The afternoon will feature the Great Stone Face Tea and book talks by Chris Rose. Attendees will also be able to visit the exhibits, the Children’s Book Review and the bookstore.

Cost of registration is $35 for CHILIS members only. Number of registrants is limited, so send your registration form along with a check for $35 payable to NHSLMA to Ann Hoey at the State Library by April 30, 2013.

1. 

   Busy families drop in to make a craft anytime on summer Fridays at the Keene Public Library

   Meet Library Users Where They Are. Do we offer programs in the right time and place for busy working families? If not, why not? And what can we do to make it easier to use the library and to attend events?  One way could be to turn more structured library programs into passive drop-in programs. During December and the summer months, we have a drop-in craft Friday. Almost everyone that comes into the department on these days participates.  Perhaps we should do this more regularly. This year I want to consider why our evening family programs have not always had the numbers we anticipated.  Perhaps evening programs may need to be a bit bigger and brighter than our weekly daytime offerings. And maybe the timing is wrong. At the Keene Public Library, we offer a number of big draw Saturday afternoon programs like our annual Family Ladybug Book Award Festival, Star Wars Day, and Family Gingerbread House Workshops. If we had  add occasional high impact evening programs to our schedule of events, would we reach a whole new population that has been too busy to make a trip to the library?

2. 

   Lego brings in new families at the Keene Public Library

   Make New Friends. I want to bring new people into the library and to have them return regularly.  This evening I noticed families asking for directions in the library. “Where’s the Trustee’s Room?” It dawned on me that if these people are probably new to the library and whatever program was happening in the Trustee’s Room had achieved something I wish all my programs did. It brought new people into the library. This year I want to make sure I’m offering some programs that will bring in new people.  Our monthly Lego program does but what other programs can I offer that will bring in people that have to ask for directions? I recognize that I’ve been guilty of taking the easy way out and offering my the programs I like without taking the trouble to find out what my patrons want. Sometimes it is too easy to do last year’s successful program again this year.  And then after a decade you realize maybe the program isn’t so hot anymore. I just found some good suggestions on how to make sure my programs are relevant to my current patrons on Bryce Don’t Play. He suggests that we watch a little of the new shows on Nick Jr., PBS, and the Cartoon Network and to pay attention to kids’ shirts. 

3. Rethink and Prioritize Time.  Since I want to being doing more to get and connect with new patrons, I will need to find time somewhere. This means rethinking what I’ve been doing.  Do I really need to spend as much time as I do planning and preparing for programs? My friend Wisconsin library friend Marge Loch-Waters gives some great ideas on how to Unprogram Your Programs on her blog Tiny Tips for Library Fun. Joyce Dixon, one of my very early library mentors, once described storytime as a laboratory for librarians to experiment with books and kids. She wanted us to take what we learned from storytime and use it in our outreach work in the community.  I try to keep this in mind as I plan by storytimes and events.  I really feel that storytimes aren’t the most important thing we do, so we need to make sure it isn’t the most time consuming thing we do.  And any conversation about storytime will eventually lead to storytime breaks. I would love to not have storybreaks. I wish I had a library that had enough staff to alternate so that we librarians could enjoy a break without inconveniencing our families but I’ve never seen such a library.  I have seen some really good ideas for dealing with storytime breaks.  We try to have drop-in craft tables or other less demanding programs at least once a week during our breaks. This year I want to offer Take Home Story Kits, new idea I read about the Show Me Librarian Blog.
4. Get STEAMED. You’ve no doubt noticed the push for STEM (Science, Engineering and Math) in libraries and other educational activities but in 2013, the Keene Public Library and other libraries will be incorporating the Arts into Stem. You can get some STEAMING ideas on Amy Koester’s Show Me Librarian blog.
5. Get More Tech Savvy. Although I’m fairly capable with technology there is still so much I’m not truly comfortable with. It really is a never ending struggle and one that we can’t afford to fall behind in or we will never catch up. Youth librarians need to step up to the plate and become a leader and not a follower.  The recent Pew Internet and Libraries Report on Mobile Connections to Libraries made this crystal clear to me.  The report found that parents of minor children were the most likely population to access a library’s website with a mobile device.  If we want to have kids in our libraries, these are the people we need to be talking to and we may need to change the way we’ve been talking to them in the past. I know there is much debate in our profession and our communities about whether technological gadgets are beneficial to young kids. Just because we haven’t been asked for advice on the topic doesn’t mean that parents don’t’ need it. Many of our parents are already sharing their phone and tablets with their children. We need to step in and help so that they are using the best media at the appropriate time for their children.  Cen Campbell from the Santa Clara Library Systems gives offers a good argument for curating aps for kids on her blog Little eLit.
6.  Ready More Widely. Most year’s I’m a big reader but this year I taking a systematic approach by joining my friend Angela Frederick’s Readers Advisroy Challenge for 2013.  Angela is a YA librarian in Tennessee. The challenge involves reading YA and MG books in a different genre each month.  In January the genre is horror.  I’m reading Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield.

What do you hope for in 2013? Have you set any goals for yourself and your library?

