Programs & Programming

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez, who last month warned that 22 of the county’s 49 public libraries could be shut down this fall due to deep budget cuts, announced that his administration now expects to shutter only four, according to the Miami Herald.

Nearly 50 children’s and teen librarians met last week at Darien Library (CT) for the fifth annual KidLibCamp, a free “unconference” in which the discussion topics, panels, and workshops are voted on by the participants. Attendees explored best practices in 12 interactive breakout sessions with several common takeaways: that innovative programming can be achieved at little start-up cost; librarians need to better market existing programs to their patrons; and partnering with schools and communities is critical to the future of our libraries.

Youth services librarians from the NYC metropolitan area gathered for the fifth annual KidLib Unconference at Darien Public Library on August 7.

Rachel G. Payne, coordinator of early childhood services at Brooklyn Public Library, offers advice for parents.

Storytime is the premium service for children in public libraries across the country. For many youth librarians, it's the most treasured part of their job. A storytime veteran shares her best practices.

American Library Association (ALA) President Barbara Stripling unveiled the “Declaration for the Right to Libraries” on Monday during a signing ceremony at Nashville Public Library, the first in a series of signing events the ALA plans to host across the country in the coming months.

Draconian cuts to Miami public libraries—nearly 45 percent of its branches shuttered and more than 250 staff positions—lost stand to impact the community. The intended cuts pose a monumental loss of service to Miami’s K–12 students, as some of the public libraries slotted to shut down are close to Miami-Dade County public schools.

A design revolution is reinventing the children’s room in public libraries and changing the way young children learn. This new breed of literacy-packed play spaces in libraries is inspired by children’s museums and the developmental theories that drive them.

A screencast tour of four free applications to help kids learn how to code: Daisy the Dinosaur, Hopscotch, Scratch, and Tynker.