Librarian, Joanne Mikasa, turns her media center into a spooky place for kids and parents to visit on All Hallows Eve. The Haunted House is a fundraiser that garners hundreds of dollars, allowing Joanne to purchase additional books and supplies for her library in Vineland, Colorado. I asked Joanne which room she is stationed in. There are several rooms to this haunted house! Her reply was, “Oh no, I don’t even go in — it’s way too scary!”
Thursday, October 16th found me at the Aurora Public Library for one of the Colorado State Library’s Youth Services workshops. I was lucky enough to be able to attend this year, and would like to share my experience (and photos!) with everyone.
The YS workshops this year were based not only on children’s programming for the 2009 statewide summer reading program (Be Creative @ Your Library), but also on teen programming (Express Yourself) and other teen issues, literacy-enhanced storytimes, and much more.
In the morning, we split into groups and got creative, making our own posters with markers, crayons, stickers, foam cutouts, and any other crafty items you can think of. Some posters were especially nice, and everyone received this year’s READ lapel pin as a prize.
Patricia Froehlich (Colorado State Library) then gave us some history on CSLP (the Collaborative Summer Library Program), which now boasts 47 member states.
Next up was teen services and a presentation by Mary McCarthy (Colorado State Library, Boulder Public Library). Of course she had to loosen up the group with an icebreaker, and so we all went around and told what was the oddest thing in our cars. (My answer: a toaster oven.) Mary spoke about C’YAAL, using your community and staff for programming, and of course, “begging, borrowing, and stealing ideas” from others. She also presented us with some wonderful web resources, including the following:
When we broke for lunch (pizza and salad…mmm!), we played Human Bingo, and those who were able to complete their bingo card were given prizes of t-shirts and books.
We also used lunch time to share creative ideas for the 2009 program. Projects such as “Paint like Picasso”, using recycled materials to make kaleidoscopes, podcasts on the Twilight series (with kids reading aloud their favorite parts of the books), bringing in local art teachers from the schools to display student art, “musical petting zoos”, and many others were suggested.
After lunch, we moved on to a presentation on CLEL and literacy-enhanced storytime by Melissa Depper (Arapahoe Library District). Melissa talked about the 6 skills your child needs to learn in order to read, starting from birth. She defined early literacy as “what kids know about reading and writing before they can read or write”. We were able to view PET scans of a brain, and to practice the 6 skills with actual storytime books. She recommended zerotothree.org for information on cognitive development, as well as the CLEL website.
Finally, we ended the day with a brief presentation on the LRS Fast Facts and “the Robbie report” by Patricia Froehlich. She also discussed a site called readingrecord.org, which can track summer reading participants online, and patrons can even register themselves for the program.
At the end of the day, Patricia handed out program manuals and order forms, and the workshop was adjourned. What a day! I learned so much about teen services and early literacy, children’s programming and storytimes.
I want to say thanks to the Aurora Public Library (and Jan Zinkl in particular) for hosting.
Here’s what I learned:
It’s hard to imagine that a plethora of workshops could be put together on-the-fly in 45 minutes, but that is exactly what happened right before our very eyes thanks to Steve Lawson (from Colorado), Joshua Neff (from Kansas) and Laura Crossett (from WY). Check out the pic (above) – Steve is taking suggestions from a crowd of 140 on what they want to talk about during the day. A myriad of breakout sessions were created, and it would be hard to imagine someone not finding something they liked – after all the crowd decided what they wanted to talk about. LibraryCamps are starting to pop up all over the country as a way to make sure people get the most out of their conferences. No talking heads, just people discussing and sharing thoughts and ideas. More photos! The most inspiring thing to me was the energy these young organizers and attendees brought to the event. And, the cool thing is — the sharing didn’t stop at the end of the day. This clever bunch has created a Wiki and the discussion is still continuing! So, a huge shout out to Steve, Joe, Laura and everyone else who made this a fun and exciting event. And, a special thanks to the University of Denver for hosting LibraryCamp of the West 2008 (a free event!). I think I heard something about a LibraryCamp of the West in 2009, right?
My good friend and former coworker at the Pikes Peak Community College Library, Kay Knudsen is now working at the Colorado Division of Wildlife Research Center Library. I imposed upon her to give me a tour of her new place of employment and show me around to some other government libraries. Here’s a picture of Kay with one of the many reports the this library has in the collection. 
I got the grand tour of the National Wildlife Research Center Library by former CLiC Board Chair Diana Dwyer. They do amazing work! If you have never had a tour, I highly recommend it. They also have a wonderful facility that can be used for library events. I visited the USDA Forest Service Library. Laura Bojanowski was kind enough to show me around. They have a lot going on with consolidating library locations. I visited with Megan Eberhardt Frank at the U.S. Geological Survey Library and also Mary Foley a the Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health Library. What a great two days and thanks to everyone for making the time to visit with me. See more pictures.
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
From Talk to Action!
The Special Populations & Issues Committee of the Colorado State Library seeks 10-15 libraries to provide outreach to new, diverse groups by becoming part of “Community Conversations.”
Libraries are thriving active places where people come together for education, entertainment and information. Does your library mirror your communities’ composition and interests?
What better way to practice inclusivity than by applying your skills to a ‘Community Conversations‘ project?
Equip your library to use diversity materials in fostering broad-based conversations.
Any public, school, academic or special library in the state may apply. Benefits include:
For Application Info: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/diversity/Committee-Info.htm
Applications due: 12/1/08 to Carlson_M@cde.state.co.us
For more information see the ALA Press release and last year’s survey results.
Thanks.
Nicolle
Sixty library members flocked to participate in the Kids Day Parade sponsored by the Colorado State Fair. The parade marches right by the library, so staff pulled out all the stops to get a bunch of people as well as animals involved in the parade. Employees, board members, Summer Reading Program Grand Prize Winners (and family) were invited to walk with the library. Featured parade guests were Wilbur the butterfly pig, Otis the Pug Bug, CBee from Country Buffet, Cat in the Hat, Clifford costumes, and of course, the library made sure it advertised its Books in the Park Trailer. Wilbur may have wished he could fly away to greener pastures, but alas his wings were just for decoration.
The Colorado State Library today announced grants to 16 school, public and academic libraries for innovative projects designed to improve library services and life-long learning. The proposals are funded through the federal Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA) allocation to the Colorado Department of Education and Colorado State Library.
This year’s grants totaled nearly $257,000. All grants addressed a goal in the long-range plan to improve library services to Colorado students and adult learners that support educational achievement and lifelong learning.
Awards were made to:
For more information regarding these grants, contact Jean Marie Heilig, LSTA Coordinator at 303-866-6731 or heilig_j@cde.state.co.us
Colorado libraries have been the recipient of over $3000 of funding from Rotary International for Children’s books on Health, Conservation, and Education. This partnership was a collaboration between Rotary District 5470 former District Governor, Jan Williams, and the Colorado Library Consortium. Rotary Clubs donated up to $300 to support their local libraries and libraries agreed to put a Rotary bookmark in the new materials, create a display showcasing the books, and speak at the Rotary Club about libraries. The photo shows some of the books that Woodruff Memorial Library in La Junta received. Thanks, Rotarians!
Arapahoe Library District has partnered with CLiC to provide a classy interactive tutorial for school librarians. The tutorial (part one of a two part series) is not only for beginner librarians, but also for the folks who have been school librarians for awhile. Pop in, see what you think, and then let us know! If you think other school librarians (especially newbies) would benefit from viewing the tutorial pass it along. A special thanks to Lisa Priebe and Donna Miller for getting this project launched!
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