Lisa Shaia and Joanne Moore's Connecticut Library Association conference about year round collaboration. Develop a partnership with the school and public library.
2. COLLABORATE! FIND A PARTNER
• Choose one partner to
build a relationship with.
• Meet up/email monthly.
• Invite each other to
meetings concerning
summer reading, book
fairs, community projects.
3. SETUP A CALENDAR
• Setup a yearly calendar
• Include all important dates:
• School vacation weeks
• Half days for conferences
• Professional development days
• Special programs at library
• One Book program
• Book Fair dates
• Library fundraisers
• Summer reading
• School testing dates
• Graduation
• Time change weeks
4. GOALS?
• What are your collaboration goals?
• To have children see the library as a welcoming place
• What are your goals for your departments?
• Expand programs
• Increase circulation
• Increase comprehension and test scores
• What are your goals for the children?
• To create lifelong readers
• To have children explore different topics
• To expand what children learn in school / complement
curriculum
• What are the goals of the program?
• By the end of this program you will be able to…
• By the end of this series you will be able to…
5. BUS STOP
• See: http://thriveafterthree.com/2014/03/09/bus-
stop-for-programs/ for all the gritty details
6. TV SHOW / YOU TUBE CHANNEL
Weekly program for storytelling and reading picture books.
We’re popular with the young and the elderly.
7. SCHOOL READINESS
Kindergarten Social: Just before school begins, invite the School Media
Specialist to a one-hour morning “Social,” so students learn the name(s) of
some of the most important school personnel!
Ready, Set, Grow! : Conduct a series of programs for pre-K students and their
parents to prepare them for Kindergarten. Offer modeling sessions of reading
aloud, and have craft ideas for fine motor skills.
8. IMMERSE YOURSELVES
IN THE COMMUNITY
We were asked to be special guest judges at the yearly pie contest.
9. FUNDRAISING TIPS
• Annual library appeal raffle prize (public)
• End of summer reading prize (public)
• PTO / PTA Fundraiser (school)
• Book Fair raffle (school)
10. FUNDRAISING IDEAS
• After hours party
• Books & Boogie
• Pajama Storytime
• Milk & Cookies
• Books & Chocolate
• Books & Cocoa
• Classics & Cocoa
• Cookies & Classics
11. PROGRAMMING IS SIMILAR TO
CREATING A GARDEN
Rich soil/foundation
Perennials and annuals
Urns and statuary
Time to grow
Theme/Idea/Collaboration
Classics and new/popular
Crafts/activities/games
Patience/adjust/abandon
Requirements Description
12. JANUARY: BOOKS AND S’MORES
•Read aloud program
•No-bake, peanut-free snack
•Guest readers
•Align with Language Arts theme
to build rapport with schools
13. FEBRUARY: MYSTERY PLAY-DATE
WITH A BOOK
•Gift wrap books by age range/grade level
•If You Like____, Then You’ll Love This!
•Use before school breaks
14. MARCH: BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
•Meet 5x during the month of March
(every Monday)
•Read two books aloud at first 4 meetings
•Have extra copies of each book and place children in
teams to look over each title
•Vote on the best book at first 4 meetings
•5th
meeting: Read 4 books aloud and have extra
copies available
•Vote for Best Book
•Publicize the winner so children
feel a sense of “ownership”
15. APRIL: AWARD WINNING BOOKS
•Examine artists’ and authors’ style and discuss
•Craft your own book with construction paper, book
binders, dividers
•Use “school supplies”: crayons, markers, colored
pencils, scissors, tissue paper, clean out your supply
closet!
•Stamp a seal on the front cover
•Have children write and illustrate their
very own book
•Circulate the collection
16. MAY: SCREEN-FREE WEEK
•Develop a script, with narration,
characters to role play, and lines to
perform. Encourage outdoor
performances to promote a traditional
setting.
•Play “Not a Box”: bring in shoe boxes,
book boxes and have the children
create their own Not a Box.
•Collaborate with Historical Society to
play “Old Time Games.”
17. JUNE: STORY MOB
•Choose a story and
create a Story Mob
(variation of a Flash
Mob)
•Encourage costumes
to go with the story
•Book Ideas: Are You a
Horse? Where is the
Green Sheep? Mo
Willems’ Pigeon and
Elephant & Piggie Books
18. JULY: SUMMER READING COLLABORATIVE
BOOK SHARE PROGRAM
•See http://thriveafterthree.com/2014/03/05/summer-
reading-collaborative-book-share-program/ for all the
details
19. AUGUST: STORY HIKE
•Stake each page of a picture book
and place stakes 50 yards apart to
create a “Book Hike”
•Collaborate with local nature center
•Use as an End of Summer Reading
event or Family Day Event
•Book Ideas: Tap the Magic Tree,
Press Here, Wiggle, Stretch, From
Head to Toe, Don’t Push the Button
20. SEPTEMBER: PAGE TO SCREEN
•Read picture book aloud
•Create Bingo Cards with words and
phrases from the book and movie
•Create a PowerPoint to reveal the
words and phrases
•Book Ideas: Night at the Museum,
Jumanji, Shrek, Babar, Where the
Wild Things Are, Cloudy with a
Chance of Meatballs, Meet the
Robinsons, Epic, Madeline, Curious
George, Ant Bully
22. NOVEMBER: PICTURE BOOK
MONTH BINGO
•Picture book covers
•Parts of a book
•Theme: Fancy Nancy, Magic
Tree House, Mercy Watson
•Award BINGO prizes related to
the stories.
