PA Libraries Honored for Services to Children, Families
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) has honored 17 of Pennsylvania's public libraries with Best Practices Awards for programming and services to children under the age of six, their families, and caregivers.
The awards were presented at the seventh annual Early Learning Forum and Best Practices Luncheon, Pennsylvania Libraries: Learning Starts Here! -- an education session at the Hilton Harrisburg attended by several hundred librarians, advocates, and policymakers.
"Pennsylvania's public libraries provide crucial early learning services to the state's children and families," said Michelle McIntyre, PaLA's marketing/PR committee chair, "and we want to celebrate their contribution to the Commonwealth."
In addition to the 20 Best Practices Awards, the association also presented the David J. Roberts EXCEL Library Service Award to the year's most creative and/or most influential program for early learning in libraries. The awardee is chosen from the entire group of best practices winners. EXCEL stands for EXcellence in Childhood Early Learning and, as such, the David J. Roberts EXCEL Library Service Award represents the "Best of the Best" library practices for early learning.
In a surprise announcement, the third annual David J. Roberts EXCEL Library Service Award, which also included a monetary gift, was presented to the Shaler North Hills Library in Glenshaw, PA for Discovery Kids, an innovative program in the Programs for Children Between Four and Six Years of Age category.
The Best Practices Awards celebrate public library programs that are especially creative, innovative, and effective in serving young children, their families, and caregivers. Awards are presented in seven categories according to library size.
The Best Practices Awards also help "pass it along" by publicly highlighting effective early learning programs that can be replicated in other libraries throughout Pennsylvania -- indeed, throughout the country.
"The creativity of this year's Best Practices Award-winning programs is all the more impressive, when you consider the context in which they were developed," said Margie Stern, president of PaLA, during the ceremony. "Even before the recession, libraries operated on tight budgets."
The Best Practices Awards were presented by illustrator Will Hillenbrand and author Jane Hillenbrand. Their book, What a Treasure! was chosen for the fifth statewide early literacy initiative One Book, Every Young Child, the Commonwealth's collaborative project to promote the development of early literacy skills through interactive experiences with books and stories.
More than a half million Pennsylvania children ages three to six are reached annually through the One Book, Every Young Child program, which stresses the importance of reading early and often to young children and how that impacts their future lives.
This year's categories, the award recipients, and their programs are:
Programs for Children from Birth to Three Years of Age
Springfield Township Library
Springfield, Delaware County
Pre-Walker Circle Time
Pre-Walker Circle Time is geared to a developmental level rather than a chronological age. Infants are eligible from birth until they start walking. The primary goal is to offer a safe and secure environment where infants and caregivers can participate in a literacy program designed to maximize early learning.
Dauphin County Library System
Harrisburg, Dauphin County
Let's Learn and Play
Let's Learn and Play features a series of learning stations. This approach encourages toddlers to choose where they want to spend their time. Babies and grown-ups play, read books, crawl through a tunnel, roll balls and have fun with a parachute.
Henrietta Hankin Branch of the Chester County Library
Chester Springs, Chester County
Baby Time
Baby Time is a 30-minute program designed to show caregivers how to stimulate language and motor skills, giving newborns a strong start in becoming lifelong readers.
Programs for Children Between Four and Six Years of Age
Shaler North Hills Library
Glenshaw, Allegheny County
Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids presents concepts and activities for preschoolers from one of the natural sciences including physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology and geology, using the hands-on materials from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Public Library for Union County
Lewisburg, Union County
Down on the Farm
This event was designed to show preschoolers where their food comes from. During the event they read books and did activities that showed the shapes of different vegetables and how they grow. The children also milked a mechanical cow -- with real milk!
Green Ridge Library (a branch of the Scranton Public Library)
Scranton, Lackawanna County
Play and Learn Workshops
Play and Learn Workshops are small-group sessions designed to pair early literacy programming with unstructured play time for children and their parents. Parents appreciate the chance to get to know each other as they play with their children in an enriched environment.
Programs Serving At-Risk Children and Families
Lower Macungie Library
Macungie, Lehigh County
Bringing Boys to Books
Bringing Boys to Books is a local effort based on national research showing that boys in every age group have had lower reading scores than girls for the past 30 years. Daddy and Me is a quarterly story time for dads and their kids (mainly boys) ages two- to six-years-old. On Daddy Catcher Days, men at the library with their children receive gift certificates or fine-forgiveness coupons.
