Take your Library to Pride

Photo from Middleton Public Library

 This past weekend, Middleton WI hosted its 3rd annual Pride Fest to celebrate the LGBTQ+ members of our community. Over 3000 people attended this festival. There were vendors, foodtrucks, live music, drag storytime, a DJ and so much more! It was a festival of color and love and of people being their authentic selves. And, the library was honored to be part of it.

This is the second year we've taken our bookmobile to Pride, and people are so excited to see the library represented. This year we added a tent for teen volunteers to offer free glitter tattoos, too! We had 4 staff people and 5 teen volunteers help out at this year's event. We checked out books, handed out fans, flags, stickers, bookmarks and even some free books. 

We get so many positive comments from the local community and from people from around the United States that always mention that their library could never come to a pride event. And, this is why we do it. This is why we go. The library is for everyone. Happy Pride!

Literacy Promotion in Laundromats: Reaching Families in Everyday Spaces

The post Literacy Promotion in Laundromats: Reaching Families in Everyday Spaces appeared first on ALSC Blog.

"For years children’s librarians have capitalized on the potential of reaching families in everyday spaces, like local laundromats. Families spend an average of 2.5 hours during each visit to the laundromat—a place where they routinely visit about once a week. Over the past five years, Too Small to Fail, the early childhood initiative of the Clinton Foundation, has been leading a partnership with the LaundryCares Foundation to transform laundromats across the country into playful, literacy-rich environments for children and families. These “Family Read, Play & Learn” spaces are designed to meet families where they are and encourage parents to engage in language-rich activities like talking, reading, and singing during laundry time. Each space provides a set of high-quality tools and resources, including a book shelf, an assortment of bilingual children’s books, furniture, engaging laundry-themed posters with parent-child conversation prompts, and a variety of other early literacy toys and materials. These kits have been purchased by laundromat owners and early literacy groups nationwide who are committed to helping children learn and believe in the power of their space to make a positive impact on the families they serve.


Dr. Susan Neuman, Professor of Childhood and Literacy Education at New York University conducted a pilot evaluation of the “Family Read, Play & Learn” spaces throughout laundromats in low-income communities in New York City. In the first phase, researchers compared three “treatment” laundromats—which included the “Family Read, Play & Learn” spaces—to three “control” laundromats that did not include the spaces. The research revealed that children engaged in 30 times more literacy-rich activities in laundromats with our literacy play spaces compared to the control sites. In the second phase, librarians from New York, Queens, and Brooklyn Public Libraries were brought in to conduct weekly story times at the laundromat. By adding librarians to the space, there was a significant value added to these spaces. Researchers found that during story times led by librarians, the average stay per child increased to 47 minutes, representing a substantial amount of sustained engagement in early literacy activities.

As evident in the research, an integral part of this initiative involves bringing community supports and literacy programming to these laundromat spaces, inviting local libraries and librarians to conduct family story times at these spaces. Our goal is to install these spaces into thousands of laundromats across the country.. and our hope is to partner with libraries across the country to promote children’s literacy development—one laundry load at a time.

Libraries, please join our national movement! Too Small to Fail and the LaundryCares Foundation are seeking to partner with librarians to lead story times in laundromats within their local communities. This is an incredible opportunity for librarians to form new community partnerships and reach children in some of the most underserved communities in our country. If you are interested in joining our national movement, please contact Kari Kurjiaka at kkurjiaka@clintonfoundation.org. To learn more about Too Small to Fail, please visit www.toosmall.org or www.laundrycares.org/kits for information about the “Family, Read, Play & Learn” spaces.

Today’s guest blogger is Kari Kurjiaka. Kara is a Program Associate at Too Small to Fail.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at alscblog@gmail.com."

Pop-Up Story Times

Recently, mentalfloss.com shared an article about how Chicago Public Library is holding weekly story times in various laundromats throughout some of the more underserved areas of the city.  How brilliant is that?!

We all know the importance of stories and early literacy skills--preaching to the choir, aimirite?--and we all know that, for some families, making it to the physical library for scheduled storytimes and programs just isn't a feasible option.

If staff and resources allow, why not meet families where they are, increasing both the convenience and accessibility of your program?

Similar "Wash and Learn" programs have appeared in a number of other cities around the nation, including St. Paul, New York City, and Detroit, all thanks to the collaborative efforts of Libraries Without Borders and the LaundryCares Foundation.

Read the article HERE.

What other locations have you used for out-of-the-box/out-of-the-library storytimes?  Perhaps you've read at a local farmer's market?  Maybe you've collaborated with your local parks district to hold storytimes in the park?  Tell us in the comments below!                                                                         
                               

Collaborative Story Times: Fun for All and All for Fun!

