Reach Out and Read Partnership

A recent blog post from DPI's Tessa Michaelson Schmidt at the WI libraries for Everyone blog focuses on Reach Out and Read. 

As Tessa writes: Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit that champions the positive effects of reading daily and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children. Reading together promotes healthy brain development, furthers language acquisition, and helps families build meaningful bonds." 

Noteworthy in the post is a heads-up on a great  short webinar on how libraries can partner with local health care providers featuring Terry Ehle, YSS member and Children's Librarian at Lester Public Library in Two Rivers. In addition two short webinars will fill you in on the great work of Reach Out and Read.

Read more here.

What Mrs. Zorea is reading...

Hello awesome librarians!

I just wanted to share what I am reading right now because I am pretty excited about it.

Digital Minimalism is all about being mindful of the digital forces in our lives. If you are already thinking about how many times you pick up your smartphone in a day, this book helps you understand WHY digital habits are so hard to break...and what is happening in your brain when you do make choices to use digital media often.

It also offers advice for going "minimalistic" with your digital choices, including how to set up a 30 digital fast and use only the apps and media that you pre-select because they align with your core values. No more mindless scrolling.

One of the factors that really got me thinking is how rates of mental illness and anxiety have skyrocketed in youth who were born after 1995. These youth never experienced life without instant access to technology, including smartphones. These are the students in my classroom.

Correlation does not imply causation, but this book is making me take a look at how I use my phone and digital media in general. It also helped me have some needed coversations with my middle school students about how they are using their phones, and how to make more mindful choices.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this title.
Happy reading!
~ Mrs. Zorea

Audiobooks--and Podcasts!--Aren't Cheating!

I know, I know...preaching to the choir... 😉



Click HERE to read the article posted on rewire.org that not only dispels the "cheating" myth, but also shares some of the benefits/advantages to listening to audiobooks and podcasts for folks exhibiting all levels of reading prowess! 

**Psst!  You can always store the information away to bust out if you find yourself needing to defend the validity of either medium.**

Get to Know Your YSS Website - Part 4

This is one in a series of Monday posts to familiarize you with the Youth Services Section's (YSS) webpage. Hosted as part of the Wisconsin Library Association website, the webpage has a host of helpful resources free to anyone (although if you aren't a member we hope you'll join to help us continue our work!). And now we present...

Coding Power- 12 Months of Coding Resources
Divided into "No Tech"; "Low Tech", and "High Tech" each one of these monthly programs has everything you need to create your own coding program for multiple ages. Created from the experience of YSS members, each program listed incldes some or all of the following

• recommended age  range
• budget; description/links
• contact for further info
• program description
• photos, tips to try

Click here to access or download (you may need to request permission to access the Google doc)

Click these links to find more YSS resource blog posts (as they are published weekly)
Part 1 - Free CE- Archived YSS Webinars
Part 2 - Teen Power - 52 Weeks of YA Programming
Part 3 - In a Minute! YSS Board Meeting Notes
Part 5 -  Bravo - Children's Books Awards Committee/Burr Worzalla Award
Part 6 - Follow the Leaders - The YSS Board
Part 7 - Knock-Knock - The YSS Homepage Address

And don't forget to visit the main WLA website for news and updates of conferences and other opportunities.

Scholastic Books Warehouse Sales in Wisco

It's that time of year!

Scholastic runs twice annual book sales (May and December). There are plenty of bargains.

Sales are happening in:
Oshkosh
Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel; Dec 4 (1-7pm) and Dec 5th (10 am -7 pm)

Milwaukee 
Scholastic Books Warehouse; Dec 7-14 (10am-7pm M-F; Sat 8-4pm; closed Sundays)

DeForest 
Scholastic Book Warehouse; Dec 11 (2-8pm); Dec 12 & 13 (10am-7pm)

Brookfield
Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel Dec 17 (noon-7pm); Dec  17 &18 (10am-7pm)

Stop here to register for the sale and a coupon and find complete details on the sales nearest you.

Throw-It Thursday: What About Pluto?

Welcome to Throw-It Thursday! My name is Ashley Borman, and I’m a Technical Services Librarian at the Clintonville Public Library.  This is a new (hopefully regular) monthly weeding tips segment of the YSS blog. Here we will discuss what to get rid of, when to get rid of it, and why are you still hanging on to that?!

This month let’s talk about Pluto. Why are we talking about Pluto, you ask? Because, in case some of you haven’t noticed, Pluto was removed from planet status way back in 2006! So check your shelves, and any books that reference Pluto and were published in 2006 or earlier should be promptly removed, and books from 2007 should be checked for accuracy, as they were probably written in 2006.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/2366672802/in/photostream/

I know you might think this is a bit redundant. I mean, this happened 13 years ago! We all know this. But some of those sneaky books have lingered, especially when you weed by circulation stats only. Most patrons don’t pay attention to things like publishing dates when they are looking for books about the solar system and check out everything and anything they can find. Example: when I started working at the Clintonville library in 2013, I found around a dozen books on the shelf that still talked about the ninth planet in our solar system! I promptly pulled them off the shelf, said goodbye, and made our children’s librarian update the books about Pluto and dwarf planets. What are you waiting for?! Get out there and spiff up your collection if you haven’t done so already!

