Designing (and Doodling) the Future of K-12 Libraries

When invited to act as “provocateur” at an event, you accept on the pure allure of said title. And then you walk around trying not to be too obnoxious by saying “Why yes. I’m going to Atlanta to be a provocaTEURRRRRRRRR”.

Twitter is what got me there. I tweeted this after seeing the video vision for a new kind of K-12 library:

@StacyWeitzner: Taking K-12 libraries from "shhhh" to "wow". nextchapter.reimagine-ed.org/ (via @brainpicker @nancygiordano + makes me think of @ChristianLong!)

Little did I know that good friend Christian Long was already part of the Reimagine:ED leadership team coordinating the Next Chapter national design summit. When we talked more about the genesis and the goal of the event, I was smitten by the good intentions and good will of everyone involved. A meeting here in Austin with Jeff Sharpe, the Creative Director of Reimagine:ED sealed the deal. I would join an eclectic and engaging group who would be speaking, challenging, facilitating and presenting to an assembly of librarian educators who were coming to Atlanta to get loud on behalf of a new kind of library for kids.

The fact the attendees would be challenged to learn and use new ways of thinking inspired me to take on a challenge, too. I did not travel with my usual graphic recording kit of markers, pastels, and 4-foot rolls of paper. Instead, I decided to only use the whiteboard surfaces that sponsor Idea Paint planned to install all over The Lovett School on which folks could doodle, muse, draw and ideate.

Good idea. And great fun.

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Breakthrough is a non-profit that does all it can to help low-income students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates. Their mission is noble, their work hard, and their donors are key in getting degrees in deserving hands.

To help thank, celebrate and inspire donors old and new, the non-profit contacted BrightSpot ID to bring gratitude to life at their annual Champions event on April 26,2011. The terrific crew of Breakthrough and I decided a live capture of donors’ names while at the event would be a fun way to mark each donation in a dynamic and highly visible way. And we wanted to do it in a big, BIG way: to make sure each and every name would be accommodated, we planned on dedicating 4’ x 16’ of space for me to draw on. (That’s like two pieces of plywood, end-to-end. Big!)

Now I may be a graphic recorder, but I’ve also got roots in advertising and copywriting - so I loved when Breakthrough acted on other ideas for integrating the donor-centric elements of the event. We created a pledge card that captured the visuals and the sentiment of the artwork that would be marking the evening. And my favorite idea was probably the smallest; a sticker saying “Friend in the First Degree” that donors received to place on their name tag.

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I open a new box of markers with the same anticipation I used to open a new box of crayons.

I love placing an order for art supplies, counting down the days until they arrive. I thrill at the sight of an untouched sheet of 4’ x 8’ paper, eager to see what visuals will unfold.

I am graphic recorder, visual thinker, strategic doodler. (Hear me roar.)

But the most important part of my toolkit? Right on the sides of my head. (Hey look! You’ve got some too!)

You’ve got to use your ears to use all that other stuff to their fullest potential.

Listen.

(To hear more about visualization at TEDActive, the Doodle Revolution, and the power of listening, use your ears here - Sunni Brown and I talk to James Piecowya, associate professor of communication and media sciences at Zayed University in the UAE; and host of Nightline, a Dubai-based radio show on DubaiEye103.8.)

Or you can hear our talk and more of James here at Nightline