1. Celebrations and Observances for this Month
2. SLP Update
2a. New Performers
2b. New Fabric May Have Potential for Youth Librarians
2c. No State SLP Incentive in 2009
3. Teen Services
3a. Adolescent Literacy workshops
3b. Teen Tech Week, March 8-14
3c. YALSA Offers Teen Services Courses
4. New Consumer Product Safety Law
5. The Schneider Family Book Award
6. Free DVD on Bullying Coming to All Public Libraries from ALA
7. UW-Madison Continuing Education, Winter and Spring 2009 Courses
8. Media Bombardment Is Linked To Ill Effects During Childhood
9. Mark Your 2009 Calendars
10. CCBC Offers New Ecology Bibliography
11. First Lady Doyle's Recommended Children's Titles for this Month
12. Monthly Postings are Archived on the Youth Services Web Page
13. Upcoming Events in 2009
1. Celebrations and Observances for this Month
January is
National Mentoring Month www.mentoring.org
National Book Month www.nationalbook.org
National Autism Awareness Month www.buzzle.com/editorials/text4-14-2003-39034.asp
National Birth Defects Prevention Month www.marchofdimes.com
2. SLP Update
2a. New Performers
Performers who were added to the Wisconsin Directory of Children's Performers during 2008 and January 2009 are highlighted at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/performers.html#newest. This is just a reminder that the Directory has headings to help find appropriate performers such as "Musicians," "Dancers," etc. And remember, too, that there is a map to help find the home locations of performers at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/perfmap.html.
2b. New Fabric May Have Potential for Youth Librarians
I recently became aware of a remarkable new fabric that may have the potential to be very useful for youth librarians. It is available from Postal Products Unlimited (www.easytackboards.com) and Mr. Anderson's Company. (www.misterandersons.com)
I sent samples of the fabric and a flier about the product to each of the regional system Youth Services Liaisons. The product now is now being used on bulletin boards. These boards may be real time savers for librarians making flannel board sets. Any lightweight paper, card stock, vinyl, etc., will stick to the fabric without felt, tape, etc. The objects can be removed without any sticky residue. Librarians could run a flannel board pattern on the copier, cut it out, and use it immediately on the board as is. Of course, this would also work perfectly with die-cut shapes such as Ellison and Accu-Cut.
The fabric is double sided--both sides are tacky. Pictures of characters in a story could be put on one side and the other side would stick to children's shirts. This would make the fabric very handy for audience participation in a story.
Many librarians have flannel boards out in the children's departments, mounted on walls in the children's areas, or have flannel boards built into activity blocks. With this new fabric, the pieces left out for the children to use on the board could be made of paper. There would not be a problem if they were lost or damaged. Another nice feature of the fabric is that is much more sanitary than a flannel board because it can be washed. When the fabric surface loses its tackiness, it can be restored by wiping it off with a damp cloth.
I also think some libraries might want to use this fabric on an entire wall. It would be so easy to put up a display of children's art work from the schools or any seasonal display the library wanted to change. I think it would be very useful when a library does a mural. Children could draw their creatures on paper, cut them out, and put them right on the fabric. Children could interact with the board by moving pieces around. Patti Sinclair, editor of the CSLP manual suggested putting the CSLP puzzle on the wall using the fabric to create a community jigsaw puzzle activity.
The fabric could be placed on the library's existing display boards. No more pins, tacks, stapling, taping, etc. It could be used on the ends of book stacks. It could be used as a teen poetry board, etc. I just want to make sure that libraries know about fabric because I think it really has the potential to be a very useful tool for librarians.
2c. No State SLP Incentive in 2009
Please remind your librarians that there will not be a DLTCL-sponsored state incentive in 2009. This is a decision that the Liaisons helped me make at the last annual meeting. One of the major problems is that there was not an umbrella agency that could coordinate multiple sites for an incentive that would match the theme. I found contacting and coordinating individual sites is too time consuming to justify. I have had some questions about offering state park passes again this year. Please remind your librarians that the DNR provided those passes and long ago decided they can't possibly give them every year. Some librarians seem to be under the impression that the cost for those passes came from DLTCL. The cost of the passes was a contribution by the DNR and they are not able to do that every year. They have had the same budget cuts as every other state agency, and everyone is anticipating fairly substantial cuts in 2009. There was never any possibility of ongoing free state park passes. The State Parks are only occasionally able to offer this opportunity. I anticipate it will be some time before they will consider offering them again.
