in crowd and social misfits - all of whom appear to be harbouring secrets of their own. As things get increasingly serious with her boyfriend Grant, Amanda grapples with sharing her own history.Russo’s debut novel depicts a round protagonist with whom all teens should be able to relate, on some level. As a trans woman herself, Russo deftly depicts teenage belonging and the politics of going stealth, while acknowledging that she intentionally chose a character that could easily “pass” to demonstrate the conflict. Moreover, the author’s note sends an inspirational message to trans youth that validates the uniqueness of their experience and the importance of self-love.Although Russo occasionally falls into YA romantic cliches, it’s not as though the genre is overflowing with romantic storylines featuring trans characters. If I Was Your Girl is a vital and timely addition to YA literature, and should have a place in every library for transgender, cisgender and non-binary teens alike to discover.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

The Wolf’s Boy by S. Williams Beckhorn

Williams Beckhorn, Susan. The Wolf’s Boy. Disney-Hyperion, 2016.Shortly after he is born, Kai’s parents discover his clubfoot and decide to abandon him to a pack of nearby wolves. Rather than become a meal for the wolves, they care for him until his mother comes to reclaim him to a human upbringing. Yet still, Kai’s childhood in the human village is not exactly easy for someone whose foot is considered to have made him tabat (cursed). He is dogged by taunts from his peers, who call him “Wolfboy”, and reproaches from his father, who is quietly ashamed of his son’s perceived limitations. Banned from taking part in hunting, Kai toils doing children’s work and harbours a secret artistic streak. His loneliness is eventually placated when he adopts a local wolf club (Uff) but, eventually, their existence in the village becomes untenable and Kai sets out with Uff on a dangerous adventure of self-discovery. Along the way, they learn to hunt, meet a giant Ice Man and develop a friendship that is believed to be impossible between humans and wolves.The Wolf’s Boy is Beckhorn’s second foray into prehistoric children’s fiction, following her 2006 novel Wind Rider. Here, she fashions a fairly complex story for young readers, with liberal usage of the villagers’ fictitious language that is seemingly unsupported with definitions (until the reader stumbles across the book’s glossary of term definitions). These challenges, however, will reward advanced readers looking to hone their reading skills on more advanced prose. Beckhorn quickly departs from The Wolf Boy’s familiar Jungle Book beginnings to establish the novel as a memorable work in its own right, and she uses beautiful, descriptive language to tackle bullying, promote body diversity and even explore the ancient beginnings of humans’ fears of “otherness”.Given Beckhorn’s success at using a prehistoric setting to illustrate the depth and genesis of human relationships with animals, it’s almost surprising that authors have not mined this territory consistently before. With certain appeal for children interested in prehistory, dogs and survival stories, The Wolf’s Boy will reward strong readers.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallReviewer biography: Kyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Fire and Glass by M. Chan

Chan, Marty. Fire and Glass. Richmond Hill, ON: Clockwise Press, 2016. Print.Kristina Mah finds herself in an unenviable situation at the start of grade nine: her father has abruptly abandoned Kristina and her mother, and they are forced to move from the familiarity of the suburbs to a small inner-city apartment. The transition to her new school takes some time - it’s old, rundown and all the students are addicted to their phones - but eventually she finds a new friend in Dylan, her grade’s resident iconoclast who cares little for social norms. Just when her life seems to be acquiring some semblance of normalcy, things take a turn at Mackenzie King School. After confirming with Dylan that the spooky interactive white board images are not merely a figment of her imagination, the pair further explore the school and accidentally free an evil Djinn into the halls. Kristina and Dylan’s ensuing adventures revolve around saving their families and school from this spirit.Fire and Glass is Marty Chan’s 15th book, and follows up his work on the Ehrich Weisz Chronicles series. As a radio presenter, playwright and self-anointed “professional liar”, Chan’s multiple talents have led to a distinguished profile in the Edmonton community. Fire and Glass kicks off a new series, Keepers of the Vault, which Chan is writing specifically with reluctant readers in mind. The action begins quickly, the plot is fast-paced, and the humour hits the mark; all in all, Fire and Glass is well positioned to re-engage junior high students with reading.Chan is adept at bridging the reality-fantasy gap by equipping his characters with modern technologies that help them to solve ancient, fantastical problems. While at times the suspense in Fire and Glass seems slightly contrived, later pages offer enough compelling spookiness and mystery to keep the reader intrigued. With a cliffhanger ending, fans will be eagerly anticipating the next entry in the series. Short paragraphs and chapters make this title an attractive choice for struggling readers, though its reach will extend to fantasy fans.Recommended: 3 Stars out of 3 Reviewer: Kyle MarshallReviewer biography: Kyle Marshall is the Assessment & Research Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

