Black History Month Programs for Families

As Black History Month winds down, ALSC published a great post by Alicia Finley on excellent programs she has done with families at her library in NC. Alicia, a member of ALSC's Library Service to Underserved Children and their Caregivers Committee shares programs, resources and tips. While Black History Month is coming to a close, highlighting diversity in programs year-round is a goal you may have for yourself.

Alicia writes: "Developing programs that embrace cultural diversity offers teachable moments and exposes our community to its richness. The following program offerings cater to all ages and are planned for the University City Regional Library this year in Charlotte, NC. It also includes programs from previous years. As you prepare for upcoming Black History programs or events aimed at fostering inclusivity, I encourage you to consider the program ideas outlined here to inspire your planning process."

Stop here to read the post.  [Programming for Families During Black History Month. Finley, Alicia. ALSC blog. February 26, 2024.]

Maad Online Book Club

Wisconsin Sea Grant, in partnership with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIWFC), has created a monthly book group for teachers, parents and librarians (anyone who loves to read with children) focused on Ojibwe Culture and the Great Lakes. The book club is open to anyone in the Great Lakes region who wishes to join. Each month’s discussion includes an Ojibwe honored guest who shares wisdom and stories based on the theme of the book.

Visit: go.wisc.edu/Maadagindan to see the recent titles and send an email to Anne Moser akmoser@aqua.wisc.edu to join the email list. 

STEM Resources Survey - WI Afterschool Network

Thousands of youth in Wisconsin regularly attend afterschool and summer programs in schools, community centers, churches, etc. The Wisconsin Afterschool Network is a statewide organization which works to support these programs and their staff in delivering high quality programming. 

One of the goals of the Wisconsin Afterschool Network is to empower educators who work with youth each day to lead engaging STEM activities. Organizations like yours (businesses, museums, libraries, STEM centers) are important resources for these educators. 

We want to learn about the work you do and how we can help you connect with Out-of-School Time programs in your area. Our hope is to develop a directory and map of STEM organizations in Wisconsin for educators to access on our website as a resource in their community.

We would appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete this survey to help us in our endeavor. Please consider sharing this survey as well with other organizations that serve educators and youth. If you represent a statewide organization, please include statewide resources, but also share with local organizations in your network who offer resources and services to educators.

Survey Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf91_Xon7pC0hxbtN_2q0IipbxxVrrzDWLCslAekF_hhnfbMQ/viewform

(You may need to copy/past this link into your browser)

Thank you for your time,

Wisconsin Afterschool Network (WAN)
Center for Community Health Advancement
Marshfield Clinic Health System
Office: 715-221-8400 | Other Info: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/4dad333c/hdW31hqWf0CacSB6fpadhw?u=http://www.wiafterschoolnetwork.org/

YALSA's T Audiobook Picks for Teens

Recently on YALSA's Hub blog, they published a great list of audiobooks produced over the past two years that are great for teens. Each title includes an annotation and information about the readers, length, recommended ages and ISBN.

Stop here to access the list!

Palentine's Day Spa Party

Today's guest blogger is Hannah Dahlman, Youth Services Librarian at Clintonville Public Library. Welcome Hannah!

Valentine’s Day can be a polarizing holiday for some, but I felt it was an opportunity for fun that shouldn’t be missed! I decided to take the focus away from the romantic aspect of Valentine’s Day and instead we celebrated ‘Palentine’s Day’, which takes place on February 13th and its purpose is to celebrate friendship.

I host a weekly game night, Lego club, and monthly Pokémon club – all well attended programs, but I have received feedback from a handful of my regular after school kids that those activities are for ‘boys’ and they really wanted something different to do. I pitched the idea of doing a spa day and they were all about it! I knew this party would draw in more girls than boys, but I made sure to include in advertising that everyone was welcome – because everyone is welcome to all of my other programs (within age limits).

