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Featured books in the Southwest District of Iowa
Library Services
Professional Collection
For a complete list of our professional
books with links to reviews, see the main Professional
Materials page.
Celestial River: Creation
Tales of the Milky Way
By: Andrea Stenn Stryer
August House c. 1998
Teens always enjoy fantasy and myth. That’s exactly
what you’ll find in this book, “Celestial River: Creation Tales of the
Milky Way”. The book offers seven ancient tales about how the
Milky Way was created. Each story is from a
different culture:
Japanese, Greek, Navajo,
Australian Aborigine, Maori of
New Zealand, Toba Indians of
Argentina and the San
people of the Kalahari. There is a good variety of stories. Some of the
tales are stories of trickery others are stories of warmth and caring. All
of them will inspire imagination.
This book can be easily used for programming. Each
story opens with a paragraph that explains some of the cultural background
of the story. Then, the story itself is only a two or three pages long.
Your teens and tweens will all enjoy these fascinating tales.
Fiddle-Dee-Dee: Songs,
Stories & Activities
By: Jill Andrews and Linda Bair
Alleyside Press c. 2000
Fiddle-Dee-Dee: Songs, Stories &
Activities is by Jill Andrews
and Linda Bair. This book is full of storytime programs. But, you will find
one unique element to this book. All of the programs are based on
traditional
children’s songs.
There is material for 36 programs in this
book. Each program begins with the lyrics and music to familiar children’s
songs. Then you will be offered some interesting suggestions for setting the
scene, such as passing out
train tickets for the “New River Train” program or making flour
footprints around the room for “The
Muffin Man” program. There are activities, games and skill building
exercises for each program. There are even
bulletin board ideas.
The crafts are
especially fun. The children will love making their own train engineer’s hat
or a-tisket a-tasket basket. Every program has a craft and the masters for
photocopying are included. There are also masters for games such as a mouse
maze for “Hickory
Dickory Doc” and a tangram fox for “A Hunting We Will Go”.
Fiddle-Dee-Dee makes
storytime a lot easier. You’ll find just about everything you need for a fun
filled program right at your fingertips.
Succession Planning in the Library
Paula M. Singer with Gail Griffith
American Library Association c.2010
Succession Planning in the Library is a book that will help
you prepare for the inevitable changes in staff that occur in every library.
Whether the change is due to a director’s retirement, illness or a staff
member moving onto other endeavors the library can have a plan in place to
fill its needs.
This book helps you create a plan for succession. It
begins with staff changes. It explains how to identify key elements of each
position. It then guides you through how to prepare staff members to be able
to fill in for others as changes occur. The book, next, deals with preparing
for a director change. In the event of a sudden change others among the
staff will be prepared to step in and fill the gap. As for planned changes
such as a retirement the board will already know what steps they will take
for recruiting for the position.
This book will be useful to both directors and
boards. It is full of wisdom and insights that may not have occurred to you
previously. Use the helpful
risk assessment checklist to help identify needs for your particular
library. By preparing in advance and continuously for change transitions
can be made with little disturbance in services to the public.
U. S History Through Children's Literature:
From Colonial Period to World War II
By: Wanda J. Miller
Teacher Ideas Press c. 1997
Excite your Elementary and Middle School children with a
fun way to involve them in reading and book discussions. U. S. History
Through Children’s Literature is a program manual written for teachers but
easily adapted for library programs.
Here’s how it works. For each chapter there is a theme
about U. S. History from Native Americans to World War II, eight in all. The
Chapter opens with a brief introduction about the theme then introduces a book
for the theme. There are a few sentences about the book and a paragraph about
the author. The kids read the book themselves or you may read it as a group.
Here’s where the fun begins. To go along with each book
there are several activities such as finding the locations mentioned in the book
on a map, illustrating a scene from the book, or acting out a scene.
At the end of each chapter it is time to celebrate. The
Native American chapter includes recipes for a party. For the Exploration
chapter the children find out information about different explorers and hold a
presentation day. There are more recipes along with ideas for displays acting
and writing exercises. The kids will love the entertaining selection of books
and all of the activities that will bring them to life.
Organizing Friends Groups
Mark Y. Herring
Neal-Schuman c.1993
Have you ever thought of starting a Friends group for you library, but didn't
quite know where to begin? You may wish to start with the book Organize
Friends Groups by Mark Y. Herring. Herring started from scratch organizing a
Friends group. Now, he is sharing all of the knowledge he wishes he has known
before he began the process.
Author, Mark Herring takes you through the entire process of creating a
Friends group. He takes you from the first member all the way to planning and
publicizing major events. He begins with the basics such as finding interested
people for your group, setting membership fees and increasing membership. He
then advances onto how to plan, publicize and execute events, everything from
book sales to a dinner with a nationally known speaker. Throughout the process
Herring offers as much advice on what not to do as what works to create a great
organization. A Friends group can be an enormous help to the library. This book
has answers to many of your questions and can get you started.
Library Skills Activities Kit:
Puzzles, Games, Bulletin Boards and Other
Interest-Rousers for the
Elementary School Library
Jerry J. Mallett
Center for Applied Research in
Education, Inc. c.1981
Library Skills Activities Kit is a
book-load of ideas to teach library skills in fun and exciting ways in the
library. Each year students visit the library in groups or individually that
need to master the skills of using materials. In this book you will find more
than one hundred fun ways to introduce library skills.
Bulletin boards are always a great way to attract attention, but make them
interactive and let the learning begin. One bulletin board example features
sorting fiction titles printed on peanut shapes. Feed the peanuts to the
elephants on the bulletin board in the right order then check the answer key to
see if you are correct. Another is opening little doors to discover what is
behind the Dewey Decimal number
such as sports, travel and animals.
There is much
much more. The book includes many puzzle pages and activity pages that you can
hand out. There are also simple games for multiple players. The students will
love learning as they play the games and solve the puzzles. Arouse interest with
mobiles and other colorful displays. Let the children interest each other by
voting for their favorite books or telling the book character they would most
like to be.
All of the ideas in this book can be easily
put into action. Puzzle and activity pages are all ready to print out. Bulletin
boards and displays are made from easy to find material such as cereal boxes and
construction paper. There
are lots of illustrations and reproducible patterns to help you get going. With
the help of this book you will find many ways to encourage students to become
active users of their library. Using Children's Books in Preschool Settings
By Steven Herb and Sara Willoughby-Herb
Neal Schuman c.1994
Being exposed to books is essential for
young children to develop as good readers. The library setting and storytime can
be very beneficial to both children that have little exposure to books at home
and those that are read to often. In this book “Using Children’s Books in a
Preschool Setting” you will find a wealth of information from why to do
programs for the very young to how and what to present.
The book
begins by introducing you to the
developmental stages of children and what their needs are at each age
level. Knowing these stages helps significantly in selecting material for the
age group you are working with for the best benefit to the children. Knowing
that children begin to interact at 18 -36 months and by 48 months they know some
of their favorite book parts by heart is a very helpful aid.
The book
continues with information about how and what to present. There is a helpful Q&A
section that answers questions about presentation such as how to deal with a
disruptive child. There is a section of complete storytime plans that include
book suggestions, activities, rhymes and crafts all divided by age group. The
bibliography is extensive and is divided by theme.
You’ll find even more in this book: Literacy
support for the family, help for
working with special needs children, doing song and poetry programs and
more. You’ll be amazed how much useful information you will glean from this
book.Designing The Digital
Experience
By: David Lee King
Information Today c. 2008
In this book, "Designing the Digital Experience", author David Lee King helps
you to be able to create a web site that is exactly what your patrons are
looking for, quick and easy to use. But, Mr. King would like you to go even
further to create a whole digital experience. Creating a site that your patrons
will be able to enjoy using, find more than they expected, interact with others
and want to use again and again.
Mr. King guides you through the process of developing strategies for your web
site. You will find a model that takes you through the entire planning process.
The author offers many illustrations of excellent websites and explains why they
work so well. Also, included are ways for your patrons to communicate with you
and each other. This is what King calls creating a community. King explains how
this can be accomplished through social software such as blogs, wikis, Flickr,
videocasting and twitter with explanations of what these are and how they can be
used. The examples also illustrate ways to entice your patrons to linger longer
and find a reason for returning again. You will be able to develop a truly
memorable web site.
Start from scratch to build your web site. Or, learn ways to improve your web
site that you never thought of before. You will find a lot of valuable
information in this very readable book.
Crisis in Employment:
A Librarian’s Guide to helping
Job Seekers
By Jane Jerrard
American Library Association 2009
Helping job seekers has become a new role for
libraries. Job seekers are looking for computers with internet access.
They need education on basic
computer skills and to learn how to search job resources. Many need help
filing unemployment forms and job applications. There are even some that need
guidance because of limited literacy and English skills. “Crisis in
Employment: A Librarian’s Guide to Helping Job Seekers” is a great resource
for helping you provide service to the new influx of customers who are searching
for jobs.
This little book will be your guide. It helps you
realize what is needed to help job seekers. It explains ways to get the help
needed through partnering with other agencies or finding skilled volunteers to
teach in the library. There are guidelines for setting up classes and
suggestions of how to make the best use of you and your staff’s skills. Budgets
are limited and staff time is short, but in this book you will be able to
explore some no cost and low cost alternatives to serve your job seekers. You
will find some great insights by reading what other libraries around the country
have done for their community’s needs. Using this guide you will be able to plan
ahead and have your library and programs ready when they are needed the most.
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Stress Management
Pat Wagner
Cassette Tape --- Pattern Research c. 1996
SWILSA’s professional collection includes a set of cassette tapes by Pat
Wagner, nationally known speaker on improving workplace productivity. On this
tape, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Stress Management, Pat takes you through a
four part model for relieving personal stress in the workplace as well as in
your life.
Learn as Pat discusses her model for stress management. She will guide you
through her four topics step by step.
Prepare: Be ready to face the stresses as they come. Find a full hour to devote
to your personal health.
Respite: Every hour get up and move. Movement creates energy. Nibble on healthy
snacks to keep blood sugars even.
Healing: Talk through the big issues in your life with someone. It will help you
better cope with work pressures.
Prevention: Only promise what you have control over. Sometimes you’ll just have
to say, “No.”
Pat offers her own personal examples and insights as she explains how to
achieve each of the four parts of the model. This tape is a good way to begin to
develop a more stress free environment.
Mystery-Fold:
Stories to Tell, Draw, and Fold
By: Valerie Marsh
Alleyside Press c. 1993
Combine storytelling and
drawing for a unique story time
presentation. In this book, Mystery-Fold: Stories to Tell, Draw and
Fold you will be able to captivate the children’s attention with these
simple drawings that turn cleverly into a wonderful surprise picture.
The book includes 22
original stories. Each is less than a page in length and has its own draw and
fold pattern. As you read the stories you are given the instructions for each
line to draw step by step. At the end of the story fold the drawing and a new
surprise picture appears. In the story, What Jessica and Rachel Had, your
group must guess where the girls in the story live. By drawing lines and circles
your group will discover that the characters in the story live on a ship. But,
now the story asks “what didn’t the characters have”. When the ship drawing is
folded and inverted a swing set appears.
The children will find
these stories memorable. Being able to repeat a story and being able to tell the
sequence are skills children will need to develop when preparing to learn to
read and in school as they increase their reading skills. Here is a simple way
for your library program to help.
