Youth Services News

Newsletters are archived on the OLIS website.

Join us Wednesday afternoon on February 10 for keynote speaker Abdul-Razak Zachariah, author of The Night is Yours. Abdul-Razak Zachariah grew up in West Haven, Connecticut, and is a children's book writer and youth worker now based in Cambridge, MA. He graduated from Yale University in 2017 where he was deeply involved in diversity and inclusion advocacy and he received the Mellon Mays Research Fellowship and the Nakanishi Prize. Abdul's first book, The Night is Yours, was released in July 2019 by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

The Wednesday afternoon keynote will be followed by a conversation with Statewide Summer Library Program staff from RI, CT, & MA. We'll explain how our programs work and what you need to know to have a fun, successful, and stress-free summer. Sessions on Thursday, February 11 will cover topics such as school partnerships, burnout, podcasting, and flexibility & responsiveness.

The Tri-State Summer Summit is a free, virtual event hosted by the Connecticut State Library, the Massachusetts Library System, and the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services. All sessions will be recorded. Sign up for updates https://tinyurl.com/tristatesummer. No pre-registration required.

The time has come for your students and patrons in grades 3-5 to vote for their favorite book among the RI Children’s Book Award nominees for 2021! All voting and program evaluation will be completed online February 1 – March 15.

Join us for STAMPED: Evenings for Educators and Communities Series

February 2nd, 9th and 23rd from 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Rhode Island Center for the Book, National Education Association RI, Rhode Island PBS and statewide educators are collaborating to provide educators across the community with the foundation, tools and resources to teach and engage with the 2021 Reading Across Rhode Island book STAMPED: Racism, Antiracism and You. By fostering a safe, informative environment to discuss the challenges regarding conversations in the classroom and community, the Evenings for Educators series encourages all stakeholders--including educators, parents, students and anyone interested in these important issues--to attend any one, two or all of the three series sessions.

The RI Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission recently launched a YouTube Channel. To kick it off, each Friday in February, RIHPHC will rebroadcast their 2020 RI Heritage Month’s Virtual Celebration.

You may also find RIHPHC on their Instagram page @rihphc_heritage .

February's heritage happenings

RIHPHC's calendar of heritage events showcases Rhode Island's diverse communities:

• Tomaquag Museum hosts Indigenous Author Book Club - Hearts Unbroken (2/2 8-9 pm)
• Check out the rebroadcast of our 2020 RI Heritage Month's Virtual Celebration on our new YouTube channel (2/5, 2/12,2/19,2/26 7-8 pm)
• 26th Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading (2/7 1 pm)
• Tomaquag Museum hosts Indigenous Author Book Club - Two Old Women (2/9 8-9 pm)
• Alliance Française of Providence presents Inès Returns! Live from Paris⁠ - Opera District (2/13 11 am)
• Marie-Josée Duquette explores the regions of Québec presented by Alliance Française of Providence (2/15 7-8 pm)
• The Turkish American Cultural Society of RI hosts a TACSRI Talks with Serife Hathaway (2/16 - 6 pm)
• Tomaquag Museum hosts Indigenous Author Book Club- Braiding Sweetgrass (2/16 - 3/2 8-9 pm)
• Robert Cvornyek, Keith Stokes, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame present two Black History Month Virtual Lectures (2/17, 2/24 7 pm)
• Rhode Island Latino Arts hosts A Love Letter to Our Raíces - Perú (2/22 5-6:30 pm)
• Tomaquag Museum presents a literature and culture conversation with author Siobhan Senier (2/24 6-7:15 pm)

Children's Services Roundtable

Youth services library staff serving children are invited to discuss current topics of interest and network with colleagues. In preparation for this discussion, please submit topics for discussion by emailing the RIYAC listserv or by submitting this form: https://forms.gle/qX8p7gNzjzUe3q4VA

Unless otherwise noted, CSRT meetings will not be recorded. Notes will be available after meetings and will be linked on the CSRT LibGuide.

February 25, March 22, April 21, May 18, June 14

3pm - 4pm

Young Adult Roundtable

Youth services library staff serving tweens and teens are invited to discuss current topics of interest and network with colleagues. In preparation for this discussion, please submit topics for discussion by emailing the RIYAC listserv or by submitting this form: https://forms.gle/FPHnz45rR45okWJG6

Unless otherwise noted, YART meetings will not be recorded. Notes will be available after meetings and will be linked on the YART LibGuide.

February 4, March 10, April 6, May 6, June 2

10:30am - 11:30

The AskRI databases have a wealth of resources perfect for supporting virtual programming and distance learning.

The World Book Activity Corner contains thousands of cross-curricular, low-cost, fun and educational projects for the classroom, after school programs, and library programing. Activity Corner enables users to browse, save, and create activities for all ages. Promote the Activity Corner to families and teachers for home and school use, and search the database for your next make & take kit idea!