News, Awards, and Announcements

This issue’s installment of News, Awards, and Announcements is shorter than usual for a few reasons. Firstly, many of the world’s book awards were announced in the previous issue and there seems to be a bit of a lull between the excitement of awards, the concentrated reading time of summer, and the calls for award submissions in the early fall. Secondly, we have to admit that Canada’s beautiful springtimes may be the only season where even avid book readers are distracted by the weather - summer, fall, and winter are definitely reading seasons but spring beckons us outdoors (hmm, I wonder if anyone has researched “reading seasons”...).Illustrator-in-residence at Edmonton Public Library - Apply now!www.ibby-canada.orgCall for submissions - Illustrator-in-residence at Edmonton Public Library.Although the deadline is nigh, there might still be time to get your application together to spend October 2016 engaging library patrons in art activities. The residency is funded by the family of Joanne Fitzgerald (1956-2011) and administered by IBBY Canada (INternational Board on Books for Young Peoplewww.ibby-canada.org/2016-joanne-fitzgerald-illustrator-in-residence-program/Canadian Children’s Book Centre Author-Illustrator Directorybookcentre.caDo you know about the CCBC’s “Author & Illustrator” directory? It allows you to search artists by a number of criteria such as craft, genre, curriculum links, province, booking availability, and grade level. For example, a search of Alberta YA authors in the vicinity of my postal code brings up profiles of Jim Sellers and Marty Chan with their publications, genres, websites, and a description of the workshops they offer. Strangely, however, there are mysteries in the search results. Although the full index shows more than 150 entries, choosing categories in the profile browser seems to display a maximum of six even when choosing “all” from the drop down menus. If you are an artist, becoming a CCBC Professional Creator Member allows you to add your profile.Festival of Trees 2016 - Ontario Library Associationhttp://forestfestivaloftrees.ca/If you are a spur-of-the-moment type person, you might have time to get to the Festival of Trees - a “rock concert” for readers. The culminating event for Ontario’s Forest of Trees reading program, the activities take place in London (May 13), Toronto (May 17&18 for English, May 19 for French), and Sault St. Marie (May 27). Happy Spring,David Sulz, Communications Editor (outgoing)David is a Public Services Librarian at University of Alberta. He is liaison librarian to Religious Studies, Economics, and Social Work as well as international liaison for China. He has university studies in Library Studies, History, Education, Asian Studies, Japanese language, and Economics which he’s used in various settings including teaching in schools and museums. His interests include several forms of physical activity, music, home improvements, and things Japanese.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by D. Brown

Brown, Don. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. OverDrive Read. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.While it wasn’t the “big one” that meteorologists had predicted for New Orleans, the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on August 29th, 2005 was monstrous in proportion. Many will surely remember the news stories, but Drowned City gives the reader an as-it-happened view of the various hardships faced by the residents and rescuers. Stories from all walks of life are here - the heroic acts of residents with boats who saved their neighbours, the hospital patients kept alive by friends and family after generators lost power, the forced separation of pets from owners, and the trains and cargo ships turned away as a result of mishandled organizational efforts. Throughout the story, Brown subtly explores the racial politics of the event, including Gretna’s police force turning away displaced New Orleanians, and George W. Bush comfortably surveying the chaos and squalor in the city below from his private jet. Once the streets had drained, the dead were accounted for - all 1,833 of them.Drowned City has already been featured on year-end lists from Kirkus, School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Rather than approach the story with a harshly dogmatic invective, Brown’s compassionate, matter-of-fact prose exposes the situation for what it was - a catastrophe that impacted millions of lives, featuring both acts of heroism and gross incompetence. Matching the text are the author’s gritty watercolours, crafted with a muted palette that effectively sets the tone of the book. This combination is used to illustrate the struggles that dogged survivors: stifling heat and stench without the reprieve of air conditioning.New Orleans’ recovery story remains complex; though rejuvenated tourism spending far surpasses pre-Katrina levels, its African American populations have dropped significantly since the storm. Brown’s book evocatively captures the event that changed everything for this great city and is a prototypical example of the power of graphic novels for historical subjects. A must for library collections.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Amplify Your Impact: We Share Great Stuff: Marketing Content at the Edmonton Public Library