I planned this party for 1.5 hours, and it easily could have gone longer, and it was open to kids ages 8-18. I had some games picked out in case they finished the activities and wanted something else to do, but I didn’t end up needing them at all. I had a total of 16 kids and 2 adults attend (which is awesome for our small library) – including 4 boys. We had food and drinks, a nail painting station, a facemask with cucumber slices station, and a temporary tattoo station. Everything I purchased came from Amazon, but the food and drink items came from our local grocery store. 

Cost breakdown:

• Food and drinks: $35

• 12 face masks: $10

• Cucumber: $1

• 20 piece nail file/buffers: $8

• 6 oz nail polish remover: $2

• Cotton balls: $9

• Temporary tattoos, 2 sheets of 82 realistic looking tattoos: $16

• Already had on hand: plates/cups/napkins, nail polish, air freshener 

Total cost: $81

I set out all the activities and food/drinks right away, and let everyone choose what they wanted to do. Most kids went for the food right away, but easily the biggest hit was the temporary tattoos! I purposefully purchased a large amount of really colorful, realistic tattoos, anticipating I would have left overs to giveaway as prizes for later programs. I let them choose whatever tattoos they wanted, with no limits, and I cannot over state how EXCITED everyone was to pick whatever they wanted! I had kids who spent the entire party just doing tattoos – it was a HUGE hit! All the kids had Valentine’s Day parties at their schools the next day, and they were so thrilled to do their nails and put on tattoos before their parties.

The nail station was also a blast. I had a ton of buffers and nail files out, and we had nail polish left over from a previous craft, but I also brought in some of my own that I no longer use. Some of the kids asked me to do their nails, which I was comfortable with, and some just did their own. Surprisingly this station did not get very messy at all…the messiest part overall was the food. It took me about a half hour to clean everything up and I did have some kids stay and help me with clean up. 

We had so much silly fun at this program, but truly, it was about friendship. I had several kids that came by themselves because they were so excited about the spa party, who ended up meeting new people and developing new friendships. One of my after school regulars (who tends to keep to herself, more engrossed in her phone than chatting with others) told me at the end of the program how happy she was that she came because she got out of her comfort zone and chatted with new people - I also spotted her doing someone else’s nails. It was a real bonding experience for everyone, and definitely will be a program I repeat for years to come. 

CCBC Choices 2024 is Available!

CCBC Choices 2024, recommending 238 books published in 2023 for children and teens from birth through high school age, is now available!

CCBC Choices 2024 is a digital publication. Entries for each book include full bibliographic citation, annotation, age recommendation and cover image, and a link to the book’s entry in the CCBC-Recommended Book Search database, where custom lists can be created. The publication also includes an introductory essay and name/title index. A citation list (bibliographic information only) of CCBC Choices 2024 is also available on our website.

The CCBC librarians will present two webinars hosted by South Central Library System this spring highlighting selections from CCBC Choices 2024:

Great New Books for Children (Birth – Grade 5) on March 20, 2024, from 9-10am  

Great New Books for Older Children and Teens (Grades 6-12) on April 17, 2024 from 9-10am. 

See the CCBC events calendar for details about these online opportunities, as well as other outreach events around the state.

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Once or twice  a month on weekends, YSS posts round-ups of ads that are sent to us or that we come across. If you have a position opening up and would like to see it on the YSS blog, please forward the job ad link/descriptions to the YSS blog at the email address listed in the header above the day's blog post.

Here is a late February listing:

New Richmond Public Library       Youth Services Librarian (full-time)

The Friday Memorial Library is seeking applicants for a Youth Services Librarian. We are seeking applicants who are passionate about customer service; knowledgeable about materials and programs that appeal to children, teens and families; and able to work individually as well as part of a team.

This full-time position is responsible for providing a welcoming environment for children, teens, families and caregivers in the use of library services, facilities and equipment.

