It all started last summer as Olivia and I were brainstorming about ways to sprinkle more art programs into the summer reading program. We work together at the Greenville Public Library and are often having "on the fly" discussions about all sorts of things, one of them being innovative ideas for programs we would like to participate  in and we think kids would like to experience.

As we all know, craft programs are a staple of youth services programming at public libraries. They are usually well attended and can range from the simple to the complex, sometimes stretching the projects created over a few afternoons or on Saturdays.

I have learned that students in elementary and middle school have art class at school once a week or once every few weeks for an hour. This is not nearly enough! They are hungry for places to create, get messy and hang out with their friends. The public library is just the place for all of this to happen!

Olivia says I've found libraries to be some of the most powerful sites of creativity and exploration and I love having the opportunity to try new programming with Babs and our fantastic young patrons!"

Olivia and I work well together, both being open to dare greatly and just throw out crazy ideas that just might work. One such idea was to offer a screen printing workshop as part of our 2015 summer reading program.

Thanks to my brainstorming session with Babs, I have had great experiences running summer reading-adjacent programs in the past few years. For the 2015 Summer Reading Program "Every Hero Has A Story," I held both a screen printing program and a comic writing workshop. For the screen printing program, I created a summer reading logo for the Greenville Public Library and invited young patrons and their family members to print it in vivid colors on perfectly book-sized totes. I love the drop-in nature of this program, and how there are always a few kids (and parents!) who leave energized to make and modify their own clothes at home.

 

The comic writing workshop was held over four sessions, and involved collaborative games, short experiments and the opportunity to write longer stories which we bound into a zine. I prefer not to focus on "how to draw" and instead work with kids on character development, timing, and movement. I'm always blown away by the work my patrons make in these classes- their creativity, sense of humor and passion for storytelling is amazing and inspiring.

 

This year, I wanted to bring the excitement of figuring out "how it's made" from my printmaking classes together with the storytelling development from the comics classes. I was also excited to try a program that took advantage both of Greenville's tech resources and creative space. The animation program consisted of three sessions. On day one we used tracing paper to make flipbooks, day two was focused on ABCYA's amazing free animation program and on the third day kids worked digitally or on paper on a final animation using the skills they learned.  The kids jumped in with so much creative vigor, especially working with the digital program, where stamps and text tools made it easy to tell a story (or choreograph a robot dance) at lightning speed. At the end of the first session one patron asked, "Can we make the next class three hours longer?" The rest of the class echoed the sentiment, as did I!"

The program was a total success and we are thrilled to have the fruits of our collaboration well-received by our young friends. Starting September 18th, we will be holding a monthly Animation Club to continue working on the projects we started this summer and try new things. Olivia is hoping to bring in new techniques in the coming months, including stop motion, claymation and making our own soundtracks.

As public libraries are more and more emerging as creative social centers, library professionals have a responsibility to challenge ourselves and make creative strides forward. Keep in mind- your next innovation may be just a coworker away! It can be hard to break from work routines but we've ultimately found fulfillment and inspiration from being brave, reaching out, and seeing what our coworkers have cooking.

You can see our students' work at oliviahorvath.com/greenville  

The Cranston Public Library launched a new program on September 1 that offers students of all ages live, one-to-one help from professional tutors online. Any community member with a Cranston Public Library card can access the new online services from the library or right from home on any computer or mobile device connect to the Internet.  

Tutor.com has been purchased and made available to Cranston residents through a collaborative purchase made by the Cranston Public Library and the Cranston Public School Department. Up until August 2016, the Office of Library and Information Services provided Tutor.com to Rhode Island libraries through AskRI.org. However, due to budget constraints, the service was cut. 

"Shortly after we received the news that we would be losing access to Tutor.com, we heard from the teachers and school librarians across the city that this was an invaluable resource to Cranston students. We began working with the Cranston School Department to figure out how we could continue to offer these services to Cranston cardholders," explains Cranston Public Library Director, Ed Garcia. 

"We're pleased to announce that this collaborative effort has resulted in free tutoring and homework assistance for any student with a Cranston Public Library card."

Harry Potter Alliance

Good news - Rhode Island now has its very own chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance and is ready to join forces with libraries and librarians in the quest for social justice, human rights, and literacy! The Harry Potter Alliance makes activism accessible through the power of story. Since 2005, the organization has empowered millions of fans to fight for equality, human rights, and literacy.
The Burrow: HPA is your local extension of the global nonprofit and meets monthly to plan and implement campaign events ranging from trans* rights to the environment and many more to come. We even have our own Comic Book Club! We're also very keen on learning how best the Harry Potter Alliance can help you help your patrons, so if you have suggestions we'd love to hear them.

To think globally, act locally, and amplify your voice even louder than by casting the Sonorus spell, consider joining us at our next meeting or event! You can learn more by finding us on Facebook or by emailing Chapter President Ashley Perry:  ashley_perry@my.uri.edu ."