To learn more about AskRI resources, check out the recording of the December 4 webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/AKvL-VtHIS7WX4rM8pZYCtabe5GJO-W8hHYx2Cf7LpofDEaRZyVxRT7yWYizzNWx.l_NFSO8SBF4uMKO_

The Greenville Public Library partnered with the Smithfield Youth Council for the town wide "Smithfield Snowstorm." The project sought to build community while socially distant as residents created snowflakes to be displayed in the windows of their homes and local business. The Greenville Public Library served as a snowflake pick-up and drop-off location, as well as a display site. Residents were urged to share their snowflakes on Facebook and Instagram with #smithfieldsnowstorm.

Have something cool happening at your library? Email danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov to be featured in an upcoming newsletter or share directly with YS colleagues by emailing the RIYAC listserv.

From Diversity Talks:

"We are excited to announce the launch of our new blog, “Diversity Talks Back”. The goal is to elevate our voice and to “talk back” to white supremacy, systemic racism, and pervasive bias. In it, you will find reflections of our youth facilitators and adult participants, research and thought leadership from our team, and timely responses to current events. If you dig what we write, please take a second to share it on your networks and with your fellow thought partners in the work.

Something you need to get off your chest about DEI work? Email us! We also are hoping to have guest bloggers periodically, so we hope many of you will lend your voice. We are hype to elevate you on this platform."

A Spring 2021 Webinar Series featuring Library and Information Science Scholars discussing contemporary conversations on race, gender, sexuality, class, and information equality. This webinar series is part of the launch of GSLIS' new Information Equity, Diverse Communities, and Critical Librarianship Track. Webinars will not be recorded and closed captioning will be available for the live sessions.

All Power to the People: Centering Collections and Communities in the Archives

• Thursday, January 28th, 12:30-1:30pm
• Tracy Drake, College Archivist, Reed College
• Register Here

#BlackBoyYALit: Seeing Black Boys in 21st Century Young Adult Literature

• Thursday, February 25th, 12:30-1:30pm
• DeAnza Williams, iSchool University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Register Here

Information Access, Systemic Oppression, and Incarceration

• Thursday, March 25th, 12:30-1:30pm
• Dr. Jeanie Austin, San Francisco Public Library
• Register Here

On Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Surveillance through Digital Library Tools

• Thursday, April 8th, 12:30-1:30pm
• Sarah Lamdam, Professor of Law at CUNY and Mijente Immigrant Defense Project
• Register Here

Listening at the Library: Surveillance in the Stacks Gets Smart

• Thursday, April 22nd, 12:30-1:30pm
• Dr. Miriam Sweeney, School of Library & Information Studies,University of Alabama
• Register Here

Professional Learning Network: Children's Literature Presents

Winter Speaker Series

This virtual event is free and open to Librarians and Museum Educators

Featuring presentations by award winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, children's book author Gloria Repress-Churchwell, David Feinstein from The Eric Carle Museum of Picturebook Art, and ALSC Institute presenter and Illinois librarian Sophie Kenney.

More information can be found on our group page: bit.ly/PLNchildrenslit

Click on each presentation title to a link to our registration

2/19/2021 Exploring Race and Representation in Picture Books with David Feinstein

3/5/2021 Resilient Chester! Microaggressions, Allies, and Civility with Gloria Repress-Churchwell

3/19/2021 Diversity's Rainbow with author Jewell Parker Rhodes

This Winter Speaker Series is presented by the Professional Learning Network (PLN.) PLN is an online community which facilitates discussions, idea sharing and learning opportunities. This is the second occurrence in our event series.

Membership to PLN is FREE. There are no license/membership affiliate requirements.

This work is hosted by Reading Success by 4th Grade and the Springfield City Library .

About PLN :
We strive to be a vibrant and connected network for librarians and museum educators who seek to learn and share about children’s literature.

Our Mission:

• Continue the conversation of diversity in children’s literature.

• Learn how to create an effective and welcoming space of dialogue, inclusion, safety, and equity for children and families.
• Discuss what we can do as librarians and educators to stop the perpetuation of racial inequities.

Who Can Join:

• You work in a museum or library (school, public,private).
• You are passionate about social issues in children's literature.
• Your work focus is on birth-12 year old children/literature.

Stop by our virtual office to check-in and chat with OLIS Youth Services Coordinator Danielle Margarda. Danielle will be available the first Wednesday of each month to answer questions, help problem solve, listen, or just say hi. Register to receive the Zoom link and join anytime between 2:30pm and 3:30pm. Can't make virtual office hours or prefer a private meeting? Email Danielle at danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov to schedule a phone call or Zoom meeting.

Email: danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov
Website: http://www.olis.ri.gov/
Location: 1 Capitol Hill Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401-574-9309
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olisri
Twitter: @olisri