This Week in Professional Development

There have been a few different fantastic ways I've dug my teeth into youth services this week, and I wanted to make sure to share them all! I place quality professional development in high regard; you can find people talking about all kinds of things everywhere-- but people who know their stuff so intimately that they can be entertaining AND amazingly informative? That's rare. AND, all these professional development opportunities are available free to you.

I was going back and forth as to whether create a curated post like this, but then I was extra-inspired by "Lifting One Another Up" by Jessica at Letters to a Young Librarian. I am so fortunate to be in a position where support for other library professionals, connecting them with resources and PD opportunities, is a valued part of my job. I want to make sure to share the love for those of you who aren't lucky enough to have a Me emailing you every week :)

I find that online professional development is a great way to inspire conversations: share these opportunities, watch them when you have time, and start an email thread about them!


Amp up Your Services for Beginning Readers : Multnomah County Library has begun to tackle the needs of families with beginning readers in a number of innovative ways. I especially like their solution to the trouble with leveling. Bonus: if you can make it to the 2016 ALSC Institute, you'll get an update on how all this is going! If you can't make it, still watch this webinar. It's one of the best I've seen in a long time.

Storytime Underground: A Peer-Created Community: One of my favorite crowd-sourced communities, Storytime Underground, has recently taken on a few more joint chiefs and I am so stoked about their new content. This webinar is a fantastic introduction to this thriving community and you'll feel like you're getting in on the ground floor.

YSS Powerhouse Presents: Collection Connection:  As someone who came into the library world with absolutely no idea what she was doing with collection development, allow me to be the first to say that professional development about collection development that is actually helpful is severely lacking. Where is the budget? What is weeding? How do I books? Shelly, Sharon, and Emily are some of my favorite Wisconsin librarians and they do a stellar job spelling is out for you. If you need an extra push, Emily is a member of the ILEAD team who created the greatest hype video for a mobile makerspace I've ever seen.

Successful Programming for Babies and Toddlers: There is no better presentation team in existence than Brooke and Kendra, I'm completely convinced. I love this webinar for a few reasons: 1)They talk specifically about what they have done; everything they suggest has a personal stamp of approval and proof that it works; 2) Everything they talk about is like, zero dollars; 3) They're just hands-down entertaining.

4-Minute Video on Synapse Connection: If you don't have time to watch the links above, please try to watch this one. I found it while researching a powerpoint I wrote for a presentation to our Board of Commissioners. If this isn't evidence of the "use-it-or-lose-it" nature of a baby's brain, and in turn the importance of early literacy, I don't know what is.

That's all I have for now! What did you find helpful this week?