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Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 16:46:44 -0400 (EDT)
To: pubyac-digest@nysernet.org
Subject: pubyac V1 #682
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Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 03:59:41 -0400
From: Earl Gallaway <egallawa@concentric.net>
Subject: storytime crafts
When the focus of storytime becomes the craft, it is time to change the
craft portion, or do away with it all together. I find it incredibly
frustrating to be reading a wonderful picture book and have a child in
the front row whine "when are we doing the craft?" I usually smile and
say, "this is storytime, not craft time! We do crafts last, and we
won't be able to do them anymore if that becomes the focus of the
program."
At my library, the format for the 3-5 year olds has traditionally been a
45 minute program: we have an opening, play a name game, I read a long
story (or use the flannelboard or puppets), then do a stretching
activity, then a song or fingerplay, then a shorter story, then a song,
then a story that will tie into the craft, then a craft for the last
10-15 minutes.
I like crafts, but don't feel they should be the focus of storytime.
Crafts do not need to be included at every storytime, and you could do
some sort of book related activity instead of a craft (like having kids
retell a story you just read, or act it out). A craft project may be a
one-thing thing, something special for the first or last meeting. I
believe that crafts should not involve a lot of preparation for the
librarians -- I won't cut out 30 duck shapes just so the kids can add
feathers & eyes & a popsicle stick, but I will trace the shape and
photocopy it onto yellow paper for them to cut themselves.
I really made an effort to connect the crafts with the books. For
example, we read Corduroy by Don Freeman, then make a bear stick
puppet. I especially like open-ended projects, such as reading More
Spaghetti I Say by Rita Golden Gelman, and making pasta collages, or
shareing Color Farm by Lois Ehlert, looking at it as a piece of art, and
passing out shapes to the kids, inviting them to create their own
animals out of squares nad circles and triangles.
If I get the impression that the kids are more into the arts & crafts
than the stories, I make the crafts more literacy focused. I have read
Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald, then passed out letter cutouts & invited
the kids to paste them on paper and see what things the letter shapes
can be turned into with crayoned additions. I also do blank books as a
craft (a pre-literacy activity -- kids make a "book" with white paper
folded & stapled inside of construction paper, they draw the story ,then
dictate to the parent, and the parent writes in the words). We share
the books the following week, and I encourage the families to make books
at home and bring them in. I also did other activities in lieu of a
craft -- I read stories about music or books that were song lyrics, and
then we marched around playing musical instruments. We also have a
parachute, which I use at the lat meeting, mostly just for fun.
Because kids love crafts, and parents list it as their favorite part of
storytime on evaluations, and many preschoolers don't seem to get much
opportunity to do crafts in my city, we offered a crafts-only program
last summer for 3-5 year olds. In 45 minutes, the kids did 3 different
crafts relating to a theme: crafts in the kitchen, crafts with stuff
found in nature, and crafts that related to science. We made homemade
salt dough play dough, blew bubbles, made pinwheels and wind catchers,
created leaf prints, finger-painted with pudding, made toilet paper tube
binoculars and egg carton caterpillars, and more. It was wildly
successful!
We took registration and signed up 15 children for each session.
Parents were required to attend to assist their kids with projects. We
offered 9 sessions; 3 of each theme. We offered duplicate programs to
accommodate various schedules over summer vacation. Families didn't
have to attend 3 in a row, they could attend any 3 sessions. It also
made planning easier; we all had input on what to include, then took
turns running the program. We handed out directions for everything we
did, as well as handouts for other cheap and easy craft activities that
families could try at home, and provided a display of arts & crafts
books. The whole program was fun and fairly easy to put together. It
was also cheap, because we focused on found and recycled materials.
Along with the "crafts-only" program last summer, we also offered
"stories-only" storytimes, at various outdoor locations, to coincide
with the arrival of our bookmobile. All patrons were invited to attend
then, no registration was required, and they were fairly successful. The
bookmobile wasn't always on schedule! These were very casual, small
groups. I never had anyone ask about crafts at these storytimes.
