SRP 2016: All Abilities Invited

Maysoon Zayid sitting on a couch talking to a reporter.
Text reads, "I love telling people I have brain damage because it's so
uncomfortable for people. They're like, 'No you don't! You're okay!'"

This past October, I attended my very first Oregon Library Association Children’s Services Division Workshop. It was a wonderful day full of meeting new people (I don’t think there’s been a single day since July I haven’t met someone new!), sharing great ideas, and problem-solving.

The day ended with a share-out of all the ideas brainstormed for the 2016 CSLP theme, “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!” I was the last volunteer to read off a list. I had not yet met everyone in the room, and I had spent most of the day, as I call it, “passing.” The unsaid words that are implied after passing, here, are, “as something other than a disability killjoy.”

Never minding the ableist voice in my head that still talks about things like “blowing my cover”, and how no one really wants to hear about inclusiveness YET AGAIN, I shared the following:

“I just wanted to add, as a physically disabled librarian who was once a physically disabled child, to please make sure that your fitness-oriented offerings are marketed and presented as ‘All abilities invited.’”  

My candor was well-received that day, and I wanted to make sure I shared more about this idea and what it means here, while you may still be working out your SRP plans.

So You're Subbing a Preschool Storytime

*Updated in 2018 with a few changes/current favorites
Yesterday I subbed for a preschool storytime at one of our member libraries. Having come from a library that had librarians in each age group, this was the first program I’d done for the preschool set in… awhile.  I thought I might share my plan and some tips, since this time of year is prime time for vacations and illnesses,  and you may find yourself (an adult services librarian, director, library assistant, shelving aide, on-call reference librarian, archivist) asked to be a last-minute substitute for a beloved storytime. Because let’s face it, it may not happen all the time, but it will one day. Sooner rather than later, depending on the size of your library and staffing. And I hope you find this post useful.

Having come from education and libraries, I can tell you that being a substitute is one of the toughest jobs there is. That’s because children, as chaotic as they may seem, thrive on routine and familiarity. And sorry, substitute, but that already puts you in the negative zone, because you’re different.

But here’s the thing: You’re not supposed to be as “good” as the regular storytime provider. Families may ask about their regular storytime routines. Please take these as what they are: expressed appreciation for the storytimes they know and love. They are not a criticism against you. I promise that if you were their regular storytime provider, they would love you just as much.

This Week in Professional Development: Dec 15, 2015

There have been so many great free opportunities for professional development popping up lately! Some can be viewed now; some are to sign up for now and engage with later.

As I've said before, I am so fortunate that I'm in a position where connecting library professionals to resources that can help with their everyday workflow is a valued part of my job. Like the variety of libraries you readers are from, our member libraries vary widely in size, staffing, structure, culture, and community. Free webinars and other resources that can be viewed at one's own pace can benefit everyone at  some angle or another. Isn't the Internet great?!


Here are a few of the things I've been sharing and signing up for lately. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and/or overall awesome, these will keep your mind chugging into the New Year and looking forward to what we can make with youth services in 2016:

The True Meaning of that Christmas-Related Reference Question

Alternate title: In Search of the Perfect Reference Interview: In which Bryce asks more questions than she has answers for.

Note; All gifs in this post are from the movie "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas", which is unequivocally the best otter-based holiday film to date. They are not at all related to the text.

The Storytime Underground Facebook Group is a great place to share successes and get all-around support from the global Youth Services community. Occasionally, there will be a question whose answers are so varied and possibly polarizing that I get sucked in and can't stop thinking about it. Last week there was a question like that:

YA Reading Bingo: A Passive Program Guest Post by Amy Gregory

In my first few months at my current job, I visited every member library to get a feel about how they serve their particular community. I found that every library is doing great things to respond to their community needs. With winter reading on my mind, I was enamored by this teen passive program I had never seen before at Forest Grove Library! Amy Gregory is an Adult Services Librarian in Forest Grove who also focuses on teen services. I asked if she would share her process of creating this awesome teen passive program at her library so others might as well. She even added her own GIFs!

Take it away, Amy: 

I became the teen librarian less than a year ago at the Forest Grove City Library. We have a dedicated physical space for our teens, but they are rarely in the library and we have very little teen participation. Over the year I have been here, I have been trying to find ways to attract teens into the library and encourage participation.

