How to use this Page

Happy Monday to you!  You want the goods?  I’ve got the goods.  Or, at the very least, a smattering of interesting ephemera.  Let’s do this thing.

First and foremost, you may have noticed the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards were announced.  The BGHB Awards are some of the strangest in the biz since they encompass the nonexistent publishing year that extends from May to June.  How are we to use such an award?  No cash benefit is included.  And traditionally it has been seen as either a litmus test for future book awards or as a way of rectifying past sins / confirming past awards.  This year it’s a bit of a mix of both.  Both 2015 and 2016 titles appear on the list.  You can see the full smattering in full here or watch a video of the announcement here.  And, for what it’s worth, I served on the committee this year, so if you’ve a beef to beef, lay it on me.

Since this news item appeared on Huffington Post I’m not sure if it is in any way true.  If not, it’s still a lovely thought.  According to HP, the cover artist of Sweet Valley High takes commissions.  Just let that one sink in a little.  I’m not interested, though.  Call me when the cover artist of Baby-Sitters Club starts doing the same.

It’s odd that I haven’t linked to this before, but a search of my archives yields nothing.  Very well.  Whether or not you were aware of it, The Toast has The Giving Tree in their Children’s Stories Made Horrific series.  Shooting fish in a barrel, you say?  Not by half.  It’s not a new piece.  Came out three years ago, as far as I can tell.  And yet . . . it’s perfect.  The latest in the series, by the way, was a Frog and Toad tale.  Sublime.

This Week in Broadway: Tuck Everlasting is out. Wimpy Kid is in.

In other news vaguely related to theater, Lin Manuel-Miranda is slated to star in a 2018 Mary Poppins musical sequel.  And no, not on stage.  On the silver screen.  This, naturally, led to the child_lit listserv postulating over how this could be possible since P.L. Travers had a pretty strong posthumous grip on the rest of the Mary Poppins rights.

So I worked for New York Public Library for eleven years.  Eleven years can be a lot of time. During my tenure I observed the very great highs and very low lows of the system.  I like to think I knew it pretty well.  Now here’s a secret about NYPL: They’re bloody awful at telling you about all the cool stuff they have going on.  Always have been.  For example, I’m tooling about the NYPL site the other day when I see this picture.

I stare at it.  I squint at it.  And finally I cannot help but come to a single solitary conclusion . . . that’s my old boss!  There.  On the left.  Isn’t that Frank Collerius, branch manager of the Jefferson Market Branch in Greenwich Village?  Yup.  The Librarian Is In Podcast seeks to simply talk “about books, culture, and what to read next.”  Frank co-hosts with RA librarian Gwen Glazer and they’re top notch. I haven’t made my way through all of them yet.  I’m particularly interested in the BookOps episode since that’s where I used to work.  And look!  I had no idea that Shola at the Schomburg was on Sesame Street.

Howdy, libraries.  How’s that STEM programming coming along?  Care for some inspiration?  Then take a gander at the blog STEM in Libraries where “a team of librarians with a passion for creating fun and engaging STEM programs for library patrons of all ages,” have so far created fifty-seven different STEM program ideas.

A helpful reader passed this on to me, so I pass it on to you: “The latest New Yorker magazine, dated June 6 and 13, may be of interest to you, if you haven’t yet seen it. It’s the Fiction issue, and in it are some essays by 5 authors, each subtitled “Childhood Reading”…with memories of the books, articles, package labels, events from their childhoods that shaped their idea of what reading is and can be. Having read a couple of these so far, I thought of you, and decided to mention them to you, in case you don’t regularly look at the New Yorker, and might not see them.”  Thanks to Fran Landt for the link.

In other NYPL news, I miss desperately being a part of the 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing committee.  Fortunately, the folks on the committee recently confessed to the books they’re finding particularly good.  So many I haven’t see yet.  To the library!

Daily Image:

You know who won the Best Bookmark Left in a Library Book Award the other day?  That’s right.  This guy.  Check it out:

Sure beats finding bacon.  I was forbidden to own these guys as a kid, so I’ve placed this little fellow in a prominent place on my desk.  Who wants to bet money that some executive somewhere is trying to figure out how to bring these back?  Let’s see . . . the last time they were made they were illustrated by Art Spiegelman.  So if Pulitzer Prize winners are the only people who can draw them, my vote for the 21st artist goes to  . . . ah . . . wait a minute.  Maus is the only graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer?!?

Maker programming is a large trend in public libraries throughout North America. By researching kit options and planning for added costs, public libraries can develop successful steam programming.

Moose Jaw Public Library has invested in a number of Maker programming initiatives which have been well received, including MakeDo, Squishy Circuits, and Little Bits. Prior to purchasing we sought reviews from a number of sources, including communications with other librarians, makezine.com, and reviews at PLA and at other conferences. We funded our Maker programs through a grant and through donations from our local Friends of the Library.

MakeDo encourages children to explore basic engineering principles. Each kit comes with a plastic safe saw, and several pins and hinges. Each library supplies cardboard boxes and the paper supplies required by the kits. Children can build anything they wish, or follow the kit instructions. While they cannot take their creations home, they can display their works of art and turn your library into a gallery!

With electrical circuit kits, it is important to consider the actual ongoing cost of the maker kits, including replacement parts.  Squishy Circuits and Little Bits are very popular, however both kits have hidden costs. Squishy Circuits offers a fun, tactile way to experience electricity. However, librarians will need to factor in the cost of extra dough, replacement wires and time for cleaning equipment. Little Bits are fun! Kids love assembling these magnetic circuits. Buy the largest pack in your budget, as you will want multiples for a larger group. Additional budgeting is a must, as some pieces at the time of our kit’s purchase were only sold separately.

The Acton-Agua Dulce Public Library has also invested in various maker kits, with special emphasis on Snap Circuits Jr. kits. Each kit comes with an instructional booklet with projects that a child could do alone or in pairs. The baseline Jr. kit comes with 100 available projects that start from a basic closed circuit where a light illuminates or a fan spins to more complicated series and parallel circuits. I used this set for a S.T.E.A.M. centered program for ages 8-14 and it was very well received. Some kids already had lessons on circuitry and knew how they worked so I allowed them to have complete freedom with the kits and focused more on those who were just learning how the circuits worked.

The Snap Circuits kits turned out to be excellent for passive programming as well as more structured, lesson-based programming. We now have a couple different types of kits at the library as part of our Homework Center, and the afterschool kids love setting them up and seeing what they can create. And don’t worry if a piece gets lost or broken because you can easily buy replacement parts through their website. The only additional cost to the kits is the use of AA batteries, two needed per kit.

Three  questions you may want to ask before buying your maker kit: Will it be something that kids will ask for again, over and over? Can you do a whole program around the kit? How easy is it to get replacement parts? The biggest takeaway with buying maker kits is that you have to try them for yourself to see what will work for you and your community.

**************************************************************************

Courtesy photo from Tina Docetti

Our guest bloggers today are Amanda Cain and Tina Dolcetti.Tina currently works for the Moose Jaw Public Library as a Children’s Librarian. By night, Tina can be found in her community, mentoring an adult with a cognitive disability for the Saskatchewan Association for Community Living. Amanda is a Children’s Librarian who enjoys opening young minds with stories, rhymes and activities at the Acton-Agua Dulce Public Library.

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do

Courtesy photo from Amanda Cain

not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].

The post STEAM programming in Acton-Agua Dulce and Moose Jaw appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Did you know with a few simple, inexpensive materials and some creativity you can create your own forensics lab for early elementary kiddos? You can! I lead a STEAM focused program at my library for first, second and third graders entitled Imagination Lab. The idea is that for four weeks in the fall, and again in the winter, we meet up after school to explore a variety of concepts that fit under the broad umbrella of STEAM. We experiment, sometimes I demonstrate, and we always create something to take home. In the past few weeks we have explored the science behind sound, polymers, and color, but my favorite topic may just have been forensics!

Inspired by the awesome Mad Scientists Club CSI program, I crafted my own 45-minute program for first through third grade patrons. I think this is a great program that can be easily modified for older children and held without breaking the budget purchasing special science equipment. The most fancy items you’ll need are magnifying glasses.

First, start off discussing what the word “forensics” means and what sorts of evidence might be helpful at a crime scene. Since my program was for early elementary school students, and I mostly have first graders in my group, we kept our discussion of crime scenes to stolen cookies, missing stuffed animals and library robberies.