The Readers’
Advisory Guide to Nonfiction
Neal Wyatt
American Library Association c. 2007
Reading Nonfiction for entertainment as well as
learning is what the author of this book calls “Crossing the Dewey Divide”. This
describes the subject of the book very well. Discover that
reading nonfiction can be as compelling and enjoyable as fiction. Readers have
begun to want more of these
nonfiction books that read like a story. Using, The Readers’
Advisory Guide to Nonfiction you will be able to easily direct your patrons
to many enjoyable titles.
This book is laid out in an easy to use format. It is
divided into several major subjects of interest such as true crime,
true adventure, travel,
even cooking and sports. Others are historical biographies and memoirs. Each
chapter points out what there is about its subject that the fiction reader would
look for in these nonfiction subjects.
Possibilities are: high
tension, suspense, heart break, drama and humor. Each
chapter continues by including a full description of four or five of the
author’s choice picks for each subject. The format allows you to easily skip
around to find the information you need.
There is so much more you will find of interest in this
book. For instance: A Reader’s Advisory Matrix form for evaluating a book’s
qualities as entertainment reading, a bibliographical list of more title
suggestions and read-alikes, and a form
that will help you prepare annotations for books as a help aid for your patrons.
So, cross over the Dewey Divide and point your readers in a
new direction for their reading pleasure.
Working Together
James Swan
Neal-Schuman c. 1992
Working
Together
is a
great guide book especially created
for Librarians
and Trustees. This book clearly and easily
explains the roles of both trustees and
librarians. As each new trustee comes on
board this book would be very useful as part
of their orientations. It covers such topics
as: recruiting, policies, getting and
managing money, taking care of the
facilities,
public relations, how to resolve
differences and most of all teamwork. (Just
to name a few.) Everything that Librarians
and Trustees must deal with as they work
together.
You will find
that this book is user friendly. You can
easily look up your topic of interest:
hiring, orientations, evaluations, budget
and planning. You will also find some topics
that may be of new interest to you: reducing
expenditures, advice on
building projects, and keeping the
library visible to the community. The
chapters include help aids such as:
worksheets, checklists, applications,
evaluations and surveys. You will also enjoy
reading the experiences of other libraries;
both their successes and their failures.
This book
illustrates that when Librarians and
Trustees understand their jobs and their own
roles they will be able to work together
more effectively for their community.
Read For The Fun Of It
By: Caroline Feller Bauer
H. W. Wilson Co. c. 1992
We want our children to read. Not just for
their schoolwork. We want them to enjoy
reading and read often. In this book,
Read For the Fun Of It, you will find
many wonderful ways to inspire children to
read and appreciate books. This book
doesn’t just make suggestions It has the
actual stories, booktalks, Readers’
Theater, games and much more all ready for
you.
You will seldom find
a book with so much variety. The book
begins with instructions about how to
involve others to inspire reading:
community leaders, administrators,
and parents. It moves on to tell you of
different ways to capture children’s
attention through such methods as booktalks,
posters, games and storytime programs. Learn
more about storytelling and teaching
children to be storytellers. And, don’t miss
the section on encouraging children to enjoy
poetry. The “Playing With Books section” has
lots of quick and fun writing exercises to
help enjoy books in a different way. This
book includes graphics for flannelboards,
poster, and exhibits. You will be amazed how
much is included in the book.
Get ready to inspire
reading in the library, school or daycare
with the material included in this book. You
will be pleasantly surprised at how many
stories are included in this book along with
booktalks, funny poetry, and games. There
are even a couple of
magic tricks. Best of all, this book
will show you many new methods to get
children excited about reading.
Everyday Leadership
Pat Wagner
Cassette
Tape --- Pattern Research c. 1999
SWILSA’s
professional collection includes a set of
cassette tapes by Pat Wagner,
nationally known speaker on
personnel management.
On this
tape, Everyday Leadership, Pat
explains that Leadership should be found at
every level of a workplace not just at the
top. A leader is the person that inspires
others to do and be their best. A leader is
a person that sees what the future can be
and compels others to help them make it a
reality. A leader aspires to do their best
so those around them will want to do the
same.
In this tape
Pat Wagner will help you look for
leadership qualities and build them
in yourself. She helps you understand how to
guide others to be leaders, too. Pat offers
plenty of practical advice on how to grow
into a leadership role no matter what your
position is in an organization.
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Stop the Whining
Pat Wagner
Cassette: 1hour 10 minutes – Pattern Research c.
1999
SWILSA’s professional
collection includes a set of
cassette tapes by Pat Wagner, nationally
known speaker on personnel management. On this tape,
Stop the Whining, Pat offers her advice about
how to stop giving into ineffective complaining and
what to do to ask for what you want and get it.
Everyone could benefit
from the information Pat Wagner has to offer. In
this tape she takes you through many illustrations
of how to begin to turn your attitudes around. She
shows us how to make suggestions that will be
seriously considered. Instead of muttering that
nobody listens to your ideas Pat explains ways to
open a dialog to present ideas or even just find out
why an idea wasn’t considered. Pat demonstrates
techniques for how to handle criticism, both giving
and receiving. Using her techniques for criticism
can help avoid hurt feeling on both sides. These
are just a couple of the points she touches on. By
improving your positive influence you make it easier
for others to respond to you in a positive way.
By putting into
practice some of the advice on this cassette you may
find you can build better relationships with the
people around you.
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Jan. O9
Designs for Living and
Learning:
Transforming
Early
Childhood Environments
By Deb Curtis and Margie Carter
Redleaf Press c. 2003
In this book,
Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming
Early
Childhood Environment, you will find
dozens of colorful photographs of
learning centers. These creative spaces may
easily be set up in almost any setting: libraries,
daycares, and homes. Children learn so much from
their environment. When it is rich with things to
touch, sense, and experience their minds can grow
and expand. Setting up learning centers will greatly
help with this growth.
There are so many
illustrations of learning centers in this book.
There are simple ones that only take a minute to set
up. A silky scarf hung up for a touch and feel or
sea shells in a basket. But why not have some
fun. Set up a shadow center, a cozy reading nook, or
a dress-up corner. Want to get a little messy. See
how to set up a center for making new colors with
paint. For something more elaborate set up a tent or
actually build a framework for a play house. This
book has many wonderful ideas for you.
Don’t stop with just
one special space. This book encourages the use of
several different
learning centers around a room. Let the
children move from a building center with knobs and
tools to a writing and drawing center onto Centers
for discovery with bells or mirrors. There are even
centers for developing large
motor
skills such as tubes or boxes to crawls
through. According to this book more is better.
Setting up learning
centers can be as simple or elaborate as you like
but they are so very important to a child’s
development.
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The Complete Learning Spaces
Book for Infants and Toddlers
By: Rebecca Isbell and Christy Isbell
Gryphon House, Inc. c. 2003
The
Complete Learning Spaces Book for Infants and
Toddler is
filled to the brim with ideas and examples of how to
surround young children with an effective learning
environment. From the time children are born they
learn by examining and manipulating objects. This
book provides many examples of learning spaces that
can be created around a room for this purpose.
There are so many
wonderfully creative ideas in this book. For very
young children you can place a row of pictures along
the lowest part of the wall for viewing. Add a
blanket of different textures that will help them
begin to develop their touch. For children
beginning to move around a hanging ball to reach for
is fun. For mobile children create a push – pull
center, a construction space with blocks and
building items, hat and
shoe store spaces, even a shadow center. All
of these stimulate learning skills. There are more
than 50 great ideas complete with illustrations and
plans for construction when needed. The canopy over
a book area complete with cushions is very charming.
You will soon discover the impact of learning spaces
on children’s development.
This book shows you
so many creative learning spaces that can be easily
set up in libraries, daycares and homes. It explains
why these spaces are important and how they work.
It, also, includes a letter that can be sent home
with parents so they can understand that you are
trying to build learning skills in their children
and that they can, too.
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Nov. 08
Talking Hands
series
Colors and Shapes, Feelings and Emotions,
Home, Food, Seasons
By: Kathleen Petlinsek and E. Russell Primm
The Child's World c. 2005
The Talking Hands series
consists 5 colorful
little books. They introduce you to beginning
words in sign language and Spanish. The five
titles are Colors and Shapes, Feelings and
Emotions, Home, Food, and Seasons.
The format of these books is
very simple. On Each page there is a large color
photograph of an item such as a football, bed, or
leaf. Bedside each photograph is an illustration of
how to say the word using
American Sign Language. After the sign
language illustration you will find both the Spanish
and English word for the item on the page. This
format is easy for both adults and children.
The books are a great way
for you to start adding a few words of either sign
language or Spanish to your storytime programs.
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Storytime: Not Just For Kids Anymore
Multnomah County Library c. 2007
DVD 25 minutes + Discussion Guide
Children that are introduced
to the 6 Early Childhood Literacy Skills are prepared for school and learn to
read much more quickly. This DVD, Storytime: Not Just For Kids Anymore,
is a wonderful way to learn how librarians can use these skills in their
storytime programs and more importantly demonstrate the skills for parents.
If you are still wondering
about what each of the 6 skills are and how to use them in your program you will
find this DVD very helpful as well as entertaining. Each of the skills are
described in a short easy to understand way. You will get to watch how
different age groups of children respond during a storytime program. You will,
also, see librarians working with the children during their programs and hear
their comments.
It may be difficult at
first to include the parents in your story time program. But, parents want to
know how to carry on these skills at home. All that is needed are two or three
brief explanations to the parents about one of the skills at each program. You
will be introducing parents to what they can be doing to reinforce the skills
every day at home.
This DVD is a fun way to
learn about the 6 Early Childhood Literacy Skills and help build your confidence
to begin introducing the skills to parents and caregivers. So, spend just 25
minutes with this DVD and it’s support manual and you will be ready for your
next storytime program that includes material not just for children but their
parents, too.
Born To Succeed:
An Early Literacy Message From Young Parents
Multnomah County Library Early Childhood Resources
DVD - 10 minutes
Born To Succeed is a DVD that is only about 10
minutes long. It is a selection of parents offering their views about why
reading to small children is so very important.
On the DVD the parents bring out the following points:
Children will respond from the earliest age. You will find that reading time is
calming and soothing, a great bonding experience. Reading early begins to
develop the child’s learning skills. Reading early creates awareness and
recognition of the world around them. All of these parents believed that
exposing their children to books early would lead to more successful reading and
learning skills in the future.
This would be an excellent DVD to show to new parents. They
would be encouraged by the parents in the DVD to make reading to their babies
the highest priority.
Note: Southwest Library Services also has a copy of this DVD in Spanish, La
Llave Del Exito.
Pick Me Up! Fun Songs for Learning Signs
Publisher: Sign2Me c. 2003
Librarians have often used fingerplays in their childrens programs. Now try using
Baby signs. You will be able to help even the littlest children increase their
communication process. Physical movement as communication actually helps build vocabulary
with less frustration. Add music and its fun, too.
Pick Me UP! Fun Songs For Learning Signs is a music CD and
American Sign language activity guide. This book shows you how to incorporate Baby Signs,
in the form of American
Sign Language (ASL), and music into your storytime programs. The CD begins by
showing you how to prepare and use the songs and sign language with your group along with
the help of a full demonstration of one of the songs. The CD
includes 20 lively songs. And, you will find all of the lyrics in the book. There are
illustrations of how to do each of the signs that will be needed for a song. The
format of the book is laid out so you will know just when to use the signs during the
songs. Use them all or just a few. This book offers a great start
for anyone interested in adding Baby Signs to their Childrens programs.
