Free ALSC Toolkits Available

ALSC (ALA's  Association for Library Service to Children) has created a number of toolkits that are available on their website. 

Recently, ALSC's Library Service for Underserved Children and Their Caregivers updated their suite of toolkits. They include toolkits on "the digital divide, autism and sensory processing needs, print disabilities, financial insecurity and homelessness, new Americans, Spanish-speaking populations, and trauma-informed care. Each provides practical guidance, resource recommendations, and community-centered approaches that position libraries as essential partners in supporting children and families facing various challenges."

Stop at this ALSC blog post to read about each and link directly to the resources! [Strengthening Community Connections: Updated Toolkits for Serving Underserved Children and Families.  Ting, Renee. ALSC blog. July 5, 2025]

Two Great Youth Resources

 Thanks to Kristie Hauer at WVLS' Youth Information Exchange for these two tips

Summer Learning Tips to Go! English/Spanish Text Messaging Service from Start With a Book

They write on their website:
"Sign up now for our 2024 summer learning tips, in English or Spanish. A fresh season of mobile tips is here! You'll receive three messages per week, featuring hands-on activities to keep kids reading, creating, exploring — and learning — all summer long! See examples of our summer tips below.

Text (855) 773-1019 toll-free with the words "READING' for tips in English and 'LECTURA' for tips in Spanish Messaging rates may apply.

Here are examples of the kinds of tips and activity ideas you'll receive though our text messaging service:
Alphabet city
On a walk together, look for the shapes of letters in the buildings all around you. More ideas: Builders and Buildings

Mapmaker
After reading a favorite book, have your child draw a map of the book's setting. More ideas: Map Making

Be a reading role model!
Make sure your kids see you reading and writing, whether it's reading the morning newspaper or making a shopping list. More ideas: Be a Reading Role Model

Nature scavenger hunt
Make a list of things to find outside (such as an acorn, stone, or feather). Give your child the list and let the hunt begin! More ideas: Outdoor Explorations"

Free Talk with Me Toolkits from the Smithsonian

"Talk with Me Toolkits provide caregivers chances to talk with their children to improve thinking, vocabulary, and language development. Talking with your child is great—and research shows that the quality of words children hear matters more than how much you talk. The Toolkits give caregivers ideas to begin conversations that are organized around a theme, and feature videos, photographs, paintings, and artworks along with questions to talk about with your child. At the end of each toolkit there are more activities to do and books to read together. Go through each toolkit with your child and see how many things there are to talk about!"

Kits include:

• Air and Space: Can It Fly
• Art: Colors, Shapes, Lines
• Art: Light and Shadow
• Me and My World: My Neighborhood
• Music: Animal Tracks
• Nature: Who Lives in the Soil

This project is developed by the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology, Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy at Pennsylvania State University, and Middle Country Public Library. It adapts an original set of toolkits, developed by the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology, for a grant with the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Only Rain Down the Drain Library Program Toolkit

From Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources 6/21/24

• WI Stormwater Week (Sept. 21-29, 2024) is a great time to teach kids about water, where water pollution comes from and drains to, and most importantly, ways to protect our local water resources. Check out our sample library program geared at kids ages 6-10. The program includes a menu of different activities and resources to get kids across Wisconsin excited about stormwater and taking actions to keep their local waters clean. Help celebrate WI Stormwater Week by leading a library program in your community and help “Keep Only Rain Down the Storm Drain”.

• Visit https://www.wistormwater.com/library-resources for program resources and to request a FREE WI Watershed Poster.

• Questions? Contact Christal Campbell @ campbell.christal@danecounty.gov.

Trauma Toolkit Resources

In a recent ALSC blog post, Nomi Hague, a member of the ALSC Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee, shared resources to help libraries who are working with kids experiencing trauma on some level. These resources are part of that committee's outstanding Early Childhood Trauma Toolkit that they produced in January of this year.

Click hereClick here to read the post. [Trauma Toolkit. Hague, Nomi. ALSC blog. May 22, 2024]

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

WLA IF Introduces New IF Toolkit

On behalf of the WLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, I am  pleased to announce that the WLA Intellectual Freedom (IF) Toolkit is now available.  The IF Toolkit was developed by the WLA Intellectual Freedom Committee as a way for community members, librarians, and trustees to gain a deeper understanding of intellectual freedom as it relates to libraries in Wisconsin.  It is intended to provide resources to help libraries and their communities navigate these issues while protecting the rights of individual readers. The Intellectual Freedom Committee will continuously update the IF Toolkit and seek to include the most relevant and current intellectual freedom resources.

To access this resource from the WLA website, go to the Advocacy menu on the homepage and select "Intellectual Freedom Resources" from the dropdown menu.  
 
A special thank you to the IF Committee Toolkit subcommittee for their work on this resource: Karli Pederson, Hannah Good Zima, and Christinna Swearingen.