Once you think everyone has a good basic understanding of the topic, you’ll want to get into the really fun part which is hands-on experimenting! Be sure to share some cool facts about fingerprints and using fingerprints to solve crimes before you start. You can find more neat facts in the great book Crazy for Science with Carmelo the Science Fellow by Carmelo Piazza . I have used this title for many program ideas, including our fingerprinting experiments. Check it out if you have it in your collection! Each chapter introduces a different branch of science and all the experiments are linked to science curriculum requirements for grades K through 3.

Below you can see some of the details from the program so you can easily replicate this at your library!

Fingerprinting detective supplies. Image from author.

Examine Your Fingerprints

Materials:

• Pencils
• Clear tape ( I used book tape)
• White paper (copier paper works fine)
• Fingerprint pattern cards (You can find many images of typical fingerprint patterns online. I printed out the images on cardstock and distributed a card to each child.)
• Mini-magnifying glasses

1. Color a small square (about 4 inches) onto the white paper with a pencil.
2. Press the top part of your index finger onto the pencil square, rolling it back and forth several times. You should have a very dirty finger!
3. Press the clear tape firmly onto the dirty finger.
4. Slowly pull the tape off the index finger and press it onto a clean sheet of white paper. The fingerprint should now be visible on the paper!
5. Look at the details of the fingerprint with a magnifying glass. Try to identify what pattern each individual fingerprint is using the fingerprint pattern cards.
6. Try this process with other fingers and compare patterns with your index finger as well as neighbor’s fingerprints.

Lifting Fingerprints 

Fingerprints! Image from author.

Materials:

• Small paintbrush
• Corn starch (I measured a couple tablespoons into small plastic cups for each table to share.)
• Clear tape ( I used book tape)
• Dark black paper (construction paper or cardstock)
• Paper plate (ideally coated paper plates, not just the regular white kind) 

1. Rub the fingerprint part of your index finger down the side of your nose or in your hair/ scalp to get your finger dirty. (Gross, I know. But it works.)
2. Press your oily finger against the center of the plate.
3. Dip the paintbrush into the corn starch. You don’t need a lot! So be sure to shake off the extra powder before removing from the cornstarch.
4. Use the brush to lightly “paint” the powder over the center of the plate where the fingerprint should be. The powder should stick to the oily fingerprint. Be sure to not press too hard or you will smear the fingerprint! This might take a couple tries to get right.
5. “Lift” the fingerprint from the plate by placing a piece of tape firmly against the fingerprint. Then slowly and carefully peel the tape up.
6. Place the sticky side down on the black paper.
7. You should see the fingerprint on the paper!
8. Take it farther and see if you can lift fingerprints off of nearby counter tops or door handles!

Mystery powder identification. Photo from author.

After our fingerprinting, we identified a “mystery powder” (aka powdered sugar) by observing chemical reactions. The kids loved it! I used instructions from Quirkles.com that you can find and follow yourself here. If you have time you can also create some fingerprint artwork using washable ink pads and markers, but my little detectives had so much fun we ran out of time! The kids were so excited to be able to take their fingerprints and fingerprint pattern cards home to share what they learned.

There are so many more fun ideas for forensic experiments and extension activities out there- this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’d like to do this program again but set up a mock crime scene involving a stuffed pigeon, caution tape, and stolen cookies. Happy investigating fellow librarians!

The post Fingerprints and Forensics with First-graders appeared first on ALSC Blog.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) encourages participants to sign up for Spring 2016 ALSC online courses. Registration is open for all courses. Classes begin Monday, April 4, 2016.

Two of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). The American Library Association (ALA) has been certified to provide CEUs by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options. For more information on ALSC online learning, please visit: www.ala.org/alsced

The Caldecott Medal: Understanding Distinguished Art in Picture Books
6 weeks, April 4 – May 13, 2016
Instructor: KT Horning, Director, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin- Madison

It’s Mutual: School and Public Library Collaboration
6 weeks, April 4 – May 13, 2016
Instructor: Rachel Reinwald, School Liaison and Youth Services Librarian, Lake Villa District Library

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
4 weeks, April 4 – 29, 2016, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
Instructor: Angela Young, Head of Children’s Department, Reed Memorial Library

Storytelling with Puppets
4 weeks, September 14 – October 9, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 2.2 CEUs
Instructor: Steven Engelfried, Youth Services Librarian, Wilsonville Public Library

Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC website. Fees are $115 for personal ALSC members; $165 for personal ALA members; and $185 for non-members. Questions? Please contact ALSC Program Officer for Continuing Education, Kristen Figliulo or 1 (800) 545-2433 ext 4026.

Images are courtesy of ALSC. 

The post Register for Spring 2016 ALSC Online Courses appeared first on ALSC Blog.

OK, not totally down with it, but now that I have your attention…  see, at my library, we’re looking hard at what our SRC has become and asking ourselves what we really want for the kids in our community over the summer.  And I’m not sorry to say, it’s a heckuva lot more than sitting in a room reading 30 books over the summer – and maybe (eek!) it’s not that at all!

For about 5 years now, I’ve felt like the traditional SRC structure is outdated and only serving avid/passionate readers.  And frankly, those readers will read no matter what. What I want for my kids in the summer, is great ways to have fun, get engaged, get involved, meet new people, relax, and through allllllllllll of that, maybe learn a few things. But see, it’s the fun, engaging, involved, meeting and relaxing bits I want to focus on.  The reading comes after…or, not at all.  I know that’s an insane thing to say as a librarian. But I’m thinking if we get kids interested in doing stuff, then perhaps we can sell them on reading about that stuff they’re doing!  And if not, well, they’re still learning and that’s ultimately what we want.

So we’re not even going to take registrations for a reading club this year. Cough cough. That’s right.  In fact, I wouldn’t even say we’re doing a ‘reading club’ this summer.  We’re headed away from all that in a big way.  We’re looking at Maker, STEAM and Digital Learning, people.  Bring it ON!

I live in a city where we have a Hive Learning network which is part of a larger ReMake Learning movement in Pittsburgh for kids K-12.  And last summer, our city and a ton of organizations (including a few libraries) did the City of Learning thang.  6 cities in the country are involved so I feel pretty darn lucky to have something like this to plug into.

So.

My staff and I are starting a 4-month journey away from SRC.  We’re packing up and heading out.  I think we’re done here and we’re ready to break out and start a revolution. I’ll be posting in February, March, April and May about what we’re doing (who knows!), where we’re headed (who knows!) and how it’s going to work (who knows!)  Maybe you’d like to tag along.

The post I’m Saying It: Down with Summer Reading Club appeared first on ALSC Blog.

We’re heading into the final days of 2015 and it’s also the the final days before the next semester of ALSC online courses!

With topics like school/library collaboration, STEM programming, and the Sibert Medal, you can bring new ideas into your library! Classes begin Monday, January 4, 2016.

One of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). The American Library Association (ALA) has been certified to provide CEUs by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options.

It’s Mutual: School and Public Library Collaboration
6 weeks, January 4 – February 12, 2016
Instructor: Rachel Reinwald, School Liaison and Youth Services Librarian, Lake Villa District Library

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
4 weeks, January 4 – 29, 2016, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
Instructor: Angela Young, Head of Children’s Department, Reed Memorial Library

The Sibert Medal: Evaluating Books of Information
6 weeks, January 4 – February 12, 2016
Instructor: Kathleen T. Horning, Director, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin- Madison

Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC website at www.ala.org/alsced. Fees are $115 for personal ALSC members; $165 for personal ALA members; and $185 for non-members. Questions? Please contact ALSC Program Officer for Continuing Education, Kristen Figliulo, 1 (800) 545-2433 ext 4026.

Image courtesy of ALSC.

The post One More Week to Sign Up for ALSC Online Courses appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Last month during our students’ Fall Break, I offered a STEM program that was easy to prep, easy to staff, and cost us nothing! We held a drop-in Science Playground where I put out all kinds of science materials and allowed families to explore at their own pace.

Setup for Science Playground. Photo by Abby Johnson.

** This is the caveat where I tell you that the reason that this program was absolutely free to us is that we have been collecting science tools and kits for several years for our summer Science Explorer table. Worry not, I have some ideas in case you do NOT have science tools at the ready!**

I scheduled the program for an afternoon during Fall Break. It was drop-in and open to all ages, although the materials we had were mostly geared towards the early elementary crowd (and that’s the audience we ended up attracting). I set up tables in our meeting room and placed our science kits and activities out, as well as a large display of science books that families could check out. I put on some background music and opened the doors. As families came in, I let them know that they were welcome to explore all our stations and check out any books they liked. I kept a tally for attendance and the program pretty much ran itself.