One Hello At
A Time
Pat Wagner
Cassette: 30 minutes Pattern Research c. 1996
SWILSAs professional
collection includes a set of cassette tapes by Pat Wagner, Nationally know speaker on
personnel management. On this tape, One Hello At A Time, Pat Wagner offers an
abundance of information for her helpful version of networking. She offers ways to gain
help and advice from others and build long term productive relationships in the workplace.
Just by saying that first Hello and following some of Pats advice you may just find
that the next person you meet has the potential to be the most help to you.
Pat presents 5 simple points
for building relationships. She expands on them through her use of examples of
interactions with others so you can clearly understand how beneficial these points can be.
One of her points is: Listen carefully even to your enemies. Pat expresses the idea that
sometimes the people you get along with the least are more willing to be honest with you
than your friends that would rather protect you. Also, you may glean a lot of information
from those people that have a different point of view. Never cut the flow of information.
By putting into practice some
of the advice on this 30 minute cassette you may find you can build better relationships
with the people around you.
Leading
Kids to Books
With Caroline Feller Bauer
By: Caroline Feller Bauer
ALA/ Library Video Network 39Minutes
Caroline Feller Bauer, a long time storyteller and author of such
books as: Read for the Fun of It and Handbook for Storytellers, offers her best tips and
tricks to get children interested in books. In this video, filled with her charming
antics, she demonstrates what she does to capture and hold the interest of her audience.
Ms Bauers ideas are quick, easy and successful. Learn how to
make and use the simplest puppets. A mitt with eyes can be anything you want it to be from
a pig to a bear. Have you ever thought of using a dog biscuit box as a strolling puppet
theater? Learn a little juggling and a little magic. Even answering a telephone is a quick
trick to get a group quiet as they try to listen in. Whether she is doing a
childrens story hour with puppets or strolling through the library wearing a book in
her clear plastic apron pocket the focus is always on introducing books to children.
Read Aloud Now!
ALA Video / Library Video Network c. 1991
Read Aloud Now is a
little 13 minute video that quickly explains the reasons and ways for reading to a child
early. The video would work very well as a demonstration for new parents as well as
library staff to help them understand the benefits of young children having an early
connection with books.
The video offers many helpful
tips. There is advice for selecting books such as board books for
babies so they can handle them, selecting books with songs and rhymes to make the material
more memorable, and pop-up books to hold their attention. There are tips for
reading techniques, as well. The video suggests using a lot of expression and emotion
while you read and involving the child by asking, "What comes next." With all of
the tips and suggestions on this video parents and staff will get off to a good
start.
Videos are a fast and fun way
to learn. This video will help put Early Childhood Literacy techniques to work right away.
Library 2.0: A Guide To Participatory Library Service
By: Michael E. Casey and Laura C. Savastinuk
Information Today, Inc. c. 2007
Web 2.0 technologies such as Web
pages, Blogs, Instant Messaging, Wikkis, flickr and more are the tools that work towards
developing the Library 2.0 model for change offered in this book, Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service.
Library users are able to communicate exactly what they want from their library. Non-users
have an opportunity to express what they are looking for in services. Input can be
gathered from the entire staff. Their participation in turn helps develop change.
This book offers a plan for a constant
cycle of change. Using the ideas and comments gathered from the staff and the public the
library is able to implement the 3 step model to create a constant environment of change
and growth within the library. Step 1. Investigate: determines feasibility of an idea that
has been presented, Step 2. Planning: implements the service idea and creates a review
plan, Step 3. Review: analyzes and evaluates the service to determine if it should be
continued, modified or stopped. The book thoroughly explains how to put this plan into
practice.
There is one example of a library that
has 10 blogs accessible from its home page. One
blog is for the director. Others reach out to multiple interest groups in the community.
Also, there are blogs for discussion of books, music and technology. With the
participation that this technology generates the library will always be able to determine
the needs of their public and new directions for the library.
Lapsit Services for the Very Young: A How-To-Do-It Manual
By: Linda L. Ernst
Neal-Schuman c. 1995
Which is more important teaching the child or teaching the parent to
teach the child? According to Lapsit Services for the Very Young: A How-to-do-it Manual
the answer should be both. Tiny children are ready to learn at a tremendous rate. Offering
a program to infants and pre-toddlers helps them learn to focus their attention, increases
language development, and encourages motor skill development. Including parental
instruction shows the parent or caregiver how to continue this development at home. It is,
also, an encouragement to the parent with poor literacy skills of their own or for the
ones that English is not their fist language.
This book is a comprehensive guide for setting up a lapsit program
for parents and their little ones. It covers everything from the evaluation to decide if
such a program is needed to seeking other agencies that could partner with your program.
The book covers why the programs are important to both the child and the parent. It
explains fully what is needed for such a program: such things as space needs and a book
display for parental guidance material in the area. It discusses what types of music,
books, crafts, rhymes and finger plays are appropriate for this age group. Best of
all there are several full length programs to get you started.
You will be encouraging these families and young children to become
lifelong library users as they discover all the library has to offer.
Blogging and RSS: A Librarians
Guide
Michael P. Sauers
Information Today c. 2006
Blogging and RSS: A Librarians Guide is a great resource if you
are looking for further information about Blogs, Podcasting, RSS feeds, and Aggregators.
This book fully explains what blogs are and why blogging is useful to
libraries. There are explanations of how RSS feeds and aggregators are used.
The book offers great step by step instructions to get you up and going.
But, theres more. You can see what others are
doing. The book includes listings for many library blogs. Each listing has full
information describing the blog, its location and information about the blogger.
If you would like to start a blog for your library you will find a
lot of the help you need in this book.
Sizzling Summer Reading
Programs for Young Adults
By: Katharine L. Kan
ALA c. 1998
Sizzling Summer Reading Programs for Young Adults is a book filled
with programs that have been successfully used by libraries from across
the country. For each program there is a brief description of the program:
There is information about how teens were encouraged to participate,
incentives used and prizes given. Many of the descriptions explain how
the program received funding or where donations such as gift certificates came from.
Youll enjoy seeing the examples of the creative posters and tracking
sheets.
The librarians were very honest in their
descriptions. They explain things that didnt go as well as planned and things that
they would do differently next time. Of the 50 plus programs there are more
than just Summer Reading Programs. The book includes such programs as ones for Teen
Volunteers, Teen Advisory Boards, and Special Needs Teens.
This book will inspire a lot of bright new ideas as you plan all
of your programs for young adults this year.
Here are 2 more titles that may be helpful:
Summer Reading Program Fun: 10 Thrilling, Inspiring Wacky
Board Games for Kids
By: Wayne L. Johnson and Yvette C. Johnson
Running Summer Library Reading
Programs: A How To-Do-It Manual
By: Carole D. Fiore
The Library Managers Deskbook:
102 Expert Solutions To 101 Common Dilemmas
By: Paula Phillips Carson, Kerry David Carson, Joyce Schouest Phillips
American Library Association c. 1995
The Library Managers Deskbook is a book that any librarian would find
helpful. It offers concise authoritative advice on handling problems that occur in every
workplace. You will find brief (no more than a page) but thorough discussions of such
subjects as marketing, hiring, evaluations, termination and scheduling. Also, the tougher
subjects are discussed: workers compensation claims, natural disasters, safety in
the workplace, homeless patrons and violence. There are 101 problems presented each
followed by advice that will help prevent problems from escalating in the library or
legally.
This book is actually in 2 parts. The first part is the question and answer section
that helps you resolves problems that may have occurred. Part II of the book offers advice
on how to avoid these problems ever occurring. The quick read question and answer format
of this book helps you find the solutions you need fast and easily.
Defusing The Angry Patron:
A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians and Paraprofessionals
By: Rhea Joyce Rubin
Neal-Schuman c. 2000
Defusing the Angry Patron is an excellent guidebook for dealing with the public.
This book offers basic strategies for both avoiding angry situations from occurring and
for keeping a situation from escalating. You will also find exercises to help you evaluate
yourself. Are you a good a listener? Are you aware of your own anger tendencies? You will
find all of these tips and techniques to be a great help for both you and your staff.
A visibly upset patron enters the library. By greeting this patron in a friendly manner
and being the first to speak you are the one to set the tone of the conversation to
follow, friendlier and calmer. Its simple strategies like this one that can make a
big difference in how the public views you and the library.
Preparing Staff to Serve Patrons With
Disabilities
Courtney Deines-Jones and Connie Van Fleet
Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc c. 1995
Our libraries are meant to serve everyone. Yet, are you and your staff prepared to deal
with patrons that have disabilities and may need more than the usual amount of service? Preparing
Staff to Serve Patrons With Disabilities is a book that will help teach librarians
to serve their non-traditional patrons with confidence.
The book has a lot to offer. It gives examples of how to approach patrons with
disabilities without embarrassing them or yourself. It explains how to offer an
orientation that will present your special services to those that need them. It explains
how to use signage and maps for the hearing impaired. In general, this book provides tips,
resources and procedures that staff can use to help provide service to all of their
patrons.
According to this book one in every five people in the U.S. have problems performing
daily activities without help. This book will help you discover what is needed to provide
the best service for this portion of your population.
Against Borders
By: Hazel Rochman
ALA c. 1993
Hazel Rochman grew up in South Africa under apartheid where "public"
libraries were for whites only. She and her husband once buried banned books in their
Johannesburg yard for fear of discovery by police. An assistant editor for ALAs Booklist
for many years, Rochman has lived as an immigrant in the United States since 1972 and a
naturalized citizen since 1982. Her background lends a certain passion to her discussion
of multiculturalism.
She begins her discussion with a caution: "Multiculturalism is
a trendy word, trumpeted by the politically correct with a stridency that has provoked a
sneering backlash. There are P.C. watchdogs eager to strip from the library shelves
anything that presents a group as less than perfect." She jokes about changing her
name to Hazel Rochperson and points out that the backlash she speaks of is a tendency to
ignore the real issues of prejudice. So she doesnt shy away from stories of
cross-cultural romance, the hurtful side of friendship, the real tensions in family life,
and heroes from many cultures versus the monster inside us all of us.
Young people enjoy reading about those like themselves, but they also want to read
about how other people live and think. The simplest goal of multiculturalism is to get to
know other peoples. As Rochman says about her life in South Africa, "I didnt
know anything about most of the people around me. And because of that I didnt know
what I could be." And knowing what one can be is a major young adult interest.
The bulk of Against Borders is devoted to reviews of multicultural books that
deal with themes that young adults will appreciate: "The Perilous Journey"
reviews books about a kind of quest -- about getting out and getting away, about freedom;
"Outsiders" suggests books that deal with the sometimes conflicting needs for
identity and community; and "Finding the Way Home" reviews autobiographies and
memoirs that tell of crucial choices, big discoveries, and transformed lives.
The second half of the book lists resources useful in understanding promoting
multiculturalism. Rochman lists favorite fiction, nonfiction and video selections on
racism, ethnic identity in the U.S., and life in foreign countries.
This book is inspiring as well as useful. It would be a great place to begin planning
any multicultural program for young adults.
Review by: Susan Gruber
What Happened to Marions Book?
