The Campaign for America’s Libraries is looking for stories showing how libraries are promoting the fifth season of Step Up to the Plate @ your library. From now until August 17, libraries are encouraged to submit stories, photos, and videos of Step Up to the Plate @ your library activities. They can send an e-mail to baseball@ala.org for possible posting to the Step Up to the Plate website. They may also be shared with national media as part of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Step Up to the Plate outreach.

Materials can include footage and photos from events, examples of signage, Step Up to the Plate public service announcements (PSAs), clips from local media, or scans of publicity materials. 

Season five of Step Up to the Plate @ your library teams up two American classics—baseball and libraries—to promote the importance of information literacy skills and increase awareness of the library as an essential information resource.

If you haven’t stepped up to the plate yet, there is still time to get involved. Just visit the Step Up to the Plate website for free tools to help promote the program locally. Plus, librarians who bring in the most entries can win incentives for participation. The library that brings in the most entries will get a $100 bookstore gift certificate. The next three libraries will receive each a $50 ALA Graphics gift certificate.

Step Up to the Plate centers on a baseball trivia contest. People of all ages are encouraged to visit their library and answer a series of trivia questions inspired by the history and diversity of our national pastime. The questions, developed by the library staff at the Hall of Fame, are based on exhibits at the museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. Trivia questions and tools to help librarians promote the program locally are available on the program’s website. 

One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to the Hall of Fame in October 2010.

The good news? Your library programs are so successful that people have to line up for them. The bad news? Your library programs are so successful that people have to line up for them. Offering programs that are extremely well-attended by patrons seems like the ideal, but a recent article on New Canaan Public Library’s overcrowding issue showed me that there’s a downside to success as well.

The article described a recent event with pianist Andrew Armstrong that went beyond standing-room only. The library dealt with it as best as they could—setting up a monitor in another room so that people could watch—but there was no good solution to the problem. As New Cannan resident and library trustee Elizabeth Ellsworth said, “My kids and I just went home really disappointed. That’s the kind of thing where there’s no point to watch it in front of a television set.” Library director Alice Knapp noted, “What’s happening now is not happening just once a year. It’s happening five, six or seven times a year.” That’s a lot of disappointed patrons.

So what can you do? The obvious—build an addition or a larger library—isn’t going to be an option is most cases. And it doesn’t always work: “Whenever we make space available it becomes filled,” Ellsworth noted. You can require registration, but that will still mean leaving out people who would like to attend. Partnering with another organization in your community that has more space available may be a good option. How do you deal with overcrowding?

As Dave Barry once wrote, “Every now and then, some visionary individuals come along with a concept that is so original and so revolutionary that your immediate reaction is: ‘Those individuals should be on medication.’” Now, I have no knowledge regarding the mental or physical status of International Talk Like a Pirate Day’s founders, but I do know pirates* are a great way to inject some fun into your library programming.

Although I’m sure most of you, recognizing this, have been planning ahead for this major event all year, some of you may just be getting started. Here are a few pirate-related programs for inspiration:

• As part of Napa City-County Library’s summer reading program, “Make a Splash—Read,” children’s librarian Ann Davis (also known as Captain Lucky Librarian) encouraged a crowd of about 30 children to talk like pirates. Three audience members also participated in a pirate-related skit, followed by craft time with kid-created pirate hats and eye patches. (Check out a video from the event.)
• The Bateman Library offered extensive information on its pirate summer reading program, including details on planning, reading incentives, and cooperative programs. The final event was an outdoor pirate cove that included a (temporary) tattoo parlor, a pirate chest full of plunder (i.e., books and stickers), pin the patch on the pirate, a pegleg race, and a battle with water balloon cannonballs and water pistols as well as food and treats.
• Jackson District Library’s Carnegie branch held their own pirate event, with pirate books and movies, a scavenger hunt, crafts, a costume contest, and food as well as a pirate show with Pirate Sam Durocher.
• Willow Glen Library hosted a pirate treasure hunt! Children made their own pirate decoder rings and hunted for the treasure in the library by following clues.
• Sunset Library got deadly serious about pirates with “Murder Among the Mateys,” a murder mystery for teens (costumes encouraged).
• Pennsauken Free Public Library offered Picarillo Scientelling’s “Pirates: Curse of the Mutating Hand,” complete with spectacular special effects using science. “It’s the story of Hendricks the Hand, the most-feared pirate who was cursed with a mutating hand, which also gave him power. On his search to become more powerful and unstoppable, he must return to The Black Cave, where he was cursed. Famous pirate James Dauer, the hero who sets out to stop Hendricks, uses some science tricks to stop him.”

