SPRING UW-Madison iSchool CE Courses

There is another great selection of CE courses scheduled this spring through the UW-Madison iSchool Continuing Ed Dept. If you register by two weeks prior to each course, you get a 10% discount off the  cost. 

Here are the courses that have significant youth content. Check them out - and be sure to check out the full schedule of offerings including tutorials here. 

Babies in the Library    Feb 13 – Mar 26, 2023    Instructor: Brooke Newberry     $250

Library service to patrons begins at birth. How can library practitioners offer the best programs, collections, and services possible to the youngest members of our communities (0-23 months)? After laying the groundwork for developmentally appropriate practice, this course will provide strategies and ideas for providing outstanding services to families with young children. Whether you are new to the profession, considering starting a baby storytime, searching for outreach partners, or looking to refresh your collection, this asynchronous 6 week course will build a foundation for working with the very young.

For more information and to register, stop here.

Navigating Book and Program Challenges for Public Libraries    Mar 20 – Apr 30, 2023    Instructor: Dawn Wacek    $250

In the current climate, public library materials, programs, and displays are being challenged not only by community members, but sometimes by a concerted effort among groups who live outside of your region.   Regardless of who is challenging your selections and programming, being prepared will help ease the process for you, your staff, and your Board.  In this 6 week asynchronous class, you will learn more about recent challenges, how to prepare your staff and Board to respond effectively, and how to create policies that protect your library from those who seek to undermine each patron’s freedom to read. 

For more information and to register, stop here.

Service to Homeschoolers    Apr 3 – May 1, 2023    Instructor: Adrienne Pettinelli   $150

Homeschooling has been on the rise for decades, and the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged even more families to take the homeschooling plunge. In this 4 week, asynchronous course, you’ll learn how to eliminate barriers that prevent homeschoolers from using the library effectively, develop low-cost/high-impact programming for homeschoolers, and create a homeschooling collection that will be used by homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike.

For more information and to register, stop here.

Connecting with Homeschool Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

*Pictured: Coffee mugs some of the teens created for my “Create Your Own Coffee Mug” outdoor program (Fall 2020).

Beth Van Curine, Baraboo Public Library, Baraboo, WI is a member of our Wisconsin Teen Librarian Services Group. She shares some great tips to make your teen programming for Homeschool families even more engaging.

 How I’ve Connected with Homeschool Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

I came into my position as the Teen Services Coordinator at the Baraboo Public Library at a fascinating and transformative time. My start date was March 24, 2020, just a few days after the library closed to the public for several months. As a new teen librarian, and as a new resident of Baraboo, WI, I was completely unsure about how to connect with the teens in my community. I knew the homeschool population makes up a large part of the teens that regularly use the library, and began to think of ways to connect with them. While the ideas listed below helped me build relationships with both homeschooled and non-homeschooled teens, I do believe that without these aspects, it would have been much more challenging to connect with our homeschool population. As the pandemic waged on, and as the library stayed closed completely, or more recently, open by appointment, I tried many different ways to form some kind of relationship with these teens. These are some avenues that worked for me.

Outdoor Programming

During the Fall 2020, right as school was starting, I began outdoor programming. I felt confident that I could safely execute social distancing and enforce mask rules. I planned two months of activities, from September 1 through October 31, realizing that it would be too cold to meet outside after Halloween. I tried to think outside the box for these activities, knowing that teens would be itching for something unusual and fun to do together, while I could make sure we all stayed safe. To maintain safety measures, I spread out blankets outside 6 feet apart and each teen got their own sheet. We also sanitized before and after each program, and each teen had to keep their mask on during the program. The teens were happy to comply so we could be together.

This programming, some of which included trivia hours, a photo scavenger hunt around downtown, and game days, among others, opened a door to some of the homeschool families in town. Many places were still closed, and this programming provided a meeting place and social outlet for the teens, but especially the teens that were homeschooling. I was so grateful for the chance to connect with them in person. As we moved through the winter, we have been playing Among Us on Zoom for an hour every week, and that has been such a fun way to stay connected through the depths of winter when we were unable to meet outside. I am so excited for the summer, when we will once again be doing outdoor programming.

