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National Arts and Humanities Month
In 2009, President Obama named October National Arts and Humanities Month. In his official proclamation, the president said, “It is the painter, the author, the musician, and the historian whose work inspires us to action, drives us to contemplation, stirs joy in our hearts, and calls upon us to consider our world anew. The arts and humanities contribute to the vibrancy of our society and the strength of our democracy…”
Also in October: Don’t forget American Archives Month, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Family History Month, Teen Read Week, and Day of the Girl.
From the Blog
Feeding (into) the Frenzy
On March 17, the Des Plaines (Ill.) Public Library held its first after-hours teen program. The “74th Hunger Games” was the culmination of more than a year of planning by the youth services department head, the teen librarian, the web services librarian, and the youth services assistant.
New for May at EDSITEment
This month, EDSITEment offers three Launchpads designed to spark discussion about Hawthorne’s “The May-pole of Merry Mount,” Neruda’s “Oda al mar,” and Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”; celebrates Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month; and shares stories from survivors who came of age during the Holocaust.
Feature
Systemwide Training for Programming Librarians: Palm Beach County Library’s Approach
If only there was a class in library school on how to select, plan, coordinate, and publicize a library program! Some schools may teach storytelling techniques to future children’s librarians, but not how to organize and prepare for the storytime. Still others may touch on library programming in classes dealing with services to seniors or special populations. Yet, these courses don’t teach the nuts and bolts of providing programs to their patrons, whether for adults or kids. What kind of information a programming librarian does need to know is most likely taught in other university schools—communications, business, and hospitality. How then can libraries help their staff become confident, creative, and effective programming librarians for their organization if they don’t have backgrounds in public relations, marketing, and event planning?
Whether your library is a public, school, special, or academic library, you most likely will provide regular programs and special events at your organization and have a designated staff member or team to plan and coordinate programming. Read more | Systemwide Training for Programming Librarians: Palm Beach County Library’s Approach
In the News
All at Your Local Library
GREENSBORO—Shawn Waddell had little reason to patronize a public library. “I would go to Borders or Barnes & Noble to buy books. I had a computer at home, databases at school,” the N.C. A&T sophomore says. “I didn’t need to go to a library.” That changed last year, when friends urged him to join them in the Teen Poetry Project at the McGirt-Horton Branch Library. Read more
Quote of the Week
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.—Albert Einstein