Why ARE We Doing Summer Reading Programs?

It's no joke.

Recently, Jennifer Sullivan who blogs at Adventures in Storytime (and Beyond) took a research deep-dive into the efficacy of summer reading programs. She wanted to explore what the evidence is behind how we set our programs and whether the design of incentivized programs has any real effect on encouraging kids to be readers.

I appreciate her thoughts and research in these two "Evidence-Based Summer Reading Program Design" blog posts.

The Inconvenient Truth of Incentivized Reading Programs, Part 1 

The Inconvenient Truth of Incentivized Reading Programs, Part 2

Ten years ago, while working at La Crosse Public Library, we broke the tradition of incentivized summer library reading and went prize-less. Instead the team I worked with replaced the old SLP recording and prize methods with a gamified the weekly learning offering and a kid-powered communal activity (building a giant robot mural). 

We gave kids agency to choose whether they wanted to read, do activities, check out material, interact within the library or outside in creative learning, writing, talking, making and more. It was a true win-win with a final book at the end for those who wanted to have one.

You can read about that experience here (with links to the other three blog posts that detail the mechanics of the program) at the Tiny Tips for Library Fun blog. For more info, there also a number of posts addressing SLP change at that blog under the tag SLP R/Evolotion

If you still want more, here is a Pinterest board with dozens of links to blog posts and articles about doing summer reading programs differently called Summer Library R/Evolution [Let's talk about new and better ways to do public library youth SRP/SLP. Prizeless? Yes! Badges? Yes! Transliteracy? Yes! Experiential discovery? Yes] 

WI Astrophysics Game Development Fellowship Opportunity

Happy New Year, games-passionate librarians!

The deadline to apply for participating in our Astrophysics Game Design Fellowship is right around the corner! You can still apply by EOD Wednesday, 1/10/2024.

Sending another reminder out about this terrific Call for Participation regarding a game design ‘Fellowship’ opportunity for interested public and school librarians. Please share again with your networks! Thank you for considering applying, or spreading the word.

The Library Services Team of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, alongside partners at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (including the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, and Field Day Lab) are seeking a select group of interested public and school librarians throughout the state to help envision and develop a new desktop educational video game focused on research occurring at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center. This is an excellent opportunity for librarians to actively collaborate with game developers, researchers, and other participants in a cutting-edge, cross-institutional project!

Where do you come in?: Initially, selected librarians will participate in an early brainstorming workshop that will help generate game ideas to be developed into prototype games by the Field Day Lab design team. Beyond that, you will be able to test the game and provide feedback as it transitions from the prototype phase to a finished release. Finally, we’ll be asking participants to share their professional expertise to help develop strategies for implementing the game in different settings (such as classrooms and libraries). The final game will be free to play online – for everyone!

Required Activities for Involved Librarians:

• Participate in a one-day, in-person project workshop at UW-Madison. (Date & Time: February 9, 2024, from 10:00am - 7:00 pm) [Dinner from 5:30-7:00; Lodging and a travel stipend provided if needed]
• Participate in two follow-up group meetings: Online, Spring 2024
• Provide feedback on early prototypes of the game: Online, Spring/Summer 2024
• Brainstorm ideas for how games could be used in various contexts

This is a unique opportunity to:

• Join a community of librarians, teachers, designers, scientists and researchers interested in exploring games and game-based learning
• Learn more about the research being done at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
• Help design and test a game that will be freely available online once it is completed
• Help develop ideas, activities, and materials that other librarians and teachers can use in coordination with the game

Does this opportunity interest you or someone on your staff? If so, please view/share our CALL FOR PARTICIPATION for more details (also attached as a .pdf), which includes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. The Call also includes a link to apply to join* the fellowship. Note: we have a limited capacity for participants; we will follow-up with those who have applied if they are selected to join the Fellowship.

              *The DEADLINE for the application is Wednesday, January 10^th.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me directly at Chris.Baker@dpi.wi.gov. Apply today!!! – I look forward to working with you on this excellent Games + Learning-based project!

~Chris

 

Chris Baker

Public Library Consultant, Library Services Team 

Department of Public Instruction 

(608) 264-6709

christopher.baker@dpi.wi.gov

Gaming Advisory/Development Opportunity

The Library Services Team of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, alongside partners at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (including the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, and Field Day Lab) are seeking a select group of interested public and school librarians throughout the state to help envision and develop a new desktop educational video game focused on research occurring at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center. This is an excellent opportunity for librarians to actively collaborate with game developers, researchers, and other participants in a cutting-edge, cross-institutional project!

