1. Celebrations and Observances for this Month
2. SLP Update
2a. Ordering Reading Certificates in Braille
2b. Yard Signs for Summer Readers
3. Teen Services
3a. Gaming in Libraries Online Course through Syracuse University
3b. YALSA's Downloadable Bookmarks for Teens
3c. YALSA's Ultimate Teen Bookshelf
4. ALA Partners in White House Summer Volunteer Effort
5. Kids! Campaign Features Art by David Diaz
6. Dragon Series Music Lyrics Contest
7. OccuPaws is Training Service Dogs for Children Who are Blind
8. ALSC Summer On-Line Courses
9. Getting Boys to Read
10. Monthly Postings are Archived on the Youth Services Web Page
11. Upcoming Events in 2009
1. Celebrations and Observances for this Month
July is:
Eye Injury Prevention Month, American Academy of Ophthalmology, www.aao.org
Hot Dog Month, National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, www.hot-dog.org
June and July are
Fireworks Safety Months www.preventblindness.org/news/observe.html#June
2. SLP Update
2a. Ordering Reading Certificates in Braille
Roxie Novak at the Endeavor Public Library contacted me regarding having a certificate Brailled for a child in her summer reading program. She wondered if a library can order a single certificate. It is actually a very typical situation that a library might have a single child who is blind or just a few participating in their summer programs. So yes, single certificates can be ordered. It may not seem like it is worth the time it takes to order one, but to that single child and his or her family, it is a big deal to treat the child like every one child in the program. The form to request Brailled certificates, or any other items you need in Braille are on the DLTCL SLP web page at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/slp.html.
2b. Yard Signs for Summer Readers
The Calcasieu Parish Public Library in Lousianna gave out yard signs to children who completed their summer library program. The signs said, "A Library Champion Lives Here." Parents could also email a picture of their child with the sign and the library posted the pictures on their web site.
--from American Libraries Direct electronic posting for July 1, 2009
Milwaukee Public Library partnered with an early childhood organization in the past that also gave out yard signs for summer readers. The early childhood organization encouraged families to send in pictures of themselves with their signs and the pictures were posted on the agency's web page.
3. Teen Services
3a. Gaming in Libraries Online Course through Syracuse University
ALA has partnered with the Syracuse University School of Information Studies in an experiment to teach a course that is open to both students and the public via YouTube. Throughout June, iSchool Professor Scott Nicholson will teach the IST 600 Gaming in Libraries course in three online spaces: the Syracuse University website, at www.gamesinlibraries.org/course/, ALA Connect at http://connect.ala.org/node/74116 and the iSchool's online learning management system. Nicholson decided to offer the course to reach public librarians who are interested in incorporating gaming into their libraries.
3b. YALSA's Downloadable Bookmarks for Teens
YALSA is offering downloadable bookmarks featuring the 2009 Teens' Top Ten nominees for librarians to distribute to teens at their libraries. The bookmarks feature the 25 titles nominated for this year's list of favorite books. The bookmarks can be downloaded from this site www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/forallbookmark.pdf.
Teen readers are encouraged to read the nominees throughout the summer, then vote for their favorite titles starting August 24. The online poll closes on September 18. Winners will be announced in a webcast during Teen Read Week, October 18-24, 2009.
3c. YALSA's Ultimate Teen Bookshelf
YALSA has created the "Ultimate Teen Bookshelf," a new web site that highlights must-have teen materials. Developed in conjunction with the United We Serve initiative, the bookshelf is a list that includes 50 books, five magazines, and five audiobooks. While the featured materials have been selected for ages 12-18, the titles on this list span a broad range of reading and maturity levels. View the site at www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/yabookshelf.cfm.
4. ALA Partners in White House Summer Volunteer Effort
The American Library Association (ALA), along with a host of other nonprofit organizations, will participate in "United We Serve," a national effort launched by President Obama to engage more Americans in serving their communities this summer. Libraries will play a major role in this initiative. ALA and the White House are encouraging libraries to post volunteer opportunities on the United We Serve website at www.serve.gov/
As the initiative develops, ALA will make available resources to assist libraries in conducting volunteer efforts. "United We Serve" kicked off on June 22 and runs through September 11. The initiative focuses on four key areas: education, health, energy and the environment, and community renewal.
5. Kids! Campaign Features Art by David Diaz
Phase two of the ALSC Kids! @ Your Library public awareness campaign features artwork created by award-winning children's illustrator David Díaz produced especially for the campaign. Full-color, camera-ready PDFs of a miniposter and bookmarks will be available free online for librarians to download and print for displays and as giveaways. All campaign resources are free and available for download at www.ala.org/kids.
