Tag: children

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Not Another “Best of” Post

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large orange block letters spelling not another

This Is Not Another “Best of” [input year] Post I promise you this is not another Best of [input year] post. In fact, if I were to rename it, it’d be The Most Exciting Stuff in the Youth Services World, like, right now; right now. I like pointing these things out so much I create a biweekly Youth Services newsletter for my colleagues. [mysteriously] Who knows, maybe I’ll unleash it upon the internet in 2021? [strokes goat goatee] It’s loaded with all things frabjous, from live webinars with authors whose work we drool upon to easy crafts, programming ideas, news – [foreign accent] your interest is piqued, no? Oh! And this stuff is all totes free! Sans fees! Gratis! Famous Authors Live! This subheading should read “Not Another Webinar” Probably the most important webinars For the Parents and Caregivers we serve This is not a section about stuff to do…

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Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Imagine Your COVID Summer Slide Story!

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Darth Vader reading on a playground slide

Imagine Your COVID Summer Slide Story? Summer slide in the age of COVID.  I don’t think anyone can really imagine what this summer will look like in terms of a summer reading program for any age group.  The show must go on, though – so let’s imagine your story together! Scheduling Scheduling a time for your summer reading program is essential.  Pick you set of dates, beginning and ending, as well as your “big” program days.  You’ve had some practice with online programming by now.  Now, just do it bigger! Space Familiarity is critical for your audience.  It gives a sense of anticipation, a recognizable (or branding) setting, and a reassuring repetition.  If the space you’ve been using for online programming isn’t as polished as you’d like it, time to refine!  Sound problems?  Get them ironed out!  This is crunch time! Supplies Your list of supplies this summer is going…

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Blogger Children and Technology Committee

Assistive Technologies: Spotlight on Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled

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Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled

The Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled provides materials found in public libraries in formats accessible to the blind and disabled. Services are provided by the Utah State Library Division in cooperation with the Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Since its fledgling beginnings, the Utah State Library’s Program for the Blind and Disabled has expanded to serve patrons in Utah, Wyoming and Alaska, and also provides braille to people in 23 states nationwide. Today Lisa Nelson provides us with information and insights on this special-format library from her experience of working for the Blind Library Program at the Utah State Library for over 17 years, and as the program manager for 9 years. What is your library’s role within the disability community? The library’s role is to provide informational and leisure reading materials in a format that is accessible to people…

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Blogger Children and Technology Committee

Assistive Technologies: Spotlight on DC Public Library Center for Accessibility

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Image of the White House lawn at the signing of the American with Disabilities Act from the Special Issue of Worklife, p. 3 by the national museum of american history

I spoke to Patrick James of the Center for Accessibility, part of the DC Public Library (DCPL), for this final post in our series highlighting best practices in assistive technology. What is your library’s role within the disability community? DC has a strong disability community.  Gallaudet University, a federally chartered private university for the Deaf, and the American Federation of the Blind, for which Helen Keller was an ambassador, are centered in or around DC.   Since all of DC is federal land, not a state, the federal government influences the library. The DCPL Center for Accessibility’s manager is part of the Office of Disability Rights, part of the federal government.   The Center houses the DC Talking Book and Braille Library, part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.  The Center has three librarians: a librarian for the Deaf community, a librarian for the blind community, and…

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Blogger Children and Technology Committee

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

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Global Accessibility Awareness Day May 16, 2019

“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/

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Blogger Intellectual Freedom Committee

Information Literacy – Please Pass the Grain of Salt

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Does anyone remember the Spaghetti Harvest? Or the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus? These were early (and wacky) examples of media hoaxes. They became staples of information literacy instruction for many educators, because they illustrated how convincing even the most bizarre information can seem when it’s presented as fact. Today these scams seem benign and quaint.

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Blogger Maria Trivisonno

Children’s Learning Garden

| Maria Trivisonno|2 Comments

My library branch is in the middle of a food desert.  Our lower-income neighborhood has no true grocery store; instead, convenient marts and fast food restaurants abound.  Most of the children who come to the library grab snacks or fried food from the nearby gas station.   I myself am not a paragon of nutrition, but when you see even the skinniest of kids in the summer living on 2 liters of pop and off-brand hot Cheetos, you realize that the long-term effects on children’s health are very real…even if you can’t tell by simply looking at them.   We have long served lunches from our local food bank to children, but, at the prompting of our administration, we wanted to do something different—get the kids outside and gardening.  Many of our youth live in apartment buildings, so outdoor play and gardening knowledge can be hard to come by.  …

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Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Strong Dose of Back to School

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Summer Reading is Over! So, pat yourself on the back!  It’s been a long road to hoe, but you’re just the Joe to hoe it.  It’s time to don the oven mitts and grab the red hot throat of back-to-school!  You’re going to need a strong dose of resources to help this season’s batch of students succeed this fall, winter – and beyond! National Library of Medicine No, I’m not going to ask you to visit the National Library of Medicine (NLM) for remedies for your upcoming stresses.  This month, we’re talking about their AMAZING resources for kids!  They’ve got something for every age group and every electronic device.  So let’s getting digging! Free Stuff! So, let’s start with the cool NLM swag.  Bet you never thought you’d hear that in the same sentence. Visit NLM’s Educational and Printed Materials section of their site to order posters, trifolds, bookmarks, and…

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