Where do you come in?: Initially, selected librarians will participate in an early brainstorming workshop that will help generate game ideas to be developed into prototype games by the Field Day Lab design team. Beyond that, you will be able to test the game and provide feedback as it transitions from the prototype phase to a finished release. Finally, we’ll be asking participants to share their professional expertise to help develop strategies for implementing the game in different settings (such as classrooms and libraries). The final game will be free to play online – for everyone!

Required Activities for Involved Librarians:

• Participate in a one-day, in-person project workshop at UW-Madison. (Date & Time: February 9, 2024, from 10:00am - 7:00 pm) [Dinner from 5:30-7:00; Lodging and a travel stipend provided if needed]
• Participate in two follow-up group meetings: Online, Spring 2024
• Provide feedback on early prototypes of the game: Online, Spring/Summer 2024
• Brainstorm ideas for how games could be used in various contexts

This is a unique opportunity to:

• Join a community of librarians, teachers, designers, scientists and researchers interested in exploring games and game-based learning
• Learn more about the research being done at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
• Help design and test a game that will be freely available online once it is completed
• Help develop ideas, activities, and materials that other librarians and teachers can use in coordination with the game

Does this opportunity interest you or someone on your staff? If so, please view/share our CALL FOR PARTICIPATION for more details (also attached as a .pdf), which includes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. The Call also includes a link to apply to join* the fellowship. Note: we have a limited capacity for participants; we will follow-up with those who have applied if they are selected to join the Fellowship.

              *The DEADLINE for the application is Wednesday, January 10^th.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me directly at Chris.Baker@dpi.wi.gov. Apply today!!! – I look forward to working with you on this excellent Games + Learning-based project!

~Chris

 

Chris Baker

Public Library Consultant, Library Services Team 

Department of Public Instruction 

(608) 264-6709

christopher.baker@dpi.wi.gov

 

How Well Do We Know Our Child/Adolescent Audience?

Pexels Image

There is an ongoing emphasis in youth library circles about the importance of knowing and understanding the development stages/behaviors of children and adolescents as a hallmark of a great staffer serving youth. For those staffers with a firm understanding of their client group, service is more easily and appropriately planned and delivered.

A recent ALSC blog post by Tess Prendergast explores the question of how we learn to do this developmentally appropriate work well. She focuses on the recently published research of Jennifer Sullivan, a practicing youth librarian, blogger at Adventures in Storytime (and Beyond), former teacher, science educator and researcher. Jennifer did a research project concerning children's librarians and child development knowledge. 

Tess explores and summarizes the research results as well as providing links and resources to help you brush up on this knowledge. Stop here to read her post! (Child Development Knowledge: What Do We Know? Prendergast, Tess. ALSC blog. April 29, 2022).

Resource for Early Literacy Research by Topic

 Check out this list of reading research organized by topic on the Reading Rockets website. Many of the links are to pdfs.

If you haven't heard of Reading Rockets, it is "a national public media literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help."

Research can help as we evaluate, implement, and adapt essential services and programs in the library that support early literacy, literacy development, and family engagement. 

Be Part of a Study on Storytime!

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

An opportunity shared by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

Based on findings from the Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded Storytimes for School Readiness and Community Needs project (LG-96-17-0199-17), a multi-state study of public library storytime programs designed for preschool children, we created a fully online asynchronous module designed to support librarians’ learning.

 

Enhancing Storytime Programs to Better Support Children’s Learning Outcomes is both the title and the focus of the learning module which was developed at the University of Kentucky. The learning module consists of a narrated presentation and video demonstrations as well as self-reflection questions and responses embedded throughout. The module is freely available and accessible via this link until June 30, 2021: https://www.hdilearning.org/product/adult-child-interactions-in-storytime/

 

We estimate the module will take approximately 95 minutes to complete, and participants will be offered a certificate of participation upon completion of the module. The module is hosted on the Learn Dash learning management system licensed to the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute. To access the learning module, you will be required to create a username and password.

 

As part of the learning module, you will be responding to self-reflection and knowledge questions embedded throughout the module. You will have the option to consent to allow researchers at the University of Kentucky to review your responses and include them as part of a larger study designed to help us understand more about librarians’ priorities when planning storytime programs. You may not get personal benefit from taking part in this research study, but some volunteers experience satisfaction from knowing they have contributed to research that may possibly benefit others in the future.

 

If you do not want to be part of the study, you may indicate that preference. You will still be able to utilize the learning module, but your responses will not be reviewed nor included in the study. Your employers will not know whether or not you have agreed to allow the data to be used by researchers.

