L is for...

LIBRARY WEEK!

Yesterday the Deputy Director and Supervising Librarian at Central brought down chocolate for everyone so I thought why not post about what we are doing in honor of the week. At San Diego Public Library we are having a series of contests and special programs system wide to celebrate

ALA has some cool materials to purchase with the theme, but what really caught my attention was ALA President Roberta Stevens' video contest. Deadline submission is April 18th, and it seems like a great way to let your teens show off their creative self!

L is also for Lalitha! We have a new bloger here at So-Cal Library Connection who is currently a Children's Librarian with Esconidido Public and I would also consider her a YA book expert. You might have seen her YA reviews in SLJ, look for them on this blog soon and other musings from Lalitha as well :)

K is for . . .

KINDERGARTEN READINESS!

There are several ways that libraries can get children ready for kindergarten. Many of these things we are already doing, so yay us!

The first way to get kids ready for kindergarten is being a place that offers books. We do this and do it well! When my son was a year away from kindergarten we asked the principal of his future school what we could do to get him ready for kindergarten. Her answer was....read to him! Libraries are helping families get books into the hands of preschoolers.

Another way that libraries can help prepare kids is teaching parents about early literacy. We (the so-cal bloggers) have mentioned this often, but providing parents with early literacy information is a great way to help kids get ready to read. Teaching the parents how to play word games, that introducing their kids to new words helps them learn to read, etc.

Another way to get the kids ready for kindergarten and reading is singing the alphabet and point to the letters as they sing. Each storytime, starting with toddlers storytime, I pass out a laminated sheet that has the alphabet and as we sing we point to our letters. This way the kids learn what each letter looks like and are ready to start putting those letters together to make words when they enter kindergarten. I do other letter games with the kids during storytime, which I will post at another time.

When I first started as a Children's librarian, the youth coordinator for our system told us that encouraging preschool aged kids to use scissors was important. I thought that this was funny and not really relevant, until I had teen volunteers help with craft prep by cutting out some of the hard pieces. They couldn't cut, at least well! I was shocked. So, after that I started having pieces that the kids needed to cut during crafts following preschool storytime. Nothing fancy, straight lines, squares, circles. Usually only one or two pieces of the craft, but enough to give them practice. I also tell the parents that this is a time for the kids to practice cutting. That said, there are still many parents who cut the pieces for their children.

Aside for the academic preparations, by attending storytimes, kids learn that there are rules that need to be followed, they learn to sit and listen and follow directions, and they learn how to interact with other kids. Many parents value these skills learned at storytime more than any others.

J Is For...

JOINT-USE LIBRARY ACTIVITIES

The Logan Heights Library is currently the only joint-use library of the San Diego Public Library system. We are literally surrounded by three schools and serve over 10 public, charter and private schools in our service area. Needless to say we have TONS! of students using our library regularly. As a joint-use library we offer special hours for classrooms visiting the library and priority on the usage of our computer lab and meeting rooms. We also house a curriculum collection of books the students are using in their classrooms. These books are reference copies that students can use at the library should they loose or forget their books.

We have library programs every month to meet the interest of the students and supplement their curriculum. With severe budget cuts in the schools, there is not much funding for field trips and additional programs for the classes to participate in. This is where the library has been able to step in and meet some of those needs. At our library we try to host two programs per month specifically geared towards the schools. Our programs range from music, storytelling, science, animal shows, magic shows, reading programs, class competitions, Día events, holiday themed programs, author visits and overnight library events. We are fortunate to have a large community space with a capacity of 300 people where we host many of our programs. Most of our programs reach the maximum capacity, which to me, is very telling of the need of these types of activities in the schools.

Working at a joint-use public library was something very new to me and I have to admit a bit intimidating in the beginning, but with the help of some veteran librarians and establishing connections early with some of the instructors and principals, I have been able to overcome my fear and embrace this unique working environment. I thoroughly enjoy working in a joint-use facility because it allows me to work closer with students and teachers and make more of a personal connection with them. I feel like a superstar when I walk around the community because it never fails that a student, teacher or parent will say hello or stop to chat and establishing that trust is key to serving our community.

These are some tips that helped me brave the joint-use library world:

• Make connections early and introduce yourself to school teachers and administration.
• Have a clear understanding of the joint-use contract and or policies.
• Establish a teachers email list to e-blast library information and try to get as many educators on that list and at least a couple from every school.
• Attend as many staff meetings and PTA meetings as possible to communicate or remind teachers and parents of the activities happening in the library.
• Create special programs geared towards the schools (class competitions are always a big hit).
• Find out what the curriculum is like in the classrooms so you can find ways to supplement it at the library.
• Stay on top of school calendars and testing dates, this is especially useful when scheduling programs.
• Attend school assemblies or classrooms to promote library programs to the students.
  
• Advertise programs on school electronic boards or other forms of media they use for announcements.
• Keep a detailed calendar of class visits and programs to make sure you don't overlap and can dedicate special time to each class.
• Create an open school friendly environment that will make classes want to return to the library and make sure that library staff is aware of school activities and accessible to the students.
  

"Night at the Library" class competition winners!

I is for . . .

Ice Cream!!!

Or rather how to throw an ice cream party at the library.

Often at the La Mesa Library we have celebrations where we serve food. Usually this consists of cake cut up into very small pieces to feed the large number of people who come to events with food. However, we have braved ice cream parties a few times. I have learned a few things while doing them.

1. Get individual sized portions. They are more expensive, but save time in scooping the ice cream and are much cleaner. You may have to pre-order with your grocery store if you are expecting a huge crowd.

2. Have several stations set up that have exactly the same toppings. The crowd will want the ice cream right away and having multiple stations will get the lines moving faster.

3. Don't offer too many toppings. Chocolate sauce, M&Ms, and maybe one other thing. Too many choices cause the kids to create huge messes and takes longer to serve. The individualized portions do not have that much room for many toppings, anyway.

4. Have a nondairy option for participants who are vegan or allergic to dairy.

5. Have enough for the adults, too! Who can resist ice cream?

6. Lastly, hold this event OUTSIDE! Any messes can be cleaned away by a good rain or spray of water.

Here are a few books to get you inspired:

Curious George Goes To an Ice Cream Shop by Margret Rey and Alan J. Shalleck.

I am an Ice Cream Truck by Ace Landers

Isaac the Ice-Cream Truck by Scott Santoro