Childrens Library Annual Report 2012-2013

The child amidst his baubles is learning the action of light, motion, gravity, muscular force.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)

Emerson recognized what researchers and educators are now quantifying with data and best-selling parenting books: play is important! Whether it is toddlers in storytime pretending to march like dinosaurs, young artists creating collages inspired by a recent book discussion, or a group of fifth graders collaborating on a film project, the Childrens Library is a place where kids of all ages can play, explore, and learn.

Special Initiatives
Each year the childrens librarians set goals for programming, services, and collection development. This year, three new initiatives grew out of those goals:

Free Play

The new magnetic p lay wall in the Toddler Room.

Playtime is part of every baby and toddler storytime at Darien Library. The librarians offer instruments, blocks, or other sensory toys and model play techniques for the development of early literacy skills. This year Play Kits debuted in the Toddler Room. These themed kits contain age-appropriate toys that stimulate imaginative play. For example, the Kitchen Kit contains plastic pots and pans and felt food. Young children delight in turning the Toddler Room into a restaurant or kitchen.

Simple wooden blocks: one of the best early childhood toys.

S.T.E.M. Takes Root

While literacy and lifelong learning are still primary goals of the public library, the childrens librarians recognize that left-brain skills such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) are just as important. With this in mind, the Childrens Library amped up its S.T.E.M. offerings this year, going so far as to identify S.T.E.M. programs with a special new logo. From biology programs about the Long Island Sound to Stop-Motion Animation workshops, children at Darien Library were able to flex their S.T.E.M. skills throughout the year.

A Non-Fiction Collection for the 21st Century

Beginning with the picture book reorganization that took place in 2009, the Childrens Library has continued to rethink traditional collection development and build patron-centered collections. This year saw the reorganization of the Childrens Non-Fiction collection into 10 browse-able, more easily perused sections. The new system, called Dewey-Lite, makes discovering non-fiction books for children and parents much simpler and more enjoyable.

Programs and Series

New & Improved Non-Fiction!

Childrens Library Annual Report 2012-2013

The Childrens Library offers programs for children between the ages of zero to twelve, as well as special events for parents and caregivers. On average, the Childrens Library is host to anywhere between fifteen to twenty-five programs per week. Special programs this year included:

Author & Illustrator Visits

This year the Childrens Library hosted Bruce Coville, the legendary author of more than 100 childrens novels; Adam Gidwitz, the author of the wildly popular books A Tale Dark & Grimm and In a Glass Grimmly; picture book creators Bob Shea and Melissa Guion; and Nutmeg Nominee author Wendy Mass. After the visit by Adam Gidwitz, one mom wrote in an email to Louise Berry, I just wanted to say another thank you for the visit from Adam. A week later and my children are still talking about it.citing word-for-word parts of his presentation. He was wonderful and they both got so much out of it! Thank you again.
Bob Shea teaches kids how to draw.

Celebrations
One of the most popular celebrations this year was the very first Star Wars Reads Day, attended by over 100 excited kids and Photos from the event can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/pu2hv5a. For the second year in a row, the Stuffed Animal Sleepover was a huge hit. Photos were taken throughout the night and uploaded to Twitter and the Library website. Parents and kids delighted in joining in on the fun from home. An online photo album is available at http://tinyurl.com/koqjzkp. The Annual Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Birthday Party honors the Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, and Princess Leia! beloved benefactor and dear friend of Darien Library, Harold W. McGraw, Jr. With the generous support of Harolds daughter and Library Trustee, Sue McGraw, each child was given a special bookplate for a brand new picture book for the Library. The McGraw Family also donated a beautiful bronze sculpture that once sat in Mr. McGraws study.
Krishna Grady poses with the sculpture once owned and treasured by Mr. McGraw.

Other exciting celebrations included the annual Nutmeg @ Night trivia event, the second annual Take Your Child to the Library Day, and the first Family Read-In at Darien Library.

Series
The annual winter technology series, The Digital Family, offered hands-on workshops for parents, technology education classes for children, and many opportunities to explore gadgets and gizmos. The 21 Things for 21st Century Parents program was offered for the third year in a row. This years series also included some new offerings such as a TEDXDarien video series, a Start Your Own Website or Blog Workshop, a Tumblr for Parents class, and a Stop-Motion Animation workshop for kids. The Childrens Library also partnered with YWCA Parent Awareness to bring speakers from Children Online to talk with parents about online safety.
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Childrens Library Annual Report 2012-2013

Throughout April and May, the Childrens Library hosted a new series: One World, Many Cultures. This series offered children a chance to explore the language, dance, and stories of faraway places. Programs included a colorful Holi celebration, a visit by the Connecticut Ballet featuring dance from Spain, Peru, and Brazil, a Mexican Folk Art class, and a Foreign Film series for children.

The largest and most widely anticipated series of the year is Summer Reading. This years theme was Double-O Darien, a play on the famous code name for James Bond. The summertime events and weekly spy quests involved secret codes, master disguises, and mystery-solving. A new summer reading website was revealed, sponsored by the Connecticut State Library and The Institute for Museum and Library Services. The website allowed children to create spy aliases, log reading time, review books, and see what other kids were reading. Over 1,600 children participated in Summer Reading, a 27% increase over last year.
A couple of kid spies pose with Agent Wimpy.

