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CSD Blog

Assess, Reassess, Repeat

1/26/2016

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​Happy New Year! I’m actually not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions (really, who is?). However, I am always a fan of setting goals, and you can do that pretty much any time of the year—not just when the New Year rolls around.
Ideally, assessing your past year and setting goals for the following year should be done shortly before your fiscal year ends—giving you enough time to advocate for budget changes that may need to happen in order to meet your goals—but that doesn’t always happen, and that’s okay! Last year I set a few goals upon staff evaluation results in June, and my youth services department staff and I set our latest goals in September, a few months into the fiscal year and after we debriefed over our Summer Reading Program.
In advance of our department meeting, I determined that we would set goals for the following areas: programs, collections, and professional development. We used summer reading survey data, patron feedback, program attendance, and our own experiences to create the following goals:
  • Provide programs that are inclusive of working parents.
  • Provide programs to teens that they will respond to and attend.
  • Improve communication with schools, preschools, and daycares.
  • Make collection organization more patron-friendly.
  • Take advantage of professional development opportunities that build on our strengths and strengthen our weaker areas.
Of course goals don’t mean much without action steps. Our action steps included providing an evening storytime, starting a teen art program, and creating a “Helpful Hints” handouts for classes that regularly visit our library. Remember to plan action steps that can be reasonably completed during the year while still pushing you and your staff a little outside of your normal comfort zone.
For more ideas on areas you might consider covering when setting goals, take a look at the OLA Youth Services Guidelines (remember that CSD is surveying members about new guidelines), the Edge Initiative, and the National Impact of Library Public Programs Assessment.
And last but not least, one of the most useful mantras I heard at the 2015 OLA Conference was, “think big, start small, act fast.” Use that to your goal-setting advantage when you’re attending conferences, participating in meetings, and sitting through webinars.

Written by MacKenzie Ross

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It's Here! Early Literacy Calendar

1/21/2016

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We're excited to present our Early Literacy Calendar! Check it out here. 
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CSD Reviews: Firefly Hollow

1/19/2016

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Firefly Hollow by Alison McGhee
Review by Carrie Kasperick, Librarian, Monmouth Public Library

Firefly Hollow is a sweet friendship story with unlikely characters--a cricket, vole, firefly, and boy—helping each other achieve their dreams. Cricket wants to play baseball; Vole wants to sail to the ocean; Firefly wants to fly to the moon; and Peter needs a friend. None can do it alone, and these characters demonstrate how kindness and support can be found in many shapes and sizes. The characters are beautifully anthropomorphized to embody the emotions and actions of people, thus making this a great choice for a 
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book discussion or read-a-loud. Beware, though, that death touches the lives of some of the characters, so there are somber moments in the book.

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​Firefly Hollow has simple sentences, larger text than typical juvenile fiction, and is beautifully illustrated. Black-and-white, small pictures are complemented with intermittent full-page, colorful illustrations that bring the story to life. I looked at the magical color illustrations many times over and think young readers will be drawn to them as well.  Firefly Hollow reminded me a bit of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Charlotte’s Web. This is a great story!
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CSD Reviews: All American Boys

1/7/2016

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​All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Having read many YA books in the past year, I initially chose a light, comical novel to review.  However, just days ago, after reading the news of a gratuitous Christmas day shooting of two black residents by Chicago police officers, I decided All American Boys would be the more poignant choice.  
 
Published this past fall, All American Boys is written in alternating chapters by black author Jason Reynolds as the character Rashad and by white author Brendan Kiely as the character Quinn.  Rashad and Quinn attend the same school and are only vaguely aware of each other's existence until Rashad is savagely beaten by a police officer.  Quinn, a family friend of the white officer and a witness to the beating, hopes to disassociate himself from the incident despite pangs of moral conscience. 
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While recovering in the hospital, Rashad struggles to come to terms with this tragedy and his father’s harsh response to it.   Quinn, despite initial attempts to ignore what happened to Rashad, finds that the incident has awakened in him a new sense of social responsibility.  Meanwhile, on the boys’ high school campus, a groundswell of activism begins to emerge.
 
In the final scene, the names of unarmed Black Americans who have died at the hands of police officers are read aloud.  I wept as I read this final scene, the list of names going on and on, the fictional story morphing into the tragic reality of so many Black Americans. 
 
All American Boys, which received multiple starred reviews, is written in a style that is easily accessible to both teen and advanced middle grade readers and simply begs group discussion.  I highly recommend this book.
Reviewed by Lorene Forman
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CSD Reviews: George by Alex Gino

1/4/2016

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George – by Alex Gino
Review written by Geralyn Schultz

George has a secret.  Though a boy in the eyes of others, she longs to grow her hair out long, and wear cute clothes and makeup.  One day, George sees an opportunity to show her real self as Charlotte in the class play, Charlotte’s Web.  She is broken-hearted when her teacher chastises her for auditioning for the part and refuses to consider her.  As George courageously begins to share her secret with those around her she finds both support and resistance in surprising places.  After confiding in her best friend Kelly, the two hatch a courageous plan to show her true self to the world. George is a poignant story about a child’s intense desire to be seen for who she truly is and to be fully accepted by her family and community. Although Gino resolves some parts of the story, they realistically leave some personal relationships open. 
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Publishers Weekly 05/11/2015 (EAN 9780545812542, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2015 (EAN 9780545812542, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
School Library Journal 07/01/2015 pg. 77 (EAN 9780545812542, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
Booklist 08/01/2015 pg. 61 (EAN 9780545812542, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
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Oregon Library Association
Children's Services Division
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The purpose of this site is to improve communication among Division members, publicize Division events and activities, introduce new and prospective members to the Division, and to link to useful Internet sites. Bylaws & Award Procedures
  • Events
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