November 2, 2015 HOSTING A SCHOLAR-LED FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION

November 2, 2015

HOSTING A SCHOLAR-LED FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION

Welcome and Announcements• Today’s webinar is a presentation of ALA’s Public Programs Office and is part of

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a programming initiative offered in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Learn more at www.ala.org/latinoamericans.

• News from the Public Programs Office: Applications are now being accepted for the Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.

• Learn more at ProgrammingLibrarian.org. (Click on “Learn.”)

What is in it for me?• Library = Social Capital• Library = Excellent Scholar• Library = Community Partnerships• Library = Collection• Scholar = Non-Specialized Audience • Scholar = Varied Audience• Scholar = No Test!• Participants = College Level Class, FREE!!• Participants = User-Friendly Atmosphere• Participants = Exchange of Ideas

4 Elements of planning1. Enthusiasm and Energy

2. Administrative Support

3. Funding

4. Time

Pre-planning Questions to Ask1. Priorities

2. Present Services

3. Resources

4. Commitment

5. Community

6. Goal

Staff and Administrative Commitment1. Planning Committee

2. Trustees

3. Friends of the Library

4. Staff

Community Collaboration1. Businesses

2. Non-Profits

3. Other Agencies in local government

4. Chamber of Commence

5. Public Schools, Community Colleges

“We humanize what is going on in the world and in ourselves only by speaking of it, and in the course of speaking about it we learn to be human.”

Scheduling1. Regularity?2. How frequently?3. How long?4. What time of day?5. What day of the week?6. What competition will you have? 7. Where will the program be held?

Scholar – What will they do

1. Talk with the public2. Create interest in the topic3. Serve as a resource person4. Respect the contributions of the public5. Bring to the discussion something beyond film and discussion6. Enjoy him/or herself

Building an Audience1. Does the library have a climate for humanities programs?2. Does the library have a reputation for holding interesting programs and

events?3. Is the library in tune with the community

Publicity4. Who do you want to attract?5. How can these people be reached?6. What message should you send?7. Sign Up?

Types of Publicity1. Electronic2. Print3. Presentations to local groups4. Other events to promote the viewing

and discussion5. Continuing Education Units

The Event1. AV2. Thank NEH and ALA3. Introduction of series and grant4. Scholar facts 5. Thank ALA and NEH6. What will happen tonight7. Introduce scholar 8. Reminders9. Branch Info10. Additional “thanks” and ALA and NEH11. Evaluation and other forms12. Gracias y nos vemos pronto

Working with Community Groups

Presentations like this offer a chance to talk to members of the community in a conversation. As a scholar, I can learn from people whose experiences are varied.

Choosing episodes for relevance to issues today:• Immigration• Assimilation• Cultural Identity

Empire of Dreams1880-1942

Chronicles three groups:

1. Cubans in exile and Cuban communities in New York and South Florida; implications of Spanish-American War and occupation.

2. Puerto Ricans in New York and status of the island after U.S. conquest.

3. Mexicans fleeing conflict from revolution and issues of Mexican labor in U.S.

The New Latinos1946-1965

1. Puerto Rico suffers from Depression and lack of work, so migrants flock to New York.

2. Cubans flee Cuba after Castro takes power and create a “Little Havana” in Miami.

3. Dominicans arrive after political turmoil and a U.S. invasion in 1965.

Peril and Promise1980-2000

1. More Cubans arrive and create resentment in South Florida; bilingualism attacked.

2. Central Americans fleeing brutal civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala travel through Mexico and into the U.S.

3. Mexican-Americans unite to seek labor rights, while Dominicans and Cubans open businesses

Discussion Questions1. What makes Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans Latinos? What do you understand by

this term?

2. How does the term Latino confuse issues of race with language?

3. How did U.S. policies affect Latino migrations from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico?

4. How similar and how different were the circumstances of immigration of each of these groups?

5. To what extent are Latinos a single group and to what extent are they different groups?

6. How did these groups compare with other immigrant groups in the early 20th century?

7. How do these immigrants compare with Americans at that time?

8. What are some of your questions about this period of immigration and these groups?

Facilitating Discussions1. Give the audience a clear picture of what to expect.

2. Let everyone know their opinions will be respected.

3. Monitor the discussion so that no one person dominates.

4. Ask for alternate opinions or pose a response, such as “Some might argue…..”

5. Make the evening fun.

A How-To Guide for Film Viewing and Discussion

https://apply.ala.org/latinoamericans/resources/programming-templates-and-guides

The ALA Public Programs Office prepared this simple guide to offer LA500 grantees how-to information on program planning, a sample program outline, a pre-event checklist, and tips for working with scholars.

• Day of Program Checklist• Standard Program Outline• Bulleted list of scholar responsibilities• Suggested list of Do’s and Don’ts for scholars and other moderators

Film Program Evaluation Resourceshttps://apply.ala.org/latinoamericans/resources/programming-templates-and-guides

• Sample evaluation for scholars to complete post-event• Sample evaluation for program attendees to complete post-event• Suggestions:

• Summarize these evaluations (Excel) or just upload scans to ALA final report

• Use the description area in the final report to tell us about the event – describe conversations, audience demographics, attendance information

• Close sessions with a single reflective question and summarize conversation: “What did you gain from our time together today?”

Other Resources• A “Latino Americans Series Guide” – 38 page interactive PDF that offers an

outline of each episode in the TOC, linked to a longer description of that section including links to relevant video clips.

• Includes links to episode teasers for promo use• Useful for scholars when planning/developing discussion points• Useful to prepare follow-up collection material for audiences• Includes a 500-year historical timeline

• Free webinar about film programming best practices, using Ken Burns’ The Civil War documentary as the example: http://www.programminglibrarian.org/learn/viewing-and-discussion-programs-ken-burns%E2%80%99-civil-war

Questions?• What else do you need from ALA/NEH? Please tell us via this afternoon’s survey

(to come by email).

• Contact us at publicprograms@ala.org as needs arise.

• Ask questions of your colleagues using the email discussion group.

• Use this forum to pose questions for our speakers or ALA/NEH staff.

Speaker Contact Info

• Linda Holtslander• Loudoun County Public Library• Linda.Holtslander@Loudoun.gov• 703-777-0541

• Dr. James Baer• Northern Virginia Community College• jbaer@nvcc.edu• 703-933-3974