Children hardly needed a tutorial in how to interact with the new Play and Learn space during an open house November 2, 2016, at North Branch Area Library of East Central Regional Library (ECRL). Parents and their little ones learned as they played with the Duplo table and sets, a wall mounted submarine, a sky pilot and safety road activity and more. Funds for the space were made possible by an anonymous donor. Refreshments during the open house were served by the Friends of the North Branch Area Library.
Category: Youth Services
Summer Reading Resource Fair POSTPONED
Due to anticipated heavy snow and possible blizzard-like conditions, the GRRL staff will postpone the Summer Reading Resource Fair. The Fair was planned for this Friday, November 18.
The RESCHEDULED Summer Reading Program Resource Fair will be held on Friday, December 9 at the St. Cloud Public Library. Contact your regional library office for more information about this statewide event.
Read & Ride Day – Celebrate Summer Reading
Library Ambassadors Needed – join the fun!
Read and Ride Day is the Minnesota State Fair discount day for library users. Anyone showing a library card at the ticket booth will receive a discount. As part of the celebration there will be a Read & Ride library event in Carousel Park (in front of the Grand Stand) from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm with free family activities. We want everyone to make their next stop the library after the Fair, we can’t accomplish that goal without our wonderful Library Ambassadors.
Check for updated details throughout the summer at readrideday.org
Ambassador Activities: A variety of activities are planned for the day and your ambassador duties may include:
- Run games
- Card fairgoers
- Assist crafters
- ROCK OUT on the Rock ‘n’ Read Bus
- Enjoy the Fair some more!!
Ambassador Benefits: You’ll have to supply your own mini-donuts, but the other “ben-ies” are pretty awesome, though inedible:
- A State Fair gate pass
- A cool t-shirt: Read to Live, Live to Read
- A great day at the Fair
- A Blue Ribbon Bargain Book
Click to register online to be a Library Ambassador at the Fair
Questions: Email Kathleen James
Successful Teen Lit Con 2016
Teen Lit Con 2016: A Huge Success With an endorsement as the “best event of its kind in the US” from none other than National Book Award Winner Neal Shusterman, Teen Lit Con 2016 closed another chapter on this widely anticipated annual event.
More than 1,000 teens & other YA readers descended on Sibley High School for a day of author talks, breakout sessions, and literary fun. Readers came from as far away as Moorhead, Marshall, and Cedar Rapids, as all parts of the MELSA region. 12 Twin Cities schools received transportation awards to bring students to the event.
The national authors Neal Shusterman, Faith Erin Hicks, Jason Reynolds, and Leigh Bardugo filled the Sibley HS auditorium for their keynotes. Local authors drew enthusiastic readers at their panels. Other breakout sessions on writing & publishing also were packed.
A shout out to the more than 70 Ambassadors from all types of libraries, schools, and ”just people who like books” who helped make this Legacy-funded event a success. Partners Sibley High Sschool and ISD 197 (West St. Paul-Mendoota Heights-Eagen) were also vital to making it happen.
Ambassador Susan Bernstein, Carver County Library, was a champion Tweeter before, during, and after the event. You can see the fun by browsing the Twitter hashtag #teenlitcon for lots of pictures & comments.
As the happy readers streamed out their biggest question was, “When is Teen Lit Con 2017?”
News posting from Ann Walker-Smalley, Metronet
Llamas Visit the Library
Llama Llama Pajama Party
Even a light drizzle on a gray afternoon did not deter over 950 library patrons bedecked in PJs from visiting the St. Cloud Public Library for the annual Llama Llama Pajama Party. Two llamas were tucked under the overhang of the library’s front entrance and kids and parents alike could clamber inside and around a firetruck and a SWAT vehicle.
The evening’s Storytimes featured community readers including a police officer, US Army Specialist (pictured above), a judge and many costumed characters. The library also offered crafts and healthy snacks.
This annual event is co-sponsored by the Great River Regional Library (GRRL) and United Way of West Central Minnesota.
Teen Lit Con 2016
Teen Lit Con 2016 – A day to celebrate teen literature, promote reading and writing, and to create a community of readers by connecting teens and authors.
