Category Archives: Programs

Materials, Outreach, Programs

Librarians: Knowledge Curators for Our Communities

George-peabody-library

(From Sojo.com, by Cara Evanson)

“Our current world is awash in constantly expanding, shifting information. Librarians are on the front lines of this information explosion. They are positioned to not only help us navigate knowledge and data, but to make ethically informed choices about how to use it.

The core of a librarian’s job involves information — its organization, access, use, preservation, and production. Librarians’ roles have evolved in the digital age, but remaining steady in the face of these transitions is a core value of the American Library Association, who designated the 2017 National Library Week theme, “Libraries Transform.”

Professional librarians champion access, privacy, intellectual freedom, and social responsibility. These values provide an ethical grounding for librarians, in daily application and in creating a long-term vision for the profession.

Librarians Are Community Knowledge Enablers

The sheer quantity of information available today means that the nature of research assistance work has shifted. While finding information is still a core piece of librarianship, the evaluation process is becoming increasingly important, and librarians are expert partners in this endeavor.

Books, Children's services, Programs

This Kindergarten Class Threw A “Millionaire Bash” To Celebrate Reading 1 Million Words In A Year

 

(From Buzzfeed.com, by Julia Reinstein)

They even rolled up in a limo and signed autographs for their “fans.”

This is Breyden Suragh, 6, a kindergartener in Columbus, Georgia.

On Wednesday, Breyden and his classmates turned up in style at the “Millionaire Bash,” a class party celebrating every student for reading 1 million words that year.

 They even rolled up in a limousine!

Breyden's mom, Denetta Suragh, told BuzzFeed News the school estimated 1 million words was equal to 250 books, which they kept track of with reading logs. This year, the entire class met the goal, Suragh said."Breyden was really on me about it," she said. "He was like, ‘I want a limousine ride so we have to turn in all our reading logs!’ It encourages every child to want to read even more."

Breyden’s mom, Denetta Suragh, told BuzzFeed News the school estimated 1 million words was equal to 250 books, which they kept track of with reading logs.

This year, the entire class met the goal, Suragh said.

“Breyden was really on me about it,” she said. “He was like, ‘I want a limousine ride so we have to turn in all our reading logs!’ It encourages every child to want to read even more.”

When they got to the classroom, each student walked the red carpet as their parents cheered them on.

"They make them feel like a celebrity," said Suragh. "They call their name out, and they have us there as their fans. So while they step out on their little red carpet, we’re screaming and congratulating them."

“They make them feel like a celebrity,” said Suragh. “They call their name out, and they have us there as their fans. So while they step out on their little red carpet, we’re screaming and congratulating them.”

Of course, they donned their most dapper duds and signed autographs for their adoring fans.

Suragh said her son was "all smiles" at the party, and especially loved riding in the limo."It was the most exciting thing to him," she said.

Suragh said her son was “all smiles” at the party, and especially loved riding in the limo.

“It was the most exciting thing to him,” she said.”

“Suragh said she’s so proud of how far her son has come as a reader this year.

"When he first started kindergarten, he wasn’t a great reader," she said. "But because of the program that they did to encourage him to read more, he’s almost on a second-grade level of reading."And because of Breyden's newfound love of reading, his 4-year-old brother wants to learn to read too."His little brother is looking up to him, so that’s something he wants to do," she said. "He wants to get in a limousine, and he wants to read something."

“When he first started kindergarten, he wasn’t a great reader,” she said. “But because of the program that they did to encourage him to read more, he’s almost on a second-grade level of reading.”

And because of Breyden’s newfound love of reading, his 4-year-old brother wants to learn to read too.

“His little brother is looking up to him, so that’s something he wants to do,” she said. “He wants to get in a limousine, and he wants to read something.”

“You push your children, and you want the best for them,” said Suragh.

"For him to actually accomplish that just makes me proud as his mom, to see him so happy about reading," she said.

“For him to actually accomplish that just makes me proud as his mom, to see him so happy about reading,” she said.

(Read this entire article here, and admire even more adorable photos!)

Communication, Programs

Libraries and Quilts!

Image result for quilt

As a quilter myself, as well as a librarian, I love to see quilts in libraries! I have traveled around the country, visiting all kinds of libraries, and am frequently pleasantly surprised to see quilts on display.

And I’m clearly not alone in this! Check out some of these great library (and library-adjacent) programs, and consider bringing some quilting to your library!! (If you do this anywhere in the area of CMLE, I will come by to admire the quilts, or to bring my done-ten-years-from-now-maybe quilt to work on with your group!)