By: Brook Berg
Upstart c. 2003
Marion drips jelly on the very first book she ever checked out of the library. When she
tries to find one of her own books to replace it she discovers she has not been taking
very good care of any of her books. In, What Happened to Marions Book, Marion
the hedgehog learns important lessons about the care and use of library books. With this
book you will be able to help the children in your story group learn these same lessons
right along with Marion.
A lesson plan booklet is included with the storybook. Use the material in the booklet
to extend your book care story into a full program. The booklet also includes reproducible
masters such as a coloring page. This book is a fun way to introduce young children to the
care and use of library material.
Shelf Elf
With Library Lessons
By: Jackie Mims Hopkins Illustrated by: Rebecca Thornburgh
Upstart c.2004
Shelf Elf With Library Lessons is a colorful and whimsical storybook that teaches
library behavior and book care. Skoob the Shelf Elf would like to tell the children that
visit the library all about his job in the library. He tells the children about the
library and then offers lessons in a rhyming text. His first lesson is how to use shelf
markers so the books are put back where they belong.
Along with the Shelf Elf storybook there is a lesson plan booklet. Use the material in
the booklet to extend your book care and library behavior story into a full program. The
booklet also includes reproducible masters such as a coloring page. This book is a fun way
to introduce young children to the care and use of the library and its materials.
Readers Advisory Service In The Public
Library, 2nd Edition
By: Joyce G. Saricks and Nancy Brown
American Library Association c. 1997
Readers advisory is the service of helping your patrons find the books they are
most interested in reading. It goes beyond basic genre such as mystery, romance and
adventure. It is determining what your patron truly enjoyed about the book and then being
knowledgeable enough about the books available to help your patron make a selection.
Several patrons may read the same book but each may be finding something different that
they enjoyed about the book. Some may enjoy a book for its accurate historical background
while another enjoys it for its witty dialog and cares little for its historical interest.
One person may enjoy a book because of its exotic location another may enjoy it because it
is set specifically in Egypt and no other exotic locations are of interest to them. Readers
Advisory Service In the Public Library is a book that will help you learn how to
determine what your patron is really looking for in a book.
This book is a great tool for readers advisory. It explains thoroughly the areas
to look for in a book that will appeal to patrons. It then describes how to conduct an
effective interview with the patron so that you can determine which of these areas of
appeal the patron really wants to find in their next book. Next, the book offers resources
where you will find descriptions of the books now in publication. You will also learn
about writing annotations for the books and about giving booktalks. When these are done
well your patrons will want to pull the book off the shelf and read it immediately.
There is a wealth of information in this little book. Readers advisory is
something librarians attempt to do for their patrons every day. With the help of this book
you will find ways to be much more effective in helping your patrons find the books they
are truly pleased to be reading.
The Copyright Primer:
For Librarians and Educators, Second Edition
Janis H. Bruweilheide
American Library Association and National Education Association
c 1995
The Copyright Primer is an overview of copyright law as it pertains to libraries,
school libraries, media specialists and classroom educators. You can be held responsible
for copyright violations therefore, it is in your best interest to have a good
understanding of the law.
This little book clearly explains the points of copyright law that are most important
to libraries. Such things as Interlibrary loan of books and magazines, photocopying by
staff or patrons, making copies from computers, use of sheet music, graphics and showing
of videos. It explains what rights libraries have concerning "fair use" and
"public performance" according to the law.
The format of the book is very nice. An explanation of the law is followed by a
question and answer section for clarification of the law. A section of actual court cases
reveal how easy it is to break copyright law and how costly it can be. There is a helpful
section that offers wording that may be used for writing copyright policies for your own
library. There is also an example of a letter asking permission to make copies to go to
the owner of material. This book makes it easy for you to understand your rights and
determine if your library is complying completely with the copyright laws.
Blueprint for your Library
Marketing Plan:
A Guide to help you Survive and Thrive
By Patricia H. Fisher and Marseille M. Pride
ALA c. 2006
Todays library is in fierce competition for both customers and funding. Blueprint
for your Library Marketing Plan offers a step by step technique to help Librarians put
together and present their best case to those that are able to offer funding and attract
customers.
Now that youve gathered data about your community its time to put it to
work. With the help of this book you will be able to decide what is most needed for your
library, how to create a workable plan and put it into effect. You will find help aids
such as forms worksheets and quick start tips. There are several examples from actual
libraries so that you can see what others have achieved.
The authors feel that if you are able to select a single project, present how it will
be carried out from start to finish and show the impact on the community that you will
find that those controlling the funding will be much more receptive to your needs. The
same is true of presenting new services to the public. As you plan for your library this
book will guide you through every step to better help you in your battle for funding or
creating awareness of library services.
Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library:
Partnering With Caregivers For Success
By: Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz
American Library Association c. 2006
Turn your story times into early literacy learning tools for children and their
parent/caregivers. Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library: Partnering With Caregivers
For Success is a storytime source book and so much more. This book presents many
wonderful storytime programs. Each program includes songs, rhymes, activities, crafts and
story titles. What is unique about these programs are that they include two other
elements: Teaching aids for you to pass along to parent/caregivers and teaching
instructions to help children develop reading skills.
You will find much information about how small children develop and how their future
reading and learning skills depend greatly on what they learn in their first 5 years. One
study tells that knowing the alphabet at the beginning of kindergarten is a good indicator
of a better reading ability in the tenth grade. Make the most of your story times by
including one or more of the 6 skills referred to in this book. This can be as easy as
teaching the children the sound for "M" (phonics skill) and showing them what
the letter looks like (letter knowledge skill) during a program such as the one called
Messy Mouse.
Within each program you are offered the opportunity to present helpful tips to
parents/caregivers that will educate them in ways to help their children to continue
learning reading skills at home. The tips are included in the program. The actual wording
to use is included as well as when to present the information.
Storytimes have always encouraged children towards a desire to read. Now, with the
guidelines in this book storytime will help build the skills they need to learn to
read.
Flannelboard Stories for Infants and Toddlers:
Bilingual Edition *
By: Ann Carlson and Mary Carlson
American Library Association c. 2005
As the Hispanic population grows you may begin to find storytimes include a blended
group of both English and Spanish speaking children. There has become a greater need for
language appropriate materials for young children. Flannelboard
Stories for Infants and Toddlers: Bilingual Edition has 33 phrases, words, chants,
and rhymes in both Spanish and English for children between 12 and 30 months.
Using the detailed instructions, which are also bilingual, you will be able to make
your own flannelboard and a set of flannelboard characters from the full size reproducible
drawings. Also included are tips for storing pieces for future programs. The index
includes theme headings for convenience in putting together special programs such as
colors, cleaning or monkeys
Gato, perro, pato cat, dog, duck. Whether you say it in English or Spanish
youll enjoy using this beginner book to introduce a love of reading for all of the
children at your library.
Amazingly Easy Puppet Plays:
42 New Scripts for One-Person Puppetry
By: Dee Anderson
American Library Association c. 1997
Amazingly Easy Puppet Plays is a wonderful selection of puppet plays to use for
Library story hours. There are 42 plays that will have your group giggling out loud. The
book has a wide variety of stories. There are some old favorites like Brer Rabbit tales, a
group of fractured fairy tales, holiday stories and many more that will be new to you.
Best of all are the 10 plays about books, reading and libraries. Youll want to try
"Space Creatures Meet Mother Goose". What a great way to introduce children to
the library.
The book offers everything you will need to do a puppet play. The skits are short and
one person can easily do them by them self. If props are needed they are simple to find or
create. There are instructions for making simple puppets as well as a complete diagram for
creating a simple puppet theater. With the presentation instructions included even a
novice can put on a smile winning performance.
See the puppets available for loan from SWILSA
http://www.swilsa.lib.ia.us/collections/Storytelling.htm#puppets
Using the Internet as a Reference Tool:
A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians
By: Michael P. Sauers
Neal-Schuman c. 2001
The Internet can be a valuable reference aid if used wisely. Using the Internet
as a Reference Tool will help teach you the skills you need to discern which sites
have legitimate value.
Each aspect of reference searching is explained in a clear concise manner. There are
helpful exercises at the end of each section to help you practice what youve
learned. Most helpful of all is the brief discussion of the results of each exercise.This
book and the exercises will help you develop the following skills:
*Increase your skill using the Internet.
*Evaluate electronic resources.
*Exam specific elements of a web site.
*Create a Web-based reference page for your library.
*Discover differences between search engines and directories.
*Create a ready reference for complex search strategies.
Fold and Cut Stories
By; Jerry J. Mallett and Timothy S. Ervin
Alleyside Press c. 1993
Fold and Cut Stories is a great resource for your library story time. There are
16 one-page stories. Each of the stories includes a simple cutting diagram. Just fold a
sheet of paper, snip out different shapes that correspond with the story, unfold the paper
and surprise the ending to your story is revealed. The children will be able to remember
the sequence of the story and you will easily hold their attention throughout these
interesting stories.
Creating Ever-Cool:
A Marketers Guide to a Kids Heart
By: Gene Del Vecchio
Pelican Publishing c. 2002
Wouldnt it be wonderful if children wanted to visit the library as much as they
wanted to visit the toy store? Creating Ever-Cool: A Marketers Guide to a
Kids Heart may be exactly the source needed for understanding what captures and
holds the attention of most kids.
The author, Gene Del Vecchio, is a nationally recognized expert on youth marketing. He
has worked with companies such as Mattel and Disney and knows what appeals to kids most.
In this book he shares his expertise showing how successful marketers continue to be
successful year after year. He has gleaned much information for studies about children and
the results are quite surprising.
Del Vecchio explains that once you have found something that appeals to children you
must continue to seek ways to keep it fresh and innovative. This is what he calls
"Ever-Cool. Creating Ever-Cool in libraries could be just the thing to make libraries
as popular as toy stores.
The Reading Connection:
Bringing Parents, Teachers and Librarians Together
By: Elizabeth Knowles and Martha Smith
Libraries Unlimited, Inc. c. 1997
The Reading Connection: Bringing Parents, Teachers and Librarians Together
describes how to set up a book club to discuss childrens literature. The book takes
you through a simple planning process covering everything from selecting the moderator and
book selections to publicity and evaluation.
The bulk of the book is taken up with a wonderful guide to the genre that interest most
children. Each section includes a brief discussion of the genre, questions to help
evaluate the material, an article or two from national magazines that discuss the subject
and a bibliography. Librarians will find this section very helpful for all of their
patrons as well as for the book club
Parents are very concerned about the material available to their children and they wish
to guide their children to good choices. A book club is a fun and interesting way to help
parents become knowledgeable guides to literature for their children.
Working With Library Boards:
A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarian
By: Gordon S. Wade
Neal-Schuman c. 1991
Working With Library Boards is a guide for developing more effective
relationships between library directors and their boards. This book is a good resource for
defining the duties of a board and understanding the extent of their powers. The tips and
techniques in this book help you through every aspect of your board meetings from
presentations to taking minutes. In this book the author, Gordan Wade, uses some of his
own personal experiences to illustrate problems that may occur and effective ways of
handling them.
This book will help directors develop more successful relationships with their boards.
Together, director and board, will be able to present a united leadership to city
officials and the community.
