Teen "Brown Bags" Coming Soon!

Stay tuned for more information on Teen Brown Bag Meetings for 2008! Linda Jerome of the La Crosse Public Library will be speaking at our Teen Summer Swap on March 12th, and more opportunities for swapping and sharing for teens will be coming along!

Catch the Reading Bug Sites

The Virtual Insectary
The Virtual Insectary not only provides images of some common insects, but includes information on the foods which they eat as well as the habitats where they can be found. Excellent photographs and close ups of insects.

Young Entomologists Society
Organization kids can join to share their interest in bugs with other kids.

Origami Butterfly
Decorate your library with these cute butterflies!

Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration and Seasonal Change

Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K-12 students share their own field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of Monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles — and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants, changing sunlight; and other natural events. Find migration maps, pictures, standards-based lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global context. Widely considered a best-practices model for education, Journey North is the nation's premiere "citizen science" project for children. The general public is welcome to participate.

~ from Rhonda Puntney, CEO, Youth Services Update, Issue 296, Nov. 7, 2007

Chi

Do Teens Refuse To Read?

Katy Neville, youth services librarian with North Carolina's Wake County Public Libraries, does a "Q and A" with the Kansas City Star on teen reading. Some of the questions asked of her include:

What proof do you have that teens read?
What can schools do to encourage reading?
Who is the most popular teen author?

Click here to read the article.

Bits from Barb

State Park Passes for 2007
 The Wisconsin State Parks Department has agreed to offer daily park passes in the summer of 2008 in conjunction with the Summer Reading Program. They are using their own variation of the national theme for state parks in 2008, "No Child Left Inside." It should be a wonderful collaboration. If we work with county fairs in 2008, I anticipate assisting libraries at the county level to work out agreements with their own county fairs. The
arrangements are likely to be more effective than what I am able to negotiate with individual fairs. Libraries in many counties already do this.

Beginning in 2008 Children's Book Week Will Move to May
 While Children's Book Week has traditionally been celebrated in November, next year the celebration will move to May 12-18, 2008. This decision was made by the Children's Book Council, Inc. (CBC), after much discussion with teachers, librarians, and booksellers from around the country. While the CBC recognized that moving the dates might inconvenience those people who have celebrated CBW in November for years, they had also received complaints about the November dates for many years, with teachers and librarians finding the timing impossible due to Thanksgiving and other holiday interruptions.
 According to Michelle F. Bayuk, Marketing Director of the CBC, there really was no perfect time when looking for alternative dates, and early May provided the best opportunities for promotion and activities within all constituencies. Also, many of the teachers and librarians contacted by the CBC noted that this will be a great way to culminate the school year and to link Children's Book Week to local summer reading programs, perhaps even making Children's Book Week the launch of summer reading. The 2007 Children's Book Week will be celebrated November 12-18, 2007. Visit http://www.cbcbooks.org for more information.

Free Nursery Rhyme Mini-Coloring Book from Louisiana
 The State Library of Louisiana has produced a series of 24 one-page printable nursery rhyme mini books for children to color and keep. Each mini book requires one sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper and just 2 folds. Librarians are encouraged to print them out and give them to children, parents, and teachers after programs, tours, presentations, as part of preschool outreach book delivery services, etc. All 24 mini books can be found as a PDF on the State Library's web site at:
www.state.lib.la.us/empowerlibrary/ALL%2024%20NRNS%20Mini%20Books.pdf

From the SYSTEM YOUTH LIAISON POSTING, Barbara Huntington, DLTCL
October/November 2007