What is Mix It Up at Lunch Day? This program, now in its tenth year, was developed by Teaching Tolerance, a project of The Southern Poverty Law Center. Since the cafeteria is common ground to all school students, it also is the place where most cultural and social lines are drawn. By encouraging kids to sit at a different table and hang out with someone new, these divisions can be broken down through the simple act of breaking bread together, and sharing a conversation.

Teaching Tolerance has many resources available, from posters to discussion guides. You can also register your school as an official Mix It Up participant—over 2000 schools have already registered. Plan now to take advantage of this free and easy-to-implement program.

So, what’s the goal of this orientation anyway? First, I’d like all students to learn that the library is a friendly, welcoming place, a safe haven in the storm that is high school. Sometimes all a student needs is a place to hide out. Secondly, I want all students to really know what we have to offer them: fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, audiobooks, magazines, and reference books. I want them to actually log in and access our ebook collection. I want them to use the databases, save articles, and generate citations. All of this is a fairly large hope for a group of kids who’ll undoubtedly ask, “How many points is this worth?”  So knowing my audience fairly well, I’ve decided to resort to outright bribery, and I’m going to convince my staff to be open and prepared for the chaos I’m sure to unleash.

I’m putting together a scavenger hunt. Yes, I know, this is not a terribly new idea.  But I’m planning on throwing a few twists in to make it interesting and keep the students engaged.  Students will travel around the library in groups of no more than three. To begin, each group will receive a clue, in the form of a Call Number, which leads them to a different print location so not all students are converging on the same spot at the same time. I’ll need to develop at least 12 different scavenger paths so students touch on everything fabulous in the library without tripping over each other.  When students locate their book, they’ll find one of those old plastic VHS cases disguised as a book and containing candy (Smarties most likely) and their next clue, which will be one of a variety of things. Several will direct them to specific computer stations with directions to access a specific database. They’ll need to locate an article on a given topic, generate the citation, and email it to me along with their group number so we can keep everyone organized and on individual scavenger paths. I plan to have my assistant back in my office sending out the next clue when she receives correct emails. Other clues will lead to “books” containing QR codes linking to our website. One clue will direct them to check out an ebook. Yet another clue will lead them to iPads loaded with Aurasma videos demonstrating how to download newspapers and periodicals on their laptops and smartphones.

Ultimately, the real goal of this chaotic undertaking is to teach kids that the library is a place where questions are answered, passions are pursued, and where dreams are launched. Obviously, this is a work in progress, but as it takes shape, I’d love to hear what other librarians are doing to spice up their obligatory orientation.

For more ideas on how to spice up your orientation, check out Joyce Valenza‘s Orientation Inspiration post on her Neverending Search blog.

Teen Tech Camp: Raspberry Pi

Photo credit: Rebecca Murphey

Our library partnered with local tech professionals Julia Elman and Sarah Kahn (UNC-SILS MLS 2008) to host a daylong event focused on programming Raspberry Pi using the Python programming language. Thanks to a generous donation from the Python Software Foundation (PSF), we were able to provide each attendee with a Raspberry Pi, power supply, an SD card, and two books on programming in Python to take home.

The event was open to students ages 12 to 18, regardless of previous computer programming experience. Sign up was first-come, first-served, and teens who attended a similar event in Fall 2012 were given a bit of advance notice. Only twenty spots were available due to the limited amount of equipment we received from our PSF grant. Volunteers from the tech community set up the network and provided instruction. Noted Python educator Kurt Grandis developed the curriculum outline for the day, but when Kurt had a family emergency, Clinton Dreisbach stepped in at short notice to provide the actual instruction.

Seventeen students spent from 10 am to 5 pm learning the basics of programming in Python as well as the ins and outs of using a Raspberry Pi. We were able to send them home with the materials provided by the grant, as well as a free monitor, keyboard, and mouse. In other words, a free computer. How much did this cost my library? About $30, spent on name badges and painter’s tape.

Powerful Partnerships

Photo credit: Rebecca Murphey

How was it possible to provide such high quality STEM programming to the teens in Durham for almost no cost to the library? We were able to benefit from powerful partnerships. When the PSF grant came through (in a mere six weeks), Sarah and Julia began canvassing for volunteers and materials.

They gathered gently used peripherals from individual donors as well as from Triangle Ecycling, a local ewaste recycling organization. Julia’s company, Caktus Consulting Group, provided funding for a healthy breakfast and lunch for campers and volunteers. Splatspace, a local hackerspace, donated nifty 3D printed Raspberry Pi cases. The City of Wilson (home of North Carolina’s first community owned gigabit broadband network) provided the campers with goody bags and cool promo sunglasses. Providing these extras was a great way to show teens and their parents that they are valued members of the library community.

