The New Mexico State Library created activity trunks that contain books, lesson plans, and materials on a variety of STEM subjects including water play, measurements, reflections, and wind power. These trunks can be checked out for six to eight weeks by any public library.  Deanne Dekle, New Mexico State Library youth services and outreach consultant, said the library created 16 trunks that have been used by more than 3,000 people at 23 libraries in the state.  

Truchas Library

Library Director Julie Trujillo has the STEM to Read Program from 12:30-1:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday with the students of Truchas Preschool. The library already had a summer reading program and didn’t have to do much to include the extra STEM activities. Trujillo used the grant money to help fund field trips for the preschool students as well as a table full of magnets and other STEM based toys.

Virginia Padilla, head librarian at Truchas, said they focused on getting the children involved in hands-on activities. “It’s not just reading, but showing the kids manual skills too,” she said. [1]

Embudo Library

The Caterpillar Club, the library’s STEM to Read Program, is located at the community center next door to the Embudo Library on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The program has 10 to 12 toddlers every week for hands-on STEM labs and music sessions that help the children learn rhythm, recognize names, and take turns. Embudo Library has also added STEM lessons to its afterschool and summer reading programs.

Gaia Khan brought her two sons to the to the program every week until they were too old to participate. Her sons enjoyed making volcanoes and working on hands-on projects. “I really appreciate that the library continues to support the program,” she said. “It has really been valuable to a lot of kids in the community.” [2]  

El Rito Library

Attendance has been a problem for El Rito Library with weekly classes only averaging four children. To help increase patronage, Library Director Lynett Gillette began making monthly visits to the El Rito Elementary School. She was able to reach 15-20 more students each month through these visits. [4]

The STEM to Read program ended so kids could participate in the summer reading program, but STEM classes will resume on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon starting September 14.

The program gives children who typically grow up with only family interaction an opportunity to participate in peer group learning environments which will help these students when they reach elementary school.

Abiquiu Library

Librarians at Abiquiu also had problems getting children ages three to five to attend the STEM to Read program, so library officials decided to include visits to Canones Early Learning Center and the YDI Headstart. They were able to teach STEM lessons to 22 students every other week.

The library doesn’t have any specific plans to continue the STEM to Read program, but Librarian Rosalia Triana teaches STEM in the summer reading program which averages 30 kids ages six to 18.

Triana said she comes from an engineering family and tries to teach the children that engineering principles are not just for students who go to college, but it can be as simple as figuring out how to fix a bicycle.  

Although most of the rural libraries want to continue the STEM to Read program, it will hinge on the Rio Arriba County budget which will be voted on in September. The currently submitted copy includes a complete funding cut for the rural libraries. However, the programs are filled with experienced educators that will work hard to see the opportunity continue for more pre-literacy children.   

To check out a STEM trunk contact the New Mexico State Library’s Youth Services and Outreach Consultant, Deanne Dekle at deanne.dekle@state.nm.us or at (505) 476-9705.

References

1. Sisneros, J. (2017, July). Future Scientists Train at Rural Libraries. Rio Grande Sun. Retrieved from http://www.riograndesun.com/news/future-scientists-train-at-rural-libraries/article_f76f28d8-72e6-11e7-a4a2-63c592cd2b1b.html
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.

The post Rural Libraries Participate in STEM to Read Program first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Each summer, school libraries renovated by the Baltimore Library Project stay open for six weeks in the summer to offer drop-in programming to students from around the city. This programming is provided by staff and volunteers from MOST as well as community partners including Young Audiences Maryland, the Maryland Zoo, and Code in the Schools, among others.[1] During the six-week program, the libraries offer programming Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. On an average day, students show up at nine for a free breakfast from the Summer Food Service Program,[2] read aloud in the library until the first workshop of the day, followed by free lunch, recess, and a second workshop or other activity in the afternoon. The average program attendance this year was twenty-one students per day per location, with a wide range of attendance across the locations.[3]

In addition to the daily workshops and activities, participants in SummerREADS work on a long-term project at each library location. This year’s project was to create an Olympic stadium out of found materials. “We kept the description vague so students could develop, design, and be creative,” said Paul Mincarelli, SummerREADS program manager at MOST. “We ended up with ten very unique, different visions for what a stadium should include.”[4]

The libraries also play host to a small summer reading program. Students can log fifteen minutes a day of reading to earn prizes, and the schools give out ten self-selected books to all students, not just SummerREADS participants, through a grant from the Abell Foundation.[5]

Staffing SummerREADS is the hardest element to handle, said Mincarelli. MOST tries to keep the student-adult ratio at 15:1, so each of the ten libraries is staffed by the school’s librarian and two AmeriCorps counselors and supplemented by Foster Grandparents where needed. The AmeriCorps staff manages the daily programming, and the school librarian is on hand to operate the library, check out books, and be the connection between the schools and the students that participate.[6]  At Harford Heights Elementary School, librarian Hope Kimbrow also recruited student and parent volunteers to lead groups of students during activities.[7]

Although Baltimore is lucky enough to have support from big-name community partners, other libraries can and do put on similar programming during the summer. “What we’re doing is a model of what libraries can do,” said Mincarelli. “You don’t need a philanthropic arm to renovate libraries to do this.”[8]

And the program does more than just keep kids learning over the summer. “This program provides a safe haven for students. Students know they can come to a welcoming environment where they can be provide a fun, loving, and happy learning environment,” said Kimbrow.[9]

References

[1] Paul Mincarelli, SummerREADS program manager at MOST, in a phone interview with the author, August 19, 2016.

[2] Paul Mincarelli, “In Baltimore, The Library Is Open,” Huffington Post, July 22, 2016.

[3] Paul Mincarelli, SummerREADS program manager at MOST, in a phone interview with the author, August 19, 2016.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Hope Kimbrow, Library Media Specialist at Harford Heights Elementary School, in an email interview with the author, August 31, 2016

[8] Paul Mincarelli, SummerREADS program manager at MOST, in a phone interview with the author, August 19, 2016.

[9] Hope Kimbrow, Library Media Specialist at Harford Heights Elementary School, in an email interview with the author, August 31, 2016

The post School Libraries in Baltimore Don’t Take a Summer Vacation first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

You
The most important thing to remember is that your audience has not come to see a book, watch a finger rhyme, or hear a song; they have come to see you. You are the one who makes the magic happen.

Your Voice
As a children’s librarian, your voice is your most valuable asset. Does your voice carry? Not sure? Set up a recorder in the back of the room and find out. Do you feel hoarse after story time? Do you feel like you’re straining to hit that high note in “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”? If the answer is yes, then vocal coaching can help you learn proper vocal techniques. Because your voice is such an important part of what you do, I think all children’s librarians should take voice lessons.

Engage Your Audience
Your audience will not engage unless you do. Therefore, do not choose books that you don’t absolutely love, specifically those you love to read out loud. The only way to know is to pick some and practice reading them out loud. You’ll know when you’ve found the good ones.

Go Bookless
If you know a book well enough, try telling the story without it. There is nothing better than acting out a story for an audience of children. If anyone says “But this is a library, you should read books,” tell them your job is to promote literacy, not books.

Keep Your “Greatest Hits” Fresh
Are your “hits” feeling stale? Here are some tricks: Approach the book or song from a different perspective. For example, try reading Goodnight Moon from the point of view of the mouse (or the sock!). Try doing a finger-rhyme as a big friendly monster. Try singing the ABCs as a robot. In other words, play around with the material.

Know Your Audience
I used to divide my storytimes’ audiences by age. “Babies” were 0–18 months and “toddlers” 18 months–3 years. Inevitably, some “babies” were walking or running around the room, while some “toddlers” were just learning how to stand. This made it difficult to program appropriately. I decided it made more sense to divide groups by developmental stage. Now, I have “pre-walkers” and “walkers.” This has made it easier to program appropriately and resulted in a more relaxing, rewarding experience for my audience.

Be Your Own Bouncer
It is important to have rules and to stick by them. You should not, however, have too many rules! Pick two and repeat them before each storytime. Caregivers can relax when the rules are easy to remember. We want story time to be structured, but easy. If you must turn people away due to lack of space, be graceful. Calmly say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you in today.” If they insist, repeat this (calmly) until they understand. Tell them you hope to see them again next time.

Take Breaks
To avoid burnout, schedule breaks. My mantra is five months on, one month off. Taking a full month off from storytime allows you to give children and caregivers 110 percent the other five months.

Adding New Material
Routine is important to a child. That’s why we sing the same hello/goodbye songs every time, amongst other things. Don’t make big sudden changes. Instead, incorporate one new element at a time. What storytime strategies have you found successful at your library? Share them in the comments below!

Further Reading:

Storytime performance at the Brooklyn Public Library

“She’s a children’s librarian, but you might be surprised where her job takes her,” Washington Post.

The post (Don’t) Break a Leg: Children’s Librarian as Performer first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

So, what exactly is “unprogramming”? According to Koester, “The unprogramming philosophy is that it is possible to create and offer programs for youth audiences that are at once highly engaging and collection­ driven without requiring large amounts of planning, funds, and staff time. Unprogramming is high­ impact, low­stress programming.”[1] Koester explains further, “Unprogramming” is a concept that now ­retired Wisconsin librarian Marge Loch­ Wouters and I gave name to in 2013. We’d been sharing some of our recent program successes online on our blogs, on Twitter, etc., and started to notice that our most successful programs had something in common; specifically, that they were less staff­-intensive and more participant-­directed than typical and traditional programs. In the same way that conferences with a participant-­directed format took on the term “unconference,” we added that “un” to the front of “programming” to indicate the same general idea: more participant interaction and determination.”

While low attendance can be a frustrating problem, librarians also sometimes fail to capitalize on programs that are successful, thinking that they need to start from square one with each program. However, with unprogramming, recycling program elements is not only acceptable but encouraged. “When we unprogram, we take stock of what kids respond to, what’s worked in past programs, and then we repurpose that for future unprograms. We think about what materials we have on hand—did you buy those grabber hand contraptions at some point, or a Nerf crossbow, or some other cool prop—and figure out ways to use them again in new programs. Unprogramming lets us mine our past successes for smoother, less intensive new programs—no more starting from scratch on every program. And, what I’ve found, is that when we’re encouraged to look back at what has been successful in our past programs, we get a huge confidence and morale boost. We’re able to see the awesome ways we’re reaching youth,” Koester explains[2].