The Kids! @ Your Library® Campaign, launched in 2006, provides tips and free resources to help local libraries promote their programs and services to youth and families. Phase one materials focus on children in grades K-4, their parents and caregivers. Phase two focuses on promotion to kids in grades five through eight. For more information about the Kids! @ your library® Campaign and to check out all the free tool kit materials available, visit www.ala.org/kids and click on the tool kit link.
6. Dragon Series Music Lyrics Contest
Got any bards in training? Here's a chance to put that talent to good use. Libraries, and kids and teens 8-14 years old, are welcome to enter the Green Dragon lyrics writing contest -- and explore the world of dragons. Entrants will write lyrics set to the story of the Green Dragon, and the winning lyrics will then be set to music tied in with A Practical Guide to Dragons and the books in the Dragon Codex series. This is a great summer promotion for reading programs; you might offer it as a group writing activity, or have kids write on their own and have a contest to pick the entry you think is best to submit.Lyrics about the first four dragons in the Dragon Codex series - "Red Dragon," "Bronze Dragon," "Black Dragon," and "Brass Dragon" -- provide the start of the song, and can be found below.
Tell the Green Dragon's story in lyrics.
The chorus and the lyrics about the first four dragons plus music for the winning lyrics www.wizards.com/books/mirrorstone/DragonLyrics.pdf
Tips on how to write great lyrics (it's a lot like writing poetry!). www.wizards.com/books/mirrorstone/DragonTips.pdf
A fact sheet about Green Dragon with information from A Practical Guide to Dragons and from the new book in the Dragon Codex series, Green Dragon Codex. www.wizards.com/books/mirrorstone/DragonFactSheet.pdf
7. OccuPaws is Training Service Dogs for Children Who are Blind
Dogs trained as "Seeing Eye" or guide dogs for people who are blind, are only placed with adults. OccuPaws, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, is one of many training programs that trains guide dogs for adults who are blind. But they have recently begun offering training for dogs who will become visual companion dogs for children who have visual impairments. This is the only training program in the U.S. that offers this unique service. These dogs are not trained in the same way or to the same degree as guide dogs for adults who are blind, although they do some of the same things. The dogs may never be out working in public, unless an adult has them on a leash, but the child holds the dog's harness. The dogs help even young children, who have vision impairments, move with confidence when they walk around. The dogs often provide companionship for the children, in addition to their official guide duties, and may be trained to provide other services for their young charges.
8. ALSC Summer On-Line Courses
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is offering two on-line courses this summer. The courses are delivered through Moodle, and begin on July 20, 2009.
Sharing Poetry with Children, 4 weeks, July 20 - August 14, 2009
Many librarians feel inadequate when it comes to choosing and sharing poetry with young people. They may have been turned off or intimidated in years gone by. They may be uncertain about what kinds of poems work best with kids. No more! Take a look at the major poets, poetry books, and anthologies of poetry for children (ages 5-12) being published today. In this class, participants will focus on reading and reviewing the latest poetry for kids, learning about poetry awards, exploring poetry on the Web, and trying interactive and participatory approaches for sharing poetry with children.
The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future, 6 weeks, July 20 - August 28, 2009
This online course will give participants a solid grounding in the history of the Medal and how it's changed over time; an opportunity to read, discuss and consider past and present Newbery winners with their colleagues from across the nation; a chance to talk to former Newbery Committee members and a Newbery author, and suggestions for programming using Newbery-winning books.
For more information on Moodle, the online course forum, visit www.moodle.org. To learn more about ALSC, visit their Web site at www.ala.org/alsc.
9. Getting Boys to Read
"Getting Boys to Read" is a website dedicated to supporting parents, teachers, and librarians who want to help boys learn to love reading. The site was founded by Mike McQueen, a teacher-librarian at McLain Community High School in Lakewood, Colorado. The site provides informative articles, interviews, and a forum for discussion about all topics related to boys, reading, writing, and other literacy-related topics. It tackles national issues, like the serious literacy gap between boys and girls in the United States, strategies to help get boys reading, information about Jon Scieszka's Guys Read Group, and informative book reviews. To view the sitego to www.gettingboystoread.com/.
--from American Libraries Direct electronic posting for June 24, 2009.
10. Monthly Postings are Archived on the Youth Services Web Page
The 2009 monthly postings for the system youth services liaisons will be archived on the DLTCL Youth Services web page at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/ys-postings.html.
11. Upcoming Events in 2009
The listing of Upcoming Events is posted on the archive page at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/yspost-events.html
The list of upcoming events will be updated each month. This change is intended to reduce the length of this monthly posting. An attempt has been made to verify each of these dates and URLs. If errors are noticed, assistance in making corrections is very much appreciated. The dates are updated on a monthly basis.
For questions about this information, contact Jamie McCanless (608) 267-9280
Last updated on 7/17/2009 10:38:57 AM
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