Science Viewers. Photo by Abby Johnson.

I set out the following stations:

• Student microscopes with slides
• Science Discovery Kits on magnets, motion, and magnification
• Magnet wands with pipe cleaner “hair”
• Color paddles and materials to draw
• Bug sorting set
• Science viewers
• Wooden blocks
• Plastic jungle animal toys
• Soft vinyl shape toys

Toys on the carpet for little learners. Photo by Abby Johnson.

We’ve purchased most of these materials from Lakeshore Learning.

Families explored most of the stations I set out. The microscopes were a little difficult because they really needed more one-on-one instruction on how to use them. If we do this program again, I would probably forgo the microscopes and put out more different materials to look at under magnifying glasses.

Magnification station. Photo by Abby Johnson.

Although most of our crowd was in that early elementary age, older kids were eager to show the tricks they knew to younger kids or to the adults in  the room. They knew how to make the magnets do cool things or how to mix the colors with the color paddles and showed that to the other kids. Grownups browsed the display books (especially if I mentioned the display to them directly), but not many kids did browsing on their own.

The station materials did NOT stay neatly where I placed them, but that was no big deal. If a station had a quiet moment, I would go over and quietly group things back into their proper kits. I could have probably utilized a teen volunteer or two to help keep things organized and for set-up and clean-up, but it wasn’t a big deal for me to do these things myself.

We were in a fairly small room, so it did get pretty loud in there occasionally with all the great conversations going on, kids making animal sounds, etc. I knew this would probably happen, so I avoided stations that had to do with sound since I knew it would be difficult to hear.

Now, if you don’t happen to have all this great science stuff laying around, you could still totally do this program (and you could keep it pretty cheap, as well). Here are some ideas (which I might use next time!):

• Building with cardboard boxes instead of blocks (ask your coworkers to save boxes of all types: cake mixes, cereal boxes, egg cartons all make great, free building material).
• Challenge kids to construct a boat that will float or a tower that reaches so many inches using whatever materials you have handy (aluminum foil, popsicle sticks, yarn, spaghetti, etc.).
• Sensory bins using dry beans and containers made of different materials to pour them with.
• Put out realia to explore. You could put out leaves and/or rocks and accompanying field guides to try to identify them or just collect sticks, seeds, grasses, flowers, etc. and let kids explore them.
• Sink and float station. Put out a tub of water and various materials. Encourage kids to guess beforehand and then test their hypothesis to see if they were right.
• Any of these shadow activities that Amy Koester posted about on the ALSC Blog.

What other fun science activities would make good stations for a self-directed program like this?

— Abby Johnson, Youth Services Manager
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
New Albany, IN
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com

The post Visit the Science Playground appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Building a Mystery (not the Sarah McLachlan song)

Have you ever attended one of those murder mystery programs for adults? Now you can make one for your tweens and teens at the library.

To run a good murder mystery program at your library you need to put your creative librarian hat on and let your imagination run wild. It is easy to spend money on a pre made mystery kit, but if you have the time, make your own. Create the mystery setting in your library, have a librarian go missing and set the crime scene. Caution tape and a duct tape outline of the body make for great props. Perhaps the librarian was found under a crack in the floor, or downstairs under a stack of books. Make sure evidence is planted and there is an estimate time of death. Identify what staff member will be the victim and the culprit and then the fun starts. Come up with a motive for each staff member involved. Write a short paragraph for each staff member including where they were the night of the crime and an alibi. Here is an example:

“I left work around 2:30pm that day, I had a doctor’s appointment right in town and then I went home to make dinner and go to my kid’s school pageant. I would never do anything like that to Mary; she was one of my favorite people to work with. I really hope you figure out who did this”

 Write alibi’s for as many staff members as you can get to participate. Use these alibis to identify their time and location when the crime happened. These alibis will be recorded on video (use a video camera or your cell phone). Have each staff member read their alibi on camera, have some staff members look right into the camera, others not looking at all, tapping their feet and so on. When you show kids these videos have them look for different behavior that might make them look guilty or innocent.

Matching up with the times noted in each staff members alibi, make a fake schedule for all staff members, this will be used as a piece of evidence. Next write an email that has some back and forth between the victim and a potential suspect. Create fingerprints, using photos from online or dip your fingertips in pencil led and rub it on a piece of paper. Create writing samples of a note that was found with the victim. This is always the last clue, as the older kids will easily identify the matching handwriting.

It is always best to start with examining the crime scene, if you have the money in your budget go to the dollar store and purchase the mini composition notebooks that come in a pack of three. Kids will write their thoughts in here and feel like a real detective. After examining the crime scene, hand out the schedules to each kid, once the kids have those, show the videos and explain what an alibi is and what interrogation tactics are. Pass out the remaining clues one at a time and discuss. It always helps to have a large piece of paper with notes for each suspect hung up on the wall. Take a screenshot of the alibi movies and use that as the mugshot for each suspect. After kids have pieced all the evidence together and agree on a culprit, go ahead and make the arrest!

This program not only raises critical thinking skills, but also increases vocabulary and introduces children to careers.

Have fun!

Meredith Levine is Head of Youth Services at the Chattanooga Public Library in Tennessee. She is a member of the School Age Programs and Services Committee of ALSC. If you have any questions, email her at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @schmoopie517

Grossed-out and fractured Halloween

Several years ago, I attended an excellent children’s librarian skill share on using how to add props to story time. One of my colleagues introduced me to Bone Soup by Cambria Evans, a Halloween fractured fairy tale based on the “clever man” fable, Stone Soup. My colleague poignantly noted that most kids love to be grossed out and recommended Bone Soup as the perfect grossed-out fairy tale.

Finnigin, a wandering ghoul, is shunned by the local townspeople due to his infamous appetite.  Through his wits and a little kindness from a tiny werewolf, he manages to trick the others into contributing their ingredients to soup made from a “magic” bone, as well as gooey eyeballs, leathery bat wings and all. Bone Soup is guaranteed to delight a wide range of children but if you want to gild the lily a tad, the story is even more outrageous and fun when accompanied by a theatrical production of making the bone soup along with the story. I went to my local witches’ supply store, also known as the dollar store, to purchase the ingredients: mouse droppings
(brown rice), spider eggs (cotton balls painted with black dots), fake centipedes, plastic eyeballs, glow-in-the-dark bat wings, fingernails (fake nails), a large cauldron, and of course, a magic (plastic) bone.

I usually make the soup as I tell the story, stirring the mixture along with Finnigin and his reluctant friends; though, if I have a very patient group willing to share duties, I let the children concoct the magic soup themselves. Of course, I pretend to slurp the soup at the very end and the kids always demand to see the final product. Many of the young patrons at my old library branch did not celebrate Halloween officially, but they always demanded Bone Soup when All Hallows Eve rolled around.

“Interactive” Bone Soup is a great and an easy, if not foul, way to add props to your Halloween storytelling! Pairing this version of the story with another version of Stone Soup (I recommend Jon Muth’s retelling) should invoke an interesting comparative folklore discussion!
Kate Eckert is a member of the School Age Programs & Services Committee and is a Children’s Librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She tweets @8bitstate and may also be contacted at [email protected].

The post Fall programming for kindergarteners to tweens! appeared first on ALSC Blog.

I was recently able to represent ALSC at the Public Libraries & STEM Conference in Denver, CO. The conference was kept very small–around 160 people total–and thus was very concentrated, with plenty to learn from and discuss with colleagues from libraries, STEM organizations, and other institutions with missions for informal learning. And while the small size necessary means that the participant pool was limited, the takeaways weren’t. I particularly want to share with you one of my major takeaways: the library as a single element in a larger learning ecosystem.

Note: I tried visual note taking at this conference. Since my handwriting isn’t always great, I’m transcribing text in the captions of images.

Here’s what I learned and have been itching to share:

Public Libraries & STEM Conference; Denver, CO, Aug. 20-22, 2015 (Image by Amy Koester)

Help define a new 21st Century vision of STEM in public libraries. (Image by Amy Koester)

There were several goals of the Public Libraries & STEM Conference, but one in particular resonated with me immediately: to figure out what STEM/STEAM in public libraries could/should look like in our age of technology and innovation. What is the library’s role now, and what should it be? It’s within our collective power to create a framework for STEM in public libraries.

