NMRLS Newsletter - November 2007

Youth Services Column
By Susan Babb

How Do You Measure Up?
Highlighting a Standard for Public Library Services to Children in Massachusetts
By Kate Belcyzk, Children's Librarian, Memorial Hall Library, Andover

Editor's Note: This will be an ongoing series of articles describing how different libraries, both school and public, are meeting and implementing the Standards or Benchmarks as written by their state organizations of MLA and MSLA. We welcome other contributions! Please submit to the Editor, Susan Babb, at susan@nmrls.org

1.0 The following principles shall govern the development of programs for children:

1.3 The librarian shall consider family and community needs, literacy benchmarks, opinions and requests of children when planning programs.

1.4 The librarian shall consider schedules and resources as well as physical accessibility when planning the location, quantity, time, and variety of programs.

It is Wednesday morning, and carriages line the hallway outside the children's activity room of Memorial Hall Library. Inside the room babies and their caregivers are being led by Beth Kerrigan, Coordinator of Children's Services, in a rousing march around the room. Shakers are shaking, and bouncy rhymes are being sung, as the Wiggle Words program once again continues to provide an opportunity for parents and children under two to enjoy and learn. In an hour, the babies will have dispersed, and toddlers up to age three will take their places a I read and sing with them in a more traditional story time. Both groups fill the room with residents of Andover and other nearby towns.

We currently offer a variety of preschool programs. Last October we had 34 story times with a total of 842 in attendance. In addition to the Wiggle Words baby groups and the toddler story times, there is also a weekly group for 3.5 to 5 years which feature longer stories, games and a more advanced craft. In the afternoon is a quiet story time for children who are in day care or kindergarten in the morning. Every Tuesday night I do an evening Pajama Party, to which the children may wear their evening garb, bring stuffed animals and blankies. I even had some children bring their sleeping bags.

By offering this range of opportunities for families and children, we are attempting to promote early literacy skills, and educate parents and caregivers as to how they can read and sing with their children at home. The choice of times makes these programs available to working parents and tries to meet the needs of the community throughout the year.

New programs provide even more ways to reach out to families. Two new things which we have started to plan are Dads and Donuts and Mother Goose on the Loose. The Dads program, an idea borrowed from the Chelmsford Library, is held on Saturday mornings, and combines a regular story time and a chance for dads to get together. The first session was very well attended, and I made a mental note to get more doughnuts next time. The Mother Goose on the Loose is part of an LSTA grant which Beth Kerrigan wrote, and is designed to educate parents and promote early literacy. The programs associated with the grant will be for ages birth to five, and will step outside of the traditional format of preschool programs. We also have programs for older ages. However, with the huge population increase in babies and toddlers over the last few years, it is essential to give families as many reasons as possible to come to the library.

Summer Reading Program Updates For the latest updates on Summer Reading programs, the online reading program ReadsinMa (Evanced software), and what's happening in libraries with pictures, visit the NMRLS Summer Reading blog at http://www.nmrls.org/youth/summerreading/.

The order form for 2008's Wild Reads is now posted on the blog! The deadline to order materials is November 23!

Twenty Thousand Patrons Used ReadsinMA.org
Maureen Ambrosino, Youth Services Consultant, CMRLS

In the spring of 2007, Massachusetts became the first state to license Summer R*eader software from E*vanced Solutions for every public library in the state. The web interface, www.ReadsinMA.org, debuted just in time for the launch of the Massachusetts Statewide Summer Reading Program, "Catch the Beat at Your Library," with 175 libraries across the Commonwealth utilizing the software. ReadsinMA.org allowed patrons to register for the summer reading program at any participating library through an easy-to-use online form. Once registered, patrons could then log their reading through an electronic reading log, write reviews, and be notified when it was time to go to the library to claim prizes.

Close to 20,000 library patrons used the system during the past summer to track everything from book titles to hours, minutes and pages read. Some libraries included the "Review" feature so their readers could include comments about their books. "Many librarians reported that it was very popular with teen readers, who are a difficult group to attract for traditional summer reading programs," said Maureen Ambrosino, Youth Services Consultant with the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System.

Librarians across the state also reported that the program made summer reading more enjoyable for children and library staff who then had more time to work with their patrons on other interests and programs instead of filling out paperwork and crunching numbers.

Patrons' reaction was also very positive. Many enjoyed the freedom it gave their children to participate in the program while they were on vacation or unable to get to the library. And, in towns where libraries have had to reduce hours of operation during the summer months, the software was an invaluable resource that allowed participants to log books and reviews from home at any time. Still more comments came that parents were very happy with the skills their children learned while using the program; as their technology and writing skills were practiced during the summer months with this online program.

ReadsinMA is funded for three years by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners through a Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant with funding from the Institute of Museums and Library Services, an independent federal agency that grows and sustains a Nation of Learners because lifelong learning is critical to success. For more information about ReadsinMA.org, visit www.readsinma.org/info. Photo Caption

The ReadsinMA.org online reading program proved extremely effect during its first summer of operation.

Workshop announcements and notes, pictures of Teen Spaces in the Region, and cool Teen programs are found at http://www.nmrls.org/youth/yaweb/.