I’m counting down the days until it happens, 5 weeks from now, when it all comes to a head: public schools in New York City close for the summer and Summer Reading officially begins. Maybe you’re in a community that sees an early start to summer, or maybe you have a few more weeks to prepare yourself for what will inevitably be a summer of fun, friends, and great books. My library system always has its own summer reading list, but a lot of kids like to read “off script” and pick titles that don’t coincide with the theme. Even so, they’re often looking for recommendations and an opportunity to swap some shop talk about interesting titles.
Category: Commitment to Client Group
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Oh My!: Making Social Media Work for You
We often think of using social media as a means to share book recommendations and details about upcoming programs/events. These are such natural extensions of library services, so if your system is using social media (hopefully they are), you’re probably already generating this type of content. But what do you do when your feed starts to feel like the same-old posts on repeat? And what less conventional uses of these tools could your library possibly benefit from?
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
“Access to technology is a critical component for success …. Children who can access information via technology are at an advantage, and can better succeed in school. For kids with disabilities, the need for technology is even greater. Computers with appropriate technology can level the playing field, allowing kids with disabilities to compete fairly with their non-disabled peers.” Center for Accessible Technology https://www.cforat.org/
Play on a Shoestring in the Public Library
Free play is child-directed, voluntary, internally motivated, and fun. It strengthens physical, emotional, social, cognitive, creative skills and fosters communication skills as well. Children talk and listen while they play, and they also read, write, draw, and sing! According to Dr. Karyn Purvis, it takes 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain- unless it’s done with active play. In that case it takes only 10-20 repetitions. Play is truly the work of a child and also a pleasant vehicle for interaction between kids and their grownups.
Libraries Welcome all Families: a conversation with urban high school students about representation in the CT Nutmeg Nominees
Jillian Woychowski is the Library Media Specialist at West Haven High School and a member of the ALA Interdivisional Committee for School and Public Library Cooperation. Kymberlee Powe is the Head of Children’s and Teen Library Services at the West Haven Public Library I am very lucky as a school librarian to work so well with my public librarians. Our city’s children’s and teen services librarian has held card drives and visits me on a regular basis. We’ve coordinated getting materials for each other and worked together on summer reading. We also share the experience of serving on our state book award committee. I served on the high school level 2018 Nutmeg committee and Kym just wrapped serving on the middle grades committee for 2020 (see nutmegaward.org). Being on the committee for a state book is a serious time commitment, requiring reading 75-150 books and monthly meetings to discuss them. For…
Tiny Acts of Green
Today is Earth Day! All around the world, libraries will be putting on programs and highlighting collections that encourage youth to engage in their communities in order to protect and renew the planet we call home. This year, our library combined our passion for early childhood services with our passion for sustainability, and got extra-creative about designing a library space from a repurposed shipping container. Taking inspiration from shipping container libraries around the world, our Director, Gretchen Caserotti, got to work, collaborating with the city and local community partners (the YMCA and St. Luke’s Health Care). The shipping container was installed in July 2018, and interior and exterior finishings were completed in September, with an opening date of October 1, 2018. Since opening, we’ve had more than 2,000 caregivers and their children come through the Tiny Library’s doors and engage in new ways with the space, and…
Family Programming for Children with Disabilities
Nearly a year ago, I wrote about an after-hours family program I planned and implemented at my branch. While I would have liked to provide an update, detailing changes we’ve made and patron response, we were unfortunately forced to postpone these programs indefinitely. But NYPL is still offering incredible family programming across the system, and one of my favorites is a series at Chatham Square (in Chinatown). Friday Night Fun is a monthly event where children with disabilities and their families can come to socialize, play games, draw, and participate in storytime – all in a comfortable and welcoming setting. And while I’ve assisted with this series in the past, I’m a relative newcomer to Friday Night Fun. To get an idea of how this program came together, I sent some questions to the creator himself, Jeff Katz.
Tween Program: Coding w/HTML
Hi everyone! It has been a goal of mine to teach a coding with HTML class to tween patrons (ages 9-12) at my library, and this post will detail my first ever time doing so.