What youth services ideas do you hope to turn into reality this year? At our Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, we have seen a need to increase the resources and support students receive so they may excel academically. Our School Success initiative developed into a formal project after assessment with our local public and charter schools, a staff-led focus group, and research to determine the needs of our student populations. We’ve applied for a grant to add technology and educational kits to our services and plan to add some new programming to encourage family engagement. Here are some highlights from our proposal: Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center will address the need for elementary and secondary student support through the development of our School Success initiative. This initiative features a 100 Days of School Celebration and the implementation of Learning Lab programming featuring laptops to provide homework…
Category: Blogger Meg Smith
Ring in the New Year with Youth Services Goals
This season can be a time for reflection and planning. It’s hard for me to imagine that in just a few days we will ring in a New Year! My professional goals for 2017 focus on training, teamwork, and creating enhanced early literacy spaces for our youngest patrons. What plans do you have on the horizon during this next year?
Interview with Mary Cronk Farrell
Author Mary Cronk Farrell shares how libraries impacted her research process in her latest book, Fannie Never Flinched: One Woman’s Courage in the Struggle for American Labor Union Rights. I received a complimentary copy of this book in preparation for this interview.
Interview with Author Sharon Mentyka
Author Sharon Mentyka discusses writing, the role of libraries, and her latest book Chasing at the Surface. I received a complimentary ARC of this book in preparation for this blog interview.
Interview with Author Deborah Hopkinson
Author Deborah Hopkinson describes her research process in her latest book for young readers, DIVE! World War II Stories of Sailors & Submarines in the Pacific. She shares the tremendous impact librarians and libraries played in shaping her childhood experiences. I received a complimentary ARC of DIVE! in preparation for this blog interview.
Interview with Joan Trumpauer Mulholland
Legendary civil rights activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland is the subject of two new juvenile nonfiction selections. There is a picture book version, She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, written by her son Loki Mulholland and Angela Fairwell and illustrated by Charlotta Janssen, and a middle grade version of the same title, also written by Loki Mulholland with artwork by Charlotta Janssen. In this interview, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland reflects on her experiences and the impact of encouraging young people in their struggle for equal rights.
Interview with Author Bridgette R. Alexander
Author Bridgette R. Alexander reflects on the mystery genre, her first book in a new series, Southern Gothic, and the influential impact of librarians and libraries. I received a complimentary copy of Southern Gothic: A Celine Caldwell Mystery in preparation for this interview. How would you describe your novel Southern Gothic: A Celine Caldwell Mystery? It’s intriguing. It’s passionate. It’s a contemporary urban Nancy Drew meets The Da Vinci Code. Southern Gothic introduces the reader to Celine Caldwell and the world of fine arts. Celine attends a private school on the Upper East Side, but more importantly has an internship in the Archives Department of the mighty Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her life suddenly changes with an explosive uncovering of an art theft; and in which her mother, the powerful curator of modern art at the Met, is accused of stealing paintings from her upcoming exhibition. How did the idea…
Transforming Ideas into Reality
As I attended the North Carolina Library Association’s (NCLA) Executive Board Meeting this past week in Black Mountain, NC at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly, (https://www.blueridgeassembly.org/) I was struck by the passion of my colleagues from across the state who are committed to improving the lives of our library patrons and communities by brainstorming new ideas to encourage change. As Vice Chair/Chair Elect of the Youth Services Section of the NCLA, I’m excited to see how these ideas bring growth and new possibilities. It makes me consider how ideas are able to move beyond the planning stage to become fully fledged concepts, whether these ideas take root as a project within our individual libraries or grow to strengthen the existing work of our professional associations. Passion, people, and purposeful promotion are all necessary to take those valuable ideas beyond board room discussions and move them into practical implementation within our…