Cultural literacy, an increasingly important skill, was learned through art, music, and dance this spring.

Collaborations
For several years, the Childrens Library has enjoyed a strong relationship with YWCA Parent Awareness, bringing high-quality and well-attended programming to the parents of Darien. This year highlights included a screening of Head Games, a documentary focused on the concussion crisis in American sports. In partnership with YWCA Parent Awareness, Darien Athletic Foundation, and the Life Solution Center of Jamie Nabozny spoke powerfully about bullying. Darien, speaker Jamie Nabozny visited Darien Library in March. Mr. Nabozny is a member of the Speak Truth to Power organization founded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. In partnership with the Darien Public Schools, the Childrens Library hosted a panel discussion entitled Common Core and Literacy: What Parents Need to Know. The panel included representatives from the school district as well as Kiera Parrott, who spoke directly to how Darien Library helps support the new educational standards. It was with a heavy heart that the childrens librarians learned of the school shooting in Newtown last December. The Library hosted open discussion sessions for parents facilitated by licensed therapists from Family Centers in Darien, the Life Solution Center of Darien, and Child Guidance.

Outreach
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Childrens Library Annual Report 2012-2013

From preschool story sharing, to PTO talks, to district-wide booktalking, the librarians are always eager to spread the work of Darien Library into the wider community. This year saw the number of outreach visits double since the previous year. Special outreach events over the past year included an evening at the Tokeneke World Fair, a Booktalking Sneak Peak over cookies and tea for the local school librarians, and numerous scout visits and tours. The largest outreach effort is Booktalking, which takes place every May and June. The childrens staff visited every child in kindergarten through eighth grade, sharing the best books of the year. Librarian Marian McLeod also organized the first ever Homeschool Booktalking event. Just like their public and private school counterparts, the homeschooled children were delighted to hear about the librarianrecommended titles. In April, the childrens library staff collaborated with members from almost every department to create a Gangnam Style parody video. What may have seemed like just a bit of fun (and it certainly was) Claire Moore visits a kindergarten class. turned out to be a library-viral sensation. Viewed thousands of times by librarians all over the world, the video went on to win a Publicity Award from the Connecticut Library Association. The video, in all its glory, may be viewed at http://vimeo.com/53440355.

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Fellowship

After an intensive, nation-wide search for the best recent library school graduate, Krishna Grady was named as the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Fellow on July 1, 2012. Krishna quickly immersed herself into the fast-paced culture of the Childrens Library. One of her most successful projects thus far has been the creation of an Early Literacy Video. Entitled Darien Rhymes, the video features members of the childrens library staff explaining key early literacy practices and modeling how to share books, songs, and play experiences with young children. The video may be viewed at http://www.darienlibrary.org/kids/rhymes.
Krishna Grady gets ready for Toddler Tales.

Professional Development and Contributions

Members of the Childrens Library are sought-after committee members, guest speakers and panelists for various regional and national library association conferences. This year, several staff members represented Darien Library with distinction. Krishna Grady was named an Emerging Leader by the American Library Association (ALA), Claire Moore served on the School-Age Programs and Services Committee, and Kiera Parrott was a member of the 2013 Caldecott Committee.

Kiera Parrott (bottom right) with the 2013 Caldecott Committee.

Childrens Library Annual Report 2012-2013

Claire Moore, Elisabeth Gattullo, and Kiera Parrott are all monthly contributors to the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Blog. Claires blog posts focus on programming for school-aged children, Elisabeth writes about film adaptations of childrens books, and Kieras blog posts concern collection development for both print and digital materials. As part of Autism Awareness Month in April, Kiera Parrott presented a webinar for library staff across the state of New Jersey. Also in April, Claire Moore presented at the Computers in Libraries annual conference in Washington, D.C., sharing the innovative work being done at Darien Library in our Digital Family series.

Personnel
While is often hard to say goodbye to our fellow staff members- who are more like great friends or family members than coworkers- like any family, we take great pride in the accomplishments of our colleagues and support them as they spread the unique Darien Library vision to the wider world. At the end of the year, Marian McLeod left to take a position as the Lower and Middle School Librarian at Donning rabbit ears and making funny faces: just a Covent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich. Marian was typical nine-to-five in the Childrens Library. instrumental in strengthening relationships with the local school librarians and expanding the overall outreach mission of the Childrens Library. Marian has remained as a part-time substitute on occasional evenings and weekends in the Childrens Library, much to the delight of both children and staff! It was with great excitement that Amy Laughlin stepped into Marians role. Amy, like Marian before her, began at Darien Library as an intern and moved on to become a part-time library assistant. Her strong customer service instincts, facility with emerging technology, and creative ideas made Amy a perfect fit as the newest full-time Childrens Library team member.
Amy Laughlin, the newest full-time childrens librarian, reads to the Bookworms.

The 2012-2013 Childrens Library By the Numbers:

Circulation of Childrens Materials: 281,116 Program Attendance: 22,819 Reference Questions: 24,747 Readers Advisory Questions: 3,908 Participants in the Summer Reading Program: 1,606