REGION: Modern libraries, definition of literacy evolving

Melvil Dewey rubbing shoulders with Tony Stark and Mario

By AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 19, 2008 5:08 PM PDT ∞

LAKE ELSINORE ---- How to ... Guillermo "Memo" Hernandez carefully punched the rest of the prompt into YouTube's search box.

... speed-paint Iron Man.

Memo, an 8-year-old in a bright green T-shirt and a Human Torch-esque haircut shaped by handfuls of hair gel, clicked the "play" triangle, sat back and fixed his eyes on the computer screen.

The blank canvas on the screen, linked to one of the computers inside the Lake Elsinore Branch Library on Graham Avenue, was transformed into a detailed sketch of Iron Man, the popular Marvel Comics superhero.

Memo, who was closely following the transition from rough sketch to finished gleaming red and gold product, was learning how to use a popular computer painting program. He was absorbing lessons on artistic form and shading. One could argue he was unconsciously picking up lessons about human anatomy and advanced armor technologies.

No books were involved, but Memo was learning at the library. And he was enjoying it.

Welcome to the modern library, where computers, graphic novels, superheroes, audio books and DVDs are elbowing aside dusty Clive Cussler books.

"Libraries aren't what they used to be," said Lake Elsinore's branch manager, Thomas Vose, an energetic 29-year-old UCLA graduate who was promoted to manager in January. "People think books, card catalogs, spectacled people saying, 'Shhhh.' We're trying to get away from that."

During a recent City Council meeting, Vose, who has a Captain Marvel figurine standing on his bookshelf and library science degrees on the wall, presented a long list of new programs and offerings he plans to introduce this year, which marks the Lake Elsinore library's 100th anniversary.

Vose's ambitious anniversary plans run the gamut from traditional ---- new books and nicer carpeting ---- to discussions held by a paranormal society.

There also will be history lectures, poetry classes, art classes for teens, classes on photo restoration, a summer reading program, resume workshops for job seekers, cooking classes with area chefs, clubs devoted to debating nonfiction literature and video game tournaments.

Libraries in Murrieta and Temecula also are working to broaden the scope of their offerings.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon at Murrieta's library, more than 120 people showed up to learn how to make slime, a substance similar to the green gunk dumped on celebrities during Nickelodeon's "Kids' Choice Awards." On Wednesday of that same week, 80 people attended an interactive music and songs program.

The director of library services in Murrieta, Loretta McKinney, said the library has a grand piano that can be used for recitals. Also, the Friends of the Library holds talks with area experts.

McKinney called her library "progressive," a place that should be familiar to longtime patrons and exciting and fun for young guests.

One of the recent video game tournaments in Lake Elsinore allowed teens to play "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," a game for Nintendo's Wii video game system that pits colorful cartoon combatants against each other in frenzied battles. Murrieta holds bowling nights for area seniors on its Wii systems, and McKinney said she would love to host a "Rock Band" video game concert.

Some of the other libraries in the Riverside County system are offering similar video game tournaments and game nights and Lake Elsinore's summer reading program, "Catch the Reading Bug," is part of a countywide children's program.

Vose also is highlighting the free programs available to library card holders on the county system's Web site, www.riverside.lib.ca.us. The Web site allows users to search county archives to find out which branch has a particular title, and there's a link to a free program that helps people learn a second or third language.

New type of literacy

Owners of Google stock take note: Mauricio Hernandez, Memo's 12-year-old brother, also was viewing YouTube during his time at the library's computer. He was watching screen shots from the first "Call of Duty" video game, which digitally re-creates European World War II battle scenes. He clicked out of that and queued up one of his favorite short films, something called "Extreme Funny."

While Mauricio might not know it, he was watching a modern version of an old vaudeville routine, a hyper two-man performance that featured sight gags, costumes, dancing and a puppet show.

The performers looked European and the insignia in the corner of the screen was unfamiliar.

Mauricio said he didn't know where it was filmed, and he didn't care. He was enjoying the show. He was being entertained at the library, the same way someone might be entertained by one of the outlandish characters in a Charles Dickens novel.

If, later on in his academic life, Mauricio wants to write a paper about the international appeal of staged comedy performances, he can point to that short film as an example. He could splice together screen shots with archived footage of vaudeville routines to show how different generations find humor in the same well-worn bits. Also, if he wants to at some point, he could use the information culled from the "Call of Duty" screen shots to write a paper on photo-realism art in video games.

Vose, a fellow fan of video game art, said some parents and educators are concerned about computer use affecting literacy rates. Vose had a take on that.

"Literacy is changing," he said.

According to the numerous academic papers and media reports on the subject, Vose is spot-on, and the engine for that change is the Internet.

The relatively young medium is reshaping literacy in its own image: Short bursts of video. Shorter words. Emoticons. OMG. LOL. Chocolate Rain. Pork and Beans.

Those who can understand and translate those references are creating and using a new type of language. They are considered "literate" in that language, even though they might not be able to read and understand Milton's "Paradise Lost."

For some authors and scholars, this new type of literacy is a cause for much gnashing of teeth.

Mark Bauerlein, author of "The Dumbest Generation," uses the "Jaywalking" segments on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to show young people as being dumb and proud of it, admitting without shame that they haven't read a book in years and don't know or don't care about the names of world leaders.

While one could argue with the Emory English professor that judging people who agree to appear on the "Jaywalking" segment might not be the best sample of a generation's intellect or lack thereof, Bauerlein isn't alone in his academic hand-wringing.

Susan Jacoby's "The Age of American Unreason" argues that most Americans, not just the younger generation, are anti-intellectual. Critics of her book pointed out that a certain segment of Americans have been despairing about the plight of the younger generation as long as the nation has existed.

In addition to these examples, there are, and likely will be, many more books and studies that bemoan the state of modern education and the modern mind.

Standing in the center of this cultural maelstrom are libraries, offering access to the Internet and fast computers. And if someone wants to read a copy of "Paradise Lost," "The Age of American Unreason" and "The Dumbest Generation," the library can make that happen, as well.

For free.

And that's how it should be, Vose said.

"A library is one of the last free services in the public domain that exists, anymore," he said.

A balance

While all the talk of emoticons, Smash Bros. and Iron Man might sound foreign to many of the city's older residents, Vose is trying to strike a balance.

For instance, some of the adult patrons have said they are concerned about children monopolizing the library's nine computers to play games.

Vose understands the concerns and said he is thinking about devoting a certain number of computers for adult research needs. He's also looking for ways to boost the number of computers in the library and set at least one aside for patrons who want to download audiobooks or music.

In Murrieta and Temecula, the computer stations are separate for adults and children.

Another way Vose is trying to balance modernity with tradition is his approach to the Dewey Decimal System.

The library will continue to use the system of numbers to organize books, he said, but signs will be introduced to help library visitors who might be unfamiliar with the system's categories and subcategories.

"Epistemology," Vose said, reading one of the Dewey categories that was listed on a poster. "How many people even know what that means?"

To find out, someone could visit a library and look for books in the 120s. There should be plenty of material on that shelf, along with books on humankind and causation.

Someone could type epistemology ---- the "study of knowledge" ---- into a search engine and wade through the results.

Or there's the Memo route.

A YouTube search reveals a four-minute history of epistemology that's narrated by a chipper, fast-talking woman with a British accent.

Welcome to a new study of knowledge, courtesy of the friendly neighborhood library.

Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.