WAPL Session Recap: Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development

Post by: Dana Johnson, Youth Services Librarian, La Crosse Public Library

As a self-identifying audiobook enthusiast, I jumped at the chance to attend Sharon Grover and Jamie Swenson’s presentation on Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development. Sharon and Jamie kicked off this presentation by addressing how audiobooks support literacy development. Some parents and caregivers may feel that listening to an audio book is “cheating” and should not count as reading time.  In response to this, Sharon and Jamie introduced the Audio Publishers Association’s Sound Learning  website, which is an excellent resource in advocating for the benefits of audiobooks. In particular, library staff should familiarize themselves with this infographic to put those worried parents minds at ease. I printed and hung a copy next to my audio book section! 

The presentation then turned to using audiobooks with picture books together in a read—along experience. Here are some of the many benefits:

• Picture book read-alongs give children time to follow the text and read the illustrations
• Audiobooks can serve as a great tool for engaging distracted children in storytimes
• The music and sound effects in these audiobooks create an emotional experience that reinforces the tone of the text and story.
• Read-alongs promote phonological awareness
• Audiobooks help caregivers bridge any language or skill gaps by reinforcing correct pronunciation and removing pressure from parents who may be uncomfortable reading aloud.

My favorite takeaway from the session was that audiobooks can be a tool used to promote diversity in our library. We know from the We Need Diverse Books campaign, that children need to see themselves authentically reflected in the stories they read. Sharon and Jamie took this a step further. They advocate that we also need to make sure the voices our children hear are also diverse. I love storytime, but as a White, Midwestern, native English-speaker, I cannot do justice to a Yuyi Morales book. The children in my storytimes hear my voice and voices with similar cadence and dialect often in their schools and library. By using diverse audiobook read-alongs, like Imani’s Moon by JaNay Brown-Wood or Jaquline Woodson’s This is the Rope, children will get to hear diverse dialects, voices, and tones narrating these stories in authentic ways. 

I highly recommend looking at Sharon and Jamie’s slides and exploring the Sound Learning website.

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• This is a Not a Hit Zone: Promoting Healthy Kids and Safer Communities at Your Library - Dawn Wacek, Dana Johnson
• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Flip the Children's Space: A Face-Lift for Kids - Susan Queiser, Patricia Becker
• Teach and Be Taught: Teens in the Library - Emily Sanders
• YSS Leadership Meeting
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby et al
• STEAM Programming on a Budget - Emily Zorea
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.

WAPL Handouts and Slidedecks!

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The WAPL conference handouts and slidedecks are up and waiting for you to learn from and peruse!

Stop here to get all the great info on youth programs!

STEAM Programming on a Budget

Photo from Sowing Seeds Librarian blog

Emily Zorea, Brewer Public Library's Youth Librarian, stepped out and presented her first solo session during the recent WAPL conference. Richland Center is a city of approximately 5,000 people in a fairly rural area of southwest WI.  A warm, friendly and supportive speaker who speaks comfortably without notes, Emily not only shared her tips on creating reasonably priced STEM content but also how libraries in smaller communities can really engage kids with science and coding. She engaged the audience and solicited ideas from their experience as STEAM programmers as well.

Emily recently began blogging at Sowing Seeds Librarian where she uses her blog to detail programs she's done. The blog serves as an archive for her programs as well as a how-to for interested readers. She has also been involved in WI DPI's Coding Initiative classes and generously shares her notes to help all of us become more comfortable and knowledgeable about coding with our community kids.

Attendees left with a ton of doable ideas. Her presentation slides speak for themselves. You can access them here at her blog.

Both Emily Zorea and Emily Sanders (whose TAB programs were featured last week on the blog) are new youth library presenters at Wisconsin state conferences.  We hope their presentations inspire YOU to take the leap, put together a program or panel and share your journey at a conference. New voices and perspectives (irregardless of age) are always welcome!  The YSS board, who always puts together an incredible stack of conference programs, is waiting to hear from you.

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• This is a Not a Hit Zone: Promoting Healthy Kids and Safer Communities at Your Library - Dawn Wacek, Dana Johnson
• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Flip the Children's Space: A Face-Lift for Kids - Susan Queiser, Patricia Becker
• Teach and Be Taught: Teens in the Library - Emily Sanders
• YSS Leadership Meeting
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
• Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.

YSS WAPL Member Meeting

On Thursday night during WAPL, the YSS board and several members had a chance to sit down and talk about upcoming YSS events and to do some brainstorming about YSS in general.

Members volunteered to write blog posts about the sessions they attended at WAPL. Watch for guest posts by Sue Abrahamson, Emily Zorea, Leah Langby, Dana Johnson and Marge Louch-Wouters. So even if you weren’t able to attend WAPL, you can still learn about the amazing things our members are doing at their libraries.