If you have any requests on weeding tips/tricks or certain topics to talk about please leave a comment below!

Host an escape room at your library

Rose Hopkins-LaRocco (right) writes: “Escape rooms: They’re all the rage. You know you want to host one. Go on, do it. It’s not that hard. It’s time-consuming, but it will be one of the most fun and rewarding things you do in your library career. Luckily, I work with amazingly creative and hard-working people, so that made it a breeze. The La Grange Park (Ill.) Public Library hosted a Harry Potter Escape Room for Harry’s (and J. K.’s) birthday. First, we would be nowhere without Robin Papaleka’s wonderful guide. This helped so much in determining a timeline and budget. We also used a few of her puzzles.”...

Read more HERE. 

ICYMI: Problematic Artwork for CSLP 2020

Earlier today, Tessa Michaelson Schmidt shared the following:

"Recently, DPI shared the information for accessing the 2020 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) online manual and store catalog. Upon reviewing the numerous materials in the manual and catalog, it has come to our attention that the 2020 artwork is problematic for many reasons."

In the following letter, the DPI expands upon the concerns:

Dear Wisconsin Library Staff,

Recently, we shared the information for accessing the 2020 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) online manual and store catalog*. Upon reviewing the numerous materials in the manual and catalog, it has come to our attention that the 2020 artwork** is problematic for many reasons.

In particular, the poster artwork for all age groups--early literacy, children, teen, and adult-- uses imagery that is culturally appropriated from several American Indian nations. The stories that the raven and coyote images reference are sacred stories, not fairy tales or folk tales. On the poster intended for adults, there is an image near the bottom suggesting a woman imagining herself in what appears to be a feather headdress, which is inappropriate and offensive.

In addition, there are many images from the posters that reflect stereotypes, tokenism, and biased references. For example, there is a shirtless African boy sitting outside of a grass hut next to a zebra on the teen poster. In the Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books by Louise Derman-Sparks, examples of harmful/undermining stereotypes are listed. The 2020 slogan of “Imagine Your Story” carries the theme of fairy tales, mythology, and fantasy. The Guide identifies why fairy tales and folk tales are problematic:

•Folk and fairy tales have long been a mainstay of children’s literature. In the cultures from which they come, folk and fairy tales were used to teach important lessons and values related to their culture of origin. Children love them in their original versions—not their commercially sanitized adaptations. However, folk and fairy tales also carry messages that convey sexism, classism, and racism and must be used thoughtfully as part of introducing young children to diversity and anti- bias values of quality and fairness.

•Overuse of folk tales to “teach” about a specific ethnic/cultural group leads to misinformation and confusion. They are about animals and occasionally people from a mythical past and are designed to teach core values and beliefs in their culture of origin. They are not about how people actually live in contemporary society—and that is what young children need to understand. Information and images about how people really live now is what enables young children to build connections to people who are from different cultures while countering stereotypes that children have already absorbed (e.g., how American Indians really live).

With this context, we hope you can see why many of stories referenced in the artwork convey messages that are not in line with our priorities of inclusion and equity in Wisconsin public libraries. While we believe the intent of the illustrator was positive, the impact on our communities will still be negative. It is our recommendation that your library not use these images to promote the summer library program due to their problematic nature, and to evaluate any programs for appropriative or non-inclusive content.

This recommendation comes after careful review of the materials and through discussion with content experts such as the DPI American Indian consultant and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center library staff. In addition, Wisconsin is not the only state to respond in this manner.

The CSLP staff and board have been responsive to these concerns. If a resolution develops, we will share additional information with the Wisconsin public library community. In the meantime, we feel it necessary to communicate our concerns to you before your planning and purchasing begins in earnest.

Sincerely,

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

On behalf of the Public Library Development Team

*Membership to the (CSLP), which includes access to the manuals and online store, is provided to all Wisconsin public libraries through the Public Library Development Team (PLDT) using federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant funding."
_________________________________________________________
Shortly after this was sent to library staff throughout the state, the following response from CSLP was shared:

"Dear CSLP Member Libraries,

We are writing to address the serious concerns raised over the use of Native American imagery in the 2020 poster art.

CSLP recently became aware that there were serious concerns over the use of Native American imagery being paired with fairytale and fantastic images in the 2020 poster art. These concerns apply to all four posters.

