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Volunteers are a critical component of the public library organization. At my branch, nearly 20 percent of the shelving is completed by adult and teen volunteers. Each month teens log an average of 125 volunteer hours, which is comparable to having an additional staff member. We have volunteers at work nearly every open hour during the summer, and on evenings and weekends during the school year. Their dedication is tireless. Their value? Priceless.
Donna Rosenblum, librarian, Floral Park (NY) Memorial High School, does everything she can to get her teens engaged in reading and writing, and author visits are always on her mind. Local YA author Sarah Beth Durst was already scheduled for a visit when Superstorm Sandy came whipping in. Undaunted, Rosenblum bumped the date forward to early December. That’s when Durst spoke at the Floral Park Memorial High School (FPM) library. The appearance was the sixth installment of the FPM’s READS program, which Rosenblum initiated to bring students, staff and parents together for author visits.
What student isn’t intrigued by time travel? The annual Listen to a Life Essay Contest gives kids a chance to travel through time and learn about the past, while discovering a direction for their own future. The contest also helps build critical 21st-century skills. Now in its 13th year, this is a powerful learning experience that changes lives and communities.
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has launched the 2013 Teen Video Challenge, a national video competition for young adults to get involved with reading and their CSLP Beneath the Surfacepublic library’s summer reading program. Kids across the country are invited to create a 30- to 90-second video with their unique interpretation of the 2013 teen slogan “Beneath the Surface” in combination with reading and libraries. The idea is to involve teens in summer reading, before and during the summer months, by being part of the process. This is an opportunity for teens to showcase their creativity and have their ideas heard by a national audience.
How do you plan a party for someone you have never met? It’s stressful enough planning a party for someone you know very well—you already know what foods to cook, what music to play, and who to invite. But planning a party for a complete stranger—or a whole group of them —with no inkling of their interests? That is downright terrifying. Nevertheless, it is what I have spent the past couple months doing.
Find yourself looking for inspiration when it comes to creating awesome programming for your teens? The 365 Days of YA Task Force wants to help, but first, you have to be willing to share your successes and creativity! The 365 Days of YA is a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) task
force charged with creating a calendar of easy to implement plans for programs, services, and activities for teens. These are simple ideas that can be used by anyone working with youth in libraries.
The American Libraries Association (ALA) Public Programs Office is now accepting nominations for the ALA Excellence in Library Programming Award, sponsored by the ALA Cultural Communities Fund. The award will recognize a library that demonstrates excellence in library programming by developing and presenting a cultural or thematic program or program series during the previous year (September 1, 2011 – August 31, 2012).
Part of the fun of opening a new library is getting to tell people about it, and seeing their reactions. Myself and some coworkers have recently attended farmer’s markets and back-to-school nights in the Gum Sping area, talking to residents about the new library and answering their questions about resources and programs. We have encountered excited citizens whose enthusiasm is palpable. But we have also met hesitant residents who have never experienced a public library who are unsure of its purpose, and fearful of its unfamiliarity. While we appreciate the former group, the latter group is what drives me to outreach events, in hopes of educating them on the benefits of the library so that when we open they are educated as to our mission and seek to learn more about us.
It all started with “Pete the Cat.” Well, actually it started with the fact that author Eric Litwin was coming for our library’s summer reading program and my boss wanted to promote his visit. We have a fabulous teen volunteer, Rose, who does great artwork. I asked her if she could make a big Pete the Cat, and she pulled it together in one day! I couldn’t believe it. When given the opportunity (and materials), Rose can do anything artistic! So, naturally, I went to her when we received our promotional kit for the Colorado Blue Spruce Award, an honor that recognizes the most popular books among middle and high school students in our state.
Author Dianne Ochiltree and Fire Captain Susan Peterson, the first female firefighter in Sarasota, FL, at a book launch party for Molly by Golly! The Legend of Molly Williams, America’s First Female Firefighter (Calkins Creek, 2012).
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.
