Programming Librarian

From the Library

A Journey through a Goldmine: PBS.org Resources for Programming Librarians
Unless you’ve been living in a mine shaft, you know PBS creates excellent early literacy television shows. Between the Lions and Word World make reading fun for emergent and beginning readers.

Early Literacy Parties in Spanish
Fiestas de Alfabetización Temprana en Español, or Early Literacy Parties in Spanish, is a featured program hosted at the King County Library System (KCLS) branches and co-funded by the King County Library System Foundation. These eight-week series of free weekly workshops for Spanish-speaking parents and caregivers with children ages newborn to five designed to raise awareness of the importance of early literacy.

Growing Like a Read: Tailoring an Early Literacy Program for Your Community
Children’s librarians try hard. They buy the best books, attend the best workshops and conferences, plan and deliver the best story times, read the best and latest professional literature, incorporate best practices. But they may only see a child for thirty to forty-five minutes per week or less.

From the Blog

Apply Now for a Free Moon Viewing Kit
The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is pleased to invite public and school libraries to apply for a free Moon viewing kit! To qualify for a kit, applicants must commit to hosting an International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) event on Saturday, October 8, 2011.

Brains!
Perhaps sparked by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, zombies are once again all the rage. It takes brains to tap into the undead audience in your program planning. Do you have what it takes? These libraries do:

Bring Literacy to PRIME TIME
Want to expand upon your library’s literacy programming? Curious about the PRIME TIME Family Reading Time program? Here’s your chance to apply for a grant that includes a training workshop, stipends, and materials.

Bring the Excitement of NASA’s Mars Explorations to Your Youth Programs
The Lunar and Planetary Institute is hosting a FREE NASA-supported training, Explore: Life on Mars?, which will be held in conjunction with the 2012 MPLA/NLA/NEMA Tri-Conference. This two-day training features hands-on activities and supporting resources about NASA’s investigations in the scientific field of astrobiology

Call of the Wild (and of the Canines)
Let’s just get this out of the way: I’m a dog person. I’d say ask me about my own dog, but you don’t have to—chances are, I’ll tell you about her anyway. And so when I saw that Stockton-San Joaquin County (Calif.) Public Library had picked Call of the Wild by Jack London for their Big Read program and kicked it off with an event featuring dogs, I had to share.

Cast Your Vote for Programming at ALA’s Annual Conference
Want to see more programming-related learning opportunities offered at the 2013 ALA Annual Conference? Here’s your chance to make your voice heard! The Public and Cultural Programs Advisory (PCPAC) Committee has submitted proposals for an Ignite Session and a Conversation Starter to be held in Chicago.

Creative Aging at Rouses Point Dodge Memorial Library
Throughout the workshop the student artists gained confidence, motivation, and great enthusiasm toward this art medium. There was a tremendous amount of conversation and encouragement from the student artists and teaching artist. The student artists could not wait to show me their progress and product at the end of each class.

Dreams Can Come True @ your library
Thirteen-year-old Josh Smith’s dream of visiting to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., is about to the come true, thanks to a trip to the Haverhill (Mass.) Public Library. As avid library users and baseball fans, the Smith family discovered the Step Up to the Plate @ your library program while visiting their library this summer.

Encouraging Young Authors
I’m fortunate to have grown up in a state that offers a book writing and illustrating contest for elementary students, the Young Author Program. I have fond memories of creating my own little book, so I was thrilled to see that Glenwood Intermediate School partnered with Chatham Area Public Library for its program.

Featured Library: Bonner Springs City Library
The 2011 Jazz on the Lake fundraising gala was a success for Bonner Springs City Library (BSCL), raising $11,500 for a new programming series for preschoolers through teens. Titled “Imagination Destination,” the two-year series will focus on the arts and science.

Featured Library: Rainbow City Public Library
The Rainbow City (Ala.) Public Library just wrapped up their summer reading program for kids. Featuring the theme “Make a Splash—Read!,” the program had 586 registered participants reading 9,500 books.

