ALSC Online Education

Registration is now open for ALSC’s winter Online Education courses!  All five courses begin on Feb. 1 and last four to six weeks, depending on the course.  Course space is limited, so please register early to reserve your spot.  Don’t miss this great opportunity to liven up your library this winter!

Connecting with Tween Readers
Examine the developmental needs and abilities of children ages 10-12, and learn why children of this age group are particularly vulnerable to illiteracy.  Participants will discuss unique activities and programs (including the utilization of currently popular technologies) libraries can offer to keep children on the path to becoming lifelong readers. A primary focus of the course will be studying the literature available for tweens.  The instructor is Edward T. Sullivan.

View more information about Connecting with Tween Readers on the ALSC Web site.

Information Literacy – From Preschool to High School
Learn how to conduct information literacy instruction for children of all ages.  Participants will be encouraged to examine their local schools’ and state’s requirements pertaining to library skills, and to develop methods of using the library to complement those requirements.  The course will include examples of successful programs, and participants will also discuss ways that information literacy instruction can be a useful “outreach” tool.  The instructor is Maryann Mori, director of the Waukee (Iowa) Public Library.

View more information about Information Literacy – From Preschool to High School on the ALSC Web site.

The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future
Discuss the different aspects of the Newbery award, as well as the history of the medal and how it has changed over time.  Participants are given an opportunity to read, discuss and consider past and present Newbery winners with their colleagues from across the nation.  The instructor is Kathleen T. Horning, director of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

View more information about The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future on the ALSC Web site.

Reading Instruction and Children’s Books***
This course focuses on the different methodologies for reading instruction and how to determine and interpret grade-level assigned books to effectively assist patrons.  Participants will then evaluate children’s materials for grade-level of reading and develop strategies for clearly communicating this system to parents and teachers.  The instructor is Katherine Todd, adjunct instructor at Manhattanville (N.Y.) College.

View more information about Reading Instruction and Children’s Books on the ALSC Web site.

***This course fills up extremely quickly; there will be a wait list once the course is full.

Series Programming for Elementary School Age
All kids love series books!  That’s why this course will teach participants how to add series clubs to the library in order to get children reading and using the library more. Using trivia, games, music and reading, children will come back for more each week. Series such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Magic Tree House, Spiderwick, Fancy Nancy, Froggy, Curious George and American Girl will be discussed.  The instructor is Lisa M. Shaia, children’s librarian at Oliver Wolcott Public Library.

View more information about Series Programming for Elementary School Age on the ALSC Web site.

Courses are taught asynchronously using Moodle, an online learning community.  A certificate of completion will be sent to participants upon successful completion of the course.  Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC Web site at www.ala.org/alsced.  Fees are $95 for personal ALSC members; $145 for personal ALA members; and $165 for non-members.

Questions?  Please contact ALSC Deputy Director Kirby Simmering at ksimmering AT ala DOT org or (312) 280-2164.

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Title: Children’s Services Fundamentals

Format: Online

Dates: January 5, 2010 – February 1, 2010

To register for this workshop: Use the online registration form at

http://infopeople.org/rural/workshop/440

Fee:  $75 for those in the California library community and Infopeople Partners, $150 for all others.

Does your work in the library include service to children and their families? Are you new to your responsibilities for children’s services or returning after a long absence? Do you want to do a better job in providing homework assistance, readers’ advisory, library tours, or family programs?

Expert children’s librarian and author Penny Peck will help you to acquire knowledge and skills to make you more comfortable and confident about providing fundamental children’s services. As a result of the course you will be able to:

• Conduct a reference interview to match grade-appropriate resources with children’s information needs
• Determine children’s reading interests, including those of reluctant readers, and find books to meet those interests
• Plan and host entertaining programs that attract families to the library
• Conduct a book discussion group for school-age children
• Promote books and reading through booktalking, library tours, and displays

Whether you are new or not-so-new to children’s services, you’ll come away with resources, best practices, and useful tips and techniques that can be applied immediately in your library.

Because the topics of children’s storytime and collection development are covered in other Infopeople courses, they will not be covered in this course.

Course Description: This four-week online course begins with the basic services of reference, homework help, and readers’ advisory, then builds on those skills with library tours, booktalks, and basic youth programming. You will develop a booklist, record a booktalk, plan for a library tour, and do other assignments to practice the skills learned. The instructor will provide a variety of online resources and handouts as a toolkit to use whenever you are serving children and families in the library. You will also participate in discussion forums and online meetings as part of the online learning process.

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:

• Week 1: Children’s Reference and Homework Help

What is reference? How a child’s developmental level affects reference

Reference interview questions and techniques, including body language

Homework: finding what children need, which may not be what they ask for initially

Math questions and homework

Useful online resources for information and homework

• Week 2: Readers Advisory for Children

What is readers’ advisory? Overview of recreational reading for children

Recreational reading by grade level and by genre of fiction

Readers’ advisory interview questions and techniques

Finding read-alikes and books for reluctant readers

Online resources to assist with readers’ advisory

• Week 3: Programming for School-Age Children

Overview of library programming for youth (excluding storytime)

Entertainment programs from planning stage to delivery

Book discussion groups for older children and “tweens”

Summer reading programs

Do-it-yourself programs and films

Online resources for planning library programs

• Week 4: Tours and Book Promotion

Conducting exciting tours for classes visiting the library

Booktalking as a way to promote recreational reading

Other forms of book promotion including booklists and online book promotion

Simple library displays.

Online resources for tours, library instruction, booktalks, and book promotion.

Instructor: Penny Peck. Penny Peck has been a children’s librarian for 25 years. Her experience includes performing thousands of children’s storytimes, leading hundreds of book club discussions for students in grades 4-12, conducting hundreds of school tours and assemblies, reviewing children’s books and media, and conducting the Performers’ Showcase for auditioning library entertainment. She is editor of  BayNews, the newsletter for the Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California.  Since 2002 she has been a part-time instructor at San Jose State University, specializing in classes on youth and teen services and programming.

Time required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 3 hours per week. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, it is recommended that you complete each week’s assignments within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Any library staff who provide service to children, including reference librarians or other staff who substitute at the children’s desk; new children’s librarians or other library staff who are relatively new to serving children. This course is particularly valuable for support staff whose work includes children’s services responsibilities.

Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at

http://www.infopeople.org/training/learning_details.html

If you would like to subscribe via RSS and be notified whenever new Infopeople training events are available, you can use these links:

**For new on-ground or online workshops: http://infopeople.org/workshop/rss

**For new podcasts: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InfopeoplePodcasts

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information about Infopeople Training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops page at http://infopeople.org/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at assist@infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.

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