Last year, I blogged about doing special class visits with a group of students on the autistic spectrum.  At that time, I was working in New York City and got to meet the kids through my relationship with their teacher- a regular library user.  Since moving to a new library, I had been itching to [...]

The Allen County (IN) Public Library (ACPL) has created this flier, “Follow the CAR,” to encourage adults to follow the child’s lead when talking and reading to infants and toddlers. CAR means to:
Comment and wait*
Ask questions and wait*
Respond by adding a little more
*Waiting gives the child time to respond.

Librarians model and share ideas with caregivers [...]

How about leading a letter parade at your next preschool or family storytime? You could give everyone the same letter. You could mix it up and give everyone a different letter. Maybe a vowel parade? Or only certain consonants? Or blends? During the parade, you could make the sounds of the letters or call out [...]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to put the word out that ALSC’s refereed publication Children and Libraries is seeking your manuscripts for possible publication in our journal (published three times a year).
While we are always seeking best practices, profiles and shorter essay pieces, we are especially in need of scholarly/research manuscripts to round out our coverage. [...]

by Kimberly McCloud, M.Ed.

Research the company you are applying to. I read my husband’s subscriptions of Money, Kiplinger’s, Smart Money, etc. to look for companies that have a strong financial portfolio and have a philosophy about their grant foundations that meet the needs of the grant I am applying for. I then read up [...]

Check out the new and improved ILoveLibraries.org, the American Library Associaiton’s (ALA) web site for the public, designed to keep America informed about what’s happening in today’s libraries, which are found in public, school, academic, corporate and institutional settings.
To visit, go to www.ilovelibraries.org

During a “Watch Me Grow!” mini session developed by the Indiana Association for Child Care Resource & Referral (IACCRR), Amy Healton (Infant Toddler Specialist with Child Care Solutions) offered those words to teach toddlers sharing and turn-taking. “Mine” is learned fairly quickly. How helpful to teach them to add the word “next” to communicate turn-taking [...]

Over four weeks in February and March, I was a member of the ALSC Online Education course, “Reading Instruction and Children’s Books,” taught by Katherine Todd, a 25-year veteran of the New York Public Library and current Emerging Technologies librarian at Manhattanville College.  The goal of the class was to share the vocabulary of reading [...]

I just completed the ALSC online course titled, “The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future.”  I am so happy that I decided to participate in this class and I highly recommend that everyone interested in the Newbery Medal take this course when it is offered again.
This class gave me an excuse to do something that [...]

Have you ever offered a program specifically featuring cookbooks and recipes?
I haven’t, but today I heard a woman read from a cookbook that was compiled by her daughter’s fifth grade class. Now I’m thinking of the related possibilities for library programming, as well as wondering what others have offered in library programs featuring cookbooks, recipes, [...]