 

The questionnaire is designed to be part of the learning module, and the module will take about 95 minutes to complete. 

 

There are no known risks to participating in this study.

 

Your response to the questionnaire will be kept confidential to the extent allowed by law.  When we write about the study you will not be identified. Your responses will be linked to your username; however, prior to making the responses available to the researchers, staff in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute will remove all other data, including the username. The researchers of this study will not attempt to connect your responses to your identity in any way. If you decide to stop participating after you begin the questionnaire, you can continue the learning module without responding to additional questions and still be offered a certificate of participation upon completion of the module.

 

The information collected in the responses may be used for future research or shared with other researchers without your additional informed consent.

We hope to receive completed questionnaires from about 1,000 people, so your answers are important to us.  Of course, you have a choice about whether or not to complete the questionnaire, but if you do participate, you are free to skip any questions or discontinue at any time. You will not be penalized in any way for skipping or discontinuing the questionnaire.  

 

Please be aware, while we make every effort to safeguard your data once received from the online learning management company, given the nature of online surveys, as with anything involving the Internet, we can never guarantee the confidentiality of the data while still on the learning management company’s servers, or while en route to either them or us. It is also possible the raw data collected for research purposes will be used for marketing or reporting purposes by the learning management/data gathering company after the research is concluded, depending on the company’s Terms of Service and Privacy policies.

 

If you have questions about the study, please feel free to ask; my contact information is given below. 

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this important project.

 

Sincerely,

Maria Cahill, PhD

School of Information Science, University of Kentucky

PHONE:  859-218-2293

E-MAIL:  maria.cahill@uky.edu

 

If you have complaints, suggestions, or questions about your rights as a research volunteer, contact the staff in the University of Kentucky Office of Research Integrity at 859-257-9428 or toll-free at 1-866-400-9428.

 

 

Maria Cahill, PhD Associate Professor University of Kentucky School of Information Science, College of Communication and Information Educational Leadership Studies, College of Education Lexington, KY 40506 859-218-2293 maria.cahill@uky.edu

 

Early Childhood Literacy Research Toolkit

For many, MANY years, library staff who worked with youth had anecdotal evidence of the importance of reading, summer library programs, interactions of caring adults with kids relating to their literacy rate and other youth librarian interventions and interactions with kids and reading.  But there was very little research to back-up those anecdotes we all knew so well.

A huge breakthrough in the field of research in early literacy and libraries occurred at the turn of the millennium. Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) was introduced by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA) in 2004 and provided research-based practices that completely changed the course of how - and why - library staff present preschool storytimes. The six literacy skills and, in 2011, the five literacy practices were grounded in solid research that made these sweeping changes possible.

ALSC continues to support research in Early and Family Literacy through one of their newest committees. This research can help all of us in frontline library positions.

In a recent ALSC post, committee member Joanna Ward shares the work of the committee and their toolkit that helps you view the research yourself. Joanna writes: "EFL members regularly search for articles and reports on research findings that can help the ALSC community provide the highest quality research-based early literacy services in libraries, support best early literacy practices in our communities, be more responsive to the needs in our communities, explain to stakeholders and policymakers the purpose and value of the work we do, better advocate for the children we serve, spark new ideas, and increase equity, diversity, and inclusion in our work."

Read all about what research the toolkit contains and how to access it here at the ALSC blog. 

New Edition of Research on Diversity in Youth Literature Journal Available

The St. Catherine University (MN) MLIS Program announced today that Research on Diversity in Youth Literature (RDYL) 2.2 is now available. This peer-reviewed, online, open access journal is hosted by the MLIS Program and St. Kate’s Library.

Table of Contents

Edwidge Danticat Forum
- (Introduction) “Forum: The Limitless Vision of Edwidge Danticat’s Work for Young People” by Katharine Capshaw (Kate Capshaw)
_ “‘Leave Us Good News’: Collective Narrations of Migration in Mama’s Nightingale” by Amy Fish
- “The Sound of Separation: The Stravinskian Resonances of Edwidge Danticat’s Untwine” by Paula Weinman
"The Art of Death: Grief and Loss in Edwidge Danticat’s Untwine” by Alicia E. Ellis
- “Call and Response: Constructed Identity and Legible Experience in Danticat’s Young Adult Novels” by Anastasia M. Collins (Stacy Collins)

