by Susan Baier In 1990, I was Vice President of my high school’s chapter of Future Homemakers of America. Despite that impressive qualification, my homemaking skills are limited. I don’t particularly like to cook, and the rare occasions when I try often lead to a mishap. (Case in point – last week’s attempt at frying pork chops for my husband resulted in loud beeping from the smoke detector.) My sewing projects in home economics class were truly pitiful. I buy my flannel board sets from talented crafters on Etsy versus making my own. It’s a little sad, because I come from a long line of Midwestern farm women with impressive skills in the homemaking arts like quilting, canning, and baking. They could whip up a noontime meal for 20 farmhands, bake a cake for the church social, and mend their children’s clothes – and that was just the morning chores. No one…
Category: Blogger Susan Baier
ALSC Blogger Susan Baier
A Librarian’s Open Letter to Kourtney Kardashian
by Susan Baier, Santa Clara (CA) City Library Hi, Kourtney. You should probably know that I risk alienating my colleagues by using a professional blog to communicate with you. Many librarians are dismayed that you and your Kardashian Krew are zillionaire overexposed international stars, while the winner of the Newbery medal can’t even get an interview with Al Roker on the third hour of the Today Show. For some, your family represents everything that is wrong with our celebrity obsessed, bad behavior worshipping, tabloid society. But I’m no hater. I think you are really pretty and dress very stylishly, and your 2-year-old son Mason is adorable. The final part is what I want to talk to you about. Because you, Kourt, do something as a mother of a toddler that we as librarians encourage parents to do everyday. And we could use your help in spreading the message. You read to your son….
Engage Young Artists with a Bookmark Contest!
by Susan Baier, Santa Clara (CA) City Library Looking for a fun school outreach opportunity that promotes your library while allowing students to express their creativity? Try a bookmark contest! My former employer, the County of Los Angeles Public Library, has held a highly successful bookmark contest for many years. I decided to replicate it at my library for the first time this year. Youth in grades kindergarten through 12th were invited to submit an original bookmark design about reading and/or libraries. Entries were judged on creativity, neatness, and message. Two winners were chosen from four categories (K — 2nd, 3rd — 5th, 6th– 8th, and high school.) The winners had their bookmarks printed for public distribution. Our two judges were employees in our library’s circulation department with backgrounds in art and graphic design. I sent the entry form as an email blast to area teachers and principals, along with…
Celebrate Diwali: The Festival of Lights
Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, begins today. We started the celebration a little early at our library during our Family Storytime this past Saturday. Santa Clara is home to a sizeable Indian population, so Diwali decorations were easily obtained at a local Indian grocer. Candles and light play an important role in Diwali. Open flames in a children’s program is rarely a good idea, so our Diwali diyas (clay lamps) were illuminated with LED tealights. The children were welcomed to the program by a peacock puppet, for the peacock is the national bird of India. Our featured stories were Lighting A Lamp: a Diwali Story by Jonny Zucker and My Daddy is a Giant by Carl Novac. (The latter admittedly has nothing to do with Diwali, but was read in both English and Hindi.) The staff member who read in Hindi also did a demonstration of how to drape…
High Need, High Impact: Outreach to Teen Parents and their Children
Looking for ways that your library can serve teen parents and their children? At Santa Clara City Library, we can say that our family literacy librarian wrote the book on it – literally. Our own Ellin Klor, along with Sarah Lapin from the San Mateo (CA) County Library, co-authored Serving Teen Parents: From Literacy to Life Skills (ISBN 1598846930.) Ellin and Sarah wrote the book based on their extensive experience in partnering with community agencies to deliver quality programs to this high-need population. I recently interviewed Ellin and Sarah about their new book, and asked them to share advice for librarians interested in outreach to this underserved audience. What can readers expect to learn from your book? Ellin: We decided to approach our book from the concept that teen parents are operating in two very different arenas – as teenagers who are working through the maturation process, and as parents who have to be…
No Worms Were Harmed in the Writing of this Blog
I love how readers’ theater lets an audience experience a story in an entirely new, participatory way. Thomas Rockwell’s 1973 novel How to Eat Fried Worms is truly timeless, and was the inspiration behind two successful readers’ theater programs for elementary school children I’ve hosted for libraries. Readers’ theater can be as involved and “rehearsed” as you want to make it, but I typically approach it very casually. The kids get their scripts when they arrive for the program, and we keep props and costumes extremely minimal. If it’s a small group, we run through the scenes multiple times until everyone gets a turn on stage. For bigger groups, I make sure to add more participatory elements so even the audience feels like they are part of the show. (Think Rocky Horror Picture Show type of audience interaction, except G rated!) Here’s a rundown of my How to Eat Fried…
School Assemblies – Make the Kids the Stars of the Show!
“We’d love for you to appear at our end-of-the year assembly. There will be 300 kids representing kindergarten through 5th grade, and we’ve slotted 20 minutes for you to present. Thanks!” Gulp. I’ve been on the receiving end of these generous offers from principals. I’ll be honest with you — I find it challenging. 20 minutes is a long time to keep that large and diverse of group engaged. I do have some tricks up my sleeve, but I’m not a magician. I tell a good story, but I would never put myself in the leagues with professional storytellers. I sing (badly) at storytime, but toddlers are a much more forgiving audience than 9 year-olds. My solution? Let the kids be the stars of the show! (Or, to put a more cynical spin on it — make the kids do the work for you.) I wrote a series of…
Get Your Play on @ Your Library!
Is your library ready to play? Santa Clara City Library recently received a grant administered through the California State Library to implement Family Place. The Family Place network currently consists of more than 300 libraries in 22 states, and continues to grow. Family Place is an initiative to make public libraries an inviting destination and vital community resource for children under five and their families. A component of a Family Place Library is a collection of toys, kept in a specially designed area within the children’s department that welcomes families with young children. The toys do not check out, but rather are available for play during all open hours. Much research has been done regarding the importance of play to a child’s early development. Children learn socialization, problem solving, and spatial relations through play. Play also develops critical fine and gross motor skills, and allows children to use their imagination…