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There’s a new column coming to SLJTeen – Fresh Paint: Notes from a Public Library. We’ll hear from April Pavis, teen services librarian, as she prepares to move into the eighth library branch in Loudoun County, Virginia, the Gum Spring Library which will deliver 40,000 square feet of space for materials, programs, education, and entertainment to an area of the county that has never had a library.
Imagine that while interviewing for a library job you’re asked, “What would storytime specifically for African-American families look like to you?” That’s what happened to Kirby McCurtis. “I thought it was an especially interesting and challenging question,” says Kirby, who aced the interview and is now Multnomah County Library’s (MCL) newest African-American librarian. “It stayed with me even after the second interview. Now that I am working here, I have the opportunity to answer it every Saturday. It’s very exciting!”
This summer, I taught a professional development class for our staff. The goal? To each read two novels and one nonfiction book that we could enthusiastically recommend to our students this year. What we ended up with was a lot more than we’d expected, and it’s worth thinking about offering a similar class at your own school.
Ilsley Public Library, located in Middlebury, VT, kicked off its 2012 Teen Summer Reading program on June 22 with a fabulous evening of Top Chef Shenanigans, organized by the library’s fledgling Teen Advisory Group. The event was part of a summer teen program series inspired by the Own the Night summer reading theme.
Jeslyn and Ben Wheeless performing stories and songs at the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central Park. In its 57th year, Storytelling at the Statue is a free program that is held every Saturday from 11am to 12pm, from June through the end of September.
As summer wanes, we librarians are organizing our calendars for the coming school year. Consider hosting one or more of the following events to get kids, parents and staff charged up and keeping them close to the library!
It Came from a Book!, a Teen Read Week art contest, is being launched by The Library as Incubator Project in partnership with Teen Librarian’s Toolbox, The Real Fauxtographer, and EgmontUSA. Teens are encouraged to read any book and create an original piece of art in any medium—painting, drawing, photo, sculpture, manga, etc.—inspired by the story. Then, they must take a digital photo of the artwork and submit the photo (or file if it is digital) to trwartcontest2012@gmail.com by September 30.
As teachers and librarians return to school this month, many will be tasked with implementing the Common Core State Standards (www.corestandards.org) into their lesson plans. The Common Core mission states that: “The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.” They aim to promote critical thinking through student engagement with high quality literary and informational [...]
If I ran the zoo, what would I do? That’s the question the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library and Zoo Atlanta want kids to ponder during a jointly run summer environmental education effort focused on igniting kids’ zeal for protecting Georgia’s wildlife—while also inspiring them to consider future careers in animal conservation.
Planning to catch this year’s American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Anaheim, CA? If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to make every second count. That’s why we’ve asked seven savvy librarians to give us the skinny on the top five sessions they plan to attend during the June 21–26 event. As you’ll see, they came up with an eclectic mix that’s bound to make nearby Disneyland’s power couple, Mickey and Minnie, a mere distraction.
Looking for an easy way to implement a program for your tweens and teens? Consider introducing Go, an ancient board game with simple elements that can be enjoyed by Go Starter Setplayers with varied ability levels. The American Go Foundation (AGF) is offering a Go Starter Set to youth organizations for free—simply visit the AGF Resources page and submit an application. You can also find information on AGF’s library programs page, which explains how to put together a “hero’s journey” series of events that’ll be especially appealing to fans of manga and anime.