Collaboration as a System of Collective Impact (FSG) From individual orgs with individual goals & pathways to collaboration of goals and pathways (Image by Amy Koester)

That said, while we, libraries, can certainly make some decisions and create some practices around this (or any other) topic, it’s imperative that we recognize that we are NOT the only institutions with a vested interest in STEM learning and experiences. Yet if we think of ourselves as wholly separate from other organizations even when  they possess similar goals to our own, we’re muddying the waters. Or, rather, as Marsha Semmel (formerly at IMLS) shared from an organization called FSG, each individual organization is moving in its own direction. It’s a little bit of chaos, no matter how well intentioned. But when we collaborate, however–and this is meaningful collaboration, in which we set a common goal and common pathways to achieve it–we can actually accomplish meaningful progress and change.

“Progress moves at the speed of trust.” Collectively see, learn, do. (Image by Amy Koester)

An integral part of meaningful collaboration: trust, said Marsha Semmel. If we observe together, learn together, and act together out of a trust that we truly are working toward a shared goal, we can accomplish transformative change much more quickly than independently, or even working parallel to one another.

STEM Learning Ecosystem: P-12 Education, Family, Out-of-School Programs, Higher Education Institutions, Business Community, and STEM-rich Institutions as spokes around the Learner – Ellen Lettvin (Image by Amy Koester)

Part of developing that trust is recognizing that we as libraries are a single aspect of a larger learning ecosystem. When it comes to STEM learning for youth, we fit into a larger puzzle of groups and individuals supporting students. Ellen Lettvin, of the U.S. Department of Education, emphasized some of those other players in this ecosystem, including students’ families; their schools; their out-of-school programs and activities; community businesses; institutions of higher education; and STEM-rich institutions, of which libraries may be one.

Out of school experiences are increasingly central to the public’s STEM learning. (Image by Amy Koester)

Why do we need to recognize that we’re part of a larger learning ecosystem? John Falk, from Oregon State University, has researched this very topic, and has oodles of evidence supporting the fact that all of those experiences that youth–any age person, really–have out of formal school contexts are more and more important to overall STEM learning. Schooling isn’t sufficient in and of itself.

Learning is continuous and cumulative. (Image by Amy Koester)

That’s because, says Falk, learning is continuous and cumulative. It happens all the time, and it constantly builds on what a learner already knows. There is no place or situation that is not ripe for learning. As such, if the library is a place people spend time, the library is necessarily a learning place.

Libraries as hubs & hosts of STEM. (Image by Amy Koester)

Now, we know this. We know that libraries are institutions of learning. But in what capacity? Are we mostly places of individual discovery? Of information support? What if we really embraced that concept of library as learning place to its fullest extent and intentionally and proactively support the public who use us? We could be intentional hubs and hosts of STEM learning–or, truly, any type of learning that our communities need.

R. David Lankes: “The power of libraries is not in being a space for X, it is in being a space to facilitate connections between community members and local organizations that are experts in X.” (Image by Amy Koester)

David Lankes, from Syracuse University, was careful to emphasize, however, that our being hubs and hosts of STEM learning does NOT necessitate that we ourselves be the be-all, end-all experts. Should you tap staff expertise and interests in creating STEM programs and services? Absolutely. But remember that whole bit about collaboration for collective impact? Here’s where it really comes in. There’s a very legitimate school of thought that says that libraries’ best role in supporting STEM learning, across the board, is to meaningfully collaborate with organizations who are unequivocal experts in STEM so that we can connect our patrons directly to the experts. We are mediators, introducers. That makes our capacity so much greater than it could ever be on our own.

“Partnerships help us develop more and more programs and to bring those programs to the people we are targeting.” -Sharon Cox, Queens Library Discovery Center (Image by Amy Koester)

This sentiment was echoed by Sharon Cox, from the Queens Library Discovery Center. It’s an entire library dedicated to children’s STEM learning and exploration, and even with that mission, focus, and staff expertise, they add huge value to what they are able to bring to their community through partnership with organizations who are expert in STEM and whose goals align with the library’s. As libraries, we’ve always thought of ourselves as the people who connect our public to the resources they need. This type of collaboration means that the definition of “resources” our public requires may very well include organizations other than our own.

“Do what you do best, and link to the rest.” -L. Rainie; Libraries should NOT be trying to do everything. (Image by Amy Koester)

Or, in other words, we continue to do what we do best and then connect our patrons to the rest of what they way. That was the overarching sentiment from Lee Rainie from Pew Research Center–that libraries are strongest not because they can do everything, but because they can connect you to people and organizations who can.

Cultivate collaboration. Ask: What are our shared interests and goals? -Dale McCreedy, The Franklin Institute, LEAP into Science (Image by Amy Koester)

So if we’re deliberately not doing everything, and we’re also going to best support our patrons’ STEM learning through collaborating with expert STEM learning organizations, how do we collaborate? Dale Creedy, who works at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and is a collaborator with the Free Library of Philadelphia to offer a LEAP into Science program, says that the first step in cultivating collaboration is to reach out to other organizations and straight up have a conversation. Your intent: to identify what, if any, are your shared interests and goals. If you determine that you don’t have sufficient shared interests/goals to merit the time and resources that would go into a formal collaboration, it’s no real loss–you now know more about the organization and can better identify when to direct your patrons to them. But if you do have sufficient overlaps in your interests and goals, the foundation is primed for you to work together. Now you can shift your conversation to what, specifically, your shared goal is, and how you might reach it together.

Collective Impact: How do we serve as part of a solution, as opposed to the solver? -M. Figueroa (Image by Amy Koester)

This type of conversation can actually be a little clumsy for libraries. We tend to think in terms of the library being the sole solver of a problem, rather than just one player in a larger solution–that’s according to Miguel Figueroa from the Center for the Future of Libraries at ALA. Collective impact necessitates that libraries be part of a collective solution, which may require a bit of a mindset shift.

Collaborations: Actively participate in a robust learning ecosystem; Re-envision the library with community input; Bring people to museums, and vice versa -Dr. S. Sampson (Image by Amy Koester)

So what to do to enact that mindset shift, to form those meaningful collaborations? Dr. Scott Sampson, Vice President of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (and also Dr. Scott the Paleontologist from Dinosaur Train), gave some suggestions in the form of a few progressively-more-involved strategies. Starting small, figure out how to bring people to libraries, and vice versa–that is, how to bring libraries to people. Where are the people in your community who do not come to the library? What spaces do they tend to use? Figure out collaborations with those places to bring the library to them.

Next in the spectrum is re-envisioning the library with the input of the community. We tend to get into a library echo chamber and create new programs and services based on what other libraries are doing or what we think would be appealing to the community. But that’s not the same thing as asking the community what they need the library to be. It could be through surveys, focus groups, inviting a cultural organization to the space… the possibilities are endless, and the results fruitful.

Last on that spectrum is actively participate in a robust learning ecosystem. Sound familiar? It should, and the concept is repeated here because it is so important. When we work on our own, we are limited to reaching the people we personally serve. But when we are part of a larger ecosystem, however, we not only draw on the strengths of fellow elements in the ecosystem but we draw from the people they reach as well. Maybe a person child will just never come to the library; that’s just the reality of their life. But they do go to school and out-of-school activities. So if the library is part of a learning ecosystem that includes that school and those activities–if we collaborate with them–we do reach that child in a fundamental way.

A Collaboration Workbook: 1) Install a collaboration team; 2) Find a common goal; 3) Listen to the community; 4) Generate ideas for collaborative programs; 5) Prioritize and implement programs -Heart of Brooklyn (Image by Amy Koester)

Dr. Sampson’s best suggestion for a model for collaboration comes from the Heart of Brooklyn, a cultural partnership involving the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park, and Prospect Park Zoo. Their method: Install a collaboration team whose first task is to find a common goal that al of the partners can get behind. Then listen to the community; is your goal their goal, too? From there, the partners and the community can generate ideas for collaborative programs and services–these should be in play with one another, building off one another, not simply a list of isolated programs that take place at isolated institutions. With those ideas in mind, it’s time for the collaboration team to prioritize and implement select programs. Obviously there will also need to be some evaluative piece after this implementation, but that’s a bit beyond the main takeaway of this post: collaboration.

“What is holding us back is not money. The currency in short supply is collaboration and vision.” -Dr. S. Sampson (Image by Amy Koester)

And collaboration is vital for transformative, dynamic support of STEM learning by libraries. Yet many of the smart people at this conference indicated that, right now, collaboration–and the vision of collective impact that can inspire and support it–is in short supply. We need to recognize that libraries need not go it alone when it comes to supporting STEM. That is not to say that we shouldn’t invest in doing some STEM programing and providing relevant services ourselves; it is just to say that we can do so much more when we collaborate with others who also aim to support the STEM learning of our communities.

That vision of what we can do together is huge.