Lasting Results

Teen Tech Camp attendees ranged from 12 year-olds with no programming experience to 18-year-old veteran hackers. Teaching complex concepts to a diverse audience was not easy. Some of our attendees were definitely more motivated by the copy of Minecraft we preloaded on to their Pi than anything else.

Photo credit: Rebecca Murphey

But to quote organizer Julia Elman, our “goal for the 2013 Teen Tech Camp was not to have the students walk out of the library, ready to take on complex computer programming challenges. It was to spark interest in the students and get them excited… By using varying techniques and providing a safe space for learning, we were able to engage every student at an individual pace. They will take away the motivation, energy and drive to keep on learning, because someone believes in them.”

During the 2013-2014 school year, we plan to support the young coding community created at Teen Tech Camp by hosting library sponsored hackerthons and providing further resources online. By providing high quality materials and technology instruction to young people, we hope to empower the next generation, increase diversity in the technology field, and encourage teens to be digital content creators as well as consumers. You can do it too!

Autumn Winters, Teen Services Manager at Southwest Regional Library, a regional branch of the Durham County Library system in Durham, North Carolina

Teen Read Week is an national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It’s aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults.

Espresso Book Machine final product

With the recent installation of the Espresso Book Machine at our Rust Library, and the popularity of self-publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing (or another of the myriad self-publishing platforms), anyone can be an author. We are often approached by authors (both popular and self-published) as well as book agents and publishers asking if we would like to host them for a book discussion, reading, or signing. Our inclination is to say yes because “Libraries are in the reading business,” as marketing librarian Nancy Dowd said at our Staff Development Day last year. But many authors leave the program details to us, putting us in a tentatively enthusiastic position of figuring out what to do. While that is stressful—Will anyone come? Will the author hate what we did?—it is also a fun opportunity to engage our audience by trying something new. No two books are the same, so neither should two author events.

Teens waiting for Jay Asher to begin

So how do you plan an author event that is more than a C-SPAN-like reading and Q&A session? First you should know the book. And by “know” I mean read. I rarely recommend a book that I haven’t read, so there is no way I would ask someone to take the time to read the book and attend the event when I have not made the effort to do so. Knowing the themes, parental guidance factors (sex, drugs, violence), and style of the story help me recommend the book to the right audience. I didn’t give Thirteen Reasons Why to every teen girl who came into the Teen Center looking for “a good book.” Instead I probed, asked what their favorite books and hobbies were, and suggested from there. Do we want hundreds of people in the audience? Yes. Am I willing to lie to readers about how much they would like a book, just to get them there? No. My library’s Teen Center has a bigger tween scene than teen one, so inviting Jay Asher and his tale of suicide was a tad worrisome for us. Luckily, a perfect mix of young readers and adults attended the event, quelling our fears.

Jay Asher with It’s All Write promo

Jay Asher’s visit in the spring was a two-day experience that took him to the juvenile detention center, a high school, my library, and the It’s All Write short story contest awards ceremony. His presentation at the high school was only for students who had submitted essays to their teachers. A local bookseller sold Ransom Riggs and Tahera Mafi novels at their co-headlining event, which was candid and hilarious as they introduced each other and gave out swag to anyone who asked a question. Prior to Bruce Coville’s book reading and Q&A, young readers were encouraged to create “fan art” at a table set up in the Juvenile section. We usually offer pizza, free stuff, books for sale, or activities as a way to break the ice between staff, the audience, and the famous person standing at the podium. All parties involved seem to appreciate this approach because it keeps everyone engaged instead of sitting around waiting for the author to make the first move.

We are currently working with a local author to plan a YA Writer’s panel, which includes giving ARCs of some of the authors’ debut novels to our teen book club members. Elise Nader, author of Escape from Eden (Merit Pr.), has already committed to five copies for the giveaway. Working directly with the teens is a great way to determine if we should continue with the program, as their input is the most significant. The relationships we have established over the past six months with our teens are helpful in planning future programs.

Fresh Paint traces the development of teen services for a new public library in an underserved community.

Wow!  School is starting soon and the lazy-crazy days of summer are drawing to a close! My guess is we all had a season jam-packed with travel, family, learning, reading, recreation, mountain climbing, rebuilding, and (I hope) relaxing.

No matter what you did, as you return to school, you’re bound to hear that traditional phrase, “What did you do on your summer vacation?” Just like you, many of our kids have had some remarkable experiences this summer. Some have taken advantage of leadership opportunities, internships, travel and exploration, team events, books and literature, movies, and concerts. They’ve learned rules, refined lessons, conquered challenges, and oh, did I mention, read a few books?

Our students’ experiences demonstrate their knowledge and diversity, and it’s worth sharing. Get your “tech on” and you’ll learn that students’ ability to share this information using 21st-century skills is incredible.