Beth Gallaway
Young Adult and Children's Librarian
Haverhill Public Library
Haverhill MA
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 07:38:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marlyn Roberts <chaisegirl@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: story-time vs. story-craft -Reply
I'm one of the proponents of no crafts during regular
storytimes. That perhaps is unpopular. But the
children do crafts everywhere -- school (preschool,
kindergarten, whatever), probably at daycare, and at
any camps or special groups they belong to.
If there's a story that calls for a craft, then by all
means, I think you should do it. Or do a special
craft program occasionally.
But I think that storytimes should focus on the
enjoyment of words and books.
Marlyn
===
Marlyn K. Roberts
Children's Librarian
Codman Square Branch
Boston Public Library
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 06:16:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: bf455@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bonita Kale)
Subject: Columbine
Two thoughts:
1. According to the paper, the US's worst school massacre was in Michigan
in 1927--a school board member wired up the school with bombs. So it's not
only this decade.
2. I think part of what is upsetting people is that these kids are seen as
- -not- disadvantaged. They haven't been exposed to drugs in the home,
haven't been reared in poverty. But maybe you can be disadvantaged by
being too rich? In a world in which serious hunger exists, perhaps it's
child abuse to buy a BMW for a child to drive to school. I mean, what does
it teach the child? That it's -okay- to spend enough money to support a
family for a couple of years on a car for a kid? Is that any -better- than
teaching a child that drugs are the answer to his problems? It's just as
much a lie; the only difference is, that it's a lie that's socially
acceptable.
Not that I would preach that way to the poor parents. But really--who gave
us the idea that money would prevent these things?
Bonita
- --
Bonita Kale
bf455@cleveland.freenet.edu
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 06:26:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: bf455@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bonita Kale)
Subject: Sunbird
I want to thank you guys for your wonderful advice. I feel as if I now
have a context, if you know what I mean--some idea of how to handle this
and where it might go. It's -so- helpful! You guys are great!
Bonita
- --
Bonita Kale
bf455@cleveland.freenet.edu
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 08:56:04 -0400
From: Jan Chapman <jan@thechief.com>
Subject: Re: Columbine area, Colorado
Carol:
Your post is sad but true...every word you write I'm sure strikes a chord with
other YA librarians or other generalists who are YA advocates. It is wonderful
that although your background is as a children's librarian you have picked up
the torch for YA's. After all, why do we spend so much money on lapsits and
young children's programming, only to abandon them when they hit the age of 12?
I think there are a number of reasons for this. One of the most compelling, in
my opinion, is the fact that working with YA's sometimes does not produce
visible and obvious results, and is therefore overlooked by management.
Children's story hours are always supported because the library looks good with
all those Moms and toddlers crowding in for storytime. The library manager can
pat him/herself on the back and talk about successful community programming.
But YA's are only visible to some librarians as a potential nuisance (and
sometimes they are a pain!). When they come in droves to find information for
a report, the reference librarians grouse. Do they scold the taxpayer who
comes in on April 14th for a last minute tax form? You betcha, they don't!
But some librarians feel free to give YA's the evil eye when they come in the
day before a report is due and request information.
I am just a novice in this field, so I don't have any answers, unfortunately.
The only thing I can suggest is to form a teen advisory group who will join you
in advocating for continuing YA services. If the manager/director has to deal
with a bunch of irritated YA's whose book discussion group has been yanked,
perhaps they will reconsider.
Good luck and keep on fighting for YA's! They have a right to library service
too.
Jan Chapman
YA librarian wannabe
Carol A. Edwards wrote:
> I keep thinking about those poor guys who did this and wondering...... As
> just about everyone is. And then I get mad. Okay, here's a rant and you can
> skip it, but what in the world are libraries thinking, except what the rest
> of society thinks when we marginalize service to teens?
>
**********************************************************************
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by
little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Self Reliance
**********************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 11:23:54 -0700
From: "Carrie Eldridge" <celdridge@sanjuan.lib.wa.us>
Subject: Columbine tragedy
In regards to Caroline Edwards and her rant....