The collective impact we can have when we collaborate meaningfully is massive.

And what, after all, is our overall goal as libraries if not to support our communities in transforming their lives?

The post Collaboration for Learning: Notes from the Public Libraries & STEM Conference appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Creative Commons search – maker supplies

Sometimes, school life and library life overlap.  Sometimes they don’t. Often I read the posts of my public library friends and find myself nodding my head and then I read the posts of many school librarians and my experience doesn’t mesh with theirs.  There are two hot topics that are happening right now in both the arenas of education and libraries and we should definitely be expanding our thinking and reading outside of the library and the school publications proper.

Makerspaces.  Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past 3-5 years, you’ve been reading about, learning about, or implementing some aspect of making whether you are in a school, a school library or a public library. I know that as children’s librarians we have been participating in maker culture for years, but the new focus really is more than a rebranding.  The blending of digital and analog, the open ended and problem solving nature of presenting students and patrons with possibilities instead of directions are both different from some of the making that we were doing early in my career as a youth services librarian.

Design Thinking. I recently participated in my own school’s Innovation Institute which brought together members of the faculty to use design thinking to solve a problem or create something new to share with our faculty and students.  The Gates Foundation and IDEO have created a Design Thinking Toolkit for Libraries.  While this way of thinking and problem solving is definitely taxing on the brain, it does tend to lead to innovation. We are always telling our students to take risks in their learning, and as librarians we should be willing to take some risks in ours as well.

The following are some links from the education world that easily lend themselves to library environments.

Edutopia – Design Thinking

Maker Ed – Projects and Learning Approaches

Teacher Librarian – The Philosophy of  Educational Makerspacea

Knowledge without Borders – Design Thinking for Kids

I’d love to hear back from librarians who have successfully used design thinking either with colleagues or kids. Also, feel free to drop your favorite maker link into the comments!

The post Ideas with Crossover Possibilities appeared first on ALSC Blog.

• The Sunnyvale Library Make-HER blog offers fantastic inspiration. From: Conversation Starter: From Maker to Make-HER: Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Girls.
• Look at your existing resources people, meeting rooms, digital, etc.   Are you using them to their greatest potential?  From  Session: So You Didn’t Get the Awesome Teen DigiTechnoSuperLab: Now What?  Joslyn Jones was funny, smart and offered valuable information.
• Change is inevitable.  When the work environment is in transition, most everyone experiences anxiety.  You can control your situation in the long-term.  Transform yourself.  Make yourself more valuable to your library and community.   From: No Sugarcoating Allowed: Four Honest Perspectives on Change Management.
• Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to connect not only with our customer base, but also with authors.  Virtual author visits anyone?  From: riding the shuttle bus with the energetic and cool School Librarian and ALSC Live Blogger Stacey Rattner.
• Moving outside your comfort zone is a good thing.  Librarians are naturally helpful.  So if you need help navigating your first conference or getting a ride to the airport when it is all over, just ask.   ALSC also has a mentor program.  You can check it out here.
• If you can’t make it to an in person event, try these online learning opportunities offered by ALSC.

I had a wonderful time at #alaac15.  I enjoyed learning and sharing with the amazing librarians, writers and artists.  Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and making my experience so grand.

Angela Chadbourne
Youth Services Librarian
Santa Clarita Public Library

The post My Top Transforming Takeaways from #alaac15 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Yesterday at the Networking Uncommons we held the first Program-a-Looza. This open share session, brainchild of Danielle Jones, Kahla Gubanich, Mary Pearl, and yours truly, focused on cheap, easy children’s programming for public libraries. Inspired by grassroots sessions, such as Guerrilla Storytime and YA Smackdown, Program-a-Looza was created as a way for children’s library staff to take home tangible programming ideas, tips, and resources.

During yesterday’s session participants were encouraged to brainstorm and bring their personal strengths and experiences to the table. First, each person shared a favorite easily replicable program. Ideas ranged from a simple recycled materials egg drop to cookie forensics, Halloween at the library to community member enhanced storytimes. Next, we picked a programming topic and spent 2 minutes brainstorming ideas using pens and sticky notes. This quick activity sparked a list of over 20 activity ideas around topics like multi-generational programming and STEAM for elementary.

Sound interesting to you? Stop by Program-a-Looza today at 11:30am at the Networking Uncommons. We’re planning to try Program,-a-Looza at midwinter in Boston, so keep your eyes open for those times as well!

The post Program-a-Looza at #alaac15 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

This fast paced session featured a panel of 6 speakers. Each speaker had 5 minutes to present with 25 slides. These slides can be accessed on the conference website. Here’s a quick recap of the presentations from this morning’s session.

What eCommerce Can Teach Us about Discovery: Lessons from SXSWi 2015
Using ideas from other industries and thinking about how they apply to libraries. The example used was fashion.

Not Another Sad Gay Love Story
Terms for gender identities were briefly defined. Notable publishers, authors, and series in LGBTQ lit were listed. Titles mentioned were mostly adult and YA.

Diversity Action Plan
Presented by Jason Low from Lee & Low Books. He talked about the ways Lee & Low is hoping to attract diverse people to get into the publishing industry, as well as how to encourage diverse authors and illustrators.

Here It Is, Your Moment of Zen
A hilarious presentation about the graphic elements of book displays. Jesse talked about the power of communicating through visuals. He encouraged librarians to create displays that are short, timely, funny, and interesting.

Adventures in Preschool Science
Introducing inquisitive preschoolers and their caregivers to STEM at the library is important. It’s also important to teach caregivers to talk about science with their children so that learning continues beyond the library session. Tips on modeling for caregivers on how to ask questions to encourage exploration and critical thinking skills.

Let the Wild Rumpus Begin: Beyond the Library Echo Chamber
An invitation to get out into the community and exchange ideas with patrons to be an Information Enabler. Take your passion out in the community so that the library has a voice and so you can have a deeper conversation about information needs.

The post Ignite Session at #alaac15 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

ALSC Online Education (image courtesy of ALSC)

Summer has a way of sneaking up on you, doesn’t it? ALSC is giving you a little extra time to get ready for our new semester of online courses. Registration is open for all courses. Classes begin Monday, July 13, 2015.

Two of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs) by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options. For more information on ALSC online learning, please visit: http://www.ala.org/alsced

NEW! It’s Mutual: School and Public Library Collaboration
6 weeks, July 13 – August 21, 2015

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
4 weeks, July 13 – August 7, 2015
CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs

Storytelling with Puppets
4 weeks, July 13 – August 7, 2015
CEU Certified Course, 2.2 CEUs

Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC Online Learning website. Fees are $115 for personal ALSC members; $165 for personal ALA members; and $185 for non-members. Questions? Please contact ALSC Program Officer for Continuing Education, Kristen Sutherland, 1 (800) 545-2433 ext 4026.

The post ALSC Online Courses for Summer 2015 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

At the Lewisville Public Library, we host a weekly afterschool STEAM program for students in grades K-2 that focuses on STEAM-related topics.

Building Things

We started offering this program, called Prime Explorations, in the Fall of 2013. During the preceding summer I participated in the online ALSC course “STEM Programs Made Easy”. The class lived up to its name! I learned ways to incorporate STEM ideas into programming that we already offered, and received best practices of how to plan new STEM events for youth.

At our library, two people plan and implement Prime Explorations. While we do occasionally repeat especially successful books and activities, we have developed many topics in the past two years including counting coins, origami, castles & catapults, nonstandard units, life cycles, and parts of the scientific method.

Tangrams

When this program first began, it replaced a storytime for 1^st-3^rd graders. We already incorporated some STEM activities in the programming, but we weren’t marketing it as such. Just changing the name and promoting the inclusion of STEM activities positively affected community interest and attendance numbers. Prime Explorations accommodates up to 20 attendees, and we let parents sit in. They help us during the individual hands-on activities; they are great helpers! In 2014, we went from STEM to STEAM as we incorporate some arts and craft activities into the programs.

Rubbings of Animal Tracks

There’s a rough template that we follow for Prime Explorations. It runs 45-55 minutes. We always start with at least one book about the topic. It may be a picture storybook or it may be informational picture book, depending on the topic and what we have in our collection. Sometimes we will not read an entire book but rather share interesting facts related to that week’s topic. (For example, did you know that a cockroach can live for a week without its head? It’s a fact that I can’t forget.) We then work as a group together on a guided exploration, and then we break up into smaller groups or work individually on one or more activities.

We always try to have additional activities that we know we may not get to; sometimes we don’t know how long a certain part of a program will take. As you can imagine, students work a different rates. We’ve learned over time what K-2 students can and cannot do, and we have adjusted our expectations and activities.

