Rural Library Initiative
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
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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.