“We can’t imagine a better third space than the library,” Shapiro told attendees of “Infant Programming Reimagined: Connecting Caregivers and Communities through Libraries,” a June 28 session at the American Library Association’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. She and copresenters from NYPL discussed ways to make the library more welcoming and inclusive of … Continue reading Craving Connection
A panel of librarians and authors dug into this slice of the broader fight against censorship at “Free Children Read Freely: Banned Books in Story Times for Young Children,” a June 28 session of the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. Pat Scales, a retired school librarian and author of … Continue reading Free Children Read Freely
Using Literature to Support Children’s Mental Health Edited by Kim Becnel and Robin A. Moeller There has been a huge increase in young people reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety in the past two decades, and this collection of essays supports librarians who want to do something to help. It prescribes selection criteria, book recommendations, and … Continue reading Championing Children and Teens
Our mid-size Midwestern public library thought: Why not develop an award to honor excellent titles that buck this trend? In 2022, Evanston (Ill.) Public Library (EPL) announced the inaugural recipients of its Blueberry Awards. These awards, the first of their kind in the library world, recognize and elevate fiction and nonfiction books that teach children … Continue reading Nurturing Nature
Early literacy activities are certainly fun—but also valuable. For parents and caregivers who are already reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing with their children, offering tips might seem superfluous. But many aren’t aware that simple, everyday activities—such as listing different food items in the grocery store—can benefit their child’s early language and literacy development and … Continue reading The Upside to Asides
Have you been hearing that refrain more often lately? We are certainly hearing it in New York City. Where many in the library profession used to bemoan the fact that the kids don’t read, the conversation has shifted in recent years to the more urgent question of whether they can. Bearing in mind the steep … Continue reading Beyond the Book List
Informal caregivers may include grandparents, cousins, nannies, shift-swapping parents, and older siblings. They may provide part-time or full-time care. Some are paid; many are not. Ultimately, without FFN care, it would be difficult or impossible for many parents to work. In my home state of Colorado, formal childcare is in short supply. The options aren’t … Continue reading Inclusive Early Literacy
“It was just joyful,” says Jessica Ralli, coordinator of early literacy programs at BPL. “It was a very diverse crowd and majority nonwhite.” About 75 families attended the event, which was minimally marketed because of concerns about gatherings amid the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. “The content was timely,” says Ralli, “and … Continue reading Antiracist Storytimes
Though its building was closed because of the pandemic, HPL staffers performed these innovative storytimes in parking lots where children watched the readers from the safety of their caregivers’ cars and listened along on the radio. The unusual format invited audience participation. With the song “Wheels on the Bus,” for instance, the words were altered … Continue reading Park and Read
My study aimed to determine whether sampled policies had manifest messages of diversity and the degree of congruence between these policies and ALA’s “Diversity in Collection Development: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” adopted in 1982 and last amended in 2019. Given that diversity is one of the core values of librarianship and … Continue reading What Does Diversity Mean?
Wishing Chair Productions draws on the legacy of the prolific puppeteer Tom Tichenor, who worked in the library in the 1930s. After his death in 1992, NPL established a program in his honor that grew from small, single-performer storytimes to full-blown productions staffed by a team of 10 professional puppeteers. With marionettes, juggling, magic tricks, … Continue reading Bookend: The World on a String
As youth librarians, our most important partners are schools and educators, which these days include many caregivers who have been thrown into homeschooling for the first time. In my system, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library (BPL), staffers have been busily figuring out ways to provide resources that our students, parents, and teachers may need as they … Continue reading Partners in Crisis
