I spend quite a bit of time during the summer reading articles and blog posts to see what other librarians and educators are doing around the country and finding ways to improve my own practice. I was quite taken with a blog post by Vicki Davis at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog about soft goals. I hadn’t heard the term before, but I was pretty sure I knew what it meant. Soft goals have to do with concentrating on who we want our students/patrons to be rather than what we want them to do. Davis says, “Intentionally think about your soft goals because these give you a canvas upon which you will paint your class activities.” This idea is easily extended to the library in the school, since it is indeed a classroom, but also to the public library as well. I know that it’s difficult to slow down sometimes…
Month: July 2013
Sensory Storytime: A New Partnership with National Lekotek Center
A few years ago, I launched a new storytime program specifically designed for children with special needs. It was called Sensory Storytime and was modeled after Tricia Bohanon Twarogowski’s fantastic program. As a full-time youth services librarian, I was able to devote much of my day-to-day to planning and leading Sensory Storytime, which was offered as part of a four-week series that ran four times a year. Last May, though, I transitioned to a new library in a new position with a much different staffing situation. I knew that I wanted to implement a program like Sensory Storytime at my new library, but being the only full-time librarian in our department, I also knew I did not have the time to lead it myself. So, I decided to reach out to my community and investigate some possibilities. The organization I instantly thought of for this new partnership was the National…
Red Carpet Extras
KidLit on the Red Carpet By now you’ve heard all about the outfits, activities, and refreshments that were part of the Caldecott 75th Anniversary Red Carpet event that took place before the 2013 Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder banquet at ALA Annual in Chicago. But you haven’t heard from the Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder winners themselves and now you can! Authors Jim Averbeck, Betsy Bird, and Kristin Clark interviewed children’s literature heavyweights during the Red Carpet event. Pop some popcorn, mix up a Caldecocktail, and sit back and enjoy these enchanting interviews. Find out how Caldecott winner Jon Klassen hopes to live up to the award he’s been given. Discover what book makes Wilder winner Katherine Paterson’s grandchildren bloodthirsty. Learn how giggling librarians were almost convinced to take back Peter Brown’s Caldecott honor. All this and MORE on Jim Averbeck’s KidLit on the Red Carpet blog! Caldecott 75th Anniversary Logo Merchandise Merchandise featuring the fabulous anniversary logo…
Find your mentor/mentee with ALSC!
ALSC is offering a new mentoring program this fall. The program, which is open to members and non-members, is intended to help build a new collection of leaders in the field of library service to children. Applications are now open for both mentors and mentees. Registration ends on Friday, August 30, 2013. Here are a few quick hits about the program: The program lasts one year Mentee applicants do not need to be ALSC or ALA members The only requirement is that mentees have some connection to children’s library service. Mentees may be students, early career professionals, individuals returning to the profession, or those who would like to refine their skills, make connections, and learn more about children’s librarianship as a career Mentor applicants must be ALSC members and should have experience working in the field of children’s librarianship or children’s literature Matches develop their own schedule, but ALSC suggests…
Summer Reading Moves Online
This month ALSC hosted a Twitter chat on the topic of summer reading. One of the questions posed to children’s librarians during the session was about programs that are exclusively online. Many libraries offer online participation for adult and teen summer readers, but moving towards a solely virtual program for kids is still new territory. Questions such as limited access for some users and decreased visits to the library may be valid concerns, but with companies such as Scholastic and Barnes & Noble providing alternatives, perhaps more libraries should consider the transition. At our library we have taken small steps each year to move the summer reading program completely online. This year, after careful thought and evaluation we have finally taken the leap. Fortunately after a bit of research we stumbled upon the Connecticut State Library’s Summer Reader Project, an online reading management system. This option had the most flexibility…
Sharing the Caldecott Experience
After finding out I was appointed to the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Committee, I wanted to share the picture books I’d be receiving with the children I served at the Kettering-Moraine Branch Library (Dayton Metro Library system) in Kettering, Ohio. I wanted their invaluable opinions about the picture books that I’d be considering for the Caldecott medal. I came up with the idea to have two monthly programs, one for children from preschool age to kindergarten and one for children in grades 2-4. Of course, I abided by the committee’s charge to not share information that was confidential, but at the same time, when I shared a picture book that I knew was being discussed, it was with great anticipation of the children’s response to that picture book. The first session began with information about who Randolph Caldecott was and about the Caldecott medal. Each week, as I shared the picture…
The Accidental Manager
I’m an accidental manager. I supervise a children’s department at a public library. You might be one to; most of us in this position are here by…accident. If you’re like me, your focus in library school was on whether you wanted to be a school, children’s, or teen librarian rather than whether you saw yourself managing a department. But here we are. The bad news is that we might not have the management training that could be an important resource. The good news is that our librarian skills can help us successfully manage a children’s department. Listening Well We can transfer a lot of what we know about the reference interview into the management of staff. A lot of what I do is listen to my staff. My door is open 98% of the time and I encourage them to pop in. And they do–with complaints, ideas, brainstorms and concerns….
Book to Film (Finally!): Tiger Eyes
There comes a time in the average tween-or-teenaged American girl’s life where she meets Judy Blume, and falls in love. She picks up Blubber, or Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, or Just As Long As We’re Together, and she realizes that there is an author who just gets how she feels, and knows how her friendships work and how her parents act. Almost every woman I know, of every age, race and creed, has read (and loved!) Judy Blume. Judy Blume is universal. And so it is shocking to consider that before this year, none of her truly wonderful novels aimed at the under-18 set have ever been adapted into films. With Hollywood’s recent fascination with YA novels, you’d think it would be a no-brainer, but you would think wrong. Blume’s first novel to make it to the big screen, Tiger Eyes, premiered on June 7 in extremely…