JUNE 2024

It's a great summer for reading across New Mexico!

Thank you for all you do for your community!

CALENDAR - Meetings and Events

JUNE Monthly Youth Services Meeting

Drop-In Meeting / Q and A

Friday, June 14, 10:00-10:40am

Topic: Summer Reading, Resources, Whatever you need!

Zoom Link HERE

This is an informal meeting of YS staff from across the state. Drop in to ask any questions or get assistance accessing any resources.

We'll continue to have drop-in meetings throughout the summer, but other events and meetings will start back in the Fall.

June is RAINBOW BOOK MONTH

Rainbow Book Month is a nationwide celebration of the authors and writings that reflect the lives and experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community.

ALA has developed free, customizable publicity templates that are ready for your library to adapt and use - access here.

NEWS

Summer Reading is here!

SHARE OUT your Summer Reading Calendars!

Upload your program calendars here!

SURVEYS All Survey information can be found here including the Parent/Caregiver survey and details about the Library survey/ All surveys are due August 31, 2024.

All Summer Reading information and links can be found in the SRP 24 Niche Academy module. Including the Social Media toolkit, NM themed materials and link to Video PSAs.

Early Literacy Calendar Available

Don't forget about the Early Literacy Calendar to distribute to patrons or share out on your website or social media. Visit the Niche Academy course for all months in English and Spanish.

Calendars on display at Hobbs Public Library

@ SEEN ON SOCIAL

Summer Reading is happening all over New Mexico!

Land of Enchantment Book Awards

Winners Announced!

The Land of Enchantment Book Award committee is thrilled to announce this year's award winners! This year’s event saw one of the largest turnouts in recent memory with thousands of young readers from across the state participating in the voting process. The enthusiasm and engagement this year from school libraries has been truly inspiring.

There will be excited new developments in 2025 to include a public library campaign to get more readers to vote at their local library. Congratulations to all the winning authors and illustrators and their remarkable books, which have captivated the imaginations of students across NM. Stay tuned for the nominees for 2025 and details on how your library can be involved!

OPPORTUNITIES

NMLA Conference Proposals

DUE June 16, 2024

Help support library staff from all around New Mexico at the NMLA Conference, October 23-25, 2024 in Carlsbad, NM. Share out an amazing program or initiative with children and youth at your library! Talk about how you reach out to your community, or formed your Teen Advisory Board, or partnered with your local school.

Learn more here!

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Summer EBT 101:

How to Support Families in Summer 2024

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 12:00 PM MT

The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (Summer EBT, also known as SUN Bucks) is a new federal nutrition program that provides grocery benefits during the summer months to families with children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

Do you support families in your community? You may be getting questions about these benefits soon, if you haven't already. We’ll provide an overview of the program and eligibility, discuss questions you might receive and how to help families navigate the program, and consider how to address concerns, including those of immigrant households.

Work It Out @ Your Library with the Wombats!

Thursday, August 8, 2024, 1:00-2:00PM MT

This webinar will introduce you to Work It Out @ Your Library! a new program for families in your community, built around Work it Out Wombats! a national PBS KIDS television series for 4- to 6-year-olds. Through hands-on activities, library storytime sessions, animated videos, and a family app, this flexible program helps library staff guide families through the exploration of computational thinking. Computational thinking is a creative way of solving problems in more organized ways. When children make-believe they are running a restaurant, they explore sequencing by figuring out the steps for serving a customer a meal. When they play with blocks to make a castle, they can practice the design process by creating, testing, and improving the structure. Library staff are uniquely suited to promote this learning with their library families. The webinar will cover why computational thinking skills are important for young children, how the free resources have been used to run fun and engaging programs in libraries, and how you can too.

More information and TO REGISTER

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves Workshop

These are free workshops to train YOU on the subject matter, so you can then conduct the program at your library. For virtual programs the first 20 registrants receive mailed kits of supplies.

Renewable Energy: Water Power Workshop

Tuesday, July 2, 10am - 12pm @ Explora

Learn about renewable energy from the waves, tides, and currents. Roll up your sleeves for some fun activities ready for your classroom, and learn all about clean, renewable energy!

Full details and to register

Unplugged Coding for Young Learners Workshop

Tuesday, July 2, 2pm - 4pm @ Explora

Join us for pattern recognition and early algorithmic thinking activities which require no tech at all and build the early skills for coding.

Full details and to register

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Thursday, July 25, 10am-12pm, Virtual

Discover the variety in leaves and observe them up close! Explore how special leaves are by testing their strength, flying ability, and more!

Full details and to register

Looking Ahead: Professional Conferences

There are many general and specialized conferences for library staff. Plan ahead to attend! Remember: LSTA funds can be used to send library staff to professional conferences.

ALA Annual Conference - June 27-July 2, 2024, San Diego, CA

ARSL (Assoc. of Rural and Small Libraries) - Sept 11-14, 2024, Springfield, MA

ALSC (Assoc. Library Service to Children) - Sept 19-21, 2024, Denver, CO

ATALM (Tribal Libraries, Archives and Museums )- Nov 12-14, 2024, Palm Springs, CA

ALA LibLearnX - Jan 24-27, 2025, Phoenix, AZ