Paper Cutting Stories From A to Z
By: Valerie Marsh
Alleyside Press c. 1992
A-B-C and snip, snip, snip. Paper Cutting Stories From A to Z is full of
unique stories for your library story time. Each story highlights a letter, one for each
letter of the alphabet. As you tell the story you will be cutting out an object that is
the solution to the story. In story "A" you will cut out an apple
shape while you tell the story about how Audrey goes to Aunt Alices
auction and buys an iron apple that turns out to be a treasure.
Cutting the simple patterns will hold the childrens attention as you tell the
story. Each story is about 1 page long and there is a full-size cutting pattern for each
story. The children will be fascinated with this simple storytelling technique.
Teaching the Internet in Libraries
By: Rachel Singer Gordon
American Library Association c. 2001
There are many people in your community that have little or no experience using
computers. They are unable to gain access to the "Internet" and its resources or
to the subscription databases that are available in your library. Setting up classes to
teach these skills will be a service that your community will appreciate. Teaching
the Internet in Libraries offers a heads-up on what you need to consider to have a
successful Internet training program.
This book will help you set up your entire program. It discusses outlining your
program. How to select and train your trainers. It instructs you how to set up sessions
for a variety of groups. It discusses how to create the training aids you will need such
as handouts and "cheat sheets. There are handouts and forms already prepared for your
convenience. You will even find a number of arguments to help convince your administration
of the importance of an Internet training program.
When beginning any new project it is easy to overlook some important aspects. The
author has included examples of programs in other libraries. Their success and innovations
will help you to prepare a successful program for your own library.
Lets Build!
A Program Manual Celebrating Construction in the Library
Written by Tami Chumbley and Illustrated by Crystal Kehoe
Provided by the State Library of Iowa
in cooperation with North Central Library Service Area
Lets Build! is a unique 2 in 1 manual. It is a building project
promotional manual and a childrens program manual.
As a childrens program manual: Lets Build!
uses the theme of building for a childrens program. It is designed very much like a
summer reading program. There are games, crafts, songs, fingerplays, and snacks. Imagine
serving snacks form a toy dump truck. There are reproducible bookmarks, craft masters,
lettering, clip art and book suggestions all using the building theme. Indoor and outdoor
activities that will interest all of your age groups. What fun they will have with
hammers, saws and trucks.
As a building project promotional manual: Every building
project needs to be advertised. Lets Build! has wonderful eye-catching
graphics to use for decorations, signs and brochures. There are lots of bulletin board and
display ideas. Wouldnt it be fun to put your brochures in a carpenters toolbox
that the children had made?
This book is just right for libraries that are planning to build, remodel or just
replace the carpeting. It will help you promote your project and will also get children
involved in the changes that are going on at their library.
You may acquire your own copy from the State Library of Iowa. Go to the
following website for an order form: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/youth-services/construction.html
Books Babies and Libraries:
Serving Infants, Toddlers, Their Parents & Their Caregivers
By: Ellin Greene
American Library Association c. 1991
Books Babies and Libraries by Ellin Greene offers a wealth of information about
bringing young children and books together in the library. The author explores some major
studies that agree that early exposure to books and reading are the boost that children
need to do well in school and enjoy a lifelong love of reading.
This book explains how to set up early literacy programs. Programs are for each age
group from the tiniest on their parents lap to the preschooler. There is an emphasis on
programs for parents and caregivers, too. The author believes that when you affect the
parent you affect the child. The storytime program and parent program material include
outlines, presentation suggestions, and lists of books to use. There are samples of take
home sheets for parents and evaluations for the staff. Youll find much of the help
needed to begin or expand an early literacy program.
Although this book has much to offer as a program planner it goes way beyond this task.
It explains the psychology and reasoning for early learning. It includes a section about
networking with other agencies to reach more children. There are several models for early
childhood centers. The wide range of information in this book creates an awareness of the
importance of library programs that serve the librarys youngest users.
Videos available: Libraries Are For Babies Too, Born to Read, Born To
Succeed, Read Aloud Now.
One-Person Puppet Plays
By: Denise Anton Wright
Teacher Ideas Press c. 1990
Use puppets for your next story time and you will have the undivided attention of your
young audience. One-Person Puppet Plays makes it easy to get started. There
are scripts, patterns and presentation suggestions that will help you delight the
children.
The scripts in this book are very diverse, 30 in all. There are traditional folk tales
such as The Lion and the Mouse. There are holiday stories that include Santa
Cures a Cold. Giggle over the "just for fun stories" like The
Elephants Sneeze. Our favorite scripts are the ones especially for libraries. The
Case of the Disappearing Books would be a great one to try.
Patterns for the puppets and puppet stages are included. The patterns for the puppets
are simple and will be easy for both adults and children to put together. A stage is not
necessary but if you would like to use one there are instructions for creating different
types.
Give puppets a try. The children will love meeting your puppet buddies and hearing
their stories.
The Board Evaluation Kit
and
The Executive Evaluation Kit
Published by: Cain Consulting Group c. 1998
The Board Evaluation Kit provides you with all the material your board will
need to conduct a self-evaluation. Its quick, easy and will have long lasting
results.
This little manual has step-by-step instructions for preparation, the actual
questionnaire, sheets for compiling the results and an explanation of how to use the
information from the evaluation.
I especially liked the format of the questionnaire. There is a brief question followed
by a choice of three answers: Very Good, Adequate, or Needs Improvement. Most of the
questions include an explanation of what standards would be expected of any board. Finally
a space is provided for comments.
Now that youve finished your Board Evaluation consider using The Executive
Evaluation Kit for the Library Directors evaluation. Its in the same
easy to use format as The Board Evaluation Kit.
Writing and Updating Technology Plans:
A Guidebook with Sample Policies on CD-ROM
John M. Cohn, Ann L. Kelsey, and Keith Michael Fiels
Neal-Schuman c. 1999
What makes a good and not so good technology plan? Thats what youll find
out in
chapter 7 of Writing and Updating Technology Plans. This book will be
your guide to putting together a really good plan that will help you successfully
implement your technology improvements, secure funding and make a real difference to your
users.
Technology Plans are a helpful tool for making long range plans for your library. They
are also mandatory for securing funding from sources such as E-rate. This book shows you
how to write all of the basic components of the technology plan. It explains where to
gather the data, how to identify your needs now and for the future, and then put it into a
format that will show why these items are important to future progress in the library.
Once you have developed your plan you will also learn how to continually evaluate it
and keep it current.
There is an added bonus with this book. It includes a CD of sample Technology Plans to
help you by seeing what others have written. There are plans from both large and small
libraries.
Whether you are writing your first Technology Plan or evaluating an existing one this
book will help you make it a good one.
The Librarians
Facility Management Handbook
By: Carmine J. Trotta and Marcia Trotta
Neal-Schuman Publishers c. 2001
Maintenance and daily operations of the library building are as
important as maintaining your collections. The Librarians Facility Management
Handbook has made a daunting task easier, even fun, by providing checklists, forms
and guidelines to help you take care of your facility. This book brings up many areas of
maintenance you may not have considered before. Whether it concerns controlling energy
cost, safety of your patrons, insurance or who is responsible for replacing the paper
towels you can be prepared.
The idea of the book is to help prevent major problems before
they occur. But, when problems do occur you will be ready. You will already have your
plans made and be able to handle all problems quickly and efficiently.
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The Librarians
Guide To Partnerships
Edited by Sherry Lynch
Highsmith c. 1999
The Librarians Guide To Partnerships introduces
you to the idea of joining together with other organizations and agencies to enable the
library to offer a greater range of services. Meet the Broward County Library System staff
and see how they have used Partnerships to expand their resources and help them meet the
needs of their community.
In this book Broward County Library System, Florida shares
their experiences with partnerships. Each partnership is thoroughly described. Of the
selected cases you will see how each partnership came about and how it was developed to
each groups satisfaction. You will see how problems were resolved as they came up.
Get a chance to learn from others mistakes as the Broward County Library System
staff explains what they would have done differently.
The book provides practical information for libraries just
beginning the process of developing community partnerships and new ideas for libraries
that are already experienced collaborators.
--Also in the SWILSA
collection: Serving Families and Children Through Partnerships--
Communicating
Professionally
(A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians)
By: Catherine Sheldrick Ross and Patricia Dewdney
Neal-Schuman Publishers c. 1989
Is it time to present new information to
your City Council or Board? Do you feel you are able to get your points across in a clear
and persuasive manner? Communicating Professionally: A How-To-Do-It Manual For
Librarians is the perfect tool for building your confidence in any speaking or
writing situation.
You will be surprised how easy it is to refine
your speaking, writing, and listening skills by using this book. The book is written in an
easy to use manner. Each concept is clearly and quickly explained. There are excellent
examples of proper application for each concept. Also included are fun exercises for
perfecting the techniques you learn along the way.
The book covers a great variety of situations
from one on one conversations to speaking before a large assembly. It covers booktalks,
reference interviews, handling problem patrons, introducing speakers and so much more.
This book offers quick practical advice to help
you prepare for the ever increasing need of the library professional to be an effective
communicator.
Story Puzzles:
Tales in the Tangram Tradition
By: Valerie Marsh
Allyside Press c. 1996
Story Puzzles: Tales In The Tangram Tradition uses
geometric puzzle pieces to create pictures to illustrate their stories. Its a fun
way to capture and hold the attention of any age group as you present your story.
This author goes beyond the ancient Chinese tangram of 7
geometric shapes and adds a few with curves for variety. Now, just by moving the shapes
around youll be able to create pictures to go along with the stories. Even add a
little action with the movable pieces.
The book has a variety of stories. 22 tales of folklore,
legends, science and history. Each story is accompanied by a layout showing exactly where
to place each puzzle piece and when it is to be moved. The pattern for all the pieces is
ready to copy and cut out. No guess work, just lots of fun. Make lots of extra copies the
children will want to make up their own stories with the puzzle pieces.
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Celebrations
By: Caroline Feller Bauer
H. W. Wilson c. 1984
You will have so much fun with this book. Celebrations
by Caroline Feller Bauer is filled with the most unique ideas for observing holidays. OH
MY, is National Nothing Day a real holiday? No, but the kids will enjoy celebrating it
anyway.
All of the 16 traditional and non-traditional celebrations are
complete ready-to-go programs and will work well for several age groups. Each program
offers one or two full-length stories, funny poetry, treats, activities, crafts and jokes.
To help expand the program there are writing exercises. A few extras are thrown in, too.
There are bulletin board ideas and photocopy ready bookmarks for each theme. Finally there
is an extensive booklist at the end of each chapter that will round out your program.
Try celebrating Pigmainia, the Art of Art or Tantalizing
Television. Oh, what fun youll have using these fresh new childrens programs.
How to Do "The Three
Bears" with Two Hands:
Performing with Puppets
By: Walter Minkel
American Library Association c. 2000
Now that you have a puppet what do you do next? How to Do
"The Three Bears" with Two Hands: Performing with Puppets explains many
techniques for using puppets to tell a story and capture childrens imaginations.
Its filled with wonderful how-to information from voices and actions, scenery and
props to script writing and stage building.
This book not only teaches you how to perform but also includes
five complete scripts. It has The Three Little Pigs, Who the Squonk?, Coyote
and the Galloping Rock, The Magic Knapsack, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Sorry, The Three Bears isnt really included. As a special bonus the author has
included the plans and directions for building 2 styles of portable stages.