Questions about the toolkit? Please contact WLA IF Committee Chair Kristina Gómez at krgomez@milwaukee.gov.

Refreshed IF Resources Page Also Includes Survey Results
In addition to the IF Toolkit, the Intellectual Freedom Resources webpage has been refreshed to include other new content, including a link to the 2023 Intellectual Freedom Survey Report.

Visit the Intellectual Freedom Resources Page: Intellectual Freedom Resources (wisconsinlibraries.org)

Laura Sauser, Executive Director

Wisconsin Library Association

sauser@wisconsinlibraries.org      515-865-6264

Inclusive Internship Toolkits Available

With the upcoming webinars (registration is now open for these: Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 10 a.m. Registration Link or Friday, February 9, 2024, at 1 p.m. Registration Link) that DPI is sponsoring on how to apply to become one of the libraries participating in this year's Teen's Inclusive Internship Program, the following news provided by NFLS Nic News Weekly from their January 12 newsletter may be of interest:

FREE Inclusive Internship Toolkit: A practical guide for teen internships

Summer internships can be a great way to reach new audiences, develop new connections, and provide leadership opportunities for staff. If you are planning on hosting a teen intern this summer, or are curious and don’t know where to start, PLA’s Internship Toolkit is a start-to-finish guide to implementing an internship program at the library. Based on PLA's Inclusive Internship Initiative (III), the free, downloadable toolkit includes templates, best practices, and case studies to make your program a success.

Learn more about the Inclusive Internship Initiative here.

Free Autism-Ready Libraries Toolkit

 See the following article and other opportunities in this ALSC blog post, May 24, 2023.

In March 2020, ALSC provided a letter to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in support of a University of Washington Information School (iSchool) project, Autism-Ready Libraries. The project, subsequently funded by IMLS, aimed to improve libraries’ capacity to provide early literacy programming to autistic children and their families.

As a result of preliminary studies and investigation, iSchool researchers developed the Autism-Ready Libraries Toolkit (ARLT), which is now available online. The toolkit includes early literacy programming and training materials to empower librarians to effectively serve autistic children and their families.

Free ALSC Resources for Youth Librarians

ALA's  Association for Library Services to Children has so many great resources and toolkits available to help you do your job more effectively.

A recent ALSC blog post has a great listing that centers around doing year-round advocacy. 

Browse through the amazing resources here in this linky post. [Planning a Year of Advocacy: Month by Month. White, Kimberly.  ALSC blog. January 26, 2023.]

Autistic Representation in Children's Books

ALSC blog May 16. Chelsey Roos

Chelsey Roos recently wrote an important post on the ALSC blog suggesting ways to make the books in your collections reflect a more positive autistic representation.  She writes: Try this when you’ve got a spare ten minutes: open up your library’s catalog and search for “autism.” Imagine that you are autistic (if you aren’t), and you’re looking for books about people like you. What kind of books do you see? How easy is it for you to find positive autistic representation in your library?

You might see a lot of nonfiction, and a lot of books for parents, but what about books for autistic children? Is it hard to find fiction with an autistic protagonist? While you look at the titles and descriptions, imagine how these books might make you feel about yourself. Would you feel seen, or overlooked? Supported, or misunderstood? Would you feel loved and valued, or like a burden or a problem? Unfortunately, you may have a very hard time finding positive representations of autistic characters. How can we improve our collections? "

Chelsey goes on to explore questions that touch on the authenticity of the autistic characters, their diversity, stereotypes, the presence of autistic authors and more. She recommends books and authors as well. You can read her post here [In Search of Autistic Representation in Children's Literature. Roos, Chelsea. ALSC blog, May 16, 2022]

Another excellent resource on this subject is the ALSC Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder Resources toolkit developed by ALSC's Library Services to Underserved Children & Their Caregivers committee. This toolkit, originally published in August 2020, has been updated this month. It has booklists, resources, program suggestions, publishers and vendors. and much more to help you in developing and improving your service to children with autism and sensory processing disorders.

New ALSC Toolkit on Summer Learning

Image from ALSC Learning Beyond Toolkit

Recently, ALSC debuted a new and helpful toolkit entitled: Learning Beyond: 21st Century Summer and Out-of-School Time Toolkit. Created by ALSC's Summer and Out-of-School Time Task Force, this toolkit features .evidence-based approaches to developing worthwhile programs and services for youth. 

In a recent ALSC blog post, ALSC's School Age Services and Programs COmmittee wrote about the toolkit:

"The Toolkit has eight sections that include: 

• Summer in the 21st Century & the Critical Skills of a 21st Century Learner
• Building Equity 
• Co-designing Effective Program
• Working Together/Partnership
• Evaluating Success
• Role of Reflection in Learning
• Online & Digital Programming
• Positive Youth Development Framework for providing quality programs

Each section contains a narrative overview, five facts to know, a resource list, and a case study from a public library to see the practical application of this work. 

