Childrens Services Minutes - September 15, 2021
Submitted by kwilliamson on Fri, 09/17/2021 - 10:08
Meeting Date / Time:
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 - 1:00pm
Meeting Location:
Virtual (MS Teams or Zoom)
Attendees:
Anne Hall (ED), Kristin Williamson (DOES), Bridget Harkin (RE), Sally Gray (VI), Breanna Salzsieder (DC), Shana Lancaster (CL), Robin Miller (NW), Cameron Smith (AL), Kelley Riha (DOES), Kimberly Boldt (DOES), Mary West (CL), Teresa Matthews (DOES), Cheryll Jones (SO), Kellie Delaney (SPP), Andrew Patton (ED), Emily Williams (DOES), Heidi Port(DVS), Melanie Chavez(CL), Jenifer Bowman(DN), Marc Pezzell(ED), Nicholas Thompson (RE), Brittney Logan (ED), Juliet Alavicheh (VI), Tess Botkin(NW), Tara Golden (MC), Gloria Melchor (CH), Carole Roberts (MC), Daniel Chesney (WA), Amy Upchurch (AL), Jessica Gonzalez (DOES), Laura Pool (BE), Scott Garrison (CL), Katherine Hickey (BI-notetaker)
Guests:
Chandy Rice - Pivot
Introductions
DOES Updates
Emily:
- Transforming Teen Services Trainings are available to watch on Edubrite. They are all applicable to Children's Services.
- Book Talk for Teens Training Oct. 6th. You can enroll in Edubrite
- LitFest was very successful, most programs have been archived and can be found at metrolibrary.org/litfest. Many author interviews are still available on Facebook.
- Teentober is a YALSA initiative occurring in October, there will be social media content and promotion.
Jessica:
- 123 Play With Me: 500 kits will be sent out by the end of October. All calendar entries have been published. Thank you to Katherine, Emily, Sally, Amy, Dana and Bridget for helping create content. Kits will still include a free book. Hoping to include resource professionals in the Spring. Teen volunteers will be assembling small paint containers for the art component.
- Heidi: Please encourage customers to take pictures of their children participating in the activity so that they can be shared with teen volunteers to see the fruit of their labor.
Kristin Williamson:
- Today is first day of Hispanic/Latinx Heritages Month. "Hispanic" refers to people of Spanish-speaking countries. "Latinx" is more inclusive of people from Indigenous communities, the LGBTQ+ community, and non-Spanish speaking countries.
- Live performance by Sonia De Los Santos on Sept 29 at 10 AM. Thank you to Gloria for proof-reading Spanish translation in promotional materials. Libraries will be receiving posters.
- NASA At My Library Grant from ALA: awarded to the RE Library. Program offering will be extended to all branches. Concurrent with James Webb Space telescope launch occuring in November. Science Museum will offer programming related to the telescope launch and first images, with an additional tie-in for Summer Reading 2022 theme "Oceans of Possibilities".
Kimberly:
- Kiosk will be delivered next week in Edmond
Summer Reading:
- What Worked Well
Andrew (ED): prize pick up worked very well with a book fair set-up. Ended up being a better alternative than having books on a cart. Good use of space if not being used for programs.
-Completed Beanstack live-demo training with ED Access staff to complement online training.
-Customers being able to choose tote bag regardless of their age. Positive feedback on later prize pick up, because it evens the playing field for kids who may take longer to complete the program. Everyone gets a great assortment of titles to choose from.
-Selection of books was great. Customers really enjoyed having adult titles to choose from.
-Before 2018, prize pick-up level was about 70%. In 2019, it was 35% and then 83%. in 2020 In 2021, it was 75% . This indicates that we are moving towards better engagement with the program. Success isn't just sign-up numbers. Full stats available here.
-Scissortail Farmers' Market was a good opportunity to get new participants.
- Challenges
- Starting Prize Pick Up on a Sunday
- Starting prize pick up in August. Maybe we could hand out a completion certificate or a ticket to be redeemed in August for kids to have something to look forward to.
- need for clearer communication with the public about later prize pick-up
- potentially missed communication about kids being able to pick out books earlier if they weren't going to be in the area after the summer. Customer service should be a priority: staff should be empowered to allow kids to pick out prizes early if necessary.
- By starting pick up later, volunteers won't be able to distribute prizes which makes up a large part of their responsibilities at the Celebration Station.
- confusion about where to pick up Science Museum kits
- branches responded differently to the program. Unfortunately, there isn't the opportunity to customize SR too much without creating inequities or inconsistencies
- low turn-out rate for live kit programs. Pre-recorded videos are better.
- Beanstack glitches, especially with back-dating reading time. Accidentally logging for the wrong program. Also, potential duplicate accounts from customers who signed up on their own last year.
- confusion about applying stickers to the prize books. Each library received a few sheets of stickers, and they were available in the supply catalog. Staff weren't clear if each book needed one.
- Suggestions for Next Summer (theme: Ocean of Possibilities)
- possibility of using a stamp for each book instead of a sticker to indicate it was a gift from the Friends
- creating new opportunities for engagement for Teen volunteers. Make sure to include them in various aspects of SR.
- more adult book titles for prizes
- no paper bags
Guest: Chandy Rice from Pivot
- Helps kids 16-24 years old
- Located near the MLS service center
- Several different shelters and housing options. Family Junction: 12-17 year olds. The Point: 16-24 year olds. Access to meals, computers, internet, showers. Tiny Homes: 6 tiny homes, 20 under construction, 2 apartments.
- Full time counseling and therapy staff
- Offer classes on lifeskills and wellness
- Assist with independent housing
- Partnership with MLS: call Safe Place line and Pivot will send someone to transport a teen in crisis to a secure location. MLS used to be partner in the past and we are reviving that program.
- Teachers promote Safe Place at schools and students receive handouts. Kids know it's a resource.
- The first step is never to contact law enforcement
- Education advocate will regularly take kids to the library
- MLS Staff can call Pivot if we need guidance on how to handle a situation with a teen.
Sharing Time:
- Robin: challenges doing outdoor programs when temperature/wind don't cooperate
- Tara: partnered with MC Parks and Rec to use their pavillion for a program. Provides more stability than library space that is more likely to be affected by wind/temperature. Doing programs at the park helped reach a broader audience. Can use battery powered light solutions when it starts getting dark earlier.
- Cheryll: clearly communicates to customers that program may be cancelled.
- Brittney: first outdoor storytime. Had to modify activities to accomodate the wind (e.g. use shakers instead of scarves). Marc and Ren offering Magic Tree House book club online. Decided to keep it virtual since it worked best for that group. Doing life-sized Little Mouse under the House. Will post picture in the Teams chat.
- Nicholas: can use a foam cover for a microphone to reduce wind noise
- Melanie: use nightime/darkness as the theme for the program
- Breanna: DC has prioritized outdoor experiences instead of crafts (sidewalk art, fossil digs)
- Sally: VI will have outdoor ballet program on October 16th at 1 PM.
- Andrew: online halloween program in december, making slime and read a scary story. Still doing scavenger hunt
- Mary: outdoor Halloween storytime
- Melanie: Bilingual storytime
- Marc: Percy Jackson book club.
- Anne: thank you for sharing outdoor storytime experiences, it helped ED prepare
- Laura: partnership with local snapology group (STEM group)
- Daniel: Native American Heritage Month kits available for all branches. EMs have received a link to sign-up.
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