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!
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| Pixabay image |
So my interest was piqued when I read this recent ALSC blog post from Olivia McElwain. Olivia writes:
"Have you noticed in recent years the amount of work being put into Summer Reading does not equate to the number of kids participating in it? Every year since 2019, we have seen fewer and fewer kids wanting to engage with the program at our library. We’ve changed prizes, the physical form of the program, and even tried doing our own themes. The allure of Summer Reading for kids has worn down. Every year we plan and try something new to get their attention, but it burns us out in the process. So what do we do?"
Please stop here to read her evolution/revolution in creating a different SLP for her community. [Summer Reading Burn-Out? Try Letting Go! McElwain, Olivia. ALSC blog. July 7, 2025]
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| Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay |
Jaime writes: "Have you ever felt stuck in storytime planning? Sometimes, no matter how great a theme or the books, I find myself stuck in a proverbial storytime rut. While it’s great to share favorite stories, I also want to evaluate everything we share to find titles that resonate with our community. This month, I’m borrowing an idea from a colleague and sharing a few tried and tested, some true-to-life, and a few new titles around one of our upcoming storytime themes: Home."
To read how she broke out of her rut with a proposed storytime structure, please stop here. [ Tried, True, New, and You: Home. Eastman, Jaime. ALSC blog. February 2, 2025]
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| Image by sumit kumar from Pixabay |
Kirsten writes: "Have you ever found yourself in a rut after being creative nonstop in our job? As librarians, we’re constantly brainstorming new programs, crafts, and storytime themes. But sometimes, the well runs dry. It’s tough to keep coming up with fresh ideas, and that’s okay! Here’s what I do when I find myself with idea fatigue."
To read her tips on reinvigorating your idea generating activity, please stop here. [Idea Fatigue. Caldwell, Kirsten. ALSC blog. February 8, 2025.]
Recently Jennifer Sullivan, who blogs at Adventures in Storytime (and Beyond), published the first part of her survey results on what youth librarians are thinking - and feeling about their jobs which we shared on the blog. Burn-out was a major finding.
She has now published the second part of her results. These examine what youth librarians want their directors and administration to understand about youth work.
Jennifer writes: "Youth services librarians and staff everywhere are struggling with excessive workloads, unrealistic expectations, vocational awe, understaffing, and a public that is more demanding and less civil. We are often overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated, leading to burnout and many leaving, or considering leaving, the field. If this trend continues, it will seriously impact the quality of library services for youth and families and the library's ability to meet community needs, undermining public perception of the continued relevance of the public library."
To read the fascinating results, please click here. [What Youth Services Staff Want Higher-Ups to Kno - Survey Results Part 2 Sullivan, Jennifer. Adventures in Storytimes (and Beyond). August 18, 2024.]
Linda writes: "How can children’s librarians manage everything that lands on their plates? For many librarians facing staffing challenges, this is the new normal. The desire to excel professionally often comes at great personal expense, and reality reminds us that time and energy have limits. Hence, planning is more important than ever. "
To read her practical tips and suggestions, click here. [Endless Multitasking: Tips for Managing Busy Schedules. Ernst, Linda. ALSC blog. August 5, 2024.]
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| Image by mcmurryjulie from Pixabay |
Jennifer writes: "A few months ago when I was feeling particularly stressed, overworked, unappreciated, and frustrated in my position as a solo children's librarian being expected to do all the things and be everything for everybody, I put together a survey to see how many others were in the same boat. I posted a link to the survey on my page as well as in two Facebook groups for youth services and summer reading, and collected 228 responses over one week. It's taken me a while, but I've finally finished going through the results. To be clear, this is a casual opinion survey, and not proper research."
You can read the full post with survey results here. Jennifer will be publishing a post soon with the second part of this survey: "What Youth Services Staff Wish Directors Knew" [And the Survey Says...We Are Busy and Burning Out! Sullivan, Jennifer. Adventures in Storytime and Beyond blog. July 14, 2024.
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| Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay |
She writes: "Summer is youth librarians’ busiest (and most exciting) time of the year. We spend MONTHS planning for it, it happens, and then we start planning again. So how do we avoid getting summer burnout before the summer program even starts?"
To read her tips (which can help you during SLP craziness as well), please stop here! [Avoiding Summer Burnout Before Summer Starts. Caldwell, Kirsten. ALSC blog. May 16, 2023]
Meredith Farkas is an academic librarian, writer, teacher, speaker, columnist, and mover and shaker. She has spent the last few years reflecting on her once driven professional life and aspirations for herself. Finding time for work, home life and family and professional obligations tugged at her and left little time for self-care or slowing down.
Image by Oldiefan from Pixabay
In her most recent blog post on her Information Wants to Be Free blog, she thoughtfully explores how this re-examination of her commitment and priorities has only become more stark during the pandemic. She is discovering answers that suggest a new organizational philosophy that shows a way forward to many of who feel stressed and overworked.
She writes: "For the past couple of years, I’ve been thinking about something I call slow librarianship. It was in response to the realizations I had about my workaholism and the ideas I explored around ambition, striving, productivity, self-optimization, and achievement culture on this blog two years ago. It felt like the answer to all this was to slow down, to notice and reflect, to focus more on being true to our values than innovating, to build relationships, to really listen (to our communities our colleagues, and ourselves), and to be in solidarity with others."
Farkas goes on: "Slow librarianship is an antiracist, responsive, and values-driven practice that stands in opposition to neoliberal values. Workers in slow libraries are focused on relationship-building, deeply understanding and meeting patron needs, and providing equitable services to their communities. Internally, slow library culture is focused on learning and reflection, collaboration and solidarity, valuing all kinds of contributions, and supporting staff as whole people. Slow librarianship is a process, not a destination; it is an orientation towards our work, ourselves, and others that creates positive change. It is an organizational philosophy that supports workers and builds stronger relationships with our communities."
To read this thoughtful article that speaks to many of us in librarianship who are feeling burned out, please stop here.
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| Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay |
June and July, and sometimes August, are often "no vacation" months in our work year. We partner with our schools and community to create valued out-of-school learning, literacy and adventure experiences for kids and families. Our workload goes up astronomically as we interact with lots more people.
This time can add alot of stress if our library's emphasis is on "more, more, MORE": more programs; more kids signed up for reading incentive programs; more prizes; more content; more and higher numbers; more run, run, run. You might have experienced a real feeling of dislike or even hate for summer reading.
So it was with real interest that we read a blog post from Jen at the Adventures in Storytime (and Beyond) blog entitled True Confessions. Jen writes: "So, I have something to confess that might be shocking to some, though I am sure there are those who are secretly in agreement with me. Now hold on to your cardigans folks, but the truth is.... I hate summer reading!
I know that must seem downright blasphemous coming from a children's librarian who is dedicated to promoting literacy and lifelong reading, but it's true. Ok, maybe not 100% true. I do love seeing all the kids and families in the library more often during the summer, catching up with former storytime regulars who are now in elementary school, talking books with teens, and doing fun programs, and I am very passionate about promoting reading and lifelong learning. However, that mission seems to have gotten lost in the stressful circus that summer reading programs have become, and that is what I truly hate."
To read her thoughtful post and practical suggestions on how to find the love - and balance - in summer reading again, please stop here.
"Working for the public requires empathy and a desire to serve, and the past year has everyone running low. A focus on compassion resilience can guide you and your staff back to the core set of values and the drive for a sense of purpose that drew them to work in libraries in the first place."
To read the full article with more detailed description and register for the webinar, please stop at this WI Libraries for Everyone blog post.
