Collecting

Librarians and archivists have long understood the professional practice of curation, which includes the practices of collecting, cataloguing, arranging, and assembling for exhibition and display. One of the most important things that libraries do involves developing collections that meet the needs of the people they serve. Professional curation requires a high level of metacognition, because in making selections of what to include and what to omit, a keen awareness of one’s own bias is needed. Public and academic libraries often collect a mix of Hollywood, global, and independent films. But today’s librarians can’t just be good collectors. They must also help learners and patrons develop the curation skills needed to select media for themselves. Effective curation depends on access to reviews and reviewers, and viewers themselves can be empowered to read and provide reviews. Media ratings systems can be both helpful and controversial. Online streaming has changed the way many people use film and video in the home, but there seems to be no established norms for how users access film and media content via library websites. Despite challenges involved in media curation and lingering questions about the impact of streaming collections, librarians can create media collections and services that meet their patrons needs even as the media landscape changes around them.

Present

Librarians and educators are lifelong learners, connecting people, spaces, and film and media resources in ways that delight, engage, and transform. Because film and video are so much a part of our culture, access to film and digital resources in libraries is critical. Film and digital collections do not always receive the same level of love and appreciation that librarians hold for books, but they deserve equal footing. Librarians are increasing community engagement through the use of film screening and discussion sessions. But librarians may not uniformly have the skills in place to create robust post-viewing discussion experiences, according to research conducted in hundreds of public libraries. Some educators are exploring the value of online dialogues through synchronous and asynchronous video create robust opportunities for interpreting, discussing and sharing ideas about film and media. Teachers have different motivations that underlie their interest in digital media and learning, and professional development programs can be designed in ways that are sensitive to differing motivations and areas of interest. For their own professional learning, librarians rely on email listservs, which democratically enable any member to bring forward a question or solicit the experiences and opinions of the professional community. Globally, the concept of media and information literacy (MIL) is on the rise as librarians and educators link the information and learning process and the decision-making process in using appropriate resources and technology for critical thinking. Information literacy is a key pathway to promote the competencies required to use film and media for learning purposes.

Past

The use of film in public libraries has a long history nearly as old as the medium itself—a past we must consider in order to help us better imagine the future of film and media in school, public, and academic libraries. Libraries constantly reinvent themselves to align with the times. Amid ever-rapid changes in media and technology, looking to the past offers steadying perspective. During the 20th century, as television and film rose in popularity and significance, librarians and educators gradually adapted to society’s shift from a print to a visual culture and recognized that audiovisual media, including radio, film, and television, could promote learning. In the early 1900s, film programs were already being used to promote the library as well as generate interest in books. Public libraries were also experiencing reform as they shifted from primarily serving academics to catering to the needs and interests of the general public. During the same time, debate over the positive and negative influence of the moving image and effects of screens was already underway. Gradually over decades, movies have found their place in library collections, from the documentary-style educational film to blockbusters on VHS tape. And as the popular format for film and media shifts to digital, librarians are faced with the tasks of preservation and digitization of physical collections.

Future

Media programs in libraries can help promote lifelong learning with film and video resources. Libraries are central to empowering their patrons to use media in meaningful ways. Film and media education must grow and evolve in order to become a more important part of the future of librarianship. We see libraries as venues for the process of civic agency and social change, which can be supported by the practice of critical analysis and creation of media in the library space. Libraries that cultivate community film viewing and media making embody the practice of community building, and community spaces for gatherings and discussions are increasingly recognized as key features for libraries. Resources and programs that support patrons as media makers, not just as media consumers, are a vital part of the future of libraries. Film and media education activities provide many opportunities for partnering with the community.

Connecting

Librarians in school, public, and academic contexts have been more outward-facing in their outreach efforts over the past 15 years. Public libraries have connected with school and academic libraries, and more libraries increasingly connect with local organizations and individuals to provide programming. Public film screenings enable public and academic libraries to meet the needs of all people in the community—including those who can’t, don’t, or don’t like to read. Film and media literacy in libraries helps to create communities where ongoing sustained dialogue helps us talk and listen to each other. As we model respectful ways of talking about movies and media, we know that these vital civic competencies can transfer to the home, the family, the workplace, and the community. In some communities, locally created oral histories on video bring people together to share stories, and this form of digital media has cross-generational value for both current and future residents. Libraries can also be an avenue for independent filmmakers to distribute their films. Screening the entries of film contests like the 90-Second Newbery and 60-Second Shakespeare can serve to attract patrons to the library and readers to great literature. Outreach librarianship may also be a matter of marketing and adaptation for survival.