Candidates must have the ability to work enthusiastically and effectively with children, teenagers, and adults in the library and community. The ideal applicant will have knowledge of current trends and developments in the library profession and youth services, as well as the ability to develop and implement programs and services for library patrons of all ages.

A bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 2 years youth service experience is required. A masters degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent is preferred. For more information, please see attached job description.

A range of daytime and evening hours with rotating weekend hours is required of this position. Pay for the position will be established based upon education and experience, the wage range is $25.67 – $33.00 per hour.

To be considered, please submit your cover letter and resume by 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 14 to Sarah Reese at sreese@newrichmondwi.gov.

Oh No, THAT Didn't Work!

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

We all have program fails. While it can be discouraging, it's also a great way to figure out the why's and to forgive yourself and know - it happens to us all.

Recently Chelsey Roos shared some of her fails and how she recovered from each type. Her descriptions and solutions will resonate with anyone who does programming. She writes: "Almost everyone has a program completely fail at least once in their career. In library school, I learned how to build a good program, how to market a program, and how to incorporate elements of diversity into programs, but I didn’t learn how to recover when a program does an absolute belly-flop. Let’s look at three common ways a program might crash and burn (they’ve all happened to me!) and some ways you can salvage your time, supplies, or spirit in the face of program disaster." 

Please stop here to read the whole post. [Recovering from Program Failure. Roos, Chelsey. ALSC blog. February 19, 2024]

Throw-It Thursday - Culturally Inapprorpriate Material

Ashley Borman is the Technical Services Librarian at the Clintonville (WI) Public Library

Culturally inappropriate materials have been a hot topic in the library world in recent years. Many
people think that there are many books that should not be available, even if they are considered
classics, due to the way they portray thoughts and ideas about people of color. Other people see
nothing wrong with these same titles, and cite the historical importance of those same materials. 

I will admit that I have not paid as much attention to this as I should have until somewhat more recently. I will not try to tell you what is the right or wrong thing to do. I am still trying to learn and understand the thoughts and reasonings behind some of the claims and statements I have seen and heard. 

I do hope that you consider what is best for your library and your patrons, before doing anything drastic. 

There are many articles out there that talk about racist and culturally inappropriate materials on both sides of this issue. I have included several of the articles I have read that may be of interest if you are trying to learn more about either side of the issue. These are by no means the best or most informative articles on the topic, but they do provide a bit of variety in people’s thoughts and ideas on the subject.

Resource Articles

• Cooperative Children’s Book Center  - Weeding or Censorship

• Don’t You Shush Me (Blog of a high school librarian) - Addressing Problematic/Harmful Books in the School Library

• Horn Book  - Beyond the Pluto Problem

• National Coalition Against Censorship  - Statement on Removal of Dr. Seuss Books From Publication

• School Library Journal  - Weeding Out Racis's Invisible Roots: Rethinking Children's Classics

Chair's Corner - January 2024 YSS Board Updates

This month's January YSS board meeting update is from Cathy Pescinski, our YSS 2024 Chair and Teen Librarian at Shawano County Library.

The YSS Board met for our annual "retreat" in January. Out of respect for Wisconsin liking to winter anytime anyone has an in-person meet-up planned we chose to meet virtually. You can thank us for the lovely weather, because, Wisconsin, as it is known to do, decided not to winter since we chose to meet virtually. 

It was a great chance for some of our new Board members to meet the others on the Board and get some background on what we do throughout the year. We discussed upcoming events such as the YSS socials at WAPL in April and WLA in November and the 2024 Performer's Showcase.  Several ideas for webinars were discussed including tweens, reader advisory, teen mental health, sensory storytime, bilingual collections, and understanding manga, anime, and fan fiction. A survey will be coming for YSS members to gauge their interest in these areas and to see if there are other topics members would like addressed. 