Story times are a staple of library programming. 

I know I'm preaching to the crowd in terms of the importance of story times, so rather than spout out facts, figures, and heartwarming tales, I instead offer up a suggestion for another type of story time to consider adding to your rotation: collaborative story times.

Last summer, the fabulous Emily Sanders of Barrett Memorial Library in Williams Bay and I decided we wanted to hold a collaborative story time at a local park, a venture we lovingly dubbed Sunshine & Stories.  We had so much fun with this program, we decided to offer it again this summer!

First things first, we needed to find a location that was equidistant to both our libraries, allowing for easy access for both sets of patrons.  After finding a location--Community Park in the Town of Delavan--we made sure to reach out to the Parks & Recreation Department.  While pop-up story times are wonderful, we wanted to make this a regularly occurring event and thought it common courtesy to make the Parks Department aware of our intentions and get their approval for our event.  (Not only did they approve, but they also included our events on their electronic signage!  Woo!)

As it should be with any collaborative effort, all the promotional materials--whether it be social media, newsletter, website, or physical poster--contained the names of all the entities involved in the program.  Additionally, the images and designs utilized by both libraries were identical, as it was important that the patrons see this as a truly collaborative effort.

One of the many fantastic benefits of a collaborative story time is the opportunity to play off each other's energy and utilize materials that embrace dialogue!  The Elephant & Piggie series by Mo Willems, the Ballet Cat series by Bob Shea, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein, Big Bunny by Rowboat Watkins, Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins are just a few examples of stellar multi-reader story time options.

Another benefit?  Partnering with other agencies!  You gain the opportunity to reach an audience you may not have had access to before, not to mention the sense of community and camaraderie created when working as a team.  While nearby libraries are an option, you could also consider reaching out to schools, government agencies such as your community's police and/or fire departments, or local businesses about forming a story time partnership program.

Collaborations can be intimidating, but don't let that stop you!  They offer you the opportunity to provide services to a wider base of patrons, create a sense of community, and make connections.  Hello there, win-win-win!

Get on out! Storytimes Outside the Library

Do you find yourself wanting to get out into your community for storytimes and reach new kids and parents?

The ALSC blog recently had an inspirational post from a librarian who will get you all excited about getting out!

Pixabay

Recording of YSS Powerhouse Presents Outreach and Community Partnerships Available Now

YSS Members Monica LaVold, Georgia Jones, Cole Zrostlik, and Sarah Cournoyer share ideas about relationship-building, successful outreach, and suggestions for dealing with problems and barriers in this 60 minute webinar sponsored by WLA's Youth Services Section and hosted by the Indianhead Federated Library System.

Recorded Outreach and Community Partnerships webinar

Growing Readers Early Literacy Event at Pewaukee Public Library

Brought to you by Jenny Wegener at Pewaukee Public Library

On February 6, the Pewaukee Public Library hosted a new event designed to provide early literacy training, library awareness, and encouragement to child care professionals. This program was made possible by an Early Literacy grant from the Waukesha County Federated Library System with some help from the Pewaukee Kiwanis Club. A total of thirteen people, plus several library staff members attended.

I promoted this event with letters sent to area day cares, emails, and personal invitations to child care providers who attend our programs. We also had information posted in the library and on our web site and Facebook page.

We began the evening with a delicious pizza and salad dinner delivered by our local Rosati’s. The dinner was free for participants and was very generously paid for by our local Kiwanis group. The library also provided beverages as well as Rice Krispy Squares (homemade) and chocolate for dessert. Most participants were attending right after work and really appreciated the meal.

After introductions, I gave a short talk that highlighted the six early literacy skills and five practices from Every Child Ready to Read 1 and 2. I also emphasized the importance of early childhood experiences in setting the stage for future learning and the special place that day care professionals have in ensuring a child’s academic success. I did have some of my favorite books on display and modeled dialogic reading for the group. While I spoke, the participants enjoyed the meal.

The highlight of the evening was a presentation by Stuart Stotts. Stuart, who has done multiple keynote addresses at Early Childhood conferences, was absolutely marvelous! He gave a terrific presentation that had participants singing, laughing, sharing and learning together. Stuart shared information about brain development, the importance of singing with children, and the critical nature of quality care in the early years. We all learned some great songs to use in our work with children, and, best of all, came away eager to implement the ideas.

All the participants seemed to enjoy and appreciate the evening and I did have several ask if we planned to do it again next year. I would like to if the funding is available and I am hopeful that this year’s participants will “spread the word” to their coworkers. All children need quality early literacy experiences, not just those lucky enough to visit the library’s story times and I hope this event will make a difference.