There are also a number of pirate resources online to help you out; I suggest starting at the International Talk Like a Pirate Day’s website. There you will find out now only how to talk like a pirate, but discover pirate fun and games, pirate performers, how to knit like a pirate, and a host of other links and ideas.

*With the probably unnecessary disclaimer, of course, that I’m referring to the caricature of a pirate, and not an actual pirate. Real pirates are not at all funny, and would probably not make good library guests.

I admit that, during my high school years, I only reinforced the stereotype that girls are not good at math and science. (In fact, saying I was “not good” is probably being too kind; my chemistry teacher would likely suggest “utterly hopeless” as more accurate.) I can’t help but wonder what might have been, however, if I had had Science in the Summer at my library as a child.

The program is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in partnership with local libraries. In the greater Philadelphia area, the program features classes designed to get kids excited about science through hands-on experiments. And apparently it works. In an online newspaper article, Jeanne Clancy, head of youth services and Chester County Library coordinator in Exton, commented, “Every year we do this, the response has been very, very positive. The kids can’t stop talking about how much they learn and their favorite experiences. They can’t wait to come back.”

So what can children learn about? According to the course descriptions on the program’s website, this year they can discover:

• Oceanography. The sea holds many secrets. Students in Oceanography will discover these secrets using microscopes, microviewers and magnifying glasses. They will observe microscopic sea life such as animal plankton and zooplankton. Students will have a chance to touch, draw, and learn about many different kinds of sea life including sponges, coral, jellyfish and mollusks. They also will learn lots of information about sharks. Students will examine prehistoric shark teeth and a shark’s jaw with its rows and rows of teeth.

• Genetics. Our DNA holds many pieces of information about who we are. Students in Genetics will conduct interesting investigations to learn more about human chromosomes and genes. Students will build a cell, extract DNA from a strawberry, examine their fingerprints, and construct a DNA molecule.

• Chemistry. The exciting world of Chemistry awaits students. Through lots of fun activities, they will learn what matter is and that it is not always the same. The young chemists also will observe physical and chemical changes. They will turn pennies into gold, make crystals, and watch raisins and popcorn dance. Students will decide if substances are acids, bases, or neutrals by using litmus and pH papers and a universal indicator.

• Bioscience. Explore the world of one-celled and many-celled living things using microscopes and magnifying glasses in Bioscience. Students will examine plant and animal cells and discover how they are similar and different. In addition, the young biologists will make their own slides to observe microscopic animals, onion cells, and aquatic herbs, as well as dissect a flower and examine each part. Students also will learn about bacteria (germs!)—other microorganisms studied by biologists. They’ll find out why some bacteria are helpful and others are harmful.

• Physical Science/Electricity. How do magnets work? What is a magnetic force field? What makes electricity? Students in Physical Science/Electricity will learn the answers to these questions and many more. They will learn about magnetism, static electricity, electrical currents and circuits. Students will make a compass and an electromagnet and use an electrostatic generator—a truly hair-raising experience!

Even I think these classes sound fun. (Except for the chemistry one, of course.) What programs do you offer at your library to encourage math and science skills? Have you developed partnerships to help provide these kinds of programs?

This month’s highlights: Don’t let the summer fly by without picking up a book from NEH’s Summertime Favorites—literary classics listed in appropriate grade categories; recharge yourself with To Kill a Mockingbird, published 50 years ago this summer; join others around the country in hosting a party to celebrate our “national novel”; and introduce timely lessons on senate confirmation hearings.