Marshmallow Structure

At the end of the program we distribute take-home sheets so that the students can talk with their families about the week’s topic and engage in further exploration. The sheets offer book suggestions, discussion starters and related activities.

If you are interested, I’d be happy to share some of our STEM program outlines or take-home sheets. I love reading about other library’s successful programs, so feel free to share yours in the comments below!

(All pictures courtesy of guest blogger)

***********************************************************

Our guest blogger today is Claudia Wayland. Claudia is the Youth Services Supervisor at the Lewisville Public Library in Lewisville, TX. She is on the ALSC Managing Children’s Services Committee and was selected to participate in the upcoming 2015 Texas Library Association TALL Texans Leadership Institute.

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].

The post Prime Explorations appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Photo by Stephanie Blackwell of Glen Ellyn Public Library

I personally am happy to see the “A” added to STEM. Art should be regarded equally with other academic subjects. Fine arts promote visual learning which can be more effective than traditional methods with some students. It can help develop motor skills and language learning as well as creative thinking. Music can increase comprehension with mathematics and improve your memory.

Many STEAM topics can be suited for any age, since they are based on interest rather than ability. Family programming is a safe investment. Children can learn by example from their parents. Families can bond and enjoy activities together, possibly discovering a new group hobby. The program may spark subjects in conversations, or even inspire a teen with a career goal. Adding art to the mix enhances your programming and allows more collaborative projects within the family. Art can be combined with other letters too. Glass blowing can focus on the science of melted glass as well as the piece of art created. Mixing paint to get different colors can highlight fractions and ratios.

There are a multitude of workshops available for librarians offering tips and tricks for STEAM themed programming, but you must know what will work for you, your library, and your community. Be sure to include other local organizations. Utilize an already established partnership, or use this motivation to make a new connection. Look at each local business and think of their duties in regards to STEAM. Assign each organization a letter based on the activity you think of, and how this can be translated into a hands-on or instructional program for your community. This practice will help you think outside of the box for activities and the variety of your programming. Of course, you can offer related book selections to your program’s attendees.

STEAM themed programming will undoubtedly breathe new life into your library. As STEAM is such a popular topic, you are showing the community that you can stay current. Bringing more variety brings more people – more relationships within your area, as well as more library users. Remind the community that your library is a beacon for inspiration and knowledge beyond just what’s inside a book.

*******************************************************

Our guest blogger today is Christina Keasler. Christina is the Middle School Librarian at Glen Ellyn Public Library in Glen Ellyn, IL.

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].

The post Taking the leap from STEM to STEAM appeared first on ALSC Blog.

We enjoy making things in the Children’s Room.  Catapults for rubber band balls and elaborate paper airplanes. Colorful chemical reactions. Louise Nevelson-inspired shadow boxes. Hand-sewn pillows stuffed with lavender.  Even sushi and super delicious doughnuts topped with cinnamon sugar.  But as delightful as we’ve found stirring, stitching, and sculpting–and designing projectiles of all shapes and sizes–we’ve recently discovered how much fun we can have unmaking.

For a recent program we called “Taking Things Apart* (*No reassembly required.),” we collected old computer system units that we begged from a university IT department, where offices constantly update and swap out their CPUs.  With a few screwdrivers and pliers from around the library and a few others brought in from home, we set up the computers on card tables and gathered fourth to sixth graders in small groups around each unit.  And then we asked them to find out what’s inside.

This wasn’t an electronic scavenger hunt–we provided no specific objectives or procedure to follow.  We talked about safety, though, and reiterated our goal to disassemble the computers, not to break them.  (There’s a reason we didn’t give them hammers, after all.)  Because the power sources can occasionally hold a dangerous charge even after unplugging the computers, we showed the kids how those components are labeled and instructed them not to touch the batteries.  As they got further into the guts of the machines, we came around and removed the power sources ourselves.  And we’re proud to report zero electrocutions.

Once they pried open the computer casings, the kids required no additional prompting to explore the electronics.  They delicately unscrewed hard drives, unhooked data cables, and plucked segments from the motherboard.  Many of the larger pieces have their own serial numbers, and when students wondered about the purpose of a part, we offered them a (functioning) computer to enter the number and read about the component’s use.  And they cooperated!  Passing around the tiniest screwdrivers and holding sections steady for each other, they rooted around in the guts and held out their micro-trophies for everyone else to admire.  “Can I keep this part?” one asked, over and over.   “What about this?  I want to take this piece home with me.”  (No one took anything.  Everything went to hazardous waste at the dump the following week.)

Near the end of the program, one girl who had spent half an hour dismantling a DVD drive plopped into her seat.  As I scooted over to check in with her, she set her tools down and yelled: “This is so much fun!”  So, we had no projects to take home.  And we spent the hour deconstructing and not creating.  But we definitely made a good time.

Robbin Ellis Friedman is a Children’s Librarian at the Chappaqua Library in Chappaqua, NY, and a member of the ALSC School Age Programs and Services Committee. Feel free to write her at [email protected].

The post Taking Things Apart* (*No reassembly required.) appeared first on ALSC Blog.

ALSC Online Education (image courtesy of ALSC)

Online Courses

Explore new ideas and great library thinking with ALSC online courses! ALSC is offering four great options including three CEU-certified courses. All courses are offered asynchronously (self-directed) meaning you won’t need to logon at a specific time. Learn new youth library-specific skills at a pace that’s comfortable and convenient. Courses start Monday, April 6, 2015.

• Children with Disabilities in the Library
  6 weeks, April 6 – May 15, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 3 CEUs
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
  4 weeks, April 6 – May 1, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
• Storytelling with Puppets
  4 weeks, April 6 – May 1, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 2.2 CEUs

Webinars

Because life in a library moves fast, ALSC webinars are the perfect solution for someone who wants and needs educational information but doesn’t have a lot of time or resources.  These short (one to two hour) interactive sessions taking place in Adobe Connect give librarians and library support staff the opportunity to learn right at their desks.

March

Building STEAM with Día: The Whys and Hows to Getting Started
Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 12 pm Eastern/11 am Central

May

Celebrating with Poetry Snapshots
Thursday, May 7, 2015, 3 pm Eastern/2 pm Central

Archived Webinars

Missed a webinar you wanted to attend? Don’t worry! ALSC presents archived versions of webinars, which are offered at a discounted price. Archived webinars cost only $25. Please note that recorded versions are not available until all of the live sessions of that webinar have taken place.

The post Upcoming ALSC Online Learning appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Learn more about Día at dia.ala.org

Thinking of hosting a Día program at your library? While the ALA Building STEAM with Día grants deadline has passed, it’s never too late to set up your own program. Have questions about where to start, who to contact, and what kinds of things you should do? Well, look no further—we will answer your questions right here!

First thing you must do, is log onto http://dia.ala.org, read a bit about Día and what others have done in the past, then register your program. This registry creates a searchable database of Día programs of all sizes from across the county that highlight Diversity In Action. Not only is the database a resource for you to find ideas, and printables that may work for your community, but it’s also a great place for your library patrons to find programs they might be interested in attending.

Then you need to take a deep breath. For those who have not held a Día program before, it does not need to overwhelm you. This is Children’s Day/Book Day, a celebration of the importance of literacy for children of all backgrounds. So, do what you do best…invite the community to join you in celebrating literacy.

Who should you contact? Everyone! Start with the list on the dia.ala.org website under the Learn More – Partners and Supporters page. This list links you to great national organizations who have indicated interest in celebrating Día. From there, look to your communities. Other agencies who serve children are a natural fit, but restaurants, and ethnic grocery stores can also be great partners and add a completely different element.

What should you do? Host a Book Fest, each room of your library is a celebration of a book, culture, or language. If you have enough partners involved, have them each be responsible for a room. Then families can move through the library, experiencing and discovering a variety of new things. Hold a Books Alive Parade, encourage children to dress up as their favorite book character and march around the library. Hold a few sessions that offer tips and tricks to create a love a reading in every home. Start a book club, using books that are offered in both English and another language. Encourage the sharing of cultural and personal experiences. Offer a variety of extension activities that coordinate with a book, showing children that literacy is more than just reading a book, but also all the things you can do with what you’ve read and learned.

Best tip: invite organizations and agencies to join you, and let them create their own activities to share with your patrons.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Post written by Beth Munk, Kendallville Public Library, Kendallville, IN

Pictures courtesy of the Kendallville Public Library

The post The Newbie’s Guide to Hosting a Día Program appeared first on ALSC Blog.

