Books for Kids

I posted this video to the meta blog this morning, but it is worth posting here because it relates not just to transformation of content, but also to ubiquitous access to words and sounds for everyone. Say what you will about Brewster Kahle's Internet Archive (and I have heard criticisms leveled about some quality and preservation issues) anyone would have to admit that he is doing it! Go Brewster.

I don't really know the practicality of the book machine being taken to developing nations to make books for kids, but I know many kids (and librarians) in Ecuador who would be so excited by the concept. Many kids there simply do not have books. Kids in the small pueblos have no hope of getting access to books. There are some workbooks in the schools, but to peruse the shelf to actually select something you want to read...unheard of.

Next summer we are planning a trip to a small jungle village that is near and dear to our hearts to make the final connections of laptops/solar panels for the schoolkids. If these kids could have access to the International Children's Digital Library - now that will be huge.

What is a book?

There has been a lot of talk (for years) about the "death of the book". How does online content impact the availability of the physical object? What does a device like the Kindle mean to users and libraries? I heard a report yesterday (maybe on BBC America? I'll have to look for a reference) that a publisher was going to stop releasing it's books in hardcover format.

I think about kids and how different technology is making the world for them. I came Lookybooks yesterday - a site with a stated purpose to get more books in the hands of children. The site has links from every book so you can buy the books. Essentially this is a test drive for kid's books.

Then there is the International Children's Digital Library with a mission to encourage tolerance and respect for cultures and languages by making the best of children's literature available online. The team working on this project is devoted and committed. They made a great presentation at last year's JCDL meeting in Vancouver.

Here is an example from Lookybooks below. One I particularly like because of my affinity to animals in clothes. Getting more books in the hands or hearts of children can never be a bad thing.