On November 6th the CSLP Board of Directors held their monthly Board meeting and a discussion of the artwork was added to the agenda. Library representatives from twenty-five different states participated in the conversation. It was decided that input from subject experts from the Native American community, as well as others, would be sought and a plan would be developed.

CSLP quickly reached out to tribal libraries, educators, and specialists in the field for their expert opinions. We believe this statement from the Utah Division of Indian Affairs best sums up the feedback we received:

"The Utah Division of Indian Affairs would like to encourage the CSLP Board to edit and remove the Native American imagery from the posters. The imagery is not bad, it just does not belong on a poster with folklore characters where it can be misleading to suggest that Native American beliefs and cultural stories are "fairy tales" or "make believe". We believe the artist's intent was good but it would have negative impacts towards the Native American Community.”

Taking this advice to heart, CSLP must take action. The following changes will be enacted for the 2020’s “Imagine Your Story” Program:

●Remove and/or replace (if possible) all artwork with Coyote, Raven, and/or a Totem pole image on the online manual

●Remove all posters from the online store.

●Remove product containing Coyote, Raven, and/or a Totem pole image from the online store.

●Update the PDF product catalog.

●Make building and codifying internal processes and procedures the “Strategic focus” for the next two years.

●Commission one poster design, and one "timed reading" record design for the 2020 program.

This has been a very important and hard lesson learned by CSLP. As an organization comprised of library volunteers, we often share the same blindspots that can afflict the profession as a whole. Historic library categories such as “myth”, “folklore” and “legend” are being examined in recent scholarship. CSLP must continue to strive to reach out to experts across all areas of work, and take steps to further develop CSLP processes. We will continue to engage with our libraries, educators and experts in the field to ensure we develop summer programming that is welcoming to all.

We ask that all member libraries consider the message shared above and to use your best judgement when representing cultures outside your own. If you received an early shipment of print materials and would like a refund or replacement, please send your request, along with your order number, to custserv@cslpreads.org. If you have access to the original manual art, CSLP is granting additional flexibility on how the artwork may be used. For the program year 2020, member libraries may modify the CSLP artwork to conform to their personal, or institutional standards of inclusivity.

CSLP looks forward to continuing to serve you as a collaborative and in light of CSLP being a volunteer-driven organization, we encourage you to serve by signing up for committees, offering survey feedback, submitting manual ideas, and continuing to work with us as we empower you to foster community through your summer library programs.

Sincerely,

CSLP Board of Directors and Staff"

**Per Tessa, the following solutions - - in addition to using your best judgement when utilizing the artwork and/or taking advantage of the CSLP's permission to modify this year's artwork--are available:

"Of note, a new poster design and timed reading record will be commissioned and available later this year.

Also, if you have any orders already placed, contact custserv@cslpreads.org for a refund or replacement."

Get to Know Your YSS Webpage - Part 3

This is one in a series of Monday posts to familiarize you with the Youth Services Section's (YSS) webpage. Hosted as part of the Wisconsin Library Association website, the webpage has a host of helpful resources free to anyone (although if you aren't a member we hope you'll join to help us continue our work!). And now we present....

In a Minute! - YSS Board Meeting Notes
Your YSS board works hard all year long to create a vibrant, welcoming community for youth services staffers. From resources to meet-ups around the state; from networking with our WEMTA school colleagues to madly fun adventures at conferences; from awards to getting the word - the board works on behalf of all youth services folks in Wisco.

Curious about what our leaders are doing? Each month, the outstanding meeting minutes are published in our YSS blog. To access them quickly, simply type in the blog search box on the right "YSS Board Meeting Minutes"and voila! You are swept into a land of hard-working youth folks just like you who help make YSS the powerhouse within WLA that it is!

Click these links to find more resource blog posts (as they are published weekly)
Part 1 -  Free CE- Archived YSS Webinars
Part 2 -  Teen Power - 52 Weeks of YA Programming
Part 4 - Coding Power - 12 Months of Coding Resources
Part 5 -  Bravo - Children's Books Awards Committee/Burr Worzalla Award
Part 6 - Follow the Leaders - The YSS Board
Part 7 - Knock-Knock - The YSS Homepage Address

And don't forget to visit the main WLA website for news and updates of conferences and other opportunities.

Powerful Words to Support Children's Librarians

New from ALSC (the Association for Library Service to Children) is a free downloadable toolkit to help all youth librarians and libraries in supporting the need for excellent youth services.

Using clear facts, imagery and language, the toolkit can become a powerful persuader when facing non-support from funders, boards or even administrators in explaining the importance of children's services.

Once you land on the Toolkit page, you can download the toolkit, infographic, a powerpoint template to use in presentations, "Because" statements and printable postcards. There is also a very professional 5 minute video featuring patrons, librarians and children's book authors describing the importance of children's librarians in their communities.

To find all this great free content in standing up for children's services, click here.