May 7, 2016
Henry Sibley High School
1897 Delaware Ave, Mendota Heights
Free & Open to the Public – Doors open at 9:30am. First event at 10:00.
Posters featuring book covers or author pictures. Print and post at the library or school!
Use & follow the event hashtag #teenlitcon
This project made possible with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the people of Minnesota for Library Legacy activities.
Become a Summer Food Program Site
Learn How Your Library Can Be a Summer Food Program Site
Fewer than 15 percent of Minnesota kids who benefit from the free or reduced-price school lunch program have access to summer and afterschool food programs. Limited access to free food program
s, particularly during the summer, leaves many children hungry. Public libraries can help make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session.
Begin planning your summer 2016 participation by attending an informational webinar on February 24, 2016 at 11 a.m. Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program Coordinator at MDE, will share how you can get involved. There is no need to pre-register.
Please join the WebEx meeting online (meeting number 594 625 833) or call in at 1-888-742-5095 (conference code 874 403 3672). Email Jen Verbrugge with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event.
Note: MDE requires a two-week advance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.
90-Second Newbery Redux
Calling All Kid Filmmakers!
Know some imaginative kids? The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers make movies that creatively tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in ninety seconds or less. Making the film is a fun, creative and multi-faceted educational exercise. Kids cooperatively write, storyboard, produce, direct, costume, act, frame and edit their films.
Public librarians, school librarians, parents, teachers, and scout leaders are encouraged to work with their kids to make movies. The deadline to submit films for the 2015-2016 film festival is January 10, 2016. Inspiration and more information can be found on the 90-Second Newbery website.
The second annual Minnesota screening of the best local entries is on Saturday, February 27, 2016, from 3:00-4:30 pm at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central. Make your free reservation here. Co-hosts of the event will be James Kennedy (90-Second Newbery founder and middle grade author of The Order of Odd-Fish) and Kelly Barnhill (Minneapolis author of The Witch’s Boy). For more details, please contact Jen Verbrugge 651-582-8356, at State Library Services.
Teen Lit Con 2016 Authors Announced!
Teen Lit Con author line-up for May 7, 2016!
Headliners
- Neal Shusterman, author of 2015 NBA Young People’s Literature Award winner Challenger Deep
- Jason Reynolds, author of Boy in the Black Suit. All American Boys, co-authored with Brendan Kiely, is on the PW Best YA Books 2015 list.
- Faith Erin Hicks writes comics & graphic novels. The Adventures of Superhero Girl won an Eisner Award in 2014.
- Sabaa Tahir is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult fantasy An Ember in the Ashes. It’s been optioned for a movie.
Featured Local Authors
- Pete Hautman returns! His most recent book is Eden West. Pete won the Young People’s NBA in 2004 for Godless.
- John Coy, author of Crackback & Box Out, has a new book Gap Year coming out in 2016.
- Derek E. Sullivan’s first book is Biggie. He’s from Nebraska.
- Monica Ropal When You Leave is included in the Publisher’s Lunch BUZZ Books 2015: Young Adult Spring.
- Dawn Kiehr writes young adult thrillers: The Cutting Room Floor & If You Wrong Us.
- S.A. Bodeen published two new books in 2015 Lost & The Detour. She has 5 previous novels.
In addition to this great line-up of author presentations, there will be more breakout sessions, fun stuff in the Exhibit Hall, giveaways for teens, and additional literary excitement than ever!
Mark your calendar for May 7, 2016 at Henry Sibley High School.
To stay up-to-date on Teen Lit Con announcements, follow us on Twitter @TeenLitCon and sign up for email notices about transportation awards & other info.
Use & follow our hashtag #teenlitcon.
Fall Fun Day 2015 a Success
Great River Regional Library (GRRL) hosted the first ever CRPLSA sponsored Summer Reading Program Fall Fun Day Program on November 22. About 40 librarians from around the state attended to brainstorm and share ideas to plan for their 2016 programs and as a “train the trainer” event. Representatives from the CRPLSA-sponsored iReads program were also on hand to display incentives and other program materials available.