There are a few key elements that are typically included when planning and implementing an unprogram. Ideally, your program should always tie back to materials or services that your library offers, so use your own resources for inspiration when brainstorming. Books are a great place to start, but your program doesn’t necessarily have to be literature-based. The theme is introduced at the beginning of the program with a big group activity that is led by staff. This not only introduces kids to the topic but also serves as a sort of ice breaker. The next part of the program would be giving the kids time to explore three to four self-directed stations that also relate to the theme. The stations require little or no explanation and don’t require an adult to lead the activity. Kids can participate as much or as little as they want at each station. After the “stations of stuff” there is a brief wrap-up and kids can browse related materials that you have put on display.

Programs that are less staff-­intensive allow those creating the programs to watch and get a clearer understanding of what elements work and what elements are not as successful. It also gives library staff an opportunity to interact with kids in a more meaningful way. These observations and interactions can help you plan for your next “unprogram.” Koester advises making reflection a regular part of your planning process: “The life of a youth library staffer is usually one of constantly moving from one thing to the next thing, with little time for interludes. But make reflection a priority—I encourage folks to actually put it in their calendars for at least every six months. When we think back on what’s worked, and what hasn’t, we have a great and reliable pool of knowledge to inform our new endeavors.”[3]

References:

[1] Amy Koester, e-mail message to author, October 21, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Resources:

Show Me Librarian

Unprogramming Pinterest Page

The post Unprogramming with Amy Koester first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

BPL branches have sought to accommodate the demand in a variety of ways. Some, like us, have increased the number of storytimes they offer. In our case, this has done little to quell the demand; at four sessions per week (two for babies and two for toddlers), we are still over capacity. Additional measures include a ticketing system, which, while imperfect, seems to work for us and some other branches. Other branches manage their numbers by letting in as many people as their storytime space can reasonably accommodate and once they reach capacity, they simply close their doors.

In spite of these efforts, logistical issues remain.

We still turn people away.

While we have toyed with the idea of offering additional storytimes, we are unable to so do without increasing staff and cutting down on use of our storytime space for other popular programs.

There is no stroller valet.

Like most Brooklyn libraries, we have a designated stroller parking area. However, our parking area rapidly reaches capacity and the overflow quickly spills into the aisles of our juvenile non-fiction and even adult fiction. Patrons are forced to maneuver around the strollers to browse the shelves. And caregivers – in seeking a space for strollers – inevitably end up parking them in areas that pose problems, such as directly in front of the book return or in front of an office door or fire exit.

Just be sure to bring your ear plugs.

Storytime is known as “crazy time” in many BPL branches. It is not easy for staff to manage stroller-parking issues and all the noise that accompanies storytime whilst also providing quality service to other patrons.

Good things come to those who wait.

Waiting in line for an event that doesn’t start for another hour is not easy for caregivers and children. Children of this age have not yet learned the art of patience and sometimes get cranky. Bodily needs compete with the caregiver’s ability to wait in a long line; unexpected naps, hunger, and diaper changes all raise the stakes.

The good news

In spite of the challenges it poses, the surging popularity of storytime is a very good problem to have. As public librarians who must vigorously defend our budget on a yearly basis, having a line of more than fifty people vying for entry to our storytimes each week speaks volumes. The message is loud and clear: New York City libraries are vital and relevant to the communities they serve. If you doubt it, just ask one of those people standing in line.

Do you have long lines for storytime or other programs at your library? If so, how does your library manage the numbers?

Sources:

Hu, Winnie. “Long Line at the Library? It’s Storytime Again.” The New York Times, November 1, 2015. Web.

The post Is it a Carnival? Is it a Circus? No, it’s Storytime! first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

“The idea of an after school initiative was perfect in itself” said Coughran, “and especially ideal for Brookfield due to the large number of latchkey children using the Library after school.”

BLAST provides structured after school enrichment activities for children in first through fourth grades. In addition to homework help and outdoor play, participants regularly experience new technologies and ideas through STEM activities. Another highlight is the special projects. One year, BLAST kids designed a mural that lined the basement hallway as their own “Thank You” to library volunteers. Recently, the group drew pictures of their ideal library. The pictures were then used during a Community Engagement Session.

Last fall, BLAST received a grant from the Target Foundation for Reading is a BLAST! The goal is to both enrich the Library’s collection and the students’ personal collections with materials chosen or suggested by the participants themselves.

Since its inception in the winter of 2012, the program has been so popular that local schools now include the library as a bus drop-off point and a lottery is used to determine which eighteen children will be able to participate. Coughran and her staff would love to expand the program but there just isn’t room. The library would like to build a new facility and is currently working with the community and village toward that end.

For more information, http://www.brookfieldlibrary.info/BLAST

All photos courtesy of Brookfield Public Library

The post This Library is a BLAST! first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

In an interview with WVXU (Cincinnati Public Radio), Superintendent of Schools Mary Ronan cited studies that show that children from lower-income families across the country have only two or fewer age-appropriate books at home.[1] By receiving a book every month, these children can build their ‘personal libraries’ and meet more reading goals by third grade.

In fact, a 2014 study examined data from a project of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that looked at forty-two nations found a strong correlation between books in the home and test scores. University of Nevada-Reno sociologist Mariah Evans, who led the team, found that“regardless of how many books the family already has, each addition to the home library helps children do better (on the standard test).”[2]  They also found that books in the home especially benefited children in disadvantaged families.[3]

In the best possible scenario, children would have access to hundreds of books at their reading level through their public library, while still having their very own books at home. These are the books that hopefully get read over and over again—the ones that children end up with under the covers with a flashlight, late at night. Children improve their reading skills by having access to these books whenever they want, then hopefully visit their public library to find something new, or more of the same favorites.

Many of the goals of the home library and public library are similar— we all want kids to become better readers and do better in school. Children’s departments in public libraries have done things for many years that encourage this. Whether it is giving gift cards to bookstores as prizes, or giving away books when children meet summer reading goals, getting good books into children’s hands is the goal.

So what books would you recommend for a child’s home library? These are probably the same ones we buy as gifts at baby showers, or send to relatives on birthdays with a note in the cover. Sometimes they are the ones you don’t always find at the public library because there are flaps and tabs that don’t always hold up so well. They are the ones that are still in the bookshelf of your college-bound child when they are moving out, and the ones adults remember fondly many years later. These shelves probably include titles by Dr. Seuss, Sandra Boynton, Mercer Mayer, and Tomie DePaola among others.  And if you’re unsure what to give to start a home library? Just ask your local librarian.

References and Resources

1. Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU). Helping Young Children Build Personal Libraries. Tana Weingartner. http://wvxu.org/post/helping-young-children-build-personal-libraries#stream/0. Accessed October 10, 2015.
2. M. D. R. Evans, Jonathan Kelley, Joanna Sikora. Scholarly Culture and Academic Performance in 42 Nations. Social Forces, Vol. 92, Issue 4, http://sf.oxfordjournals.org/content/92/4/1573.full. Accessed November 4, 2015.
3. Ibid.

The post When There Is a Library at Home, Everyone Wins first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), in preparing an initiative to help young children get ready for school, asked: What better place for families to find exciting—and free—resources for early learning than at the public library? Indeed, where else could they ask the question? Bah doo bah doink!

Transforming Family Life

How can a library experience transform family life? Let’s look at two real-life examples that bubbled up in a Library Café discussion program. “It’s amazing how much I have learned about tractors!” said Lyndsay Edwards of Westminster, Maryland. “When my first son was only six months old, we began attending the Read and Play programs at the library. I loved spending time with him while librarians showed me how to read, sing, and play with my newborn. Now my son is four years old and his brother is one. We attend library activities regularly. I’ve learned how to pick out books that get my sons excited about reading, which is how I’ve become an expert on tractors. It’s always nice to get out of the house for an hour and spend time with other parents and their children. It is a social opportunity for both of us.”¹

Another mother told her library story, “Being homeless a few short years ago I got into the routine of bringing my children into the library each day. One day before we got to the library Miss Sue [from the check-out desk] was walking down the street on her lunch break. She greeted us, ‘Hello, how are you? Will we see you in the library later today?’ She talked to us as if we were any other family that goes to the library.” The mother smiled, continuing, “That conversation was a turning point in my life. I began to think of myself in a more optimistic and confident way. In time, I was able to get out of a troubled marriage and move into an apartment with my children.”²

As Edwards added, “The library has provided me with a safe place to take my two boys where they can learn and grow. We look forward to our visits where we can explore the train, play with the puppets, choose new books, participate in storytime, and make new friends. It is a weekly routine for us and something I will treasure for years to come.”³

The Maryland Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) partnered with MSDE to apply for and receive Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant funding. Two public library projects are featured in the grant and serve Title 1 neighborhoods: Library Family Cafés and Family Info Centers. These projects were designed to strengthen the ability of community partners to connect at-risk families to library services.

Library Family Cafés

Library Family Café discussion programs are loosely based on an engagement model used by Illinois’ Strengthening Families model (Love is Not Enough Parent Cafés), but they focus discussion on the excitement of learning—as opposed to more social work-type topics, such as how to discipline your child. They sometimes offer meals or snacks. Each library designs their café programs to fit their community needs. For example, some libraries set up activity play stations in the storytime room where parents and children go from station to station at their own pace. Librarians visit with families one on one during this active play time and enjoy informal conversation about learning and early literacy. Other libraries create informal discussion time during Every Child Ready to Read @ your library workshops with the goal to spark curiosity. One of the universal questions asked—no matter the format of the “café” —is: “What more can the library do for you and your family?” In this way, librarians can listen and respond to each family to help develop exceptional customer service, improve their relationship with the community, and tap its potential.

Library cafés invite parents for a deeper discussion about learning for themselves as adults and learning for their children. For example, parents can discuss the progression of how children develop writing skills. Babies enjoy squeezing playdough, which strengthens their fingers and hands as a first step toward the process of writing. Then it’s step-by-step—children begin to scribble, make letter- and number-like shapes, then advance to making letters and numbers. Parents have ah-ha moments in the informal and fun café atmosphere and are excited to share their observations and ideas. Parents are learning from librarians—and learning from each other.

Family Info Centers

Every library system has identified one or two or more branches to feature a Family Info Center or kiosk of information specific to early literacy, early learning, and community partner brochures. Local early childhood councils are eager to include their printed promotional handouts in the info center. These centers are usually a simple wall mount or table top brochure holder or literature display rack. Every Child Ready to Read @ your library toolkit offers ready-to-use parent brochures and handouts on early literacy that are ideal for the centers.

