Youth Services Newsletter #27, March 2010

Topic of the Month: Blogging

A blog (or web log) is an easy to use online tool to communicate with your community. You can have a blog in addition to your library’s website (or can even use a blog for your website), and it can be general for your library’s whole community or specifically for kids and/or teens. Here are just a few ideas:

How do we get started?

Have a teen or adult volunteer(s) initially set up the blog. After that, it’s really easy to maintain and update!
Or, create a blog on your own. Popular blog tools include WordPress and Blogger. Follow the tutorials to set up your blog.
Have a contest to name your blog! You can also have a contest to design bookmarks promoting your blog, with its web address.

What can my library blog about for kids and/or teens?

Post book and movie reviews—from print sources, staff, and young patrons
Talk up upcoming programs—and rave about recent programs (make sure to include photos!)
Transcribe interviews with recent or upcoming performers or local authors
List new arrivals in the library
Include info on your Summer Reading Program
Announce non-library local events, websites, articles, and other resources relevant to your audience—and mention a book or two in your collection relevant to the announcement for further reading
Once a month, feature a DVD, CD, or magazine from your collection, and/or a magazine title in Magazines Online or one of your library’s subscription databases
Offer entries for parents and teachers, too
Post game reviews and other tech info

But how do we find the time????
Yes, this is a huge question! Here are a few ideas to manage it:

Take turns posting on the blog with other staff and/or volunteers. If there are 4 of you working on the blog, each of you only needs to make 1 post every week, or even every other week.
Aim to spend about 15 to 30 minutes a week on the blog. This puts the time commitment in perspective and makes seem not quite so bad…
Charge your Teen Advisory Group, or several regular teen patrons, with posting new material to the blog

What’s next?

Aim to post an entry at least once a week to keep patrons interested
Promote your new blog widely
Ask for contributions and ideas for the blog; not only will this give you ideas and material, it also will generate buy-in and create a sense of ownership amongst readers

How about some examples?

The Daily Dragon: http://dreyfusdragon.blogspot.com/
The Wild Rumpus: http://www.chplyouthservices.blogspot.com/
CCLS Young Adult Spot: http://cclyaspot.blogspot.com/
Birth to 6: http://cclyaspot.blogspot.com/ (for parents)
TeenThing: http://thelibrary.org/teens/teens.cfm
Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian: http://3tnar.blogspot.com/
This creative blog by the Alamogordo Public Library offers book and library-product reviews from turtles named Freaky, Fegan and Squirt. This way, no one can be upset at the library over bad reviews—it’s the turtles that are blogging!

Share
Does your library have a blog for kids, teens, and/or parents? Please let me know!

State Library Updates and Announcements

NMLA Conference
If you’re coming to the NMLA conference in Ruidoso, please stop by the State Library’s booth and say hi! We hope to see you there!

Library Snapshot Day

Just a reminder: The State Library and NM Library Association invite all public, academic, special and school libraries to participate in Library Snapshot Day on April 14, or whichever day you've chosen between Monday, April 12 and Monday, April 19. Our "toolkit" includes: the survey/data collection form, a photo release form, a press release template, graphics, instructions on how to upload your photos to Flickr, and tips to help plan a successful event: http://nmstatelibrary.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1209:snapshot-daytoolkit&catid=1:latest-news. Please join in this important—and fun—event!

Upcoming Newsletter Topics:

April: Professional Development
May: Parenting Resources

Please contribute any materials, tips, questions, and comments you have on these topics to be included in the newsletters! And please let me know if there are any topics you’d like to see featured in the newsletter.

Summer Reading Program 2010

CSLP Early Literacy Manual
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has posted an Early Literacy Manual on its website. It’s available for download on the CSLP website (http://www.cslpreads.org/) under “Learning Tools” -> “Family Literacy” -> “Early Literacy” [login required]. There are book logs available, also. Check it out!

California SRP Workshops available online
California’s 2010 summer reading training workshop is available for viewing on the California Library Association’s website at: http://cla-net.org/summer-reading/workshop.php.

The video is divided up by topic for ease of viewing, and topics include:

setting the scene and decorating the library;
programming ideas for children, teens, and adults, including storytimes, book discussions, games, crafts, environmental programming, and programming on a budget;
offsite summer reading programs;
teen volunteers; and
planning your adult summer reading program.