The theme for next year will be “Read for the Win” a celebration of sports and achievement which will tie in nicely with the Summer Olympics.
The collaboration was very successful. Attendees reported:
- “This was an amazing program that is going to save us SO much time & it is going to make our program stronger & more inventive.”
- “So many ideas! The brain games will be used for this Winter Reading Program.”
- “I learned new ideas to implement with toddlers, school age, and teen/adults. Most programming can be inexpensive. I have never done a multi-generational program before but I will try one this upcoming year. You gave a lot of ideas that I would have never thought of.”
Fall Fun Day
CRPLSA and the Youth Services Committee invite library staff to the inaugural Fall Fun Day for the 2016 iREAD Summer Reading Program (SRP)! Join youth services staff from across the state to begin planning for SRP – 2016. Fun Day participants will be able to identify at least one new programming idea to augment the summer programming at their library.
Date & Time: Friday, November 20, 2015 | 9:00a-12:00p
Location: St. Cloud Public Library – Mississippi Room
Theme: Read – For the Win! (Games, sports and the Olympics!)
Supercharged Storytimes thru specialized learning
Minnesota is one of just five states selected to participate in a new IMLS-supported OCLC initiative, Supercharged Storytimes. It is an empowering, research-backed approach to storytime planning and delivery established in Washington state. Up to 100 staff from Minnesota libraries will have the opportunity to participate in five free, one-hour online learning sessions scheduled this October and November. Participants will be active in a specialized learning community designed to boost the impact of library storytimes and demonstrate how libraries provide high-quality early literacy experiences that gets kids ready for kindergarten.
More information including basic criteria for participation
Email Jackie Blagsvedt, Youth Literacy and Library Program Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education, State Library Services, with your questions.
Read & Ride Day – 2015
Be A Reading Ambassador!! A variety of activities are planned for the day. Your ambassador duties vary by shift. And, you can even choose your shift.
- Shift 1 Set-up crew – 7:30am-10am
- Shift 2 – 9:00am-Noon
- Shift 3 – Noon-3pm
- Shift 4 Pack it up! – 2:30-5:30pm
Ambassador Benefits
You’ll have to supply your own mini-donuts, but the other bennies are just as plentiful and rewarding:
- A State Fair gate pass
- A cool t-shirt: Read to Live, Live to Read
- A Blue Ribbon Bargain Book
- A great day at the Fair!
More details —
Read and Ride Day is the Minnesota State Fair discount day for library users. Anyone showing a library card at the ticket booth will receive a discount. As part of the celebration there will be a Read & Ride library event in Carousel Park (in front of the Grand Stand) from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm with free family activities. Library Ambassadors are the key to making the event a success!
Click Here to register, as well as see shift times and duties. Staff from all types of libraries are welcome to be Ambassadors.
There is even a new event website for details about entertainment & activities. It is updated throughout the summer at READRIDEDAY.ORG
For more information or questions, contact Kathleen James
* Please Note: When serving as a Library Ambassador you are representing your library or library system. MELSA understands you are on work time and have obtained permission to participate from your supervisor.
Twin Cities Teen Lit Con
The Twin Cities Teen Lit Con brings teens together with their current and future favorite authors. Ten authors will participate in this second annual event on Saturday, May 9, 2015.
- E. Lockhart
- Gene Luen Yang
- Gayle Forman
- Matt de la Peña
- Kirstin Cronn-Mills
- Steve Brezenoff
- Pat Schmatz
- Patrick Jones
- Rebecca Hahn
- Jonathan Freisen
There will be author panels, featured speakers, writing workshops, breakout sessions and an exhibit hall with book sales, book signings, and other book related cool stuff to do. Over 600 attendees enjoyed the fun at the 2014 Teen Lit Con and Con organizers are planning for an even larger crowd this year.
LARL hosts mini Maud Hart Lovelace Award gala
The Moorhead Public Library, a branch of Lake Agassiz Regional Library (LARL), will host a Voting Gala for area youth to vote on the 2014-2015 Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award nominees on Monday, March 23.
The Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award is a national children’s choice award established in 1980, named after the American author of the same name, best known for writing the “Betsy-Tacy” series. Each year, a group of nominated titles are chosen in two divisions: grades 3–5 and grades 6–8. Children who have read at least three books in the relevant category can cast a vote for their favorite.
The Moorhead Library will partner with Moorhead Public schools to host this Gala. Elementary-aged students from across the area are invited to the library for social time, voting, and refreshments. A lively book discussion lead by the school Media Specialists will allow students to debate the merits of their favorite titles with their peers. At the end of the night, the votes will be tallied and the top titles announced. Based on previous years experience, the media specialists and librarians expect several hundred children and their families to attend this event.
One parent attendee in the past remarked, “Our daughter never speaks up. I’ve never heard her talk in front of a group like this, or with such conviction.” Jenna Kahly, LARL Youth Services Librarian states, “The students become very passionate about their favorites and the media specialists expertly guide the discussion eliciting thoughtful responses and opinions about the various nominees.”
The official Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award winner will be announced on Maud Hart Lovelace’s birthday, April 25.
Summer & At-Risk Food Program
Summer and At-Risk Food Programs for Kids – Webinar Reminder
Public libraries can help make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session by participating in summer and/or afterschool food programs. Begin planning your library’s summer 2015 participation by attending an informational webinar on February 4, 2015 at 11 a.m. Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program Coordinator at MDE, will share how you can get involved.
Contact Jennifer Verbrugge with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event. Note: MDE requires a two-week advance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.
Libraries Serving Youth Meetup
State Library Services invites library staff to attend a Libraries Serving Youth Meetup on Saturday, April 18 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Meetup will be a chance for school librarians and public librarians to meet, network and share ideas, as well as learn about successful public library & school collaborations, get creative ideas, and even enjoy a free lunch.
Registration opens February 14 – Mark your calendar and stay tuned to the State Library Services website and listserv for more information.
Library Summer and At-Risk Food Programs for Kids
Fewer than 17 percent of Minnesota kids who benefit from the free or reduced-price school lunch program have access to summer and afterschool food programs. Limited access to free food programs, particularly during the summer, leaves many children hungry. Public libraries can help make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session.
Begin planning your summer 2015 participation today, there are many ways your library can get involved:
1. Learn about local free meal resources and direct patrons to them.
Find information about Minnesota meal sites on MDE’s At-Risk Afterschool Meals web page and Summer Food Service Program web page.
2. Provide information at your library for patrons to take home.
Make available take-home information for families in need. Contact Second Harvest Heartland for pads of tear-off sheets to passively promote summer food service.
3. Your library may be eligible to be an at-risk afterschool and/or summer food site or sponsor.
Sites store and distribute food, supervise meal service, provide activities, and keep a daily record of participation. To notify MDE of your desire to participate as a site, fill out an interest survey. Sponsors manage multiple sites, coordinate fund distribution and reporting. Read the Second Harvest Heartland toolkit for more information about how to be a sponsor.
Contact State Library Services, Jen Nelson at or Jen Verbrugge for more information about how your library can work with summer and out-of-school time food programs.
Prevent summer slide!
The benefits of summer reading are clear. National research finds that students who participate in library summer reading programs score higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than those who do not participate.
The iREAD mission is to provide libraries with the tools to bridge this summer gap, while inspiring literacy and life-long learning. Click here to view iREAD’s new Prevent Summer Slide bookmarks and posters, designed to create support from parents and community leaders.
90-second Newbery coming to MN!
Calling All Kid Filmmakers!
The 90-Second Newbery is now accepting video submissions from Minnesota’s young filmmakers. Selected Minnesota-made movies will be screened with submissions from other states at the first-ever Minnesota 90-Second Newbery Film Festival in February.
How You Can Help
A 90-Second Newbery film tells the story of a Newbery Award winner or honor book in 90 seconds or less. Minnesota librarians would love to see our state’s creative kids submit their movies. The 90-Second Newbery website features dozens of films to spark ideas, how-to guides and complete instructions for uploading films. The submission deadline for consideration in February’s screening is December 20, 2014. Please help spread the word about this fun opportunity.