Subscription Bags

In the Winter 2021, I started my subscription bags program. Every book in the bag was to be personally tailored to each teen reader. Since I read a lot of new YA, I was excited to give the teens surprise books that I chose for them. These books were based on their preferences on a Google form that they filled out when they registered for the program. Because I haven’t been able to perform reader’s advisory at

the library while we were closed, this was one way that connected me to the teens, and particularly the homeschool families during this time. I have had several conversations via email with teens and their parents about the kinds of books they were looking for, as well as content that maybe they didn’t want to surprisingly discover in a book. Through these emails, I learned more about our homeschool families than I could have otherwise during the closures, and these conversations have also helped me better understand what kind of content I should be adding to the collection. As a result of these conversations, I have been able to discover new publishers and work with them to get ARCs of books I would never have looked for before. The subscription bags made a huge difference in the way I think about collection development, and have significantly helped how I think about ways I can best serve our homeschool families. Whem I can put new books aside for a teen who I know will love them, the teens and their families appreciate it so much. While subscription bags and boxes are great for grab-and-go programming on their own, the added benefit of learning the reading habits of my homeschool families made all the difference to me.

Social Media

In our community, there are several Facebook groups for our homeschool families. If it’s possible, join those groups. It’s a great way to spread the word about programming you’re working on, and opens doors to communication between you and your local homeschool groups. These groups have been a key way for me to not only perform online outreach, but to introduce myself to local families as their teen librarian.

Connecting to homeschool families has been challenging, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have any questions about my programs or the way I’ve connected to our families, feel free to contact me at beth@baraboopubliclibrary.org.

Back to School Considerations and Tips for Libraries

What are some of the considerations public youth library staff should be thinking about and planing for as schools open virtually or in-person this fall? 

In this helpful blog post from DPI's Wisconsin Libraries For Everyone blog Tessa Michaelson Schmidt helps us navigate some of the issues and resources to help us as we consider back-to-school issues.

Book Riot's Kelly Jensen (a former WI librarian)  also recently wrote an excellent post, How Will Public Libraries Adapt to New School Year Norms? based on a survey of 30 public libraries across the US to suss out how they were approaching their collaborations with school colleagues this fall. Great food for thought!

Finally, super librarian Abby Johnson shared a great set of ideas, tips and booklists on How to Help Homeschoolers and E-Learners at the ALSC blog. Be sure to check this post out for a ton of ideas!

Re-Opening Issues YSS blog COVID-19 series:

WI Library Reopening Guide Addendum 4/6/21

The Mask Ask – Strategies for Cooperation  11/15/20

You Are not Alone – Coping with Your New Library Life  9/19/20

Decisions, Decisions – Thinking About Fall, School and Your Library  8/5/20 

Back to School Considerations and Tips for Libraries  8/15/20

We’re Re-opening – You’ve Got This!  7/15/20

We’re Re-opening – Should We Do In-Person Programming This Fall?  7/9/20

Digital Bytes – Unpleasant Convos (During a Pandemic) & Communication Tips (While Wearing a Mask)  7/7/20

We’re Re-opening – Wisconsin Public Libraries Reopening Guide  6/4/20

We’re Re-opening – Coping with Reluctant Patrons and Programming 6/3/20

We’re Re-Opening – Cleaning and Disinfecting Youth Areas  5/13/20

COVID-19 and Libraries: Your Questions Answered with Dr. Dipesh Navsaria (webinar) 5/19/20

YSS Powerhouse Presents: Serving Homeschoolers Follow-up

We had a webinar for the YSS Powerhouse Presents series yesterday, and here are the relevant links:

YSS Powerhouse Presents:  Serving Homeschoolers with Leah Langby, Sarah Cournoyer, Ashley Thiem-Menning, and Kathleen Larson.  Recording.  Slides.   Kathleen's Pinterest Board.  Sarah's Survey.

