As an experienced library person, you remember back to when you were new in libraries, or new in your job. Did someone help you? You can be that person who helps to make someone else’s journey easier and more fulfilling!
The Association of Library Service to Children is looking for mentors – and you may be just the person they need!!
You do not need to be a member of ALA or ALSC, or to have a library degree, to mentor someone. You just need to be willing to talk with someone who is new, and who could use a source for guidance in questions and support. I’ve been in CMLE libraries, so I know we have many people here who would just be great mentors!!
Interested in continuing education? Do you work with kids, and want to build skills? At CMLE, we support that! So we are passing on this survey to you. Take a couple of minutes to fill it out (no need to be a member), and share your ideas with the profession!
From the Association for Library Service to Children:
The ALSC Education Committee invites your feedback on how ALSC’s online continuing education programs can best support you and your professional goals.
Please consider taking a few minutes to contribute to the 2017 ALSC Continuing Education Needs Assessment survey. Responses are requested by February 24, 2017. The survey can be accessed at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/17CEneeds.
As we near the end of 2016, there are plenty “Best Books of the Year” lists out there, which are great! But if you’ve exhausted your new literature, and are looking to add some variety (specifically, in the area of Children’s Literature), check out School Library Journal’s selection of the most significant children’s literature of the 20th century! It could be a great opportunity to find a gift, or just revisit some old favorites.
Earlier this week, I was able to attend an ALA webinar called “Liven up Baby and Toddler Storytimes with Sign Language” presented by Kathy Macmillan. I was excited to learn about this topic because I am hoping to learn to communicate through signing with my own little one at home, but also because I know many of our member libraries work with small kids and thought this could be a fun addition to their storytime routine!
Kathy began the presentation by laying out the multiple benefits of including ASL (American Sign Language) in your library programs. There were a ton! Some of which were: kids are able to sign before they can speak, signing stimulates language development, it reduces frustration, and learning one form of communication encourages more communication in general. Plus, signing is an instant way to get kids to participate!
Have you been looking for new ideas to spice up your storytime? Sign language with babies and toddlers can be a fun addition! It encourages participation and can make the experience more interactive and entertaining.
ALA is offering a webinar “Liven Up Baby and Toddler Storytimes with Sign Language Workshop” and CMLE wants to extend an invitation to any interested librarians that may want to participate! If we can get just two additional people that would like to come view this webinar from CMLE Headquarters, we will qualify for the group rate for the workshop, which is $40 instead of $60.
The online workshop is 90 minutes long and begins at 1:30pm on Wednesday, Dec. 7th.
At the completion of this workshop, you will be able to:
List 3 benefits of using sign language with young children
Describe at least 3 ways to use sign language in baby and toddler storytimes
Demonstrate 3 ASL signs appropriate for use in baby or toddler storytimes
You can find more information about the workshop here.
