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Whether preparing to apply for a grant, write a long-range plan, or plan a new library program, assessing the community's needs is an essential step in ensuring that whatever project you are developing is meaningful for the community you serve. Join us in an exploration of the various tools and techniques that are available to learn about your community. This will be a hands-on session.

If you have any resources you have used successfully or would like to share, please bring them to the session or send them to Kelly Metzger before the session.

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We’ll continue our discussion of the best children’s books of 2019. Please read at least half the books on the second discussion list. Voting for a Rhode Island winner and honor books will take place on January 14, 2020 using the balloting procedures of the real Newbery committee. The second discussion list will be available on October 8 at http://www.olis.ri.gov/youth/newbery/index.php.

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You have a Learning Grant project mapped out in your head or jotted down on a notepad. Now it's time to sit down and fill out that application! Join us as we work through the Learning Grant application as a group. We will move through each part of the application, answering questions and helping you distill your ideas into a succinct narrative.

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Together we will explore popular children's books and other media as opportunities to notice, critically read, and disrupt dominant narratives with kids around race, gender, ethnicity, LGBTQ identity, immigrant identity, and other marginalized identities.

About Wee The People
Wee The People (WTP) is a Boston-based social justice project for children ages 4-12. Launched in 2015 by two Black mothers, WTP organizes free, interactive workshops and events that explore activism, resistance, and social action through the visual and performing arts: music, dance/movement, theater, graphic arts, spoken word, and storytelling. Learn more at www.weethepeopleboston.org.

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What makes a teen program a hit and what makes a program a "flop"? Join fellow young adult librarians to share your most impactful programs and discuss why some programs just don't seem to meet our goals or engage our teens. Please be prepared to share a recent program that was a success, as well as a program that "flopped" so we can collectively think about how to rework it into a "fav."

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Snow date: January 21

Join fellow youth services librarians to share best practices for sensory story times and inclusive library programs and services. We will be discussing community connections, sensory activity ideas, and programs/services beyond story time.

Please bring your PR materials for your library's upcoming sensory programs so that the group can help with promotion!

Agenda: TBD

For more information about the Sensory Story Time Support Group please contact Maria Cotto at mcotto@pawtucketlibrary.org and Babs Wells at babswells2012@gmail.com.

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It’s time to vote for a Rhode Island Mock Newbery winner and honor books! Please read all the titles from the third reading list and come prepared to defend your top picks before we vote using the balloting procedures of the real Newbery committee. The third discussion list will be available on December 6 at http://www.olis.ri.gov/youth/newbery/index.php.

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Snow date: January 30

Learn about available resources for discovering and contacting performers for your Summer Reading Program. We'll discuss how to book performers and arrange block booking/group rates among neighboring libraries. 90 minutes will be reserved for participants to recommend and discuss performers and arrange potential block booking opportunities.