Children
Early learning creates a foundation for lifelong learning; no other time in human development presents such a rich opportunity to build that foundation. Libraries offer a chance to create a supportive environment and fun programs that support early learning and literacy. Explore topics related to services to children including programming, early literacy, summer reading, and collection development.
Self-paced courses and webinar recordings on this topic are freely available in the WebJunction Course Catalog, including the highly-rated Supercharged Storytimes self-paced course.
Most Recently Added
Growing library garden programs
Publish Date: News / 1 May 2024
Library gardens offer a great way for community members to come together to learn, grow, and contribute towards a healthy, balanced environment. And creating a vibrant community green space or gardening program doesn’t have to be complicated. Across ...
Helping libraries to be autism-ready
Publish Date: News / 17 April 2024
Imagine a child standing in front of a brightly lit room at their local public library. Lively music is playing, and bubbles are bouncing all around. Children and adults fill the room, talking loudly and playing with toys. Off in the distance is a co...
Reading in the balance: Exploring the role of public library in the ‘science of reading’
Publish Date: News / 26 March 2024
Learning to read is neither an innate nor simple process, and recently there has been increased scrutiny on whether schools are effectively preparing children to learn to read. Colloquially referred to as “the reading wars,” this scrutiny has led to ...
STAR Net resources
Publish Date: News / 19 March 2024
Libraries all over sparked curiosity about space, astronomy, and all things STEM-related during the recent solar eclipse. If you’re looking for ideas to help your community members continue the learning, we’ve got you covered. Explore new ways to bri...
Hopkinton Public Library unites community in library planning
Publish Date: News / 12 March 2024
At Hopkinton Public Library in Iowa, community engagement is thriving. And the secret to this success is including community members in in the planning, from beginning to end. From an annual haunted house to community bake-offs, the library incorpora...
Switching it Up! Creating a Video Game Collection for Your Library
Publish Date: Webinar / 22 February 2024
Learn how to create, maintain, and promote a new video game collection at your library.
Centering Community VOICE
Publish Date: News / 23 January 2024
Are you looking to deepen or expand your library’s outreach services for children and families from underserved communities, or would you like to build your library’s outreach efforts but don’t know where to begin? Have you been looking for ways to i...
Inclusive collections for supercharged storytimes
Publish Date: News / 27 December 2023
Storytimes can be transformative for children, offering them the chance to imagine possible futures for themselves. This begins with the stories you include. Look around your community and consider which books in your collection reflect the experienc...
Tools for Reimagining School Readiness
Publish Date: Webinar / 5 December 2023
The Reimagining School Readiness Toolkit provides free, online, research-based resources, created specifically for library staff, to help families prepare children ages 0 to 8 for success in school and in life.
Time to Change the “Checklist”: A Toolkit for Reimagining School Readiness
Publish Date: News / 7 November 2023
A literature review of more than 150 research studies indicates that we are missing the mark in preparing our children for school by equating “school readiness” with a finite checklist of academic skills to be mastered by age five. Instead, we should...