Uncategorized – Page 4 – RPL Staff Intranet

A reminder that kids can teach us

Never Too Young: Why Kids Deserve Queer Friendly Libraries
by Ashlie Swicker
Book Riot, Jun 30, 2023

“I worked with young children long before my first year teaching in 2007. I have three degrees that qualify me to educate kids. Interacting with young people has been my greatest skill for as long as I’ve been a person. My biggest takeaway over the last, oh, 30 years? Kids will never fail to surprise me. It’s been proven to me over and over that kids know more, feel more, and deserve more than adults ever give them credit for.

My latest lesson in this has been around the palpable relief felt by my elementary students when I worked to make my school library more queer-friendly. This process included no fanfare. I had already been adding picture books that challenged gender norms and middle grade titles with queer characters and storylines for as long as I had been developing the collection. But as I was working to add racial and physical diversity into my library posters and signage, I knew I wanted to branch out to make sure everyone felt welcome.

The first noticeable shift was when I decorated my door with a “This Classroom is for Everyone” sticker from the Etsy artist MegEmikoArt. The sticker is decorated with pride flags and my students buzzed as they came into Media. Soon after, I bought the “Libraries are for everyone” shirt in the same design by the same artist. A 5th grader who didn’t usually stop to chat pointed to one of the flags on my shirt, grinned, and said “That one’s me.” I was wonderfully, pleasantly floored.

I thought I was adding more queer flags, using gender-neutral terms, and featuring books with queer characters to help them prepare for the real world. I thought my students should be exposed to these things in case they met queer people or to make them more comfortable with queer family structures. This was a condescending way for me to think about my students. Thank god the kids are smarter than me.

What actually happened was that my students thanked me. There was gratitude, excitement, and relief. My students already knew how to identify more specific pride flags than I did. They already knew that gender and sexuality are spectrums and each person knows what feels right to them. I had students with whom I had no previous relationship sharing their pronouns. Our STEM building materials were used to build and label different pride flags. Requests were made for the LGBTQ book section; the books had always been there. The kids just needed affirmation that it was safe to ask for them. My students did not need exposure. They needed a safe space.

I was well aware that students in high school and even middle school needed queer-friendly libraries. Despite considering myself an ally and believing that I was doing everything I could at my grade level, I was showing a lack of respect for my students by thinking I needed to introduce them to queer-friendly ideas. If I can understand that a 10-year-old cisgender child can understand heterosexual romance (featured in almost every title ever), why does it surprise me that queer kids are looking for the same kinds of representation? Most importantly, how did I let myself forget the power and agency that young people have when they are given the space to be comfortable with who they are?

In a climate where adults are constantly clashing over what kids should be taught, it’s important to remember that children are vastly more aware and in touch with themselves than we give them credit for. I’m grateful to my amazing students for reminding me that beyond teaching them, my first job is to give them a safe space to explore all the amazingness they already possess.”

“We cannot struggle alone.”

Take a look at the WBZ news segment on the RMHS Mental Health First Aid program run by the Reading Coalition.
See how adorable Cooper is on camera!

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mental-health-first-aid-class-high-school-students-reading/

NYT Article – Love Letter to Public Libraries

If you would like/need a pick-me-up, check out this Valentine’s Day photo essay from the New York Times: “A Love Letter to Libraries, Long Overdue.”

Staff Shout-Outs

We didn’t have ANY staff shout-outs submitted over the last two weeks. I know you all are doing fantastic work so a staff shout-out to everyone.

Also, submit your shoutouts to this form, located under Forms on the staff intranet.

Take care …

Just a gentle reminder to take care of yourself! If you are struggling or need help/advice, please reach out to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This is a free service through MIIA provided for you and your household members by the Town of Reading. This program offers confidential counseling, free legal and financial consultation, and referrals to resources such as child/elder care, and parent support, among others. These services are completely confidential and can be easily accessed 24/7.

Call whenever, for whatever! For information or services, call 24/7 at 800.451.1834 or download the mobile app from your app store by searching “MIIA EAP”

Staff Development Reporting Form Updated

We have made some changes to the Staff Development Reporting Form. Please remember to use this form when you have any professional development activities.

LENGTH OF ACTIVITY: This has been simplified to 1, 2, 3, and 5 hours. Pick whichever is closest. This format will help us tally the total amount of time spent on PD.

