Blogger Early Childhood Programs and Services committee

“I didn’t know the library did that!” Building Better School Partnerships

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“I didn’t know the library did that!” How many times have you heard that…this week? Press releases, emails, posters and skywriting do nothing to break through the advertising noise in our communities. Libraries are essential third spaces in our communities so the question is, how can libraries promote our services so people instead say, “Did you know the library did that?” This is especially true when it comes to collaborations with the schools in our service areas. Schools are busy Teachers are busy and they don’t always have time to meet. Administrators wear a lot of different hats and can’t always pass along the emails we send. Add to that a global pandemic, and libraries struggle to show teachers and schools our relevance. What is your goal? Our department’s end goal was to reach more kids through partnerships with teachers. We visit 60 classes a month and reach 1100 students. Most…

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Blogger Maria Trivisonno

Direct Vocabulary Instruction

| Maria Trivisonno|2 Comments

Last month, I attended my first in-person professional development in two years when I presented at and attended the Ohio Library Council’s Convention and Expo in Columbus, Ohio.  While there, I saw amazing speakers like Jason Reynolds and Saeed Jones and attend other sessions focusing on youth services. To me, the most impactful session was entitled “Rich, Robust and Expressive: Vocabulary Building in Storytime; Storytimes for School Readiness and Community Needs.” Presented by Dr. Maria Cahill, Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky and Janet Ingraham-Dwyer, Library Consultant—Youth Services for the State Library of Ohio (and truly the MVP for youth librarians in my state), the session focused on Direct Vocabulary Instruction (DVI). 

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Awards & Scholarships

Finding the Next ALSC Distinguished Service Award Winner

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The Professional Recognition and Scholarships Committee is seeking nominations from ALSC members for individuals who have “made significant contributions to, and an impact on, library service to children and ALSC.” You may be wondering who qualifies for consideration. Well, beyond their contributions to the field, the main criteria are (1) that the person has devoted their work to children ages birth through fourteen and (2) they must be a current member of ALSC.  These individuals can be:  A librarian who works in a school or public library An educator working in the library or information science field A member of the library press An employee of a publishing house A retiree Want to learn more? Visit the ALSC Distinguished Service Award page to see a full list of previous winners, watch the acceptance speeches of past winners like Liz McChesney, Dr. Claudette McLinn, and Maria B. Salvadore, and read about…

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Blogger Kary Henry

Take a Smile! Leave a Smile!

| Kary Henry|8 Comments

When I was growing up, I remember that our local dime store (yes, that was a thing) had a little dish of pennies next to the (manual) cash register. The sign above the dish said, “Take a Penny! Leave a Penny!” As a child, I was fascinated by that little dish and its sign. My dad had to explain the concept of making change and how just one penny might make a difference, might make it easier for the cashier to make change. Given that we all might enjoy some uplifting content, I decided to tweak that old-fashioned sign for one of my own: “Take a Smile! Leave a Smile!” Sharing stories that bring smiles to each other is priceless. In that spirit, enjoy these stories…and then please leave one of your own!

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Blogger Early & Family Literacy committee

Access to Early & Family Literature Research – an Equity Issue?

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At our last Early and Family Literacy Committee (EFL) meeting, we started our meeting off looking over our charge: *stay on top of current research in the field of early and family literacy, and share it with the library community  *develop trainings for library staff about core early literacy skills and practices  *collaborate and advise ALSC committees and workgroups on early literacy issues and projects We discussed progress on our first-ever webinar (still in the planning phases – more to come 😊) and talked about new sources to follow (I’d just listened to an episode of the podcast Best of Both Worlds that featured Dr. Lakeisha Johnson at the Florida Center for Reading Research, who focuses on language and literacy development in underserved populations – I’ll definitely be tracking her work!).

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Blogger Children and Technology Committee

Educational Apps, Toys, and Brain Development In Children

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When it comes to our children, of course, we want what’s best for them. We pick and choose toys and apps which are not only fun but that are deemed “educational.” But what a parent or educator may want to know is, “Is this toy or app giving the child the full benefit of the learning outcomes that it should?” “How does a parent know what those outcomes should be? There’s been much research on children and brain development, as well as a proliferation of educational apps created in the past few years. “Of the 2.2 million apps in the App Store, 176,000, 8.5 percent are loosely deemed as “educational.” Their growth is expected to increase by 10% through 2021. (Brain Training For Kids: Adding a Human Touch. Hassinger-Das, Brenna and Hirsch-Pasek, Kathy). In this article, Hassinger-Das, and Hirsch-Pasek examine the question of what the term “educational” means as it…

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Blogger Liza Purdy

Collaboration Wins: Our Trail Tales Story

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We launched a big addition to our library collection last month: eleven podiums that make up our new Trail Tales! Trail Tales is based on StoryWalk®. This project was long in the planning. My colleague had tried to find funding to create a literacy/walking experience at the outset of the pandemic, but was unable to secure a source for us. However, we didn’t give up our dream of a StoryWalk® of some sort! We kept our eyes open for potential partners.

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