Engaging Families—Four Tenets

How can libraries partner more effectively with parents, schools, and others to help a community thrive, especially while treading the convoluted pathways of politics, bureaucratic mumbo jumbo, and naysayers? Like Benjamin Franklin’s Junto, a group of likeminded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who “formed . . . a club for mutual [self] improvement” to enhance their community,⁴ the library celebrates human creativity, curiosity, and courage.

Library staff members establish relationships with families (low needs and high needs) in order to offer services and opportunities to support family learning. A model of effective practices and guiding principles has emerged over the years and were encapsulated into four tenets within Maryland’s early literacy guidelines:

1. Parents are their child’s first teacher.
2. The public library is a family’s resource for learning—children and adults alike.
3. Library staff members strive to bring out their best as professionals and the best in all families—through dignity, respect, and creating opportunities as a jumping-off place for learning.
4. Libraries shine by serving children birth to five when in collaboration with parents and caregivers (high needs and low needs) and with other agencies and organizations.

One of the brilliant aspects of libraries engaging families is development of the caring, benevolent nature of the parent or caregiver as the child’s first teacher. Library activities nudge grown-ups to develop the interests of young children that can lead to skill development—peekaboo (nonlinear thinking), stacking (problem solving), banging (music), giggling (humor), jumping (self-assurance), frogs (science), and drawing (self-expression). Libraries in Maryland—and across North America—offer myriad opportunities for parents and children to enjoy lifelong learning. Librarians are developing effective practices to support parent enthusiasm for their child’s learning. They are training grown-ups to be attuned to their child’s play and conversations for clues to their interests.

Libraries Supporting Community Goals

Margaret Williams, executive director for the Maryland Family Network, said, “Our mission is to inspire parents to be their best each day. Library programs offer parents and children time together when library staff can model what parents might do at home. Librarians can teach parents how to share books and have fun with age-appropriate activities. They can demonstrate how children can become positive participants in groups through storytimes.”⁵

When librarians strive to listen to parents and caregivers, identify needs, and design services responsive to their individual community, a library is more likely to reinvent itself in ways to stay relevant. For example, many libraries offer play and learning opportunities to families through early literacy storytimes, special parent and child activity programs, interactive resources, café discussions, and large or small play spots inside and outside library buildings.

The Maryland Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework—based on a national Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework model—put forth seven common goals that all partners in the early childhood system can embrace to develop appropriate strategies.

Goal 1: Any initiative should promote family well-being.
Goal 2: Family engagement should promote positive parent-child relationships.
Goal 3: Community resources should support families as principal educators of their children.
Goal 4: Innovative strategies inspire the educational aspirations of parents and families.
Goal 5: Effective practices should support families through the care and educational transitions of early childhood.
Goal 6: Networks should connect families to their peers and to the community.
Goal 7: Through opportunities that engage and inspire parents, community partners support the development of families to become leaders and child advocates.

Williams added, “Libraries offer families—all ethnic and income groups—a place to go for tips on finding good books and how to read aloud. Librarians can assist parents in finding information on what they need or what interests them as lifelong learners—anything from job hunting to discipline for children to how to handle a death in the family. Storytimes and other programs create a safe atmosphere for families to have fun and socialize together.”⁶

Low-needs families support high-needs families through modeling and conversations during programs and café discussions. Library staff can create the proper atmosphere for this important work.

“Through programs and activities, such as Every Child Ready to Read, or in the library café discussions, we are offering a learning structure for parents to think about how to be their best. For example, we give tips to parents encouraging them to ask questions of their young children when they are in the grocery store (what is the name of this fruit) or driving in the car (let’s sing “the wheels on the bus” song),” explained Rachel Wright, the children’s services manager of the Cecil County (MD) Public Library.7

Librarians can also contribute to the family engagement effort by understanding that it can apply to children older than five. “Recently I was sitting in the Children’s Room watching a nine-year-old boy teach his grandmother how to play the online game Minecraft,” said Amanda Courie, youth services coordinator, Caroline County (MD) Library. “They were building a birchwood house together, and suddenly came across some squid! She was open and curious. I could see how much the grandson enjoyed being the expert and giving his grandmother a glimpse into a world in which he is right
at home.”⁸

“Seventy-seven parents and children showed up at our first library café,” said Barbara Graham, youth services coordinator, Wicomico County (MD) Library. “We partnered with the Judy Center, the early learning division at our local school system focused on Title 1 areas. Many of the families had not been to the library before. All staff were on deck including our library director, staff, and volunteers to meet and greet families, guiding them through the evening’s activities. Our volunteer coordinator happens to be a culinary arts school graduate and prepared a special array of refreshments. Every Child Ready to Read’s five practices were at the heart of our activities—activity stations were set up in the library with one take-home activity and one activity per practice (talk, sing, read, write, and play).

Our goal was to create a pleasant experience with the hope that parents would want to come back. We believe we’re moving in the right direction because we had several children who didn’t want to go home.”⁹

With a bit of grit, goodwill, and piggledybop, the family engagement concept can transform library services.

References and Notes

1. Remarks shared at Early Childhood Consortium Breakfast Celebration, Carroll County (MD), Apr. 30, 2013.
2. Remarks shared at Library Café program, Carroll County (MD) Public Library, Nov. 13, 2012.
3. Remarks shared at Early Childhood Consortium Breakfast Celebration, Carroll County (MD), Apr. 30, 2013.
4. Shaw, Peter, ed. The Autobiography and Other Writings by Benjamin Franklin (New York: Bantam Books, 1982), 53.
5. Margaret Williams, phone interview with authors, May 27, 2014.
6. Ibid.
7. Remarks shared at Maryland Library Association conference program with Rachel Wright, May 9, 2014.
8. Amanda Courie, email interview with the authors, June 2, 2014.
9. Remarks shared at Maryland Library Association conference program with Barbara Graham, May 9, 2014.

The post Just Good Practice: Engaging Families with Young Children first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

“The gate count is over 1,000!”

On August 8, 2015 we were two hours into our library’s first ComiCon and attendance was surpassing anything we had imagined. By the end of our four-hour event, over 1,700 had come to share their love–correction, passion–for everything that the heroes and villains of Sci-Fi, fantasy, comics, games, graphic novels, and gaming meant to them. Community “geeks,” obsessed with their hobby, had discovered our library!

How did four young library staff members, who share their love of geek culture and the literature that inspires this fandom, manage to stage such a fantastically successful event? Never have I met committee members on any project who spoke in such concert, who agreed on their goals from the start, and who never faltered in what they hoped to achieve. What follows is their collective voice relating how they brought the first Electric City ComiCon to our library. Perhaps the specific details and the actual process they went through will inspire you to host a Comic Con at your library.

OUR MISSION
We are fascinated with the geek culture, especially when fans bring their favorite characters to life from literature. We all promote literacy and already had formed a bond through social media. When we found out two years ago that the 2015 theme for Summer Reading would be “Heroes,” it hit us that a comic convention or Con would be the ideal way to culminate the program. Some of us had been to Cons and were already familiar with how they worked, but they were more adult-oriented. We wanted to offer a safe place to our library patrons in real space for their passion and interests, and what place better represents a safe haven to our community than our library! And, more importantly, we wanted to focus on our younger patrons, our Tweens and Teens. We wanted parents to come with their kids to find out what we have to offer, and we insisted that our Con be “family friendly.”

PERMISSION AND PLANNING
We pitched the idea, first, to the Head of our Children’s department. She gave us overwhelming support, became part of the initial planning stage, and was integral throughout the process. Next, we had to convince our library director, Faith Line. She was reluctant to let us hold such a venue without a lot more research on our part. Did we really know what we were getting into? As we worked on gathering more information, she took a leap of faith and gave us the go-ahead. She was a very exacting mentor, and we learned to think more from her position as director and to consider all the issues involved: Library Board approval, security, staffing, and a hundred logistical matters. Well in advance of our Con we had to write our photography policy and post it publically. We wanted to have those who attended in costume have the opportunity to be photographed digitally against the green screen with the background of their choice. Those photographed were advised that their digital photo might be posted on any of our social media sites.

Our learning curve was huge and the planning took us over a year to complete. We deeply appreciate the guidance Faith gave us and the hard work she put in with us, right up through the day of our event.

FINDING FUNDING, PARTNERS & SPONSORS
Faith sent some of us to Spartanburg, SC, to attend their SpartanCon. Their organizers graciously shared all their planning notes with us, but it was obvious from their event that they had a substantial budget while we had zilch to spend. We concentrated on where to find funding. Friends of the Library gave us money and we wrote an LSTA grant tied into the Summer Reading program to help pay for publicity. The Children’s department purchased a green screen for us to use for the photography part of the venue.

This was a brand-new library event and we had no track record to convince potential partners or sponsors. We developed a sponsorship packet, which didn’t turn out as effective as we wanted because we started too late in the year to approach big corporate sponsors. We had no way to judge how popular our ComiCon would be, so we couldn’t make solid projections or promises of return for their participation or advertising. We did a lot of pleading to our sponsors,and they too, had to take a leap of faith.

Books-A-Million and Planet Comics agreed to be our major partners. Smaller local businesses donated gifts for the panelists or food for our Green Room. The Independent-Mail, the local newspaper, provided free ad space. An up-scale downtown inn, The Bleckley, provided lodging for one of our guest panelists. People’s Bank, BlueRidge Security, Forx Farm, (ever taste goat’s milk fudge? Wonderful!), and the SC  State Library sponsored us in significant ways. We were fortunate that, as we evaluated the costs, we only had to use library funds for prizes for the FanArt and Cosplay contest.

PLANNING PROGRAMS
As lead-ups to our ComiCon, we engaged regional artist Enoch Vaughn to hold three Super Hero Creation workshops aimed at teens to adults. We also decided to sponsor a FanArt Contest, which we initiated two months ahead of the Con. FanArt is a huge part of the geek culture, as you can see when you go to Instagram and Tumblr and search the hashtag #fanart. Artists are constantly reimagining characters or placing characters in weird worlds and having character cross-overs. Although FanArt contests are not typically held at ComiCons, we used the contest as an inexpensive way to advertise our Con and to get our community engaged in the world of heroes. We were hoping it would appeal to our teen demographics; however, our contest was open to all ages. Entries would be judged on the day of the ComiCon. Two weeks before the Con, we only had a dozen entrants and we were worried that it wasn’t being well-received. In that last week the entries flooded in and we were blown away by their quality, in all age divisions.

We weren’t sure if the patrons understood what “cosplay” was—that it’s a combination word: costume + role play, not intended for a stage production. Our director bought a dozen or so books on cosplay topics and we set up a display. Those books were checked out immediately! To heighten interest we contacted Sybil Todd of White Knight Cosplay—who knew we had such an expert in our own backyard?–and she presented two “Getting Into Costuming and Cosplay” workshops for teens in early July.

