Once upon a time...

I just spent an evening listening to my talented UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies students tell stories.  Funny stories, scary stories, goofy stories, thought-provoking stories - and all in the traditional way, with no book or flannel board or props.  It was just the teller, the audience, and the story.  And though this was the first time many had told a folk tale in the oral tradition, they were awesome!

And when these amazing future librarians get jobs, they will tell stories from all over the world to kids at the library and out in the community, carrying on a century-old library tradition and an millennia-old human tradition.

I just hope UCLA GSEIS makes a strong and permanent commitment to educating and training the students who hope to go into youth services in public libraries.  It's been a struggle for the past few years.  With public libraries more crucial than ever and illiteracy rates soaring, we need well-trained and passionate youth librarians.  

Informatics and archives may be important - but we need stories and the people who tell them to children.