Tag Archives: summer

Summer reading 2025: Color Our World!

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During the summer of 2025, many public libraries across Indiana will explore all aspects of the arts through the summer reading theme “Color Our World.” This national theme, selected by the Collaborative Summer Library Program, will encourage library patrons to celebrate summer through painting, drawing, music, textile arts, theater, writing, storytelling, photography and more! If you work at a library, I’ve compiled some helpful resources to assist you with planning.

Webinar: In January of 2025, I offered a webinar that highlights the 2025 “Color Our World” program and shares a variety of resources that should help you with program planning. You can view the webinar here.

Resource website: The resources shared during the above webinar can be found on Indiana State Library’s website.

Program ideas: Library staff are always seeking new and exciting ways to offer programming for their community members, so I collected program ideas from library staff who attend my in-person summer reading workshops (these workshops take place around the state in December and January ever year) and posted them under “Summer Program Ideas for Current Year” on the State Library’s website. 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.

Collaborative Summer Library Program website and manual: The CSLP Online Manual is a treasure trove of summer planning resources and program ideas, so don’t forget to browse through it! To access the manual, go to www.cslpreads.org, then to “Manual Downloads,” and select “2025 Color Our World.” You’ll be prompted to enter the manual code, and once you do, you’ll have access to the artwork and manual! The online manual code was sent to directors via email in October of 2024, but Indiana public library staff may also request the code through this form through May 30, 2025.

Collaborative Summer Library Program Summer Symposium: The CSLP Summer Symposium is a national, virtual and free mini-conference that takes place in December. This year’s symposium featured a keynote from Mychal Threets and sessions on marketing summer, process art and sustainability. The recordings from the fourth annual symposium are available to watch and are eligible for one LEU per one hour session. View them here.

Summer 2025 should be a colorful celebration of the arts in our communities. I wish you all “happy planning!”

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

Collaborative Summer Library Program annual meeting report

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By now, you may be aware that the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) is an organization that works together to develop a theme, slogan, artwork, manual, program ideas and incentives for public libraries nationwide with the goal of making it easier for those libraries to execute a top notch summer reading program, thus combating “summer slide” and bringing communities together.

But who is making all of those decisions? Each year, a group of representatives from all 50 states, plus several U.S. territories, gathers to discuss and vote on themes, slogans and general initiatives for the future of CSLP. The representatives are volunteers – a mixture of public librarians and youth services consultants at state libraries, like me. In April, I had the privilege of representing Indiana at the CSLP annual meeting in Denver, Colorado.

The 2018 meeting was an exciting one. The CSLP board of directors rolled out their strategic plan, which includes taking more control of the program’s artwork, manual development and printing services, among other aspects. Ultimately, this will result in more flexibility in what the organization can offer to libraries, and should result in better quality products.This plan will take several years to roll out and may not be immediately evident, but by the program year 2020 we hope to have made significant improvements.

The meeting this year also saw the announcement of some excellent allies and resources for summer 2019. Most notable was Starnet, who shared information about their STEM Activity Clearinghouse. This database is full of STEM activities and resources for libraries, including full program activity descriptions. Though summer 2018 has barely begun, next year’s space theme, “A Universe of Stories,” looks to be bursting with promise!

Upcoming CSLP themes:
2019: A Universe of Stories; space
2020: Imagine Your Story; fairy tales, mythology and fantasty
2021: Tails and Tales; animals
2022: All Together Now; unifying communities

In personal news, I’m pleased to announce that I was elected to be a member of the Collaborative Summer Library board of directors as a member-at-large. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to bring the voice of Hoosiers to the CSLP membership as we tackle the changing landscape of summer reading. I welcome your constructive suggestions for the program, and hope to see many of you when I roll out my 2019 CSLP trainings around the state this winter!

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

Returning this year… summer programs for kids!

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We are thrilled to announce that the Indiana State Library will again provide free youth programming this summer through the Indiana Young Readers Center! June and July are going to be packed with fun and engaging workshops for kids to INvestigate + Explore.

Join us this summer for six exciting programs combining Indiana investigations and explorations of cool themes like art, culture and history. Programs are open to children who have completed third grade up through middle school and require advanced registration. Read below for more information and learn how to register for our programs. All programs will take place at the Indiana State Library, located at 315 W. Ohio St. in Indianapolis. Attendees may also enter through the door at 140 N. Senate Ave. Public registration is limited, so act fast!

Next Great Architects | Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | History Reference Room
Kionna Walker will show children how to use problem solving and their imaginations to explore architectural planning processes. Kids will also learn about the design and construction of the Indiana State Library. Register here.

Gifts from the Earth: Native American Effigy Pottery | Wednesday, June 20, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Indiana Authors Room
Artist Robin McBride Scott will lead children in creating an effigy vessel they can take home after they learn about treaties. Participants will also see the library’s own copy of St. Mary’s Treaty. Register here.

The Writerly Life | Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Indiana Authors Room
Julie Patterson will lead children in applying strategies for developing ideas into stories that others want to read. Children will also decorate notebooks so they can practice the writerly life at home. Register here.

Jazz Drum Dialogues | Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Indiana Authors Room
Children will learn about the rich history in the Indiana Avenue corridor and learn the basics of jazz drumming from local musician Lawrence Clark. Register here.

Comic Creation | Monday, July 16, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Indiana Authors Room
Jingo de la Rosa will lead children in drawing comics after they learn about some of Indiana’s great illustrators like Norman Bridwell, Jim Davis, Ben Hatke, Keiko Kasza and Troy Cummings. Register here.

Sitting Still Like a Poet | Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Indiana Authors Room
Julie Patterson will help children quiet their minds and pay attention to the “story worthy” material around them. Children will also learn about different types of poetry and Indiana poets. Register here.

INvestigate + Explore is funded by the Indiana State Library Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Each program is partially facilitated in partnership with Arts for Learning Indiana.

Please contact Caitlyn Stypa at (317) 232-1401 or via email, with any questions.

This blog post was written by Caitlyn Stypa, Indiana Young Readers Center program coordinator, Indiana State Library.