Featured Library: River Forest Public Library
The River Forest (Ill.) Public Library (RFPL) is celebrating Mark Twain this month with a variety of programs for all ages.

Featured Library: Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake City Public Library recently hosted a box city developed by local fourth- through sixth-grade students. The library partnered with four local elementary schools and the American Institute of Architects’ Young Architects Forum to bring the city to life.

Featured Library: Scituate Town Library
Looking for programming that includes parents, children, teens, science, and a local partnership? Check out the the Scituate (Mass.) Town Library for inspiration.

Free NASA Training for Wisconsin Public Library Staff
The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is hosting a free, NASA-supported workshop, “Explore: Life on Mars?” on April 3–4, 2012, at the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum in Madison. The program is designed to help you bring earth and space science to your communities through fun and engaging hands-on activities.

Get It Write @ your library
It’s always the write time to offer writing classes at your library. You’re sure to find people in your community who would like an introduction to writing or the chance to build upon their writing skills. Here are just a few program examples for all ages, from fiction to nonfiction to poetry.

Go Big or Go Home
Life-sized board games! For those of you who already have gaming at your library, here's a way to take it to a whole new level. Not offering gaming? Why not start big? Here are a few innovative programs I found online...

Has Your Library Stepped Up to the Plate?
The Campaign for America’s Libraries is looking for stories showing how libraries are promoting the fifth season of Step Up to the Plate @ your library. From now until August 17, libraries are encouraged to submit stories, photos and videos of Step Up to the Plate @ your library activities.

Help Kids and Teens Discover Earth
The Lunar and Planetary Institute is pleased to announce the release of Discover Earth: Hands-on Activities, a module to support hands-on Earth science explorations in libraries and other places of community learning. Educators are invited to download the activities, supporting reading games, and facilitator resources.

Help Kids Explore the Universe @ your library
Everyone knows that a library card is a ticket to far-off lands. Now through a partnership with IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures, ALA will help library users explore the universe.

It’s Time Again to Step Up to the Plate @ your library
Step Up to the Plate @ your library, the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual trivia contest about the “boys of summer” returns just in time for summer. This year’s program is a whole new ball game. With a greater emphasis on social media, people of all ages are encouraged to use the resources at their library to answer a series of trivia questions developed by Hall of Fame staff.

Kentucky Kids Get Ekphrastic
You may not know what the word “ekphrastic” means, but a host of kids from west Kentucky in grades three through nine could tell you. Ekphrastic poems comment on another art form, such as painting, sculpture, or architecture.

Kids Meet Science at Des Plaines PL
Blinded by Science? No way! The pictures tell the story. More than four hundred people attended the second annual Family Science Expo at Des Plaines (Ill.) Public Library on Saturday, October 16, from noon until 4 p.m. Exhibitors from all over the local engineering and science spectrum came together to demonstrate to kids and their parents just what it is they do.

Librarians As Engineers: Robotics at Your Library
National Robotics Week (NRW) celebrates robotics technology development each April (this year it’s April 7–15). The NRW website advocates funding robotics programs while addressing its increasing use in healthcare, medicine, manufacturing, and other sectors.

New for April at EDSITEment
This month, EDSITEment celebrates poetry and jazz, compares giants of Hispanic literature, reads for civic reflection, looks back at the events of this month in 1968, discusses fairy tales and today’s youth, and shares some exciting news.

New for August at EDSITEment
This month EDSITEment looks at the Statue of Liberty and Thomas Hart Benton’s The Sources of Country Music as well as resources for United States history, world history, literature and language arts, and arts and culture.

New for July at EDSITEment
It’s July, summer is in full swing, and EDSITEment celebrates American leisure as well as remembers the Battle of Bull Run on its 150th anniversary and looks at worlds of Shakespeare and Beatrix Potter.

