This is part of a series of Session Notes from grantees who have received Professional Development grants from the Office of Commonwealth Libraries. Each grantee will share their professional development experience and include tips and other resources from the workshop or class. Grantees had their choice of an article for the Compendium, a webinar or a podcast. This project was made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

by Rachel Fecho

Each year, the PaLA Conference gives me new ideas, insights, and inspiration to take back to my library. In previous years, I’ve appreciated sessions on diversity, STEM, in-house library programs, and more. In 2016, I found that the most helpful sessions I attended were those that shared information about how to reach out more to the schools in my library’s service area.

The sessions called Stretch Your Reach (presented by Courtney Bonnet and Kim Englert from Northland Public Library) and Early Elementary Outreach: Picture Book Children’s Choice Awards Program (presented by Carrie Lane from Allegheny County Library Association) were particularly helpful. The presenters shared affordable, easily reproducible, and meaningful ideas for programs that can be brought into schools, such as a picture book award program, puppets, music, storytelling (including kamishibai), easy STEM, and more.

The program ideas were fantastic, but equally as beneficial was learning about how to make and sustain contact with local school administration, librarians, and teachers. This is essential to “getting in” to the schools to develop a long term and mutually beneficial relationship. We can support them in their efforts to provide a diverse, comprehensive, and exciting curriculum for their students, and we can promote what the library has to offer to students outside of school as well. Ultimately, the stronger and more vibrant the relationships we have with our local schools, the more relevant and vital we prove to be to the community. The more relevant and vital we are to the community, the more support we will receive (financially and otherwise), and the more we can continue to offer. Everyone wins!