Youth Events Still to Come!

Teen Brown Bag and Summer Recap!
Wednesday, November 12
1 -3 pm
NeighborWorks, 437 S Jackson St. Green Bay

Swap, chat and share! You bring a sack lunch - we'll bring the beverages! We will also do a Wii demo as part of our LSTA Gaming Grant!
Email Jamie or call 920-448-4410 to register!


NFLS Summer Reading Program Planning Workshop
Thursday, February 12, 2009
All-day event
Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, 2420 Nicolet Dr. Green Bay

Mary Driscoll, Outreach Librarian for the Dane County Library Service, will be sharing her "play literacy" activities for part of it. She is a dynamo, and someone you won't want to miss!

More details to follow - be ready to "Get Creative!"

Recent Reviews!

The Willoughbys, by Lois Lowry
What a gem! With echoes of Lemony Snicket, Lois Lowry takes on orphans, nannies, wealthy benefactors and neglectful parents. She throws in references to classic children's stories and lots of big words (accompanied by a clever glossary in the back and a bibliography of story titles.) Very funny and clever. Grownups who have read the books she refers to will enjoy the references. Children will be encouraged to seek out the titles and read more.


The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron
I listened to the audio of this book which was lovely. I find that listening to the books, often helps me slow down and savor the poetry of the writing on a quality read. I could have read this in a sitting, but it was worth the longer listen. I fell in love with the desert as described by Lucky - even though, like Brigitte, I don't like heat or bugs or sand. I loved Miles, and Lincoln, and of course, Lucky. I enjoyed the reader's voice. She was able to do a completely convincing French accent for Brigitte.

~ Karla Giraldéz, BCL - East Branch

PS. To read more of Karla's reviews, log in to goodreads.com, and become her friend!
Not a member? Become one! It's free, easy and you can share "good reads!"

Or...send me a review to share on LNB of a recent youth or teen book you read!

Web Tool Aids People with Colorblindness

This is what the NFLS home page looks like to a person with normal color vision.












With the click of a button, and using the Colorblind Web Page Filter, a person who has tritanopia (blue/yellow color blindness) can change the NFLS homepage to this:















Want to experiment with this page or YOUR library's website?

Click on the Colorblind Web Page Filter logo on the right-hand side above the NFLS Flickr Badge.

Type in your webpage url, pick a color filter and click "fetch!"
You can also embed the logo on your webpage or blog if you know of patrons or children who have color vision deficiencies at your library. It might help them view your webpage or other pages more easily!

You can get more information about the filter at http://colorfilter.wickline.org/.

Grassroots Meeting Recap

The Annual Grassroots Meeting held last week was well attended and a lot of fun! Diane Betz from Butterfly Books did a book talk on the latest and greatest children's titles. (Some of them literally arrived in the store the day before!)

If you want to view more photos from the meeting, click on the NFLS Flickr Badge on the right-hand side and then on the "Grass2008" photo stream.

If you were not able to attend but are interested in a copy of the bibliography Diane shared, please let me know.


Those who attended were asked to submit feedback that I needed to submit to the division. If you were not able to attend the meeting and want to share anything on the questions below, please do so.

1) What do you feel are the best services NFLS offers?

2)  What are the most important issues or concerns you have about youth
services in general?

3)  What is on your "wish list" of future services?

ALSC Awards, Grants and Scholarships

This year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is giving away $82,000 in professional awards, grants and scholarships.  From creative summer reading programs to author/illustrator visits, we want to help organizations and individuals create a better future for children through libraries.

Applications for awards and grants are now available online on the ALSC Web site at www.ala.org/alsc; applications for scholarships will be posted on the ALSC Web site in the near future.  All applications are due December 1, 2008, except for The Frederic G. Melcher Scholarship and the Bound to Stay Bound Books Scholarship, which are due March 1, 2009.

Below is a complete listing of ALSC's professional awards, grants and scholarships.  Please share this information with colleagues, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.  Respond to this e-mail if you would like award information sent to you as a .pdf.  Thank you!

Sincerely,
Jenny Najduch
ALSC Marketing Specialist
(312) 280-4026


Awards include:
* Bookapalooza!  Each year the ALSC office receives almost 3,000 newly published books, videos, audiobooks and recordings from children's trade publishers for award and notables consideration.  At the end of the year, after the awards have been given out, ALSC selects three libraries to receive a Bookapalooza collection of these materials (estimated to be worth $10,000 each) to be used in a way that creatively enhances their library service to children and families.

* The Frederic G. Melcher Scholarship provides financial assistance in the form of $6,000 scholarships to two students who intend to pursue an MLS degree and who plan to work in children's librarianship in any type of library.

* The Bound to Stay Bound Books Scholarship provides financial assistance in the form of four $6,500 awards to students who intend to pursue an MLS or advanced degree and plan to work in the area of library service to children in any type of library.  The scholarship is made possible through the generous contributions of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Incorporated.

* Louise Seamen Bechtel Fellowship provides a $4,000 stipend to allow a qualified children's librarian to spend a month or more reading at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature, which contains a special collection of 85,000 volumes of children's literature published mostly before 1950..

* ALSC/BWI Summer Reading Grant provides $3,000 in financial assistance to a public library for developing outstanding summer reading programs for children.

* ALSC Distinguished Service Award honors an individual member who has made significant contributions to and an impact on, library services to children and ALSC.  The recipient receives $1,000 and an engraved pin at the ALSC Membership Meeting during the ALA Annual Conference.

* The Penguin Young Readers Group Award provides a $600 stipend, provided by Penguin Young Reader's Group, for winners to attend their first ALA Annual Conference.  Applicants must have less than 10 years of experience as a children's librarian and work directly with children.

* The Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Award was established with funding from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, in honor of Maureen Hayes, to bring together children and nationally recognized authors/illustrators.  This award provides $4,000 to fund an author/illustrator visit to a library.