Youth Services News

Newsletters are archived on the OLIS website.

Beginning this fall, OLIS will be facilitating a RI cohort(s) of youth services library staff interested in working through the Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth online professional development curriculum. This will be a year long learning opportunity, with a mix of monthly cohort meetings and asynchronous work.

Public, school, and academic library staff working with youth are invited to this informational webinar to learn more about Project READY and how the RI cohort model will be implemented.

Learning about racial justice is an ongoing and evolving process and all are welcome, regardless of where you are on your journey. Even if you have experience using Project READY we invite you to join us.

If you cannot attend the webinar, please register to receive the recording and follow-up communications about the program.

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020

Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Location: Webinar

Topic for Monday, 8/17: Reimagining Libraries

Mega Subramaniam and Linda Braun's COVID-19 Reimagining Youth Librarianship project and School Library Journal column is exploring ways in which the pandemic offers opportunities for rethinking youth librarianship. Their most recent article Wake up, Libraries: Curbside Pickup is NOT the Answer asks "What are the exacerbated challenges that youth and families face during crises such as those we are now experiencing?" and offers additional guidance to consider.

For this week's chat, please read Wake up, Libraries: Curbside Pickup is NOT the Answer and come prepared to share your takeaways. We will use the questions posed by the article as a springboard for discussing how you are reimagining your library.

It's time to start taking a closer look at the children's books of 2020! All discussion meetings will be virtual using Zoom. Participants must register no later than 4:59 PM the day of the meeting to receive the Zoom link. A letter certifying participation is available for those applying the Mock Newbery program towards professional development. For more information, including registration and reading lists, visit https://olis.ri.gov/youth/newbery/index.php.

We'll also be using the RI Mock Newbery Goodreads Group to discuss each of the titles on the first reading a list. A thread has been created for each title and we'll use the comments from the Goodreads discussions as a springboard for our virtual discussions. Start out by introducing yourself in the Introduction thread! Not a member of the group? Join now!

In lieu of the live RI Heritage Fesitval festival this year, the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission is planning for a September 2020 RI Heritage Month. Every Saturday in September the Commission will host a virtual Facebook event that will feature “Heritage Highlights” from cultural performance groups, heritage museums, cultural organizations, hands-on activities like crafts, cooking, and more! Please help promote these events by sharing the flyer below and the Facebook events at https://www.facebook.com/events/289744515587382/

RIDE has launched Back2SchoolRI a website dedicated to all things related to a safe school reopening for all schools this fall. The website will provide our state with constant updates from Commissioner Infante-Green and the RIDE team, answers to the most frequently asked questions, event and engagement updates, and much more.

The site also has direct links to all district and charter school websites. These websites will showcase the LEA reopening plans as they are posted starting July 31. This site will be continuously updated as we navigate our way towards a safe reopening of schools on August 31.

Is your library searching for virtual engagement opportunities? Are you interested in citizen science and crowdsourcing? Are you looking for more ways to supplement your #SummerReading programming? The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) and SciStarter have collaborated on a series of workshops that you will certainly want to check out! View past workshops and register for upcoming workshops.

The Bloomfield Township Public Library's biennial Adaptive Umbrella is daylong workshop geared to librarians, educators and caregivers working with people of all ages who have disabilities. Self-advocates and professionals in the field present on current topics in accessibility and inclusive services. The 2020 workshop is a free, virtual event scheduled for September 23. Learn more and register.

From School Library Journal:

Join School Library Journal’s annual Summit: Culture Shift, which will take place on Saturday, October 24.

Now in its 16th year, this national convening will focus on creating a culture that promotes an equitable world and closes the opportunity gap for all children.

In this free, day-long virtual event, you’ll gain skills, ideas, and support in leading the change you want to see in your library, school, and community.

