NEWI Youth Services & SLP 2019 Workshop Recap

The NEWI Youth Services & SLP 2019 Workshop was held on February 21 and 22 at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh and the Kress Family Branch of Brown County Library in De Pere. Speakers and facilitators did such an amazing job, and attendees had opportunities to share ideas and work on teams for various STEM-based challenges.

Summer in the Library: 21st Century Style!

Keynote Speaker Elizabeth (Liz) McChesney, Director of System Wide Children’s Services & Family Engagement for Chicago Public Library, shared videos and stories regarding summer learning loss and talked about the mutually beneficial partnership between the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) and CPL.

She also facilitated some fun STEAM-based activities, demonstrating the importance of the 4 C's of 21st Century Learning.

Liz co-authored a book with Bryan Wunar of MSI called Summer Matters: Making All Learning Count, in which they outline practical steps for libraries and cultural institutions to partner in creating a sustainable summer learning program that's both fun and educational.

Escape!

Sue Abrahamson, Children’s Librarian at the Waupaca Area Public Library, discussed Breakout EDU programs (sometimes referred to as Escape Rooms) and the power of learning behind this new phenomenon.

These programs promote collaboration and team-building; enhance communications skills; challenge players to persevere; build inference skills and SO MUCH MORE.

And the best part? The journey is the prize!

For Whom Library Use is Difficult, Limited, or Minimized

Elizabeth M. Timmins, Library Director and Programmer at the Muehl Public Library​ in Seymour, shared some books to ponder and discussed how the library can be a safety net for EVERYONE.

Elizabeth facilitated some very insightful discussions about the challenges people face a daily basis through use of the Skittles Game. This spurred ideas about how to help patrons who may find library use difficult, limited or minimized.

STEAM Activities on Space and Topics You can Use All Year Round

Marie Boleman, Head of Children's and Family Outreach Services at the Oshkosh Public Library, shared three adaptable literacy and STEAM program ideas. She discussed why these ideas are important to us as human beings, how they inspire families, and how they create the library habit.

Marie also demonstrated how these ideas were put to use in the Oshkosh Public Library.

Taking Your Summer Reading Program on the Road and Bringing the Outside In

Lara Lakari is the Marinette County Children's Services Librarian works at the Stephenson Public Library. She facilitated discussions around the importance of summer outreach for the library and its community, and explained how taking the summer reading program on the road has increased contact with a more diverse audience and increased connection with the community.

Lara shared programs she piloted with local supervised playgrounds; activities that brought in different community members; and how the Stephenson Branch partnered with its local school program to sign up new cardholders, provide off-site book checkout, and provide weekly off-site programs. She also shared data showing how her library was able to increase average attendance while also decreasing the number of programs!

WIT4Girls - A Program to Inspire Young Women with Technology

Maggie Mueller, Teen Services Librarian at the Oshkosh Public Library, introduced WIT4Girls - a part of WIT (Women in Technology) Wisconsin Inc. She shared a lesson plan example, how the club has impacted over 11,000 young women in just three short years, and provided steps for starting a WIT4Girls club. 

This workshop was sponsored by the Northeastern Wisconsin (NEWI) continuing education partnership – Manitowoc-Calumet Library System, Nicolet Federated Library System, Outagamie-Waupaca Library System, and Winnefox Library System.

​More details, including presenters’ slides and resources, can be found at https://newilibraries.org/ce/YouthServicesFeb2019.​