Category Archives: Youth Services

I didn’t get it

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

One of the joys and difficulties of being a children’s librarian is you can never completely master the job. There is always something or someone to set your expectations on end. My current storytime group has a little girl in … Continue reading →

Posted in Programs, Youth Services | 1 Comment

ALA wrap-up so far

Posted on June 26, 2011 by

So much for my good intentions of blogging my way through the conference. It seems that you can attend conference events or you can sit in your hotel room and blog about them. High point so far has been the … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's book awards, Children's books, Networking, YAs and their books, Youth Services | 1 Comment

The onslaught begins

Posted on June 6, 2011 by

We are bracing ourselves, because today is the first day of our annual Summer Reading Club. From this point on any time the Youth Services Department is quiet, we will all pause and listen and enjoy that silence, because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Programs, Public libraries, Youth Services | 2 Comments

If you build it, they will (or won’t) come

Posted on May 7, 2011 by

Last night, I attended the annual Zena Sutherland Lecture at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago. It was, as always, a delightful occasion. This year, the author speaking was the brilliant and very funny Mo Willems. And that was … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Parents, Programs, Uncategorized, Youth Services | Leave a comment

Trust the Process

Posted on February 4, 2011 by

Last week, I had the chance to use the 2011 Caldecott Winner,  A Sick Day for Amos McGee, with my storytime group for ages 4-Kindergarten and with my story group for grades K-3. It proved to me once again that … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's book awards, Children's books, Programs, Public libraries, Reviewing, Uncategorized, Youth Services | 2 Comments

Picture books in bins

Posted on October 21, 2010 by

I’m reading Libraries Designed for Kids by Nolan Lushington (Neal-Schuman, 2008). It’s mostly practical and interesting, but it repeats the same ridiculous opinion several times. I hear library directors (not my own, fortunately!) repeating it too. Here’s how it goes: … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's books, Management, Parents, Public libraries, Youth Services | 8 Comments

Why have libraries? part 2

Posted on September 28, 2010 by

I’ve posted before about how much I love weeding. It’s extremely satisfying to pull outdated books off of the shelf. You can congratulate yourself on getting old, yucky material off of the shelves, and you can go work on finding … Continue reading →

Posted in Collection Development, Management, Public libraries, Youth Services | Leave a comment

A hopeful time of year

Posted on June 9, 2010 by

This is the hopeful time of year. It’s when Summer Reading is just beginning. Parents and kids appear at the desk excited and eager to sign up for your Summer Reading club. You give them their logs and most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's books, Programs, Public libraries, Uncategorized, Youth Services | Leave a comment

Questions we all ask ourselves

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

I think it’s safe to say that most Youth Services librarians ask themselves two questions from time to time.  The first one is, “They pay me for this?” You ask yourself that on those days when the job is just … Continue reading →

Posted in Parents, Public libraries, Uncategorized, Youth Services | 2 Comments

Fare thee well, SATA!

Posted on October 14, 2008 by

I love Something About the Author.  I love all those pretty blue volumes sitting on the shelf.  I love learning about the authors, who are some of my very favorite people.  I love having the perfect resource when a student … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's books, Collection Development, Management, Youth Services | Tagged | Leave a comment