Upcoming Opportunities
These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations.
CLELCON Call for Proposals
June 10, 2023
The Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy (CLEL) is seeking presenters for the 2023 Virtual Conference, scheduled for September 21-22, 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM. This virtual conference offers two different opportunities to share your knowledge and experience: Break Out Session Presenters and Discussion Facilitators. All presentations will be delivered live virtually via Hopin. Presentations and discussions will be 50 minutes long. Examples of topics are available via the proposal application. Major areas of focus include Early Literacy Foundations, Early Literacy Leadership, and News in this field. Break Out Session Presenters will prepare and lead a virtual presentation related to the field of early literacy. Discussion Facilitators will lead a casual sharing of knowledge and resources while helping build connections. Proposals will be accepted April 3 – June 10 and applicants will be notified by July 31. For more information, visit the conference website.
Setting the Trend School Libraries
June 14, 2023, 7:45 AM – 2:45 PM Central
Please join us Wednesday, June 14, 2023 in Clear Creek Independent School District (Houston, TX) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., with registration from 7:45 to 8:30 a.m. Various professional learning sessions will be offered that will allow you to explore, collaborate, and learn about trending topics. This will be a FREE blended learning experience with a vendor fair, presentations, and special event speakers. For more information, visit the event website.
Virtual Author Visit with Alice Faye Duncan
June 15, 2023, 10:30 AM Central
The Willie Mae Kirk Branch of Austin Public Library is sponsoring a virtual Juneteenth program on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. CT. Join author Alice Faye Duncan for a virtual storytime in which she reads her books Opal Lee And What It Means To Be Free, Yellow Dog Blues, and This Train is Bound for Glory. Incorporating cultural celebrations is just one lens for approaching the 2023 Collaborative Summer Library Program theme, “All Together Now,” during summer programming. For more information, visit the event’s Eventbrite page.
Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize
Deadline June 16, 2023, 11:59 PM Eastern
The Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership between the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal, was created in 2019 to recognize the public library as a vital community asset. When libraries, civic entities, organizations, and the people they serve become close partners, their communities thrive.
One United States public library transforming its community in groundbreaking ways will receive $250,000 in unfettered grant monies from the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation. The winning library will also be profiled in the November issue of Library Journal and online. Honorable mentions may also be named.
Online submissions are due June 16 (11:59 p.m., ET).
Learn more and apply today!
Youth Book Club Meeting
June 20, 2023, 5:00 PM Central
The Texas Talking Book Program’s (TBP) Youth Services Book Club will meet via Zoom on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. to discuss 2018 Newbery Medal winner Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly. For more information, visit the TBP Youth Services webpage.
TLA Association Annual Conference Call for Proposals
June 26, 2023
The Texas Library Association (TLA) is seeking proposals for the TLA 2024 Annual Conference being held in San Antonio on April 16-19, 2024! Deadline to submit is June 26, 2023. For detailed information about applying, please visit the association’s Presentation Opportunities webpage.
Cross Timbers Library Conference 2023
July 27-28, 2023, Online
The Cross Timbers Library Collaborative (CTLC) is an established group for library professionals in the Cross Timbers region. They welcome librarians and library staff from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas to take part in this collaboration of ideas, best practices and continued partnership. Their mission is to serve the Cross Timbers region through staff development, resource sharing, and innovative programming.
The conference will be held July 27-28 online, and its theme is “Inflation and Innovation: Doing More with Less.” The primary conference goal is to promote information sharing, awareness of successful programs, and an affordable training opportunity for libraries in the region. For more information, visit the conference website.
Texas Talking Book Program’s Summer Reading Program
Summer 2023
The Texas Talking Book Program’s Summer Reading Program began on June 5 with a fun kickoff party on Zoom. But, there’s still time to join the fun. To sign up, visit the event website. Furthermore, patrons can review books for the chance to win a prize at the end of summer!
Power Up Conference Call for Proposals
August 6, 2023
The Power Up Conference Committee is seeking program proposals for Power Up 2024 being held in Madison, Wisconsin on March 21-22, 2024. Every selected session will receive one complimentary conference registration.
Submit your idea by August 6, 2023.
The Conference Committee is also excited to announce the keynotes for the conference. The opening keynote will be Past President of the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) and REFORMA and award-winning author Lucia Gonzalez. Closing out the conference will be Mimi Ito, author of eight books, including Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Youth Living and Learning with New Media.
Visit the conference website to learn more about the conference and these fantastic keynotes!
Ongoing Tools
These tools are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations.
Books and Articles for the Upcoming Eclipses
Here you’ll find some of the best eclipse-related books and articles available, as judged by members of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force. To avoid overwhelming you with too much information, they’ve intentionally weighted these listings toward resources that are relatively new, up to date, and/or especially relevant to the October 14, 2023, and/or April 8, 2024, American solar eclipses. Some titles date back to the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse across America. They’ve also considered quality, of course; if a book or article is listed here, they think it’s of high quality. If it’s not listed here, that doesn’t mean it’s not of high quality—it just means they can’t list everything (or they’ve simply never heard of it).
BOOM! DIRECT
BOOM! DIRECT is the official podcast for BOOM! Studios Comics, where hosts Anthony Mauro and Harley Salbacka will be discussing BOOM! Studios’ biggest hits, the insides of the comic book industry, first look announcements, and exclusive interviews with comic book creators! For more information visit YouTube or Spotify.
Bright by Text
Bright by Text is a nationwide text messaging service that helps parents and caregivers of children prenatal to age eight make the most of everyday interactions. Through free tips, information, games, and resources, Bright by Text is proven to build nurturing caregiver-child relationships, strengthen families, promote healthy child development, and improve school readiness by sharing helpful tips, information, and activities on physical and mental health, social-emotional wellbeing, safety, brain development, connections, encouragement, and more. For more information, visit the program website.
Cosmic Kids!
Cosmic Kids focuses on bringing yoga and mindfulness to kids via stories. To access the videos, visit the Cosmic Kids YouTube channel.
Ear Snacks
Creators Andrew and Polly center each episode of the Ear Snacks podcast around kids’ voices and ideas. They think about what they know, play around with it, and wonder what they don’t know yet. They pair this constructivist approach with their experience as parents and educators, Emmy-nominated music combined with audio production, and a community of grown-up “experts” who share what they know about art, science, music, and culture. For more information, visit the podcast website.
E-Read Texas for Kids
E-Read Texas for Kids includes a collection of more than 600 e-books from Teacher Created Materials, including the TIME for Kids series. The majority of the titles are juvenile nonfiction for grade levels K-8, and cover subjects such as science, mathematics, sports, history, and art, in both English and Spanish. The site also includes juvenile fiction and craft and hobby books for kids. The website is geofenced so that any user located in Texas can access it, with no login nor password required! And there are no simultaneous user restrictions, so that means there are no holds and no waitlists. To begin reading, visit the program website.
“Telling Your Story to the People Who Matter Most”
This third webinar in the Crisis Communications series is presented by Thomas J. Fladung from the Hennes Communications Public Relations Firm, hosted by Valerie Byrd Fort, and sponsored by the Get Ready Stay Ready Community Action Toolkit. The webinar is available via YouTube.
Need more support?
Resource Archive
Wish you had access to a repository of all the tools that have been featured in the monthly Youth Services Updates? Check out our Resource Archive for more information.
Training Catalog
In addition, be sure to peruse our Training Catalog for webinars that focus on Youth Services. Our holdings are constantly updated, so check back often.
Questions?
For more information, visit our youth services page, contact Christina Taylor at ld@tsl.texas.gov, or call 512-463-5465.
