Several of my friends who work office jobs in downtown Chicago tell me, “Picture books! Puppets! Songs! Awww, that’s so cute. What a fun job!”
Category: Children’s Librarians are Experts
Children’s Librarians are Experts at Staying Calm and Being Flexible
As public librarians, we deal with unexpected hazards on the regular. In my experience, children’s librarians are the experts in our buildings at staying calm and remaining flexible, no matter the situation. We deal with minor disruptions in programs and Storytimes every day, enabling and training us from early in our careers to be expertly flexible humans. Could you imagine rigidly stopping Storytime and demanding that a crying child and their caregiver leave so you could continue reading your book in peace? What is peace? We are skilled at dealing with children here, and so we switch gears. We say, “The End” three pages early (even if it hurts us, because the book will seriously change their lives), and start passing out shaker eggs or scarves and put on a song. I may be lucky, but usually the crying dissipates. Even if it does not, our Storytime crowd is not…
Children’s Librarians are Experts at Preparing Children for Kindergarten
At Columbus Metropolitan Library we made an intentional change in the way we present our Ready for Kindergarten Storytimes.
Children’s Librarians are experts at asking “Why not me?”
A new year is just around the corner and we all know what that means – new year’s resolutions. As I sat down to think about what my professional development new year’s resolutions would be, so many different ideas came to mind – find a new blog to follow, attend one session at midwinter that I wouldn’t normally attend, listen to a webinar from outside of the library profession. As I was listing away in crazed Leslie Knope-fashion, a question from a blog post that a mentor shared passed through my mind and gave me pause. The question was from Bernadette Jiwa’s “The Story of Telling” monthly blog update and goes as follows: “From the time my son Kieran was ten, he told everyone who asked that he wanted to be a LEGO designer when he grew up. Some people tried to temper his enthusiasm, not because they were unkind,…
Children’s Librarians are Expert Community Organizers
At the library, we are often times the nucleus of the community. We are the safe place for crafts and activities outside of school. We are a neutral place to collaborate on homework and to assemble resources to achieve and succeed. In a lot of cases, especially when it comes to working with the youth in the community, it is the children’s librarian overseeing, planning, implementing, and being the catalyst for personal and professional growth and development of children. Through our programming, we, as children’s librarians have the opportunities to work and network with many people in the community. From guest storytellers like police and fire crew, to students logging volunteer hours for community service projects, and finally to social workers conducting their own outreach or providing services for those in the community who need the additional assistance; we have contact with nearly every agency within our communities. Children’s librarians…
Children’s Librarians are Expert in Creating Timely Current Event Programs
This fall, voting discussions were happening spontaneously wherever adults gathered: the dinner table, the grocery line, the car radio and well beyond. Kids in our neighborhood heard snippets of local and national voting issues throughout their day. Making sure to vote was often emphasized as a top priority. Just imagine the delight of children who walked into the Tecumseh Branch of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana when they saw a large freezer box voting booth with a “Vote for Best Pet 2018” campaign in full swing! The premise was explained on a bulletin board directly behind the booth itself. “Dog or cat? Your vote decides! Customers of any age may vote from now through Tuesday, November 6th. One vote per customer, please. The winner will be announced with a Dog or Cat Storytime, Parade, and Victory Celebration.” Our sole service point included voter registration cards children…
Censoring Databases
Children’s Librarians are Experts at… Protecting Children’s Access to Library Materials, Resources, and Services.
Children’s Librarians are Experts at Recommending Books
As 2018 winds to a close, the season for book lists is well underway! I love seeing what publishers and reviewers are picking for their top recommends but I also really enjoy seeing what books my librarian colleagues are the most excited about.