Sometimes, missed opportunities are hiding in plain sight, waiting for a shift in perspective to uncover them. That was the case at our library, where adult and children’s librarians excelled within their areas but worked largely in isolation when it came to programs, collections, and outreach. This dynamic began to change due to a shift in supervisory structure and evolving scheduling needs. Our Youth Services meetings began to include Adult Services staff, creating a more unified and collaborative environment. Almost immediately, the benefits of this arrangement became apparent. With a wider range of voices in the room, ideas were approached from fresh angles, and opportunities for cross-departmental synergy became obvious. Here are three key benefits that emerged from our newfound collaboration: 1. Programming for Captive Parents of K-5 Students We identified an untapped audience: parents who accompanied their children to school early release activities but were unable to participate due…
Tag: Managing Children’s Services committee
Setting Work Goals: Getting Ready for 2025
As we move into 2025, it is a great time to pause and reflect over the past year. What are your highlights to celebrate? Did you implement a new program? Attend ALSC Institute and learn something great? Accomplish work on a project? Whatever you did in 2024, yay you! We’re currently goal setting at my library for 2025. In my opinion, the best goals are the ones that you create and not ones that I have created for you as it increases your buy-in and excitement about working on them. Also, a great goal for you may not be a great goal for another person. I encourage staff to start with our strategic plan as they brainstorm ideas. If your organization doesn’t have a strategic plan, do you have a mission statement that you can work from? According to the National Society of Leadership and Success, focusing on professional goals…
Hobbit Day Party
If you had come to the Bloomington Public Library’s Hobbit Day Party this past Sunday, September 22, which button would you have chosen to make? Would you have guessed that Gimli was the most popular choice? Our Adult Services Manager, Carol Torrens, brought her granddaughter to the event (pictured above making her own button and then immediately showing it to Carol!). Carol said, “It was a fun event. My 5-year-old granddaughter was fully engaged in the activities in the Program Room, making buttons, and completing the scavenger hunt. We went around the Children’s Dept. twice to find all the items in the scavenger hunt. She loved the ring that was her prize. Even though she doesn’t yet know the story of The Hobbit, she enjoyed the time at the Library.” So button making was just one station among many! And of the 100 people who attended, we also had a…
Support for Intellectual Freedom Challenges
2022 was a record-breaking year for attempts to censor library books. Thanks to organized efforts, many complaints focused on books for youth. While parents have the right to monitor what their own children read, these banning efforts infringe upon the rights of other families. How can we as children’s librarian professionals combat this trend?
Bullet Journaling
Welcome to Ask ALSC, where the Managing Youth Services Committee asks leaders in children’s libraries to share their response to an issue or situation. We hope to showcase a range of responses to topics that may affect ALSC members. If you’d like to respond to today’s topics, or suggest a topic for the future, please leave a comment. There are so many things on a Youth Services Librarian’s to-do list. Add managing a department and the to-do list gets longer and complex. Attempting to keep to the deadlines efficiently can be stressful. It is helpful to have a good planner system in helping accomplish long to-do lists.
Training Storytime 101
Welcome to Ask ALSC, where the Managing Youth Services Committee asks leaders in children’s libraries to share their response to an issue or situation. We hope to showcase a range of responses to topics that may affect ALSC members. If you’d like to respond to today’s topics, or suggest a topic for the future, please leave a comment. In public libraries, storytime is the bread and butter of children’s programming (and arguably, of all library programming). Much has been written on best practices for providing storytime, both on this blog and elsewhere. There are innumerable resources for those learning how to develop their storytime skills. But are there best practices for training others on how to present storytime? As a supervisor, part of my responsibility is training new staff on planning and presenting youth programs, and storytime is both the most basic and yet also one of the most complex…
Thank you and grateful for Public Libraries
Over 20 years ago I was new to America. Everything was new. I left behind my family and friends in India. I was fortunate that even before I learned to drive, I was introduced to the Public Library. I was not used to Public Libraries as we do not have them in India. I was used to school, college and university libraries, circulating libraries run out of garages or special libraries to which we had to purchase membership.
Rock Your Next Interview!
Getting an interview for a position you are interested in is super exciting, but also can be pretty scary because many times you only have one chance to make a great impression. After 8 years of hiring for youth services positions at all levels, here are some of my tips for rocking your job interview. Be prepared to share your experience and successes. This seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised by the amount of candidates I’ve interviewed that struggled with effectively sharing their qualifications. Before the interview, review your resume and think about how your previous experience has prepared you to succeed at this position. What are the highlights you want to be sure you share? Are there any programs, partnerships, or initiatives you helped to develop, implement, or improve? If there are any specific qualifications or skills that this position calls for, like understanding childhood development,…