GETTING PANEL PARTICIPANTS
Since our ComiCon was the culminating event of the Summer Reading program, we planned two sessions for our local young heroes in the Children’s Department on “How To Be a Hero.” These were presented by Heroes in Force, a regional group specializing in motivational activities for kids. Thanks to them, Batman made an appearance at our Con and wowed the kids. We scheduled their programs so that panel sessions would not be competing with them.

We sought experts for the authors, cosplay, and artists panels who understood heroic characters for young adults, and we wanted local or regional authors and artists. We also wanted artists of comics and graphic novels who could speak to young people about combining art with words.

We contacted local cosplayers to talk about cosplay etiquette, how to approach weapons and mask making, what steampunk costuming is, and what cosplay design involves. We already had been going where authors, artists, and cosplayers were appearing—the DragonCon and AnachroCon in Atlanta, SC Comicon, and other regional Cons—in order to make personal contact with them. We attended book signings. We sent them brief inquiries via email and told them what we were planning. We also sent out letters and made myriad phone calls inquiring whether stated fees could be waived. We worked on the philosophy of “why not ask?” and took a chance. Our mantra became, “They can’t come if you don’t invite them.” The trick was to get them all to come for free!

One of the most pleasant surprises was to find out how willing authors, artists, and cosplayers were to work with us once we told them our objectives. Those who responded “yes!” are great advocates of libraries and literacy and we were thrilled to have them as our panelists. We owe special thanks to David Weber, Megan Shepherd, Delilah S. Dawson, Robert Venditti, Tara Lynne, George Farmer, Allen Swords, Marla Roberson, Gypsey Teague, and Amanda Finley for their support of our event. On the day of our Con, we were very disappointed when Robert Venditti cancelled due to illness. Enoch Vaughn agreed to substitute and the panel went on as planned. ComiCon people do form a very cooperative community.

STAFFING AND DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
We shared the responsibilities and all of our decisions were made by consensus, although we each had specific tasks we worked on. We didn’t move forward until we all agreed that what we were going to do met our basic goals. And we also knew that there was no way our library could hold this event without the help of staff.

The Summer Reading/Electric City ComiCon staff T-shirts were designed by Sara Leady. With special ALA approval, she modified the official library logo by dressing the Big L in a green superhero cape with mask. Each staff member who worked our Con wore a special T-shirt, with the same logo on the front as the Summer Reading T-shirt, but with the logos of all our sponsors on the back, a salute of thanks to them for their support.

VENDORS
You can’t have a ComiCon without vendors, but we had to get Library Board approval to waive the rule of no commercial activities in our library. We started looking for potential vendors almost two years ago. We visited vendor booths at all the major Cons, craft fairs, and through location-based searching on the internet. We narrowed our list of over one hundred down to thirteen—the number determined by our space limitations. One advantage for the vendors was that we did not charge a booth fee. The authors had booths and their books were available for purchase and autographing. Some of the cosplay panelists had booths dedicated to costume accessories. Our IT department installed an additional access point to our Wi-Fi so that vendors had internet access from their locations.

MAPPING THE FLOW
We mapped what we thought would be effective crowd flow. We had no idea how many people to expect and how much open floor space in our two-level library we would need for crowds. We wanted everything located in logical, accessible places, with freely-flowing traffic between events, without blocking the day-to-day routines—we performed normal library operations during our Con! For weeks prior, we posted signs throughout the building warning our patrons to expect a lot of noise on Con day.

We debated how we would set up the vendors and eventually agreed to assign them all to one space to allow equal access to the attendees. We had to deal with the main stairway and elevator ingress/egress to the upper level when locating the FanArt display, the panel tables, and audience seating. We were concerned that the activities in the Children’s area on the main level would be overlooked by those immediately going upstairs to the panel presentations and the gaming stations in the Teen Center. Our fears were unfounded. The huge attendance meant that all areas were visited by large numbers of people.

SECURITY
One major concern, of course, was security. Since our building is County-owned, our director arranged for two additional county deputies (three in all) to be on duty throughout the event. One deputy manned the main entrance as a weapons inspector. In cosplay many participants come with prop weapons as part of their costume, and we did see several really convincing Uzi’s in the hands of storm troopers! The deputy inspected and tagged each one to reassure us that they were not real.

The other two deputies circulated through each level during the event. They commented how well-behaved the crowd was. We understood why. For the most part, those who attend Cons come seeking others to bond with, to meet up with others who they may have already communicated with via various social media avenues. We saw several teens from several different schools laughing and talking with each other about their costumes. After all, a Con is a community of fellow-fans geeking together. We also planned a combination vendor supply room and public first aid/lost and found station adjacent to the vendor area and near the main entrance.

FOOD & REFRESHMENTS
We discussed having a public food concessions but our director nixed the idea for valid reasons. We had already bitten off a big hunk of this Con to manage, and having to deal with food, inside or out, would add another responsibility or headache, not to mention burden the clean-up crew. We decided that a Green Room for panelists and vendors would be sufficient for this year.

POST EVENT ANALYSIS
For us, the Electric City ComicCon was a mind-blowing success! We already have our second Con calendared for August 6, 2016, from 10-5. We learned a lot about how to improve our event:

HOURS AND ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING

• Add three more hours to avoid overlaps in the schedule and provide more time between panels.
• Relocate the panel stage to avoid crowd noise and traffic.
• Add a steampunk panel.
• Have an Artists Alley with prints and posters for sale.
• Host more lead-up events for Tweens and Teens.
• Provide more cosplay workshops.
• Have more comic books for sale.
• Readdress the location of photo station and traffic flow by it. It was such a popular activity that traffic got jammed up and blocked access to other areas for children.

STAFFING

• Involve more geek volunteers. (We had one enthusiastic volunteer this year.)
• Involve more staff in the preplanning.

PROMOTIONS

• Create a brand for our Con that is used on all our advertising and everything we print, display, or digitally broadcast.
• Consider selling Con T-shirts. Many, many attendees wanted to buy our staff T-shirts.

FUNDING

• Start early to solicit corporate partners and sponsors for next year. Funding will always be the big issue, but fortunately we’ll have this year’s impressive gate count to entice more sponsors for 2016!

OTHER ISSUES

• Consider shuttle buses to and from city parking lots to address limited parking issue.
• Investigate providing ATM access.
• Print more programs. We only printed 500 and had to run off copies on-the-fly.
• Encourage survey returns. We had a survey on our website and included a printed survey in the tri-fold program. Although the survey results were overwhelmingly positive–Bigger! Longer!–we didn’t get back a significant percentage of them.

We overheard one of our attendees say enthusiastically, “The library is interested in what I’m interested in!” That’s why we held our own ComiCon, not only to have people come through our doors, but to shift the attitude held by so many of what they think a library is into what we know it can be for them…to see the possibilities of libraries…the possibility of their library. For more information, contact us at: electriccitycomicon@andersonlibrary.org

Resources:

Banaszak, Mark. “Library Articles. Convention Development: Creating A Mini-Con At The Library.” Diamond Bookshelf. January 20, ? http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/Home/1/1/20/181?articleID=130000 (accessed August 28, 2015).

Cruz, Rebecca. “Comics, Super Heroes, Pop Culture, and Libraries.” Public Libraries Online. August 17, 2015. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/08/comics-super-heroes-pop-culture-and-libraries (accessed August 28, 2015).

Hamdan, Kate Denwiddie and Kareemah. “We Put On a Comic-Con (And So Can You!).” Virginia Libraries. July-September 2013. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/VALib/v59_n3/pdf/denwiddie.pdf (accessed August 28, 2015).

Lynne, Tara. “Introducing Electric City Comic Con!” The Geekiary. June 3, 2015. http://thegeekiary.com/introducing-electric-city-comic-con/25050 (accessed August 31, 2015).

MacDonald, Heidi. “How to Throw a Comic Con at Your Library.” Publishers Weekly. April 18, 2014. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/61940-how-to-throw-a-comic-con-at-your-library.html (accessed August 31, 2015).

Anderson County, SC website: http://www.andersonlibrary.org/

Electric City ComiCon Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/electriccitycomicon

Spartanburg, SC Spartancon website: http://www.infodepot.org/zReaders/Spartancon.asp

David Weber’s website: http://www.davidweber.net/

Megan Shepherd’s website: http://meganshepherd.com/

Delilah S. Dawson’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DelilahSDawson

Robert Venditti’s webpage: http://www.dccomics.com/talent/robert-venditti

White Knight Cosplay: https://www.facebook.com/whiteknightcosplay

Heroes in Force website: http://www.heroesinforce.com/

Enoch Vaughn: https://www.facebook.com/enoch.vaughn

George Farmer’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtofGeorgeFarmer

Gypsey Teague’s website: http://www.gypseyteague.com/

Amanda Findley’s Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/AmandaFinleyCrafts

AnachroCon, Atlanta, GA: http://www.anachrocon.com/

DragonCon, Atlanta, GA: http://www.dragoncon.org/

The post Geeking @ the Library: Con is Community! first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One of the great aspects to this program is that not only are they reaching out to young girls, but they are also inspiring the girls’ mothers, providing an opportunity for both generations to learn in a fun environment. This ten-part workshop series provided opportunities to learn about circuits, engineering, architecture, art, and more. Many of the classes had the participants considering ways to better their worlds, like the first program where attendees considered how to make human experiences better in public spaces, or the workshop where they worked on posters highlighting shelter animals up for adoption.[1] Looking at the pictures in the Make-HER blog shows a glimpse of the fun had by attendees while learning.

Leading the instruction was a group of ladies who all have myriad experiences that enabled them to teach various skills to the attendees. Looking at their bios, one of the impressive things about the instructors was that they all had different backgrounds; some of them had studied their field of expertise, while others were self-taught.[2] What a great way to showcase the wide variety of ways you can learn and be excited about a topic!

While writing this post, I was thinking quite a bit about why a program like this is important. Providing an opportunity for girls and their mothers to work and learn together is a huge benefit. However, knowing what I’ve heard about girls and women studying and working in careers in STEM fields, I decided to see what kinds of articles I might find on the topic. Several pieces came up regarding girls and the maker movement, many of which focused on using making as a way to get girls interested in STEM studies.

