If you work in a small, rural, or tribal library consider applying for the fourth cohort of the Future Ready with the Library project. This project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and in partnership with the Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL), provides library staff with opportunities to engage with their communities to build college career awareness services for middle school youth. Learn more about the project and how to apply by viewing the 60 minute information session available below.
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Recently the Aspen Institute Education and Society Program sponsored a panel discussion in connection with the publication of the book, No Longer Forgotten: The Triumph and Struggles of Rural Education in America. I was particularly interested in this discussion because of the ARSL and YALSA Future Ready with the Library project that is funded by IMLS.
I was able to watch the livestream of the discussion and am very happy I did. I found the entire discussion of value and think that many library staff will too. A few of the conversation points that I want to think about more include:
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[perfectpullquote align=”full” size=”14″ bordertop=”” class=”” cite=”Middle school, however, is perhaps the unspoken linchpin in establishing a positive trajectory for career and college success, and here’s why: the exploratory opportunities and soft skills developed in early adolescence bridge elementary literacy with high school level life decision-making, which will ultimately lead to graduation and post-secondary achievements. – http://bit.ly/8waysmidschoolccr” color=”#ff8633″][/perfectpullquote]
Do you work with youth in a small, rural, or tribal library of any kind?
Do you want to join with your community members to support the success of middle school youth and their families?
Are you interested in learning more about teens, community engagement, connected learning, and college and career awareness?
Would you like to help middle schoolers start to think about how they can turn what they love to do and are interested in into a career?
If you answered “yes” to the above questions then it’s time for you to consider applying to participate in the fourth cohort of YALSA’s Future Ready with the Library IMLS funded project. The application period runs from April 2 to May 15, 2019. All are welcome to apply, regardless of job title or type of library. Note: ALA/YALSA membership is not required to apply.
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This post is written by Allison Shimek, a member of the second cohort of the YALSA Future Ready with the Library project. Allison is the Director of the Fayette Public Library and Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives in La Grange, Texas Contents of this post were originally published on the Future Ready with the Library Community of Practice.
Yesterday was my first Career Cruising event for the Future Ready with the Library Project and I want to share my experience. This event was held at a local bank from 9:00 am – 3:00pm. We had 17 teens pre-registered and 12 showed up. There were seven males and five females ranging in age from 11-16. Everyone that showed up on time was entered to win a gift card and then we did a drawing and talked about why it was important to arrive on time. The entire morning was spent in small groups rotating through different areas of the bank. The teens worked the teller line and assisted the tellers help customers while learning how they count money, roll coins, and balance their registers. The second station was the loan department. Teens were given loan applications and got to decide what they would like take an imaginary loan out for and went through the process while learning about what a loan officer does. The next station was the bank’s boardroom where they learned about the Board of Directors and important decisions they are required to make. Lastly the teens went to the new accounts department where they learned what they needed to set up a bank account, how to write a check, and viewed safety deposit boxes
Read More →As a part of the YALSA and Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL), Institute of Museum and Library Services funded Future Ready with the Library project, cohort members meet monthly to talk about working with middle schoolers and community in support of social emotional learning (SEL) leading to college and career awareness. In December, the third cohort of the project spoke with LaKesha Kimbrough, the Student Success Coordinator at Washington Middle School in Seattle. LaKesha spoke about SEL, how to help library staff work successfully with middle schoolers, and how to build partnerships that build opportunities for success for middle school students.
The 38 minute video below is a compilation of clips from LaKesha’s conversation with cohort members.
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This post was written by YALSA Future Ready with the Library Cohort 2 member Vicki Bartz, County Librarian, Ortonville and Graceville (MN) Public Library.
For the Ortonville and Graceville (MN) Library’s Future Ready with the Library project I am working with a committee of family and community members to develop our college career readiness services for middle school youth and their families. The planning process has been interesting as we learn how best to connect with the schools and other community members to develop a successful service. We want to focus on middle school social emotional learning as a step towards college career success. However, while some of those we are working with see great value in helping middle school teens gain social emotional skills in order to prepare for life success, others have not been so certain that this focus is important to this work.
After working with our planning committee we decided to host a meeting of parents and teens with a focus on social emotional learning. At the meeting we talked with parents about the five skills teens need in order to be successful in life. As we had this discussion with parents, the middle schoolers worked on the 5 Love Languages Mystery Game. This game gives young people the chance to think about what they most would like to recieve from a caring adult – a hug, having someone else clean their room, getting a surprise, and so on. From this teens gain an understanding of the types of support they would like to receive from adults.
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This blog post is adapted from a Future Ready with the Library Community of Practice reflection by Amanda (Mandy) Bundy, Kaibab Paiute Tribal Library; Fredonia, AZ, Mandy is a member of the second cohort of the YALSA Future Ready with the Library project. Future Ready with the Library provides support for small, rural, and tribal library staff to build college and career readiness services for middle school youth. You can read more posts by current and previous project cohort members on this blog.
Mandy’s post is available in three parts
* Part 1 – Introduction
* Part 2 – Weeks 1 to 3
* Part 3 – Weeks 4 to 6
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There are still two weeks to apply for cohort 3 of Future Ready with the Library project that supports library staff in designing and implementing services that support college career readiness services for middle school youth, families, and community. You can learn more about the project and the cohort 3 application process by watching the recording of the informational session.
Cohort 3 applications are due May 15. Learn more and apply.
This project is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and is a collaboration between YALSA and the Association of Rural and Small Libraries.
If you have questions about the project contact Linda W. Braun the project manager, lbraun@leonline.com.
This is adapted from a Future Ready with the Library Community of Practice reflection by Allison Shimek, Fayette Public Library in La Grange, TX. Allison is a member of the second cohort of the YALSA Future Ready with the Library project. Future Ready with the Library provides support for small, rural, and tribal library staff to build college and career readiness services for middle school youth. Read more about Future Ready with the Library and apply for cohort 3.
Like everyone in the Future Ready with the Library cohort, over the past several months I have been busy with meetings and gathering information. Through this work I learned a tremendous amount about my community. So far I met with the middle school principal, middle school librarian, school district assistant superintendent, members of the community theater, parents, a local camp, teens, and the local Rotary Club. It seems that the majority of the community agrees that middle schoolers need social skills that will help them prepare for the workforce. At the same time, those I talk with note that there is little for middle school youth to do in the town during out of school time. Except for band and sports, all after school activities end at 6th grade. There is nowhere for teens to go and hang out or a place that they can feel is just for them. The entire community and the teens recognize this as a huge topic of concern. As a part of the Future Ready with the Library work, I plan to continue to meet with more community groups and businesses in the local area to learn how to and plan for ways to better support teens.
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Do you work with youth in a small, rural, or tribal library of any kind?
Would you like to help middle schoolers start to think about how they can turn what they love to do and are interested in into a career?
Do you want to join with your community members to support the success of middle school youth and their families?
Are you interested in learning more about teens, community engagement, connected learning, and college and career readiness?
If you answered “yes” to the above questions then it’s time for you to consider applying to participate in the third cohort of YALSA’s Future Ready with the Library IMLS funded project. The application period runs from April 9 to May 15, 2018. All are welcome to apply, regardless of job title or type of library. Note: ALA/YALSA membership is not required to apply.
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