•You can even dress up as you
host the BINGO program.
23. DECEMBER: HAPPY NOON
YEAR PARTY
•Crafts: hats, streamers, and if you’re really brave,
confetti?! HINT – stay in one confined space for this one!
•Talk about, plan, and commit to New Year’s
resolutions, such as I will read a book a week or I will
visit the library every week.
•Create a Word of the Year
•Check in with children; send them
a postcard if you haven’t seen them
in a while. After all, everyone loves
to be remembered and appreciated!
24. QUESTIONS?
Reach Lisa Shaia at:
lisamshaia@gmail.com
thriveafterthree.com
In depth program ideas will be posted
on the blog.
Reach Joanne Moore at:
jomoore50@gmail.com
moorej@litchfieldschools.org
In-depth programming workshops:
Monday, May 19 9:00 a.m. – noon at Oliver Wolcott Library
Friday, May 30 9:00 a.m.-noon at Middleton Library Service Center
25. THANK YOU!
We hope you enjoyed our webinar, and we hope that
you are inspired to try new programs.
We want to emphasize that collaboration and a focus
on the mission and goals of our work are our guides to
success.
We love to share and promote children’s programs
and hope to talk with you again!
All the best,
Lisa and Joanne
Notas do Editor
LISA
We’ve been working together for 10 years, collaborating in different ways.
Invite each other to staff meetings to be informed.
If in person meetings isn’t possible, email a summary.
JOANNE
JOANNE
JOANNE
JOANNE
LISA
Work together at after hours events to promote yourselves and your collaboration!
Attend preschool open houses, preschool graduations, school plays, etc.
JOANNE
Similar to a garden, children’s programming has some very simple requirements.
Creating a theme is the foundation to engaging programs with great results, just as rich soil yields beautiful plants.
After the theme is identified, decide on the design - aka the book titles, authors, or subject of the program.
Spice it up a bit; take a risk! Consider the children participating and try something new and different.
Be patient with yourself and give the program time to happen. Relax and enjoy the event.
Be the guide to the program, and let the children have the time to explore and discover during the event.
Listen to the children as they participate; observe their enthusiasm.
When the program is complete, take some time to reflect on the program design, and modify it if warranted.
LISA
Read aloud program with chocolate s’mores and great read-aloud stories. Check with the elementary Media Specialist, and align with Language Arts themes at K-6 schools. This builds rapport and dialogue between you and the schools. Students at the schools can learn about your programs in the schools, and once the students know about your programs, you have built a strong patron base!
I worked through the Central Office Administration at the schools to request that the library become a bus stop for students, especially on the days with after school library programs. This effort strongly increased student attendance because parents did not have to arrange after school transportation to the library. One phone conversation increased attendance dramatically!
LISA
This is a great reader’s advisory program. You can have this as an active program, or a passive display.
LISA
You can do this any time of year as an active program.
If you’re looking for a passive program, create a bulletin board and voting ballot box in the children’s room.
JOANNE
Invest in a long arm stapler (about $25.00 on amazon) if you will be doing this program on a regular basis.
Choose your favorites to discuss and ask the children for their top five list.
JOANNE
This is a great collaboration idea!
Fundraiser idea: Have a silent auction for a special program after hours!
JOANNE
Check out the official website for more information and ideas: http://storymobs.ca/
LISA
It maybe impossible to check out to individual children. Instead, check out books to the Parks and Rec Department.
If you’re worried about losing books, use donations and bring paperbacks uncataloged.
JOANNE
Other libraries around the country have done similar programs called “Story Trails” and “Story Walks.”
LISA
I have detailed instructions complete with Bingo Cards and Power Point presentations on my blog.
LISA
You can choose a theme or story to ask families to come in costume.
(You can see us as a Lego and a Bedtime Fairy, and Professor McGonagall and the Fat Lady from Harry Potter.)
In other years we’ve dressed as the Hungry Caterpillar and Pete the Cat. Pinterest is a great way to see homemade book costumes!
JOANNE
Children love Bingo, we use it year round for activities.
