Take Your Child to the Library Day: Recap

 Last Saturday, it was Take Your Child to the Library Day, and it was a very busy day at the library.

We had a Unicorn Day:

How it went:

Storytime was full.

All of our take & make crafts went out.

Foodie Fun went out.

Lots of books were checked out.

It wasn't just busy in the morning but all afternoon too.

It was so nice to see favorite families visit and lots of new faces.

Things to improve on:

Unicorns, while popular, are hard for storytime because the books are so long. I ended up reading some board books, which was great. But next year, maybe I'll pick the theme with books in mind.

While unicorns are super popular, they're not the most gender-neutral theme. 

Maybe next year, we will partner with some local businesses, so everyone wins.

Book Challenges at Your Library

 

For many librarians (myself included) their professional role spills over to our personal lives. This is often the case with me. I identify as a librarian - it's part of who I am. 

I never thought I'd have a serious book banning incident. How wrong I was. 

My library (and me by extension) is going through it right now, you might have seen it in the news. 

So, here's what I learned.

1. It's not personal (It's hard NOT to take it personally)
2. It's not your collection (Even though it feels like it is when you put all the work in effort into creating it. It's really for the library. Yes I buy books I don't want to purchase for a variety of reasons)
3. Let your boss take control (Mine handled it like a Rock Star)
4. The community is in an uproar, (Most of it is great, and it means talking to lots of people about books and the library - also great. It's been super nice to have the support of the community. BUt, some of it is not great.)
5. People will yell at you, it's not personal, they're upset too - it's your job to calm them down (if you can) with the facts.

PSA: 

Libraries are not parents; we provide books and information for Children and Teens to read. 

It's the parents' job to make sure their children are reading what they believe is appropriate for their family. We believe in the freedom to read and support that freedom with a variety of books. 

A few ways to support your library:

1. Visit the library
2. Have a library card
3. Check items out
4. Attend a library program

Summer Reading Kids (2)

 

I'm a little late with the planning this year, but I'm starting to look at summer reading programs. This year is ALL about animals.

It's possible to break up the summer into weeks:

Pets

Farm Animals

Zoo

Last week, I talked about easy crafts.

This week is all about food!

At my library, we have a Foodie Fun program where we shoot a video showing how to make the treat and then hand out bags with most of the ingredients inside. It's one of our most popular programs.

All the ideas come from Pinterest. 

Horse Cookies:

Pig Cupcakes:

Bird Houses

Animal Tracks:

Zoo Trail Mix:

On Weeding YA

Karen from Teen Librarian Toolbox had a very interesting tweet the other day 

(now a few weeks back)

and it made me stop and think because at work, Mary and I are weeding in the YA room. Mostly because we don't have enough space, but also because we haven't done it in a while.

There are authors I won't give up, those that are the core collection.

Just a few examples of these:
Coe Booth
Meg Cabot
Sarah Dessen
Ellen Hopkins
David Levithan
Walter Dean Myers

There are books that I believe to be classic and won't let go of.
If they have terrible covers, but I'm happy to reorder them with updated covers because they do belong on the shelf. 

Just a few examples of these:

Sometimes these books are early trendsetters because of the subject matter or format

 

In other cases there are series books where I'll leave the first on the shelf and have others in the basement. It's not ideal, but as we run out of space (and we often do), it does help readers know that we have some of the series.

Just a few examples of these:

 There are older books I purchased that we didn't have in the collection because I think they add value and entertainment. 
Just a few examples of these:

 

So while we have a smallish teen collection, I think it's pretty good. And I do my best every day to make sure there are windows and doors and most important mirrors for all the teens in the community.

Sure that means buying books that I can't wait to read, because that's the fun part of the job. But at the end of the day, I know that books are not about me. They don't reflect my needs. They reflect the teens of the community. 

Which means those needs change every 3-5 years. And we have to keep up with the times. What's all the age through the middle school today might never go out in the next couple of years. And that's ok. We know that (maybe not going into the job because it's another thing they don't teach in library school, but it's something you learn - quickly.)

Fall Program Ideas for Kids

In case you missed it, here are my ideas for Teen Programs

I know that Summer Reading has hit the library, but I have to start thinking about Fall planning.  We have town wide newsletter form our Parks and Recs department and it's due mid July. Fall planning goes from August thru December. I don't have too many ideas, but I thought I'd share some in case any one else was planning Fall too. And let me know if you have a great fall program idea. 

September 19th: Talk Like a Pirate Day

Last year, we decorated our Circulation Desk to look like a Pirate ship for the week. And we had a few who came to create Treasure Chests. This year, I'd love to try this

November 4th: King Tut Day

I haven't thought too much about this, but I'd like to do something about King Tut. Maybe a craft or maybe a mummy program that's half educational and half entertainment. Of course there's always the Mummy Wrap game!

November 6th: Button Day

I'd like to create this or something similar:

But this could be cool too (in fall colors)

Then I like to do a community wide event in November and make Holiday Cards to the military. Last year we sent off a bunch of cards to deliver to veterans and/or veteran's families within the state. I think it's great to spread a little cheer and also to teach kids about giving back and thinking of others from an early age. We do it in November to meet the deadline. I also have a Holiday card making day for anyone to create a card for their someone special

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses: 

Last year I did a paper gingerbread house and irritated the heck out of a family who did't read the paper part of the flyer. So this year, I thoughts I'd do a food based program. But I'm combining it with a challenge - which I saw on a kids food show (I'm not sure which one). Everyone gets the same amount of candy/crackers/frosting and has a limited time to create. That way, it's not crazy expensive for the library. It's fair so one person doesn't hog all of one candy. And you can limit the sugar content (which I'm hoping the parents will like.)

Where I Am Today

I'm off to the Connecticut Library Association. I'm co-presenting about how to host author visits. I've got the library portion and Karen from my favorite bookstore RJ Julia's will be talking about the book store perspective. 

I've talked about several author visits on my blog and I'm lucky to have hosted so many great ones. Just looking at all the pictures brings back so many memories. 

Tera Lynn Childs

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kim Harrington