Saturday was a “magical” day at #ALAAC2022. The Graphic Novel and and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) hosted a tea. But, this was not just any tea party. Attendees (it was a ticketed event) got to meet publishers and creators in a speed dating format. There were some festive costumes including a GNCRT member dressed as Alice in Wonderland.
Category: Programming Ideas
Early Learning Activities to Support New Parents
And just like that, my time at #ALAAC22 is off to a fantastic start. Yesterday morning I attended the program ”Supporting New Parents in Diverse Communities with Creativity and Compassion” led by Dr. Tess Pendergrast and Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen (the creator of Mother Goose on the Loose). They provided many excellent strategies and fun new songs to use in outreach or programs with new parents and babies. I’ll list a few that stood out to me below.
Toward Inclusion and Equity for Young Children in Public Library Programs
A Pivot to Crowdsourced Wisdom and Resource Sharing #alaac22 After all the pandemic-related shifts to programming and policy, most folks are weary of the word “pivot,” but there is no better word for what a room full of librarians did at #alaac22 when the presentation they were looking forward to fell through. The topic: accessibility and inclusion for children with disabilities and their caregivers. The room was prepared well for such an event, with ASL interpreters and on-the-fly closed captioning (which was excellent, by the way) simultaneously available. Upon realizing the presenters would not be arriving, a few intrepid leaders took the mic and suggested we use the time anyway, offering to tap into the collective wisdom in the room. What followed was an inspiring and truly remarkable session, full of ideas, insights, and an amazing sense of community and solidarity. As we all began to realize what a gift…
Escape Room at #ALAAC2022 and Play Virtually from Anywhere!
Looking for an “Escape?” Friday night at #ALAAC2022 is “ALA Play” sponsored by the Games and Gaming Round Table. Visitors can try out all different kinds of games including RPGs, card games, and board games. Can’t make it to ALA but want to join in some of the fun and games? You can! There is a virtual escape room that you can play to win prizes. (Prizes will be sent to winners after the end of the conference.) Escape rooms are great programs for public and school libraries. Patrons can learn about different topics while having fun completing them. You can theme your escape room to particular events, books, or activities happening at your library. Click here to learn more about the ALA GameRT escape room. Or, if you are ready, you can go directly to Mystery Island. Guest Conference Blogger Soline Holmes (she/her/hers) is a librarian and the Library/Technology Department…
Program in a Post: Dot Art
With this post and around $20-$50, you can take a super simple art activity to any outreach location. Supplies: Dot markers/bingo daubers Stencils (optional) Markers (optional) Paper Set up: Similar to Art Links, Squart, Art on the Spot, and Cotton Swab Pointillism, this is a perfect outreach activity. Throw your supplies into a small tote and off you go. Find a table somewhere (park, school, etc.), set out your supplies, and make a few samples. We love to take this one out on the ArtCart with a tray for the stencils & markers. Program prep: Just gather your supplies. Go and make some dots!
Including STEAM in Summer Library Programs
My library is using the iRead theme this year which is Read Beyond the Beaten Path. We want to include STEAM activities into our summer library program and decided to bring back something the library did before my time called “Creation Stations”. These are passive activities that can be done at each of our locations with a new activity every week. A few of the Creation Stations I have planned this year are yarn art, pipe cleaner constellations, straw rockets, build a tent, and leaf renderings. About half of the stations are science, math, and engineering based, and the other half are art based. I want to share one example of how I planned a creation station, how much prep went into it, and how we plan on executing it at our library.
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…
Summer Programming with the Library of Congress
Along with my colleagues at the University of South Carolina iSchool, I am part of the TPS (Teaching with Primary Sources) Consortium. TPS Consortium is a “professional network of universities, cultural institutions, library systems, school districts, and other educational organizations. Members work together to share information, devise new approaches, and offer collaborative programming focused on Library of Congress primary sources.” (https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/about-this-program/teaching-with-primary-sources-partner-program/tps-consortium/). We host professional development for K – 12 educators, sharing ways to use primary sources and The Library of Congress website in their teaching and work with students. I have become very familiar with the LOC website and have discovered some “hidden treasure” that you can use this summer in your library, especially if you are working with the “Oceans of Possibilities” theme. Ready? Use Free to Use and Reuse as inspiration for event flyers, decorating, social media posts and more. https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/swimming-beaches/. I created this image of my daughter using one of…