Add a new dimension to your storytelling by using puppets with
pizzazz!
Note: See the list of puppets available for loan from the SWILSA
office under "Storytelling
Resources"
Physical Fun For Little
Ones
Iowa Department of Education c. 2001
Put some motion into your storytime. Physical Fun For Little
Ones enables children to be active participants during a story not just listeners.
This book has physical activities for songs, rhymes, and
literature. The kids will love playing Box Leapfrog with the book Jump Frog Jump by
Robert Kalan or just sitting on their lily pads. How about under the table and between the
chairs obstacle course to go along with Rosies Walk by Pat Hutchins. My
favorite is bear exercises for Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle.
Each theme has multiple activities to choose from. Some are very energetic for large
spaces like leaping and scooting. Other activities are meant only for small spaces such as
stretching up high while sitting or quiet fingerplays.
There are many many other activities and suggestions besides
the ones for themes. There are even no-cost and low cost manipulatives that you can
make using materials on hand and the photocopy masters included in the book.
Youll love browsing this book with its wealth of ideas.
Give it a try for Summer Library Programs. Skip, scoot, spin, rock, jump, stretch, twirl,
twiddle, leap,
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Literate Beginnings:
Programs For Babies & Toddlers
By: Debby Ann Jeffery
American Library Association c. 1995
Boing boing squeak and thump crunch flap! Its storytime
for babies and toddlers. Get lots of help preparing programs using Literate Beginnings:
Programs for Babies & Toddlers.
This book is filled with 52 full programs that are adorable and
fun. Each program has songs, actions, fingerplays, and storybook lists. The themes are
widely varied from Teddybears and Trains to singing Old MacDonald had a Dragon for a
Chinese New Year Theme.
Learning begins at birth. So if youre considering
programming for babies and toddlers this book will help you with a wealth of programs and
programming ideas.
Something
Funny Happened at the Library
How to Create Humorous Programs for Children and Young Adults
by Rob Reid
American Library Association c. 2003
Something Funny Happened at the Library offers
just what is needed to capture childrens attention and tickle their funny bone.
Author Rob Reid has provided his favorite strategies for humor.
He gives samples that can be used to set the mood for your program. His face exercises are
sure to get everyone giggling. He has provided several complete humorous programs, for
different age groups, that he has used successfully. And finally he has included a
bibliography of his favorite humor stories and authors to help you develop your own core
collection.
Make kids laugh and youll be creating a positive
connection for them with the library. As Mr. Reid says in one of his raps from the section
on Raps and Closings: I say-say slide on down to the library.
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What a Novel Idea!
Projects and Activities for Young Adult Literature
By: Katherine Wiesolek Kuta
Teacher Ideas Press c. 1997
What a Novel Idea has some wonderful ideas for
expanding any Young Adult (ages 11-18) reading program. These fun exercises should catch
the interest of the teen and help them develop a deeper appreciation for the material they
read. The book has 60 different activities directed at helping young adults become more
literate as readers writers and speakers.
These activities were originally designed for the classroom but
are easily adapted for the library. Have fun making a mobile of a books characters,
designing their own book jacket, or describe the book in the form of a letter to a friend.
There are more in-depth projects also such as dramatizing, writing a new ending to the
story and exploring the personalities of the characters. Each project is adaptable for any
novel. There are instructions, reproducible activity sheets and even tips on evaluation.
You will enjoy helping the teens explore books in new and creative ways.
Library Volunteers Worth the Effort
A Program Managers Guide
By: Sally Gardner Reed
McFarland and Co. Inc. c. 1994
Volunteers can be your biggest help or your biggest headache. The
author of Library Volunteers Worth the Effort feels a library without
volunteers is missing out on a great asset. By following this helpful guide for recruiting
and organizing a volunteer group you can eliminate much of the headache. Your library will
benefit not only from extra help but also from community support that comes only from
people that truly believe in the importance of the library.
This book can help you take a new look at your approach to
volunteers. It covers issues such as recruitment, training, and evaluation. There are
samples of applications, advertisements, press releases, job descriptions as well as
skills and aptitude tests. It even discusses the "Problem" volunteer. Everything
you need to create a volunteer group that will greatly enhance the quality of your
library.
Attracting, Educating, and
Serving Remote Users Through the Web:
A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians
By Donnelyn Curtis
Neal-Schuman c. 2002
Libraries have been serving remote users for years but the
librarys main focus has always been on the onsite user. As more and more people want
to access their information from home, work and school it is time to start making these
remote users welcome.
Attracting, Educating and Serving Remote Users Through the Web
guides you through several areas that will help you create the best sources for your
remote users. A few of these are developing a user friendly web site, providing
instruction to remote users, providing electronic reference service, and authorizing use
of licensed resources. There is also a section on fundraising and public relations to help
provide the services.
This book is a wonderful resource to help you understand what
your library needs to do to serve a clientele that is never seen.
Fifty Fabulous Fables:
Beginning Readers Theatre
By Suzanne I. Barchers
Teacher Ideas Press c. 1997
Choose a script and let the children help tell the story.
Thats what Fifty Fabulous Fables has to offer. Each of the fifty stories are in
script format ready to be copied and handed out to your actors. The stories have been
separated into reading levels for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
grades. You will find this book may also be used for a flannelboard or puppet
presentation. It makes an interesting change for storytime.
You will find many familiar stories such as The Lion and the
Mouse and The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs. But, there are many of the fables that will
be new to you like The Bat The Birds and the Beasts, The Kid and the Flute Playing Wolf,
and The Belly and the Members of the Body.
Enjoy using this book to add some new story material to your
Storytime programs this year.
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Storybook Birthday
Parties
by Cindy Dingwall
Alleyside Press c. 1998
Happy Birthday to you! Storybook Birthday Parties
has 30 complete programs that will help you host a party for your favorite storybook
characters. The children will love this unique storytime idea.
The book includes songs, games, projects, activities and a list
of titles to go along with each theme. There are full size masters included for the craft
projects. There are also lots of helpful suggestions for presenting the programs.
Have fun presenting programs that center around such memorable
characters as Nate the Great, Amber Brown, Laura Ingalls, Corduroy Bear, Stega Nona, and
Mother Goose just to name a few. All of the planning is done for you. Happy Birthday to
yoooou!
Excellence In Library
Services to Young Adults
Mary K. Chelton
American Library Association c. 2000 3rd edition
Excellence In Library Services to Young Adults offers 30
outstanding programs for Young Adults. These programs were developed by libraries and are
currently and successfully being used. The programs are intended to encourage young adults
(ages 12-20) to use and enjoy their library now and long into the future.
This book describes each program in 2 or 3 pages. It tells how
and why the programs were developed. There is a description of what the community is like
and also, includes information about costs and funding. Finally there is a complete
description of the program. The program description outlines how the program was put
together and presented. Comments evaluating both the strengths and weaknesses of the
program have been included.
The programs fall into many categories. Some of them are
education support, library awareness, community service, intergenerational, and reading
promotion and appreciation
The programs are very imaginative and diverse. Some of the
actual programs presented are: a radio program of teens giving booktalks to interest other
teens, special hours for work on senior projects, presenting stories to younger children,
teens and senior citizens writing poetry together, a teen book discussion group called
Lunch n Lit, and a club that teaches students how to find reference information
online instead of just chat rooms. There are also many programs to interest teens in
reading for pleasure.
These libraries have welcomed teens into their libraries with
great enthusiasm. By seeing what others have accomplished you may be inspired to begin a
program of your own that will encourage the young people of your community.
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Len Cabrals
Storytelling Book
By: Len Cabral and Mia Manduca
Neal-Schuman c. 1997
This book is filled with delightful full-length stories to use
for your programs. Len Cabral, a master storyteller, shares his own special techniques to
guide you in presenting these stories or ones of your own.
The book is divided into groups by level of expertise. Each of
the first nine stories includes a "Telling Guide" and a "Teaching
Guide" to help you prepare for your presentation. Beginners are given helpful hints
to help them build their confidence. Advanced storytellers receive advice for using body
language and interaction with the audience.
The Telling Guide: The Telling Guide is the most
interesting feature of this book. In a side bar with the story are the authors
suggestions. As you read a section of the story the notes in the side bar instruct you in
tone of voice to use, body movements and interaction with the audience. It may read
something like "Look up and motion to the East", "speak in a pleading
voice" or something as detailed as "Raise clawed hands over your head and say
Hunk-ka. Bring them down as you say Cha. The rhythm should be heavy and ominous". As
part of the telling guide there is also a section at the beginning of the story that
offers ideas about how to introduce your story. These features will help you capture your
audiences attention and hold it throughout the presentation.
The Teaching guide: To make a more complete learning
program the book has included a teaching guide. This section is divided into five
sections. 1. Story themes, 2.Setting the scene, 3. After story discussion topics and
ideas, 4. Suggested Projects and activities, 5. Suggested Journal entries.
The final chapter of the book is a trouble shooting section.
The author discusses frequently asked questions. Such questions as: how do I deal with
interruptions and how do I keep things moving if I want to tell 2 stories. The advice in
this chapter will help you alleviate some of the anxiety that comes with speaking before a
group.
Len Cabrals fun stories, advice and help aids will help
the beginner as well as the experienced storyteller on their way to a very entertaining
program.
o completion.
This book may help you acquire some of the items you once
thought were beyond your budgets reach and help you find the inexpensive
alternatives that are available.
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A Treasury of
Trickster Tales
By: Valerie Marsh
Allyside Press c.1997
A Treasury of Trickster Tales is a wonderful book to use
for your story hour programs. The stories have a unique way a being presented and will
hold the interest of any age group for the youngest to the oldest.
The stories in this book are all full of clever characters that
are trying to get away with something. It doesnt always work. Sometimes the
trickster gets tricked. The stories are fun and entertaining.
There are a good variety of stories. They include some old
folktales about Anansi the spider, Coyote and Rabbit. There are also some funloving
stories about the authors father who enjoyed a good prank.
The stories are all enhanced by using one of five storytelling
methods. The instructions, diagrams and patterns are very complete and easy to follow.
Paper cutting: This method is cutting bits from a folded
piece of paper. At the end of the story the paper is unfolded to reveal a surprise.
Mystery fold: The mystery fold method involves drawing a
picture during the story. But, when the picture is folded a certain way it shows a new
picture.
Sign language: By using the repetitive signs in sign
language the children are able to participate and learn some sign at the same time.
Story Puzzles: Story puzzles are tangram puzzle pieces that
are used to make picture shapes to tell the stories. Seeing these geometric shapes turn
into pictures fascinates children.
Storyknifing: Storyknifing is the method of drawing a
picture while telling a story.
You will enjoy using these lighthearted stories and capturing
your audiences attention in these creative ways.
Simply Super Bulletin
Boards
By: Amy Vangsgard
Alleyside Press c. 1997
Simply Super Bulletin Boards has wonderful ideas and
directions for creating bulletin boards to brighten up your library and call attention to
special book themes. It also includes some special extra features you will enjoy.
The book features 20 different display themes. The first 10
themes are festivals and holidays from around the world such as Hawaiis Lei Day,
Chinas Kite Festival and the African American holiday Kwanzaa. The second section
has 10 whimsical animal themes including horses, bats, hogs and even dragons.
Each of the 20 themes includes background information for each
subject explaining why and how it is celebrated or interesting information about the
animals. There are detailed instruction and patterns for creating the bulletin board and a
supply list to help you along.