We will be meeting monthly (except for summer). If you have any questions, concerns, or input you would like to add to our meeting or about YSS in general, don't hesitate to reach out to me at cpescinski@shawanolibrary.org. We are here to represent all of you and to develop meaningful resources for the membership. Also, if any of these activities sound interesting to you, please consider running for a Board position this fall! Reach out to any of us for more information, stop us and say hi at any conference, or drop in on one of the YSS socials.

[Note: Want to read the December 2023 board meeting minutes that the YSS board just approved at their January meeting? YSS members can access the 2023 YSS board minutes as well as previous years’ minutes at the YSS page of the Wisconsin Library Association website. Do you want to read the minutes but are not a YSS member? Please consider becoming a member by joining WLA so you can stay updated on all the YSS action.] 

CCBC's Charlotte Zolotow Award Seals

Did you know that the Friends of the CCBC sell Charlotte Zolotow Award seals so you put them on the book covers of the Zolotow Award books?  

Well, they do!

Stop here to learn how you can purchase these seals.

And in case you missed it, stop here to see this year's winner!

Surveying the Reading Habits/Interests of WI Youth

The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) is looking for insights from youth services staff around Wisconsin about the reading habits and interests of young readers (school-age and tweens/teens). 

If you work with folks in these age groups in some capacity, we would appreciate your time filling out a survey. 

Information gathered will help inform collection development directions for Wisconsin's Digital Library. It will help WPLC understand what resources might be helpful to youth services staff in talking with youth and their families about the digital library. 

The survey should take under 10 minutes; responses by February 29th are greatly appreciated!

Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YouthServicesWPLC24  

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Once or twice  a month on weekends, YSS posts round-ups of ads that are sent to us or that we come across. If you have a position opening up and would like to see it on the YSS blog, please forward the job ad link/descriptions to the YSS blog at the email address listed in the header above the day's blog post.

Here is a mid-February listing:

Black Creek Village Library      Youth Programming Specialist/Library Services Clerk (part-time)

The Black Creek Village Library is currently seeking a Library Services Clerk and Youth Programming Specialist. The position is approximately 23-24 hours per week with a starting wage of $14.50. The Library Services Clerk and Youth Programming Specialist is responsible for frontline customer service to patrons in a fast-paced library environment, including reference and circulation activities, while working to complete routine duties as assigned. In addition, the specialist plans, implements, and promotes library programs for youth.

 

Qualifications

• College degree in a related field preferred, a high school diploma or equivalent required
• Experience working with children required
• Technological proficiency required
• Customer service experience preferred
• Library experience preferred
• Programming experience preferred
• Marketing and social media experience preferred

The position description and application are available on the Black Creek Village Library website https://blackcreeklibrary.org/.   Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, and completed application no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, March 8, 2024. Black Creek Village Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Rachel Hitt, Library Director

Black Creek Village Library

920-984-3094

New Toolkit from ALSC on Trauma

 

From the ALSC Update, January 31, 2024 newsletter, 

A new tool kit is available from ALSC's Early Childhood Programs & Services committee. The Tool Kit on Trauma was released this month and aims to inform librarians and library workers serving youth about various traumas experienced by young children, birth through age 8, to identify their impact on communities with young children, and to support families, caregivers, and educators working with young children who may have experienced trauma.

 

The tool kit lists resources that address trauma and youth, such as booklists, podcasts, websites, and more.

Access the Free Tool Kit

Teen Inclusive Internship application is open!

Five Wisconsin public libraries will be chosen to participate in an LSTA grant-funded program to offer paid summer 2024 internships to recruit and hire teens that reflect the diversity of their communities. The teen interns will bring their skills, interests, and experiences to the library by working on a Connected Learning Project. Participating libraries will learn how to further engage and support teens while creating career pathways to increase diversity in the field of librarianship.

Wisconsin 2024 Teen Inclusive Internship - the application is now open. The deadline for libraries to apply is Friday February 23rd, 2024.  

