Just Wondering - Teacher Collections

This post by Manitowoc (WI) Public Library Youth Librarian and YSS Board Member Susie Menk explores policies and services for educators. And she's wondering....what do you think? 

Image by AzamKamolov from Pixabay

My library offers teacher collections and teacher cards.  We have a good working relationship with our teachers and we extend this privilege to them as an extra benefit.  Teacher cards allow teachers to automatically check out books for 8 weeks.  They don’t have to worry about returning after 3 weeks or trying to remember to renew books after only 3 weeks.  We just let them have them for 8 weeks immediately.  

We also prepare collections of books for teachers.  Teachers let us know how many books (up to 50 items), what grade level or what reading levels they are looking for and we gather them together into a collection.  Then teachers have two options: collections can be picked up in the youth department or if the teacher is at a local public school, our delivery van can pick up the collection from the library and drop it off at the school for them.  Collections can be returned by delivery van as well.  Teachers are responsible for getting their collections from the drop-off point at their school and returning both the items and the bins they come in.

Teachers can request a variety of materials including books, magazines, toys, flannelgraphs, concept kits, audiobooks and music CDs.  While we do loan out DVDs, teachers only get movies for two weeks, not the full eight weeks because of high circulation for those items.  Manitowoc Public Library also has classroom packs of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) kits available for teacher use.  STEM kits include some type of technology toy plus instructions and ready-made activities that are easy to use in classrooms.  

Teachers in our community get quite a few perks at the library, but we receive benefits in return as well. We partner with our teachers to help enhance their classroom materials.  Teachers in turn are great about connecting with us and bringing their classes to the library or inviting us to present at their evening parent events.  

What does your library offer educators?  What ways do you partner with educators?

2020 Ezra Jack Keats Mini Grants

2020 Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant Call for Proposals

Up to 70 Grants Totaling $35,000 are Given Directly to Educators in Public Schools and Libraries Across the Country Every Year

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, dedicated to supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries across the country, is encouraging qualifying educators to apply for an Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant now! Applications are being accepted and the deadline for submissions is March 31, 2020.

Approximately 70 grants, up to $500 each, will be awarded to teachers and librarians in public schools and libraries whose proposals reflect an imaginative approach to experiential learning. Decisions will be emailed to all applicants in May, allowing educators to plan for the next academic year.

“Every year I’m amazed at the creative programs we’re privileged to support. It’s a joy to see how much fun educators bring to their students with EJK Mini-Grants.” says Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.

Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has provided over $1,000,000 in support of EJK Mini-Grant programs spanning the 50 states and U.S commonwealths. To learn more about EJK Mini-Grants, and to see the criteria for application, visit Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants.

Helping Kids Fall in Love . . . with BOOKS!

MICHELLE MARTIN / SHUTTERSTOCK / THE ATLANTIC

Just this week over at the Atlantic, Ashley Fetters interviewed University of Washington professor Michelle Martin, a children's library services specialist.   Martin is working to give librarians and teachers tools for connecting students of all backgrounds to books that will make them fall in love with reading.  Her stand-out creation, Camp Read-A-Rama, is a melding of her passion for outdoor learning and enthusiasm for children's literature.  Martin calls her approach "reducing the distance between books and life."  Find out why and how she has successfully engaged children, families, and educators with her dedication and innovation HERE.

2019 Ezra Jack Keats Mini Grants

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, dedicated to supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries across the country, is encouraging qualifying educators to apply for a 2019 Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant. Applications are currently being accepted, and the deadline for submissions is March 31, 2019.  Approximately 70 grants, up to $500 each, will be awarded to teachers and librarians whose proposals demonstrate creativity and a desire to make learning fun.

Find out more about the mini-grants and the application process HERE.