ALSC/Candlewick “Light the Way” Grant Applications Open!

The Grants & Awards Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of the American Library Association) is now accepting applications for the 2027 ALSC/Candlewick “Light the Way” Grant!

This annual award is generously sponsored by Candlewick Press and is presented in honor of Kate DiCamillo and the themes she eloquently explores in her novels. The grant provides $3,000 to help a library conduct impactful outreach to underserved populations through a new program or an expansion of existing work. The award committee recognizes that underserved populations vary from community to community, and all programs designed to directly address local needs and reduce barriers to library access are encouraged to apply.

 

Who Can Your Project Serve?

The grant is open to any project that seeks to engage an underserved population of children from birth through age 14. These populations may include (but are not limited to):

• Children with learning or physical differences
• English language learners
• Children in non-traditional school environments
• Children in non-traditional family settings (such as teen parents, foster youth, children in the juvenile justice system, and children in LGBTQ+ families), etc.

 

Key Details

• Award amount: $3,000
• Deadline to apply: December 18, 2026
• Grant implementation period: One calendar year– with reports due on June 30 and September 15
• Eligibility: Projects focused on underserved populations of children 0-14.
• Where to apply: https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/profawards/candlewicklighttheway

 

If you have questions about your application, please reach out to the co-chairs of the Grants & Awards committee, Lauren Brandstetter (lauren.brandstetter@kentonlibrary.org) and Sarah Clarke (sarahclarke1115@gmail.com).

Tips and Info from DPI's March 19, 2026 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is an email newsletter chockfull of great resources we've come to rely on. If you are a WI youth library staffer and you don't receive this weekly missive in your email inbox, please contact Jeni (jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov) to be placed on the list!

Here is the March 19, 2026 edition:

Hello All,  Check out these youth services resources and reminders!  DPI Website Modernization Project  As part of the Department of Public Instruction’s strategic plan and commitment to modernizing and improving the agency, and in preparation for the April 24, 2026 Title II ADA digital accessibility deadline, the DPI is currently undertaking a major update to its external website, www.dpi.wi.gov. Visit the DPI Website Modernization Project page for more information.  Summer Reading with BadgerLink Resources  Summer reading is already around the corner! BadgerLink content providers TeachingBooks and Britannica Education offer excellent activities and programming ideas for this year’s summer reading programs at your library. Read the full story.   BadgerLink Bulletin EBSCO Resources Highlight  Check out the latest features, tools, promotional materials, and training on BadgerLink’s EBSCO resources. View full story.  Dinosaurs 101 for Librarians  Join us on Friday, March 27 at 12:30 PM for Dinosaurs 101 for Librarians, a webinar on the core concepts and techniques used by the American Museum of Natural History in teaching paleontology to young learners. Raoul Seroy, Children and Family Learning Educator at the Museum, will guide participants through foundational concepts to connect with young learners and get them excited about paleontology.   This live session, hosted by AMNH and part of a new professional development webinar series for Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) members, will feature a presentation by Raoul followed by an interactive Q&A session with participants. Registration is now open.  PBS Educational Multimedia Resources for School-Age Learners  The PBS Wisconsin Education team is excited to be collaborating with the South Central Library System and Portage County Library to host a free workshop on May 7 for public library staff who serve school-age learners (grades 3-12 / ages 8-18+) to learn about PBS educational multimedia resources and plan for ways to use these resources with library programming. More details and the link to RSVP are included in this invitation.  CCBC Choices 2026 is now available  CCBC Choices 2026 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 2026 is also available on the CCBC website.  Jeni Schomber  Public Library Consultant  The DPI does not sponsor or endorse external resources or events. They are provided for your consideration only.  Contact: jeni.schomber@dpi.wi.gov

Lemons Out of Lemonade

Image by Rachel C from Pixabay

When presenters were - very unexpectedly - unable to make their program session two weeks ago at the ALA Annual Conference, the audience did something remarkable. They did the program themselves! 

The topic was accessibility and inclusion for children with disabilities and their caregivers. 

