Catalog This Now!

With the turn of the New Year comes tradition of list making and goal setting.  One of the most common is adopting a Reading Challenge.  Some challenges are simple - read ___ number of books in a year.  Others are themed:  Read Thru the Bible in a Year, Read books that are out of your comfort zone, Read books that are active or are produced in a certain way and so forth.  Still others encourage you to read widely and narrow what you have read to your top 10 books for the year.  However you read - keep doing it and encourage others to join you. One of the ideas that appealed to me this year was found in Book Riot's suggestion to make your own challenge.  It was the idea of picking 10 countries you'd like to visit and reading a book written in, about or by a writer from each country. Read with Other Readers: Good Reads 2023 Reading Challenge Lincoln Libraries Winter Reading Challenge  Omaha Public Library Reading Challenge NYPL Read Harder Reading C...

  Playing with Words We all learn best when we are active and attempting the thing we want to learn.  It is no surprise that some of the greatest growth in learning happens when we are having fun in the process.   Playing with language with preschoolers can be as simple as helping them experience something new and inviting them to tell you about it.  Preschool children, are at a development stage where large motor movement is a big part of their life.  Sitting still is sometimes hard to do.  Scanimation books, like those by author/illustrator Rufus Butler Seder are some of my favorites books for this age - particularly  Swing!  or  Gallop! .  Each page asks a question and has an animation that moves.  Ask the preschooler to show you their moves or tell you their story as your read each page. For those kids that already very verbal, it is possible to progress to storytelling your way through Wordless Books that you can find at y...

  Note:  This blog post was prepared as an assignment for a CE class in library policy. Other possible examples of library policy can be found at your local library or at the ALA website:   http://www.ala.org/ Draft Small Library Open Arms Philosophy / Policy Procedures and Potential Program Considerations “Every library maintains a heritage collection and provides a cultural commons.  The library often strives to balance the competing objectives of diplomacy, heritage and patrimony while at the same time utilizing that very same collection and cultural resources to enlighten and enrich the lives of the community or communities it serves.  Library collections should serve the forward looking needs of its community, while at the same time interpreting its ever changing common cultural heritage.  Every library patron is to be endowed with the right of free inquiry.  At the same time, no librarian is above the law.” * This policy is envisioned to be ...