One article that provided some insight came from Kristin Houser for iQ by Intel. The article mainly discussed findings from a report called, MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology Through Making, Creating, and Inventing. This report says that the maker movement “could help bridge the gender gap in STEM fields.”[3] By hosting programs for girls, Sunnyvale is contributing to closing this gap. Houser also had information from Forbes stating that girls don’t often have female mentors or role models in the STEM world.[4] By having all female instructors for the Make-HER program, Sunnyvale Public Library has provided the participating girls with women they can look up to as examples.

Not only did Sunnyvale hold all these programs, but they put much of the information on their website. Check out the activities at home (or maybe in your library, too). A listing of some of the major materials used for the various projects is also included. I know looking at the different projects definitely got ideas flowing for me!

[1] “Blog.” Make-HER. 2015. https://sunnyvalemakeher.wordpress.com/blog/ (accessed August 19, 2015).

[2] “#LadyMakers.” Make-HER. 2015. https://sunnyvalemakeher.wordpress.com/ladymakers/ (accessed August 19,      2015).

[3] Houser, Kristin. “Girls in Technology: Maker Movement is a Natural Entry Point.” iQ. January 16, 2015.

http://iq.intel.com/report-shows-maker-movement-natural-entry-girls-women-technology/ (accessed August 20, 2015).

[4] Ibid.

The post Make-HER at Sunnyvale Public Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Bibli is a homemade robot. It uses a Roomba-branded floor vacuum base, just like the disc-like vacuums that roam household floors sucking up dust balls. It was built by library patrons for library patrons with the assistance of Jalali Hartman of Robauto, Inc. Hartman describes himself as “Chief Human” of his company.

A combination of industry, librarians, engineers, and patron-families collaborated together over the last twelve months to build Bibli. The common goal was to create a robot for the library to increase engagement in its patrons. Many of the kids on the small team that helped create this robot were on the Autism Spectrum. A lot of research shows that ASD kids engage as well or better with robots.

This prototype, which debuted with human library staff members at Denver Comic Con in May, is being tested at the Longmont Public Library according to Hartman. Bibli will be commercially available in 2016. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit autism research in schools and libraries.

#imetbibli pic.twitter.com/FryUmjTUDA

— ROBAUTO (@ROBAUTOPROJECT) July 22, 2015

Road to Creation: Weird Science

When Jalali (his name is pronounced Juh-lolly) first contacted me about building a robot for the library I was intrigued. Building a robot with almost no money, in a library for the library with kids on the Autism Spectrum, seemed like a very strange and light-hearted discussion. Now I take both Jalali and robots very seriously and he takes libraries seriously. He hadn’t read a book in years (that has changed since of course). Don’t be afraid to approach your leadership and potential funding sources just because your project hasn’t been attempted before. Don’t shut down an idea just because you don’t know what you are doing. We are librarians: if we expect our patrons to dare to learn new ideas and concepts we had better show the way.

Low-cost Robot Creation

While other companies spend millions of dollars in testing and research to make social interaction robots Bibli cost less than three thousand dollars. Most robots after research and development cost over $6,000 each—even at reduced educator’s rates. Manufacturing robots can cost $25,000 each or more. Most families, and most libraries, can’t afford a robot.

Social robots on the market today include “Milo” from Robokind and “Nao” from Aldebaran.

Most of the money for Bibli came from a grant from the C’AND Aid Foundation written for its “Total Canarchy” grants division. This foundation section is described for “UnCANventional (sic) projects that make a difference.” Money was also granted from the Friends of the Longmont Public Library towards this project.

Industry-Library Collaboration

In many libraries funding is decreasing, not increasing, and public-private library ventures may be a source of necessary revenue for public libraries thrive. What it requires is innovative public library leadership as well as a business, such as Robauto, experienced with these types of partnerships. Hartman states that non-profit colleges and universities use and encourage partnerships with businesses regularly and it is a model that can be adapted for library partnerships as well.

Robots in Industry

Robots have long been employed in other industries such as manufacturing. An example of this is “Baxter.” It is a robot built by Rethink Robotics. It works primarily for the manufacturing industry but can be repurposed across jobs and does not require programming.

Three robot receptionists will greet guests in July at the Henna-no Hotel in Nagasaki prefecture in Japan. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, “Initially the hotel will have 10 robot members of staff,” but Huis Ten Bosch company President Hideo Sawada told a news conference, “In the future, we’d like to have more than 90 percent of hotel services operated by robots.”

The use of robots, just like the use of computers decades ago, is increasing. Libraries will be no exception. While libraries are not hotels or manufacturing they are in the business of educating, engaging, and entertaining their patrons. Robots in the library, at least in one library, seem well on the way to doing just that.

References:

Robauto.co

http://www.timescall.com/longmont-local-news/ci_28261766/bibli-robot-is-longmont-librarys-newest-employee

https://www.aldebaran.com/en/humanoid-robot/nao-robot

http://www.robokindrobots.com/robots4autism-home

http://foundation.oskarblues.com/funding-areas/total-canarchy/

http://www.seejapan.co.uk/jnto_consumer/media/press-releases/press-release-detail/15-01-30/hotel-staffed-by-robots-opening-in-japan

The post Build a Robot and Add It to Your Staff first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

But not all libraries have the capacity to serve summer meals. This is where Range, a mobile app created by Caravan Studios (a division of TechSoup), comes in to help. Range helps youth and those who work with them find locations where free summer meals are served.

Caravan Studios’ Community-Centered Approach

I spoke with Anna Jaeger, the CTO of Caravan Studios, to learn a bit more about the team’s approach to developing apps. Caravan’s model for understanding and prioritizing community needs is not unlike how many libraries develop programming.

Jaeger describes Caravan’s app development process as a “community-centered approach.” It’s a five-step process that begins with events called generators, where leaders from the nonprofit and library communities discuss what gets in the way of delivering their missions. The Caravan team then listens and identifies ways that technology can intervene to solve or alleviate the problems.

Caravan worked with the California Summer Meals Coalition, particularly with its director, Patrice Chamberlain, who served as an advisor for the app.

“As we start to design, build, and select, we have advisors in the community who are trusted experts who are willing to give us input and help guide our work,” Jaeger said.

Chamberlain introduced Caravan to the California Department of Education and the USDA, who further guided the team’s work. The USDA also provided Caravan with a dataset of summer meal sites across the country.

Screenshot of Range App

How Libraries Can Use Range

Public libraries are starting to play a larger role as a referrer of community health and social services. Many larger public library systems (such as Washington, D.C. and San Francisco) are adding social workers to their employee roster. In a recent TechSoup for Libraries and WebJunction co-hosted webinar, we examined social service referral programs from three libraries of varying sizes. And at ALA 2015, WebJunction showcased its Health Happens in Libraries program along with five library participants at a poster session.

But for libraries that don’t have the budget or staffing to develop a robust social services or meal program, a tool like Range is an easy (and free!) way to get started. One librarian I spoke with said that she posted a flier about Range on her library’s community bulletin board. She said that although they don’t get a lot of questions about social services, there is a high poverty rate in her community. She thought that posting Range’s information could help a family in need if they were too afraid to ask.

What’s Next for Range

One exciting addition to Range, coming in 2015, is that the app will show the locations of nearby public libraries, using library data from IMLS. That’s a whopping 17,000 libraries! Caravan held a crowdfunding campaign last spring to raise funds to also add the days and hours of operation for all of the libraries in the United States (the IMLS dataset doesn’t currently provide that information).

Why add libraries to Range? In the aftermath of the events in Ferguson, MO and in Baltimore, MD, it was evident that libraries are viewed by the community as safe places in times of crisis. But during a normal summer day, the library is also a safe place for a child who isn’t at camp, swimming, or on vacation.

You can download Range today to help youth in your library’s community locate free summer meals. Range is available for Windows Phone, Android, and Apple iOS devices.

The post How Range Can Help Libraries Connect Kids to Summer Meals first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

I know that I am not alone in this perspective. Many voices are behind the push to add art and design into the educational mix. We need to convert STEM to STEAM.[1] And public libraries can certainly contribute. Through our collections and programming we can create models for more well-rounded education. We can supplement what is becoming core education by offering a venue to teach the skills that are becoming obsolete. In other words, we can put the flowers on to the stems.

Here are some off-the-cuff suggestions for libraries to explore:

• Offer a program on the science of cooking that explains both the chemistry and the artistry involved
• Create a display of nature photography
• Ask an architect to discuss form and function of buildings
• Run a sci-fi book group
• Make hardware jewelry
• Have a sculpture contest
• Do an art program based on spirals
• Offer a program on electronic music

In fact, the possibilities can be endless. I would suggest a brainstorming session. Search your cataloging for key terms in the STEM disciplines and see where it takes you. Google terms you don’t normally put together to see where it leads: technology painting, creative mathematics, biological art?

I, for one, do not want a world that consists of only scientists. Nor do I want a world without science managed by artists. After all the years spent talking about left brain and right brained individuals, multiple intelligences, and diversity, education seems to be taking a step backward. I hope public libraries do not fall into the same trap. I truly believe that we need to cultivate the flowers so that we can have full, healthy plants. I also believe that this approach can create beautiful bouquets.

References

[1]See also: http://stemtosteam.org/, http://steamedu.com/, http://steam-notstem.com/.

The post STEM Without Flowers is Pretty Bleak first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Hidden Disabilities
Inclusion and acceptance are key themes for our ASD community. Often ASD families simply feel unwelcome, judged, or on display in public venues, due to some atypical behaviors and sometimes the appearance of their kids. Often both patrons and staff judge kids and families on the spectrum because their disabilities are less obvious than a wheelchair. Libraries especially can be difficult to navigate for spectrum families due to its quiet or perceived quiet atmosphere.

In Colorado
The Longmont Public Library in Colorado serves over 86,000 residents and is the only public library in the city. Longmont has a rich tradition of cultural and social-economic diversity. Our Children and Teen’s Services department reflects this wide range of patrons. Fostering opportunities for inclusivity is a tradition and priority for the City of Longmont government which supports our library.

David Kling shows kids our Lego display

Safe and Accepting
The Children and Teen’s Services Department wrote a grant through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This allows us to offer materials beyond books, movies, and music. Some of our materials include noise cancelling headphones, developmental toys, and iPads with special ASD Apps.  We also have programs in Spanish available. While these special materials and programs are wonderful to offer, most of our ASD families are just thrilled to be in the library with our plain books, movies, and computers. Trained volunteers such as Special Education Teachers are usually willing to help. The feedback from our ASD families has been that they just want to use library materials—like our other patrons—in a safe and accepting atmosphere. Special Access Browsing allows this population to do that.