50th Anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird

To honor the anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee’s masterpiece, EDSITEment has updated two lessons: Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: Profiles in Courage and To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Boys Trial: Profiles in Courage. We have also reviewed resources that will enhance your students’ understanding of what author Mary McDonagh Murphy, in her book, Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of 50 Years of To Kill a Mockingbird, considers “our national novel.” Banned from the shelves of certain libraries while being voted as the best novel of the twentieth century by American librarians, and often cited by readers of all ages as the book that had the most profound influence on them, Mockingbird continues to stir emotions, create controversy, and transform the lives of everyone it touches.

The Big Read

A national program created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Big Read recommends To Kill a Mockingbird as “the rare American novel that can be discovered with excitement in adolescence and reread into adulthood without fear of disappointment.” The largest reading program in American history, The Big Read project is designed to unite communities through great literature and encourage each American to discover the transformative joys of reading. Turn to their Reader’s Guide and Teacher’s Guide for ideas for additional lesson plans, capstone projects and essay topics. Tune in to their Radio Show to be transported back to Maycomb, Alabama, for insights shared by a roundtable of prominent people associated with the story: among them Robert Duvall, the actor who brought “Boo” to life, and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Supremely Contentious: The Transformation of “Advice and Consent”

Senate confirmations hearings weren’t always so contentious. Learn how things changed in the 1960s with the confirmation hearings of Abe Fortas. Lessons on this topic include John Marshall, Marbury v Madison and Judical Review—How the Court Became Supreme and The Supreme Court: The Judicial Power of the United States.

About EDSITEment

Now in its eleventh year, EDSITEment is a partnership among the National Endowment for the Humanities, Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity, and the National Trust for the Humanities. This free-access, user-friendly website showcases more than 300 top humanities sites that have been identified and reviewed for content, design, and educational impact in fields such as social studies, history, literature, foreign languages, art, and culture. EDSITEment also creates grade-specific lesson plans that incorporate online resources, original source materials, and interactive learning activities, games, and quizzes for use by K–12 teachers and students. Find out why the American Association of School Librarians selected EDSITEment as one the 25 Top Website for Teaching and Learning for 2010.

Join EDSITEment on Facebook and Twitter, or visit the Thinkfinity Community to collect, modify, and dialogue about educational resources.

On July 4, 2010, the United States of America celebrated the 234th anniversary of the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout the nation’s history, many notable politicians have worked diligently to maintain our independence and keep the peace. One of our most well-known presidents, Abraham Lincoln, spent much of his presidency trying to unite a divided nation. While dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Lincoln stated:

these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The traveling exhibit “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation”, reexamines President Lincoln’s efforts toward the abolition of slavery during the Civil War, and will be available for viewing at the Henderson County (NC) Public Library beginning July 8. Celebrate the month of our nation’s independence with a visit to this compelling exhibit.

Henderson County Public Library has organized a number of programs that correlate with the traveling exhibit, beginning with an opening night reception and Civil War Soldier show and tell on Thursday, July 8. Other events include a DVD presentation on Lincoln in film as well as a number of movies about Lincoln shown at the library; a dulcimer player performing Civil War–era songs, and a local author and historian speaking about slavery in western North Carolina. The exhibit will remain open to the public until August 20.

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series of Q&A features highlighting contributors to ALA Public Programs Office traveling exhibitions.

Graphic designer Patricia Chester creates stunning ALA traveling exhibitions, including “Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience”; “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World”; and “Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend.” Her vast portfolio also includes work for the Library of Congress, the Newberry Library, the Valentine Museum, and more.

Read on and delve into Pat’s creative process—learn how she works with curators to create a “look” for each exhibit, discover why she loves her iBook, and understand how an ALA traveling exhibit takes shape before it arrives on your library doorstep.

Programming Librarian: You have worked as a graphic designer for a number of ALA traveling exhibitions. Tell us, what exactly does a graphic designer do?

Pat Chester: If you ask six designers this question I’m certain you will get six definitions for graphic design. I look at graphic design as a way to bring organization and visual interest to complex subjects and ideas. I have had the good fortune to design exhibits on a wide variety of topics, from quilts to hot rods. Each time I start a project I get to learn new information and develop a way of visualizing that information for a general audience.

PL: How do you develop a vision and visual style for your exhibition designs? Is it important to keep your intended audience—library communities—in mind as you translate content into traveling panel format?