• Application
• Scoring Rubric
• Presentation Slide Deck
• Webinar Recording 

Jeni Schomber 

Public Library Consultant 

Library Services Team 

Division for Libraries and Technology 

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 

608-266-2749 

jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov 

New Email List for Gaming + Learning

A message from Chris Baker:

First off; I want to thank everyone for helping spread the word about our Wisconsin Games + Learning + Libraries Cohort. Only announced late last year, our WISELearn group already boasts 78 members, and has 42 affiliated resources that librarians can explore. The list of resources and valuable discussions will continue to grow throughout the year; you'll want to stay tuned!

• Want to join the group? First, register a WISELearn account; then head here to "Join This Group". You can introduce yourself in our "Greetings; Introduce Yourself to the Group!" discussion thread.

Second; I want to invite everyone interested in periodic updates about Wisconsin's efforts in the Games + Libraries space to join DPI's new Games-Learning-Libraries E-mail List! WISELearn does not currently allow the ability for members to receive notifications about added resources or discussion posts – so this new list will allow me to share immediate updates about important new resources, discussion questions, collaborative opportunities, and information about other relevant games-based projects and initiatives – right to your inbox. 

As the Library Services Team continues to partner with groups like the Play Make Learn Conference and Field Day Learning Games to develop collaboration opportunities (past example linked) for Wisconsin librarians, this email list will the PERFECT way to be kept 'in the know' as soon as information can be made available.

Additionally, the list will serve as an effective troubleshooting and discussion space alongside the WISELearn Group. Even if you've already joined the Games + Libraries + Learning WISELearn Cohort, you'll want to subscribe to this email list; don't miss out! I won't use the list to announce every single new resource added or discussion post created, so you shouldn't expect your inbox to be overloaded*. I'm anticipating this group functioning similar to WisPubLib, but games + libraries focused. To join the list:

1. Send an email to Subscribe-Games-Learning-Libraries@lists.dpi.wi.gov
1. (You don't need to include anything in the email subject or body.)
   
   
2. You will receive an email asking you to confirm that you'd like to subscribe; follow those instructions to complete the process.
   
   
3. I will approve your subscription; then, when appropriate, you can begin contributing & responding to questions and updates by emailing games-learning-libraries@lists.dpi.wi.gov. Emails sent to the group list (including in response to anything I send out) will be shared with everyone subscribed to the list.
   
   

*Note: I'll manage the list carefully to ensure we're only sharing relevant updates about discussions, opportunities, and resources of particular utility to those subscribed.

To pique folks' interest about what types of items I'll highlight with the list, I'll include info here about an excellent ready-made Dungeons & Dragons program resource that was added to our WISELearn group by expert DM Todd Gibbons; thank you Todd, for this stellar resource:

• Dungeons and Dragons Introductory One-Shot: Book of Constructs
• "This is a Dungeons and Dragons module meant to introduce new dungeon masters and players to the game. The module runs about 2-2.5 hours and accommodates a group of 3-8 players. This module does require the Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook to play."
  
  
• "The game is formatted like an escape room to introduce players and the DM to the basic mechanics in a condensed amount of time. In the attached folder there are the module pdf, printout maps, props and premade character sheets to make it easy as possible to sit down and start playing. The setting is also open ended regarding the world and lore, so it makes a good introductory game to larger campaign or to insert to an existing one."
  
  

So... what are you waiting for? Join our WISELearn Group, sign up for the email list, and go download the free .zip file to begin working on a D&D program in your library space – today! 

Game on, my friends; I look forward to collaborating with you all! 

Chris Baker, Public Library Consultant, Library Services Team 

Department of Public Instruction 

(608) 264-6709        christopher.baker@dpi.wi.gov

Gotta Whole Lotta Love...

Image by Monika from Pixabay

In a recent ALSC blog post, middle school librarian David Saia, on behalf of the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation, writes about some of the things that school librarians love about their public librarian colleagues.