In was just three weeks ago I was talking to the lady in this town that
runs the Family Resource Network. (We are working on a joint project for
babies) Somehow we got on the topic of violence and children (prompted by
my watching a Ophra show on same topic - a wonderful show by the way on how
we raise our boys in this society). She recommended a book called Ghosts
from the Nursery about how violence starts with a babys early experiences.
I haven't got my hands on it yet - but if anyone has read it and wants to
review it on pubyac for us all - that would be helpful.
I am the mother of a fifteen year old boy and all this stuff going on
really hits home. Now I am going to express my opinion: I believe that in
many ways our teenagers need our attention just as much as a baby does. We
need to be in their lives even if they don't want us! Yes they are
difficult. yes it's easier just to push them away. But we have seen what
can happen if we don't have input into their lives. Therefore Libraries
should not drop programs for teens. It's too important. think about it....
Carrie
These opinions are not necessarily the opinions of my library, OK?
Carrie Eldridge
San Juan Island Library District
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
360-378-2798
360-378-2702
celdridge@sanjuan.lib.wa.us
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 08:40:54 EDT
From: WANT2BBOY@aol.com
Subject: Library School Synopsis
Hi all,
I want to thank everyone who answered my query about library schools. I
received many wonderful and insightful responses. The vast majority of
answers confirmed that library school taught them many useful and practical
things. Most people thought that what they learned in library school was not
truly appreciated, used or practical until they were actually working in the
field. Recalling the knowledge learned on planning, budgeting, ethics, and
professionalism has helped most responders perform their jobs with a better
understanding of why and how things are done.
James Benson seemed to respond to this question with the same reasoning. He
had stated that it wasn't until he continued his pursue of librarianship,
that he realized how valuable his MLS really was.
Some people thought that they learned most of their practical knowledge from
the actual work experience. Isn't this true with most things in life? Until
you try something, you never really know how to do it. Library school gives
you the foundation to build upon.
Thanks again to everyone who expressed an opinion. All the responses made
for some very interesting, and thought provoking theories.
This list serve is great.
Have a great day!
Linda Eagan
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 06:16:01 -0400
From: Toni Buzzeo <buzzeocyll@mix-net.net>
Subject: Virtual Connections with Authors?
Have any of you in public libraries had experiences of connecting kids
with authors, illustrators, and storytellers VIRTUALLY, whether through
online chats or e-mail correspondences? If so, drop me a line, please.
Thanks,
Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS
<buzzeocyll@mix-net.net>
Longfellow School Library Media Center
Portland, ME
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 10:19:34 -0500 (EST)
From: kheau@queenslibrary.org
Subject: Tales with Teens (long)
Dear Pubyaccers:
About 6 months ago, I asked you all for advice on running a "book
buddies"
program where teen readers are paired up with grade-school kids. I
promised I'd get back to you on how it went, but time flies and we're
finishing the program next week, so here goes:
We decided to call the program "Tales with Teens." This is a catchy
phrase, but we did run into some confusion initially with not enough
children signing up because they thought it was a teen program. A few
large signs and word of mouth solved that problem fast!
We (the young adult librarian--me--and the children's supervisor) held
one-hour training sessions for the teen volunteers. To be official library
volunteers, you had to be 14 yrs. old, but we allowed 13 yr. olds to
participate unofficially. The training sessions consisted of: 1. an
ice-breaker (talk about a story you remember from your childhood); 2. the
goals of the program, e.g. fostering a love of reading, becoming a role
model, developing leadership skills, gaining experience for a resume,
self-esteem, etc.; 3. introducing the different genres of children's
literature and what is appropriate for each age group; 4. explaining the
rules of the program and the proper way to interact with the children; and
5. teaching them read-aloud skills and testing them briefly on that.