More Water Activities for Kids
Check out these fun, educational activities, trivia, and info for kids on water:

Dive into Summer Reading with Enslow Books
Enslow Books has titles that will keep your young readers reading and surfing great books this summer, for both kids and teens. And check out their '10 Minutes Can Save You 10%' discount offer. Go to http://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=242006377&message_id=947489&user_id=ENSLOW&group_id=215873 to learn more.

News & Opportunities

Youth Services Roundtable Workshop Coming Soon!

Save the date! Learn about collection development for kids and teens at a workshop on May 21, 9:00 to 4:00, at the State Library in Santa Fe. Details coming soon!

NM Library Foundation Grants
The New Mexico Library Foundation is now accepting applications for grants through April 30th. For more information about the grant, and to apply online, go to http://www.nm-lf.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=5.

Grants are a maximum of $1,000 and they are given to all types of libraries in New Mexico (public, private, school, special, academic). The grants are given to support collections, programming, activities and equipment that enhance library programs.

Now’s the time to book the Van of Enchantment for your summer programs!
A museum on wheels, the Van of Enchantment is a converted RV that tours New Mexico carrying artifacts and materials from the state museums and monuments. The Van of Enchantment brings its contents to life with dynamic activities. There is never an admission or program fee for the Van of Enchantment.

From September 2008 to December 2010 the exhibit on board will be Trails and Tales, and will cover the roads surrounding Chaco Canyon, El Camino Real and the Old Spanish Trail. The exhibit from May 2009 to December 2010 will be Riding the Rails and includes the Santa Fe Trail, the Railroad and the Rail Runner Express. The van offers an enriching educational experience and can be customized for your program. The van is staffed with traveling educators who can offer guided tours, encourage independent exploration and lead creative activities. The van is home to touchable items and authentic artifacts that bring a genuine, yet unique museum experience to all its visitors.

To submit a request please complete and email the document attached to this email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5:00pm on Monday, April 19, 2010. Libraries will be informed of the visit date and the exhibition visiting by May 15, 2010.
For more information please contact:
Amanda Lujan, Van of Enchantment Coordinator
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

And for lots of wonderful, interactive extras, check out the Van’s own website: www.vanofenchantment.org

Upcoming continuing education opportunities from YALSA
YALSA Webinars:
YALSA recently launched a new webinar series, which is designed to provide librarians and library staff who serve teens with a 60 minute interactive online learning opportunity. These webinars are offered at a low group rate of $199 and there is no cap on the number of participants who can view the webinar. YALSA is offering its first webinar free! Join us at 2pm Eastern on Wednesday March 31 for a conversation with YALSA President Linda Braun on Getting Involved in YALSA. Learn more about our webinars here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/onlinecourses/webinar.cfm

YALSA E-courses:
YALSA’s e-courses are a great way for librarians to enhance their professional skills set. Organizations have two options for e-courses. Individuals may register for regularly scheduled sessions which run for 4 weeks. Our next session runs July 12 – August 9, 2010 and features our classes, Beyond Booklists and Power Up with Print. Registration for these classes will open on May 3, 2010. Organizations may also license an entire course to be offered just for their organization at a date that is convenient for you. The cost of a 25 seat course is $3,375. You can learn more at www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/onlinecourses/info.cfm.

YALSA Institutes:
YALSA also provides face to face training workshops designed to bring library workers up to speed on a variety of aspects relating to teen services in libraries. Chose from one of our four great institutes, or chose to have one of our online courses presented as a full day face to face workshop, we’ll bring these workshops to you at a date you choose. They run from $45 to $90 per attendee, based on the number of participants.

If you have any questions, or would like to talk about how YALSA can tailor these continuing education opportunities to your organization’s needs, please call 1-800-545-2433 ext. 5293 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Happy Handwashing Song and Video for Kids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC recently released audio and video Podcasts featuring an animated song, sung to the tune of Happy Birthday, that encourage kids to wash their hands to keep germs away. When the song is sung twice through, it is the recommended length of time to wash hands. The animated song is also available as a Health-e-Card.

Audio and Video Podcasts: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=770473
Health-e-Card: http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecards/message/message.asp?cardid=462

Cheerios® 100,000 Book Giveaway
Cheerios has teamed up with Jon Scieszka and First Book to distribute 100,000 new books to kids in need across the country. Through the 100,000 Book Giveaway, the five states receiving the highest number of votes will each receive 20,000 new books for local kids - and we need your help to decide where the books should be donated!