Learning

Efforts to integrate digital media and information literacy into education are expanding, and some schools have already adopted a whole-school integration approach. There are many pedagogical practices for using audiovisual media in ways that support learning. Media-based activities support literacy development when they strengthen the oral language, inference-making, and reasoning skills that are required for reading comprehension. To learn for a lifetime, the most practical competence is the ability to ask good questions and get answers in order to make wise decisions. The active process of learning to formulate good questions is an essential life skill that school, public, and academic librarians can help to develop in learners and patrons alike. Librarians in school and public libraries have done amazing work in paying attention to stereotypes that exist in children’s literature and books. They can also help students and parents unpack and reflect upon the stereotypes offered in children’s television shows, movies, and games. Close reading of media—the core pedagogy of media literacy—builds a habit of mind that promotes deep awareness of and sensitivity toward the rhetorical purposes of informing, entertaining, and persuading, whether it is print, video, or web-based content. There are challenges to using media effectively in some settings, including restrictive school policies for video use, how to assess credible sources, and choosing the most effective pedagogy for an audience.

Creating

Authorship is a fundamental impulse that’s rooted in the value of “telling your own story.” When people engage in practices of creating media, they deepen their understanding of the constructed nature of all forms of media and can shift their identity in important ways. As people gain confidence in self-expression and recognize the value and power of using communication to address community and national social and cultural issues, they take on the role of active citizens in a democratic society. The library has always been a source of inspiration for people who want to make things as well as a community hub where people can come to learn, create, and explore possibilities. Makerspaces and media centers can support the mission of the library. Many academic librarians have made a deep commitment to supporting student media creation as a dimension of their academic work. And whether it’s to explain library services, document a community event or history, or market the library, when school librarians are themselves digital authors, they often have a broader, deeper appreciation of the creative process and recognize the potentially transformative impact that such learning experiences can have. Creating media can be important for advancing self-expression and learning, but it is also a time-honored way to deepen media analysis skills. Getting the balance between creative freedom and creative restraint in media production can be challenging, but from creating storyboards, book trailers, or parody music videos to documentary filmmaking, creating media in the library can reap multiple benefits and can prove that it’s through creating and collaborating that people of all ages learn best.

Viewing

Film programming is a vital element for libraries today, and there are key features of effective programs that create social and interactive experiences. Although it can be difficult to design film programs that create community, given library constraints of time and talent, partnering with community organizations can help create library film programs relevant to the communities they serve. As with author visits, filmmaker appearances, whether live or virtual, can provide audiences insight into motivation, imagination, and the creative process. Media influence our attitudes and behaviors in complicated ways not fully understood. Overuse of video games and the rise of consumerism, cyberbullying, sexting, and online pornography are real concerns. Digital citizenship is about access as it relates to the normative behaviors and knowledge that are needed for responsible participation in digital culture. To counter the paradigm of risk and harm of media use and youth, some librarians are assessing the real needs of people in their communities and using intentional and appropriate use of new media for young children, teens, and at-risk populations. Because film and media engage the head, heart, and spirit, they can stimulate complex discussion about social, political, moral, and ethical issues.

Introduction

How we use audiovisual media has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. What we watch and how we watch have both been transformed by the rise of the Internet and digital culture. Naturally, as a result of this reality, educators are changing how they teach with and about film and media. Today it’s important that film and media literacy education provides everyone everywhere with a fundamental set of competencies that enable them to both enjoy moving image media and learn from it. Film and audiovisual media are texts that have as much value as books and print media, and new forms of film distribution are creating opportunities to develop film collections that reach everyone around the globe. Often in partnership with community organizations or media makers, school, public, and academic librarians bring film and media education into and through their libraries. They are also well positioned to provide resources and trainings to help people of all ages critically analyze news and information in a posttruth era. This book was written for public, school, and academic librarians and others with an interest in utilizing the emotional power of film and the fascination with popular culture to inform and entertain their communities as well as to help create discriminating consumers and media makers. The five major practices and key themes of the book are introduced, as well as what to expect in the following chapters.