Here are the top 10 ways to kick off the school year that will allow your students to share the richness of their summer experiences.  These activities just might help teachers and classmates to better know, understand, and appreciate each other.

1) Use Instagram to create a collage of pictures with daily prizes. You might want to suggest themes such as:

○     Sports, books, travels, jobs, concerts, pets, family, friends, etc.

○     Use a free collage app for your phone or tablet like Framatic,  Instaframe, or Instacollage.

○     Post collages on your library web page or blog, display them in the library and online.

2) Start a contest where students vie for the most ‘Pinterest-ing’ summer.

○     Use Pinterest to post movies watched, food eaten, places traveled, books read, concerts attended, lessons learned, sports played, etc.

○     Award cheesy prizes to the best pages like this one.

3) Have a video contest using Vine or Instagram Video (or similar video tool) to create persuasive short videos about why their summer was the “awesome-ist.”

○     Announce rules, select top-notch judges, and advertise prizes.

4) Post a “back-to-school” survey you create using Google Forms. Then compile the answers with hyperlinks and post on your website.

5) Use Socrative to help select a slogan or theme to encompass students’ summer experiences.

○     Set up Socrative’s short answer form so students can submit slogans and/or themes.

○     After several slogans have been submitted, initiate the voting feature and have students vote for the best slogan/theme.

6) Start a Twitter hashtag contest:

○     Solicit tweets to a common hashtag on twitter such as #mascotvacation

○     Have a daily theme for tweets such as best books read, hottest/coldest place traveled, highest elevation, farthest traveled, concerts attended, sports played, etc.

○     Display tweets and give daily cheesy prizes.

7) Have a summer photo contest:

○     Have students submit online and use Thinglink to provide links or videos to explain what it is about the photo or experience that stood out for them.

8) Have an essay contest using a theme such as something new tried, class taken, skill learned or job completed in 150 words or less. You can simply use GoogleDocs, or a site like Stage of Life, which features a free blogging community for teens.

9) Have students anonymously submit their best summer memory and make a game of trying to match the experience to the student.

10) Use Aurasma to showcase things that inspired your students over the summer.

You might be surprised how sharing these experiences can enhance your relationships with your students in the coming year. But what may really surprise you is how this may strengthen their relationships with each other. I think you’ll find that the combination of experiences your staff and students have accumulated over the past few weeks will astound you.

Acclaimed author/illustrator Ashley Bryan celebrated his 90th birthday at the Simon & Schuster Children’s fall preview on July 25. The winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton and Coretta Scott King Awards was joined by librarians, publishing professionals, and fellow children’s books artists.

Author/illustrator Ashley Bryan, Donna Isaacs, and author/illustrator Paul O. Zelinksy hold a copy of Bryan’s next book, Can’t Scare Me. (l. to r.)  Photo by Rocco Staino

Santa Clarita Public Library‘s (CA) summer reading program is in full swing at their Canyon Country branch.

The Magic of Food and More program with Lincoln Bond.

Michael McCarty storyteller extraordinaire

 

Jewelry created by teens at the Trash to Trinkets program. Photos courtesy of the Santa Clarita Library Tumblr.

 

The Big Brain Club is a non-profit organization that helps students become the best version of themselves. Founded by author and broadcaster Dom Testa, of the award-winning “Galahad” series (Tor Teen) and the bestselling “Mindbender” books (Profound Impact), the Club and its members believe that smart is cool!

The organization was formed to provide free programs and resources to students, schools, teachers, and parents. The Big Brain Club professionally publishes the creative writing of kids in grades 6-12, donates technology to classrooms, and provides a clearinghouse of resources for teachers and students interested in encouraging good reading and writing skills, leading to success not only in the classroom, but in life as well.

“The magical wizard Harry Potter (the “older” end of the generation): These “first wave Millennials” (today’s 20-somethings) came of age in the economic boom of the 1990s/2000s, a time infused with the spirit of “Yes We Can” and the belief that college, working hard, and playing by the rules would guarantee future success. Raised by idealistic Boomer parents, they were told they were special and gifted, with a magic wand capable of changing the world. They were shaped by a context of seemingly limitless possibilities.

The Hunger Game’s trailblazing survivalist Katniss Everdeen (the younger end of the generation, peeking into Gen Z): This second wave of Millennials, today’s tweens and teens, have known a very different youth. They came of age in an economic downturn, seeing college grads struggling with huge student loan debt and living through “a cascade of social media-amplified tragedies like Hurricane Sandy and Sandy Hook. For them, life has always been a 24/7 social media show.”

According to MTV, the younger Millennials have high expectations for themselves, want to have clear goals and plans for the future, and are likely to engage in DIY learning. So what does this mean to teen services librarians? Possible library programming for the “Katniss” group could include SAT prep for tweens, financial planning, and “share an expert” presentations. And because “57% like to take a break from technology to make things with their hands,” consider cooking, woodworking, sewing, or pottery classes to share with teens.