Even though libraries don’t “sell” things for money, we still want customers “buying” into us by using our materials and services. In this column, Tina Thomas shows how merchandising and following the lead of for-profit businesses has increased circulation at the Edmonton Public Library.—Editors

Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU by C. Silverberg & F. Smyth

Silverberg, Cory and Fiona Smyth. Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2015. Print.“Having a penis isn’t what makes you a boy. Having a vulva isn’t what makes you a girl. The truth is much more interesting than that!”In a watershed year for transgender activism, Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth have broken ground with their trans-inclusive sex education book Sex is a Funny Word. This new release follows a cast of four 8-10 year old kids, including gender queer Zai, as they learn about and explore that strange and funny word - sex. Throughout the book, Smyth’s illustrations employ bright, opaque and high-contrast colours to great effect, and readers are exposed to characters of wonderfully diverse abilities, races, shapes and sexualities.It is however reductive to merely draw attention to the diversity in Sex is a Funny Word, as a wide gamut of topics are discussed with age-appropriate aplomb, including anatomy, “touch” and relationships. Silverberg’s opening notes to adult readers provide tips for co-reading the book with children, explaining that the text is meant to be read over many sittings to aid comprehension and reflection. By bookending each chapter with interactive questions, readers identify and reflect on personal morals anchored in four concepts - trust, respect, joy and justice. These questions do the hard work for parents, who can defer to one of the lively and inquisitive characters for discussion points. Moreover, the only sexual activity mentioned in this book is masturbation, so even the most squeamish adult readers should feel comfortable co-reading Sex is a Funny Word.Sex is a Funny Word is the second of a three-part, age-specific sex education series written by Silverberg and illustrated by Smyth. Those with younger children can find reproduction discussed in What Makes a Baby, while intercourse will specifically be covered in the series’ next title. For a positive, fun and healthy introduction to these concepts, parents and librarians will be well-served by seeking out Sex is a Funny Word for their collection.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Listen, Slowly by T. Lai

Lai, Thanhha. Listen, Slowly. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2015. Print.Twelve year-old Mai wants nothing more for her summer vacation than to spend her days on the beach hanging out with her best friend, getting to know her first romantic crush. Instead, her parents expect Mai to chaperone her grandmother (Bà) on a return trip to Vietnam to uncover the secrets of her grandfather’s disappearance and death in “THE WAR” over 40 years ago. Despite being raised in a home that carried on some Vietnamese traditions, Mai’s parents could not have prepared her for the heat, mosquitoes or infrequent Internet access in her grandfather’s rural northern village. In a display of her preteen angst, Mai immediately starts counting down the days until she can return to the known comforts of life back home in California.With time, however, her language skills improve and she begins to form relationships in the community, particularly with Ut, a girl her age with a serious interest in frogs, and Minh, the local teenage translator with a Texan drawl he acquired through his international studies in the United States. In Mai’s ensuing journey she travels across Vietnam, from the rural rhythms of her ancestral village to the colonial splendour of Hanoi and the humid chaos of Ho Chi Minh City. The nation’s contrasts provide her with an unforgettable summer that far surpasses anything she could have imagined with her initial Laguna Beach plans.After receiving a 2011 National Book Award and 2012 Newbery Medal Honor for Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai’s second novel continues to explore Vietnamese-American experiences. In contrast to her first book’s focus on a refugee family’s journey, Listen, Slowly examines the frustrations of a second-generation American attempting to reconcile her Vietnamese cultural deficits. Mai’s path to settle within her bicultural identity is an experience familiar to thousands of children her age, who are raised in part with traditions from their parents’ country yet never fully feel immersed in that culture. In her protagonist, Lai has created a relatable character who eventually, and maybe reluctantly, shows capacity for adaptation and resilience in the face of adversity.Lai depicts a vibrant Vietnam with verdant landscapes and mouth-watering descriptions of the nation’s notoriously fresh cuisine. The novel’s humour generally hits the mark, including a hilarious passage of cultural colonialism in which Mai convinces young Vietnamese girls to transform their comfortable underwear to thongs. While the disruption of the story’s pace during philosophical Vietnamese translations might test the patience of young readers, this challenge will be welcomed by many. Overall, this story of adventure, family history and bicultural identity is one that should have a home in all school and public libraries.Recommended: 3 out of 4 StarsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

News and Announcements

News and Announcements