Tag Archives: summer reading

Summer reading 2024 resources

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The year has just begun, but library staff are already looking toward summer reading 2024. The Collaborative Summer Library Program theme this year is “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” and libraries are excited to plan adventures of all types for their communities. I’ve put together several resources to help with public library staff’s summer planning.

Webinar: The best place to start is with the webinar I did in January 2024. This webinar covers updates about the 2024 Adventure Begins at Your Library program and highlights a variety of resources that should help you with program planning. You can view the webinar here.

Resource Website: Speaking of resources, I pulled together some of the most helpful resources for planning your summer reading program here. Included are all of the resources discussed in the above webinar, tutorials on navigating the online manual and planning summer reading, a list of adventure-themed topics to jump-start your creativity and much more.

CSLP Website and Manual: I highly recommend taking a look at the 2024 CSLP Online Manual for a ton of fully developed, ready-to-go program plans revolving around adventure. To access it, visit the CSLP website, go to “Manual Downloads,” and select “2024 Adventure Begins at Your Library!” You’ll be prompted to enter the manual code (Indiana public library staff may request the code here), and then you’ll have access to this wonderful resource!

CSLP Shop: Need shirts, decorations, incentive items and other gear with the trademarked CSLP artwork? Visit the CSLP Shop. CSLP is a nonprofit, and all of the money earned from shop sales go back into what the shop can sell next year. Just note the timelines – you must order by March 1 to receive your items by May 1.

Program Ideas: This winter, I’ve been facilitating workshops across the state about the “Adventure Begins at Your Library” theme, and at each training I collect program ideas from the participants. I post those program ideas under “Summer Program Ideas for Current Year,” so check them out if you need help with your own idea creation. You can also view program ideas from past years here. Of course, you can use most of these ideas year-round! I recommend bookmarking them in your browser for quick access.

CSLP Summer Symposium: The CSLP Summer Symposium is a national, virtual, free mini-conference which takes place in December. The third annual symposium took place on Dec. 7, 2023, and the recordings are now available! There were four one-hour sessions, each worth one LEU, that may be helpful to you; the topics were simplifying summer reading, manual highlights, promotion and outdoor programming partnerships. You can view the recordings and access the supporting materials here.

As you begin to plan for summer 2024, I recommend keeping things simple for you and your patrons. Summer reading programs can be organized in a million different ways, so do what’s best for your community, but try not to over complicate it. You’ll thank yourself once summer rolls around. Happy planning!

Submitted by Beth Yates, Indiana State Library children’s consultant.

Summer reading with the Talking Book and Braille Library

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Summer reading is in full swing at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. This year’s theme is “Oceans of Possibilities.” All patrons of TBBL between the ages of 4 and 18 are eligible. The program runs from May 31-Aug. 5. Books are available to borrow from the library in braille, large print and digital audio formats; participants can also download digital audio books and braille files from BARD or use the BARD mobile app available from the iTunes app store, the Google Play store or the Amazon App Store.

Any book borrowed from the library within the time frame will count toward a participant’s total. Note that only books borrowed or downloaded from the library will count towards a reader’s total. Every reader will receive prizes!

We are sending out packets each week throughout the program that include prizes, activity sheets and crafts.

To enroll – or if you have questions about the program – please contact Abby Chumin via email or by phone at 317-232-3684 or 1-800-622-4970.

This post was written by Laura Williams, supervisor of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

‘Oceans of Possibilities’ – Summer reading 2022 news

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As we head into the last few months of the year, it’s time to start planning for 2022 summer reading programs! The Collaborative Summer Library Program has chosen “Oceans of Possibilities” as its 2022 summer reading theme.

CSLP Membership
All Indiana public libraries are members of CSLP because the Indiana State Library pays the membership fee for the entire state using LSTA/IMLS funding. That means the slogan and artwork are available for libraries to use; however, individual libraries may decide whether they want to use the CSLP theme each year. The State Library also purchases access to the CSLP online catalog for all Indiana public libraries. The online catalog contains both the artwork for 2022 and program ideas that work with the “oceans” theme.

The online manual access code was sent to directors via email on Sept.15. If your director did not receive the code, please have them or their designee to contact me, Beth Yates, via email. View a tutorial here on how to access the manual. Currently available incentive items can be viewed in the online store.

