Think about the community where you live. How many spaces are there in the community for adults? I’d guess there are lots: Starbucks, shopping centers, restaurants, theaters… Now think about how many spaces there are specifically for children. Maybe the YMCA, the play place at the fast food establishment, a park or two. How awful is that, that kids don’t have more spaces in which they can really engage? Why not make the library one such destination? Sunday morning at ALA started with a program titled “Where the Wild Things Are: Children’s Learning and Discovery Spaces.” The program featured some rock stars of library design, including Kimberly Bolan Cullin (who recently wrote a children’s space checklist for DEMCO) and Kim van der Veen of Burgeon Group, LLC. The panelists acknowledged that not all libraries can afford to completely revamp their children’s spaces, so they pointed out some simple, cost-effective strategies for…
Tag: #ala12
Toys in the Library #ala12
Having toys and play at the library is certainly a timely topic: the revised Every Child Ready to Read includes play as one of the five practices to promote early literacy. ALSC sponsored a program at ALA on this topic entitled “You Want Me to Circ WHAT?! or How to Best Utilize Toys as a Literacy Tool in Programs and as a Fun Part of Your Lending Collection.” Toys are a great, child-approved way to integrate play into the library, and this session had quite a few ideas for making that happen: No space is too small for incorporating toys into the library. Whether you have a room, a playhouse, a closet, a table, or just a bit of space under some shelves, you can add toys successfully. Wall panels work really well, too. Adding toys is not a “go big or go home” scenario: a small selection of toys is just…
Science in the Stacks! #ala12
Have you seen all the amazing photos and articles about the Discovery Center in Queens, NY? It’s a library that is all science, all the time. Amazing! The folks from the Queens Children’s Library Discovery Center gave a program at ALA emphasizing that no matter what your space and budgetary constraints, you can mix science into your library. A few ideas from the well-attended session: Connect hands-on science stations or science activity sheets in the branch with the Dewey stacks. For example, next to a butterfly activity, have a sign leading to the 595s. Similarly, have a sign by the butterfly books suggesting children do the activity. Focus on doing science with children, as opposed to instructing them. It’s not school! Be hands-on. Reinforce skills associated with science: observation, measuring, estimation, etc. Activity examples include having kids track the development of a growing plant over the summer or having them…
Boys & Reading #ala12
Boys read. As librarians, we know that’s a fact. Research does indicate, however, that boys typically don’t read as much or as well as girls their same age, and as a result they can fall behind. Some great male writers, beloved by all readers, gave their perspectives on why getting more boys reading is necessary and how we might accomplish that goal: Jon Scieszka: Start by asking boys what they want to read. Listen to what they say, and note what are your heavily circulating titles. These should be your go-to titles, regardless of what the library literature has to say. Michael Grant: Escapism has value in encouraging reading. Is the book one the reader is willing to spend time with? Andrew Smith: There are a few dirty words when it comes to encouraging reading: “appropriate,” which casts judgment; and “for,” which excludes potential readers (e.g., books FOR boys, books…