Inclusion
We’ve offered Special Access Browsing for a couple of years now. Our ASD patrons and their families are starting to come into the library and use our services at non-Special Access Browsing times. We’ve earned their trust. Our entire staff is eager and interested in providing the best service and materials possible to every patron population, including people and families affected by ASD. Inclusivity must be championed in direct and meaningful ways for all our patrons. Begin to serve your ASD families by hosting a Special Access Browsing time. It all starts at the library.

The post Special Access Browsing for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

For five days in July, the library will be full of girls participating in STEAM projects under the supervision of library staff and 10 middle-school-age counselors-in-training.  Planned events for this summer’s program include a field trip to the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University and a day of learning about space, with a special Skype chat with a scientist from NASA.

Hands-on activities from last year’s weeklong event included Peeps chemistry, building circuits, creating marble runs, 3D printing, and launching rockets. The week also brought guest speakers from nearby colleges to talk about biology, chemistry, computer programming, psychology and law, and technology.

In February, the library held a one-day version of Geek Girl Camp with a Harry Potter House Cup theme. The girls were split into houses named after rad ladies in STEAM fields and they earned points for their houses by performing real life experiments based on Potions class, Quidditch, and the Hogwarts Express.

The camp is partially supported by resources already housed at the Fayetteville Free Library’s Fab Lab and by donated materials including a trebuchet. Funding for other resources and costs comes from the camp fee, which this year is $35 per camper. The library offers four scholarship opportunities for campers who cannot afford the fee.

Geek Girl Camp was created for the 2014 summer reading program at the Fayetteville Free Library to fill a need for STEAM opportunities for elementary-age girls in the area. The FFL’s established STEAM programming, including a Creation Club for middle schoolers and a Little Makers program for 5-8-year-olds, was attended primarily by boys. Since the inception of Geek Girl Camp, more girls have participated in these monthly programs, and the library’s Coding Club is almost evenly split.

“We asked girls on the first day of camp what they wanted to be when they grew up. The answers were a variety of ‘teacher, actress, singer,’ but on Friday we asked the same question and the answers changed to ‘working at Google, pilot, physicist, computer scientist,’ and more. One girl actually said when she grows up she wants to be ‘a computer programmer and an actress on the side,’” said Meredith Levine, Director of Family Engagement at the Fayetteville Free Library.

The camp has encouraged the library to introduce new programming as well, including a two-day Superhero Camp and one-day Self Defense camp this summer, along with other day-long STEAM programming on the local schools’ days off. The counselor-in-training program for this summer’s Geek Girl Camp is also new, providing girls in grades 6-12 an opportunity to gain leadership experience and enjoy the STEAM subjects.

For librarians interested in trying something similar, Levine recommends that they “relentlessly innovate, be brave, and take lots of risks.” The FFL found its resources and experts in the local community and organizations, utilizing services like LinkedIn and Meetup to find people interested in sharing their STEAM knowledge with elementary schoolers. The library also got its first counselors from library staff and teen volunteers who expressed interest in the program.

“It was amazing to watch FFL staff as a whole participate as the library turned into something wonderful for that week,” Levine said.

Sources:

Geek Girl Camp. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://fflib.org/just-for/kids/geek-girl-camp.

Levine, Meredith. “Fayetteville Free Library’s Geek Girl Camp: Creating a Community of Future STEM Leaders.” School Library Journal. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://www.slj.com/2015/01/programs/fayetteville-free-librarys-geek-girl-camp-creating-a-community-of-future-stem-leaders/.

Levine, Meredith. E-mail interview by author. May 11, 2015.

The post Geek Girls Camp at the Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Attending the seminar New Uses of Public Libraries (organized by the Province of Barcelona with the Library Consortium of Barcelona, the IFLA Section on Public Libraries and the IFLA Section on Library Buildings and Equipment), I learned that these two libraries had kitchen and cooking programs. I emailed both library directors a few questions. [1]

Children’s Mexican Cooking Workshop at the Central Library of Castelldefels

Public Libraries Online: What made your library decide to start activities about cooking?

Mariona Chavarria Domingo (Biblioteca del Fondo): Seeing the multicultural context of the neighborhood, the municipality, [and] aiming for social cohesion, [we] thought about the idea of “cooking” as a central point to all cultures, and as an excuse to bring diversity together and build a community by creating mutual trust.

Marta Granel Dalmau (Central Library of Castelldefels): Our library specializes in cooking, [so] these activities are the ideal complement for our specialty. We complete our cooking programs with a collection of books about cooking, for kids and adults.

Children’s Mexican Cooking Workshop at the Central Library of Castelldefels

PL Online: What information, tools, and processes did you need?

Mariona: One of the halls of the library has a complete kitchen installed, prepared to cook and to perform cooking shows. It is equipped with a hotplate, electrical oven, microwave oven, fridge, [and] dishwasher. It is also equipped with enough kitchenware (a list of which was provided by a local Restoration School). We have gathered information about legal points to take into account (related to health and food security, hygiene, and first aid). A Commission has been established in order to think about the project named “Cuines del Món” (Cuisines of the World), which includes the kitchen and a section of the library collection (books and other document types).

Marta: We need professionals to do the activities, normally local collaborators, [as well as] multipurpose spaces and users interested in activities about cooking.

Children’s Mexican Cooking Workshop at the Central Library of Castelldefels

PL Online: How did you determine what activities to organize?

Mariona: The above mentioned Commission “Cuines del Món” (which includes: representatives of the municipality – politicians and technicians; representatives of social, educational, and cultural entities of the neighborhood; representatives of the University of Barcelona Campus de l’Alimentació – Food and Nutrition  and representatives of Fondo trading association as well as a well-known Chef, Víctor Quintillà, whose restaurant La Lluerna has been awarded with one Michelin Star during the last three years). The overall objective of the “Cuines del Món” Project is to be a tool helping to bring together diversity; bringing down walls of lack of trust; and, being a public library, to promote reading habits and skills. We have oriented the activities in three main directions or levels:

a) Academic level – about food, nutrition, science and cooking – inviting cooks as well as university lecturers;

b) Informative level – bringing together people from different backgrounds to share a cooking session while explaining similarities and differences of cooking, for instance about rice, potatoes, or about the use of species or different kinds of oil, etc.; teaching to cook nutritive meals to people with low incomes; teaching children cooking habits, etc.

c) Reading Promotion: the library, in collaboration with educational and cultural entities of the neighborhood, organizes activities connected to its own activities (storytelling for children and families, a reading club for adults, people learning Catalan or Spanish, etc.).

In some cases we offer the kitchen space for activities organised by others: i.e., by a psychiatric center nearby, or by other similar associations; by groups working with children with social risks, etc.

Marta: First we contact the collaborators and look for the activities, we want the activities to be attractive, easy, and possible to be done in the library, without fire. Normally we try to organize the activities in cycles, for kids and for adults.

Cooking Workshop at the Biblioteca del Fondo

PL Online: What challenges did you face?

Mariona: The main challenge is to implement good projects that keep the kitchen lively and used at its best. Linked to that, another challenge is trying to keep with a regular activity in the kitchen while not having enough library staff for that, having to work with volunteers (good on one side, but unstable on the other). Also the follow-up after the activities in the kitchen (the washing up and putting back stuff in the cupboards) is an unsolved problem. I wouldn’t call it a challenge but it’s challenging.

Marta: The challenge is making programs varied, attractive, and cheap.

PL Online: What kind of positive results have you had? (And, any negative ones?)

Mariona: We are “young,” yet the fact that this library, situated in such a popular neighborhood, has a kitchen, has put this place in the newspapers for something good and unseen before. It gives a new/better status to the surrounding area. The kitchen opens us easily to different collaborations (for instance with market stall holders or other commerce in the area, or the University Campus, lecturers, and students).

Marta: The results are very positive, the users are very happy and thankful about these activities. The are usually no vacancies in these type of activities.

Cooking Workshop at the Biblioteca del Fondo

PL Online: About how much time does it take?

Mariona: It takes a lot of time: meetings, contacts, preparation of the space, being close during the activities in case of any need, and collecting and washing the kitchenware.

Marta: We spend a lot of time to program these activities. First we look for the possible collaborators who could do the activities, and sometimes we have to pay for the activities. Then we have to do advertising and registration. Afterwards we send the participants an assessment questionnaire, as we want to know their feedback.

PL Online: What advice would you give a library wanting to do something similar?

Mariona: I feel it is too soon to be able to give any good advice. The only one I can think of is: don’t be afraid to start a similar project!

Marta: At the end of the activities the users are so thankful and happy!!

Sources:

[1] Mariona Chavarria Domingo’s e-mail to author (03/19/2015); Marta Granel Dalmau’s e-mail to author (03/25/2015). The interview questions were inspired by Kate Theimer, Web 2.0 Tools and Strategies for Archives and Local History Collections, Facet publishing 2010

The post Kitchens in Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Previous years’ selections included Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie Harris (2012), Duck on a Bike by David Shannon (2013), and Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard (2014). The selections are based on the book being a great selection for the age group, its availability in English and Spanish, and the capability of the publisher to provide enough copies of the book with special information on the program, the website information for literacy tips, and sponsor logos printed in the book. Once a list of possibilities is created, librarians and educators vote to narrow it down. Then, the public votes for the winner.[2]

The One Book 4 Colorado website also provides childhood literacy tips for parents. Covering the important early literacy aspects of read, write, sing, talk, and play, they also give specific tips for parents based on their child’s age from birth to eight. One of the really neat things is that in most of the age groups, a video demonstrating one of the suggested parent-child activities is embedded.[3]

During the 2014 giveaway, the Library Research Service surveyed participants to delve into the impact of the program. Sixty-four percent of caregivers said they “spent more time reading with their child after receiving the book” and that “their child was more interested in books and reading.” Sixty-two percent said “their child talked more about books and reading.”[4]

As the manager for the children’s department of Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD), Colorado Springs, Colo., Nancy Maday had this to say about the program: “One Book 4 Colorado is a great way for the children of our state to have a book of their very own.  It also publicizes the value of reading to our children.  In Colorado Springs, the largest school district was inspired by One Book 4 Colorado to provide a book for the preschool children who are not 4, so that everyone at school gets a book.  Distributing the books through the public libraries and Reach Out and Read clinics makes the books accessible for all children and allows us to promote our library programs at the same time.”[5]

As an employee of PPLD, I’ve had the opportunity to give some of these books to children coming into the library. Having children visit and collect books they are excited to check out is always a fun experience to see. Being able to hand them another book that they get to take home and keep forever just adds to the joy of the job!