The Center for the Future of Libraries: A YS Opportunity

You may or may not have heard the announcement yesterday that there will be a Center for the Future of Libraries Advisory Group. Oh yeah, and I'm on it. I KNOW. I KNOW. You may be wondering how in the world I, of all people, was asked to be a part of this in the first place, and why in the world I would actually accept. Didn't I just write two months ago about how much of a "library futurist"-averse pearl clutcher I was? What is even happening right now? So I thought I'd shed a little light on that for you.

Christopher Lloyd wearing a shiny suit and a metal contraction on his head.
This is a scene from "Back to the Future" (possibly part 2

Thrive Thursday Roundup: November 2015

Happy Thrive Thursday everyone! This is a Very Special Episode of Thrive Thursday, because it's Thrive Thursday's 2nd birthday! Yay!

Thrive Thursday is a monthly roundup of some great school-age ideas for the library. The roundup has a blog-hop format, hosted by a different blog every month.

Want to know more about Thrive Thursday created by Lisa Shaia? Check out past round ups at Thrive After Three. Make sure you don't miss a thing by following the Pinterest Board and Facebook group!

Now, let's get started with the roundup!

Early Literacy Advocacy for Elected Officials (with Links to Research)

Last month I was tasked with creating two Powerpoints on early literacy to present to key stakeholders in our community. One was presented to a local governing board, and was given by the Director of the cooperative, the Outreach and Training Manager, and myself.

Child in a suit ("Kid President") standing in front of a school bus.
White text reads, "What are you teaching the world?"

I was pretty excited about this challenge after my first year on the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Collaboration with Chair Jenna Nemec-Loise of Everyday Advocacy fame.  I approached this with “sound bites they can use” in mind. I also thought about what was “in it for them” as far as early literacy was concerned. An additional opportunity was that, while many of the attendees had been presented with a “libraries and early literacy” talk before, it had been nine years. They needed a refresher, and we had a lot of updates for them—in service and research!

When thinking about “what’s in it for them”, here are a few implied benefits I threaded through the presentation:

1.       You, the governing body, are an educated group.

2.       Early literacy creates educated people who will vote fellow educated people into office.

3.       Early literacy in libraries will keep you or people like you in office.

4.       Profit. (Did you know the return on investment for a community with an early literacy focus is upwards of 16%??? okay maybe you did but your local elected officials probably need that info ASAP).

With that in mind, here are a few sound bites you can use in a future presentation to your governing body:

Iron Fist:the Class II

HEY EVERYONE.

Didn't get a chance to take my continuing education course "Child Development, Library Space, and Behavior" last Spring? 

Have you been regretting it forever as your drown in a sea of disruptive children and your own tears?

Have stumbled on my Iron Fist posts since and would like to learn more about behavior management?

Or are you just looking to take a class about stuff in libraries that you literally won't find anywhere else?

WELL YOU'RE IN LUCK because I'm so excited to announce that Iron Fist: the Class is happening AGAIN March 21-April 29, 2016. Click here to get more information and to register.  Register by March 6 and get 10% off!

Need to convince yourself or the Powers That Be that this class is worth your funds/time? Here's a ridiculously stellar endorsement of this course by Rebecca McCorkindale, who I've dubbed The Librarian Who Saved SRP 2015. 

Here are a few more details if you're on the fence:

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!

"It's Always Been Done That Way": An Unsolicited Rant

I have a confession to make: I’m a pearl clutcher.

Okay, so maybe not exactly, but I have caught myself in the title of this post a few times.

While this fact isn’t the most inspiring thing in the world, it’s true. I’ve done some debatably-innovative-depending-on-who-you-ask-but-whatever-I’m-proud things. AND, I’ve uttered the phrase “It’s always been done this way.” Sometimes with a judgy air for the practice; sometimes in earnest and with a tinge of defensiveness.

Black and white picture of a woman clutching her
pearl necklace.

I thought that maybe talking a little about it might shed some light for the “pearl clutchers” and the “change agents” alike, because the perception seems to be that we can’t find common ground; that we’re either one or the other. And I don’t think it has to be that way. In fact, I think that working together, and playing to each other’s strengths, can help us create a culture of librarianship that is overtly kind. And not just because you’re working tirelessly on the Next Big Thing OR because you love every piece of the collection so much that you can’t bring yourself to weed. I see you all. And you have value. And we all should feel valued, because that’s the only way we can do our best work. Together.