Other topics discussed:

How to get involved with YSS:

The YSS Board has openings: a Chair-Elect and two Members-at-Large. 

Serving as Chair-Elect is a three-year commitment (Chair-Elect, Chair, Past-Chair), and Members-at-Large serve for two years. The board meets monthly (usually virtually, though we have a few in-person meetings each year), and board members help shepherd many YSS initiatives. 

Contact Leah Langby (langby@ifls.lib.wi.us) if you are interested in running or if you need more information to make a decision.

YSS Regional Meet Up: Friday, May 19 12:30-4:00 PM

Starting Location:  Manitowoc Public Library 707 Quay St. Manitowoc, WI 54220

Ending Location:  Lester Public Library 1001 Adams. St. Two Rivers, WI 54241

We’ll begin the afternoon at the Manitowoc Public Library and then travel up the lakeshore to the Lester Public Library in Two Rivers.

In Manitowoc, YSS Member Susie Menk shares information about MeeperBots, technology she has been using with tweens. Attendees will get a chance to play with these awesome robots!

At 2:00, we'll take the scenic 10-minute drive to the Lester Public Library. YSS member Terry Ehle takes us on a tour of the library's early literacy center and all-important dramatic play area.

We finish the afternoon with refreshments and an informal program share. Bring a program that is working or has worked for you, or one that you are planning for summer.

Come get inspired—and do some inspiring of your own!

Have a colleague that isn’t a YSS member yet? Invite them along and they can see what YSS is all about!

Please visit this link to let us know if you can join us: https://goo.gl/forms/9JgbJIRBQ0nQE4U33

Questions? Contact Terry Ehle at tehle@lesterlibrary.org

Finally, the meeting wrapped up with a quick brainstorm on possible authors for the next YSS luncheon for WLA 2018.

Thank you to all members who attended!

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• This is a Not a Hit Zone: Promoting Healthy Kids and Safer Communities at Your Library - Dawn Wacek, Dana Johnson
• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Flip the Children's Space: A Face-Lift for Kids - Susan Queiser, Patricia Becker
• STEAM Programming on a Budget: Planning High Interest Programs to Engage Families and Youth - Emily Zorea
• Teach and be Taught - Teens at the Library - Emily Sanders
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
• Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.

Libraries as a No Hit Zone

Post by Leah Langby

As many of you may remember from a blog post late last year, the LaCrosse Public Library has recently been working with Gunderson Health, a major healthcare provider in their area, to promote public places as No Hit Zones.  I was very intrigued with this idea, and happy to attend a session about it.  Dana Johnson and Dawn Wacek discussed the concept of the No Hit Zone: making it clear that hitting of any kind is not tolerated in the library, and stepping in with assistance before situations escalate to the point of violence.  They talked about the way they have discussed this branding change with library staff and patrons—particularly those who believe that corporal punishment is an effective and important discipline tool.  Pro-tip:  you probably won’t change anyone’s opinion about the merits of corporal punishment in one conversation, but you can make a strong case for having behavior standards for your public space.  Finally, they discussed ways that the No Hit Zone is like The Wakanheza Project, which emphasizes the challenges of parenting in public, and empowers staff to step in to support parents or others in the moment to diffuse situations that may otherwise escalate.

There are lots of resources available on the No Hit Zone website.  And if you are intrigued by The Wakanheza Project, contact your library system, because there are probably people in your area who are willing to share resources and ideas about it, based on a train-the-trainer session held five or six years ago.

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Flip the Children's Space: A Face-Lift for Kids - Susan Queiser, Patricia Becker
• STEAM Programming on a Budget: Planning High Interest Programs to Engage Families and Youth - Emily Zorea
• Teach and Be Taught - Teens in the Library - Emily Sanders
• YSS Leadership Meeting
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
• Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.

Flip the Children’s Space: A Face Lift for Kids?

In the recent WAPL session, Flip the Children’s Space: A Face Lift for Kids?, Patricia S. Becker and Susan Queiser from Barron Public Library shared how they transformed a 103-year-old Carnegie library into a space that would welcome children and families to stay and read. Before their transformation, families would stay at the library only for approximately 15 minutes. Now, they regularly have families in the library for an hour visit.

Their project included transforming their picture book collection into a hybrid system of both subject bins (using freezer crates), and alphabetized shelves. For non-fiction, they used a version of Dewey Light that was driven by the question, “Why are we using decimals in our non-fiction collections when students do not learn decimals until 4^th grade?” Wanting to make the space more intuitive for kids, they did away with the numbers altogether and instead organized their non-fiction books into subjects.