By answering the trivia questions featured in this challenge, you can help select the states that will receive new books for local kids. For every trivia question you answer correctly now through August 31st, 2010, you can cast one vote for the state you want to receive new books. The more questions you answer correctly, the more votes you cast! Go to http://booksforkids.firstbook.org/jonscieszka/ to keep answering questions for NM! We’re in 25th place now, but there’s plenty of time until August!

Social Media and Young Adults
Two Pew Internet Project surveys of teens and adults reveal a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. Even as blogging declines among those under 30, wireless connectivity continues to rise in this age group, as does social network use. Teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers, though high school-aged girls show the greatest enthusiasm for the application.
Among the findings for teens ages 12-17:

14% of online teens ages 12-17 now say they blog, down from 28% of teen internet users in 2006.
73% of online teens now use social networking websites, a significant increase from previous surveys. Just over half of online teens (55%) used social networking sites in November 2006 and 65% did so in February 2008.
8% of internet users ages 12-17 use Twitter. This makes Twitter far less common than sending or receiving text messages as 66% of teens do, or going online for news and political information, done by 62% of online teens.
In the past five years, cell phone ownership has become mainstream among even the youngest teens. Fully 58% of 12-year olds now own a cell phone, up from just 18% of such teens as recently as 2004.

For adults 18 and older:

Facebook is currently the most commonly-used online social network among adults. Among adult profile owners, 73% have a profile on Facebook, 48% have a profile on MySpace and 14% have a LinkedIn profile.
47% of online adults use social networking sites, up from 37% in November 2008.
81% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are wireless internet users. By comparison, 63% of 30-49 year olds and 34% of those ages 50 and up access the internet wirelessly.
Young adults lead the way when it comes to using Twitter or status updating. One-third of online 18-29 year olds post or read status updates

Read the full report: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx.

Third Annual Tyrone Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering
To celebrate National Cowboy Poetry Week, the third annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering will be on Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24, 2010, in Tyrone, NM. http://www.tyronecowboygathering.com/.

ProgrammingLibrarian.org
The ALA Public Programs Office recently launched new features and a monthly e-newsletter for its Web site, ProgrammingLibrarian.org. Designed for librarians who plan and present cultural programs and events, ProgrammingLibrarian.org is both a resource center and a community of librarians committed to bringing increased access to literature, music, contemporary issues, art, history, poetry, scholars, writers and musicians to their communities.

In order to keep up with new content on ProgrammingLibrarian.org, and to stay informed of upcoming grant opportunities, current job listings and new programming resources, ProgrammingLibrarian.org offers a monthly e-newsletter. To sign up, visit http://www.programminglibrarian.org/newsletter_signup.

From the website:
Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web allows you to “[e]xplore the rich variety of topics, images, and materials featured in online exhibitions from libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums around the world.” With the searchable site’s more than 3,000 links, you’re bound to find something that can serve as a source for inspiration when planning your programs.

For example…a few that I came across searching for “literature” or “fiction”:

The Afterlife of Alice In Wonderland. This exhibition includes a Lewis Carroll biography, early editions and early illustrators, adaptations, reincarnations, and alternative Alices. Might be of interest, with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland movie out next month.

Nancy Drew and Friends: Girls’ Series Books Rediscovered. As the site notes, “[g]irls’ series books portray a world where capable girls solve mysteries and embark on adventures with pluck, brains, and style. The lasting power of these strong role models for girls is one reason these books are still worthy of consideration today.”

TechSoup Stock Spotlight: Wikispaces
Wikispaces has teamed with TechSoup Stock to make hosted wikis available to nonprofit organizations, schools, and public libraries. Each qualifying organization may request a donation of up to three hosted wikis within one fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) for a $10 admin fee.

The Wikispaces Plus Plan offers organizations a hosted wiki that is easy to setup and use. A wiki is a type of Web site that allows users to add, remove, and edit all content, very quickly and easily. The Plus Plan offers 2 GB storage and allows unlimited users, edits, and messages. Other plans are available from the Wikispaces website, including a plan that has no cost but has fewer features. For more details, see our TechSoup Stock Wikispaces Donation Program Page and our Wikispaces Resource Page.

TechSoup's donation program helps stretch your library's budget. You can save 80-96% on brand-new software donated by top companies. The products, including Microsoft donated software and refurbished computers, are available to all public libraries that are listed in the IMLS database and/or have a valid 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and to nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) designation.

Library Advocacy Day Stipends from YALSA
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will offer travel stipends of up to $1,000 each to five YALSA members to participate in ALA’s Library Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. on June 29, 2010, in conjunction with ALA Annual Conference.

