Thoughts on a Librarian's Parental Leave

Image by Andrea Don from Pixabay

In a recent ALSC blog post, librarian and new parent Claire Laitman, writes about how using the library as a new mom deepened her understanding of great service for parents of babies.

Claire writes: "People say you can’t be truly prepared for parenthood, but as a librarian, I have to admit I felt pretty ready to have a baby. I had read all the books, spent countless hours on the children’s floor and had a strong sense that I’d find my way. But when my daughter was born, I suddenly felt immersed in a new world where the parts of myself I could normally rely on were suddenly out of grasp. My mind, normally sharp and analytical, felt scattered and hazy. My confidence that I could figure most things out was replaced by a lingering imposter feeling. Despite my fears of taking her out of our safe apartment and into the world, the expanse of time ahead of us was even more daunting, so I decided to take my baby to see my happy place. On a cold morning in January, I bundled us up and off we went to our local library. This outing became an anchor of our early time together, and allowed me enjoy the library in a whole new way. Here are a few of my experiences and the discoveries and ideas that came out of my library visits in this new patron role as a first-time parent."

To read her thoughtful insights on experiencing library programs, service and communication through the lens of a new parent, please stop here. [Takeaways from a Librarian on Parental Leave. Laitman, Claire. ALSC blog. August 30, 2024.]

WI Parents Conference

 

Leah Langby, Youth Services Consultant at IFLS shared this important information from her networks in the IFLS Keeping Up with Kids blog. 

This free, virtual conference sponsored by University of WI Extension Services is for WI parents. She writes: "I got a note from the fabulous Yia Lor (UW Madison Extension–Eau Claire County) asking for help promoting a really awesome-sounding, free, virtual conference for parents, Raising Wisconsin’s Children.  It is designed for parents and caregivers, and as such is not developed for continuing education credit for professionals."

Stop here to read the full blog post with suggested language you can use to share with your families in promoting this conference to parents in your community!

Call for Contributors: Early Literacy Calendar 2017

YSS is still looking for a few members interested in being the author of their very own month in the 2017 Early Literacy calendar! Early literacy calendars are developed by YSS member librarians and feature excellent early literacy activities for every day of the year. Best of all, they’re downloadable and free!

Don't be shy! We want to tap the talents of the amazing librarians we've got all around the state, and this is a perfect, low-stress way to get involved with YSS. Nervous you don’t have great ideas to bring to the table? Nonsense! Previous calendars are available for inspiration, and if you’re working with kids and families at your library, we want you!

Interested? Please contact Katherine at katherineelchert (at) ricelakegov (dot) org or Kelsey at kelsey (at) lacrosselibrary (dot) org.

Authors Festival Saturday, April 23, 2016

The Midwest Wisconsin Reading Council, University of Wisconsin La Crosse and Viterbo University invite young writers to share a morning with Miranda Paul!  Students will begin the day sharing a piece of writing or attending a writing a workshop.  Parents will listen to speaker Kate Mayer.  The morning will wrap up with everyone being treated to a presentation by Miranda Paul.

This is great opportunity to promote parent-child literacy experiences.  Share with parents and guardians!  More information can be found HERE.