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.
Category: Commitment to Client Group
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.
2 Ways to Choose Books for Picky or Uninterested Readers (and get them loving the process)
It’s a harrowing task for parents, teachers, and librarians world over: trying to find the right book for a child that isn’t invested in reading. Some parts of the process are difficult because you’re on a mission for something that is going to finally spark interest in the reader. Other times it can be challenging for different reasons.
Celebrate Día at your library!
Spring has sprung and with it comes extra special programming celebrating Día! Día is incorporated year-round by emphasizing the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds with many libraries commemorating by planning special events around the end of April.
Celebrating WOYC
It is almost time for NAEYC’s annual Week of the Young Child! Week of the Young Child (WOYC) is an annual, week-long celebration of children birth to 8, their families and the professionals who serve them. NAEYC wants to highlight how important early experiences are and honor all the adults who work to provide them. NAEYC designates themes for each day, but any celebration of early childhood is appropriate. Lots of early childhood care facilities and organizations celebrate WOYC in some way, and libraries can get involved too. If you are wanting to celebrate WOYC at your library, here are some things to think about. Programs or Events Probably too late for most libraries to add any programming for next month, but go ahead and get it on your radar for next year’s programs. It can be as simple as incorporating the themes into storytime or offering a special play…
Calling All Gamers!
We’ve all seen it before: kids gathered around a computer, playing the latest version of Minecraft or Tanki, squabbling for space as they swap tips and best practices (though they might not call them that). Or maybe you’ve seen a motley crew of kids come running down your stairs after your weekly chess program, excitedly chattering about this move or that move. No matter how you slice it, games have a place in libraries. The format they may take changes from month to month, library to library, but the fact remains the same: Libraries are a great place to game and learn.
ALSC Equity Fellows at #alamw19
ALSC’s six Equity Fellows attended the Midwinter Meeting in Seattle in January. Thank you to members of the ALSC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force for their mentorship throughout the Midwinter conference and beyond to help the fellows feel welcomed in our organization. We reached out to the fellows to learn more about their experience attending Midwinter and this is what some of them shared: Some favorite highlights of ALA Midwinter as an ALSC Equity fellow included getting to know the other fellows and mentors on a more personal level, hearing about and seeing the soon-to-be published titles, and attending the ALA Youth Media Awards as well as VIP publisher events. One of the best things about attending conferences is the people you meet or reconnect with. Since I arrived to Seattle early, I took the initiative and went to the Joint Youth Executive Meeting on Thursday afternoon despite not…
Libraries Welcome all Families: Collaborating on Inclusive Summer Initiatives
By SPLC Committee members April Witteveen, Natasha Carty, Jill Woychowski, and Robin Gibson Public libraries are beginning to look ahead to their summer reading or summer learning programs. Through school and public library collaboration librarians can identify approaches for success using an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) lens. In order to reach as many students as possible with information about library summer programs, a great strategy is to collaborate on school visits. Natasha Carty, who’s been a public librarian, school teacher, and now a school librarian, has seen the value of these visits from all angles. As a public youth librarian, Carty’s school visits resulted in a 50% increase in participation. She’s now looking forward to inviting her local public librarians to school to promote their summer reading program, and she will be investigating if there are ways to get students registered for the program while still in school. Carty…