Tag: programming ideas

Early Literacy

Drag Queen Story Hour

| Early Childhood Programs and Services committee|2 Comments

Drag Queens at the Library? Yes! Drag Queens at the library reading picture books? Definitely YES!! Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) was created in San Francisco, CA by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions.  It has since expanded to New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and a multitude of other cities. Libraries all over the country are embracing this program with open arms! DQSH is a delightful celebration of diversity and gender fluidity. It gives children and their families and caregivers positive role models who break gender stereotypes, and encourage children to be exactly who they want to be. Check out below to see what three librarians think about bringing the program to their libraries, and to see a few photos!   From the New York Public Library, Early Literacy Coordinator, Eva Shapiro, says “Drag Queen Story Hour is a wonderful addition to the New York Public Library’s early literacy programming. This…

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Blogger Alexa Newman

Teaching Gardens and Junior Master Gardeners

| Alexa Newman|3 Comments

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need” ~ Cicero. Well, I’ve got everything I need and more!  Besides being a Youth Services Librarian, I am a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener. (That means I’ve had training, continuing education, and lots of volunteer hours). In fact, I’m so lucky I have established and manage a Teaching Garden here at the Algonquin Area Public Library. As an EMG, I teach many classes and present programs at libraries, conferences, and for civic groups At my library, our Teaching Garden is celebrating its second birthday. The garden consists of raised beds with a variety of different gardens. Last year we had a square foot garden, a cutting garden, a kids garden, and a sensory garden. The first year was a learning experience for me and we learned that weeds are our biggest  bugaboo, especially since our next door…

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Blogger Meg Smith

Your Passport to the World

| Megan Smith|1 Comment

Which programs are you most excited about presenting this year? At our Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, we’ve just applied for grant funding to host our 9th Annual Storytelling Festival.  Your Passport to the World, a month-long storytelling festival presented by the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, will integrate international folktales, oral storytelling, and puppetry through a dynamic celebration of world cultures. Aligned with the library’s mission as a window to the world, this festival supports library goals three and six as identified in our long range plan; “the library will provide customers with opportunities and experiences that explore and support diversity in the community,” and “the library will provide resources that support and encourage lifelong literacy and creative expression.”   Youth services staff will present free programs to meet current and future needs and interests of the community. Reflected through summer reading programming and downtown 4th…

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Blogger Paige Bentley-Flannery

Celebrate Women Artists!

| Paige Bentley-Flannery|1 Comment

Have you explored the amazing selection of famous women biographies in the past few years?  Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! by Kate Schatz,  Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley,  I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy and so many more! In December, I spent an afternoon at the Guggenheim exploring Agnes Martin’s art.  I enjoyed seeing her selection of paintings from the past 40 years – lines, grids, whites, grays to bold colors conveying “abstract emotions.”  It made me think of all of the other strong, persistent, creative women artists. What women artist do you think of during Women’s History Month? Louise Bourgeois and her huge spiders?  Meret Oppenheim and her fur dishes?  Frida Kahlo and her…

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Blogger Children and Technology Committee

2016 Trends: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

| ALSC Children and Technology committee|Leave a comment

Each year, technology continues to change and evolve. In 2016, with only a few weeks left in the year, it is a good time to look back on two technology trends that impacted library services. This is especially timely since many of us will soon have to submit our annual reports to our library boards and with that, a look at the trends of the year.

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