PC: The audience is always my first consideration. I want to use the best images available with typography that is legible and accessible to an average reader. Curators are so deeply immersed in their topic that they forget to explain key points to those of us who work outside their subject area. It is my job to ensure that we all “get it.”

Once we work out the exhibit content, I design the visual identity of the exhibition. Benjamin Franklin is not baseball, so I want the audience to get a sense of the topic just by looking at the exhibit. Color plays a big role in each exhibit. I spend time testing background colors with type and illustrations to produce the right look for the subject and time period. Now that every production method is computerized I can devote much more time to these choices. In the dark ages before computers we did all our layouts with paper and colored pencils. Presentation of ideas took hours of preparation—I guess it still does, but the results are far more spectacular!

PL: What tools of the trade do you use most? Do you have a favorite piece of hardware, application, or gadget that would be hard to live without?

PC: Why my iMac and iBook of course. I love them more than my washer and dryer and almost as much as my iPhone. The ability to create text and images with such complexity and definition has completely transformed the design world. I can work on a project in stages and make a PDF to send to my client for immediate response. We’re all much happier with that collaborative effort.

I still keep my 18" metal ruler and my 6" architectural scale ruler nearby at all times. Because exhibits are so large, we work in scale on the computer. Our files are designed at half size or quarter size. Intellectually I know that I can view my files at any size on the computer screen, but at least once a day someone will ask to see how big a label or picture is in real life. That is when the rulers come out.

PL: Is there an ALA traveling exhibit that you particularly enjoyed creating? If so, why?

PC: This is the “which child is your favorite” question. I love to work so I enjoyed them all. “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World” was particularly engaging for me. Everyone knows the kite, key, and lightning saga. Designing this exhibit gave me a new perspective on all his interests, accomplishments, and rock-star fame for the times.

And, of course, I designed the ALA traveling exhibits featuring King Arthur, Lewis and Clark, Jackie Robinson, and Frankenstein—interesting historical companions all.

PL: Do you have a favorite graphic design book, magazine, or website—or other source of creative inspiration—to recommend?

PC: If I told you that I spend my time reading design theory books I’d be fibbing. I look at everything from Hot Rod Magazine to Architectural Digest and read everything from cookbooks to historical fiction to mystery novels. I know my librarian friends are gasping for air but I think it is important to move outside of your areas of personal interest when you are a designer.

Audio books are my absolute favorite. They combine my childhood memories of storytelling and reading out-loud with the dramatic dialog of the theatre. They also allow me to build my own vision of the time and place of the story. So my only creative advice is look and listen.

I’d like to thank everyone who attended the Programming Librarian demonstrations at the Public Programs Office booth and the “Are You a Programming Librarian?” program during the 2010 ALA Annual Conference. I really enjoyed introducing the site to programming librarians who weren’t familiar with it yet (but were happy to find out about it!) as well as receiving feedback from those who were. I was also happy to introduce some new features available on the site; here’s a quick recap in case you were unable to attend:

• The Programming Librarian forum: One of the most frequent requests I hear from programming librarians is to offer networking and sharing. You can already do so by posting comments, of course, but now registered users are free to start their own topics, with their own questions and stories. If you aren’t registered, you’re still free to browse forum topics.

• The PR Generator: Lacking the time or ability to make your own promotional materials? Let Programming Librarian help you. We’ve provided templates for flyers, bookmarks, and postcards that you can easily customize with your own text, images, and colors. Once you’re done, just sit back while a PDF is generated for you. Please note that you must be registered with Programming Librarian to use this feature.

• The Brainstormer beta: Search for programming help and ideas. The information here is not limited to things found on Programming Librarian, but is a curated database of useful information from around the web. You can currently conduct “and” searches by selecting tags; we’ll be offering other search options, including text searching, in the future.

Please let me know what you think of these new features, including any recommendations for improving them, in the comments below or via email. And thanks for reading!