We ended up with a core group of about 15 teens who stuck it out to the
end of the program. After the teens were trained, we opened up
registration to the children, and then matched up teens with one to three
kids of similar ages. We met every Friday afternoon for an hour in a large
meeting room. I provided a truck of picture, folk, and easy chapter books,
some floor cushions and chairs. I also made name tags for the teens and
the children. The children's tags had their reader's name on them, and the
teens' tags had their children's names on them so they could find each
other at the first session. The program has been going on successfully
(averaging 30-40 people each session) since February. This past Friday,
authors/illustrators Sidney Levitt and Catherine Siracusa paid us a visit,
and they were filled with praise on how the children were so attentive and
asked so many questions. This coming Friday, we are having our closing
party, with the teens putting on a puppet show, bringing goodies to eat,
helping with a craft, and conducting circle games. I feel very positive
about this program, and now the library has a committed group of teens we
can approach in the future if we want to start up a teen advisory board,
for instance. Also the median age of the teens is older (14-18) that what
we usually attract for summer reading club (mostly 11-13), so we are
reaching more teens.
Some things we learned and problems to iron out:
1. It was hard to keep the same children matched up with the teen readers.
Some teens dropped out or couldn't come in some days (although this was
less than I expected), and many children dropped out or skipped weeks. We
also kept getting new children dropping in. Sometimes a parent would drop
the kid in the room and take off without speaking to us first. Flushing
Library is a large (4-floor) metropolitan facility primarily patronized by
a new diverse immigrant population who is not always familiar with library
program protocol, and sometimes it is impossible to keep track of the
comings and goings of kids in the library. Most of the time we did a
fairly good job, though, with the teens responsible for their children for
that one hour.
2. The noise level sometimes distracts kids who do not have a long
attention span. This is because multiple groups are reading aloud in the
same area. We decided to introduce a circle/stretch time in the last 15
minutes to provide relief from sustained reading.
3. It is a good idea to have periodic meetings with the teens to evaluate
the program, address any disciplinary problems they are having with the
children, and to plan future acitivities.
4. If a child was in the middle of a book when the hour ended, we saved it
for next time bookmarked with the child's name on it.
We plan to try this program again in the fall. If you have any more
questions, you can email me personally.
Karen Heau
Young Adult Librarian
Flushing Library
Queens Borough Public Library
kheau@queenslibrary.org
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 07:23:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: ac2091@wayne.edu
Subject: Re: videos
There's a "Filmic Archives" catalog that offers a number of videos
about
different authors, unfortunately it seems I tossed my latest issue, so
maybe someone else on the listserv is familiar with it and can give you
their 1-800# to order- Good luck, HKS
On Sat, 24 Apr 1999, Karen Sutherland wrote:
> I have been asked by the school librarian at one of the schools we serve
> if we have videos on any author and if I will plan a program around that
> author. Any suggestions
> for videos on authors will be most appreciative, and if you can tell me
> where you got
> these videos, that also will help. Thank you very much.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Karen Sutherland
> Youth Services Librarian
>
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 13:09:12 -0500
From: "Sheilah O'Connor" <soconnor@library.epl.etobicoke.on.ca>
Subject: Time Travel /millenium
The Toronto Public Library is planning a time travel/millenium theme for the
Summer reading Game this summer.
We need good links for our Web Page and any great ideas for activities that
anyone has come up with - either for the web page or for our activity book
or for in library activities.
I know that this is a popular theme this year, so I'm confident that my
mailbox will soon be bursting!
I'll post the replies if there is interest.
Thanks.
Sheilah O'Connor
soconnor@library.epl.etobicoke.on.ca
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 08:32:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: paula coy <paulacoy@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Colorado Bibliotherapy
A good aritcle I found was on the American Psychologists Association
site. The title of the article "Coping with an Aftermath of A disatster"
by John TasseyPh.D. It is a question and answer format. This psychologist
was part of the APA task force at oklahoma city. To get the article:Http://
helping.apa.org/daily/tassey.html. It includes how parents,counselors can
help.
Paula Coy
Broward County Library
<hr size=1><b>Do You Yahoo!?</b><br>Get your free @yahoo.com
address at <a href="http://mail.yahoo.com/">Yahoo!