One of the eight sections is written by Wisconsin's own Sue Abrahamson of the Waupaca Public Library!

You can read more about the toolkit here. (ALSC Blog. Learning Beyond: 21st Century Summer and Out-of-School Time Toolkit. March 26, 2022.)

You can download the toolkit here.

Apply now for the chance to receive a Inclusive Financial Literacy Programming Kit, courtesy of ALA and FINRA!

Up to 100 public and school libraries will be selected to receive an Inclusive Financial Literacy Programming Kit to help them provide diverse financial literacy titles and programming for children and young people in their communities.

Each kit will contain:

• The Inclusive Financial Literacy book list, developed by a team of librarian advisors in collaboration with ALA and the FINRA Foundation, with corresponding best practices and programming ideas for public and school libraries
• One copy of Rainy Day Ready: Financial Literacy Programs and Tools edited by Melanie Welch and Patrick Hogan for the ALA Public Programs Office (ALA Editions, 2020), a ready-to-use guide for library staff with 16 model financial capability programs
• One print copy of five books from the book list for libraries to add to their circulating collection

Public and school libraries (serving children in grades K–8) located in the U.S. and U.S. territories are eligible for this opportunity.

Applications will be accepted until January 3, 2021.

For more information and/or to submit your application, click HERE.

Free Toolkit on Children with Print Disabilities

ALA's Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Committee on Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers has produced their newest free monthly toolkit and it's amazing! 

This longstanding ALSC committee has been leading the way for decades long before the pandemic highlighted how critical the need is to expand our thinking and service. Recently they began producing free, monthly toolkits to help libraries serve their underserved populations better. Chockful of resources, booklists, hints and practical suggestions, these toolkit google docs are extremely helpful.

They write: "This month, our focus is on serving children with print disabilities.  According to Maine – Accessible Educational Materials, “A student with a print disability is one who is unable to gain information from printed materials at an anticipated level for their grade, and needs alternative access or an accessible format (i.e., Braille, Large Print, Audio, Digital text) to gain information from and use those materials. Print disabilities commonly affect students with blindness, visual impairments, learning disabilities or other physical conditions that make it difficult to hold or manipulate educational materials.” For clarification, those with visual impairments can include those who are legally blind and vision loss. Those with learning disabilities can include dyslexia." 

To access this kit, which includes book suggestions resources and suggestions for other materials to purchase, please stop here.

New ALSC Intellectual Freedom Programming Toolkit

As mentioned in Tessa Michaelson Schmidt's most recent Friday FAQ, the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Intellectual Freedom Committee has published a free IF Programming toolkit. 

The ALSC IF committee writes: "Inside the toolkit, you will find practical, easy-to-implement tips for incorporating intellectual freedom and Information literacy into library cornerstone programs and services. Sample programs include storytimes, book clubs, outreach, and STEAM activities. They include both virtual and in-person activities, so you can serve your community flexibly, regardless of your current service model. An annotated list of additional resources rounds out the toolkit, making it easy for busy practitioners to find more tips and support.

We’re living in a climate of misinformation and heightened mistrust in news media and other information sources. Raising awareness of information literacy and intellectual freedom issues with our families has never been more important. Developing these crucial skills helps keep kids informed, safe, and prepared to support their communities."

Please click here to read the ALSC blog introductory post and link to the toolkit!

Friday FAQs with Tessa for 4/9/21

Dear Library Staff Serving Youth, 

Happy Friday! Here is the latest installment of Friday FAQs for Youth Services. The slides used in the recording are attached as a PDF. Also, the FAQ Friday form is open for your input anytime. FAQs are published on the second Friday of each month. 

FAQ Friday 4/9/2021 recording (6:09) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52XwtBfny-8 FAQ 

Friday for Youth Services 2021 Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfiPJ3WfahXaj5y3RchBsVZdORDUvE7J3c_LygTWiJuv9yqOg/viewform?usp=sf_link

For FAQ archives, visit the Youth Services Section blog 

Resources related to this week’s topics

• Reopening Guide for Wisconsin Public Libraries 
• Collaborative Summer Library Program 2021 Tails & Tales Social Media Toolkit

https://bit.ly/CSLP_Toolkit21

CSLP also offers two Facebook Groups for member library staff: Feeding the Whole Child and the Official Summer Library Programming group.

PSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ5J7ay_t8 

• Read Africa program---grants (up to $1,000) for books and programming  

Blog post

Application

• Save the Date: StoryWalk Week November 15-19, 2021
• Intellectual Freedom Programming Toolkit
  http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/ALSC%20Intellectual%20Freedom%20Programming%20Toolkit_0.pdf 
• ALSC Book & Media Awards Shelf

https://alsc-awards-shelf.org/ 

 

Have a great day!