• Some me stuff to start us off.  NYPL turned its handy dandy little 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2014 list into an interactive bit of gorgeousness.  So as to help it along, I wrote a blog post on the library’s website (I have two blogs, if you want to get technical about it, but only one of them has my heart) with the following clickbait title: They Put THAT Into a Book for Kids?!  Forgive me, oh blogging gods.  I couldn’t help it.  It was too much fun to write.  Oh, and while we’re on the NYPL blogs, I really enjoyed Andrea Lipinski’s post about our old (and I mean OLD) Books for the Teen Age lists.  How can you resist this cover, after all?

• Recently I was alerted to two older but really fascinating links regarding ARCs (Advanced Readers Galleys) and their procurement and use in the book world.  Over at Stacked Books one post discussed the current state of handing out galleys at large national conferences like ALA.  The other one took the time to poll people on how they use their ARCs and what they do with them.  Both make for magnificent reading.  Thanks to Charlotte Taylor for the links.

• It’s sort of nice when our reference librarians, both past and present, get a little acknowledgment for the super difficult questions they have to field.  Boing Boing recently related a piece on some of the crazier questions the adult reference librarians have to field.  Children’s librarians get some out there ones as well, but nothing quite compares to these.

• Ah. It’s the end of an era, everyone.  In case you hadn’t heard the ccbc-net listserv has closed its doors (so to speak) for the last time.  Now if you’re looking for children’s literary listservs you’ve PUB-YAC and child_lit.  Not much else to read these days, I’m afraid.  Except bloggers, I suppose.  *irony laden shudder*

• In happier news there are book finalists popping up like wildflowers.  Cybils on the left!  Nerdies on the right!  Something to tide us over until the ALA Media Awards, at any rate.

• In the meantime, if you’re looking for a compilation of all the Best Children’s Books of 2014 lists out there, Susan Thompsen has pretty much been creating them single-handedly for I don’t know how many years now.  Times changes.  Blogs come and go.  But Chicken Spaghetti?  It’s forever, man.

• One thing I learned about writing Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature with Jules Danielson and Peter Sieruta?  It’s simple.  Heirs = good.  Estates = headaches.  And the recent piece Rosenbach contests Sendak value just backs me up on this one.

• I was over at Monica Edinger’s apartment the other day when she showed me this little beauty:

She’d already blogged a quickie review of it, so when the news came in that it won a UK Costa Award I had the odd sensation of being, if only momentarily, inside the British book loop.  And if you looked at that cover and thought to yourself, “Gee, that sure looks like a WWI sequel to E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It” you’re sort of right on the money.

• So I’m prepping my branches for some hardcore Día programs (El día de los niños/El día de los libros or Children’s Day/Book Day) by buying them lots of Día books.  I go on the Día website to order off of the book lists they have there, and what do I find?  Some of the coolest most up-to-date STEM/STEAM booklists I have EVER had the pleasure to see.  They’re so good, in fact, that I had to alert you to them.  If you’re looking for STEM/STEAM fare, search no further.

• Daily Image:

Pretty much off-topic but while strolling through Bryant Park behind the main library for NYPL, my boss and I came across the fountain back there.  Apparently when the temperatures plunge they figure it’s better to keep it running rather than risk bursting the pipes.  Whatever the reason, it now looks like this:

Download all three 2015 Building STEAM with Día book lists (image courtesy of ALSC)

The four Building STEAM with Día book lists are available for children from birth to Pre-K, kindergarten to 2nd grade, 3rd to 5th grade and 6th to 8th grade. PDFs of the reading lists are available online in full color and are free to download, copy and distribute. Book lists are available to download through the ALSC or Día website.

The lists also feature simple and age appropriate STEAM activities to accompany one of the titles on the list. Each is designed to help librarians and parents bring the book to life through easy hands-on STEAM activities.

Titles and activities in the Building STEAM with Día book lists were selected and developed by members of ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee. These free book lists were made possible through the Everyone Reads @ your library grand funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

The post ALSC announces Building STEAM with Día booklists appeared first on ALSC Blog.

ALSC Online Education (image courtesy of ALSC)

Happy holidays from ALSC!

Know what makes for happy holidays? The encouragement and enthusiasm of learning alongside your peers in an ALSC online course.

Registration is now open for the winter 2015 ALSC online course season. Topics include children with disabilities, STEM programming, using puppets, and storytime. Classes start Monday, January 5, 2015.

Three of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). The American Library Association (ALA) has been certified to provide CEUs by the IACET. ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options. For more information on ALSC online learning, please visit: http://www.ala.org/alsced

Children with Disabilities in the Library
6 weeks, January 5 — February 13, 2015
CEU Certified Course, 3 CEUs

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
4 weeks, January 5 — January 30, 2015
CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs

Storytelling with Puppets
4 weeks, January 5 — January 30, 2015

Storytime Tools
4 weeks, January 5 — January 30, 2015
CEU Certified Course, 2 CEUs

Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC Online Learning site. Fees are $115 for personal ALSC members; $165 for personal ALA members; and $185 for non-members. Questions? Please contact ALSC Program Officer for Continuing Education, Kristen Sutherland or 1 (800) 545-2433 ext 4026.

STEM/STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math for the uninitiated) has been the hot topic on many a librarian’s mind in 2014. ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee has been working recently on creating a specific booklist that showcases the many, many books being published that have a STEAM connection. This STEAM list has a twist though! It focuses not only on STEAM but on another very important topic, Dia (diversity in action). Not only do these books provide a great look at STEAM ideas but they feature a wide array of multicultural backgrounds and experiences. Speaking as one of the members on the committee, this list was immensely fun to put together. It will be a handy collection development tool for anyone (librarian or not!) looking to diversify the STEAM experience for children. Here is a small preview of some of the titles on the list.

For the birth to Pre-K crowd, expect to see concepts set amidst different cultures and experiences.

• In Round is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by John Parra, a little girl spends time in her neighborhood discovering shapes. This title is interspersed with Spanish words and a glossary at the end to help readers in their pronunciation.
• Jennifer Vogel Bass’s Edible Colors will be a great jumping off point for children and caregivers to learn colors and talk about different food experiences.

For older readers, there is exploration and fun to be had in the titles the committee chose.

• Yuyi Morales’ Viva Frida examines the artwork and creation process for Frida Kahlo in a kid-friendly story that will have readers itching to create art themselves.
• In Rosie Revere, Engineer, by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts, failure seems like an all too scary proposition for this small girl. Will it put a halt on her creativity?
• Patrick Dillon examines the engineering and history behind several famous buildings in The Story of Buildings: From the Pyramids to the Sydney Opera House and Beyond. Be sure to have some craft sticks and glue or Legos handy as children attempt to create their own building!

These titles are only the tip of the iceberg! The multicultural STEAM possibilities for programs, storytimes, outreach events, and passive programs will seem endless with this list. And if you are having trouble brainstorming a great activity, the Quicklists committee will provide a few ideas to get you started. Look for the complete Building STEAM with Dia booklist on the ALSC website soon!

 ******************************************************

Our guest blogger today is Sarah Wethern. Sarah is a Youth Librarian at the Douglas County Library in Alexandria, Minnesota. She is a member of ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee and is an active YALSA member too. You can find her on Twitter (@whtabtpineapple).

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].

At my library, LEGOs are perpetually popular. We host a LEGO Contest at least once a year with a continual level of success. Also at my library, we are currently focusing on new technology initiatives to enhance our programming. Thus, my idea to combine the two and try a LEGO Mindstorms program was born.

As I had never used LEGO Mindstorms before, I did a ton of research well in advance. I put a call out on several listservs for help and ideas, and received a plethora of valuable insight. Then, I asked my IT department to order a Mindstorms EV3 kit to try out to see if it would be doable for us. I worked closely with one of our IT technicians to tentatively make a plan: he would familiarize himself with the robots, be there to troubleshoot, and help with more advanced questions; and I would learn the very basics and come up with the program outline.

We ended up purchasing 6 LEGO Mindstorms EV3 core kits to use and downloaded the free software from the Mindstorms website. (Note: You can purchase a site license from the LEGO Education site to get the Teacher’s Edition of the software. It’s much more expensive, but it’s supposed to come with lesson plans and such already done for you.) One day, about a month before the program, I went up to the IT office to work on the outline when I received the news: the IT technician I had been working with was leaving the next week for another job! This meant I was on my own and needed to be good enough to not only use the robots, but also teach the tweens how to use them.