In this ALSC blog post, conference blogger Sara Beth Coffman wrote: "The room was prepared well for such an event, with ASL interpreters and on-the-fly closed captioning (which was excellent, by the way) simultaneously available. Upon realizing the presenters would not be arriving, a few intrepid leaders took the mic and suggested we use the time anyway, offering to tap into the collective wisdom in the room. What followed was an inspiring and truly remarkable session, full of ideas, insights, and an amazing sense of community and solidarity.

As we all began to realize what a gift this potential misstep had turned out to be, a special energy took over: someone circulated a piece of paper to gather emails for further sharing; someone else created a shared doc for distributing resources; questions were asked and answered, the mic moving around and through the room for over an hour."

The rest of the post is full of resources, links and recaps of some of the ideas and info that the librarian attendees shared with each other. Stop here to read the full post.  [Toward Inclusion and Equity for Young Children in Public Library Programs. Coffman, Sara Beth. ALSC blog. June 25, 2022.]

I think we can say that the pandemic has taught us far more than doing Zoom and make-and-take kits programming!

A Look at Hybrid Programming

Image by Estefano Burmistrov from Pixabay 

In May, the Children and Technology Committee of ALSC held an online community chat on hybrid programming. They shared takeaways from the chat in a recent ALSC blog post.

They write: "Our committee was inspired to host this conversation because the evolving nature of library programming (primarily in public libraries) has been a recurring theme in our own committee meetings throughout this term. We were also excited to bring in other library professionals as guests who have expertise, and a variety of experiences on the subject. The conversation was robust, and just what we were hoping for!"

To read through the great ideas and issues shared, stop here. [Hybrid Programming: Evaluating Takeaways from the Pandemic and Moving Library Services Into the Future. Aronofsky, Manuela. ALSC blog. June 11, 2022].

Service to New Americans Toolkit

The ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Communities committee is working on a new toolkit.

Entitled "New Americans", this toolkit seeks to provide resources and guidance to help libraries better serve refugees, new immigrants, asylum seekers, and migrants.  The toolkit, as it is developing, has a booklist and a growing list of resources to help us serve these New Americans more effectively.

This toolkit is one of 6 that the committee has developed in the past 2 years (others include Children with Print Disabilities; Access to Technology; Spanish Speaking Populations; Financial Insecurity and Homelessness Resources and Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder Resources). They can all be accessed for free here.

Stop here to access the new developing toolkit as well as contribute with your experiences and ideas. Together, as these resources are developed and shared, we are stronger!!

How Accessible Are SLP Coupon Prizes?

 

Chelsey Roos

A recent ALSC blog post by Chelsey Roos raises some important questions about the types of prizes that we give away for summer reading program. While recognizing why many libraries rely on coupons or passes from business and organizations for SLP prizes, she also brings up valid issues about how these can also be problematic for kids who lack access or parental support.

She writes about her own personal experience as a child: "As a huge reader, I was absolutely over the moon that I was able to show off my reading to a librarian. I cannot describe to you my immense excitement when I got my little prize pack. And then my crushing disappointment, when I found I wasn’t able to use any of my prizes. While many of my peers had loving grown-ups who could take them to use the free museum passes in the packet, I did not. While many of the families in my area could use the coupons for money off ice cream and pizza, I could not."

Chelsey goes on to invite us to ask questions of our prize decisions to understand questions of accessibility and usability of these incentives in a thoughtful post that you can read here. (Summer Reading Prizes and Accessibility. ALSC Blog. February 10, 2022)

Looking to Make Your Tech More Accessible?

ALA's Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Committee on Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers has produced their newest 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. Their newest one, created in collaboration with ALSC's Children and Technology Committee, is all about providing equitable access to technology for youth.

In a recent ALSC blog post they write: "February’s Toolkit focuses on accessibility to technology and its impact on children. With the onset of COVID-19, gaps in the digital divide became chasms. The inequities that technology – or lack thereof – created became impossible to ignore. 

When librarians transitioned to providing online programming, it became all the more apparent that large swaths of children were missing out on crucial learning opportunities. The materials in this toolkit both address internet inequity and provide resources that introduce children to technology or offer low-tech options for programs.

