Now more than possibly ever before, folks are exploring the digital resources our libraries have to offer. Public librarians, now’s the time to think about partnering with your schools to offer digital library cards to students. As we enter Library Card Sign Up Month, it’s the perfect time to start this conversation. Many libraries offer this service and there are lots of ways to do it. Our program is a work is progress (more on that below) and I’m happy to share how we got it started and what we’ve learned.
Author: abbylibrarian
I'm the Children's Services Manager at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library in Southern Indiana.
Summer Reading Under Construction
Readers, I made it. As of Tuesday, August 3 our local kids are back in school and I made it through this supremely unusual summer. Of course we were dealing with a global pandemic. But also, our Children’s Room and teen space have been under construction and closed. And doing Summer Reading under construction has not been easy.
Finding Diverse Books Without a Hashtag
Last month, the organization We Need Diverse Books announced that they were no longer going to be using the term and hashtag #OwnVoices to describe books. I know many librarians and teachers had come to rely on the hashtag to identify diverse books by creators that have authentic experience and expertise. So… now what?
Picture Books for Pride Month
Happy Pride! There are so many more picture books with LGBTQ+ content than there used to be and June is the perfect time for a picture books for Pride Month display. As I was putting together my display this year, I was delighted that we have more books to choose from than ever before. If you’re putting up a Pride display, here are some books to consider including.
Customer Service from Behind the Scenes
Are you “behind the scenes” staff at your library? Think you’re not directly serving customers? Think again! I’m a collection development librarian and even though I’m not in the public eye for most of my day, customer service is still an important part of what I do. Here’s how I make it a priority in my day.
How to Get Permission for StoryWalks®
Does your library have a StoryWalk®? Are you thinking of adding one? My library added ours in 2019 and our patrons LOVE IT! One question I get all the time is how to get publisher permission for StoryWalks®. Today, I’ll share what I’ve learned in the past 2 years.
COVID Trauma Anniversary: It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
It’s March. Again. After the most surreal year most (all?) of us have ever experienced. Time for our collective COVID trauma anniversary. It’s okay if you’re not okay right now. And just remember that your colleagues, vendors, and patrons may not be okay right now either. And even if you’ve been doing okay, there may be some new or old emotions welling up again. I want to share some resources that may help.
AILA’s 2021 Read Native Challenge
Have you committed to a reading challenge in 2021? There are all kinds of reading challenges on the web, challenging you to step outside your reading comfort zone and check off certain reading tasks throughout the year. I think it can be a really beneficial for librarians because I think we’re able to provide better service to our patrons if we challenge ourselves to read widely. I wasn’t going to commit to one this year, but then I saw that the American Indian Library Association is presenting their first ever Read Native reading challenge and I knew that was the one for me!