Tag: partnerships

Blogger Annaliese Melvin

Discussing Body Safety with Children

| Anna Melvin|Leave a comment
Logo for the Erin Levitas Foundation with a red flower on the left, and black text on the right that reads "Erin Levitas Foundation." Each leaf of the flower has a different word in white typeface. The words read: change, heal, educate, respect, listen.

In the fall of last year, ALSC blogger Eleanor Howell-Shryock highlighted ways that she models consent in her story time at the library. As she mentioned in her post, this practice comes from the desire to help children learn bodily autonomy and to foster a culture that prevents sexual violence. After reading her article, I also thought about additional ways that the library might support caregivers in having these conversations outside of the library. This is when a local partnership began to take root.

Continue Reading
Blogger Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee

A Paws-itively Amazing Partnership

| Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee|Leave a comment

While many library systems across the country, including JPL, have implemented “Reading with Rover” programs, JPL has partnered with JPAWS to create programming and services that make a “Paw-sitive difference” for two-legged and four-legged patrons. I recently had the opportunity to talk to Jessica Styons, Director of JPL, and Michelle D. Brignac-Carr, Director of JPAWS, to learn about some of the “fur-real” amazing programming that are a real “treat” and that prove, through partnerships, anything is “paws-ible.”

Continue Reading
Blogger School-Age Programs and Service Committee

Reading Together: Partnerships with Purpose

| School-Age Programs and Services Committee|Leave a comment

I work at the University of South Carolina, and we are proud to be the home of Cocky’s Reading Express (CRE). CRE started in 2005 as a week-long student government project. The School of Information Science adopted the program and it continues to this day. This statewide literacy outreach initiative brings college student volunteers and USC’s mascot, Cocky, to elementary schools across South Carolina. Students hear stories read aloud and receive free books to build their home libraries. During my time at USC and previously, as a school librarian, I’ve noticed that K–12 students, especially those in elementary school, love visits from college students. Reading partnership examples School and public libraries and universities have a lot to offer one another and across the country, libraries and universities are teaming up to ignite a love of reading in children. Whether through mascot-led read-alouds, themed literacy camps, or mobile book deliveries, these…

Continue Reading
Blogger Chelsey Roos

Back to School with Special Education Students at the Public Library

| ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers|Leave a comment

When Back to School season rolls around, libraries across the country fill displays with books about new teachers and first day jitters. Your library may host an evening for school staff, where they can learn all about library services. You may offer an exclusive teachers-only Friends of the Library book sale. But typically, families with students in special education may not get all the support they need in the lead up to a new school year. Navigating the special education system is challenging – there are IEPs, 504s, evaluations, and tons of documentation – and families new to the IEP system can find it especially overwhelming. But what if the library could build a program that connected parents and caregivers with the expert advice and support they needed before they begin another adventure through special education?

Continue Reading
Blogger Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee

Learning About Partnerships Through “We Are ALSC Chats”

| Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee|Leave a comment

A feature of ALSC that I (regrettably) just discovered is the “We Are ALSC Chats.”  Truthfully, the only reason it came to my attention is because our Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee hosted one.  I’m glad I was finally introduced, though, because I found it inspiring.  So, when thinking about what to blog about, I decided I should write about these chats for some of you that, like me, might not have heard about them.  It also provides me with a great vessel to share some of the awesome partnerships mentioned.  The first question is naturally, what are “We Are ALSC Chats?”  They are informal, non-recorded, chats held via Zoom that are open to all members and even non-members.  Most importantly, they’re designed to build community and foster networking amongst library professionals in children’s services.  This feels especially important these days!  Each chat is hosted by one of the ALSC…

Continue Reading
Blogger Managing Children's Services Committee

Family Engagement @ Your Library

| ALSC Managing Children’s Services Committee|Leave a comment

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. How much do we apply the school’s family engagement principles in libraries? Is focusing on engagement the secret to attracting underserved communities to the library? How can we create more awareness about the importance of library resources and programs?  All these questions go through my mind after we work hard planning a program that gets hardly any attendance. For children’s services librarians, attracting families to engage with the library in a meaningful way should be our focal point. Last year, I attended a program called Fundamentals of Family Engagement offered by the…

Continue Reading