We are Gum Spring Library and we are officially a community resource.

Our programs, planned with no idea as to their potential popularity, have been wildly successful (except the showing of Up which only had one attendee, which makes me worry that our future animated film showings won’t be well-attended either). Crafts, (non-animated) movies, and Teen Cuisine (learning to read nutrition labels, chop foods, and follow recipes) have all been met with enthusiasm and repeat attendees. But the overwhelming number of our attendees are 12-14 years old.

This realization that tweens are our most frequent Teen Center users has forced us to look closely at our upcoming programs. Since September, October, and November programs have been on the books since late May, we cannot remove or add anything. Instead, we can only tweak what is already planned in order to make it appeal (and be appropriate) to a certain crowd. For Teen Read Week (Seek the Unknown @ your library), we are hosting Blind Date with a Book, which encourages teens to check out a book whose outer layer is concealed, with the hopes that they will try a title they otherwise would never have picked up. But if the current trend remains the same, should we self-censor the titles we choose to wrap up so we don’t unintentionally scar a 12-year old-girl with the scathing language of Sherman Alexie’s incredibly well-written and powerful book Flight (Grove Pr., 2007)? We want to expose program attendees to great books, but should we sacrifice titles with mature or jarring content just in case a younger teen picks one up?

In September we are hosting a series of SAT prep workshops and seminars for teens, and have already been asked by numerous parents if their 12- and 13-year-old children are allowed to attend. What we thought was going to be popular with high school juniors and seniors is of real interest to our tween patrons. Should we restrict the attendee age to high school sophomore or older, or allow any teen? Will letting younger teens attend keep older teens from seeing the programs as productive?

Tweens are an often underserved demographic in libraries, as are teens as a whole, so my colleagues and I are very happy to have so many of then attending our programs. Planning tween-specific programs in conjunction with (or at least with advice from) the children’s librarians will be very important going forward. On the other hand, keeping the space relevant for older teens is just as important. How can we welcome both, without giving either end of the age group an advantage over resources, programs, or attention? One way is to ask the age of all patrons. On many occasions this summer we have asked children to vacate the game room because they are not old enough, just as we have asked 19 and 20 year olds to leave because they are too old. Maintaining the age restriction of the Teen Center takes time and effort, but the teens who qualify to stay in the space usually respond with appreciation. No babysitting, no being babysat. Welcome to the Teen Center, where you are responsible for yourself.

Fresh Paint traces the development of teen services for a new public library in an underserved community.

The Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris is part of a modern complex of four office towers.

Depaire first arranged for me a visit and tour of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, a modern complex consisting of four office towers that is in stark contrast with most of Paris, and there I met with Annick Lorant-Jolly, chief editor of the Revue des livres pour enfants, and Nathalie Beau, who is in charge of France’s international affairs regarding children books.

I learned that the business of children’s books is relatively young in France, with beloved French iconic characters created in America, such as Madeline, still barely known to French children. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1970s that children’s books began to come into their own in the country, with public libraries creating the first children’s sections. Beau herself was responsible for the first children’s library in Strasbourg (the capital of the Alsace region in eastern France, and seat of the European Parliament).

Annick Lorant-Jolly, director of the National Center for Children’s Literature, and Nathalie Beau, who is in charge of France’s international affairs regarding children books.

At the moment, over half of the children and young adult titles in France are translations from other countries, with the United States well represented. Any American librarian would feel comfortable browsing bookstores and libraries and seeing such familiar covers and titles such as Jules Feiffer’s  Aboie Georges! (Bark George! HarperCollins, 1999), John Green’s Nos Etoiles Contraires (Fault in Our Stars; Dutton, 2012), or Siobhan Vivian’s La Liste (The List; Push, 2012).

America has its share of “rock star” authors and illustrators such as Brian Selznick, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mo Willems but I was surprised to learn that it is not the case in France.“There is something strange between childhood and adulthood,” Annick Lorant-Jolly told me. In France and other Mediterranean cultures, “childhood isn’t cherished in the same way” as in America, she said.

A display of children’s reading materials in one of France’s public library branches.

But that is changing with Le Genevrier, a publisher who is bringing the Caldecott Medal and Honor books to the French public for the first time. In what is called Caldecott Collection, it plans to publish many titles with a few notable changes. Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal (Viking, 1948) will be Blueberries for Lily, while the title of Lynn Ward’s The Biggest Bear (Houghton, 1952) has been changed to The Bear Who Loved the Maple Sugar.

Both Beau and Lorant-Jolly also shared several French authors and illustrators that are popular, some of which are available in English translations. Benjamin Chaud, an illustrator for young children, has with Ramona Badescu the “Pomelo” series, which is available in English from Enchanted Lion Books. Audrey Poussier is another popular illustrator whose titles are published in France by l’ecole des loisirs, who is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a publisher of children’s books.

