Welcome New Youth Services Consultant

Janee Jackson-Doering

Last week, State Library Program Director Brenda Hall shared this happy announcement: Janee Jackson-Doering has been hired as our new Youth Services Consultant at the State Library.  She starts her new position on September 30.  Over the next few months, she’ll join District Office Hours to say hello.  In the meantime, here’s more about Janee in her own words:

I’m so excited to serve the State Library as the Youth Services Consultant!  Libraries have provided me with fond memories, from volunteering in my high school library to working as a library aide in college and grad school.  As a youth librarian, I loved sharing storytimes and putting on my creative brain to implement fun, engaging programs for youth and teens, especially during Summer Reading months!

I bring 11 years of experience working with youth in public libraries as a youth service librarian and 15 years serving preschoolers, elementary students, and teens. I also worked as an assistant preschool teacher for Head Start in Rock Island, Illinois for 4 ½ years. While teaching for Head Start by day and working as a library aide at night, I earned my MLIS in 2011. As the Youth Services Consultant for the State Library of Iowa, I can’t wait to visit and meet other youth librarians across the state to share resources and support your work!

In my spare time, you’ll find me listening to podcasts, creating pages in my art journal, completing crosswords, cardmaking, reading, attending film festivals with my husband David, and caring for our cat Aslan.”

Welcome, Janee, we all look forward to working with you!

Summer Library Program Survey:  Submit by September 30th to Win a Prize Pack of Books

Iowa public libraries are asked to complete the 2022 Summer Library Program Survey.  The survey asks about the onsite, online and passive programs offered this summer, as well as the total number of people who attended in-person programs in June, July, and August.  The survey also includes questions about the 2022 iREAD theme “Read Beyond the Beaten Path,” as well as the resources, training, and support offered by the State Library. There's also an opportunity to share photos of your summer programming highlights.

The main goal of this survey is to gauge the impact of Iowa's summer library programs. Results from the survey will be shared with the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides funding for the State Library to provide summer reading materials to Iowa public libraries. The feedback will also help us know how to improve or enhance the program for next year and beyond.

Note: This survey should be completed by the person directly responsible for managing the library's summer reading program. If that is a different person than you, please forward this email and survey link to the appropriate staff member. 

By entering your contact information and completing the survey, your library will be entered to win a prize pack of books for children and teens.  So don’t delay, take the survey today ?

Thank you in advance for your participation and feedback!

Take the 2022 Summer Library Program Survey

Promote Our Freedom To Read @ Your Library
September 18-24, 2022

ALA’s notable public awareness campaign--Banned Books Week--just happens to be this very week September 18-24. This national promotion celebrates the freedom to read by spotlighting the value of equal access to information for all ages.  The 2022 theme is “Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us.”

This national recognition brings together the entire book community—libraries, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and trustees—in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider controversial and unpopular. By focusing on frequent efforts by groups and individuals seeking to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the dangers of censorship.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. Each year, ALA tracks incidents of challenged books in public and school libraries; in 2021, ALA noted 729 challenges nationwide.  A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.

From ALA: “While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week recognition is the fact that, in the majority of cases, the challenged books have remained available. This happens thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.”

Among the Banned Books Week resources and promotional materials available

• An article about author George M. Johnson, honorary chair of Banned Books Week 2022 and author of All Boys Aren’t Blue.
• Display ideas, graphics, and free downloads
• Top 10 Most Challenged Books in 2021

Click below for all of that and more.  And be sure to share your plans and pictures of your own Banned Books Week displays with each other on LibraryTalk.

Banned Books Week 2022

This Week ...

Learning Circuit Reminder

If you haven’t already registered for the State Library Learning Circuit, there’s still time to do so.  The date is October 20 and the topic is disaster preparedness.  Back as an in-person event this year, you’ll find a Learning Circuit workshop held in six locations.  Our continuing education webpage shows those locations and the day’s agenda.

This reminder: the Learning Circuit registration is being handled through Seamless Docs because there is a $15.00 registration fee.  Click below to register, deadline is October 13. The fee can be paid online with a credit card or e-check.  If you registered, but did not pay electronically, paper checks will also be accepted by mail but must be received by October 13.

Register for State Library Learning Circuit

Pop YS Live.  Get Schooled: Connecting Your Library's Programming and Services to the Local School. 
September 20.  1:00-2:00PM.

Pop YS Live returns from its summer hiatus with presenter Peg Gay, director of Fisher-Whiting Memorial Library in Mapleton. Peg will share success stories and lessons learned from her 5-year collaboration with the local school district. From classroom visits, to hosting field trips, multigenerational book clubs, and more, you’re sure to find actionable ways to connect with the educators and school librarians in your community.

Register in IALearns

Strategic Treasure Hunting Part 1: Identifying and Selecting Materials for a Local History Digitization Project. 
September 21.  11:00AM-12:00PM. 

Every Iowa library likely holds material unique to their local community. Many of these items play a role in preserving and celebrating local history.  But due to their fragile state, poor cataloging, or obscure storage conditions, patrons or researchers may not be aware of these materials. This session will present an overview of the best practices needed to organize, digitize, and provide access to these special collections. We will briefly cover the topics of evaluating collections, prioritizing them for digitization, the scanning process, and how to promote new or existing digital collections so the public can use and enjoy them. We will also talk about the training and support the State Library provides throughout the planning process and into the future. This is part 1 of our two-part series on digital preservation, part 2 is scheduled for September 28.

Register in IALearns

Click Here for more information.