  • The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County WHAT’S NEW · CELEBRATING QUILTS: LOVELAND BRANCH LIBRARY’S 3RD ANNUAL QUILT SHOW
    A quiltSuspended from the ceiling of the Loveland Branch are over 50 examples of work created by local fabric artists. The display includes traditional quilts as well as quilted and embellished clothing. All types of quilting are represented, including hand, strip, and paper piercing, as well as hand and machine quilting. This non-juried show gives quilters of all levels the opportunity to display their work. The exhibit will remain on view at the branch throughout the month of May and a number of related programs will take place throughout the month.
  • QuiltThe Norfolk Library: Thirty-two women from Norfolk and surrounding towns contributed thirty-nine quilt patches for the Norfolk Library Associates- sponsored quilt. Each appliquéd or embroidered patch is the product of someone who knows and loves Norfolk. Put together, they stitch an imaginative portrait of our town. These women and others contributed to the quilting, completed in the library as a communal activity. Eve Thew fashioned a replica of the library. Nancy Eckel produced the Battell Chapel and Colleen Gundlach created the Congregational Church. Several quilters worked on more than one square. Debby Tait was the champ with shares in seven. Kathryn Noles made three; Mary Ford-Bey, Dorothy Pam , Gloria Gourley and Sue Frisch each made or took part in two, and Ruthann Olsson lettered both the script on the central village green patch and the miles signs text. Quilters: Rebecca Eaton, Madeline Falk, Pat Harms and Leila Javitch worked on quilting, as did many of the women who contributed patches.
  • Lake City Library pieces together programming with Quilting basics workshop
    “LAKE CITY, S.C. – A patchwork of fabrics and a few tools are all that Vera Cooper Martin required to host a beginners quilting class in Lake City last week – that and a lifetime of quilting-making that she first learnt as a young girl from her grandmother.

    Martin, who exhibited several of her memory quilts at the Lake City Public Library in early February, was invited back to host a class as one part in a series of activities designed for the adult members of the library.

    Martin had those attending the class work in pairs to create small lap quilts from nine nine-inches squares of cotton fabrics.” (Read the rest of this article at the link above!)

  • Sew-Quilt-Create
    Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library
    Saturday, March 11, 10:30 am – 5:30 pm

    Program Description

    Quilter Heather Kojan kicks off our day-long sewing-quilting-creating retreat with her presentation, “From Traditional to Modern: My Quilting Journey” and a trunk show. Additional activities include vendor sales, your choice of hands-on classes, plus project “show-and-tell” and Q&A session with quilters and shop owners.

    Supplies for class projects are provided. Sewing machines, along with basic sewing supplies and thread are required for two of the classes, noted below. Registration is required for afternoon classes only.  Lunch is on your own; library café will be open as an onsite option.

  • Morrill Public Library Quilt Show & Programs
    AccuQuilt Demonstration and Quilt Club Organization Meeting
    June 18 at 6:30 pm
    Get some hands-on experience with our AccuQuilt fabric cutting machine with scrap fabric provided by the Library! We will also discuss interest in organizing a Quilting Club at the Library. Bring your ideas for program topics and the best dates/times to meet. If you are unable to attend but still interested in participating in a Quilt Club, please call us at 785-742-3831 or e-mail morrill@hiawathalibrary.org. Quilt Show
    July 16 to August 1
    Quilters are invited to display their handiwork during our July Quilt Show. The “People’s Choice Award” winner will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to Sunflower Quilt Shop. Entry forms available at the circulation desk or click here to view and print.
  • Programming Idea: Community + Quilt = CommuniQuilt from Web Junction!
    In 2014 and 2015, the Boston Public Library (BPL)and Saquish Foundation offered librarians the chance to apply for special grant funding for programs serving older adults. While many grant recipients focused solely on adults 55 and up, at the Mattapan Branch, I teamed up with Teen Librarian Caren Rosales and we broadened our scope to create intergenerational programming that would bring elders and teens together. Our first collaboration in 2014 was an oral history project. While there was a lot of interest, record-breaking snowfall that year had a serious impact on our program schedule and reach. The CommuniQuilt, our second collaboration, proved to be much more fruitful thanks to smart marketing, abundant refreshments, and a blessedly mild winter.
  • West Chester Public Library: Quilting@the Library – making “Quilts for Kids”,  for dates and times see below:
    Next meetings: Wednesdays, May 24, 1pm – 4:30pm; June no meeting; July, 26, 1:pm – 4:30pm.  Join in for an afternoon of fun (bring a friend!) transforming fabric into quilts that comfort children in need:  children fighting a life battle with an illness as well as children of abuse.  All that is needed is your sewing talent, your sewing machine (if you can bring one), quilting gear like rotary cutter, mat, pins, etc. and the desire to help a child in need.
    Experienced machine quilters can pick up a kit to make a quilt at home filling it with lots of love as they sew and returning the completed quilt at a future meeting.  Want to learn more about quilting? This is a great time to practice and get tips from experienced quilters.

  • Quilts and Human Rights by Marsha MacDowell et al. University of Nebraska Press, August 2016. 232 p. ill. ISBN 9780803249851 (pbk.), $39.95.
    Reviewed September 2016 Kathy Edwards, Associate Librarian, Emery A. Gunnin Architecture Library, Clemson University, kathye@clemson.edu

    macdowellIn American culture, the handmade quilt has long been a freighted signifier of home comforts, domestic economy, and “women’s work” in the private realm. In Quilts and Human Rights, four quilt scholars from the Michigan State University Museum subvert that notion mightily, demonstrating that, for over two hundred years, thousands of women across many cultures have used their quilting skills instrumentally, to assert themselves as citizens of the wider world, capable of organizing to address human rights abuses and agitate for social change at home and abroad.

