Youth Services News

Newsletters are archived on the OLIS website.

Date: Tuesday, April 25

Time: 9am-5pm

Location: Warwick Public Library

Register here

Two solar eclipses are coming to North America – an Annular Eclipse in 2023 and a Total Solar Eclipse in 2024 – and it’s time for public library staff to get ready! Join us for a solar science workshop led by STAR Net facilitators with many years of experience building the STEM capacity of public library staff.

Attendees will receive hands-on training on operating solar telescopes and other methods for direct and indirect solar viewing, best practices for developing and facilitating STEM programs, and how to engage with community partners and library-specific digital resource networks. Attendees will also be able to sign up for free solar eclipse glasses to distribute to their communities in advance of both eclipses! This workshop will use materials from circulation kits that will be available to borrow through OLIS and highlight best practices in using those materials, but the strategies, activities and resources shared during the workshop will be useful to attendees whether they have access to a circulation kit or not.

Date: May 18, 2023

Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Location: RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife Outdoor Education Office, Exeter

Register here

Calling all children’s librarians: Join RIDEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife for a free and fun professional development workshop! The Division’s Wildlife Outreach staff will be introducing you to the Rhody Critter Kits, which are educational kits designed to connect children to the wildlife resources right in their own backyards and communities, as well as spread awareness about wildlife conservation work in the state. Rhody Critter Kits are easy to reserve through the OLIS Equipment Catalog. Each kit contains lesson plans, activities, videos, and hands-on learning materials. This workshop will cover some of the key topics from the kits and run through some of the activities. Be prepared to have fun while learning indoors and outdoors by wearing sturdy shoes that can get muddy and dressing for the fickle New England weather (bring extra layers and rain gear!). This workshop is free to attend, but registration is required. Please pack a lunch and snacks and come ready to have fun while learning with your peers!

Registration is now open for ConnectedLibFEST, the first ever connected learning event specifically focused on small and rural libraries. This virtual experience takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, March 15 and 16, from 1 PM to 5 PM Eastern. Each day brings together library staff, researchers, and community members to learn from and with each other about bringing Connected Learning to small and rural library settings. Small and rural libraries are already using the principles of connected learning in their work. They do this by building relationships with youth, community members, and stakeholders; fostering interests of teens through library services; and creating opportunities for academic and life success.

Learn more and register at https://web.cvent.com/event/b127a1d4-3295-4867-94f1-25fc4e791362/summary
Registration is free!

Consider hosting a Children's Services Roundtable or Young Adult Roundtable meeting this year and sign up using the blank schedules linked below for each roundtable.

About Roundtables

Roundtables are opportunities for library staff serving youth to connect, learn together, and develop a personal learning network. Meetings are generally driven by group discussion on topics that have been selected by participants. All meetings will be in-person with a virtual option.

Hosting a Roundtable Meeting

All are welcome to host a roundtable meeting, the only requirement being access to a meeting room with a projector/screen that can be connected to an OLIS laptop. Hosting duties are

• Booking your library’s meeting room
• Ensuring the meeting room is set up (table & chairs)
• Assisting with connecting the projector to the OLIS laptop

Most roundtable meetings will be group discussions/networking, though hosts are always welcome to invite a presenter or present themselves.

Scheduling for Children’s Services Roundtable

The blank schedule can be found here. Please select the month you would like to host and fill in the date, time (meetings are 90 minutes), topic, presenter (if applicable), your library’s name (location) and your name (host). Use the list of priorities to select a topic for the meeting you will be hosting. Hosts are invited to present on a topic and may also invite a colleague or community partner to present. If there will be no formal presentation please enter “Group Discussion” in the “Presenter” line. Topics for March, September, and November have already been pre-selected.

Dates that are not available for meetings are:

• February 16
• March 1,2,3,14,16,30
• April 25,27
• May 18, 24,25

Scheduling For Young Adult Roundtable

The blank schedule can be found here. Please select the month you would like to host and fill in the date, time (meetings are 90 minutes), topic, presenter (if applicable), your library’s name (location) and your name (host). Use the list of priorities to select a topic for the meeting you will be hosting. Hosts are invited to present on a topic and may also invite a colleague or community partner to present. If there will be no formal presentation please enter “Group Discussion” in the “Presenter” line. The November topic has been pre-selected.

Dates that are not available for meetings are:

• February 16
• March 1,2,3,14,16,30
• April 25,27
• May 18, 24,25

iREAD

In November instructions for downloading this year’s SRP Guide from iREAD was sent to the SRP contact at each library (in most cases the children's librarian/head of youth services). Please check with your SRP contact for download instructions. If you do not know your library's contact or if no one at your library received instructions, please contact Danielle at danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov.

Also:

• In lieu of the voucher process, OLIS will be printing and distributing early literacy, children's, teen, and adult/all ages posters and bookmarks. If your library requested posters and bookmarks they will be distributed this spring via delivery.
  
• You can purchase additional iREAD materials at your own cost in the iREAD Store with the credentials your Summer Reading Contact creates when downloading the Guide.The next deadline for ordering from the store is March 1 (May 1 delivery).
  
• For more information on this year's program, you may view the iREAD State Partners Webinar Recording from this past November.

Summer Summit

Save the date for the New England Summer Summit on March 3. Join library staff from throughout New England to invigorate your Summer Reading Program planning. More details coming soon!

Beanstack

This March join Becky Garrety from Beanstack for a refresher on using the online reading tracker for your summer reading program. Becky will highlight new additions for SRP 2023 and answer questions about preparing your summer challenges. If you haven't used Beanstack since last summer or are just looking to freshen up your Beanstack know-how, this session is for you! Two times/dates are being offered:

• March 1, 2pm-3pm Register
• March 14, 10:30am-11:30am Register
  

Both sessions will cover the same information.

Mini-grants

Summer Reading Mini-Grants will return for 2023. These non-competitive grants will be available to help support summer learning activities for youth and adults. More information about the grants, including the timeline and application process will be available in the next month. You can re-familiarize yourself with the process by viewing the 2022 materials at https://olis.ri.gov/grants/lori/2022/srp.php.

Voting for the 2023 RI Children's Book Award will take place February 1, 2023 - March 13, 2023. Beginning February 1, schools and libraries may submit their voting results using the online form at https://olis-ri.libwizard.com/f/ricba2023. The winner will be announced by April 3, 2023. You can find all voting materials at https://olis.ri.gov/youth/ricba/voting.php.

If your library is planning on conducting voting, please share on the RICBA Facebook page or by emailing Renee Perron or Danielle Margarida. Please indicate if you will offering in-person and/or online voting.

The 12th Annual Take Your Child to the Library Day will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2023 - though you can celebrate on any other date in February that your library chooses. Visit https://www.ctlibrarians.org/page/take to register your library and to access graphics, planning resources, and activity ideas.

Take Your Child to the Library Day (TYCLD) is an international initiative that encourages families everywhere to take their children to their local library. Launched in 2011 in Connecticut by librarians Nadine Lipman (Waterford Public Library, retired) and Caitlin Augusta (Stratford Library) with artist Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, TYCLD raises community awareness about the importance of the library in the life of a child, and promotes library services and programs for children and families.

Thank you to everyone who has been reserving Programming Kits and helping OLIS work out the kinks. We truly appreciate your patience and feedback!

Going forward please note the following when reserving, receiving, and returning kits:

• OLIS will make every effort to get your reserved kit to you by the first date of your loan period. However, we do recommend that you do not schedule your program for the first few days of your loan period. This will give you a buffer should there be any delivery issues.
• Kits will arrive in transit bins that will be secured with zip ties. You can cut off the zip ties when you receive the kit and use included new zip ties to secure the bin when you send it back to OLIS.
  
• When sending kits back to OLIS please use the included transit slip that is prefilled with the OLIS code "DSL." Tape the transit slip to the top of the bin and then send the kit out with the rest of your library's delivery.
  
• Please make every effort to return the kit as close to the last day of your loan period as possible. OLIS receives delivery Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
  
• The zip ties, transit slips, and kit evaluations can all be found in the front pocket of the programming guide binders that are included in each kit.
  

Additional information:

• For questions or issues about kit reservations please contact David Marrocco at david.marrocco@olis.ri.gov.

• For questions or issues related to kit contents please contact Danielle Margarida at danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov.
  

• The Equipment Catalog for reserving kits can be found at https://olis-ri.libcal.com/equipment?lid=16161

• More information about the Programming Kits can be found at https://olis.ri.gov/youth/kits/index.php
  

Email: danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov
Website: http://www.olis.ri.gov/
Location: 1 Capitol Hill Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401-574-9309 401-400-3006
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olisri
Twitter: @olisri