Articles
- “Reimagining Queer Death in Young Adult Fiction” by Katelyn R. Browne
- “From Pages to Pedagogy: Studying Fictional Social Justice English Teachers in Young Adult Literature” by Henry Cody Miller, Mario P. Worlds, and Tianna Dowie-Chin
- “‘Whose Side Are You On?’ Moral Consequences of Young Readers’ Responses to To Kill a Mockingbird” by Autumn A. Allen (Autumn Allen)
- “Reading Relational in Mildred D. Taylor: Toward a Black Feminist Care Ethics for Children’s Literature” by Wesley S. Jacques
- “De-politicized Diversity in the American Girl Brand” by Sami Schalk

Book Reviews
- Amos, Yukari Takimoto and Daniel Miles Amos, eds. Children’s Literature from Asia in Today’s Classrooms: Toward Culturally Authentic Interpretations. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. 122 pages. ISBN: 978-1475843675. Review written by Nithya Sivashankar

- Saguisag, Lara. Incorrigibles and Innocents: Constructing Childhood and Citizenship in Progressive Era Comics. Rutgers UP, 2018. 248 pages. ISBN: 978-0813591766. Review written by Cristina Rhodes (Cris Rhodes)

Cover Art
- “The Future in Our Hands” by Valerie Noisette

About RDYL

Collaboratively founded in December 2016, Research on Diversity in Youth Literature’s mission is to publish scholarship attending to issues of diversity, equity, social justice, inclusion, and intersectionality in youth literature, culture, and media. The journal, published twice a year, is supported by the Children’s Literature Association Diversity Research Grant; the American Library Association Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services; St. Catherine University; and West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

RDYL accepts essays on a rolling basis. Please see our submission guidelines and consider submitting your essays and book review suggestions: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/.

An Exciting IMLS Partnership for WI Youth Librarians

In an exciting blog post from Tessa Michaelson Schmidt on the WI Libraries from Everyone blog, she announced: "Wisconsin will take part in a three-year project with the Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) to support early learning in public libraries for children ages 0-8 and their families."

This means that there will be training, opportunities to share and build on the Museum's initial work in CA with libraries to develop the brand new Reimaging School Readiness Toolkit (lwith additional info in this recent YSS blog article) and push it out nationally. In year one, 50 librarians from WI, AZ and KY (each of the new partner states) "will receive training on the existing Toolkit. A subset of these librarians, in addition to librarians who have been using the Toolkit in California, will participate in an evaluation to assess the Toolkit’s impact. These evaluations will also allow BADM staff to refine the Toolkit to ensure it is as effective as possible for as many librarians as possible across the country. In Year Two, 20 library staff from 10 states—all four of the Year One states and six new Year Two states—will be trained as trainers, who are then responsible for training additional library cohorts in their states. In Year Three, 16 library staff from eight new states will be trained as trainers, and will be responsible for training library cohorts in their states."

To read the full post, please click here. Congratulations to Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, who will lead the WI part of the project, and WI!

Nerf Nights and Violent Fantasy Play Research

I am waffling between the idea of hosting a "Nerf Night" at the library and the challenging, country-wide discussions currently going on around guns and safety.  The event has been requested by my Teen Advisory Group (TAG) and suggested by several parents.  But I feel I am in a quandary.  Would hosting an evening of "shooting" be at best in poor taste and at worst irresponsible?

As I work through the reasons for hosting and the reasons against, I was a pleasantly surprised when the August Cardigan newsletter contained a segment about violent fantasy play (including pretend weapons play).  Author Katherine, summarizing current play research, notes that violent fantasy play should be allowed and not discouraged because children use this type of play to "sort out complicated messages they receive from the world."  However, she also stipulates that this type of play should be consented to by all parties involved (kids, teens, etc.).  I am still not sure whether I will go forward with a nerf-type program, but I do feel a little better informed about the role of violent fantasy play in children's attempts to understand the world.

Center for Childhood Discovery Resources

Thanks to the ever amazing Jbrary blog (you do have them on your RSS feed don't you?),  a recent post from them highlights some great free downloadable resources from the Center for Childhood Creativity, perfect for all youth library staff to use in serving their birth-age 8 clientele.  The Center is the research arm of the Bay Area Discovery Museum and they want to help adults working with kids by linking research with the practical aspects of work with kids.

To read about their work which includes a School Readiness Toolkit, A Promising Practices for Library Staff and more, stop here! 

Reading to Therapy Dogs Improves Literacy Attitudes

If you needed a push (or a viable research-based argument) for having therapy dogs in the library, check out THIS article by Tara Pettinato over at the Tufts University news site.
Research done at Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction shows second-grade students who read aloud to dogs in an afterschool program demonstrated improved attitudes about reading.  The results note that reading with a therapy dog improves motivation, helping the child view reading in a more positive light.