Reading Public Library
Reading, Berks County
Healthy Kids Fair
Library patrons had many questions about the Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In response, librarians designed a program that focused on health issues common to young children. The Healthy Kids Fair presented healthy activities for children, as well as information from CHIP and other health and social services professionals.
James V. Brown Library
Williamsport, Lycoming County
Library-Literacy Link
The library system's Learning Center is now in the same building as the library. While the Learning Center works with adults in GED and ESL programs, the library has adjusted its programming and scheduling to encourage parents to participate in library activities with their children.
Family Programming Services
Kittanning Public Library
Kittanning, Armstrong County
Mother Goose Land
Mother Goose Land was an extravaganza where Mother Goose characters came to life when children aged seven and under arrived at the library to trick-or-treat with their families. Each station represented a different nursery rhyme with scenery, action, props and books.
Joseph T. Simpson Public Library
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County
Family Fall Festival
The hour-long festival features nearly every autumn activity imaginable, including square dancing, sack races, pumpkin painting and scavenger hunts. Over the years, the number of participants has grown from 20 to 120, and families look forward to it every year.
Montgomery County – Norristown Public Library
Norristown, Montgomery County
Science Explorers
Science Explorers is a four-week series of workshop-style programs for children three- to five-years-old, introducing a different science topic every week with play time, drama, music and art.
Programs That Showcase Community Collaborations
Monessen Public Library and District Center
Monessen, Westmoreland County
Cinco de Mayo Celebration
The Cinco de Mayo Celebration offered young patrons a tour of the library led by children's librarian who dressed as Dora the Explorer. Each child received a map to follow as they traveled along ABC Alley and up the 123 Staircase to find a piñata and treasure. Along the way, they were treated to a rendition of "Jorge el Curioso" (Curious George), the Mexican Hat Dance, and face-painting courtesy of students from a local art school.
Union County Library System
Lewisburg, Union County
National Night Out
During National Night Out, the library system sponsored its own booth, along with other United Way agencies. The staff distributed information about the library, scheduled reading activities and gave away copies of If You Were a Penguin, the 2009 One Book, Every Young Child selection.
Free Library of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
Books Aloud!
Partnering with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, library staff presented read-aloud workshops at six public housing sites. The program assists adults in learning how to read aloud to young children.
Early Learning and Parenting Programs for Adults
Joseph T. Simpson Public Library
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County
Kindergarten Readiness Class
The Kindergarten Readiness Class offers a simulated, modified kindergarten class for parents and their preschool children. Parents remain with the children, participate in the activities and practice with the children at home. Local kindergarten teachers have noticed an improvement in motor skills and social skills among new students.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
Reading Readiness Resources
The youth services department designed and printed several resources to distribute to parents and caregivers, including a four-color, 60-inch growth chart that lists appropriate skills from birth to 36 months, with room to "chart" favorite books; Mother Goose Rhyme Packets that reinforce nursery rhymes children hear at storytime; and a series of cards suggesting activities that promote PA Early Learning Standards.
Programs for One Book, Every Young Child - 2009
Centre County Library and Historical Museum
Centre Hall, Centre County
Penguin March
Every year for the past several years, Centre Hall librarians set up a lending library at the week-long Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. Last year, in addition to offering a regular storytime, the staff led a Penguin March through the fair. The children made and wore costumes to represent the different kinds of penguins from the book If You Were a Penguin.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – East Liberty
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
Penguin Fest!
Penguin Fest!, a two-hour event at the library on a Saturday morning, offered a series of learning stations where young children and their parents participated in memory games, crafts and a penguin egg relay. Special guests included Trai Essex and Darnell Stapleton of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Elvis the penguin from the National Aviary.
James V. Brown Library
Williamsport, Lycoming County
Community Engagement Group Partnerships
With funding from an Early Childhood Community Engagement Transition Activities Grant, the library deployed a contingent of guest readers -- armed with stacks of free copies of If You Were a Penguin -- to read in childcare centers, libraries, preschools, kindergartens, private homes and community centers throughout the county. Overall, the project provided free books to 4,650 children in preschool and kindergarten, comprising 51 percent of the birth to six-year-old population in the county.
Speaker
The keynote speaker at the forum was Dr. Jill Stamm. Dr. Stamm is the Co-Founder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development. She is also the creator of Brain Boxes®, a unique patented product for interacting with young children in a way that encourages healthy brain development, and the Baby Brain Box®, a gift product for birth to one-year-olds.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Library Association
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