Gail Zachariah, CHILIS President

Nominate your favorite picture book(s) for the 2013 Ladybug Picture Book Award.  Please nominate a picture book that meets the following criteria:

• be published within the last three years (2010-2012);
• be in print;
• have both the book’s author and illustrator reside in the US;
• possess strong child appeal;
• have artistic quality with text that supports the illustrations;
• not be a title previously nominated.

Please submit your nominations no later than Friday, January 25, 2013 by completing the form at the link below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dExrb2dKWkVsU1N6Q3BsTW10Ukh4VVE6MQ#gid=0

If you cannot get the link to work, please click here:  nomination form

Thanks for your support of the Ladybug Picture Book Award, sponsored by the Center for the Book at the NH State Library!

PLEASE NOTE: Nominations are ONLY accepted from NH Librarians.  Nominations from authors, publishers, and those from outside New Hampshire will not be accepted or considered.

Number of Libraries using the Manual: 105
Number of Libraries using the Theme:   106
Number of Books Read:                         221,478
Number of Minutes Read:                      169,581,196
Number of Participants:                         15,374

Teen & Adult Programs:
Did you use the CSLP Teen program?       Yes=42, No=61
If no, did you offer a Teen program?        Yes=20, No=29

Did you use the CSLP Adult program?       Yes=27, No=75
If no, did you offer a Adult program?    Yes=16, No=43

Future theme ideas/suggestions:

air, animals, arts/museums, bugs, building/LEGOs, camping/hiking/nature/outdoors/mountains, carnivorous beasts, cats, circus, comics/graphic novels, curiosity, dinosaurs, dragons/castles/knights, ecology/”green” theme/environment, exploring, fairy tales/fantasy, famous people/”meet me in a book”/famous book characters, farm, fish, fitness/health/sports/exercise, food/cooking, historical fiction, holidays, imagination station, international, magic, medieval, more specific themes/countries/activities, music, mystery, mythology, outer space/space exploration/solar system, pets, pirates/treasure reading, railways/travel, reading rocks, safari/wild animals, science/inventors/discover, spooky things, something similar to “summertime & the reading is easy”, technology, transportation/ticket to read, under the sea/water, US history/now & then, western/old west.

Performers used:

Alejandro’s Old Tyme Magik, Alex the Jester, Amy Conley, Angela Klinger, Atlantic Karate, AUDUBON, Boston Museum of Science, Brothers Plad, Carol & Crew, Carol Sanborn, Cathy Ann Adams, Children’s Museum of NH, Children’s Science Museum – Dover, Clayworks – Anne McCrae, Critters & Creatures, David Martin, Dinoman Science, Double vision, Elaine Connors Wildlife Center, Eyes on Owls, Fairbanks Museum, Farmer Minor, Hampstead Stage, Harris Center – Susie Spikol-Fabek, Hunt & Allison, Jean Heilprin Diehl – 3 Little Beavers, Judy Pancoast, Keith Michael Johnson, Lindsay and her Puppet Pals, Little Red Wagon, Lucy Morris – Archery, Mad Science, Magpie Puppets, Marek Bennett, Mariposa Museum, Matthew Krug, Michelle’s Menagerie, Mike Bent, Mr. Lefleur, NH Astronomical Society, NH fish & Game, Norman Ng, Paul Warnick, Peter Boie, Poof Tardiff. Rangers from WMNF, Reptiles on the Move, Rick Goldin, Robert Rivest, Ruth Smith, Science Works – Steve Lechner, Seth Connelly, Simon Brooks, Soft Touch Farm – Diane Cook Johnson, Squam Lakes, Steelgraves magic, Steve Blunt, Steve Blunt & Marty Kelley, Steve Damon, Tales from Beyond – Greg McAdams, The Tardy Brothers, The Wild Center, Toe Jam, Tom Sieling, UNH Cooperative Ext, Up All Night children’s Museums of NH, W.I.L.D. Center, We Tell Tales, Wild Center, Wild Encounters, Willy Claflin, Wingmasters, Wings of the Night, York Wildlife

Pictures from the CHILIS Fall Conference, October 18, 2012.

Food Insecurity and Hunger in New Hampshire

Creating a Strategic Plan for children’s mental health in New Hampshire

• Spring 2012 Business Meeting Minutes
• Fall 2012 Committee Reports
• Fall 2012 Proposed Bylaws Changes

Thank you! We’ll see you on Thursday!

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There was a particular interest in seeing the dreamcatcher photos—those are collected here.

Submissions are still welcome! Please send them to agraves@manchesternh.gov.

• Dealing with Patrons with Cognitive and Behavioral Challenges – Susan Mead, Community Educator & Outreach Director of Greater Nashua Mental Health Center; Ken Jue, retired CEO of Monadnock Family Services and Chairman of Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire
• Isinglass Book Talks with Isinglass Committee
• Luncheon Speaker/Book Signing – Steve Cotler, author of Great Stone Face nominee Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genius or Anything
• Early Literacy Panel – Patty Falconer, Hampstead Public Library, Susan Laun, Portsmouth Public Library, Keene Public Library

Download the registration form for more information.

The Conference registration deadline is October 2, and registrations should be sent to Patty Falconer at the Hampstead Public Library.