A collection of French children’s books.

One of the most popular French children’s books of recent time is Chien Bleu (l’ecole des loisirs, 1989) by Nadja. Unfortunately, this magical tale—about a mysterious big, blue dog and the girl who befriends him—is difficult to find in English.

Graphic novels for all ages are abound in France and thanks to Toon Books, the popular Claude Ponti is available to American audiences with Chick and Chickie Play All Day! Many in the US are familiar with the illustrator, Olivier Tallec. He has created art for more than 50 books for children, including Waterloo and Trafalgar (Enchanted Lion Books) and the well-known “Rita and Whatsit” series (Chronicle Books). In 2010, Big Wolf & Little Wolf was chosen as a Batchelder Honor Book. Also known to American audiences is Popville (Roaring Brook, 2010) by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud, a clever pop-up book that shows urban expansion. It was chosen a Best Book by Bank Street College in 2011.

Bookstores, as well as libraries, throughout France are typically abuzz with activity.

One of the most popular children’s book authors for middle grades in France was born in Newark, NJ. Susie Morgenstern has written more than 70 books, and has been award the Mildred Batcheldor Award for literature first published in a language other than English for Sweet Letters from 0 to 10 (Viking 1998) and for Joker (l’ecole des loisirs, 1999).

As in the United States, books for teens tackle serious subjects like self-discovery, deportation, and separation.  Florence Aubry is one such author whose books have touched upon road rage, alcoholism, and unbridled sexuality. I was shown Le garcon talisman (Rouergue, 2012), a novel about an albino boy in Tanzania who is hunted because albino bodies are prized; in the book, it is believed their hair or a piece of their flesh can achieve incredible power.

Notably, school libraries in France are mandated only on the secondary level, yet there is much collaboration with the public libraries on all levels. It was interesting to see that in many towns in France, the public library is house in historic buildings. Many of these buildings are older than the United States! Both bookstores and libraries were buzzing with activity that proved that an old French reading campaign still holds true, “Happiness Through Books.”

For a slideshow of the entire trip, click the photo below:

By Lisa G. Kropp

Do you know STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)?  From hosting “parties” with traditional building blocks to using science kits with young children, ideas for STEAM programming in libraries were discussed at a recent panel at the ALA (American Library Association) annual conference.

The panel, “What’s Hot in STEAM Education: How Using ECRR2 Supports Literacy, Common Core, and School Success,” also honed in on using hands-on activities to build skills outlined in the updated Every Child Ready to Read initiative.

At the packed, standing-room-only event, moderator Christy Estrovitz, early literacy coordinator of the San Francisco Public Library, hosted panelists including Dr. Judy Cheatham, vice president of literacy services at the organization Reading is Fundamental (RIF), along with Eva Mitnick, coordinator of children’s services at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and Susan Anderson-Newham, early learning supervising librarian at the Pierce County (WA) Library System, and a 2013 Library Journal  Mover and Shaker.

Judy Cheatham of Reading is Fundamental: Resources for teaching STEAM and ECRR

What does STEAM programming mean to public libraries and early literacy services? According to Cheatham, STEAM has the potential to help position public libraries at the forefront of language and literacy development, particularly when working with parents, young children, and teachers.

Founded in 1966, RIF is the oldest, and largest, children and family literacy non-profit in the US. Its mission is to motivate young children to read by working with them, their parents, and  community members to make reading a part of everyday life.

Cheatham noted that the RIF site offers a multitude of resources to use when planning library STEAM programs. RIF’s 2012-2013 Multicultural Book Collection focuses on books that enhance STEAM education, and related four-page resource guides feature a wealth of information and suggested activities for parents, librarians, educators, and community coordinators.

The resource guides suggest simple ways to add STEAM activities to literature-based projects. “Teachers don’t have to be Albert Einstein’s offspring to do STEAM activities,” Cheatham noted, challenging the audience to infuse more STEAM into their programming.

Why focus on STEAM education at such an early age? Cheatham explained that in order for U.S. students to compete in a global economy and job market, we needs to improve their math and science skills. Middle School is the wrong time—too late—to introduce complex science and math terms and vocabulary, she said. Research shows that young children’s brains are like sponges, she noted: eager to absorb information on a wide variety of topics.

Cheatham cited statistics showing that 75 percent of students who are poor readers in third  grade remain so in high school. After third grade, cognitive demands increase yearly, as does the pressure to master  the new Common Core State Standards. If we don’t start introducing scientific vocabulary to kids at a younger age, she argued, we are going to lose the war on literacy and set students up for failure down the line.

Children’s librarians can serve their communities by creating STEAM programs for parents with young children, and by offering educators access to STEAM-rich materials and activities, Cheatham noted.

