Central Plains Library System warmly welcomes you to join us for our Annual Meeting. Come explore the Red Cloud community while learning about the famous author, Willa Cather. Known as one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century, Willa Cather had a gift for conveying intimate understanding of her characters in relation to their personal and cultural environments—environments that often derived from Red Cloud.
Friday, July 9th, 2021 10am – 2pm Registration Fee $10
It’s here! 2-1-21 Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead February. We are focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math programming for all ages, Preschool – Young Adults.
Starting today, February 1, 2021, and every weekday this month, we will distribute one or more S.T.E.A.M. projects for use in a variety of ways. These projects can be used for in-person programs such as story times or crafternoons. Or, the supplies and instructions can be sent home in bags. Or, the activities can be used in a virtual “do-along-with-me” format.
Be on the lookout for this icon in the email announcing each project. It indicates that the System will provide some of the materials for your program at no cost to you. Let us know how many people you expect or the number of take-home bags you plan to distribute and we will get the supplies to you.
Watch the linked “Welcome” video for more details. The first project is also included. Let’s get going Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead!
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting two live Virtual Summer Reading workshops, Tails and Tales! Use the link below to get registered for this exciting event on whichever date works best for you. But please make sure you register at least a week in advance in order to have all the goodie bags and crafts sent out prior to the workshop!
October is gone and November has started. That means, in this year of 2020, it is time to prepare some activities for December which may involve your patrons through social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram. Here are seven program ideas that can be done either in-person or virtually during the last month of the year.
Read a New Book Month
There are so many to choose from! Encourage your patrons to take a risk and read something outside their comfort zone. Choose titles randomly and include one in each checkout or curbside pickup this month (with patron approval, of course). This will improve circulation numbers, too!
Wear Brown Shoes Day (December 4)
Invite your patrons to wear brown shoes today and then encourage them to post pictures or videos to your social media websites with your library-specific hashtag. Create a fashion show with the pictures.
Mitten Tree Day (December 6)
Select a picture book with the theme of mittens to read aloud online for your early December story time. Offer your patrons the opportunity to help the community by “warming hearts and hands.” Ask them to put a new pair of mittens (child- or adult-sized) in your book drop to add to your Mitten Tree. Take pictures of each pair as they come in and post them on your social media. Also take and post weekly pictures of your Mitten Tree. Click here for some in-person mitten activities. Near the end of the month, donate all the mittens to a local shelter or church.
Gingerbread House Day (December 12)
Nothing brings in the holidays like the smell of fresh baked gingerbread. Encourage your patrons to bake (or build) a gingerbread house any way they can. Have them post pictures with these special hashtags for the day: #GingerbreadHouse #NationalGingerbreadHouseDay #BakedGoods
Bake Cookies Day (December 18)
Many family traditions involve preparing and sharing foods. Invite patrons to share the cookies that are part of their families’ holiday traditions by posting pictures of the recipes and baked goods to their social media accounts with your library-specific hashtag. They could let you post the (non-secret) recipes to your Facebook page, too.
National Hard Candy Day (December 19)
December 19 is all about the hard stuff as we celebrate National Hard Candy Day. Hard candy has long been a preferred sweet snack by many societies. Banks have done this forever and not only during December. On this day, maybe your library can give out a piece of hard candy to each patron you serve.
Blizzard of Snowflakes (December 28-31)
Send out a request for your teen, young adult, and adult patrons to help you redecorate the library’s windows after the holiday season. Send home printable snowflake templates for them to fold and cut into charming paper snowflakes. When they are returned, hang the snowflakes in the library and post pictures to your social media to encourage more returns until you have a beautiful blizzard.
Download the free app for Apple or Android devices or sign up and record minutes on the Reader Zone website.
In
this difficult year, librarians learned about using technology to do a wide
variety of tasks. One example is using Reader Zone to keep track of Summer
Reading Goals instead of collecting that information on paper reading logs. Some
found it difficult to manage. Others liked the way it was set up. Some patrons
struggled to record their minutes and others loved using the app. Just like any
other bit of new technology, Reader Zone takes some time to master.
Reader
Zone has given us the chance to collect some pretty amazing statistics. As of
the end of July, Nebraska readers have read 244,781 pages; plus 11,206
chapters; plus 19,085 books; plus 1,553,361 minutes!! Readers
have also completed more than 2,500 literary activities. Reader Zone allows
each library to designate what type of goal their patrons should work towards
(i.e. pages, chapters, books, or minutes read). So, it is not just about the
minutes…there is a LOT of reading going on!
Now we have another great opportunity and all you need to do is advertise it. The Nebraska Library Commission, the Nebraska Regional Library Systems, and Reader Zone are joining forces to offer the Nebraska 1K Reading Challenge for all ages. Every Nebraskan that reads 1,000 minutes in August and records it in Reader Zone will receive an exclusive vinyl sticker and be entered into a drawing for a new waterproof, 32 GB Kindle Paperwhite. Two Kindles will be given away to Challenge Winners and their libraries will also receive a matching Kindle.
Click
on this link, print the poster of your choice, and put it
up in your library. It features the five-digit code (NEB1K) that will
get your patrons started on the challenge. The first time a person logs in with
this code, he or she will be asked for an address. That is so we can mail the
sticker to everyone that completes the challenge and the Kindles to the drawing
winners. I will be able to sort the data and provide each library with the
number of their patrons that participate (and win!).
Please help promote this terrific program to keep Nebraskans of all ages reading through the month of August!