Mail</a>.<br>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 14:52:36 EDT
From: BSH5587@aol.com
Subject: Dream Dare Do Program
Pubyacers -
We have been given the opportunity to host a "Dream Dare Do" workshop
through
HPK Marketing. This is a workshop that teachs goal-setting and being
drug-free. It incorporates the yo-yo as a vehicle to keep children's
attention. HPK Marketing said they will do this program for free. It almost
seems too good to be true. Has anyone hosted this workshop or worked with
this organization? If so, please share your thoughts. TIA
Brenda Hauck
Young Adult Specialist
Swanton Public Library
305 Chestnut St.
Swanton, OH 43558
bsh5587@aol.com
(419)826-2760 (v)
(419)826-1020 (f)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 14:32:43 +0900
From: "Hays, Tammy" <library@tac-club.org>
Subject: Internet Access Agreements for kids
Hi!
Our library would like to use an Internet Access Agreement for kids. I
would greatly appreciate any help you can give with this matter. I am
particularly interested in seeing copies of what other libraries are doing
and what age groups you use the policies for. Also, any challenges you may
have encountered with enforcing the agreement. Thanks for your help!
Tammy Hays
Head Librarian
Hal Roberts Library
Tokyo American Club
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: 03-3224-3678
Email: library@tac-club.org <mailto:library@tac-club.org>
http://www.tac-club.org <http://www.tac-club.org>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 08:23:50 -0500
From: "Kathleen Baxter" <kathyb@anoka.lib.mn.us>
Subject: Dr. Laura
Have fellow pubyackers heard that Dr. Laura is telling her listeners NOT to
take children to the public library, as the library does not censor
children's material nor does it provide internet filters?
I have never heard Dr. Laura in my life, but I have this on very reliable
authority from two or three staff members.
Interesting, considering she has just written a picture book, which, of
course, the public is demanding that they get at the library!
Kathleen Baxter in Minneapolis
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 11:47:25 -0400
From: chattcrandall@juno.com
Subject: Thanks! Storyhour discipline
I just wanted to thank everyone who replied with suggestions about
discipline during story hour a few weeks back. I especially wanted to
thank the person from California who mailed me a copy of their guidelines
for conducting story hours (sorry, I couldn't make out the name on the
note!) Thanks again!
Molly Chatt Crandall
Ontario Public Library
Ontario, NY 14519
___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 14:04:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Mary Johnson (amk)" <mjohnson@wlsmail.wls.lib.ny.us>
Subject: Alternate Newberys
Hello, everyone! We've just gotten the results of our Alternate Newberys
here in Armonk. This was a collaborative program between the school and
town libraries, the 5th grade teachers, and their students; 190 5th
graders read books, voted, tallied the results and designed bookmarks. I
think the kids did a great job! The winners in the new fiction category
were:
Rowling, J.K. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Winner!
Barron, T.A. "Fires of Merlin" First runner-up
Grove, Vicki "Reaching Dustin" Second runner-up
If you'd like more information about the program, please contact me.
I'll also post the winners in other categories if there is interest.
Mary Johnson, YA librarian, North Castle Public Library, Armonk, NY 10504
mjohnson@wls.lib.ny.us
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 11:22:43 -0700
From: Ann-Marie Biden <ambiden@nancy.ci.san-marino.ca.us>
Subject: Appraisal magazine
To all, FYI....
I have recently been in contact with Appraisal's editor, Diane Holzheimer
about the timeliness of their publication. She asked me to let everyone
know that they are still in business after having moved to Northeastern
University and are working to improve this problem. They are a non-profit
organization and have faced some struggles but feel they've corrected them.
If you wish to contact them, their e-mail address is
appraisal@lynx.neu.edu. They're also developing a website. Ann-Marie
Ann-Marie Biden, Youth Services Librarian
San Marino Public Library
1890 Huntington Dr.
San Marino, CA 91108
tel (626) 300-0776 fax (626)284-0766
ambiden@ci.san-marino.ca.us
------------------------------
End of pubyac V1 #682
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