What’s Next
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival will be hosted by author (The Order of Odd-Fish) and 90-Second Newbery founder James Kennedy and renowned local author Kelly Barnhill (The Witch’s Boy).
Gather on Saturday, February 28, 2015 from 3:00-4:30 pm at Hennepin County Library — Minneapolis Central’s Pohlad Hall. The festival is free and open to all.
For more information and additional resources, email Jennifer Verbrugge or call 651-582-8356.
Defined role for YSC
With a deep dedication directed to supporting quality library programming for youth from the smallest toddlers through tweens and teens, regional youth services providers gather regularly. Recently CRPLSA more clearly defined a broad role for the Youth Services Committee (YSC) while allowing for self-direction within the assigned among these subject specialists. CRPLSA’s YSC will:
- Discuss possible opportunities for collaboration of regional summer reading program activities
- Coordinate early literacy with local providers
- Support the Once Upon a Reader program
- Recommend appropriate training for consideration by CRPLSA
- Undertake other tasks as assigned by CRPLSA
Click here for a complete list of YSC responsibilities.
90-Second Newbery
Get Your Movies Ready for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers creatively tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in ninety seconds or less. Making the film is a fun, creative and literacy-rich experience. Kids write, storyboard, produce, act, frame and edit. Public librarians, school librarians, homeschool parents and teachers are encouraged to work with their kids to make movies. The deadline to submit films is December 20, 2014.
Inspiration and more information can be found on the 90-Second Newbery website.
Want to make a 90-Second Newbery video, but are daunted by the project? Download this handy guide of tips, tricks, and strategies.
A Minnesota First! Mark your calendar for the first-ever Minnesota screening of the best local entries. Co-hosts of the event will be James Kennedy, author, founder and curator of the 90-Second Newbery, and Kelly Barnhill, Minneapolis author of The Witch’s Boy, The Mostly True Story of Jack, and Iron Hearted Violet.
Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 3:00-4:30 pm
Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central
For more details, email Jennifer Verbrugge, Library Program and Partnership Coordinator, or call 651-582-8356.
MNBA celebrating Read + Ride Day at the Fair
The Minnesota Book Awards will join Minnesota’s public libraries on August 27 in presenting a day of free family fun in Carousel Park. There will be performers on stage all day, a scavenger hunt, dozens of authors (Kevin Kling, Chris Monroe, Erin Hart, Julie Kramer and more!), characters, crafts, trivia & games, plenty of photo ops and tons of fun.
Show your public library card at the gate for discounted admission.
Read and Ride Day at the Fair
Join fair-goers and library-lovers for Read and Ride Day on Wednesday, August 27 for the Minnesota State Fair discount day. Anyone showing a library card at the ticket booth will receive a discount. As part of the celebration there will be a Read & Ride library event in Carousel Park (in front of the Grand Stand) from 9:00am – 5:00pm with free family activities.
Library Ambassadors are key to making the event a success so volunteer now! Find available shifts & sign-up here. All library staff are welcome (in accordance with your library’s policies). Ambassadors receive a gate pass to the Fair & a cool t-shirt! Plus a whole lot of fun!
MELSA Sponsors teen lit con
The Twin Cities Teen Lit Con is where authors, books, teens and fun collide. There will be 10 amazing authors, breakout sessions and an action packed Exhibit Hall complete with photo booth, book arts, book signings and more. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with their favorite authors, explore other aspects of being a part of a reading community and attend workshops for writers.
Teen Lit Co 2014 is an event for readers of YA literature–teens & others. The event is free & open to the public. Click here for more details.
May 17 – 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Henry Sibley High School
1897 Delaware Avenue
Mendota Heights, MN 55118
Teen Lit Con 2014 is sponsored by MELSA with co-sponsors Metronet, Mackin, Addendum Books, ISD 197, & Dakota County Library. While the primary audience for the event is teens, all readers of YA lit are welcome to attend.