References

[1] Colorado State Library. One Book 4 Colorado Project History. n.d.

http://www.onebook4colorado.org/about/project-history/ (accessed April 15, 2015).

[2] —. One Book 4 Colorado FAQs. n.d. http://www.onebook4colorado.org/about/one-book-4-

colorado-faqs/ (accessed April 15, 2015).

[3] —. One Book 4 Colorado Make a Difference: Read to a Child. n.d. http://www.onebook4colorado.org/make-a-

difference-read-to-a-child/ (accessed April 15, 2015).

[4] Library Research Service. “Library Research Service.” More than 75,000 Books Given Away During One Book 4 Colorado in 2014. February 11, 2015. http://www.lrs.org/2015/02/11/75000-books-given-away-one-book-4-colorado-2013/ (accessed May 8, 2015).

[5] Maday, Nancy, interview by Becca Cruz. Manager of Children’s Services (April 15, 2015).

The post One Book 4 Colorado: Free Books for Early Literacy first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Salt Lake City Public Library is trying to do just that. Since 2011, they have been fighting the battle against illiteracy in early childhood with great results. “The library system’s Smart Start program, a community outreach project that serves more than 1,000 children each month, aims to cultivate children’s love of reading while giving parents and teachers necessary literacy-building tools.” (Oligschlaeger 2015)

Smart Start is active in seventy low-income classrooms throughout Salt Lake City. There are currently twelve librarians on staff who participate in the program. Basically they take breaks from their daily library jobs to travel to schools and programs, inviting the kids to participate in a full story-time and a selection of picture books. The classrooms range from pre-K to Head Start. “Smart Start’s reach also stretches beyond the classroom. Librarians regularly bring story-time presentations to children staying at The Road Home, the YWCA women’s shelter, and Odyssey House, a rehabilitation center with residential family programs.” (Oligschlaeger 2015)

One of the librarians who participates has said that he hopes the program will spur a ripple effect in other outreach areas, and I agree. Every library has its own niche with which to help the community. I work at an art reference library, and would love to create an outreach program that will help bring art into schools that may not have the funds for art education. I’d love to hear more about library outreach programs. Where does your library go in the community? Share your stories in the comments.

The post Smart Start Community Outreach first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

You know the books we’re talking about. Thomas the Tank Engine, Scooby Doo, Spongebob, Spiderman, Martha, and all things Disney related. Originally the idea of grouping together all the books that were related to current television shows, movies, and direct to DVD releases was aimed at children. Bringing this genre to the forefront of some of our collections has been an interesting experience where we learned about circulation and reading development.

In the past few years, our library’s youngest readers have gravitated towards “TV tie-in books.” We’ve struggled with how to best keep this disparate collection together. Each book would be by a different author or have no author at all. On one hand, it would have been easier to not buy these books at all because they were flimsy and out of fashion as soon as the TV show or movie was no longer popular. But we found it was impossible to tell a small boy or girl that we didn’t have a book about their most favorite thing in the whole world: a popular television show on Sprout, PBS, Disney, or Nick Jr. We aren’t even going to mention the near small girl riot that occurred this summer when we had only one Frozen book in the building and three little girls all wanted it at the same time! Thankfully they took other Disney princess books in the short run!

In the end, the practicality of having what our youngest patrons wanted won out. We cataloged the books by their character, so all the John Deere books based on the direct to DVD releases were shelved under John Deere. And no one remembered the Rev. Awdry wrote the original Thomas stories, so the originals and the new television character-based stories all are shelved under Thomas. While some people remember that H.A. Rey wrote Curious George, all the books are shelved under Curious George.

However, a most interesting thing happened about a year ago when we went to genre grouping in all of our fiction collections. Several reading levels got a “Seen on TV” section, which ended up as one of the largest categories in the collection. The picture books have a huge “Seen on TV” section which includes Star Wars, GI Joe, Transformers, Barbie, Angelina Ballerina, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, Iron Man, and all things Disney. But it was the Learn to Read collection where we put about 30% of the total collection into the “Seen on TV” section. Even more interesting, people are taking out huge handfuls of these books at a time.

Our circulation of “Seen on TV” books has gone up over the past year, and our emerging readers are happily taking piles of books that match their favorite movies and shows. It has been especially successful for parents who come in searching for their child “who doesn’t like to read.” Even though we must weed this section more aggressively for condition and popularity, it has definitely been worth the time and money we’ve put into it.

Melanie A. Lyttle is the Head of Public Services Madison Public Library. You can watch her YouTube channel, Crabby Librarian, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rv5GLWsUow. Shawn D. Walsh is the Emerging Services and Technologies Librarian at Madison Public Library.

The post Seen on TV – A Popular Genre first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Everyone has their own style of doing reader’s advisory for children. In our library, one of the first questions we ask children is:”What do you like to do for fun?” The second question is “What do you like to watch on television?” For young children, that usually leads us to the genre that is based on the television or movie characters. However, once you reach “chapter book level” there aren’t as many of those types of books. Now what do we do?

For middle and upper elementary school children, we now ask straight out, “Do you like funny books?” Sometimes a child will mention having read one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books or that a friend of theirs has read one. That connection is frequently the hook we use to direct them to the Humorous section of books.

If we’re lucky the child will leave the library with a pile of books by some combination of authors including but not limited to Jeff Kinney, Lincoln Peirce, Jon Scieszka, Dav Pilkey, and Tom Angleberger. We encourage our reluctant readers to take at least three books, but we prefer four or five. If at all possible the books are all by different authors.

This push for variety is for different reasons. For the children, we want them to know that it’s okay to not like a book and to try another one. For the parents, we want them to feel comfortable with the idea that something will work. They shouldn’t have to make a “five minutes before the library closes because we need a book for school tomorrow” run because the one book they chose at the library the last time didn’t work. Fortunately for both parents and children, many authors write series of humorous stories. Therefore, if there turns out to be a book that a child likes, there may be several more that are similarly enjoyable. That ray of hope always brightens both groups.

We have an extensive collection of books for a variety of different age levels in the Humorous genres. We have books for the youngest readers through middle school — all of whom enjoy a good laugh. For children just learning to read, Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie books are the mainstay of the section. In our chapter book area we have perennial favorites like Captain Underpants and the Time Warp Trio, along with a wide variety of authors all creating hilarious, enjoyable reads for our young patrons. Then we finish up with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and the many similar titles published since then for the middle and upper elementary school readers.

Share your humorous books for kids recommendations in the comments.

Melanie A. Lyttle is the Head of Public Services Madison Public Library. You can watch her YouTube channel, Crabby Librarian, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rv5GLWsUow. Shawn D. Walsh is the Emerging Services and Technologies Librarian at Madison Public Library.

The post Humorous Books Can Appeal to Reluctant Readers first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Deciding to hold a Mini Maker Faire was easy. PPLD was in the process of opening a new location, Library 21c, with a heavy focus on the maker movement, and already had strong maker programs throughout the district. Having partners for this endeavor was important. When looking at the community, the Colorado Springs Science Center, the Colorado Springs Science Festival, and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Center for STEM Education seemed like natural fits to work with PPLD to bring a Mini Maker Faire to the area.[1]

Then, it was time to apply to Make for a Mini Maker Faire license. The application process requires quite a bit of information, including several short- answer questions, letters of support, and budgetary information. Once accepted, certain aspects of the Faire have to be handled in particular ways, like publicity being approved and specific websites being used. Carolyn Coulter, Information Technology Officer for PPLD, stated, “We felt that the branding and relationship with Make magazine was valuable to us, and we will continue that relationship in coming years.”[2]

At the beginning of planning, the team broke into sub teams to address various components of the Faire: funding, marketing, and programming. In the early stages, some of the items that had to be tackled included Faire website set up, Facebook profile development, marketing material creation, reaching out to makers in the area to attract participation, and maker fees. We also needed to come up with some criteria for vetting makers according to the goals for the event.

As we drew nearer to the day, marketing materials went out, including flyers, posters, and press releases. Members of the team attended events, like the Southern Colorado Manufacturing Expo, to tell people about the library’s Mini Maker Faire. The Faire was also publicized throughout the Colorado Springs Science Festival

Planning the building set-up was quite a task. Fortunately, several people involved with the planning had prior experience with large festivals. After the team walked the building, one of the PPLD staff, Sean Anglum, was able to create a map with all of the information on where we could set up tables, including power capabilities. Armed with this knowledge, we were able to assign the makers space according to their needs while also having a variety of activities spread throughout the building.

Volunteers were another big part of the day. Several high school students came to assist with set up, helping makers find their assigned table, and answering directional questions. To add to the festival atmosphere, we had food trucks in the parking lot and our café in the library provided snacks. Volunteers were given a credit that they could use to eat while helping with the event.

What were some of the cool things coming out of the Colorado Springs Mini Maker Faire? From Coulter’s perspective, “More partnerships and more visibility into what the library is doing and becoming. I felt a great deal of enthusiasm for this sort of programming and education at the Maker Faire, and people really seemed to be on board with our vision of continued growth at PPLD.”[3]

To see some of the highlights, check out our recap video.

Sources:

[1] Coulter, Carolyn, interview by Becca Cruz. Information Technology and Virtual Services Officer (January 9, 2014).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Cover Photo Credit: Science Gallery Dublin (CC BY-ND 2.0)

The post A Mini Maker Faire at the Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Many libraries are using the Illinois Reading Enrichment and Development program (iREAD), which has the a musical theme for 2015, “Read to the Rhythm.” iREAD originated in 1982 in Illinois as a statewide collaboration with the goal of providing low cost, high quality summer reading resources for libraries. Since then, libraries in several other states, including California and Minnesota, have taken advantage of the program.

Illinois Library Association’s iREAD Committee showcased the 2015 theme at their conference last fall. The presentation included a myriad of suggestions for every age group, from baby to adult. The youngest audiences will enjoy musical story times, which will also tie in nicely with the early literacy skill, “sing.” Offerings for school age children can range from STEM topics, like the science of sound, to exploring new cultures. Dance lessons, lip synching, finish the lyrics, and “Name That Tune” contests could appeal to a wide variety of ages from tweens and teens to adults.

Librarians are sharing their great display, craft, and program ideas on the iREAD Pinterest page. The theme lends itself well to musical makerspaces— making homemade musical instruments like harmonicas, drums, or maracas. Musical craft ideas abound on this board as well. Ideas we’ll be using at my library, Great River Regional Library in Minnesota, include passive programs like guess the nursery rhyme, guess the animated movie from a song, “Mad Lib” lyrics, and a musical genre guessing game.

iRead is also currently highlighting artwork from children’s illustrator Don Tate. Tate’s illustrations in Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite are perfectly in tune with the iREAD musical theme. Tate is a champion for diversity in children’s literature and is also one of the founders of the blog The Brown Bookshelf , which is designed to raise awareness of African-American writing for young readers. He also recently joined the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team.