  • Calvert Library Goes Quilt Crazy Is there a National Quilt Month?  If there is not, then there should be and it should be May because that is when the Calvert Library is showcasing some very special quilts and quilt events.

  • Library Artwork and Quilts Three quilts hang from the second and third level balustrades. “The Eagle Has Landed” quilt has been on loan from award-winning local quilter Sue Clark since shortly after 9/11/01. One Bicentennial Quilt depicts scenes of Hamden; the other Bicentennial Quilt depicts scenes from the Whitneyville section of Hamden.

  • Make a Library Books Quilt Block for NaNoWriMo: November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short). This year, more than 295,000 writers have pledged to write an entire novel in just 30 days!

    Inspired by their commitment to creativity (and speed!), I have decided to carry this nod to novels into my quilting, and write up a simple library books quilt block tutorial. Because even if you can’t write the great American novel, you can whip up several of these blocks from colorful fabric scraps, and make a huge dent in your stash. You can even create an entire quilt with book-inspired blocks using the “Book Club” pattern from The Modern Quilt Workshop by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. But first, let’s get started with this quick tutorial!

     

Books, Programs, Resources

ALA Recap: Libraries are Not Neutral Spaces

School Library Journal Logo

from School Library Journal, by

“This past Sunday I had the honor of presenting with a panel of fabulous librarians about how libraries are NOT neutral spaces. Like most librarians, I spent a major part of my career proclaiming that we were. But over time, I have come to realize that we are, in fact, not. For example, if during the month of December you put up a Christmas tree or a Christmas display but don’t acknowledge that any other holidays exist, you are making a non-neutral statement and highlighting certain faiths and traditions over others. Did you choose to avoid putting up a Black Lives Matter display? That was not a neutral decision. This month is Pride, did you put up a Pride display? Whether you answer yes or no to this question, your answer is not a neutral decision. Every decision to do or not do something in our libraries is not a neutral decision, and it often reflects our own personal, cultural or institutional biases.

It has been a process for me to learn how to examine and break down my personal biases in considering everything I do in my library, from putting up a display to deciding when, where, and how to program. The work of being inclusive and advocating for my teen patrons – ALL of my teen patrons – is ongoing and never done. It takes some intentionality on my part and I am working on training my staff to have that same type of intentionality.

In fact, for me, displays and collections are a big part of how I try and be intentional and inclusive. I didn’t have a term for it until this weekend thanks to someone on Twitter, but I regularly perform diversity audits of my YA collection. I will sit down monthly with some type of topic or focus in mind and go through my collection to make sure I have a well represented number of titles and authors that represent that topic. For example, with Pride approaching, I spent the month of April going through every single letter in GLBTQAI+ to make sure that I had a good representation of titles for each letter in my collection. And when doing so I go through and make sure that they include as many POC, LatinX, Native American, Asian and more authors as possible. I don’t want to just be diverse in having GLBTQAI+ titles, I want to make sure that those titles are as diverse and representative as possible. Continue reading ALA Recap: Libraries are Not Neutral Spaces →

Advocacy, Programs, Resources

Library Advocacy Efforts Gain Steam

Advocacy Logo
At CMLE we are all about advocacy of all types for libraries!! Keep talking to people about the work you do, and the value you bring to your community! People will be pleased and impressed by it all. Check out our advocacy resources, and you can always check in with us to talk about advocacy ideas!

(From Publisher’s Weekly, by Shannon Maughan)

A look at some ongoing federal, state, and local campaigns

The past decade has seen a distinct expansion of library advocacy across the country, largely in response to budget cuts. As a result, librarians at all levels have been organizing and raising their voices to demonstrate the value of their positions and their libraries in the community. In light of continued tightening of funding, including steep cuts proposed by a new president, the battle cry of librarians has become even louder. We checked in on a few of the most recent efforts.

Appropriations Push

May was a particularly busy month on the library advocacy front. To kick things off, on May 1–2 a record number of librarians—more than 500—took part in the American Library Association’s National Library Legislative Day (and double that number participated online). During their time in D.C., librarians discussed issues and legislation affecting them with ALA’s Washington Office and met with representatives on Capitol Hill. Copyright, net neutrality, and privacy were among other topics on the table. An early bright spot of the event was the May 1 announcement of the federal budget for fiscal year 2017 (ending September 30), which increased federal library funding by $1 million.

But the bigger budget debate at the event was President Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2018 budget, announced March 16, in which he called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the grant-making agency that serves as the primary source for federal funding to libraries. Ahead of the 2018 budget, the ALA had already drafted its annual “Dear Appropriator” letters urging Congress for full funding of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $186.6 million and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) at $27 million. In light of the newly proposed threat to funding, advocacy efforts shifted into a higher gear. Continue reading Library Advocacy Efforts Gain Steam →