I’m having a very negative reaction to Doug Johnson’s post about the School Library Journal feature article “Fine. I Got an Ereader. Now What?: A newbie to digital reading gets his first Kindle” by Travis Jonker.

Jonker’s piece is, as Johnson says, a “cleverly written” personal narrative that “expresses the doubts, fears, and experiences many librarians have encountered in the move to e-books.”

And the problem with that is…?

Apparently that the author is slow to the party, according to Johnson, who further deems Jonker a “reactionary” rather than a leader in the digital revolution.

Grading stakeholders––whether they be students, administrators, parents, or in this case, a peer, a fellow educator––as to their experience or tenure related to technology is counterproductive. Moreover it’s discouraging to so many who are ready to participate and who’ll be the ones to move the needle on progress, both for the kids and communities they serve and education and librarianship as a whole.

On a personal and professional level, this attitude is so wrong. And it’s ironic and especially disturbing behavior on the part of an educator. That very quality, the candor and the openness to try new things as a personal journey and by an adult (!) is just one aspect of a terrific piece, which I was proud to commission and publish as SLJ’s technology editor. 

As Betsy Long commented on your post:

“Since we are in the business of freedom of information and freedom of expression, I think it's perfectly fine--heck... even boldly refreshing--to hear someone who has the chutzpah to admit that he hasn’t completely jumped on the eReader bandwagon, just to be in the "cool kids" club.”

 It’s been 15 years since ebooks have been around, you say. But the arena, indeed, all of technology, is changing so fast, this ceases to matter. It’s also unfair to hold Jonker to your professional timetable – he’s only been a school librarian since 2005, according to his bio.

 Nevertheless, Jonker’s doing great work. He’s gone on to launch an ereader program in his own library and will be posting about the experience on his blog, 100 Scope Notes, a wonderful resource on children’s literature worth checking out.

From an editorial perspective, the feature, while light in tone, underscores some real issues – the drawbacks of technology’s ever shortening product cycles; limited ebook selection; and the E Ink reading experience. In the comments to the feature, a reader raises publishers’ limits to library lending, an important topic that our group publications, primarily Library Journal, are covering.  But these and other ebook topics go well beyond the scope of a single article, which we hope to address in a single go-to resource designed to serve all our users. Stay tuned on that.

Now to your calling Jonker out on lack of leadership. To my mind, true leaders encourage and inspire those around them. If the response to the piece is any indication, I think the author has achieved just that. My hope is that this reached those who’ve been hesitant about ebooks, or ones who’ve been simply waiting for the right time to bring devices to schools, as Cathy Nelson suggests. Or perhaps this is overthinking and folks simply enjoyed a fun read with a fresh take. I mean, he managed to work in a Clydesdale reference – surely a first in the ebooks discussion, no? Travis is among the best writers I’ve worked with and you’ll be seeing more of his work in the magazine.

As to SLJ’s having done something “dangerous” by publishing “Fine. I Got an Ereader. Now What?,” it’s an intriguing notion. But we’re just a library publication trying to serve our readers, and they represent a range on the continuum of experience with technology, not to mention staffing and budgets.

If we’re providing the content that both represents and challenges their own experience and helps the profession as a whole to not just manage but flourish in the digital transition, all this with encouragement and (gulp) humor, then, guilty as charged. And we hope to do even more.

The best-selling author of Super Sad True Love Story, class of '91, delivered the Stuyvesant High School commencement address on Monday, June 27, at the Palace Theater.

Shteyngart did good - he was funny and respectful of the occasion. There were some inside bits on Queens, the L train, and the first-gen immigrant experience, in his case, eating borscht from a wooden spoon and having visited Manhattan only twice before entering his freshman year.

Also on the dais was Andrew Geller, a math teacher of 40 years (29 at Stuy), who is battling melanoma. His "assignment" to the graduating class: "Find a career that you enjoy as much as I enjoy teaching math."

James Thompson was tapped based on grade point average (apropos of Stuy) to deliver the valedictory address. We were all holding our breath, but this gifted young man hit it out of the park. "Some of you may know that I am different," said Thompson, who has Asperger's Syndrome. "Some of you are a little different, too." Beyond the very funny self-deprecating asides, he acknowledged the teachers, staff and parents, and his fellow graduating peers, striking the right note of humility befitting such an event - not an easy thing to do.

Good luck, James, and to all the graduates (including my son Keiji). The moment that got me was when you all turned around to thank your parents - all those bright, talented, and hopeful faces. I'm feeling pretty hopeful myself.

"They used to call my Grandpa the Japanese Clark Gable. But to me, Clark Gable was the white George Ishizuka."

Miss you.

Going through my mother's things this week, I was glad to find this.

It had been framed and on display at the Japanese American National Museum, and it is worthy of a museum. I'll take it to a conservator to have it restored (There's extensive foxing/staining at the bottom). I'll ask my boys what they think.

More images are available at the National Archives. Enter "Manzanar" in the search box.