With funding through ALA's Libraries Ready to Code, we collaborated with a community makerspace and the local Boys & Girls Club to offer coding programs at three locations.
In addition to the Boys & Girls Club and the community makerspace, we also held programs at the library. Participating students ranged from third grade through high school.
Actual text message exchange between one of the authors of this blog and her child:
This program was offered as part of Thinking Money exhibit, a traveling exhibit about financial literacy offered by the ALA Public Programs Office and the FINRA Foundation.
Builder’s Club: Tween Edition is a hands-on, collaborative STEAM program for children ages 9 to 14. During each session, a library facilitator introduces a new topic for tweens to explore and practice.
Personalize your school locker with handcrafted bling! Middle schoolers were welcomed to join us in school-themed crafting that would add flair to their lockers while adding organizational value at the same time.
Teen Tech Tutors is a hands-on monthly program in which local teens help others (mostly older adults) with technology questions. Patrons bring their own devices to the library where teens are available to answer questions and give one-on-one tech advice, training and support. This is a drop-in program; registration is not required.
The opening chapter of author Renée Watson’s young adult novel “Piecing Me Together” is two simple lines: I am learning to speak. / To give myself a way out. A way in.
With a scarily accurate algorithm, TikTok will fill up your ‘For You Page’ with an endless scroll of videos tailor-made to your interests and humor. Chances are, if you keep scrolling, you’ll come across a library TikTok.
The Perry Memorial Library created a community read around "The Green Book" and Navigating Jim Crow through the Civil Rights era.
The library facilitated author talks with award-winning authors Calvin Ramsey, Candacy Taylor and Gretchen Sorin.
Many of us feel confident hosting events in person, and after these last few years, some of us feel confident running virtual events as well. But it can feel a bit more intimidating to think of doing both formats at once in a hybrid event.
April is Financial Literacy Month! How do you teach financial literacy to the younger crowds at your library?
“I was quite cynical about young people,” says Joy Robinson, senior adult services librarian at Piscataway Public Library in New Jersey. “But I was totally proven wrong. Interns bring a readiness to tackle the issues of the day — they gave me a sense of relief for the future of libraries and society.”
On December 22, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope will launch into space! Using revolutionary and advanced technology, the infrared telescope will study every phase of cosmic history. Will the greatest questions on the origins of our universe finally be solved?
Get ready for this historic event at your library by directing curious patrons to reliable information. The launch also serves as the perfect opportunity to plan some fun STEAM programming virtually or in-person!
Join us for a free webinar presentation and panel discussion from Pennsylvania Humanities Council members and library practitioners.
In September teens have busy schedules, and I want our public library to offer a relaxing break and meaningful creative outlets. However, I also strive to design programs where teens can grapple with the topics they are passionate about. Top on the list of pressing concerns is freedom of expression.
Confirmation bias is defined by Dictionary.com as "the tendency to process and analyze information in such a way that it supports one's preexisting ideas and convictions."
Inspired by the idea that loving and caring for oneself is essential to well-being, the Brooklyn Heights Library Youth Council presented a self-love event called I’m Perfect. The event was held at the nearby Brooklyn Bridge Park in May 2017, and featured music, arts and crafts, food and guided meditation.
This year’s Teen Tech Week (TTW) theme is Libraries are for Creating, with events taking place March 4 to 10, 2018. Teen Tech Week was created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and this year's theme is aimed at encouraging teens to take advantage of “digital tools offered through the library to become content creators, and to leverage library resources to share out their creations.”
Whether you’ve always been a proponent of gaming in the library or were late to the party, games have found their place in adult and teen programming. According to ALA’s Games and Gaming Round Table’s (GameRT) 2016 International Games Week (IGW) report, about 82 percent of public libraries participating already had a collection of either tabletop or console games. Some libraries loan games while others focus on game events.