New for June at EDSITEment
Summer is upon us! It’s a good time to catch up on your reading or do some traveling (even if it’s only a virtual roadtrip). This month, EDSITEment offers new and refreshed features and lessons as well as links to useful NEH-funded websites.

New for March at EDSITEment
This March, EDSITEment focuses on Women’s History Month; offers a new lesson on the Magna Carta, a new unit on early American foreign policy, and a new launchpad on Benjamin Franklin; takes a look back at March 1968; highlights some of the best humanities on the web; and shares this month’s don’t-miss programs on PBS’s American Experience.

New for May at EDSITEment
This month, EDSITEment offers three Launchpads designed to spark discussion about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The May-pole of Merry Mount,” Pablo Neruda’s “Oda al mar,” and Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.” EDSITEment also celebrates Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month by taking a look at the travels of Manjiro Nakanohama, our first Japanese “ambassador,” and shares stories from survivors who came of age during the Holocaust.

Only Fifty-Nine Days Until Talk Like a Pirate Day
As Dave Barry once wrote, “Every now and then, some visionary individuals come along with a concept that is so original and so revolutionary that your immediate reaction is: ‘Those individuals should be on medication.’” Now, I have no knowledge regarding the mental or physical status of International Talk Like a Pirate Day’s founders, but I do know pirates* are a great way to inject some fun into your library programming.

Plan Your El día de los niños/El día de los libros
To better serve the growing population of libraries offering events for El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), also known as día, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) released a new día website. The completely redesigned site includes a día resource guide for public and school librarians, giving them everything they need to produce a Día event at their library.

Publicize Your El día de los niños/El día de los libros Events
As libraries throughout the country continue to expand their collections for diverse communities, thousands will celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), also known as Día, on April 30, 2012. Libraries from coast-to-coast will host celebrations with family programs, including bilingual story hours, book giveaways and other literacy events.

Recycled Craft Day
I love to put on a recycled craft activity, and I’ve offered one for Earth Day for the last four years. It’s amazing what things you can do with junk. It’s also a great way to encourage children to make their own crafts at home with things they find around the house.

Registration Open for 2012–2013 WrestleMania Reading Challenge
Registration is open for the eighth annual WrestleMania Reading Challenge, sponsored by WWE and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. The challenge encourages teens and tweens to read during Teen Read Week and beyond.

Science in the Summer
I admit that, during my high school years, I only reinforced the stereotype that girls were no good at math and science. (In fact, saying I was “no good” is probably being too kind; my chemistry teacher would likely suggest “utterly hopeless at” as more accurate.) I can’t help but wonder what might have been, however, if I had had a Science in the Summer program at my library as a child.

Science That’s Fun (and Messy!)
The Wilkinson Public Library in Telluride, Colorado, is launching its “No School Science Project” for children tomorrow. Partnering with the Pinhead Institute, the library developed this series of after-school programs to inspire students in grades three to six to learn about science.

Share Your STEM Program Experiences
The American Library Association Public Programs Office is collaborating with the National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at Space Science Institute (SSI), Boulder, Colorado, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), and the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) on a series of science exhibits and programs in libraries.

Smart Cookies
Some co-workers and I were talking about our favorite cookie recipes earlier this week, and discussed setting up a cookie swap for the holidays. It should come as no surprise to you, however, that libraries are way ahead of us.

Summer Reading Program Website Launched
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is launching the 2013 Teen Summer Reading Programs website. As the hub for summer reading and summer learning, the website offers a place to go to exchange information and ideas to help them implement programs for and with teens.

Teaching Students How to Unplug
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) awarded Kristen Pelfrey, a teacher at Foothill Technology High School, Ventura, California, the 2013 MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens. The award provides $500 to the recipient and $500 to the recipient’s library and is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust.

Young voters @ your library
The library has long been referred to as the cornerstone of democracy, providing free and equal access to information for all people. Adults across the country know that their library is a go-to resource when it comes to being a well-informed participant in the electoral process.