There is a book list of titles to go along with your theme. It
includes directions for a tabletop display to match the bulletin board. There is also a
master for a coordinating bookmark.
Here is what makes this book special. It has a special
"Kids Can Do" section. This is a craft that follows the theme and can be either
added to the display by the children or can be taken home.
There is a section that gives advice on how to use the displays
and how to store the material for future use.
The bulletin boards are charming and eye catching. Youll
enjoy using these innovative ideas.
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Serving
Families and Children Through Partnerships
By: Sandra Feinberg and Sari Feldman
Neal-Schuman c.1996
No one program or service alone can build a strong environment
in which children can thrive. It takes every community member and organization working
together with parents to set the foundation. Schools, neighborhoods, service providers,
churches, libraries and businesses have a responsibility to provide support and
assistance.
In the librarys effort to provide early childhood
services and parent-family support it becomes important to draw upon the help of others
and tap into their knowledge and expertise. Working with agencies that provide similar
services is beneficial to everyone concerned.
This how-to-do-it manual provides a very thorough guide to
partnerships, coalitions and collaboration. It takes you step by step through the process
of developing a relationship with other agencies that works well for all. It explains what
a partnership is and how it works. It teaches you how to decide which agencies and
organizations will help you meet your goals and theirs. There is also a chapter about how
to recruit other agencies to join into partnership with your library.
The book follows up with examples of material that has been
used by other libraries. Such items as recruitment letters, publicity materials,
evaluations, surveys, and grant requests.
There is a section of online resources that has been compiled
for your use. There are sites to help you plan your programs on parent-family support such
as "Fathernet" and "Kidspeace". There are others sites listed that
offer information about the partnerships and coalition building such as "National
Network for Collaboration"
Libraries may be able to provide good programs for children and
family support. But, by working with groups and agencies of similar interests a great
program may be developed that can truly make a difference in the community.
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Spiders In The Hairdo
Modern Urban Legends
Collected and retold by David Holt and Bill Mooney
Are you looking for stories to excite the older children and
young adult groups this summer? Spiders In The Hairdo is filled with bizarre tales
guaranteed to gross them out.
The stories compiled in this book are modern day folktales.
Some you may have heard at a slumber party as a kid or around a campfire. But, many of
them are new to our area. They are often told as if it were a local event so you are left
with your spine tingling or a case of the giggles.
There are more than 50 stories in the book. Some only a
paragraph long others two or three pages. There are all types funny, gross, spooky and
odd. Did I mention gross?
This book is the second book of urban legends compiled by the
authors. The story Spiders in the Hairdo actually appears only in the first book. But
there is plenty of material in this edition to entertain your audience. Did I remember to
mention gross?
More
Ready-To-Tell Tales:
From Around the World
Edited by David Hold and Bill Mooney
August House Publishers c. 2000
More Ready-To-Tell Tales is a collection of stories
that have been performed by some of the worlds best known storytellers. The stories
are genuinely ready to tell. Each of the 48 stories may be told exactly as printed.
The stories have been collected by the tellers from around the
world. There are many folktales like Why Armadillos Are Funny. This one also
includes a song about an armadillo that tried to cross a road and the unhappy result. (It
tickled my disrespectful funny bone.) Theres a fractured fairytale titled The
Dashing Princess. And, some just for fun stories like The Belly Button Monster.
What makes this book unique is that each story includes the
storytellers own personal tips and techniques for presenting the story. Their tips
include how to catch the attention of the audience right away. Where to use pauses, sounds
and gestures to their best effect. Hints about what worked best for the storyteller. Even,
songs and pronunciations have been included. By using the helpful information of these
professional storytellers your job is made easier.
Each of the stories include an explanation about where the
story came from or how it was developed. Following the story explanation there are some
points of interest about each of the storytellers.
The table of contents and indexes both have been arranged as
help aids for choosing stories. They divide the stories by subjects, country of origin and
by recommended audience. You will be able to quickly decide which stories are most
appropriate for your setting.
You will enjoy presenting these interesting stories and
enhancing them with the tips and techniques suggested by the storytellers.
Problem
Behavior Manual
Produced by Fairfax County Public Library, Virginia
c. 1997
When a troublesome or frightening situation occurs will you
know how to respond? The Problem Behavior Manual helps you to be prepared and ready
to act appropriately.
This manual is the actual policy of the Fairfax County Virginia
Public Library. They have tried to anticipate as many situations as possible, from noisy
and rowdy behavior to sexual misconduct. It was not only designed so their staff would
know how to act in any given situation but also so they would not over react. Having
policies and procedures in place will assist staff members in feeling less threatened.
The manual is quick and easy to use. The headings at the top of
each page are alphabetized for quick access such as Assault, Bomb Threat, and
Children-unattended.
The policy of the library or a definition of the situation
follows the heading. This part details the situation along with the rights and
responsibilities of both the library and patron.
Following the policy are the "Actions" to be taken. A
step by step list explains how the staff member is expected to handle the situation. It
includes the names and numbers of the authorities to be contacted. For example: If a child
is not picked up within 30 minutes after closing, call the police at this number ___. In
some instances there is a sample script to illustrate some phrases that may calm the
situation.
The final section of the book has sample flyers and letters
that explain the librarys policies. There are also incident reporting forms to have
on hand.
This manual will be an excellent guide for preparing your own
policy and procedures manual.
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Bare Bones Young Adult
Services:
Tips for Public Library Gerneralists
By: Renee J. Vaillancourt
American Library Association c.2000
According to a National survey taken in 1994 23% of all library
patrons are Young Adults (ages 12 to 18). It only makes good sense to give the Young Adult
section of the library as much consideration as the Adult and Childrens sections of
your library. Bare Bones Young Adult Services guides you through the steps needed
to create a department that will attract teens and hold their interest.
This book is directed toward libraries that do not have a YA
specialists but want a teen section that is appealing and well used. It answers common
questions about working with teens and gives advice about what is most important. This
little book packs a lot of information into chapters that can be studied individually or
all together. Throughout the book other helpful resources are suggested.
You will be guided through the planning process of setting
goals, objectives and a plan of service. How to use teens to find out what they want and
need by setting up Teen Advisory Boards, Teen Focus Groups, Junior Friends Groups, and
surveys for this age group. There is also instruction on how to deal with teens in a
professional way that encourages them to use the library services.
The book offers very practical advice about how to create a
space just for teens by understanding how teens function and observing their likes and
dislikes. Such things as attracting students to the Young Adult section by putting the AV
department nearby and providing group sitting areas since teens like to travels in groups
and consult each other constantly.
The section on developing the YA collection goes through each
type of material one by one and explains what appeals to teens the most. For example,
teens prefer paperbacks because they are easy to carry and less conspicuous to their
judgmental peers. Along with the information about books and magazines there is
instruction on how to evaluate Web sites.
The second half of the book includes examples, suggestions and
lists as a quick source of information. There are examples of both By-laws and a Plan of
Service. There are tips for programming and booktalks. And, there are strategies for
dealing with troublesome behavior.
This book will quickly introduce you to the most important
issues you will need to know when setting up your Young Adult Services.
Travel The Globe:
Multicultural Story Times
By: Desiree Webber, Dee Ann Corn, Elaine Harrod, Donn Norvell, Sandy Shropshire
Libraries Unlimited c. 1998
Travel The Globe is a book of 14 complete story hour
presentations. Each features a different country. The programs may be used individually or
combined for a series of story hours. The programs are age adjustable and can be used for
pre-school up to 3rd grade.
Each story hour program provides a story (a traditional
folktale from the featured country) and full size picture masters to make flannel board
characters or mount on sticks as puppets to go along with the story.
There are crafts included for each program. Directions are
clear and simple with full size masters provided whenever needed. Just a few of the crafts
included are: Mexico donkey piñata, Italy marionette puppet, China
New Years dragon, and Russia Matroshka dolls and decorated paper eggs.
To provide a well-rounded program each program includes finger
plays, songs, activities, or games. Also, you will find a few simple words or phrases from
each countrys native language. The words may be included in the story, finger plays
or songs. There are interesting bits of information throughout each program that you may
pass along to your group.
A wonderful feature of this book is that each program includes
the means to be expanded. There are bibliographies of related stories. Most of these are
available on SILO. There are suggestions for videos that can be used and their sources.
Resources for finger plays, songs, games and activities are all included.
Travel The Globe will be helpful in taking some of the work
out of your program preparation. Following are the 14 countries include in the book.
Australia, Brazil, Caribbean Islands, China, Commonwealth of Independent States (formerly
Russia), Egypt, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Vietnam, and United States
(Native Americans).
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Developing Reference
Collections And Services
In An Electronic Age
by: Kay Ann Cassell
c. 1999 Neal-Schuman
Electronic resources come in many formats. There are CD-ROM
sources, Internet sources, e-mail, and commercial databases. Determining which ones you
will choose to replace or supplement your printed reference material can be a difficult
process. This book guides you through the process and helps you plan for your
librarys future needs. Instead of just responding to electronic resources create a
plan. Be ready to continuously adapt to new formats and meet your users
expectations.
The four chapters take you through the process of evaluating
your needs and developing a policy that will meet the continuous changes of the electronic
age.
Chapter 1: What format will you choose print, CD-ROM,
commercial database, or Web based? Chapter 1 discusses the pros and cons of each format.
It gives a range of material available in digital formats by both type and subject. Also,
included are lists of publishers of material in electronic format such as Encyclopedias,
Atlases, directories and indexes.
Chapter 2: Service patterns (how your service is delivered)
includes in-person reference service, telephone services, fax services, and electronic
services such as e-mail. This chapter describes the changes to be considered in the way
reference services are structured. It offers sample forms and illustrates new service
patterns other libraries are using.
Chapter 3: Chapter 3 covers user education. Weather the users
come into the library or use your web site and e-mail they will need instruction. This
chapter offers practical ways of instructing your users and preparing staff. Different
methods are explained such as one-on-one, group instruction, ways of reaching distance
learners. Some of the methods explained are self-help guides and tutorials.
Chapter 4: By having an Electronic Collection Development
policy already in place you will be ready to respond to changes as they occur. This
chapter helps you prepare for writing the policy for your electronic collection
development. It explains how to use surveys and focus groups to find out what your users
need and expect. Examples of policies, surveys and focus group questions will aid you in
finalizing the project.
Managing For Results:
Effective Resource Allocation For Public Libraries
by Sandra Nelson, Ellen Altman, Diane Mayo
American Library Association c. 2000
Managing For Results works hand in hand with its
predecessor Planning for Results. Planning For Results led you through the steps
needed to develop a plan of service for your library by setting service goals and
objectives. Managing For Results leads you through the process of putting your
plans into action.
Every library has resources. This book helps you determine what
your resources are and guides you in using them to achieve your goals. Knowing what
resources you have available isnt as clear cut as it might seem. Were all
aware of some resources such as the library building, amount of floor space, shelves,
books, tables, and chairs. Also, the number of staff and hours they work qualify as
resources. But, there are other resources to be considered. Such things as wiring and the
number of outlets for a Computer Center, lighting and air conditioning ducts. Even the
number of trash cans available to accommodate a full day of story hours with crafts.
Knowing how to divide your resources to fulfill your plan of service is the goal of this
book.