This project is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Nebraska Library Commission.
Shawna Lindner Youth Services Librarian – Kearney Public Library
With many libraries and schools closed across the state, and the CPLS Golden Sower Reading Day in Kearney canceled, access to books may be a little more difficult for you this year.
An option for the
Picture Books is to go online and view the books on YouTube videos. Many of our
nominees are read online, giving you access to the words and illustrations.
They are quite simple to find! Search in the video section of Google,
typing in the title of the book and author. Or, just go directly to YouTube!
Here is an example of I am Not a Fish! By Peter
Raymundo https://youtu.be/2kShZL35Qn4
Contact Shawna Lindner
at SLindner@kearneygov.orgto sign up to be a reader and be
given access to the final copy of
the
Picture Book reading list for 2021-2022.
Keep in mind, Picture Book selections should be
appropriate for Kindergarten through 2nd grade students (ages 5 – 9). Please
read and select titles as if you are seeing them through a child’s eye, select
what they will enjoy, not based on what will fit curriculum.
An option for the
Chapter Books list is to read the books as eBooks through OverDrive. Many
schools and public libraries offer this service for free to their patrons.
Please know we understand you may not be able to read all of the titles. Read
as many as you can and adjust your voting accordingly. If you read 20 books and
only 5 stand out, submit 5 votes instead of 10. Our voting is percentage
based, so it will all balance out.
Contact Shawna Lindner
at SLindner@kearneygov.orgto sign up to be a reader and be given access to the
final copy of the Chapter Book reading list for 2021-2022. Keep in mind,
Chapter Book selections should be appropriate for 3rd through 5th grade
students (ages 9 – 12). Please read and select titles as if you are seeing
them through a child’s eye, select what they will enjoy, not based on what will
fit curriculum.
Voting:
An electronic ballot will be sent to you via email. You are able to vote for up to ten titles. Please plan to submit your votes no later than midnight on Monday, July 20, 2020. With summer schedules unknown at this time, I wanted to share a deadline date to aim for. It is possible this date may be adjusted to a later date.
Due to COVID 19, the date and location of the selection/discussion meeting will be announced at a later time. Thank you for understanding.
Kids, now more than ever, are
learning newer and better ways to interact in a digital age now that it is
mixed with safer-at-home orders. How
will you keep up with them so you don’t lose that connection that many of you
have worked hard to create over the years?
Keep up with them! Learn how with
these 16 top ways you can connect with your youth, even in such
self-isolating times!
While we can’t meet in person at the moment, there are endless
possibilities to get together virtually, from virtual Smash Bros. Tournament
with Nintendo Switch to chess matches, poetry to duct tape crafts, knitting to
digital meditation, even cupcake experiments to body percussion classes, you
are bound to find something that suits your interests in our various virtual
programs.
3) Find a Project That You Can Do Together via
Zoom
Instructables is a community for people who like to make things. Come explore, share, and make your next project with us! There are numerous projects that you can do virtually with your teen groups.
A great list of 30 read-a-loud books for tweens and teens. You could read a chapter a week over the
course of the summer to keep kids coming back for more!
Have you ever made a short film of your own? Don’t think you have the skills to teach it
to teens? This article offers a great
basic overview of what stop motion animation is, the benefits of it, and many
options to help kids create their own movie in no time!
Host your very own Virtual Book Tournament using tips listed here. Erin walks you through how to decide on the
book choices, how to set up the brackets, and how to make voting easy. Try a twist by hosting your tournament using
a specific theme.
10) Offer
“So You Want to Be An Adult” Courses
Meaningful life skills
programming for teens is not a new concept, by any means. A few great
libraries have also adopted the idea of teaching teens things that don’t quite
make the school curriculum. Changing a tire, applying for a job, even
cooking a healthy meal, are all topics that can be daunting for a young person
who has never had the opportunity to try them out.
Stuck at home? Need something
fun and creative to do with the kids?
Try one of these photo project ideas for kids and teens who love taking
pictures! Photography
is a terrific outlet to lessen anxiety, process difficult emotions, and find a
bit of joy each and every day.
Okay, so maybe you can’t host a “Casino” night, but what about a virtual game night? Granted, not all on these lists are age-appropriate for teenagers so you would need to do your research but there are plenty of options to choose from. You could keep it as simple as teaching kids various card games or as technical as purchasing an online game.
Do you want to tie reading with technology? Need a fun way to engage teens this summer
when you can’t meet together? Have teens
make their own book trailer based on their favorite book! This will not only get your teens involved
but will open the door for so many discussions like the author’s purpose, story
elements, what makes a great cliff hanger, etc.
Many libraries are hosting a Virtual Teen Art Show via their Instagram account. Most teens have been creating while they are home so why not give them a way to put their art on display and share it with others! Don’t have Instagram? Try it on your Facebook or web page.
Invite local guest speakers, either all on one day or weekly, to talk
about what they do, how much education they had to get, what kind of wage range
that job typically has, and why they love doing what they do. A few speaking careers could be fireman,
police officer, nurse, doctor, mayor, small business owner, hair dresser, etc.
How
do you get (or keep) teens involved in programming right now? This article
offers several ideas to try during this challenging time. With social media and the internet more
widespread than ever, now is the perfect time to try virtual programming such
as joining in the Flip the Switch challenge.
What is that? Do your research into what teens are finding fun!
Great Teen Programming Ideas for When Libraries are
Operational Again:
