Newsletters are now archived on the OLIS website and can also be accessed from the
Children's Services and Young Adult Services webpages.

Long time no newsletter, eh? November was a busy month here at OLIS and I apologize for letting this biweekly communiqué fall by the wayside. Here’s the lowdown on some of the exciting things that are underway:

• The RI Reads campaign is revving up after the November 2 partner meeting. OLIS is working towards the Governor’s goal of doubling the number of 3rd graders reading at grade-level through the key area of summer learning. Coming in 2018 – more ways for public libraries to get involved and collaborate!

• The Transforming Teen Services Through CE YALSA/COSLA forum in early November introduced state library agencies to YALSA’s new competencies for young adult librarians and ways in which continuing education can support public librarians in meeting the social, emotional, and learning needs of the teens they serve. (See more about the competencies in this newsletter). Coming in 2018 – addressing the competencies through YART/CE and sharing them with administrators and library staff who typically do not work with teens.

• OLIS has connected with the RI Summer Meals program and presented the Summer Reading Program to Summer Meals program partners, sponsors, and providers at their annual planning meeting. Coming in 2018 – connecting eligible public libraries with resources to become feeding sites, and facilitating ways for non-eligible public libraries to promote and support summer feeding sites in their community.

• The Kids Reading Across RI committee made their selection for 2018. We’re still waiting on the confirmation from the author, so stay tuned for an official announcement!

• Another round of performers’ showcases is in the books. Thanks for coming out to see the performers last week and for sharing your evaluations. A big thank you to Ellen O'Brien, Jennifer Beiermann, and the Warwick Public Library staff for hosting! Booking meeting info will be available by December 22. (Read on for a list of performers invited to the booking meeting).

• A new look for the OLIS web site is in the works for the new year. I’ve been working to streamline the youth services information and web pages and hope you find it easy to navigate.

This newsletter is brimming with information, so if you've hit that sweet spot in December between programs wrapping up and school vacation starting, I hope you're able to sit back with your favorite hot beverage and peruse at your leisure. (And if your department is still a zoo, this newsletter reads well on your phone while hiding in the supply closet).
- Danielle

Thank you for participating in the RI Reads Share Your Favorites campaign during the week of November 27th! You not only helped raise awareness for the RI Reads mission, but also showed the vital role libraries play in achieving grade level reading. RIDE reported over 700 posts across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram - check them out at Share Your Favorites with a Storify.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association, has released a new resource to help libraries better serve teens called Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff describe the knowledge, skills and dispositions all public and school library staff need to successfully serve the nation’s 42+ million teens. They were developed in alignment with YALSA’s report, The Future of Library Services for and With Teens: a Call to Action.

The Competencies were created to assist current library staff as well as to prepare pre-professionals with providing relevant, age-appropriate services, collections, and programs to better the lives of all teens in their community. Accompanying the Competencies is a glossary and a list of selected resources to provide library staff with a path to further exploration of topics mentioned in the document.

Read and download the guidelines and supplementary materials here, as well as access a schedule of free webinars about putting the guidelines into action.

To learn more about YALSA’s other national guidelines, as well as its other resources such as position papers, and benchmarks that aim to aid librarians, library workers and libraries in better understanding the components of an excellent teen services program, visit http://www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and library staff to engage, serve and empower teens. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

Rhode Island Poet Laureate, Tina Cane, and the Rhode Island Center for the Book, at the Rhode Island Council on the Humanities, are partnering to launch the Rhode Island Youth Poetry Ambassador initiative. This program will establish a youth poetry advocate position to be filled by a high school student (grades 9-12) who lives in Rhode Island. The 2018 application period takes place between January 2nd and February 1st with this year’s application period taking place between January 2, 2018 – February 1, 2018.

For more details, including application information and opportunities for the selected Youth Poetry Ambassador, please see the press release below.

Each February, PCFF presents the best of independent and international children’s cinema to families at our annual 10-day Festival. Now we are delighted to invite educators and youth groups to join us for special weekday screenings of exceptionally curated films, February 20-23.

Each curated collection is filled with compelling and innovative stories designed for elementary, middle/high school-age youth that will inspire creative and critical thinking in all of our young audiences.

2018 Program Selections

Foreign language feature films are also available!

• Let’s Get Animated (animated short film collection) Learn how animated films are put together and how you can try your own hands at it!

• Building Bridges (short film collection) Meaningful stories demonstrating how we are similar regardless of color, customs, country, environment, or language.

• More Than A Selfie: Stories about Identity (short film collection) Watch as characters come to understand and embrace who they are and what they believe.

• The World Around Us (short film collection) Independent, international short films exploring the power of nature and place.

Book now!

Beat the early bird deadline: December 22

Don’t miss this once-a-year field trip experience!

For more details, visit pcffri.org/field trips or download a printable PDF.

Can’t make it to these dates? The time you want is sold out? We can bring the Festival to you through our Festival on the Road program. Email alyssa@pcffri.org for details about this exciting film series delivered to your school or library.

The final discussion list for the Mock Newbery meeting on January 17 at the Cranston Public Library, and the reading list for the Mock Caldecott meeting on January 23 at the Greenville Public Library are now available. Check out the the lists below for more info.

Applications for the second cohort of students in the Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Youth Experience (YX) offered by the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland is now open. This innovative, online post-masters certificate gives youth service librarians and school librarians the skills they need to integrate the latest research on learning, technology, community partnerships, and design thinking into their practice with youth ages 0-18. Limited scholarships, generously supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, are available on a competitive basis. To learn more about the certificate program, watch this short video available at https://youtu.be/ihNJBlLpgo8 or visit http://yx.umd.edu/.

Additionally, the YX faculty will host online information sessions on December 11th, 2017 at 8pm EST and January 16th, 2018 at 7pm EST. The information sessions will describe the courses in this certificate and how they will enhance librarians’ skills to incorporate design thinking, participatory design, and connected learning into their programs and services. We will also be providing details on the application process at this time. The sessions will be recorded and the link made available after. If you are interested, please complete the following form to either attend the session or to receive the recording: https://go.umd.edu/YXinterest. Thank you!

Questions? E-mail us at yxischool@umd.edu

Mega Subramaniam
Associate Professor
College of Information Studies
University of Maryland
(mmsubram@umd.edu)

The Booking Meeting is scheduled for January 9 at the Warwick Public Library. Teen performers will be booked 9:30-10:30am and children's performers will be booked 10:30am-12:00pm. Information about the meeting, including booking order, will be sent through the listservs by December 22. Based on your feedback, the following performers have been invited:

Children's Performers

1. Joel Beauchemin: Fiddle N’ Fun
2. Circus Dynamics
3. B.J. Whitehouse
4. Rock-a-Baby
5. Dean Watts: Rising Sun Jiu-Jitsu
6. Russ DeSimone
7. Gladys Cole: G. Cole Children’s Theater Company
8. RI Museum of Science and Art
9. Nancy Santopadre: Warm and Fuzzy Animal Adventures
10. Karen Katin: Dancing Threads
11. Ray Ward: Bwana Iguana Reptile Adventure
12. Laura Matta: Polynesian Fusion
13. Schmitty the Weather Dog
14. Rebecca Killian: Mermaid Masterpieces
15. Joe Theroux
16. RI Computer Museum

Teen Performers

1. Rebecca Killian: Mermaid Masterpieces
2. Heather Caunt-Naulton: Henna by Heather
3. Circus Dynamics
4. Dean Watts: Rising Sun Jiu-Jitsu
5. RI Computer Museum
6. RI Museum of Science and Art
7. Karen Katin: Dancing Threads
8. Joe Theroux
9. Gladys Cole: G. Cole Children’s Theater Company

The Young Adult Library Services Association’s (YALSA) 2018 Teen Tech Week website is now live. The celebration will take place March 4-10, 2018 with the theme “Libraries are for Creating.”

Walmart Community Grant (12/31)
YALSA Summer Learning Grant (1/1)
YALSA Teen Summer Intern Grant (1/1)
Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant (1/31)
USSBY Bridge to Understanding Award (1/31)
Bank of America Foundation Grants (varies)
Library Pipeline: Awesome Foundation Innovation in Libraries Grant (due between the 1st - 15th of each month)

Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Youth Experience

applications accepted until February 16

Information Session, January 16 7pm

Excite Transformation™ For Libraries

application for cohort 2 training in RI due 6/14/18

February
World Read Aloud Day (February 1)
Take Your Child to the Library Day (February 3)

March
Read Across America Day (March 2)
Teen Tech Week (March 4-10)

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