They also bravely added new shelf tops in a fun style, a new desk, weeded a substantial part of their collections to showcase their best books (and to reveal holes in their collection) and also created a tween area. No additional staff time was used for this 13-month project, and all the weeding and re-cataloging happened during regular staff hours. To make the project more interesting, they began the project the same day as their summer reading program opened. The results have been substantial, for both patrons and staff. Now, families are staying in the library longer because they have places to sit and read, thanks to new furniture purchased through Wayfair. Also, the children’s librarian can how shelf-read the non-fiction books in 25 minutes. Before this transformation, that project took two days.

Throughout the process, the history of the Carnegie building was preserved, with the original shelving, colors, and layout still represented. This respect to the library’s heritage, while having the courage to re-learn everything we have been taught about how to shelve books, has allowed their library to thrive as a destination in their community. Both speakers welcomed questions for any librarian considering a similar project.

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• This is a Not a Hit Zone: Promoting Healthy Kids and Safer Communities at Your Library - Dawn Wacek, Dana Johnson
• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Teach and Be Taught- Teens in the Library - Emily Sanders
• STEAM Programming on a Budget: Planning High Interest Programs to Engage Families and Youth - Emily Zorea
• YSS Leadership Meeting
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
• Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.

Teach and Be Taught - Teens in the Library

Emily Sanders and teens in one of their "Sherlockian Extravaganza" programs

Emily Sanders, Teen Librarian at the Barrett Memorial Library in Williams Bay, presented a lively, vivacious and information-packed session this past week at the WAPL conference in Stevens Point on creating and encouraging a Teen Advisory Board.

Their TAB launched in January 2016. But before it did, Emily spent the fall enthusiastically talking to any and all middle and high schoolers getting them pumped up about the upcoming TAB. By laying that advocacy groundwork and building excitement, the launch itself was a success. She asked the teens to make a one-year commitment for the monthly meetings, attend at least three programs and assist with the library's booksale. Teens who participate get service hours, letters of recommendation and a positive volunteer experience to put on applications.

The teens run their own meetings with Emily there in an "advisory" capacity. She helps them with the agenda and then they are off.  There is always pizza and snacks at these hour-longish meetings.  The teens are given alot of agency to create a group that created programs for themselves - and younger kids including a Harry Potter Party.  They also made buttons for sale as a fundraiser  - this led to "button lock-ins" where the TAB kids could participate in fun activities and crank out more buttons to sell after hours.

Sprinkled throughout the presentation were videos of the TAB teens talking about the work they did and what mattered to them.

Among Emily's tips for success with teens?

• Get the teens excited by getting out from behind the desk.
• Listen to what teens want and think.
• Pay attention to what they say.
• Ask them to share ideas.
• Let teens pick their roles in program.

Please stop by the WAPL conference site in the next few weeks to see Emily's slidedeck of her 4:30pm Thursday presentation. And if you get a chance to see Emily present, do. She had us all rocking during the last session of the day!

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• This is a Not a Hit Zone: Promoting Healthy Kids and Safer Communities at Your Library - Dawn Wacek, Dana Johnson
• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Flip the Children's Space: A Face-Lift for Kids - Susan Queiser, Patricia Becker
• STEAM Programming on a Budget: Planning High Interest Programs to Engage Families and Youth - Emily Zorea
• YSS Leadership Meeting
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
• Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.

Be the Program at WAPL!

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The WI Association of Public Librarians annual conference is coming up April 26-28 in Stevens Point.

YSS always has some great programs there and that's where YOU come in. Our members create the best content and here is your chance to propose a youth-centric session that let's you share your expertise as a sole speaker or put together a panel of peers to present!

If you want YSS to sponsor your program (you need a WLA unit to sponsor you), simply send your proposal title, description and speakers to the YSS board by Friday January 27. You can email it to YSS chair Terry Ehle, tehle@lesterlibrary.org and the board will get back with a yes or no before the deadline listed below so you have time to submit your proposal.

Need more details? Last month conference chair Virginia Roberts sent out the following:
The WAPL Conference Planning Committee invites program proposals for the Spring Conference, to be held April 26-28, 2017, at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 

Proposals for presentations, panels, workshops and business meetings are welcome.  Sessions will run either 45 or 60 minutes in length.  Every WLA unit has a special perspective to offer and we encourage you to be part of our 2017 WAPL Conference.  If you, as a WLA member, have a great program idea, don't wait to be asked to present it, submit a proposal yourself!  The more ideas and diversity of topics, the more rewarding this learning opportunities will be for all. 

Please use the Program Proposal Form to submit a program. 

Deadline for proposal submissions is: February 3, 2017.  You will be notified of the program's acceptance or rejection no later than February 24, 2017. 

The YSS board can hardly wait to hear from you!