CATEGORY: We can add to this list, but here is a start. You will see Committee and Meeting listed as options. At the moment, these are intended for external meetings and committees. If you aren’t sure about the category or if something is worth reporting, enter as much as you can and use the “Other Comments” section for questions or to explain your thinking.

This form is intended to be a central repository to collect this information library-wide. You can use the form after each event/activity, or set a reminder to enter a month’s worth at a time. Any events/activities reported in this form do not need to be included in monthly reports.

Thank you to Kathryn M. and Cate Z for working on streamlining the form.

Emergency Info

Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday’s Emergency and Safety meeting yesterday. In addition to the ALICE training (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) and meeting Cooper the Comfort Dog, we worked through several tabletop exercises.

Using yesterday’s experience (and with several corrections of typos), I’ve updated the Emergency Response Guide on this intranet. Also, printed copies are available

All services desks (4)
Children’s Workroom
Borrower Services WorkroomReference Workroom
Tech Services Workroom
Administration
Staff Lounge

Direct Page

All Library phones should have something that says “Direct Page” on the main menu screen. If you do not see this on any phone, please email Amy with the phone extension and with a request to add “Direct Page.” This feature uses the speaker function of the phone. This means messages via Direct Page are audible to everyone in the area of the phone. To use

Press “Direct Page”
Press “#”
Pause for two seconds and then speak
Hang up when done

This information has been added to the Emergency Response Guide.

Librarians in the news…

In the news this week

Appeal from the Presidium of the Ukrainian Library Association

As Ukraine Battles Russia, Librarians Are Forming Their Own ‘Internet Military’ Against Fake News

President of the Ukrainian Library Association to the World: “We Are at the Forefront of the Fight Against Fakes, Misinformation, and Cyber Threats!”

Staff Shout-Outs 02/11/2022

Are you ready for some shout-outs? If you’d like to submit a shout-out, fill out the form on the Forms page. Don’t be shy! Shout it out! And I KNOW there are more shout-outs from other departments. Let’s see them!

Shout-out to Jianna Christopher for Helping a co-worker, Solving a problem, Keeping it positive: Jianna cheerfully filled in lots of holes in the Children’s Room schedule! And she’s a pleasure to work with!! From Cate & the Children’s Room Staff

Meghan, Dawn, Melissa, Desiree, Andrea H, Susanne, Rebecca, Lauren, Eileen, Michelle, & Kath for Going above and beyond, Exemplary customer service, Keeping it positive: Winning at Winter Warmers! EVERY department contributed to making Winter Warmers: Hot Date Edition smoking hot. From our venerable veterans to our virgins (Meghan & Rebecca) you pulled together to enlighten and entertain our community. Watch for the premiere on February 14th on our YouTube channel. Thank you thank you thank you! From Andrea F

Shout out to Lisa R for Going above and beyond, Helping a co-worker, Keeping it positive. Lisa has been the Weekend Wonder miracle worker! The weekly bags are very popular and a lot of work–Lisa keeps us organized, creative, and enthusiastic! From CR staff.

Shout out to Rebecca Bailey and Susanne Sullivan for Helping a co-worker, Solving a problem: Both Susanne and Rebecca were recently called upon last minute to cover shifts for the Ref department. The extra help allows staff and the library to continue moving forward smoothly. RPL has amazing substitute librarians who graciously offer their time and we are all very grateful. From Ally.

Shout out to Megan W for Going above and beyond. Megan did her first virtual storytime and crushed it! Her calm voice, her sweet fingerplays, her adorable books and songs–pajama storytime magic!. From Cate.

Shout out to Ally for Helping a co-worker. Shout out to Ally for always being ready with a listening ear to brainstorm new ideas, problem solve tricky situations, and share a laugh about the craziness of library life. From Anonymous.

FYI: Vendors in (and around) the building …

Two things to be aware of ASAP:

Tuesday through Wednesday there will be an employee from the town’s locksmith vendor who will be rekeying the exterior doors. This will not affect the key fobs. This work will not interfere in any way with employee access.

Starting Wednesday, there will be two employees from NORESCO working out of the library boiler room. NORESCO is the company working on the performance contracting for all the town buildings (including all the schools). Performance contracting assesses current systems with the goal to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact (both of which ultimately save the town $$).This project will go on for about 18 months.

John and Lynda are aware of this. If you are unsure when you see someone who might be the locksmith or from NORESCO, you can check in with a custodian or approach the person if you feel comfortable.