School Library Journal Think Tank
On Friday, April 5th, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the first ever School Library Journal (SLJ) Think Tank. This event was created to give Children’s librarians a chance to learn about relevant library issues and network.
The beginning of the event was a keynote led by Pamela Sandlian Smith. Her theme was succinctly captured in a quote she used in the beginning of her speech. She stated, “If libraries were treehouses, librarians would be the architects of dreams. If librarians were the architects of dreams, then children would find a special place to dream of who they would become and lives fulfilled.” She wanted to stress to the librarians that they are the ones who can create unique learning experiences for children and an inviting space to do this. She discussed the Anythink Libraries, which are the Rangeview libraries in Adams County, Colorado. It’s a whole new world of libraries. Upon entering the library, one would see trees inside the room. They have the Wright Farms which include hand-on activities in an outdoor area next to the library. They had a tech training program that brought in specialists in animation and creating movies and had the staff work with these experts to create their own movies. There are also a variety of other inviting programs at these libraries.
Next was a panel discussion titled “Creating Collaborations that Make Stronger Libraries”. It was led by Daryl Grabarek, Contributing Editor of SLJ. The panelists included: Rachel Payne, Coordinator of Early Childhood Services at Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn NY, Susan Modak, Librarian, Montgomery Public Libraries, MD, Nicholas Higgins, Associate Director of Community Outreach at New York Public Library (NYPL) and Kathy Bennett, Library Lead Teacher at Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Each panelist discussed a project they undertook at their library. Rachel Payne assisted in creating a readiness program to help prepare children for Kindergarten. This was created from their initial Weekend Stories program which later became Ready Set Kindergarten. It includes a variety of literary and STEM activities that are geared towards preschoolers who are going to enter Kindergarten in the fall. Brooklyn Public Library also partnered with the NYCDOE Early Childhood Division and was able to obtain forms for Pre-K enrollment and provide assistance with these forms. Volunteer interns who were library science students and education students assisted with this program. Susan Modak created a program for teen moms and dads to educate them on the importance of early literacy and library use. She collaborated with local service organizations. They were taught techniques to share stories and songs with their children. They were even provided with free books to add to their home collection. Nicholas Higgins worked with prisoners and their children at several of the prisons at Riker’s Island. He led an early literacy awareness program for the fathers who were detained at Riker’s Island. At the end of the workshop, there was a day where children of these fathers were able to come and visit and the fathers created an audiotape of themselves reading a book to their children. Kathy Bennett runs a program called Limitless Libraries which connects the public libraries to the schools. Students can use their school ID cards to obtain materials and materials are delivered directly to the schools using their own transportation system. Teachers are also invited to take part in extended borrowing privileges.
After lunch we were invited to listen to Keynote Speaker, John Hunter. We were very interested in hearing about his World Peace Game. He created this life size game to teach his fourth grade students how to problem solve. There are 50 interconnected problems in this game. In order to solve these problems, the children must work together; one cannot solve the problems alone. He has done this program for 35 years.
There was a mini presentation about the MyLibraryNYC project. Since I am from one of the NYC public library systems, I was aware of this program. Lynn Lobash was the presenter and runs the MyLibraryNYC project. This project, similar to Limitless Libraries, links the school libraries and the public libraries. Teachers receive extended borrowing privileges and students had the opportunity to receive a special library card through the schools with a variety of privileges. They also have a shared catalog and children can order books from the public libraries that are delivered to their schools. This is a pilot project and is currently in 83 schools and 51 sites. Our schools do not have the shared catalog but we do provide books to participating schools.
Next was the Unconference portion or Think Tank of the event. Led by Kiera Parrott, Head of Children’s Services at Darien Public Library, Darien, CT. We met in groups to brainstorm a variety of topics. The topics included: School/Public Library Partnerships, Common Core, Early Learning Initiatives, Apps (incorporating technology), Rethinking the Physical Space (maker spaces, play spaces), Readers, Thinkers, Makers (Innovative Programs), Serving Kids with Special Needs and Librarians in the Wild (inspiring outreach).
Our group was Readers, Thinkers and Makers (Innovative Programs), led by Amy Koester, who has led some innovative programs herself. One such program was her Star Wars Day. She has more information on her blog about it @ showmelibrarian.blogspot.com. There was focus on programs for toddlers and preschoolers, school aged and teens. Some great program ideas for the littlest members of the library were: drive in movie (from Marge Loch Wouters @ tinytipsforlibraryfun.blogspot.com ) , transportation playtime, Dads and Donuts, New Years Eve Party and many more. For the school age children, some ideas were: Life Size Candy Land, March Madness for books and Lego Programs. For teenagers the program ideas included: Music Festival at or sponsored by the library, Ghost and Neighborhood Stories and Very Important Performers (can be used with school age children too). There were many more ideas. Please comment below on these ideas and include a link to your website if this was your idea. Amy Koester will have a more detailed post about this Think Tank session on her blog. If you have some innovative program ideas, please include your blog site in the comment section.
I also met some great librarians including: Marge Loch-Wouters, Melissa Depper, Amy Koester, Cecelia (sorry I forget her last name from Kings Library System in Washington State) and Renee Grassi. I got to listen to some great presenters such as: Pamela Sandlian Smith, the librarians from the Library Collaboration Discussion, John Hunter and Kiera Parrott. I met some others, but I am sorry if I forgot your name. It was a wonderful day and I would recommend it to other librarians.
If you have some innovative program ideas, please include your blog site in the comment section.
