What were you doing 20 years ago? In the spring of 2003? We won’t talk about ages, but,twenty years ago, I was playing Pippi in a touring production of Pippi Longstocking: the Musical. Always a devoted patron of libraries wherever I went, my path to librarianship did not come untillater in life.
Category: Children and Libraries (CAL)
All Together Now 2023 SRP
But It’s Still Winter… Believe it or not, this is my 20th year working – as a paid employee – in Central Florida libraries. If you include volunteering…well…that’d be most of my life. From all I’ve ever experienced, you can never be fully or overly prepared for a season of summer reading programming. As a matter of fact, I am known for ALWAYS having a backup plan for each program, right down to duplicates of mission critical equipment. Sounds like a military operation, doesn’t it? So, yes, it’s January and we are talkin’ All Together Now, our 2023 Summer Reading Program! Nitty Gritty, Nuts and Bolts I always love a tool kit, a place I can have everything in one spot, like a Swiss Army knife. I’m based in Florida, but this seems to have universal appeal: CSLP 2023 Program Resources 2023 Summer Program (and beyond) Resources: Overview of popular…
Learn, Share, & Reflect with Children & Libraries journal
Are you burning to share your latest programming win with your colleagues? Have you been working through a problem and willing to share what you’ve learned? If so, you might consider sharing your thoughts in a “Best Practices” piece for an upcoming issue of Children & Libraries. These short pieces are 1500 words or less and are intended to cover successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the real world experiences of children’s library staff. They also can help you reflect on your own experiences and work!
Turning a Picture Book Into a HUGE Program
So, we’re making waves this summer and indeed the possibilities are endless. I mentioned last week that I raised an old favorite from the depths. This week, I want to show you how to stretch out just one picture book into an epic summer reading program: Buccaneer Bunnies, to be precise! Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, by Carolyn Crimi tells the story of Henry, who is the “embarrassing” nerdy son of Blackear, the fiercest bunny to sail the seven seas. In a nutshell, Henry proves that books hold the answers to all manner of situations, outcomes and perils — all without being didactic! But how do you turn a quick read into a 60 minute program?! Well, me old sods, I’ll explain forthwith. It all starts with the book — no, really So, last week, I introduced you to Foghorn Follies, thus, we already have a puppet stage shaped like…
Children & Libraries : Top 10 Reasons to Write an Article for CAL
Earth Day STEM Day!
Earth Day is April 22nd this year. However, I want to point out that April is also National Humor Month. I am making a large sacrifice here to bring you a post about introducing your youngest library patrons to citizen science instead of something rib tickling, side splitting or otherwise thigh slap worthy. So, here we go. No funny stuff. And just as an aside, please slap only your own thighs as to do otherwise is considered harassment and is actually frowned upon in many workplaces. A Trilogy of Cunning Plans For your consideration, three cunning plans to expose yourself and small children to STEM this Earth Day: Citizen Science, STARnet’s STEAM initiative, SciStarter, and Seed Libraries. For those of you counting along at home, that makes four (4), making this a poorly named overview of what’s to come. Actually, I think there’s five…oh, well. Citizen Science So, what exactly…
Volunteer Referees for CAL
Have you been looking for new ways to become involved in professional service but aren’t quite sure where to begin? Do you feel intimidated by writing an article or blog post, yet still feel you have something to contribute? Children & Libraries (CAL) may have the answer! As the Association for Library Service to Children’s (ALSC) official and refereed journal, we are always looking for new ALSC members to serve as volunteer referees for our scholarly articles. It’s an easy way to volunteer, requires no experience, and can help support effective librarianship practice for the field at large.
March Activities, News, STEM and More!
March Activities, News, STEM and More means tons of ideas for March programming and crafting. Plus, enjoy a plethora of bookish news. For STEM/STEAM programming, we have you covered and of course, it’s all the FREE resources you have come to love and count on. Read on, enjoy and let us know what works for you and what crashed and burned! It’s all good! But first: And secondly, I’ve made the editorial decision to pull the Just for YA! portion of this newsletter. If you still want to receive it, just send me an email at jdolce@mylakelibrary.org, or comment below. Thanks! Let’s Celebrate! The first annual Black Children’s Book Week will take place this year, February 27- March 5 Celebrate Black Children’s Book Week February 27th – March 5th! 24 Black Heroes Our Kids Should Know By Name March is… Plan your event with resources on Our Planet: Earth Celebrate National Library Week April 3…