Article Alert! (And it's a big one!)

Albright, Meagan, Kevin Delecki, and Sarah Hinkle. "The Evolution of Early Literacy: A History of Best Practices in Storytimes." Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Services to Children 7.1 (2009): 13-18. EBSCOhost. Web. 1 Aug. 2009. .

• Gives a brief overview of the early history of story hour/storytime, beginning in the 1950’s, and its values. Also discusses the roles of parents in storytime then and now, and how story hour needs to change to accommodate today’s families.

• If you thought storytime was the little ones sitting happily and being quiet, attentive listeners you were wrong! I sat in on a storytime this summer, and I was also the reader of several stories as well, where I found out that some of the little ones were very vocal and squirmy. Sometimes their grown-ups helped out, other times not so much.... The article did mention the fact that the "traditional storyhour" wasn't exactly condusive to today's busy families (two working parents, after school activities, etc.) and that librarians needed to make the effort to make storyhour more accessible for all.
  

• The article also touched on the fact that story hour isn't as easy as it seems. Not only do you have to "keep the peace," if you will, but it's not just merely reading the story. You have to pick an appropriate story for your age group and you need to keep the kids engaged in the story.
  

Smith, Meg. "The ABCs of Advocacy: The Role of Children's Managers in Public Libraries." Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children 6.3 (2008): 50-51. EBSCOhost. Web. 1 Aug. 2009. .

• Discusses the importance for children’s librarians to become advocates for services and resources for both the children and the libraries.
• This seems to be be simple enough but some of my experiences this summer made me wonder if some librarians and library staff are doing enough to help the library and the kids that come to the programs. Does personal job security get in the way of building the library collection? Are some people more willing than others to make sure patrons are being good patrons and not causing disruptions and problems in the library?
  

Bane, Rebecca. "Let's Pretend: Exploring the Value of Play at the Library." Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children 6.2 (2008): 21-23. EBSCOhost. Web. 1 Aug. 2009. .

• Discusses the importance of play for children and discusses specific programs the library has done to facilitate play and imagination.

• Like one of my coworkers said this summer, "What's the point in working in the children's department if you can't play with scissors and gluesticks?!" Without a doubt, the most successful program I had this summer was the "Build It" program where I gave the kids cardboard, aluminum foil, tubes, paper, and a ton of glue and let them go to town.
  

• This article also discusses how programs don't need to be fancy. The librarians mentioned used large cardboard boxes, tubes, butcher paper, and other craft/found items for their hugely successful programs. Recycling rules!
  

Brown, Amy, and Molly Meyers. "Bringing in the Boys: Using the Theory of Multiple Intelligences to Plan Programs that Appeal to Boys." Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children 6.1 (2008): 4-9. EBSCOhost. Web. 2 Aug. 2009. .

• Using Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, librarians have devised programs to help get boys interested in reading and the library. Discussed their version of Monopoly, Bookopoly, and programs that featured learning about other countries as their most successful ventures.
  

• Getting boys involved in reading and the library seems to be a recurring issue that I keep hearing about. To be honest, most of the kids I saw coming to the library this summer were boys and about half of the kids in each group I had during a program were boys. All of them seemed happy to be at the program and were enjoying themselves and the activities (although I have to say that "Build It" was by far the program that got them the most excited). Perhaps I just lucked out and got a community of awesome boys.
  

Hastings, Samantha Larsen. "Stress-Free Programming for Teens: Stop the Stress and Do More by Doing Less." Young Adult Library Services 7.1: 28-29. EBSCOhost. Web. 2 Aug. 2009. .

• Discusses young adult programs that are of a more independent variety. Instead of having big group programs at the library, the library sends the teens home with a craft or has them enter their predictions for the end of a popular book series.
  

• While I see the author's point and the benefits of this type of programming, it also seems a bit counterintuitive. Granted, this particular library saw circulation of YA materials soar before this type of programming started, this style of programming seems like it might put further distance between the teen and the librarian. Teens still seem to be "feared" by librarians and other patrons so it seems to me that increasing their presence in the library and making them feel welcome in the physical space would be extremely important.
  

• Again, I guess I also got blessed with awesome teenagers this summer (well...most of them). I sat in on two teen programs where there was a good turn out (granted, one was for henna tattoos) but what impressed me more was the rapport between the YA library and the teens. She knew their names and what was going on with them, and the teens really seemed to feel comfortable around her.
  

Flowers, Sarah. "Guidelines for Library Services to Teens." Young Adult Library Services 6.3: 4-7. EBSCOhost. Web. 2 Aug. 2009. .

• Presents guidelines for services for teens as set forth by YALSA and RUSA (Reference and User Services Association) in 2006.

• Because I didn't really get to spend as much time with teens this summer as I had hoped, I'm still very curious as to how libraries deal with this specific age group of patrons. It still seems that there is still this notion of "those pesky teenagers," and that they are feared by other patrons and some library staff. What do we need to do to make sure these patrons needs and wants are taken care of?