RIF recommends using Z is for Moose with STEAM activities.

She also stressed the need to target learners earlier through workshops incorporating ECRR best practices: talking, singing, writing, reading, and playing. One book that RIF recommends for STEAM activities is Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinksy (HarperCollins, 2012). RIF’s suggested related activities for the book listed included all five STEAM subjects.

Books that encourage STEAM allow librarians to teach complex vocabulary to parents, teachers, and young children in a fun way, Cheatham reiterated. Ending her inspiring talk, she reminded the audience that vocabulary needs to be heard, used, and practiced.

STEAM at the Los Angeles Public Library: Partnering with the California Science Center

During Mitnick’s presentation, she described a new STEAM program hosted by LAPL in partnership with the California Science Center. LAPL has 72 branches and a central library, all of which follow ECRR practices. Their recent collaboration with the California Science Center introduces preschool children to science concepts using the ECRR principles.

“Preschoolers are natural scientists” because they question everything, Mitnick noted. The goal of the  project was to create a program promoting STEM activities across the curriculum and referring to the California Preschool Curriculum framework. Also, she said, parents were provided with resources to support their child’s STEM experiences.

In January, four LAPL branches began working with preschoolers and their parents, using science kits created by California Science Center. Librarians received training during workshops at the Science Center, whose staff created six kits around the following topics:

• Rocks and Minerals
• Insects
• Habitats
• Seeds to Plants
• Balls, Ramps, and Rollercoasters
• Build It!

Each kit contained plenty of manipulatives and tech devices including iPads, digital scales,  microscopes, and a mini projector.

Mitnick created a Preschool Science Program Form for library staff to fill out  when utilizing the kits. This way, they could keep track of materials and equipment used, including books. The form features a description of the program and its learning activities along with examples of ECRR activities and skills. Finally, Mitnick asked staff to include anecdotal information and comments on the program by children and parents, feedback to keep in mind while the pilot prepares to expand to three more LAPL branches in the fall.

Mitnick said that reading the RIF-recommended STEAM books prompted LAPL librarians create additional booklists. The preschool science series involved a lot of dialogue among parents, librarians, and preschoolers: “What is an inclined plane? Can you find one at the library?” Librarians introduced science topics in other fun ways, like singing songs related to the kit’s theme. Library staff used the downloadable site Freegal Music to search key science words in children’s songs.

The young learners “wrote” their hypotheses by drawing their thoughts and ideas out on large pieces of paper. There was also lots of playing with the kits’ manipulative devices. Preschoolers created art using scientific principles, such as gravity painting. “The paint always goes down!” Mitnick deadpanned.

Librarians and parents used vocabulary terms such as observe, predict, and check, knowing that the kids, modeling adult behavior, would start using them too. Wrapping up, Mitnick said that LAPL hopes to expand their science programming with another grant next year for elementary age kids.

Block Play at the Pierce County Library System

Anderson-Newham started her talk by exclaiming, “Block parties are completely addictive!” She was referring to once-a-month events in which reps from the local Head Start center came to co-lead play sessions, using traditional maple blocks, with trained librarians.

Like Cheatham, Anderson-Newham emphasized that STEM activities should start in early childhood settings, when children are at their most inquisitive. During the block parties, librarians announce two simple rules: participants cannot throw blocks or knock down anyone’s structure.

She went onto explain the seven stages of block play:

• Carrying blocks
• Stacking–both horizontal and vertical
• Bridging
• Enclosures
• Patterns and Symmetry
• Early Representational
• Later Representational

Anderson-Newham noted that once each stage is mastered, youngsters move backward and forward through them during play. The different block units feature labels—arches, columns, squares, rectangles, triangles, cylinders, and circles, as well as the basic, half, and double unit blocks—to teach children this vocabulary.

Each block party starts with a brief story time with picture books such as Christy Hale’s Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building (Lee & Low, 2012) or Shape Capers by Cathryn Falwell (HarperCollins, 2007). There are also pictures of famous structures from around the world to inspire the kids.

After some time, librarians add more elements to the block play–transportation vehicles, farm and zoo animals, scarves, and clothespins. “Library meeting rooms are perfect for blocks,” noted  Anderson–Newham, because they are large spaces easily emptied of furniture, offering ample room for big structures.

Participating Head Start teachers said that the sessions enriched block play back in the classroom as well. Students began looking around the room wondering, “‘What else can we use with our blocks?’” said Anderson-Newham.

Some Head Start sites invited parents along, many of whom were not previously library users. Spanish-speaking staff gave library tours. Many parents applied for library cards and are now coming to the library on their own, Anderson-Newham said.

Every participating child receives a free set of 100 wooden blocks to take home, along with information sheets explaining what children learn while playing with blocks. Participating libraries have added blocks into their existing Lego building programs for older students.

