Boys and Girls Club Day for Kids - Materials Available

ALSC members are once again invited to participate in the Boys & Girls Club Day for Kids celebration on September 20, 2008. BGC Day for Kids is a day set aside each year to celebrate America's children through the gift of meaningful time with a positive adult.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of America is interested in working with public libraries to participate in this celebration by distributing their complementary Making Memories Family Activity Calendar. In addition, libraries are encouraged to incorporate programming around BGC Day for Kids.

The mission of the Day is about galvanizing national attention on the importance of spending meaningful time with children, something libraries do so well all year long. Further information is available on the Boys and Girls Clubs Web site at http://www.dayforkids.org/

To receive your complementary Making Memories Family Activity Calendar (limit of 200), please contact Linda Mays in the ALSC office at 800-545-2433 x1398 or at lmays@ala.org.

Creating Dynamic Library Atmospheres

Workshop: Creating Dynamic Library Atmospheres: What we can learn from museums, theater, retail, and the container store

When: September 19, 2008 9:30am - 12:00pm

Where: Waterford Public Library

101 North River Street

Waterford, WI 53185

262-534-3988

Sponsored By Lakeshores Library System and Arrowhead Library System

Once you've displayed books, face out, and installed slat wall so you can display even MORE books face out, what's next? Is the soda machine really the first impression you want to make? Come see how a professional and a bunch of amateurs made a big difference ~ for little money.

Sally Decker Smith, Special Services Librarian at Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL has been a public librarian for her entire career, so she knows how they think. In a former life, she was a tour guide at the Museum of Science and Industry, where she met

Ted Swigon, formerly Exhibits Director at the Museum of Science and Industry, currently on the staff at Chicago Scenic Studios, the largest designer and fabricator of theatrical scenery between the coasts, and simultaneously a consultant to museums, historical societies, and libraries. A gifted visual thinker, he sees possibilities the verbal~ oriented among us never do!

The first ten people to sign up will be able to send in a photo of an area in their library that's a problem (concern,
challenge) visually. As part of the program, Ted and Sally will make suggestions for possible solutions.

If you would like to register, please contact Jackie Jacak at 920-485-0833 or e-mail jacakj@mwfls.org

Teen Read Week 2008

Register today for Teen Read Week 2008 which will be held October 12-18. Teen Read Week's 2008 theme is Books with Bite @ your library! Registration ends September 12.

Teen Read Week is an initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Teen Read Week started in 1998, making this their 11th celebration of Teen Read Week! It’s important to celebrate for several reasons, Teens have so many options for entertainment, so it's important to remind them to spend time reading for pleasure: it's free, fun, and can be done anywhere! Research shows that teens who read for fun have better test scores and are more likely to succeed in the workforce. Also, it’s a great chance to let your school or your public library communities know how important teen services are! Let teens know the possibilities that exist within your doors, and within the covers of books.

More than 4,800 school and public libraries registered to participate in Teen Read Week last year. Join the fun and register now at http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2008/registration/index.cfm. You do not need to be a YALSA member to participate.

New Website to Promote Banned Books Week

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the American Library Association (ALA) announced today that they are launching a Web site to help bookstores and libraries promote Banned Books Week, which will be held this year from Sept. 27 through Oct. 4. The Web site, www.bannedbooksweek.org, is intended to help the public learn about Banned Books Week and suggest ways they can support it. The key feature of the Web site will be a list that visitors can use to find participating bookstores and libraries in their communities. “Hundreds of bookstores and libraries participate in Banned Books Week every year. Bannedbooksweek.org will make it easy for the public to find them,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said. Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said the Web site will help promote Banned Books Week nationally as well as provide support for local efforts. “We wanted to increase the attention for Banned Books Week on the Web while simultaneously providing increased support for the bookstores and libraries that are mounting displays and sponsoring free speech events,” she said.
Bookstores and libraries that would like to be listed on the new Web site can submit details of their Banned Books Week celebration directly to the Web site. Use this link to submit information, http://bannedbooksweek.org/signup/. Once the information has been reviewed, it will be posted.

September Is Library Card Sign-up Month

If you’re looking for some great ways to encourage the kids in your community to sign up for a library card, look no further. Here you’ll find sample press releases and letters to the editor, which you can send to your local paper, a proclamation to send to your mayor/city council, a great handout on “52 ways to use your library card,” and a public service announcement (PSA) script so you can create your own customized 30-second radio spot. All of these documents are in Word format and available in both English and Spanish. In addition, you can download five different (and professionally done) prerecorded PSAs that you can pass on to local radio stations. Go to www.ala.org/ala/pio/otherinit/card/librarycard.cfm (Gail Junion-Metz in SLJ’s Extra Helping, 8/14/08)

Leonard Marcus at Carthage College

You are cordially invited to attend a tea in honor of Leonard Marcus who will speak informally about the writing of his book Golden Legacy : How Golden Books Won Children's Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became an American Icon Along the Way.

Leonard Marcus

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Hedberg Library, Carthage College

Room 217

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.

There is no fee to attend. However because space is limited, please contact John Stewig if you can join us. (262) 552-5480.

Carthage College's Center for Children's Literature Announces 2 Fall Events

The Center for Children's Literature at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, invites you to a tea in honor of Leonard Marcus on September 16th from 4:30-6:00 pm in the Hedberg Library. The author of "Golden Legacy" will informally speak about his creation on the history of Western Publishing. There is no attendance fee, but due to limited space, please contact John Stewig, (262)-552-5480 or jstewig@carthage.edu, if you are able to join us. More information can be found at www.carthage.edu/childliterature.


The Center for Children's Literature is pleased to offer a conference, "The Business of Children's Publishing" on Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18. The conference offers an inside look at how children's books get made and will feature a publisher, marketing manager, editor, agent, art director, and illustrator. Authors Gary D. Schmidt and Jan Greenberg, as well as author/illustrator Timothy Basil Ering will offer their perspectives as book creators. For further information, contact John W. Stewig at (262) 552-5480 or email jstewig @carthage.edu. A downloadable registration form that contains more information can be found at the Center's website, www.carthage.edu/childliterature.