Editor’s Note: In case you missed it, this week we’re featuring blog posts on ALA Annual Conference programs. This entry focuses on “Are you a Programming Librarian?” designed to help programming librarians create and coordinate programs for their communities fueled by creativity, connections, and shoe-string budgets. Attendees heard from beginning programming librarian Heather Paulson and experienced programming librarian Henry Fortunato as well as discovered ProgrammingLibrarian.org, a new online hub for resources and inspiration.

Today’s session from the ALA’s Public Programs Office served as an introduction to Programming Librarian, and it’s a resource I’m happy to see as the events and programming coordinator for my library. The session also offered a panel of presenters who shared their knowledge of the programming process and experiences with struggles so common for do-it-all librarians and staff. Here are my main impressions:

• Be enthusiastic, love it, sell it! One thing that is apparent is that being engaged and interested in bringing cultural events to your patrons is essential to doing this job well. You aren’t going to know from the beginning if an idea will work or not, but if you’ve got an idea that you are excited about, then commit and go with it.

• Take a chance. Experience isn’t a determining factor in your event’s success. The panel represented both beginner as well as experienced perspectives, and both were successful in their efforts because they keep trying new things and learning from them even if they weren’t a hit. A side benefit? Getting an enthusiastic audience is a fantastic natural high, so adrenaline junkies, get involved!

• Don’t allow (lack of) money to get in the way. Sometimes “merely” offering a comfortable and welcoming space for people of like mind to come together and engage in thought is all that you need. Having some kind of reception with food and drink can make your patrons feel at home, and a happy patron brings great rewards. Often this is the very situation that forces programming librarians to get the most creative, which leads me to...

• Don’t go it alone. Developing partnerships with other institutions has many obvious advantages and is easier than you may think. Look at your local area and think about who wants to share or expand into your audience. Consider what other stakeholders might gain in splitting expenses with you. Grant providers live to encourage new collaborations, so it opens up the possibility for additional funding.

• Ask a Programming Librarian. Definitely find the opportunity to talk with seasoned practitioners such as Henry Fortunato of the Kansas City Public Library. He shared several practical and important tips, such as:

  • Be sure to develop themes and series. This gives you branding and makes for easier marketing, as patrons will begin to expect the next event.

  • Think about and find local connections to broader issues. This heightens interest and everyone has a local celebrity if you’ve got a local reporter.

  • Find a student studying graphic design. This gets you quality graphic design that shows how your event is special and important and gives them practical experience for their portfolio. Be sure you give them the broad idea of where you want to go and give them the reins to do their thing.

I’ve had my experiences learning the ropes of exhibits and programming over the last three years, and after a brief perusal of the site today, I’m looking forward to participating in and seeing this resource grow.

Editor’s Note: In case you missed it, this week we’re featuring blog posts on ALA Annual Conference programs. This entry focuses “PRIME TIME Family Reading Time: A Model Program for Strengthening Families & Building Communities,” designed to help programming librarians engage diverse, underserved neighborhoods of their communities through a family literacy program featuring humanities-focused content, quality children's literature, techniques based on the Socratic Method, and collective learning.

Wow! Functional literacy for the whole family in six weeks? Sounds too good to be true, but the success stories shared during the session puts the lie to that notion. Four testimonials coupled with staggering statistics make PRIME TIME Family Reading Time a program any librarian with a passion for patron literacy salivate for.

Speakers for this program included Rhonda Butler, Public Libraries of Saginaw, children’s and teens services coordinator; Lainie Castle, ALA Public Programs Project Office project director; Anne Haimes, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, branch group manager; Pat Leach, Lincoln City Libraries, director; and Thomas Phelps, National Endowment for the Humanities, director, Division of Public Programs.

The pilot program was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and was administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. From a modest beginning in the 1980’s, the program grew to cover most of the parishes in Louisiana, and today is active today in 38 states and the Virgin Islands.

PRIME TIME’s goal is to foster a love of reading by teaching readers how to really understand what they are reading. Anyone who can “sound it out” can read the words, but there is a long and winding road between reading the words and knowing what they mean. The rewards are well worth the journey. PRIME TIME helps kids score better on assessment tests in ALL areas, not just language arts/humanities. And, along the way, their parents learn to read better and the families spend more time reading and just being together.

Find out more about this program and how to apply for a National Expansion Grant to bring PRIME TIME to your library.