A Night at the Library - Stuffed Animals!

For several years, stuffed animal sleepovers have been a popular program in many children's departments. The word is getting out that libraries like to host fun events but there's a solid reason behind why we do them - to develop a love of reading in children.

In CNN's article "After a night at the library, stuffed animals help kids read", a New Jersey library's sleepover is highlighted along with a study that researched the effectiveness of the program. Verdict: kids do read more to their stuffed animals after attending a sleepover! Give yourself a pat on the back!

Share the article when you plan your next sleepover to add more weight to the "fluff". If you are interested in hosting a sleepover, check out this post and this post on ALSC Blog to start your planning.

CCBC Diversity Data Getting Richer/Deeper

The latest edition newsletter of the Friends of the CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center in Madison WI) contained some exciting news.

Long known for it's excellent statistical data on children's books by and about people of color, the CCBC still receives many additional questions looking for additional data to put their statistics in perspective.

CCBC Director KT Horning writes:

"For 2016 we are launching a pilot project to do a more in-depth analysis of the year’s picture books (excluding non-fiction titles, such as picture-book biographies). We’re keeping track of the things people want to know. Just how many picture books have animal, rather than human, characters? How many books about African American characters are historical? How many feature LGBTQ families? Or Muslims? Or people with disabilities? We’ll be able to tell you in early 2017. 

But for now, with about a quarter of the picture books that we’ve received to-date analyzed so far, we can tell you that:

• 45% of main characters are human beings, 43% are animals, and 15% are something else (such as a zucchini, a fairy or a cupcake)
• main characters are ten times more likely to be an animal than an African American person
• African American main characters have a two in three chance the character will be an athlete
• a main character that is an animal is three times more likely to be male than female
• a main character is more likely to be a spoon, a screw or a shape than Asian Pacific, First/Native Nations, Latino/a, or a person with a disability

Will this change with more data?  Stay tuned!"

Wait,what?!?! You haven't received this news yet because you aren't a friend of the CCBC. Well, please don't wait - join this great CCBC-supporting organization today!

Hey, You SLP Champs!!

You are in the teeth of the SLP adventure! Keep up the great work!  "Is it all worth it," you might wonder.

Check out this research news from the State Library of Virginia on results of their recent study on the efficacy of summer reading programs for part of that answer:

Every summer, public libraries in every state offer a reading program. Anecdotal information shows that parents, children and teens love their summer reading program.  Staff at the Library of Virginia wanted to explore further the impact that library summer reading programs have on supporting summer learning and preventing summer reading loss. Partnering with the Virginia Department of Education, using a system that tracks what children are reading in the summer, and working with the expertise of an international research company, McREL, we conducted a study on the impact of the summer reading program in Virginia.

The conclusion of the study are:
Children and teens who attend the summer reading program offered by Virginia's public libraries perform better academically and experience greater gains in their academic performance than their nonparticipating peers. Summer library reading programs may serve as an alternative avenue to close the achievement gaps between minority groups and nonminority peers.

Participation in summer reading programs has a positive effect on student achievement outcomes by preventing learning loss even two years after participation.

An infographic of the study may be found at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu//ldnd/srp-impact/srp_infographic.pdf

More information may be found at
http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu//ldnd/srp-impact/index.htm

Source: Enid Costley, Children's and Youth Services Consultant Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad   Street, Richmond, VA 23219  804.692.3765    enid.costley@lva.virginia.gov

Trends Impacting Young Adult Services – Call for Papers

An opportunity for those of you providing Young Adult Services.

The YALSA Midwinter Paper Presentation, an annual event sponsored by YALSA
past presidents, provides a venue to gather and explore a topic that impacts
the field of young adult librarianship. The YALSA Midwinter Paper Committee
will select one paper to be delivered at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta, GA,
January 20-24, 2017.  The presenter will receive up to $1,500 to defray travel
and registration costs.  The paper will be published in YALSA’s peer-reviewed
Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults. Paper proposals are due
June 1, 2016. For more information, visit
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/awardsandgrants/mwpaper.

Baby Talk Research and Resources

The Coalition of Infant/Toddler Educators (CITE) puts out a newsletter called Baby Talk that anyone can subscribe to, and we youth services librarians as infant and toddler educators and parent/caregiver information sources can certainly benefit from staying abreast of current research and resources in the field of baby and child development.

Check out the March issue here. Or find CITE on Facebook or Twitter.