Library Services for Young People

The principal and staff  of the Ocoee Middle School in Florida  were so inspired by the Flash mob scene from the Oprah and Black Eyed Peas show- they wanted to try the same concept – educationally inspired. They hired a professional singer to write and sing lyrics related to reading and literacy to encourage kids to prepare and read for the FCAT test.  The amazing Full Sail Online Production team made this all happen- they even let the Ocoee Middle School production class shadow them and gave them mini-lessons throughout the shooting process. The video  has received a huge welcome across the United States.

To celebrate Safer Internet Day (SID), UPC Ireland launched a new interactive E-Safety website - esafetykit.net on Safer Internet Day, 9th February 2010.

The website is based on the E-Safety Toolkit which has been translated into eleven languages with over 300,000 copies printed and distributed across eighteen countries.

The main objective behind SID is to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology, especially amongst children and young people.

This is the third consecutive year that UPC has been engaged in SID and this year they have taken the toolkit  to the next level by making it fully interactive for all stakeholders and creating a comprehensive tool guide for teachers to include in their school curriculum.  The website which focuses on four topics – security, communication, entertainment, cyberbullying – creates an educational outlet while making it fun, engaging and non-threatening through games, downloads, quizzes, golden rules, tips and teacher/parent sections. Access the Safer Internet Day 2010 website here

Native Bostonians can be rhapsodic about the branch libraries where theycame of age intellectually. Forty years later they can still vividly recall spinning the desktop globe in the reference room of the Codman Square library in Dorchester or receiving awards for reading the most books in a single month in the old Colony housing project library in South Boston.Today, such memories are forming in the minds of Mattapan’s teenagers. Years from now, will they look back in anger or delight?

One year ago, a new library designed by world-class architect William Rawn opened on Mattapan’s Blue Hill Avenue, a street rarely associated with first-class anything. Much thought went into the building’s design, both inside and out. The bountiful use of glass signaled belief in the community. The earth-toned granite symbolized stability in a neighborhood devastated decades ago by real estate blockbusters looking to make a quick buck in a racially changing neighborhood. Read more

A recent survey conducted by Kellogg’s has revealed that most Irish mums (65%) begin reading to their children before they are one year old, and over a quarter (26%) begin reading from birth. 58% of mothers read to their children because they enjoy it, and 42% read to their children to help improve their language skills. Mothers whose own parents read to them as a child are more likely to read to their own children with 53% of them reading to their children every night and 23% reading to them most nights. The results of the survey were launched by Ryan Tubridy at the Kellogg’s Storytime Promotion on 1st February. The full text of the survey can be accessed here.

Research conducted by the U.K.’s Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), shows that government investment in books has led to more boys at primary schools reading for enjoyment, improving their reading skills and visiting public libraries. The government programmes, Boys into Books and Book Ahead, aimed at encouraging more young people into reading for pleasure, targeted at boys aged 5-11 and all children aged 3-5.

The evaluation also highlights how younger children are getting off to a flying starting by discovering the pleasure of storytelling and sharing books.  Read the full report here