busy

SUCCESS!! I started at summer school around 11am and this time I brought along my aide (and her follower, a 4th grader). We unloaded and set up. It was cooler and I got a slow but steady trickle of people. Shortly after 12, we picked up the tables and walked them down to the cafeteria (much to the bewilderment of some of the school staff, but they mostly all know me so it didn't matter) and I FOUND THE KIDS. Well over a hundred of them are taking advantage of lunch and, since if you stay for lunch you can't use the buses, most of them were not in a big hurry to leave. We were swamped! I checked out 48 books, signed up 29 kids for summer reading, and around 50 kids stopped by to talk, take a craft (I tore through the magnet kits, color-me keychains, and Finding Dory bags my colleague had donated) and look at the books. I registered kids who visit the library to check out movies and games but have never participated in summer reading because their parents don't speak English ...

This was a total failure. I tried, I really, really did try, prior to getting this started to get in touch with the Housing Authority. I left phone messages, dropped off materials, but I never really got any response. Then I found out last week that the complex I chose, which has a lot of library patrons in it and a high percentage of kids with blocked cards, was potentially being rezoned, or whatever you'd call it, so it's no longer low income. In the end, I decided just to cross my fingers and go for it. The worst that could happen is either nobody showed up or they told me to leave. Well, nobody showed up. I unpacked everything, and sat, alone. I saw one elderly lady with a walker meander across the parking lot and a moving van. It was basically dead. Either there were no kids there, they couldn't see me, or something. I decided I needed to make some changes, fast. I drove around town a little, looking at where kids had congregated (no, that was not at all creepy! uh, ma...

Program Goals Practice following instructions/directions Practice the scientific method/inquiry Attendance: 35 Experiment: Smashing rocks We had safety glasses, hammers, and a selection of rocks. We smashed them. It was endlessly fascinating and the kids lined up for their turn over and over again. Project: Making fossils Jess collected a wide variety of things for the kids to use - the most popular were shells and some rubber snakes. Supplies air-dry clay (purchased on Amazon) misc. things to make shapes with popsicle sticks foil Project: Sand strata I had a bunch of pictures of geological strata in rocks and sand formations and a couple kids got into it, but mostly they were more interested in making art with the sand. Which was fine. Supplies colored sand (purchased from Discount School Supply) construction paper glue funnels, spoons, and trays for excess sand pictures of geological formations Evaluation 6-22-17 Attendance: 36 Notes: This went really well actually. I also had a bunc...

Program Goals Introduce kids to the library as a fun place Tour of the children's area Take kids the long way into and out of the library so it's not a "full" tour but they can see things to pique their interest and bring them back. Can also put pennies in the wishing well afterwards if time allows Activities Groovy buttons Die-cut circles with holes punched Ribbon Markers Kids decorate their buttons and string them Art book covers Pre-printed book covers "Pete the Cat and His ____ by ____ Markers Create art books Construction paper Watercolor pencils Water cups and brushes Stapler Kids draw pictures and brush over them with water, then we staple all the pictures together to make books (use their Pete the Cat art book covers) Storytime Pete the Cat: I love my white Shoes Pete the Cat and his four groovy buttons Pete the Cat rocking in my school shoes Pete the Cat and his magic sunglasses Pete the Cat and the cool cat boogie More detailed directions and scheduling...

OMG HOT. Ok, now that's out of the way. My first trip was more or less a success, but I definitely hit a few snags. I had advertised myself as being there from 10:30 to 11:30. I arrived around 10 and it was pretty dead until past 11, when parents started wandering in to pick up kids. Then there was a wild rush of kids running out to meet parents and get on the bus. I distributed tops, but most kids didn't have time to color them. About 25 kids and parents stopped by the tables to talk to me, some of them new people, some regular library patrons. I checked out 37 books and signed up about 10 kids for summer reading. Things to change next time: OMG HOT. Bring a water bottle The ipad hates me. The app for using google sheets doesn't work well and you have to double-tap in each, separate cell. This is difficult when kids are hanging all over my very light, folding tables and sometimes it takes multiple tries. I need a better system. Start later. There's no point in sitting ...

Program Goals  Introduce kids to the library, from the past to the present  Tour Start upstairs, in the oldest part of the library. Mary Bray - first librarian Library is over 100 years old Look at the ceiling of the genealogy room Look at the microfilm machine Stop by the cabinet of old books and talk about how the things the library has changes (used to just have old books, now we have computers, toys, etc.) Look at the first addition (upstairs) Find the spots where the outer wall become the inner wall (bricks on ramp) and look at the inner windows Visit basement (optional) Used to be children’s area Floods (this is very exciting) Go out steps through garden Visit the newest part of the building Talk about how the children’s area has changed over the years Talk about the different kinds of materials we have now Visit tech services and talk about how the library catalogs and processes materials. Past, Present, and Future library books 9x18 sheets of construction paper folded ...

I've been thinking about how I reach kids over the summer. Do my school visits really make a difference? Would those kids come to the library anyways? How do I reach all the kids whose families don't normally visit the library, who have blocked library cards, who are worried about getting fines or paying for lost materials? Our town proper doesn't have a transportation barrier - you can walk across town in about 30 minutes - but we have outlying townships where kids have no way of getting into town. So, my solution is to start my own bookmobile/summer outreach. I'm calling it Library on the Go. I got funding from a Dollar General summer reading grant and purchased a large amount of books. I will be visiting one of our low-income housing complexes and summer school (which is at the middle school) alternately over the summer. Kids will have the opportunity to sign up for summer reading (to participate they will still need to visit the library itself) and also to enjoy sto...