YSS Powerhouse Presents: Serving Homeschoolers

A webinar hosted by the Indianhead Federated Library System and sponsored by YSS.
 

Tuesday, May 2, 1:00 pm

Get some general information about homeschoolers in Wisconsin, and then hear about specific programs and services designed to meet the needs of homeschooled families, and about ways you might be able to slightly tweak existing offerings to reach this group of potential power-users.

Panelists: YSS members Sarah Cournoyer, Beaver Dam Public Library, Kathleen Larson, G.E. Bleskacek Public Library in Bloomer, Leah Langby, Indianhead Federated Library System, and Ashley Theim-Menning, Kaukauna Public Library.

Register HERE

YSS Powerhouse Presents: Serving Homeschoolers

May 2, 1:00 PM

YSS Powerhouse Presents is a series of webinars which features Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section Members. In this session, get some general information about homeschoolers in Wisconsin, and then hear about specific programs and services designed to meet the needs of homeschooled families, and about ways you might be able to slightly tweak existing offerings to reach this group of potential power-users. 

Panelists:  Sarah Cournoyer, Beaver Dam Public Library, Kathleen Larson, G.E. Bleskacek Public Library in Bloomer, Leah Langby, Indianhead Federated Library System, and Ashley Theim-Menning, Kaukauna Public Library.

Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4887241605853101314

The other sessions, coming in the fall, are called STEAM Programming for the STEAM-Averse and Where Are They?!  Getting Out to Get Teens In.  More details coming soon.

YSS Powerhouse Presents is co-sponsored by the Indianhead Federated Library System.  You can also access archived webinar sessions from YSS Powerhouse on the YSS Resource page.

Creating Kits for Homeschoolers in Chippewa Falls

Many thanks to Colleen Crowley, youth services librarian at the Chippewa Falls Public Library, for this guest post.

Math Kit

 Are you continually thinking about ways your library could reach out to homeschool families in your community?   The Chippewa Falls Public Library recently created several homeschool kits. The kits circulate not just to homeschool families, but also to elementary school educators, parents looking for additional learning opportunities for their children, and daycare providers. The Chippewa Library is not alone in offering hands-on kits to its patrons. Several libraries, like the Manitowoc Public Library, offer kits for a variety of ages and learning needs. The main difference is that the Chippewa Library kits have been created specifically with homeschoolers in mind.

Oceans kit

After a lengthy process of feedback from homeschool families we developed a number of kits that are being checked out on a regular basis. We gave careful consideration to include materials that would serve a variety of ages, learning styles, sensory issues.  We were also looking to ensure functionality and durability, and to provide curriculum supports.

Solar System kit

The kits cover broad-topic science-related themes such as weather, the human body, the solar system, and oceans. There is also a math kit covering concepts aimed at preschoolers through 4th graders. A preschool kit is the newest addition, and will focus on early literacy skills.

To make this project sustainable, staff only examines the kit once after each circulation.  We tried to strike a balance so that the kits had great things but they wouldn't be unreasonable for checking in. The kits are housed in plastic tubs and are stored in a back room.

Patrons can request a kit and a staff member will obtain it for them. The entire content summary for each kit is listed on the OPAC records, so patrons can check on their availability. No holds may be placed on the kits--they are available on a first come, first serve basis and must be checked out at the Chippewa Falls library. The check-out period is 3 weeks with no renewals.

The library staff have received much positive feedback on the kits. Families are enthusiastic about the level of attention used to expand this collection. Homeschoolers new to the area are often surprised to find such useful hands-on materials. Every week we have new families coming in to the library looking for support and information about homeschooling, and the kits are a great thing to be able to offer-- just one of many services that libraries around the country could think about offering for this population.

If you have any questions please contact Colleen, one of the children's staff, at the Chippewa Falls Public Library at 715-723-1146.