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.

Storytimes- Virtual and IRL

A recent ALSC blog post by educator and researcher Tess Prendergast examines research that has been published around digital media use with preschoolers. While the research was done pre-COVID, it has some valuable insights for storytimes presented virtually and in person. It helps answer the question on whether virtual storytimes are meaningful for preschoolers.

She writes "As children’s library workers, we have all tangled with questions and concerns about young children and digital media. What helps and supports child development? What distracts and detracts from their learning? What information do parents and caregivers find helpful as they make decisions? If you are asking these questions, that’s a great sign – you care about the kids and families in your communities!"

Tess then goes on to explore the research done that shines a light on how virtual storytime is impactful for children.

To read this thoughtful post, stop here. [To Virtual Storytime and Back Again: What Recent Research Can Tell Us. Prendergat, Tess. ALSC blog. June 19, 2022]

And just a reminder, ALSC published a free online Virtual Storytime Services Guide at the beginning of the pandemic. It still has great information to help you when doing any virtual programs!

Partnering with Our Schools

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

The Wisconsin School Digital Library Consortium (WSDLC) and the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) are two, fun, easy-to-use ways to promote year-round literacy with students when they use school and public libraries. The WSDLC, launched in January 2018, provides digital audio and ebooks to over 130,000 students in over 100 districts across Wisconsin. The WPLC, which was used as a model for WSDLC, provides a collection of over 77,000 digital and audio ebooks to Wisconsin residents through their public libraries. The WSDLC has three collections to serve elementary, middle and high school students that contain a total of over 7,000 copies of over 4200 unique titles. These collections are available to schools and districts at a low cost, which is covered by district Common School Funds, to help provide equitable access to digital materials throughout our state. The content and platform for the WSDLC is provided by OverDrive, and access is made easy through the Sora App.

The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) provides e-content to patrons through the WI Digital Library via the Libby App, so why should public librarians become familiar with the WSDLC? And, why should school librarians learn more about WPLC? Because these resources provide great opportunities for public and school library partnerships!

• Both the WPLC and WSDLC use the same vendor and the apps for each audience are similar. There is no need for training staff or patrons.

• There are lots of materials available during the summer within the WSDLC. The wait time for titles is minimal, so this helps keep the reading momentum going with students when they are not in school and prevents “summer slide.” Also, the Sora app makes it easy to track and reward reading progress with a badging system, as well as allowing the ability to curate summer reading lists.

• Many of the school-age patrons in public libraries will already be familiar with the look and feel of the WSDLC collections; however, they may not know they can access the titles at their public library, too.

• School librarians can benefit from helping students access the WPLC because it effectively extends the list of available digital resources for students and faculty without needing additional training.

• By working together to cross promote these resources, both schools and public libraries gain potential users for their collections. Even more importantly, you provide valuable connections between the lives of children in and outside of school.

For more information or questions regarding WSDLC or WPLC, please connect with your school or public librarian, or reach out to WiLS.

This message is brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA) .

How Do YOU Use Digital Media with Youth at Your Library?

Claudia Haines, who has written and taught widely on the subject of new media in libraries, invites youth librarians to share their experiences in a 2018 survey sponsored by ALSC, the Association for Library Service to Children of ALA.

Share your experiences and help shape the way we work with kids and new media! But don't delay, the survey closes August 31.

Where to Access Additional Free Children's Ebooks

Pixabay image

The ALSC blog has a great resource post on finding free children's books online. 

As author Angela Nolet of Washington's King County Library System says, "It seems like even the family cat has access to a device, so it’s no surprise that even our youngest readers are utilizing eBooks. While our library collections are full of exciting new content (read along ebooks, beginning readers, and picture books to name just a few), sometimes nothing hits the quality reading spot quite like sharing a classic title. And best of all, there’s no such thing as a holds queue when reading classics with a free and legal public domain download."

Click here to read the rest of the post and find links to the resources.

Digital Content Access for Kids

Recently, the federal government announced two new initiatives aimed at improving access to digital content and public libraries for low-income kids and young adults. An official White House fact sheet details the way it will work with publishers and other organizations, including the New York Public Library and American Library Association, to give kids access to ebooks and library cards. As we think about access, especially for low-income kids, it's important to recognize the barriers young people and families face. Jessamyn West has a great article on her take, including some major questions, on this new initiative, and there's another good one on Bookriot. What do you think about these projects?

So (h)Appy for Preschoolers

Over at the Growing Wisconsin Readers blog, Tessa shares a slide share form MN's Emily Lloyd on talking to parents and caregivers about using and recommending tablet apps with kids. Well done Emily!

Thinking about having ipads available for children at your library? Brooke Rasche of La Crosse Public Library shares her work developing inhouse ipads at her blog Reading with Red here, here and here

Digital Storytimes

Little eLit is a blog that is worth getting onto your feeds.  The writers are youth librarians doing great pioneering work on including digital content in early literacy storytimes. A recent blog post makes the point about how to "wrestle the bear" of staffers reluctant to cross the digital divide.

Image: 'Using Linda's MacBook'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/42834622@N00/3123487578 Found on flickrcc.net

Tra-la-la!

Fans of Captain Underpants, unite!  Here he comes again in both digital (January) and print format (August) . Check out the AP press release for the big news and dates to be ready for. There may be some serious bling at ALA Midwinter surrounding this news...and I see many Capt. Underpants parties in libraries' futures!