Youth Services Shout-Out: YSS Blog: ALSC's #LooktoLibraries Resources

As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shelter-in-place orders around the country triggered a significant rise in the use of digital media by children and families. Now, more than ever, the work of children’s library professionals serving as youth media mentors is essential.

In response to this rise in digital media use and other challenges posed in recent months, ALSC has compiled a suite of tools and resources to support library professionals in all types of libraries. ALSC’s Look to Libraries in Times of Crisis webpage provides a host of free resources including tip sheets, articles, booklists, and other resources, including:

* Media Mentorship Tip Sheet, a parents’ guide to the many ways in which a children’s library professional supports families in navigating the digital landscape, such as finding outstanding resources, modeling safe and effective digital device use, sharing methods for locating trustworthy information, and sharing resources on developing media literacy.

* Comforting Reads and Tough Topics booklists featuring titles selected for children who are going through challenging situations like the death of a loved one, natural disasters, etc., that help spark conversations with children.

* COVID-19 Resource Tip Sheet, a curated list of resources for youth and parents/caregivers, from expert sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that touch on subjects from managing stress and how to talk with children about COVID-19 to virtual games and activities to help children thrive at home.

* and much more!

For more information on ALSC’s #LooktoLibraries resources, please visit https://bit.ly/LookToLibraries. Questions? Please contact us at alsc@ala.org.

Best wishes,
Laura _____________________________________________________________
Laura M. Schulte-Cooper | Program Officer, Communications |Association for Library Service to Children | American Library Association