This Blog Brought To You By the Letter "L"

Sesame Street has been a treasured icon of children educational programming. For over forty years children have enjoyed wonderful characters such as Cookie Monster, Kermit and of course,the loveable Big Bird. Over the years the radical concept of this program aimed to help children learn the basics, such as the alphabet, by watching television. A novel concept back in the 1960's. It was and still is a wonderful idea, and it has lived up to its goal of preparing children to get a "jump" into preschool. There are several reasons for the success of this iconic program. After all to appeal to audiences year after year for over forty years is a big deal and accomplishment. What can children's library program learn from the Seasame Street success? How can Sesame Street longevity be incorporated into the library setting? The answer to these questions are simple and attainable.

Everyone knows who lives on Sesame Street. It is the ideal neighborhood where everyone gets along, watches out for each other and most importantly helps each other when there's a "problem" It must be comforting to children to see the puppets interact with each other and adults when trying to "figure" out the problem. The children's room should become that comfortable place where children can play, read and interact with each other freely. For discovering the solutions to homework or questions, the children would know that without a doubt asking the "adult" in the room for help, who just happens to be the knowledgeable, friendly and helpful librarian. There should always be sunny days in the children room, just as it is on Sesame Street. Are the children who come to your library know the names of the librarian? Is there an outreach to the neighborhood families to visit the library often?

Sesame Street is also not static. New puppets come along. Every week there are new visitors who stop by and say hi. Along with the traditional core lessons such as the ABC, new ideas and lessons are introduced to keep the program fresh. Take a hard look at your children's programming. Think about how long a "favorite" program has been running in the library. Should the storytime program be revamped? Should a new program be introduced? Should an invitation be sent to "celebrity" visitors to add some excitement to the Youth Services Area.

Never overlook the power of caregiver's in a child's life. Sesame Street began by proving to parents, grandparents, educators and babysitters that their program had a lot to offer children in the formative years. Once the adults were "hooked" it took little time for the tots to become lifelong fans of the show. How many parents do you know that still can sing "I love Trash"? At a best guess, there are very few parents today who did not grow up with Sesame Street. Even if they lived in another country, they are still able to recognize Bert and Ernie, along with all the other regulars. Children's librarian are in the unique position to capture the attention of caregivers and entertain the youngsters. If the caregivers love what they see in their library, then chances are the children are being entertained. If the children grow to love the library, the programs and reading, chances are very good that they will become lifelong library supporters. Sesame Street found their residual audience. Libraries should be doing the same.

Last but not least, it has never occurred to Sesame Street that they would become obsolete or irrelevant in their viewers' eyes. Instead they have carried on the tradition of the program, all the while, looking for other outlets to spread their message of early learning and literacy. Libraries are constantly listening to the "experts" who say that the industry is doomed and the need for libraries is fading. As professionals in the field, we know that this is not even close to the truth. However, looking at trade magazine, a young librarian might get the idea that the library is a dead end job. Wrong! When was the last time your library investigated new ways of funding a program? When was the last time you thought creatively about getting the library's message out? It's time that libraries stop allowing experts opinions define who librarians are and what libraries can do for the community.

Sesame Street the friendliest place on earth where children are encouraged to learn, read and grow. Funny, those very same words should be applied to libraries. Don't you think so?

Fearless, Flexible and Focused : Qualities of a Children's Librarian

Ah, the wonderful, crazy and often unpredictable world of a children's librarian is never dull. The only workplace where anything can happen from spontaneous giggling fits over a computer screen to clean up down the picture book isle and everything in between. Seriously, there is never a dull moment. However, if searching for the ultimate dull job, try a night security guard at the graveyard. it's lonely and quite and no one every wants excitement there. Think becoming a children's libraries is a good idea? The best librarians in Youth Services department have these three special "qualities": Fearless, Flexible and Focused. Without these qualities, it's better to apply for the "safe" jobs then to interact with young children at the library.
Why does it help to be Fearless? For so many reasons that it is hard to count. For the sake of time, the best scenario to illustrate this point is hosting a program where a naturalist nutritionist prepares snakes with bugs as it the main ingredients. Dare the patron to eat just one, and see how many will take up the challenge. Be prepared to be tested by the youngsters and try a bug or two. Yum! (Not!)
On a more practical side to being fearless is the willingness to go out on a limb with an idea and a hope that it will inspire youngsters to keep reading and returning to the library. Will the program or idea work? As the old saying goes: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Flexible is a term to describe the ability to bend or move in any direction without too much effort or pain. children's library programs can be fun to plan but nerve racking if a librarian expects everything to run perfectly and according to a planned script. A cancelled performer due to sickness, Three Stoodges marathon delayed due to technical difficulty, or tye-dye shirt design gone amuck. (Actually gone on the floor - YIKES!) All in the name of a providing a safe haven for children to be entertained.
On the practical side of being flexible is that a librarian is humbly reminded that sometimes life does not go according to plans. Not only that, children can be a lot more forgiving and blind to mistakes than adults. As long as they are having fun, the program was perfect enough for them.
Focused sounds boring, stuffy and rigid. It's not. It simply implies that children's librarians must be keenly aware of their patrons, needs, wants and likes. What's hot, what's not and what's cool or what's lame. That's just talking about the preschoolers, the tweens and the teens. Included with this group of demanding patrons are the parents who are looking for guidance in early literacy and grandparents who have their grandchildren visiting for the weekend.
The practical side to being focused is never losing site of who the customer is and always looking for opportunities to learn and grow with the "kids". It is one of the few profession that pulls together, learning, fun and never growing old. A wise person once wrote, "As long as the brain is able to continue to discover new ideas and learn new tricks, one will never grow old." Who said this? A children's librarian in Michigan who loves her chosen field.