I borrowed one of the robots and set to work giving myself a crash course in LEGO Mindstorms. I found The LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Discovery Book by Laurens Valk to be extremely helpful. I decided to break the program up into three 1-hour sessions and a final 2 hour session that would meet weekly after school. I opened up the program to tweens in grades 4 to 7 and geared it towards those with no programming or robotics experience. You can find a detailed outline of each of the sessions here, but this is basically how I broke down my program:

Day 1: I wanted to give the tweens a good foundation for programming/coding language which would help them with the LEGO Mindstorms software, so for the entire first day we worked with the Hour of Code website. The nice thing about it was that the programming blocks on code.org looked almost identical to the programming blocks from the Mindstorms software. We went though the first hour of code together, but since I anticipated that some tweens would work faster than others, I told them where to stop (which was before the next video) and gave them extra mazes to complete if they finished early.

Day 2: I introduced the tweens to the LEGO Mindstorms software, the parts of the robot, and the steering blocks. Then I gave them some challenges to try based on what we learned, which you can find in my outline. (Note: To save time for this program, we pre-built the robots for them. We chose the Track3r bot with the claw arm as pictured at the top of this post.)

Day 3: We went over the rest of the action blocks (display, brick status, and sound) and the flow blocks. Then I gave them some more challenges based on what they learned that day, which you can find in my outline. We didn’t bother learning any of the other more complicated blocks since this was a beginner class, but I encouraged them to play around with these blocks if they felt comfortable.

Day 4: I began with a very brief overview and asked if they had any questions. Then I gave them some time to just play around and experiment with programming their robots. With about an hour left, I gave them one final challenge using the mission pad mat that comes with the Mindstorms kit.

Here are some videos of the neat things they programmed the robots to do:

What I Learned:

• The tweens had the most fun when they had free reign to experiment and play.
• The final challenge that I gave them seemed to be too difficult and they got frustrated and just didn’t try. Next time I would either make up an easier version of that challenge or just forget it altogether.
• Because we only had 6 kits, we put the tweens in groups of 2 and 3. This seemed to be a good number per kit.
• I didn’t end up needing the full 2 hours for the last session day, so the next time I might just host four 1-hour sessions.

Tips:

• I realize that these robot kits are expensive and not every library has the funds to purchase multiple kits. One of the suggestions from the listserv was to work with your school’s robotics team to see if they would lend you kits and/or work with you to run the classes.
• I was the only adult in the room with 16 tweens most of the time. For one of the sessions, I had the help of an older teen who had been on his school’s robotics team. It made all the difference when it came time for the tweens to complete their challenges. If you can have a second person in the room, especially if it’s someone who has advanced robotics experience, you’ll be much less overwhelmed.
• For any challenge you give the tweens, have an answer key ready in case they get truly stumped so you can give them hints. I made up answers to my challenges, which you can find here and here. They helped me immensely, though please note that they aren’t the only possible answers and I am still not a robotics expert by any means.
• I also tried this as a standalone 2 hour program. I geared it towards kids in grades 4 to 7 who had a basic understanding of programming or Mindstorms. I ended up getting a mix of beginners and non-beginners. The outline of this session was 30 minutes of software and robot overview followed by 90 minutes of challenges. Because I wasn’t sure about the experience level of this group, I gave them options for each challenge: an easy option and a more challenging one (make your robot move in a square or make your robot move in a triangle). This worked out really well!
• If you don’t want to use the mission pad that comes with the kits, you can also download and create your own challenge maps here.

Other Helpful Links:

Beyond Legos: Coding for Kids (ALSC Blog)
Build Better Robots with LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3 (The Digital Shift)
Tinker Group
Getting Giggles
Robotics for the Rest of Us (YALSA Blog)

Have you hosted a LEGO Mindstorms program at your library? If so, any other tips/tricks?

Kim Castle-Alberts is a member of the School-Age Programs and Services Committee. She is also a Youth Services/Emerging Technologies Librarian at the Hudson Library & Historical Society in Ohio. You can find her on her blog, on Twitter, or at [email protected]. 

All photos are courtesy of the Hudson Librar & Historical Society.

My manager and I toss around What Ifs all the time. What if we tried this? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could do that? What if it’s finally time to try that crazy idea out? The Fizz Boom Read summer reading theme seemed like the perfect time to try one of our most beloved What Ifs: circulating science kits.

Backyard Science Kit

This was a challenge firmly outside our wheelhouse. We’ve done some science programming in the past, generally for preschoolers, but it’s no one’s passion. I browsed Lakeshore Learning and Amazon for ideas and divided my favorites by age, preschool, elementary and tween (4th to 6th grade), while keeping some practical guidelines in mind: we wanted to include a related, high-quality nonfiction book in each kit, everything had to fit the backpacks I had already selected, and we needed to avoid consumable items. I split most of my orders between Lakeshore Learning and Amazon. My favorite exception was owl pellets, which came from a school supply store complete with forceps and identification booklets. That kit has received a lot of responses – mostly amazed and thrilled, only a few horrified.

We ended up with 17 themes, 3 copies each at the main library and about a dozen total at each of our two branches. Prepping the backpacks was probably the most onerous part of the project; it took me several days and plenty of assistance to organize, de-package, and pack. We photographed each kit’s contents to assist patrons, but ran out of time to laminate and include them. We included small notebooks for comments, but these are not often used and most of the feedback has been verbal. We allowed three exceptions to the “not consumable” rule: owl pellets, rainbow scratch sheets and sunpaper. For these, I put ten into a baggie labeled with a request to only use 1 to 2 per child, and everyone has respected that. Our library associate Jenny doubles as our Kit Mistress, doing random checks of the kits every month and any necessary restocking or repair. For labeling, we bought badge holders and luggage loops. The badge holders contain color coded cards with the zbar on one side and the title/recommended age on the other. These are the one thing that often seem to go missing! We had to re-barcode several before we swapped the loops out for zipties. I chose to use coatracks and hangers for display, which didn’t take up much room and made browsing simple. Due to space issues, we chose not to make the kits available for holds. Brief catalog records were suppressed so patrons couldn’t search for them but we could access them from the staff side. On day one, 25 out of 51 were checked out. Day two, they were all out! We never had more than 10 checked in at a time all summer long. Even at our branches, which always see much lower circulation stats, there were only 1-2 available on any given day. We checked the numbers after three months – in 13 weeks, with one-week checkouts, every kit had circulated between 8-10 times, a few as high as 13. A month later, after school started, each kit had gone out another 1-3 times. Even the Bedtime Math kits, offered only because we already had the logs, went out consistently. Now that we have about 20 checked in on any given day, we store them in a divided cart, which offers more room. The kits were a runaway success, and we’ve heard so many positive comments from kids and caregivers alike. When I was given more money this fall, though, I knew what changes I wanted to make.

1. 

   Discovery Kits Logo

   We tend to call them our science kits, but we’ve never wanted them to just be science. Officially, they are Discovery Kits, and our next round will include writing, music, art, foreign language and more technology.

2. Age groupings are too limiting. Anyone can do just about anything if they have the interest and adult support. Geometry (Spirograph, Playsticks, Growing Spirals) was color-coded elementary, but preschoolers and tweens like it, too. We’re still finalizing our new categories, either mostly All Ages, with a handful of Beginner and Advanced, or by topic: Physical Science, Life Science, Math and Engineering, Technology, Arts and Music, Language Arts.
3. We bought an extra of every activity for what we thought were inevitable replacements, but no more! It takes too much storage space, and people have been handling everything so carefully that we’ve only had to replace two things. We’ll repurchase on an as-needed basis.
4. 

   Discovery Kits Cubby

   The divided cart holds all the backpacks, but gets messy quickly. We purchased cubbies from Lakeshore Learning – one backpack per cubby. This will make the kits easier to browse and easier to keep neat. This is important as we add another 30 backpacks into the mix.

5. Patrons want to know what’s inside. On our next set, the attached cards will list out brief descriptions of content. They’ll also include our brand new kit logo, from our in-house graphic designer.

Our full list, including new themes, is here: http://bit.ly/OPPLKitList This has been an exceptionally fun and rewarding collection to launch. The planning and organizing were a bit time-consuming, largely because I started out so ambitiously, but the returns have been incredible. I love seeing the kids marching out of the library wearing their new Discovery Kit – although it’s even better when they bring it back and beg to get another one right away! I can’t wait to see the response to the expanded selection of themes.

(All pictures courtesy of guest blogger)

****************************************************************************

Shelley Harris is a Children’s Librarian and Family Learning Coordinator at the Oak Park Public Library in Oak Park, IL. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC. If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].