3. Teen Services
3a. Adolescent Literacy workshops
Be sure to check out the updated schedule of Adolescent Literacy workshops at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/adolit.html. We hope all youth services librarians attend one of these sessions.
3b. Teen Tech Week, March 8-14
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) is sponsoring Teen Tech Week, March 7-14. The 2009 theme is "Press Play @ Your Library." Press Play @ the library can be interpreted broadly to make it work for you in your own library. One way to interpret the theme is to emphasize the word "play." Play can be about teens creating and sharing their own content for the fun of it, like videos, music, and digital artwork. Play through games can be encouraged with tournaments, tech trivia contests, and video games. The theme can also take a more educational direction. Teens can "press play" on various digital devices to learn more about the world around them. They can press play to watch film documentaries, listen to an audiobook, get online homework help, learn a new language, and more. YALSA encourages librarians and educators to be creative and take the theme in a direction that works for them and their teens! For more information about this celebration, go to http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Press_Play_@_Your_Library_TTW_2009.
3c. YALSA Offers Teen Services Courses
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), opened registration for three online courses in Winter 2009: "Booktalks Quick and Simple" (Nancy Keane); "Boys and Books: Encouraging Early Teen and Tween Boys to Read" (Jenine Lillian) and "Power Programming for Teens" (Amy Alessio). All of YALSA's Winter 2009 courses meet for four weeks and begin February 9. To read course descriptions, please visit www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/onlinecourses/info.cfm
Registration for YALSA's online courses is available at www.ala.org/yalsa. Four-week courses cost $135 for YALSA members, $175 for ALA members and $195 for nonmembers. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more, and all YALSA e-courses are available for licensing. Contact Beth Yoke at byoke@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4391, for more information.
4. New Consumer Product Safety Law
There is a new law called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that will go into effect in February 2009. Many librarians have been discussing the potential impact of the law on public libraries in regard to the toys they may be circulating and in relation to book sales. Recent indicators are that resale situations will not be affected by the new law. ALA has suggested that librarians wait to give them a chance to look into possible implications for public libraries, but at this time ALA does not anticipate a significant impact. To read the ALA memo, go to www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1349.
5. The Schneider Family Book Award
Information on the Schneider Family Book Award can be found at www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=awards&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=163339
6. Free DVD on Bullying Coming to All Public Libraries from ALA
The American Library Association (ALA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug Free Schools are pleased to announce a campaign partnership that provides all public libraries with a copy of the Stop Bullying Now! DVD Took Kit, the latest resource from the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign. The Tool Kit will be mailed to all public libraries in December 2008.
Bullying is a significant issue for many young people. The Stop Bullying Now! Campaign was launched by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in 2004 to raise awareness about bullying and to encourage bullying prevention for youth ages 9-13 and the adults who influence them.
More than 80 organizations, such as the American Medical Association, YMCA of the USA, and National Parent Teacher Association, have become campaign partners in the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign.
"HRSA's Stop Bullying Now! Campaign is pleased that as students, teachers, families and others turn to local libraries for educational resources, they will find the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign materials," said Elizabeth M. Duke, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). "This important partnership with the American Library Association makes the materials more accessible for anyone who wants to do something about the serious issue of bullying."
For additional material and bullying prevention resources, visit the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign Web site, http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov.
7. UW-Madison Continuing Education, Winter and Spring 2009 Courses
Public Library Administration January 7-March 31 www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/plaadmin.html
Basic Reference February 9-May 2 www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/basicref.html
Fundamentals of Cataloging February 9-May 2 www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/funcat.html
Adult Book Discussions in the Public Library February 16-March 13
www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/adultdiscuss.html
Connecting Teens with the Best in New Teen Lit February 23-April 5
www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/connectteens.html
Library 2.0: 101 March 2-March 29 www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/lib20.html
Children, Technology, and the Library March 9-April 3www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/kidtech.html
Graphic Novels in the Library March 11-April 8www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/graphicnovels.html
Spanish for the Library begins the 1st of each month www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/spanishtutorial.html
For more information, contact Anna Palmer, ahpalmer@wisc.edu
8. Media Bombardment Is Linked To Ill Effects During Childhood
The recent report by the National Institutes of Health and Yale University found strong connections between media exposure and problems of childhood obesity and tobacco use. Nearly as strong was the link to early sexual behavior.