The Theme
The oceanography theme creates, well, “Oceans of Possibilities” for programming. Here’s just a few general topics to get you started:

  • Ocean life – General ocean plants and animals, endangered animals, conservation.
  • History – Shipwrecks like the Titanic, explorers.
  • Geography – Maps, bodies of water.
  • Astronomy – Navigation/wayfinding, moon and tides.
  • Beaches – Summer fun, beach parties, sand and sandcastles, swimming and safety, the sun.
  • Geology/Paleontology – The fossil record shows Indiana was once underwater!
  • Weather – The water cycle connects us to oceans even in landlocked Indiana.
  • Jobs – Marine biologist, diving/SCUBA, ecologist, fishing, ship captain, lifeguard, geo scientist.

Don’t be afraid to include Indiana’s own lakes, rivers and parks. While they are certainly not oceans, the water cycle connects it all. And as always, it’s more important to offer programs your patrons will be interested in than it is to connect every program to the theme.

Indiana Training Opportunities
This year, I will be offering one webinar that contains news, updates and resources for the summer 2022 program. This webinar will be recorded and posted on the Indiana State Library’s Archived Training page within two weeks of the live session on Dec. 9, and it will be available there through the summer. Unlike in past years, this training will NOT include a roundtable discussion of program ideas. Roundtables will take place separately; all dates and times are listed below.

REGISTER:

National Training Opportunity
As the Collaborative Summer Library Program president-elect, membership committee chair and Indiana’s state representative, I am thrilled to announce that CSLP is offering our very first national, virtual summer reading conference!

The CSLP Summer Symposium will take place on Thursday, Dec. 2 from 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Eastern time. Session topics include program ideas, outreach ideas/community asset mapping and publicity ideas. You can attend any or all of the sessions FREE of charge using just one link, which you will be sent after you register. While “Oceans of Possibilities” will be a focus, all libraries are welcome, even if you don’t plan to use the 2022 CSLP theme. Sessions will be recorded and made available and will also be eligible for LEUs.

View the full session line up and descriptions on the CSLP Summer Symposium website. You can register from there, or via this link.

This blog post was written by Beth Yates, children’s consultant for the Indiana State Library.

From the desk of the children’s consultant

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If you stopped by my cubicle in the Professional Development Office of the Indiana State Library, you might notice a number of items on my desk related to upcoming trainings and projects relevant to youth services. You’d see:

  • Materials for my Collaborative Summer Library Program trainings and roundtables, which began on Dec. 3, 2018 and will continue through Feb. 1, 2019. By the way, for those of you who cannot attend an in-person workshop, don’t forget the webinar on Jan. 9, 2019. See the full list of dates and locations, along with the description, on ISL’s calendar of events. 

  • The outline for two-day long YALSA “Teen Services with Impact” training sessions for teen librarians. These sessions are slated to take place on March 26, 2019 at the Brown County Public Library and March 27, 2019 at Kokomo Public Library.  While the locations may require travel time for many librarians, these otherwise free workshops will be an amazing opportunity for teen librarians in Indiana to gather and discuss the future of teen services while gaining valuable training from an instructor who works for the Young Adult Library Services Association. These trainings are still in the process of being finalized; more details should be announced in early 2019. Until then, be sure to mark your calendars.

  • A press release announcing the Indiana State Library’s acceptance into the NASA @ My Library program’s Cohort 2. Along with 13 other state library agencies, ISL will receive resources, training and support, which we will use to assist public libraries in increasing and enhancing their STEM learning opportunities. We will also be given kits for circulation among public libraries; details on these kits and how to borrow them will be forthcoming.
  • A travel request to attend the National Learning Institute in Philadelphia in February. The Indiana State Library, along with the Indiana State Museum, Terre Haute Children’s Museum and Early Learning Indiana, was accepted to be a State Leader for the Franklin Institute’s Leap into Science program Cohort 2. Together, representatives from those four organizations, with me representing ISL, will be trained at the institute to offer train-the-trainer sessions to Indiana librarians, museum workers, early childhood programmers and other out-of-school time educators periodically over the next three years. These sessions will discuss how to integrate open-ended science activities with children’s books during programs designed for children ages three to 10 and their families. More details on how this will roll out in Indiana will be announced in spring or summer 2019. Read more about Leap into Science here.  
  • A map of the seven 2019 Every Child Ready to Read training locations – these locations were announced last month. The trainings will take place in March, April, May, August and October and are great for those new to doing story time, and for those looking for a refresher. You can register for them via ISL’s calendar of events.   

There is definitely a lot going on, and I look forward to sharing these trainings and projects with you in 2019!

This blog post was written by Beth Yates, children’s consultant for the Indiana State Library.