Not Another Santa Program

YSS member - and newly elected board memebr - Terry Ehle from the Lester Library inTwo Rivers is doing some amusing musing on the necessity of certain programs and the joy that might be found in endings....

With December just around the corner I am plagued with the task of “who can I ask, convince, beg, bribe or kidnap to be Santa this year?”  The thought of another long evening, with children waiting patiently (cough), to sit on his lap fills me with dread. 

So I ask myself: Why am I doing this program and how is it promoting the library and reading? 

Have we been doing it for years and years and years?  Yes. Do lots of people come?  Yes.  Do they check out books after?  Not always.  Do they come to story time next week because they saw Santa?  Rarely.  Are they rushing to get library cards because Santa was so wonderful?  Probably not.  Are we the ONLY location in town for children to see Santa this year?  Not even close. Then why I am doing a program I don’t really enjoy? Good question.

So, with the joy I felt after my last library egg hunt, I’ve decided that Santa is not coming to the library this year.  Don’t worry; I didn’t say anything about the gingerbread man…

YSS 2014 Early Literacy Calendar Now Available

Our Youth Services Section (YSS) of the Wisconsin Library Association  is pleased to announce the debut of our newest project - an early literacy calendar created by YSS members!

We first ran across the idea at our Missouri colleague Amy Koester's Show Me Librarian blog. Rather than creating a calendar on her own, she enlisted the help of children's folks at all her branch libraries to contribute a month.  Our YSS board looked at each other (well, over the phone!) and asked why not do the same thing here?  Our hope was to create a calendar that YOU could download and share with your community - whether in print or through a link on your website.

The timing, with our early literacy pre-conference at WLA co-sponsored with DPI (a great success with over 110 youth librarians attending!) as well as DPI's roll-out of Growing Wisconsin Readers initiative created a perfect storm of kismet we simply couldn't ignore.

Each month on our YSS early literacy calendar features tips that center on play, read, math, science, talk, rhyme and song written by a different YSS member.  Contributers include:

• Heather Holton, Cudahy
• Georgia Jones, New Richmond
• Cassie Payne, Menasha
• Ann Hardginski, Kimberley/Little Chute
• Betsy Bromley, Oconomowoc
• Heide Piehlar, Shorewood
• Meagan Schiebel, UW SLIS student, now working in Newport, NH
• Becky Arenivar, Prescott
• Kathleen Larson, Bloomer
• Brooke Rasche, La Crosse
• Sharon Grover, Janesville
• Tom Hurlburt and his team, Rhinelander

We thank them for their contribution to this great project coordinated by YSS. Please stop by this link to download your copy today:  http://wla.wisconsinlibraries.org/yss/resources/useful-links-for-librarians

Thank You!

A huge thank you goes out to all the Youth Services Section members who recently stood for election for board positions.  Whether you won or lost, you were all willing to put your name and energy out there to help our section represent youth services in Wisconsin  - and we thank you for it.

With over 300 members, YSS is the third largest unit in WLA. As such, the board is committed to giving members a real choice in every single election.

Each candidate is a stellar youth librarian who brings passion and commitment to his or her community. And each wants to give back to an organization that nurtures excellence in youth services and stands up for kids library issues on a statewide level.

So join us in thanking our members who answered our call. Whether they won election or not, they believe in keeping YSS a strong and vital organization!

•  Becky Arenivar
• Ashley Bieber
• Betsy Bromley 
• Terry Ehle
• Maryann Owen
• Emily Passey
• Cassie Payne
• Jeni Schomber

Image from Pixabay

Teeny Tiny Little....

I know. I know. I should really wait until 2013 is done before I start thinking about 2014 Summer Reading, but I can't help it. This blog post appeared in my facebook feed and I thought it would be fantastic for "Fizz Boom Read" and "Spark a Reaction" - (ps have you seen the artwork in the catalog?!? It's fantastic!)

http://www.danoah.com/35-everyday-things-made-so-insanely-cool-under-a-microscope

My first "reaction" was that is soooo cool. And then it was, "ew gross" -- Two very encouraging reactions from kids. What if we used images like this for stealth programming? Match the image with the label? Blow up big and post them on the wall with velcro and they can slap the label on the image like the Price is Right?

Share your ideas for microscopic images at your library!

Neil Gaiman pulled from HS Shelves in NM

"Yes It Is"

On the tail end of Banned Books Week and our very own Neil Gaiman is pulled from the shelves of a New Mexico High School.

The parent of a tenth grader was upset about 4 paragraphs in the 386 page book, Neverwhere. So the book has been removed for further review.


That doesn't sit well with Pam Thorp, an English teacher, who is vehemently opposed to what she says amounts to censorship.

"I cannot and will not condone the censorship this parent is promoting," she said. "The implication that we are careless or irresponsible simply is not true. Presenting challenging material of merit that may contain some foul language or mature situations, in a sensitive and academic manner, is part of our responsibility to our students in order to engage them in evaluating the human condition. I take that responsibility very seriously and strive every day to encourage my students to think ... about the world, about their community, about their friends and about themselves. Censorship is the opposite of that."

If you'd like to write to

Alamogordo High School

103 Cuba Ave, 

Alamogordo, NM 88310

(575) 812-6500

Superintendent George.Straface@aps4kids.org 

Principal Darian.Jaramillo@aps4kids.org 

English Teachers
Ami.Malia@aps4kids.org, Anne.Mendoza@aps4kids.org, Diana.Richardson@aps4kids.org, Angie.Wolf@aps4kids.org, Robert.Wright@aps4kids.org

Around the web...

http://www.alamogordonews.com/alamogordo-news/ci_24292499/parental-complaint-spurs-suspension-books-use-at-alamogordo

http://www.slj.com/2013/10/censorship/neil-gaimans-neverwhere-banned-at-new-mexico-high-school/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/11/231987849/book-news-atwood-lauds-munros-nobel-win-furtive-canadian-writers

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-neil-gaiman-neverwhere-removed-from-school-in-new-mexico-20131014,0,1538108.story  

Follow Intellectual Freedom Round Table WLA on Facebook for follow ups.

tidbits around the web

• On Pinterest? Be sure to check out all the boards devoted to SRP 2014!
• This series of picture reminded me of Miss Peregrine...
• An interesting look at corporate children's writing from Gary Soto.
• Dream of having a home library? Check out this one!
• Daniel Radcliffe was interviewed on Fresh Air recently.

Storytime Resource

Hey, our friends at Verona (WI) Public Library are sharing wonderful storytime plans! Check out their brand new blog!!