Success In Skokie

photo from Skokienet.com

Even though Aleks Krapivakin comes across as a fun loving, down to earth teenager in his youtube video, he  know what it means to struggle.  
He moved to Skokie, Illinois from the Ukraine during middle school without knowing how to read and write English.  Imagine sitting in a classroom of kids, in a new country, listening to a language that you don’t understand...you don’t know what to wear, where to go (or how to get there), how to communicate and you don’t have much money to help you sort things out.  
This is the challenge that immigrants face everyday in our schools and communities.

Lucky for Aleks, he lived in Skokie and ended up at the Public Library.  The librarians welcomed him, talked to him and got him started on his journey to learn English in the children’s room where he read Curious George and Dr. Seuss.  Spending time chatting with the librarians helped him learn English and he gained confidence as a learner and a citizen.  

Aleks learned fast and quickly caught up to his peers at school, but he didn’t ditch the library.  He decided to give back as a volunteer.  He worked at children’s events, became a ‘reading buddy’ for younger kids and a regular fixture at the library.  His commitment paid off when the library won the National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2009.  Aleks was invited to be part of the team that flew to Washington, D.C. to receive the award from Laura Bush.   

The Institute granted the award to the Skokie Library in part because of their outstanding work in meeting the needs of the ethnically diverse patrons that make up Skokie - 42% of resident are born outside the US and more than 97 languages are spoken in homes throughout the community.  The library has a massive world language collection of books and cosponsors a popular festival of cultures.

But the library wasn’t done influencing Aleks.  A few summers ago, one of the librarians suggested that he enroll in their Broadway summer camp program.  Aleks was skeptical and thought it was something for girls but decided to give it a try.  He fell in love.  Out of the blue he discovered a passion for acting, singing and dancing.  He sees his role as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors as the first in many starring roles.

Aleks’s story could have been so different.  Without the support he found at the Skokie library his entry and acceptance into the Skokie community could have been a long term struggle with mediocre results.  The library didn’t do any heroics - no magical powers, capes or daring deeds - they just took the time to care about Aleks, to show him how to learn and to encourage him to explore his potential.  They reached out to a kid that needed help and did the right thing - isn’t that what we want for all our children?

When we are done slashing library budgets, eliminating librarians and setting up computerized systems, who will be left to help the Aleks’?

Rising to the Challenge

World Language Storytime

What’s a library to do when about a million non-English speaking immigrants move into town?  In the spirit of John Cotton Dana, Minneapolis Central has been busy creating resources, providing services and meeting the needs of a very diverse population.  You can tell this library’s different when you click onto information pages written in Spanish, Hmong and Somali on their website.  There are also immigration and citizenship pages crammed full of links and resources connecting patrons to programs and outreach groups.  

But what caught my eye was storytime.  Julie Pfitziner’s article in the Star Tribune, R is for 'read', explains that the Hennepin Library System offers regular “world language” storytimes in Somali, Spanish and Hmong.  This month they will start a Korean program as well.  "Research has shown that giving very young children the opportunity to hear stories and songs in their native language is the most effective way to prepare them to develop literacy skills in English," said Susan Glenn, librarian for youth services. 


The very  idea of the library is a new concept for many immigrant parents, along with the luxury of reading for pleasure or learning about personal hobbies and interests.  The libraries are bringing them up to speed, quickly.  Another complication is finding books written in Hmong or Somali.  Both cultures rely mainly on oral storytelling traditions and printed books are rare.  The library is using wordless picture books to tell stories in children’s native language and also in English.  

Renée Reed, Hennepin County's principal librarian for adult services and immigrant resources supervisor, offers insight that sums up Minnesota’s outlook on what some communities would view as a ‘headache’, at best, and makes me proud to be a library cheerleader, "Listening to stories in another language is an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the wisdom of stories that might be unfamiliar, but have such a richness,” she said. "By exposing children to other cultures when they are young, it can do away with negative feelings and help them embrace many cultures with joy."

In 2005, Barack Obama said, "The true test of the American ideal is whether we're able to recognize our failings and the rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstance decides life's big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a change to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams."

I think Hennepin County Library was listening.