 

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt (she/her/hers)

Youth and Inclusive Services Public Library Consultant

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction | Library Services

(608) 267-5077 Tessa.Schmidt@dpi.wi.gov

Friday FAQs with Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

• 6/18/21 recording

• 5/14/21 recording
• 4/9/21 recording
• 3/12/21 recording
• 2/12/21 recording
• 1/15/21 recording
• 12/11/20 recording
• 11/13/20 recording
• 10/9/20 recording
• 9/11/20 recording
• 8/14/20 recording
• 7/31/20 recording
• 7/17/20 recording
• 7/10/20 recording
• 6/26/20 recording
• 6/19/20 recording
• 6/11/20 recording
• 6/5/20 recording
• 5/29/20 recording
• 5/22/20 recording
• 5/15/20 recording
• 5/8/20 recording
• 5/1/20 recording
• 4/24/20 recording
• 4/17/20 recording
• 4/10/20 recording   

TeenTober is almost upon us!

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is promoting TeenTober. TeenTober is a new, nationwide celebration hosted by libraries every October and aims to celebrate teens, promote year-round teen services and the innovative ways teen services helps teens learn new skills, and fuel their passions in and outside the library. TeenTober replaces YALSA’s previous Teen Read Week™ and Teen Tech Week™ celebrations, allowing libraries the flexibility to celebrate all types of literacies according to their library’s schedule. Library staff are also encouraged to utilize this new celebration to advocate for and raise awareness of the importance of year-round teen services in libraries. 

To assist libraries plan their celebrations, YALSA has released a digital poster, bookmark, and toolkit, which features planning, advocacy, and program resources.

Training on Diverse Toolkit Now Available

A recent Badgerlink post on DPI's Wisconsin Libraries for Everyone blog shared the archived training webinar link for Teachingbook's fantastic Diversity Toolkit. Teachingbooks is one of Badgerlink's valued resources available to WI libraries.  

The training video teaches you how to easily navigate the toolkit's features which include:

• Search for diverse books by culture, subject, grade level, and genre
• Original interviews with diverse authors and illustrators
• Award winning titles and book lists, as well as ability to create your own lists
• Collection Analysis Tool to generate reports for your own collection development needs

Read the whole post here.

Evaluating Children's Books About Police

In an opinion piece posted today on SLJ.com, Amy Martin from Oakland Public Library revisited the evaluation of police picture books.  In many, many cases, the representation is completely one-sided, depicting the police as community helpers and someone to be called upon for help.  While this is true for some police officers, it's not always the case and these books do a disservice to children and their families who have had very different interactions with law enforcement, invalidating their experiences.  "Presenting police as community helpers without a counterpoint available—that police might harm them—is gaslighting for children who see police brutality in their home, in their neighborhood, on TV, and on their parents’ phones."

Looking to make sure your police collection represents a wide range of experiences?  Consider utilizing Evaluating Children's Books about Police, a 2017 toolkit from Oakland Public Library.  

 

Powerful Words to Support Children's Librarians

New from ALSC (the Association for Library Service to Children) is a free downloadable toolkit to help all youth librarians and libraries in supporting the need for excellent youth services.

Using clear facts, imagery and language, the toolkit can become a powerful persuader when facing non-support from funders, boards or even administrators in explaining the importance of children's services.

Once you land on the Toolkit page, you can download the toolkit, infographic, a powerpoint template to use in presentations, "Because" statements and printable postcards. There is also a very professional 5 minute video featuring patrons, librarians and children's book authors describing the importance of children's librarians in their communities.

To find all this great free content in standing up for children's services, click here.

Reimagining School Readiness - a Toolkit for Librarians

Pixabay Image

From ALSC Matters newsletter, a publication of the Association for Library Service to Children, August 2018:

"No matter their economic or educational background, all parents want their children to do well—in school and in life. Research has demonstrated that the first eight years of life are the most important phase in the human lifespan for overall development, and lay the foundation for future health, education, and economic participation. With this in mind, the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Center for Childhood Creativity (in collaboration with the California State Library’s Early Learning with Families (ELF) initiative) undertook a multi-year project to co-create, pilot, refine, and then publish a toolkit to help libraries provide evidenced-based school readiness programming for their communities.

Designed specifically for libraries, this online toolkit builds on the research findings from Reimagining School Readiness: A Position Paper with Key Findings, compiled by the Center for Childhood Creativity. The toolkit of research-backed resources is intended to support libraries in offering school readiness programming to families with children birth to age 8. It was pilot tested by six different California library systems. The toolkit includes promising practices, case studies, and Pinterest boards. It also includes bookmarks, flyers, posters, and social media messages—all in six languages—which can be customized with a library’s own logo."

To read the full article and links to the toolkit, please click here.