What you will find in this toolkit:

• Picture books, early chapter books, and middle grade books for children of various ages and their caregivers.
• Professional resources such as articles and books that provide research-based information and ideas for addressing technology gaps.
• Materials you can purchase for your library’s children’s room and to use in your library programming that are low-tech or no-tech.
• Recommended webinars that target digital equity." 

To access the blog post with more info and the link to the doc, please stop here.

CSLP Accessibility Webinar

Here is a tip on an archived webinar recently sponsored by CSLP shared with us by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt of DPI.

Library Services for Customers with Accessibility Adaptation from the CSLP Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Are you trying to figure out how to make your library more accessible? Do you need help planning programming for children who need adaptations to use the library or to attend an event? The Collaborative Summer Reading Program’s Diversity and Inclusion committee has invited Kaitlyn Hodges (Special Needs Librarian at Virginia Beach Public Library) and Kelsey Dunckle (Librarian at Harris County Public Library) to show us some of their ideas.

You can access the archived webinar here.

Towards a Dyslexia Friendly Library

One step towards an inclusive, accessible library for everyone is working towards creating a dyslexia-friendly library space and collection. There are a few simple tweaks that anyone can take to benefit library users of all ages. Consider using OpenDyslexic or another good font for people with dyslexia for signage and instructions in any take and make kits you might be making. OpenDyslexic is a free typeface designed to improve readability. Other good fonts are Helvetica, Courier, Arial, Verdana, and Comic Sans. Italics actually decrease readability and should be avoided if possible. To read more on font readability, try this 2013 research paper called Good Fonts for People with Dyslexia.

 

Several years ago, Brianne Mintz wrote an article for Everyday Advocacy on Creating Dyslexic-Friendly Children's Libraries. Another useful document is the Dyslexia Resource Guide for Families from Read On Arizona, while created as a guide for families, it contains helpful information for those serving youth in libraries.

 

 

 

Youth Services Program Palooza Webinar

WI DPI staff and three library system youth consultants collaborated to present an hour long webinar with thoughtful content on moving forward with programming based on what we've learned over the past few months. Intentionality, accessibility, thoughtful preparation, a bevy of offline program ideas and a reflective look at how we serve all our communities were all touched on.

The webinar was described as: "Spring 2020 has been a series of pivots and pauses for public library youth services...and perhaps uncovered a wealth of new and unexpected creative and problem-solving skills for you! Join us and continue to plan confidently for Summer and Fall with an abundance of ideas, programs and attitudes in this free one hour webinar. System youth services consultants and DPI staff invite you to be part of this positive, simplified, and intentional approach to youth services for the coming months."

Please stop here to access the webinar, slides, a robust handout, chatlog and more!

VVirtual & Offline Programming YSS blog COVID-19 series:

• Innovative Solutions for Connecting with Kids During COVID 10/25/21
• Virtual Teen Escape Room Book Club  10/22/21
• Making Digital Escape Rooms   11/23/20
• How to be a Better Video Presenter  11/2/20
• Storytime on the Road!   10/15/20
• How to Do Halloween During COVID-19  9/28/20
• Recharging Your “To-Go” Services  9/9/20
• Youth Services Program Palooza webinar 6/8/20
• Digital Escape Rooms – the Holy Grail  5/26/20
• Virtual and Offline Programs for Summer and Beyond  5/6/20 (combines & updates 6 previous resource post)
• “Grab-&-Go” Activity Kit Ideas  5/5/20
• Offline and Feeling Fine: Ideas for Programming Unvirtually  4/29/20
• Beyond E-Storytimes: Virtual Services and Programs for Youth 4/22/20
• Using Premier for Virtual Programming on Facebook 3/24/20

Friday FAQs for April 17, 2020

Dear Library Staff Serving Youth,

Happy Friday! Here is the second 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 on next week’s episode.

           FAQ Friday 4/17/2020 recording 

FAQ Friday form 

Last Week’s FAQ Friday 4/10/2020 recording https://youtu.be/h7UinjYf_YE

Resources related to this week’s topics:

Booktalking

• South Central Library System’s CCBC Shorts

View the librarians from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) discussing “Great New Books for Birth - Grade 5” and “Great New Books for Older Children and Teens” in two recently recorded webinars hosted by South Central Library System. 