David writes: "As a middle school librarian (and a soon-to-be-appointed member of the Board of Trustees of our local public library system), I often think about my public library colleagues.  When I reflect on all the things I see going on in public libraries, I find so many things to admire about public librarians and the work they do!  "

To read the full post on those things, please click here. [Top Things School Librarians Love About Public Librarians. Sais, David. ALSC blog. December 14, 2023.]

Tuesday Tips: CBC Best Science Books List

Sam Jones is the Youth Services Librarian at the Beaver Dam Public Library. She shares tips to make your job easier in her Tuesday posts.

CBC's Outstanding Science Trade Books Announced

Here's another great book list to check out! The Children's Book Council (CBC) has announced its picks for its Outstanding Science Trade Books list. The list categorizes the books by subject and includes a summary of the book. The CBC, along with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), have been creating this list for 51 years. The list's selection criteria include:

• The book has substantial science content
• Information is clear, accurate, and up-to-date.
• Theories and facts are clearly distinguished.
• Facts are not oversimplified to the point that the information is misleading.
• Generalizations are supported by facts, and significant facts are not omitted.
• Books are free of gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic bias

The CBC and NSTA chose 41 books for the list this year. Previous lists can be found on the CBC website. 

All the News for Youth Librarians

As blog administrator,  I am often asked if it's hard to find all the content that we provide on the blog throughout the year.

My simple answer: Nope.

We receive lots of information from folks in the WI youth library community at DPI, CCBC, UW- Madison iSchool, our library systems, our YSS board, ALA and WLA, to name just a few sources.

We also have our guest contributors like Sam Jones, Ashley Borman, Hanna Collins and Alison Loewen who share ideas and news.

Another source of information comes from blogs like Teen Librarian Toolbox, Jbrary, and the ALSC blog, newsletters and Facebook groups like Programming Librarian.

So news flows pretty easily to the blog and makes my job of getting it scheduled and to you easy-peasy!

Recently, Jbrary published a great list of newsletters that are perfect for any children's librarian. I think subscribing to these will give you lots of ideas!

Lindsey writes: "How do you stay connected to the wider field of child development and book publishing? I used to fill those buckets with social media and blogs, but these days I find myself turning to newsletters. For one, I can set them aside until I have the brain space to give them my full attention. Two, I can sort them into folders and refer back as needed."

Please stop here to get the full list of newsletters and their links. [Newsletters for Children's Librarians. Krabbenhoft, Lindsey. Jbrary blog. February 6, 2024.]

Remake Learning Days - Share YOUR STEM Library Events

I’m reaching out today with news that Remake Learning Days: Badgerland is back again this Spring:  April 20-28, 2024.   Once again, would love your advice, participation or a shout out to extend this invite to Youth Librarians. 

We’re hoping that we can feature more library programs and resources this year, so am sending this with that in mind.  And, if it is of interest to your colleagues, in addition to the learning themes of: Arts, Maker, Outdoor Learning, Science and Technology, we are also featuring programs that support Youth Voice. (especially this year!)

 

Attached are organizational invites, along with this general invite blogpost   https://remakelearningdays.org/calling-all-youth-organizations-educators-remake-learning-days-wants-you/

 

For folks who are curious or want to know more, check out these resources:

·        Invitation to Join – https://remakelearningdays.org/badgerland/invitation-to-join-2024/

·        Submit your Programs and Ideas Here - https://remakelearningdays.org/event-submission/

·        FAQs & Step-by-Step Guide for Event Hosts - https://remakelearningdays.org/badgerland/step-by-step-guide-for-event-hosts/

·        Find out more at https://remakelearningdays.org/badgerland/

 

and of course I am happy to have folks reach out to me directly.

 

I remain committed to the belief that our libraries are one of the best community resources for youth programming and they have SO much to share!  We want to shine some positive light on that around the State.

 

Stay well -- Kathe   kathe@wethinkbiginc.org