Researchers said they were surprised that so many studies pointed in the same direction. In all, 173 research efforts going back to 1980 were analyzed, rated, and brought together in what the researchers said was the first comprehensive view of the topic. About 80 percent of the studies showed a link between a negative health outcome and media hours or content.
The average modern child spends nearly 45 hours a week with television, movies, magazines, music, the Internet, cell phones, and video games, the study reported. By comparison, children spend 17 hours a week with their parents on average and 30 hours a week in school, the study said. In probing childhood obesity, researchers found 73 studies over the past three decades, with 86 percent showing a negative association with media exposure. The studies most central to the analysis were large high-quality efforts and controlled for other factors.
The study did not touch on issues of violence and media, which researchers said was systematically reviewed by others. Researchers also excluded analysis of advertising or marketing. Most studies used in the analysis, as it turned out, focused on movies, music, and television. Researchers said a big gap was the lack of research on the effects of the Internet, cell phones, social-networking sites, and video games.
In their study, researchers rated evidence as above average in support of the link between media exposure and drug use, alcohol use, and low academic achievement. Evidence was weaker for the association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the market-oriented think tank Progress and Freedom Foundation, said it is important to recognize that "correlation does not equal causation" in research studies. He said he looked forward to reading the studies that the report is based on and was glad that there was no call for regulation.
Numbers of studies have found a statistically significant relationship between media exposure and an increase in:
| Childhood Obesity | 86% |
| Tobacco Use | 87% |
| Sexual Behavior | 93% |
| Drug Use | 75% |
| Alcohol Use | 80% |
| Low Academic Achievement | 65% |
Note: Conclusions were drawn from 173 studies that examined the links. This summary was based on work done by Donna St. George, Washington Post Staff Writer.
9. Mark Your 2009 Calendars
This is a reminder that the System Special Needs Consultants' meeting is on Friday, May 29 at the WLA office and the System Youth Services Liaison Meeting is on Friday, September 25 at the Holiday Inn, American Center (on the same road as the WLA Office.) The Annual Meeting of the C.E. Coordinators is on September 24 at the same location.
10. CCBC Offers New Ecology Bibliography
A new bibliography from the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) highlights books for children and teens about the environment. "Eco-Reading: Selected Books for Children and Teens about Our Earth and the Environment" is available on the CCBC web site at www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailListBooks.asp?idBookLists=324
--from Megan Schliesman, Librarian, Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison; 608/262-9503; schliesman@education.wisc.edu
11. First Lady Doyle's Recommended Children's Titles for this Month:
Wisconsin's First Lady, Jessica Doyle, has initiated an online book discussion club for children and adults.
Each month her web page for the book club, called "Read On Wisconsin," lists the titles for discussion. All books were carefully selected by a Literacy Advisory Board and reflect a commitment to diversity in their content and message. Mrs. Doyle hopes you find them as interesting and appealing as she does.
The titles recommended for this month are:
Preschool: "Rabbit's Gift" by George Shannon
Primary: "The Three Cabritos" by Eric A. Kimmel
Intermediate: "The Librarian of Basra" by Jeanette Winter
Middle School: "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
High School: "Mister Pip" by Lloyd Jones
For more information, or to join the "Read On Wisconsin" book club, go to http://readon.wisconsin.gov
12. Monthly Postings are Archived on the Youth Services Web Page
The 2008 monthly postings for the system youth services liaisons will be archived on the DLTCL Youth Services web page at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/ys-postings.html.
13. Upcoming Events in 2009
The listing of Upcoming Events is posted on the archive page at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/yspost-events.html
The list of upcoming events will be updated each month. This change is intended to reduce the length of this monthly posting. An attempt has been made to verify each of these dates and URLs. If errors are noticed, assistance in making corrections is very much appreciated. The dates are updated on a monthly basis.
Return to the page of Monthly Postings for Youth Services Liaisons.
For questions about this information, contact Jamie McCanless (608) 267-9280
Last updated on 1/20/2009 11:36:17 AM
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