Embedding voting practices into storytime is one of the ways we’re working locally to assist our youngest patrons (and the grown-ups in their life) to use their voice and make choices. During our weekly storytimes, for children developmental ages birth-eight and their grown-ups, we read two books. After the first book we ask everyone to stop and think about the book we just read. Then we ask both the children and their grown-ups to give the book a thumbs up (I liked it), thumbs down (I didn’t like it), or thumbs in the middle (It was okay). We also offer different facial expressions/body language to accompany each of the three choices for inclusivity: After the second book, we hold each of the books in different hands and move them away from our bodies. We then tell children and their grown-ups, “Point to the book you preferred. This means point to…
Tag: voting
The Intersection of Information Literacy and Elections for Kids
Educating children to be knowledgeable and excited about taking part in elections and governing is an important first step toward an informed electorate. The information literacy required to make crucial decisions is an essential element of intellectual freedom, and libraries have an important role to play.
Vote for Books!
Or rather, books about voting. How can we engage our young customers in the electoral process, and start imparting the importance of voting upon them at a young age? This would be the time to do a mock election at your branch—Peanut Butter or Jelly? Chocolate or vanilla? I recall seeing this great blog that had a secret voting booth and everything! But this year, however…EVERYTHING is different, again thanks to the pandemic. One thing that remains, though, is that publishers put out election-friendly books for kids during our presidential election year. And today, I’m going to take a look at a few of them. First, for the picture book set: Jonathan London’s Froggy for President. Froggy is so excited to run for class president that he leaves his house in only his underwear and is once again saved by his reliable mom. Of course, Frogilina would run against him,…
Voting Day in Your Library: Welcoming All Today and Everyday
It is voting day! What does this mean for libraries? If your library is a polling location, then you will have the opportunity to welcome a diverse group of individuals through your doors. Folks that use the library all the time, those that may have never visited your library, or others who have not darkened the library’s doors in decades. Persons from all walks of life are sure to be in the library today! Do you have any special displays or signage to let everyone know that “All are Welcome Here?” If not, you still have time to promote diversity and inclusivity via informal displays of diverse books. This might be the one opportunity to make the difference in someone’s life – to provide a welcoming smile or friendly gesture to let the know that they belong at the library. If you need suggestions for titles to pull for informal displays,…
Connecting with Local Officials @ the Library
When thinking about new partnerships to cultivate at your library, your local elected officials may not be the first people to come to mind—especially if they are not already library supporters. However, there can be significant benefits to creating partnerships with your local officials. You can show the impact of libraries firsthand, engage in direct advocacy, and connect the community with their elected officials. At Ramsey County Library, in suburban Saint Paul, Minnesota, we chose National Library Week as a perfect opportunity to invite members of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners to visit storytimes as special guest stars. Inviting them for a specific event and purpose really allowed us to set the expectations of what would happen and what we wanted to accomplish. Rather than seeing this as simply inviting someone to “read a book to kids,” we framed it as an opportunity for the Commissioners to visit the…