Anderson-Newham ended her talk by quoting Frank Lloyd Wright, whose mother once gave him a set of wooden blocks for his birthday. “‘The feeling of those simple maple blocks is in my fingers to this day,’” he said.

The event was sponsored by PLA (the Public Library Association) and ALSC (the Association for Library Service to Children) ECRR Oversight Committee.

From the experts

Need a reminder about why Summer Reading Programs are an essential part of the public library’s mission? Carole Fiore and Susan Roman’s extensive study proves that they boost student achievement.

The significant decline in reading skills many students experience over the summer is no secret, but it’s particularly damaging for children in low-income neighborhoods. Curriculum Connections columnist Alicia Eames reviews Richard L. Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen’s The Summer Slide and the Rich/Poor Achievement Gap. In an interview with coauthor Richard L. Allington, Eames delves deeper into this important issue.

A new twist on summer reading

Some kids may not want to run at the sight of a book cover, and audiobooks just might be the thing to keep them interested. Listen In authors Sharon Grover and Lizette Hannegan have just the thing to beat the summer wipeout. For film buffs, librarians can easily pair audiobooks and films to spark discussion and writing.

For more, visit our Summer Reading resources page.

Robinson is an avid advocate for recycling and sustainability—she even wore an “up-cycled” wedding gown found at a Goodwill store in the Miss California 2011 pageant. The partnership between the beauty queen and the teen helped convince Christopher Collins, a local fashion designer who has appeared on TV’s Project Runway, and Charleston Pierce, a fashion show producer, to be guest judges for the event. They will be joined at the judges’ table by Margaret Mitchell, president of the Epi Center Med Spa, and Heidi Pettit from Vie Public Relations.

This first-ever event hopes to encourage teens to support their local thrift stores and to demonstrate that it is possible to be stylish on a budget. All contestants will receive tips and critiques from the fashion experts, and winners will receive prizes from sponsors such as local retailers Crossroads Trading Company and Mercy Vintage.

Crickets…

And it hits you. They don’t have any favorite memories of a summer reading program. They don’t even know what a summer reading program is, save the fact that it’s a volunteer opportunity. Why? Because they’ve never participated in a Summer Reading Program (SRP). Because the only libraries they have ever known are their school and Gum Spring, the one that has only been open four months.

“Let’s start over. Welcome to the Summer Reading Program!”

This is a unique problem, but (as I have said about every problem I have faced at this new library) a good one to have! This is my opportunity to start fresh, and an even better opportunity to squelch any bad habits before they form.

Opening Day, SRP 2013

So as to not re-create the wheel, I modeled the Gum Spring SRP volunteer program after those established at other branches in our system (including my previous branch), and tweaked it to include Gum Spring-specific items and to incorporate my own rules about volunteering. This was the perfect opportunity to make big changes to the volunteer program, because there is nothing the teens can compare it to. Some of those rules are:

You must register for, and attempt to complete, the Teen Summer Reading Challenge Card. (Teen volunteers should be setting an example for our younger patrons and supporting the very program they are volunteering for.)

If a patron asks you a question to which you do not know the answer, you should walk them to a librarian. (Volunteering in the library is a perfect opportunity for teens to learn job and life skills. Admitting that they do not know the answer, and subsequently looking for the answer, is a learned skill and a sign of maturity.)

With over 100 volunteers to coordinate, I went high-tech in scheduling the volunteers. I set up a Gmail account to send and receive email correspondence with the teens so as to not clog my work inbox, and established a blog as a one-stop-shop for information, schedules, and last-minute notifications.

Every Thursday afternoon I post the scheduling holes I have for the upcoming week (Sunday-Saturday). The teens then email the Gmail address, requesting 1-2 shifts in addition to their usual shift, and I respond only if they were the first to request that time. This was the most unbiased way I could think of to allow volunteers to pick up extra hours. Furthermore, I limited the number of shifts each teen could work per week to three (no more than six hours). Teens (especially in this region of over-achievers) tend to spread themselves thin, and I did not want the library to become a place—like school, work, or, (unfortunately, for many) home—that made high demands of them. Teens have an opportunity to gain workplace experience at the library, but should not be held to the stresses that are inherent of the workplace.

In addition to the volunteer program and the few dozen programs we have scheduled, we have also set high expectations for the Teen Center. The Game Center will likely be utilized every minute of every day, and we will offer lots of reader’s advisory to teens looking for fun summer reads and mandatory assignments, and for parents looking to keep their teens entertained on long car rides and rainy days. Unfortunately, we will also have the recite the requisite “You are not quite old enough to use the Teen Center” speech with children, and the “We have designated this as a safe space for teenagers only, so parents and other adults are not welcome to hang out for extended periods of time,” with reader moms and gamer dads. It is not an easy conversation to have, to exclude people from the most inclusive of places, but it is one the entire library staff is committed to reciting in order to motivate teens to return to the Teen Center.

