{"id":6425,"date":"2013-05-06T12:01:30","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T16:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=6425"},"modified":"2025-06-23T16:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T20:50:26","slug":"tips-for-the-traveling-librarian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/tips-for-the-traveling-librarian\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for the Traveling Librarian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summer is the busiest time of year for youth services librarians.  Many travel between libraries and are juggling several different programs at once while maintaining regular job duties.  Even if you don\u2019t travel between libraries, I have several tips on how to stay organized (and keep your sanity!) during these crazy sunny months.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prioritize to Create Balance
<\/b>In general I, along with other youth services librarians, strive to overachieve–we want to do everything!  Part of healthy travel and a good work life is realizing that you can only do what you can do.  Create a list of realistic goals for the summer and reward yourself when you achieve them\u2013the key is being realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Packing<\/b>
The Storytime Box<\/b> has been my most important tool when it comes to organizing and traveling with storytime.  Often times I have several projects going at once and it is easy for storytime supplies to get mixed in with other areas.  In order to create more order I created a storytime box.  Everything for storytime goes inside the box .  It is decorated with shiny paper to get attention and the kids know storytime begins when we say \u201cOpen story box, open!\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get directions
<\/b>When doing a program, get directions in the sense of know your audience.  What works for one group may not work for another.  Know your end goal and create steps, \u201cdirections\u201d\u009d on how to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a Backup Plan
<\/b>When all else fails, it is important to have a backup plan.  We generally keep about six or seven backup plans on hand that can be used any time of the year.  You can\u2019t predict illness or family emergencies.  Our backup plans include full storytime plans complete with a simple coloring sheet or craft.  My co-workers know exactly what storytime themes and programs are going to be done the next week.  And, because I tend to vocalize most of my thoughts they generally are familiar with the books, songs and activities that are going to be performed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emergency Kit for\u2026the Wiggles!<\/b>
<\/b>When performing a storytime, keep an Emergency Kit for the Wiggles on hand.  Keeping things like a magic wand, storytime dust and a CD or IPOD list of your favorite wiggly songs can come in handy.  Check out the \u201cEmergency Kit for\u2026the Wiggles!<\/a>\u201d\u009d ALSC post for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Communication\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Communication
<\/b>\u201cCommunicating is the key!\u201d\u009d If I had a dollar for every time someone said that, I would be rich!  If I had listened every time someone said that, I would be smart!  Having a weekly check in (even if you are not a supervisor) is a great idea so everyone knows what you are planning.  Sending out a weekly email with new events and even a \u201cjob well done\u201d\u009d is also a nice touch to keep morale going strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy the Scenery<\/b>
A friend once said \u201cThere is no such thing as getting lost, it\u2019s just enjoying different scenery.\u201d\u009d  It is amazing how much I can plan for storytime and then how quickly those plans change.  What is important is to just have fun.  Even if you get lost, you can still enjoy what you are doing.  And, as long as you can laugh and enjoy yourself, most likely everyone else will too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Katie<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Our guest blogger today is Kathleen (Katie) Lawson. Katie has a Bachelor\u2019s in Elementary Education and a Master\u2019s in Literacy Education and is a Youth Services Librarian at the Shanklin Branch Library, of the<\/em> Lincoln County Public Library<\/a> in Denver, NC.
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at alscblog@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer is the busiest time of year for youth services librarians.  Many travel between libraries and are juggling several different programs at once while maintaining regular job duties.  Even if you don\u2019t travel between libraries, I have several tips on how to stay organized (and keep your sanity!) during these crazy sunny months. Prioritize to Create BalanceIn general I, along with other youth services librarians, strive to overachieve–we want to do everything!  Part of healthy travel and a good work life is realizing that you can only do what you can do.  Create a list of realistic goals for the summer and reward yourself when you achieve them\u2013the key is being realistic. PackingThe Storytime Box has been my most important tool when it comes to organizing and traveling with storytime.  Often times I have several projects going at once and it is easy for storytime supplies to get mixed in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[134,38,136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-blogger","category-programming-ideas","category-storytime-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}