Pursuing excellence for library service to children
Collaborative bulletin boards are great for summer reading programs. They keep kids busy during the school break with much less effort than putting together a structured program. And they fit perfectly with this summer’s CSLP theme
Setting aside just fifteen minutes a week for reflective writing has made a huge difference for me, from planning more successful programs to making better use of my time to feeling more motivated and joyful at work. This post will show you how to do it and how it will improve your programs.
Four times a year the library teams up with Moab Music Festival to present a special Musical Story Hour featuring a new musical artist(s). Musical Story Hour has been one of our library’s most consistent programs since 2018; it was one of our library’s first programs to transition to an online offering during the pandemic and last year was offered in city parks to a multigenerational audience.
Description, images and top tips for creating a play-based learning and career exploration program for younger children at the public library.
In the real world, how often have you read a chapter, an article, or a blog post and immediately thought the best way to make sense of what you just read is to answer discussion questions or write an essay? Contrast that with the number of times you’ve read something that resonated with you—maybe it thrilled or even haunted you—and then instantly sought someone to share your thoughts with. Or perhaps you sat still after reading, letting yourself fill with feelings first, and then turned those feelings into drawing, music, or even dance. When a text moves a young reader in a significant way, we see them respond to texts in a variety of ways that are more authentic than answering prewritten discussion questions or answering a writing prompt. We see them laugh aloud and physically imitate characters actions or voices. We see them using cushions and giant blocks to…
As librarians serving school-aged children, it can be easy to stick to our comfort zone with the tried and true programs that we have done in the past or with programs that are on topics that we personally know a lot about. It is also tempting to stick with programs that have all the pieces in place to run smoothly instead of introducing new programs. I am here to encourage you to get outside your comfort zone with new programming, to stretch yourself into new areas, and to try an “everything is beta” approach to programming! I will share about an after-school program that has caused me to stretch outside my comfort zone with my middle school students and offer some tips for making such programs work. When I began working at my middle school, a small group of parents were running an afterschool program for Dungeons & Dragons players. …
Got school outreach on your mind? You’re not alone. For 25 years, the Multnomah County Library School Corps team has helped students thrive in Oregon’s most populous county. Founded in 1997, School Corps began as a way to maintain the library’s connection with youth. According to the library’s website, “the team has reached more than 83,000 students with 131,000 books, saving 8,700 hours of educator time.” School Corps, which currently consists of a team of three staff, provides a menu of programs and services to K-12 schools. Many of these programs and services existed during its inception but have adapted with the times. Sample menu items include: Buckets of Books: 24-30 books on a topic plus a teacher’s guide Assignment alert: discover a new booklist, collection, or list of websites Presentations: covering a multitude of topics and library resources In honor of School Corps’ milestone and the start of a…
This summer, the Simsbury Public Library, CT successfully facilitated a Family Hike in partnership with the Simsbury Land Trust. Here’s how we did it, and why we think you should consider planning a family hike too. Health and wellness programs are always a good idea and outdoor programming has exploded in popularity since the pandemic. After 2+ years, we’ve fully mastered outdoor storytimes, outdoor music and movement, and outdoor art programs, but a hiking program was something relatively new to us. Simsbury, CT has an abundance of beautiful natural places, parks, and trails, but some are more visible and well-known than others. Enter the Simsbury Land Trust. We are fortunate that the Land Trust in our community is an active and thriving organization. Founded in 1976, the Simsbury Land Trust is a federally-recognized, not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Governed by a volunteer board of trustees elected by the membership, the Simsbury…