Fresh Paint traces the development of teen services for a new public library in an underserved community.

DML5, administered by HASTAC and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, and in collaboration with the Born This Way Foundation and Mozilla, is calling for proposals that offer youth a chance to “Project:Connect” this summer. Proposals must be submitted by June 10, 2013, and the competition is open to all U.S.-based nonprofit learning development and civic engagement institutions and organizations, including libraries, after-school programs and museums. Selected programs, each eligible for awards of up to $10,000, will run July through September 2013.

A Uni portable reading room in NYC

Now in its fifth year, the Innovations in Reading program recognizes institutions and individuals who strive to nurture and promote love of books and reading. Sponsored by the National Book Foundation, prize winners are awarded up to $2500 each to help fund their initiatives and serve even more readers. Past award winners have included a teen booktalk TV show, a text message poetry journal, and James Patterson’s ReadKiddoRead website. This year’s winners are an equally diverse and innovative bunch.

Reading is the Way Up® is a unique partnership between school libraries, City National Bank, and Barnes and Noble to promote literacy and put books in the hands of kids.

The originators of Little Free Libraries are recognized for starting a movement that has resulted in the creation of over 8,000 community libraries in 42 countries.

The Uni Project, initially funded through crowdsourcing, has added portable reading rooms to the New York City landscape.

An Uprise Books Project teen reader

The Uprise Books Project uses the “forbidden fruit” of banned books to motivate young adults, particularly those in underserved and economically-stressed areas, to read.

Worldreader has delivered over 480,000 ebooks to children in six sub-Saharan African countries.

You can learn more about the prize winners at the NBF’s Innovations in Reading website. The application for the 2014 Innovations in Reading Prize will be available December 2013.

SRP is Loudon County Public Library’s (LCPL) biggest event of the year, drawing in thousands of readers, families, and program attendees. In order for the program to progress smoothly, we implement a teen volunteer program. Over 100 teens commit to serving at least one 2-hour shift for every week of the 9-week program (barring vacations and camps, of course). Their duties range from registering patrons of all ages for the event and setting up online accounts (for tracking their progress) to distributing tickets for popular sessions, and preparing popcorn for movie events.

As coordinator for these volunteers, I want to use the best possible methods of registering, scheduling, training, and employing these teens. I chose the methods practiced by a colleague in the Children’s Department who has spent years perfecting the volunteer program. It includes a 90-minute orientation, a blog with weekly updates of time slots in the schedule needing to be filled, a Gmail account for corresponding with volunteers, and an appreciation party. One obstacle I will face is supervising them. The registration and prize table will be downstairs in the open lobby space, but my desk and the Teen Center are located upstairs. At our all-branch staff meeting this month, I invoked the “it takes a village” concept for overseeing teen volunteers: if you are in the vicinity of the registration table, swing by and interact with the volunteers, even if only for a moment, and greet them and ask if everything is going well. This will open the floor for questions or concerns that they may have, and might also make them more comfortable with interacting with adults. I take my role as teen volunteer coordinator seriously, both in terms of ensuring that the library’s goals are met, and in aiding the teens in developing workplace-appropriate skills such as punctuality and time management.

The programs we elected to host came from various sources. “Teen Cuisine” is a nutrition-based program advertised for budding chefs and young athletes. Both “Camp-in with Books” (teens reading to children in a camplike setting, indoors) and “DIY Teen” (a weekly craft program) were successful events at another LCPL branch that we hope will be just as popular at Gum Spring. Though not successful at other branches, we hope that our weekly “Teen Screen” film showings will encourage teens to spend the hottest hours of every Thursday afternoon indoors with friends, bean-bag chairs, and popcorn. When submitting our summer plans to the programming and marketing divisions, we purposefully left out the movie titles. Instead, we have asked the teens for their input via our dry-erase board hanging in the Teen Center. (So far we have only had to nix one.*)

But despite the fun programs we have planned, we are faced with the same concern as every other public librarian: what if no one participates? We are offering a free young adult book to everyone who completes the Teen Summer Reading Program challenge (thanks to our Friends group), as well as an entry into our grand prize drawings of Target gift cards and games. In an attempt to draw them into the library every week, we will set a guessing jar on our desk, filled with items one might find “in your backyard”—think twigs, stones, bottle caps, and more. Prizes will include obnoxiously large candy bars and free coupons for frozen treats.

Gum Spring is not the only library to worry about participation numbers. We all want our patrons to take advantage of everything our libraries have to offer. How do you encourage patrons to get involved with your Summer Reading Program?

*Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is hilarious, but not quite library-appropriate for teens.

Fresh Paint traces the development of teen services for a new public library in an underserved community.