The day will host three concurrent tracks, with sessions on:

• Reimagining School

• Antiracism: Next Steps

• School Library Leadership 2020

• Challenging the Classics: Reimagining the Literary Canon

• SEL (Social Emotional Learning) & Trauma-Informed Teaching

• Coming of Age, Graphic Novels

• Reimagining Youth Librarianship

• How to Start an Online Book Club

• The Latinx Experience, Genre Fiction

• And much more

Facilitated discussions will follow core sessions, providing you the opportunity to convene, network, and advance ideas on subjects ranging from Reimagining School—what are the lessons of remote learning and how will this impact the classroom of the future?—to SEL and supporting students and families in the COVID-19 crisis (advance registration required).

We are anticipating an unprecedented number of library and education professionals to attend this summit, so you may find the environment or live sessions become full during the day. But fear not! All sessions and author chats will be available for viewing on-demand within an hour of their initial broadcast, and the entire event will be available on-demand until January 24, 2021.

From Lee & Low Books:

How do we build a book collection that reflects our children, our values, and our world? Join us for a webinar on Tuesday, August 18th at 4:00 PM EDT as we walk through some of the steps to creating a truly inclusive collection. We will use our newly updated Questionnaire as a guide for identifying gaps in our shelves, and share resources for finding and evaluating diverse books. We are also proud to announce the launch of a Spanish version of the questionnaire just in time for the start of the school year.

Experts Dr. Jane Bean Folkes, K-12 English Languages Arts Supervisor for the South Orange & Maplewood School District in New Jersey, Rosalie Reyes, Coordinator of Teacher Engagement and Professional Development at Teaching for Change, and Kai Strange, Director of Urban Teacher Opportunity Partnerships Program Office at Nazareth College, will share their insights, expertise, and knowledge about creating and curating a diverse classroom library.

Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Time: 4:00 PM EDT / 1:00 PM PDT

Duration: 1 hour

How to Join: Register here

Registration is free, but space is limited so register today! If you can’t join live, you can still register to receive a link to the recording after the webinar takes place.

From Phil Bildner and The Author Village Team:

We're a group of like-minded and forward-thinking children's book authors and educators. Some of our authors include Laurie Halse Anderson, Meg Medina, Dan Santat, Tiffany Jackson, LeUyen Pham, and Rafael Lopez. Some of our educators include Cornelius Minor, Donalyn Miller, Pernille Ripp, and Sara K. Ahmed.

During this moment of pandemic learning, we recognize how important it is for young people as well as educators and librarians to stay connected to their various and respective communities. So if you are scheduling an author visit to your school or library, coordinating keynotes and breakout sessions for your conference, or planning professional development workshops and opportunities for educators and librarians, we hope you'll keep us in mind.

We’ll be happy to help craft a program to fit your specific goals and needs.

And if you're interested, on Sunday evening August 30th at 7 PM (ET), we'll be hosting a professional development workshop for educators led by Kass Minor and Cornelius Minor. The 60-minute interactive workshop is called, "Redefining Back-to-School Basics." It's an authentic, rooted-in-reality conversation about this upcoming school year. It promises to be human-centered as well as teacher loving and up-lifting. We hope you'll join us. You can register here.

Recent youth services webinars have not been uploaded to YouTube yet, but they can be viewed at the following links:

• Beanstack Tips and Tricks
  
• Reimagining SRP for a Post COVID-19 World

• Virtual Programming for Tweens and Teens
• DIY Data Dashboards in Google Sheets
• Managing Teen Volunteers
• Introduction to Canva
• Girls Who Code Introductory Webinar

A COVID-19 page and a Virtual Training page have been added to both the Children's Services Roundtable (CSRT) LibGuide and the Young Adult Roundtable (YART) LibGuide. These pages are still under construction, but the COVID-19 pages will include information and resources on topics that arise during the weekly chats and the Virtual Training pages feature learning opportunities specific to youth services.

CSRT LibGuide - https://olis-ri.libguides.com/csrt

YART LibGuide - https://olis-ri.libguides.com/yart

Also be sure to refer to and bookmark the COVID-19: Information for Rhode Island Libraries LibGuide - https://olis-ri.libguides.com/covid19

This LibGuide contains reopening guidelines and other COVID-19 related information.

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