This book walks you through a process that will help you
fulfill your goals and objectives. Each chapter deals with a certain service area of your
librarys plan. It discusses what data you will need to gather from your community
such as: In how many families do both parents work? How many daycare centers in the area?
Both of these would be crucial to know if your goal were to have an early learning program
to reach young children.
Each chapter offers lists of issues you will need to consider
that may not have occurred to you. Will the light from the computer screen bother someone
in the study area near by? Will cables and electrical cords cause a hazard to traffic
areas? Will air conditioning and lighting reach an area with study cubicles?
There are workforms throughout the book to help compile the
information you will need to make your decisions. The forms aid you in narrowing down your
projects so they dont seem so overwhelming. They guide you in gathering just the
data needed for your particular use. They will also guide you in allocating the resources
available and help determine what is still needed to complete your goal.
Finally each chapter includes a "case study". A
fictional account of how these steps might be put to use in a real library. Seeing an
example of how all the elements of this book work together is a tremendous help aid.
The authors have developed a very easy and complete format to
help you put your Plan of Service into action.
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The
Storytellers Guide:
Storytellers Share advice for the classroom, boardroom,
showroom, podium, pulpit and center stage
By Bill Mooney and David Holt -- August House c.
1996
The authors of The Storytellers Guide have
interviewed more than 50 American storytellers about their art and compiled their comments
into a very interesting and instructional book. Its like learning from someone
elses experiences. As you read through each comment you may catch yourself thinking,
"Oh, thats a good idea" or "I wouldnt have thought of
that."
Each chapter is a self-contained unit. It begins with an
overview of the subject, followed by the specific advice from the storytellers and ends in
a summery of the chapter for quick reference. Move through the book from start to finish
or pick and choose the chapters that interest you the most.
There is a wide range of topics covered. For the beginning
storyteller there is how to get started, how to pick the right stories and how to make the
program flow. The chapters about frequently made mistakes and worst experiences will be
helpful to all storytellers. The storytellers also discuss things you should be aware of
such as censorship, copyright laws and ethics. And finally, dont miss the chapter
dedicated just to storytelling in the library.
As one of the authors said "Ask a storyteller a question
and in response you get a story." It makes for some very entertaining reading as well
as being informative.
Selecting and Managing
Electronic Resources
By Vicki L. Gregory
Neal-Schuman c.2000
Libraries are no longer simply a collection of print materials.
Electronic Resources are rapidly becoming an important part of todays library
collections. Electronic Resources need to be included as a significant part of the
collection not just an added-on frill. This book helps you build the new skills needed in
acquiring and managing Electronic Resources for your library.
The book takes you through the various steps needed to manage
the resources you already have and how to best seek out new ones.
Collection Development Polices: Electronic resources
selection and management issues should be added to the librarys current collection
development policy. That is so the emphasis is on the subject content instead of the form
the content comes from, whether it is from a printed or electronic source. In this section
you will be able to use a list of web sites to find sample policies as well as
instructional information.
Selection Criteria: This section discusses how to best
carry out the selection process. Cost is important but also setting standards in
determining if the resource is trustworthy. How to begin using new selection methods such
as trial offers, demonstrations and visits to libraries already owning electronic
resources.
Budgeting & Acquisitions: A growing percentage of the
budgets of libraries are now being used for electronic resources. This chapter offers
several budgeting options. It also, helps you become aware of the new methods of
acquisition being used such as subscription and consortium purchases.
Organization & Maintenance: The prime goals are making
users aware of the resources and how to access them while not causing undue burden to the
library staff. Access for the user needs to be on a practical level while still keeping
illegal use from occurring.
The book includes two special features, worksheets and web
sites. The worksheets help you move through the process step by step. They include
worksheets for Checklist & Budget, Selection Criteria, Licensing & Negotiation,
and an Evaluation Project.
There are two lists of web sites. One of the lists is a source
for examples of policies and policy writing information. The other is a list of sites to
help with acquisitions. Some of the acquisition sites are about specific electronic
resources. The other helps you find sources of electronic resources.
There are other issues to be considered. This book should be
able to guide you through any areas where you have concerns including Evaluation &
Assessement, Copyright & Licensing, and Prevention Issues. It offers guidelines,
examples, worksheets and web sites to give you as much help as possible.
Storytelling Activities Kit:
Ready-to-use Techniques, Lessons & Listening Cassettes for Early Childhood
By: Jerilynn Changar and Annette Harrison
The Center for Applied Reasearch in Education c. 1992
Here is a wonderful book full of ready to use storytelling
programs. The programs include the story in two formats, both written and/or on cassettes.
There are activities, crafts and discussion questions as well as suggestions for expanding
the program.
Each program is complete and may be used by itself. They are
also set up so two stories create a theme. One such theme is "Friendship" the
two stories are The Lion and the Mouse and Wombat Stew. Some of the other
themes are Feelings, Seasons, Monsters, and Places To Live.
The programs have several aids that will help you develop your
storyhour. Each program has two activities. These may be physical activities, crafts, or
reproduceable worksheets. There are suggestions for story centers, follow up questions,
ways to help with language development skills, and a bibliography of other books that will
go along with your theme.
This book is, also, a teaching tool to help you improve your
storytelling skills. There are illustrations of expressions and gestures, suggestion of
how to use voice changes and body language, storytelling tips and preparation ideas. Even
the most accomplished storyteller will find many useful tips.
Twelve of the stories are included on cassettes. These may be
used to help you improve your own storytelling skills by hearing someone elses
techniques. They may also be used in place of reading the story to the children for the
non-storyteller.
You will find some of the stories familiar to you such as The Three
Little Pigs and The Brementown Musicians. But there are some more unique titles
as well The Snow Parlor, Worry Bundles and Grandmother Spider Sews the
World Together. Twenty-four stories in all.
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Founding and
Funding Family Literacy Programs
by: Carole Talon Neal-Schuman 1999
The reading level of the parent often dictates the reading
level of the child. Children are encouraged when their parents show they are also
interested in learning. These are just two of the ideas behind Family Literacy. Just as
libraries found providing special programming for children was a role they filled well,
parent education provides literacy improvement for adults and a foundation of learning for
children.
Who better than the libraries to aid their community in forming
a Family Literacy Program? A needs assessment is the first step before beginning such a
project. Get advice on how to find out if there is a need for such a program in the
community. Find out if other groups are offering similar services that the library could
work with in partnership. Youll also find sources for locating statistics that will
help you determine the need for a Family Literacy Program.
How to set up and develop your own program is clearly outlined.
Guidelines and step by step instructions guide you through the planning process. The book
includes examples from libraries that already have programs set up. They offer their ideas
about what works best, aspects that they found most rewarding, where they found help and
support and such practical suggestions as feed your guests first so theyll arrive on
time.
Where to find funding is always a crucial issue for any program
a library undertakes. The author states that sometimes there is no need for additional
funding and offers suggestions on how the program can be developed without new funds. But,
the book also shows where and how to find other sources of income and aid. The author
suggests other literacy programs such as America Reads, Even Start and LSTA (Library
Services and Technology Act) as a source for grant funds.
Some interesting fundraising ideas are suggested such as asking
a business or corporation to Adopt a Family or matching funds with their employees. Clubs
and service organizations will often be interested in supporting such a worthwhile
program. The fundraising guide also gives several examples used successfully in other
libraries.
The back of the book is filled with such materials as sample
surveys and handouts, a bibliography, program ideas, discussion advice and an agenda for
tutor training.
This book is a very practical and complete guide for setting up
a program. Step by step instructions, examples, samples, and forms all help to simplify
your task.
Just a reminder. Family Literacy Day is November
1, 2000.
Weeding Library
Collections: Library Weeding Methods 4th edition
By: Stanley J. Slote Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 1997
Weeding Library Collections deals in
detail with the processes used to weed a library collection without fear of depriving the
patrons or harming the collection. This book explains how the removal of the unused
materials will actually increase circulation.
The key element for weeding is identifying for withdrawal those
titles which have outlived their usefulness. In this book several different methods are
offered and fully explained. Each library may determine which method best suites their own
needs.
Each part of the library collection is discussed. It guides you
through the evaluation process for non-circulating material, non-book items as well as
fiction and non-fiction.
This book is a practical guide to weeding. Its procedures
are easy to understand and to be put into practice. Beyond the practical applications the
book also tells how and why this method is successful. It shows and discusses the studies
that were conducted to determine the best method of weeding collections today.
The
CREW Method: Expanded guidelines for collection evaluation and weeding for small and
medium-sized public libraries.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 1995.
This revision of the CREW manual addresses changes in the
library field but retains the format. The manual reviews where CREW (Continuous Revision,
Evaluation, and Weeding) fits into the cycle of library service. It discusses the benefits
of weeding, preparing to weed, criteria for weeding, and the CREW method in 10 steps.
The revision also contains sections on CREWing: children's
materials, the reference section, nonprint media, and CREWING with computers.
Guidelines for weeding the Dewy classes are outlined, with
formulas for many Dewey sections (often by "tens;" i.e., 310, 320, etc.) The
formula is the familiar one of past versions: there are 3 figures The first figure refers
to years since book's latest copyright date, the second to the years since its last
recorded circulation, and the third to the presence of negative factors summarized by
MUSTIE. (Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, material can be found
Elsewhere or borrowed on ILL.
A final section discusses "What to do with Weeded Books:
Types of Disposal."
In the introduction the author/revisor says, " As in the
first edition, this manual is designed for use primarily by community and branch
librarians, the members of the profession who are shortest on time, space, and budget, but
who are nonetheless as anxious as the directors of the largest city libraries to provide
their patrons with efficient, effective service in a pleasant, attractive library
environemnt."
The CREW manual will assist librarians in evaluating, weeding,
and updating their collections.
Teaching the Internet to Library Staff and
Users:
10 Ready-To-Go Workshops that Work
by William D. Hollands
As the title indicates, this book offers 10
complete workshops with agendas, sample scripts, handouts, useful related internet sites
(tutorials, etc.) and suggested further resources. Each session is about 90 minutes
long. Some are hands-on workshops --designed for a computer lab equipped with
several PCs -- and some are lecture/demonstration format -- designed for a single
computer with projector.
The book begins with a 3-part series of workshops
designed to "train the trainers." This series is intended for library
staff who will be conducting training sessions for patrons and others. These three
workshops deal with teaching techniques and presentation skills rather than with internet
content.
The next workshop is entitled "Getting
Started on the World Wide Web" -- a presentation for adults who have very little
experience with the internet. This is a demonstration or lecture format workshop, but can
be adapted to a lab setting.
As a follow-up to "Getting Started,"
there is a presentation on "Using Search Engines and Finding Information on the
Web."
The book offers two specialized presentations for
those who have some internet experience or who have attended the "Getting
Started" workshop. "Books and Literature on the Web" is a hands-on
workshop designed for adult literature enthusiasts and offers a format which can be
adapted to other special topics. "College Information on the Web" is a
lecture-style presentation for High School students and parents (can accommodate larger
groups) and serves as a model for library staff to do similar single-subject
presentations.
Finally, the book includes a 3-part series on
basic HTML for library staff or patrons who are familiar with the Web and Windows.
The workshops in this book really are
"ready-to-go" -- a great resource for anyone planning to do internet training. Plus,
simply reading through the workshop material serves as a great tutorial/review on internet
topics.
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