• Making Videos8 Tips for Teachers, Librarians and Small Business. How to Make Videos During Coronavirus by Jester Jim A short video made expressly for beginners (5:43) 

Accessibility and Equity

• Keeping Equity at the Forefront: Emergency Remote Learning
  Be sure to see the graphic from Daniel Stanford

• How to Make Your Virtual Meetings and Events Accessible to the Disability Community

Be proactive, versus reactive

• Simple Language Webinar from Wisconsin Literacy, Inc. hosted by IFLS Library System 

Available until May 7, 2020

Clear up written communication to make it easier to read and comprehend for everyone, and especially for people who struggle to read.

• Youth Services Shout-out: YSS Blog: Creating Accessibility in Your Virtual Programming

Resource round-up from your Wisconsin peers

Professional Development

• Reach Out and Read in the time of COVID-19: It Matters Even More Now, Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD

Books build better brains, especially during emergencies

Be well,

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

Public Library Consultant – Youth and Inclusive Services

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

(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       

Creating Accessibility in Your Virtual Programming

[Updated 4/23/20]
Now, more than ever, it's important to consider accessibility when we are doing so much of our programming virtually. There are a number of resources that are being shared during this time of library closures including:

• Using Your Library's Virtual Presence to Reach Users with Disabilities Webinar - Free

Friday April 24 11AM CST  Sponsored by ASGCLA

Is your library working towards improving online accessibility to customers with disabilities? Have you developed new programs and services that intentionally welcome individuals with disabilities, but are struggling to connect with your target audience? Developing inclusive library services will be more effective if your library connects with the disability community, and leveraging your organization's virtual presence will help you do that. Dakota County Library's Youth Manager Renee Grassi will share strategies to optimize your library's website, social media, and digital resources to welcome individuals with disabilities at the library. Librarians, library technology and social media staff members, and library managers can learn about innovative, easily replicable and cost-effective ways to increase awareness of your library services and reach new users in your community. 

• What if Accessibility is a Right, Not a Request - CLEL blog

In an outstanding blog post, Jessica Frederickson of CLEL (CO Libraries for Early Literacy) breaks down why creating accessible online programming is necessary, as well as providing tips and resources to help you make your online presence accessible for everyone.

• Also from CLEL's recent Virtual Storytime webinar (4/10/20) is this outstanding resource list that includes an excellent resources on accessibility and tools to help you caption your videos.

• Above is an  examples of virtual storytime video from Katherine Schoofs, Aram (WI) Public Library in English and ASL. She also has a Spanish English storytime you can find on their library's Facebook page

• Keeping Equity at the Forefront: Emergency Remote Learning - Important considerations on equity and accessibility from the ISTE Librarians Blog 4/6/20
• 
  
• Project Enable (Expanding Non-Discriminatory Access By Librarians Everywhere) Training resources for libraries on accessibility issues (design, programming, assistive technology and more. Syracuse University

• WAVE Web Accessibility Tool - if you are looking at ways to make your website more accessible this free site assists you. They have an upcoming webinar May 6, 2020 at 1:30 CST explaining the tools.  From their site: "WAVE is a suite of evaluation tools that helps authors make their web content more accessible to individuals with disabilities. WAVE can identify many accessibility and Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) errors, but also facilitates human evaluation of web content. Our philosophy is to focus on issues that we know impact end users, facilitate human evaluation, and to educate about web accessibility." 

• Inclusive Services Page - WI DPI Division for Library Services website

A great place to go to discover resources and information in guiding you in making your service inclusive and accessible.

For more information on learning opportunities/webinars, please see earlier posts in our 

Professional Development YSS COVID-19 series:

Webinar - Summer Learning Through Our Public Libraries in a Time of COVID-19  5/18/20

Confronting Xenophobia and Supporting Asian and Asian/Pacific Communities Webinar 4/21/20

Working From Home During COVID-19 4/19/20

Need to Keep Up? Free Online Professional Development  3/21/20

Webinar -Remote and Online Services & Resources for Youth Librarians  3/25/20

Free Children’s/Teen Professional Journal Access 3/28/20

Creating Accessibility in Your Online Programming 4/15/20; updated 4/23/20