Applications for the stipend are available at www.ala.org/yalsa/awards&grants (click “Scholarships, Stipends, and Fellowships”); send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by April 30.

Applicants must be YALSA personal members with one to 10 years’ experience working with teens in a library setting who have not previously participated in or attended ALA’s Library Legislative Day. Applicants will be selected based on their commitment to young adult library services, their learning goals for attending the event, financial need and how the applicant intends to use the experience at his or her home institution. Winners will be announced by May 17, 2010.

Funny Library YouTube Videos for Kids
Check out these videos by a library student and actor in North Carolina:

The Book Nook

Assembly on Literature for Adolescents
The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN), founded in 1973, is made up of teachers, authors, librarians, publishers, teacher-educators and their students, and others who are particularly interested in the area of young adult literature. The group offers awards, an annual conference, online book reviews and book chats, and more. Surf over for a look at http://www.alan-ya.org/.

The Cooperative Children's Book Center
The Cooperative Children's Book Center, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is one of the premier research centers for children's literature. Its website is a wealth of useful resources, from tips on dealing with challenged materials in libraries to author webpages to podcasts and much more. Go to www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc for more.

On the Future of Publishing
Dorling Kindersley UK created the video, The End of Publishing, The Future of Publishing, for a sales conference. DK decided to post it on YouTube to share with a wider audience. Over 350,000 people have viewed it so far. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg

Top 10 Graphic Novels: 2010
Six of the 10 best graphic novels Booklist reviewed since the March 15, 2009, Spotlight on Graphic Novels come from general publishers, not comics specialists—another sure indicator of the medium’s coming-of-age. http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=4057023.

2010 Children's Choice Book Award Finalists
The finalists for the 2010 Children's Choice Book Awards have been announced and children and teens are able to cast their vote for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and online until May 3, 2010. 15,500 children and teens from around the US spent months reading and evaluating books submitted by publishers. The five favorite books published in 2009 in each of these categories are open for a nation-wide vote in March and April 2009 in each of four grade categories: K-2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-6th, and Teen as well as Favorite Author, and Favorite Illustrator. The winner in each category will be named at a gala during Children's Book Week on May 11th, 2010 in New York City as part of Children's Book Week (May 10-16, 2010), the oldest national literacy event in the United States. To see the finalists and vote, go to http://www.bookweekonline.com/.

To enhance the awareness of the awards, the Children's Book Council is working with JacketFlap again this year to create a Children's Choice Book Awards Widget, which displays a different finalist book every time it loads on a web site or blog. You can get the Widget for your own blog or web site at: http://www.jacketflap.com/widgets/widget.asp?widgetname=ccba2010.

Library to Library

Preparing for College at Corrales Public Library
This program is designed for students in the 9th-11th grades and their parents or guardians.

Learn what required courses are needed to be accepted.
Learn about the Admission Process.
Learn about Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Loans.

The presenters will be:
Jerry Whitlock, owner of College Planning for Success &
Rae Siporin retired director of Undergraduate Admissions UCLA.

Where: Corrales Community Library
Date: Thursday, April 29th
Time: 7:00pm -8:30 pm

Albuquerque Libraries Celebrate Día de los Niños
The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries will kick off the Día de los Niños Celebration on Saturday, April 17 at the Los Griegos, San Pedro, Tony Hillerman and Juan Tabo Libraries with four separate family events throughout the day. Children and families can hear and participate in storytelling, as well as listen to and act out favorite poems and rhymes.

From April 17 to May 1, Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries are celebrating Día de los Niños, a multicultural celebration of children and literacy. Fifteen libraries will host special events for children, families and school groups featuring storytellers, interactive poetry, traveling trunk exhibits, puppet shows and more. At the end of each event, children will be able to take home a book of their very own (while supplies last).

El Día de los Niños (Día) is a celebration of children, families and reading held annually on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Día is an enhancement of Children’s Day, which began in 1925. In 1996 nationally acclaimed children’s book author Pat Mora proposed linking the celebration of childhood and children with literacy to found El Día de los Niños.

The library system’s two-week Día celebration gives families and school groups from all over the city a variety of opportunities to participate in one of the many free events. To find a Día celebration near you, visit the library online at www.cabq.gov/library or call 311 (TTY users call Relay NM or 711).

Beth Crist, Library Development Bureau Director
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; 505-476-9753