Furthermore, iRead has resources for strengthening your summer reading program. The California Library Association partnered with iREAD in 2013 and brought along resources on developing outcome-based measurements for summer reading programs. California has adopted two statewide summer reading outcomes: “Children belong to a community of readers” and “Underserved community members participate in the summer reading program.” Resources for adapting these outcomes or creating outcome-based measurements are included in the iREAD manual. It also includes reproducible resources about the summer slide and why summer reading programs are important.

It’s not too late to join the festivities! The iRead  program catalog is available at ireadprogram.org.

Resources

Mitnick, Eva. “CA Librarians Gear Up For Summer with iREAD’s Read to the Rhythm Programming.” School Library Journal.  November 19, 2014.

The post Librarians Getting Ready to Read with the Rhythm first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

1. Current trends in early literacy practices and education. My school district recently began to follow the Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading. When children and their families come in looking for a “level M” book, it’s a huge cause of frustration for my circulation staff. A trained children’s librarian should be aware of developments such as this and be able to offer recommendations. Similarly, a familiarity with the Common Core can aid not just in customer service, but also in collection development.
2. The importance of the reference interview. Reference interviews aren’t just for reference anymore! They can also be helpful in performing reader’s advisory. A librarian who is able to assess exactly what a patron is looking for is a huge asset to his or her department.
3. Understanding the needs of all levels of readers. Some children read far above their grade level and are not ready for the mature content that can come with higher-level books. Others struggle, and in the words of Marie Joyce, Children’s Librarian at the Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, “it’s important to get them books they can read but that are not ‘babyish.’” A successful children’s librarian should be able to help find resources for all reading levels.
4. An awareness of pop culture. Just as it’s important to be cognizant of current educational trends, it can greatly help a children’s librarian to be aware of what’s going on in popular culture. Some of the highest-circing items in my library’s juvenile collection are LEGO books and Star Wars tie-ins. Similarly, we recently held an American Girl tea party that was an overwhelming success. Staying up to date on these things can help a professional relate better to young patrons, not to mention make the library a “cooler” place to hang out.
5. Management and networking skills. “Children librarians seem to be doing more and more on less available time. We are not an island…we need staff help, whether it is preparing crafts and props to marketing programs to patrons. Good management skills help rally the internal staff and outsiders who support the library with time and money,” points out Robin Rockman, Youth Services Librarian at Oradell (NJ) Free Public Library. Furthermore, many children’s librarians are also tasked with making sure their department runs smoothly. Having a good professional rapport with support staff makes this duty far easier.
6. How to talk to children. It seems obvious, but providing good service to children is far different than working with adults, or even teens. Establishing a non-intimidating but still authoritative stance with young patrons is key in a public library.
7. Technological know-how. That’s not to say every children’s librarian should be fluent in three different programming languages, but being able to leverage different resources can be a huge aid in both program development and customer service. It is also important to understand how screen time can affect our youngest patrons. It’s no longer out of place to have a parent or caregiver come into the library looking for app suggestions for their preschooler.
8. How to be a creative problem-solver. Children are unpredictable! You never know when a scheduled performer might not show up, or a kid has an accident during story time. Flexibility and being able to think quickly on his or her feet will pay off greatly during those moments of uncertainty.
9. Time management. Many children’s librarians are responsible for scheduling programming. Yet providing enough events for the public without burning themselves or their staff out can be a tricky act of balance. Similarly, most people in this position wear many different hats, from programming to collection development to community outreach and more. Being able to manage anything without being overwhelmed is vital.
10. How to promote library services. I come from a digital marketing background, and what I learned while working in that industry has helped me almost every day in my library career. Now more than ever, it’s necessary to stay relevant in the eyes of the public and elected officials. We can’t do that if no one knows about what we offer. From social media marketing to creating catchy in-house displays and merchandising, a keen sense for promoting library awareness will ensure the longevity of our field.

What other topics do you think a children’s librarian needs to know about? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Ten Things a Children’s Librarian Needs to Know first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The Westport Library in Westport, Connecticut, has contributed a great deal of resources towards several expensive high tech purchases. One such acquisition is the SolidWorks computer-aided design software.[1] This was used to reach out to a niche community—primarily postgraduates trying to hone their skills—a purchase that benefits a fairly small audience.  Funding such projects could be controversial in some communities since it is funneling general funds towards a service that requires a fair amount of expertise to use and hence is fairly limited in reach.  The other way to view this is that the library is providing value to a group that might not otherwise look to the library for services.  It can also be a way to create advocates in the community from different sectors, particularly in this instance where it was in response to a suggestion from a local biomedical engineer.[2]

Generally, these decisions might be difficult to gain support for, but outside funding sources can greatly impact how an idea is sold to the Board of Trustees and the broader community.  The funding for a pair of programmable NAO Evolution robots was provided by a family foundation.[3]   While the funding for the robots was provided, it still required time and effort to promote these purchases, create programming around them, see that they are used in a manner that keeps them in good repair, and avoid any usages that might cause harm to patrons or the device.  This is not for every library, but it seems to have been well utilized by Westport.  The library received a great deal of media attention from news services throughout the country and from Russia, Spain, and Vietnam.[4]  This publicity can greatly enhance the library’s visibility and can inspire community members to look to the library for non-traditional services.

Yet investing in makerspaces is not only about creating media coverage. The high tech resources allow the library to create and share knowledge in new and unconventional ways.  Maxine Bleiweis, executive director for Westport Library, has noted how these additions are in line with the latest information on learning theories and how creating new content shows a high level of understanding of a given concept. She also correlated these costs to subscription costs for databases.[5]

Libraries should consider whether they can and should contribute part of their collection development budget towards new learning technologies. A key question that every library needs to consider when making a large investment of time and resources is how it relates back to the institutions mission.  The mission of the Westport Library “to empower individuals and strengthen the community, providing a welcoming destination that stimulates curiosity, encourages lifelong learning and promotes the open and lively exchange of information and ideas.”[6]  The high tech additions of the makerspace seem to effectively fit into this mission, and they have the resources to support this new technology.

A recurring question in library circles is what the library of the future will look like.  A key aspect of this is the extent to which makerspaces and particularly high tech makerspaces are a part of this future.  While it is unlikely that every library will have highly technical, expensive equipment, it should not be inconceivable that a library can provide this type of support if there is the community desire and the available resources.

Works Cited

[1]    Enis, Matt.  “Westport Maker Space Expands with Robots, SolidWorks Courses and Volunteer Training.”  Library Journal.  Accessed November 22, 2014.  http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2014/10/hardware-2/westport-maker-space-expands-robots-solidworks-courses-volunteer-training/

[2]    ibid

[3]    ibid

[4]    ibid

[5]    ibid

[6]    “About WPL.”  Westport Library.  Accessed November 22, 2014. http://westportlibrary.org/about

Cover Photo Credit: CSM Library CC BY 2.0

The post High Tech Makerspaces first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Who is coming? For Thanksgiving dinner, you make a guest list and send out invitations. Then you wait to find out how many people are planning to come. Not to generalize, but there is always a guest who responds to one of the hosts, when it was the other host who was keeping track of who was coming. Of course, the one person forgets to tell the other. With our open house, we asked for an RSVP. Invitees ended up RSVP’ing to two different people, but each person didn’t realize that the other had a rather extensive list going. Both contact people thought the event would have about 20 guests. Together, the combined RSVP lists were close to 40 people. Fortunately in our case, we knew about the miscommunication the week before the event, not like Thanksgiving where the extra person shows up and there isn’t a place for them at the table!

Will you have enough food? It’s Thanksgiving. You must cook for an army whether or not you are actually feeding one! For library open houses, if you want people to come, you have to have food and assume librarians will be starving. In our case, they weren’t starving. There were a lot of left-overs! So the staff was thrilled!

Is the house clean? Before the Thanksgiving company arrives, the house must be cleaned top to bottom, until it’s spotless. For a library open house, it’s exactly the same. Are all the shelves straight?  Are our displays neat and organized? Just like you know that you should always keep your house picked up, you do your most thorough cleaning job right before there’s company. In a library, signage should always be clear and current. Unfortunately, we used our open house as an opportunity to finally update our signage to reflect some recent relocating of materials. Yes, we should have done it much earlier, but having “special visitors” coming made us finally take the time.

Who is stuck at the kids’ table? Sitting at the kids’ table you still get to eat all the Thanksgiving dinner, but the conversation topics and opportunities to talk are vastly different than at the adult table. It’s the same with a library open house, particularly if the event is while the building is open for business. Some staff members are directly involved in the open house, while other staff members have to keep the functions of the library going. They are all at the library at the same time, but that day their experiences are quite different. This happened with us. The administrative staff was split. Half were involved with the open house and half were involved with the current operations. A staff person who attended the open house said to a coworker who was working out on the library floor, “Oh, it was so good to finally meet Sally (names changed to protect the innocent) at the open house.” The other staff person replied, “I didn’t even know Sally was here. I would have loved to have met her.” Oops! It’s not that one activity was more important that the other. Both were, but one person was left feeling like he missed something. We will definitely be more careful about making all staff members feel included next time.

Who did you forget to invite? It always happens that you find out after Thanksgiving that some relative you were sure had plans spent the holiday alone eating a TV dinner. In our case, it wasn’t that we forgot to invite someone, it was that we forgot to tell some people on staff that there was a special event happening while they were working. That might possibly be worse than forgetting to invite a particular guest! Our library pages didn’t know we were having a big group of people here while they were working. They didn’t know why there were more people milling around the building than normal, and more importantly, the visitors were asking them a lot more questions than they would ordinarily expect. It looked like we didn’t value them enough to include them in the information sharing, but that’s not it at all! Another big oops. We won’t make that mistake again.

What is the take away from this entry besides convincing you to make a reservation at a restaurant for Thanksgiving instead of inviting people over? Be mindful throughout the planning and execution of your library open house event. Make sure that both guests and employees know that they are valued and important to you and that you are glad to see them in your library.

Melanie A. Lyttle is the Head of Public Services Madison Public Library. You can watch her YouTube channel, Crabby Librarian, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rv5GLWsUow. Shawn D. Walsh is the Emerging Services and Technologies Librarian at Madison Public Library.

The post How Is a Library Open House Like a Thanksgiving Dinner? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.