THE CHIEF LIBRARIAN’S REPORT

LIBRARY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

NOVEMBER 17, 2010

1. KIDS EURO FESTIVAL 2010 IN EVERY CORNER OF THE CITY

DCPL hosted a wide range of programs sent by the Washington embassies of 27 European
Union countries to the District’s children and their families in this third annual Kids Euro
Fest. The Library hosted at least one program from each country. I was honored to be a
featured speaker at the festival’s opening reception at the Belgian ambassador’s residence.
Here’s a sampling of events at DCPL:
• “Pippi Longstocking” talked about Swedish culture at Cleveland Park Library with an
audience of 145 children and adults and then helped them make Pippi puppets.
• A classic British tea party took place at MLK Library.
• Children acted out the Danish story of The Princess and the Pea at Francis Gregory
Interim Library.
• Singing, dancing, drumming, and improvisation connected the audience at Takoma
Park Library with Finland.

2. FIRST ANNUAL READ-IN: DC LOVES TO READ DEBUTED ON OCTOBER 2ND

A day-long marathon of activities to celebrate the joy of reading took place at libraries
throughout the city on October 2nd. Creativity combined with good taste for an edible book
contest. Workshops on how to read to young children were offered. There were literary
scavenger hunts, panel discussions that featured local authors, a discussion of banned books
and freedom of speech, and a mural created by teens to show themes of books they read
recently. Thanks to the dedication of a team of staff members, the event was a great success.

3. DCPL HOSTS BOOK BUZZ

Elissa Miller, DCPL’s Associate Director of Collections, and her team sponsored Book Buzz,
a regional showcase of the best books anticipated in 2011. Presentations were made by major
publishers of books for children, young adults, and adults. The 70 attendees included school
librarians as well as librarians from special libraries and public libraries from Maryland,
Virginia, Delaware, and the District.

4. DCPL HOSTS LEARNING TECHNIQUES WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN

The DCPL Adaptive Services Division recently hosted Carrie Banks, Supervising Librarian
at the Child’s Place for Children with Special Needs/Kidsmobile at the Brooklyn Public
Library. Ms. Banks led a workshop for staff on best practices in services and programs for
children and teens with special needs. In addition, Gallaudet’s National Education for the
deaf held two training sessions in the “15 Principles of Reading with Deaf Children” in the
Adaptive Services Division. DCPL, the first library in the U.S. to be an official “Shared
Reading Project” host site, recently launched the program for 10 families of hearing parents
with deaf children, ages 3-6.

Document #8
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 17, 2010
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 5. ¡VIVA EL RECETARIO COLECCIÒN—COOKBOOK COLLECTION--DE DCPL!
Staff member Patricia Wood, saw a man sitting in the stacks, taking notes from a book in the
DCPL cookbook collection. He told her he was a lead chef for Jose Andres—and a major fan
of the DCPL cookbook collection! We’ve seen greater use by amateur and professional chefs
of the re-vamped cookbook collection.

6. DCPL LEADS PICTURING AMERICA WORKSHOP

Wendy Lukehart, Coordinator of DCPL’s Children’s and YA Collections, led a workshop for
DC Public Schools librarians and DCPL staff in Visual Thinking Strategies and the use of
multimedia to improve reading and observation skills in children and teens. More than 65
librarians attended the half-day workshop that focused on new ways to use the Picturing
America series of fine prints. The Director of Education at the National Museum of Women
in the Arts and a local award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books of events and
heroes in American history were featured. The program was made possible by a grant from
the American Library Association.

7. DCPL’S INTERIMS ARE THE LIBRARY JOURNAL COVER STORY

The cover story of the 2010 fall issue of The Library Journal’s Library by Design is about
DCPL’s interim libraries. With help from Joi Mecks and other communications staff, I wrote
the article to share our experiences. A main focus of the article was the Board’s
determination to provide the city’s neighborhoods with library services they can’t do without
while permanent libraries are undergoing renovation or rebuilding. The experience has given
DCPL the chance to try new and different ways of offering library service.

8. TWO LIBRARY ASSOCIATES TEAM UP FOR FUN AND LITERACY

Angela Redmond of Francis Gregory Library and Michelle McIntyre of the Parklands Turner
Library are determined to increase the reading ability of children, ages 8 to 14, in Southeast
DC, and their efforts were recognized in a recent issue of the Washington Afro American
newspaper. The two library associates work together to lead entertaining book club sessions,
in which they take a “hands-on, voices-off” approach. The children select the books, and
Angela and Michelle offer suggestions, game ideas, and sometimes snacks. The idea is to
encourage young people to come to the library to read what they want to read.
Congratulations, Angela and Michelle, on your success!

9. SENIORS TALK TECH TALK AS THEY CONQUER THE COMPUTER

Seniors are enthusiastic students in DCPL’s “Introduction to Computers” series offered
specifically for them in several libraries. In fact, they want more classes. Bobbie Dougherty,
a library associate at Northwest 1 and teacher of one series, received the following note from
one senior student who had used her new skills to open her own e-mail account: “Since I
know your gmail is 24/7 and B/C I need practice and cannot always be F2F with you, I
thought I would write a note ASAP to tell you how much fun I am having in your class.
IMHO, I don’t think you could have been more patient with us. FYI… we have tried before
and that most important quality seems to escape most teachers. I’m so good at it all now, I
think I’ll just skip next Wed. class… JK.”

Document #8
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 17, 2010
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 10. ANACOSTIA LIBRARY AND THE ORACLE GROUP JOIN FORCES
At a special event at Montgomery College Center for the Performing Arts, the Oracle Group
brought author Terry McMillan, whose newest book is Getting to Happy, to be the
highlighted speaker. A portion of the ticket price supported a children’s book drive for
Anacostia Library. The Oracle group is internationally recognized for producing events that
promote literature and literacy that engage local, national, and global communities. We are
grateful for their support.

11.THE DC YOUTH PRODUCTION LOUNGE OPENS IN THE TEEN SPACE!

The MLK Library Teen Space has partnered with Radio Rootz DC to work toward the
creation of a teen radio program production headquartered at the new DC Youth Production
Lounge, also known as DC(Y)PL. The Lounge, an exciting new service for teens, features a
professional quality media editing booth with comprehensive music and video creation and
editing software. We’ve recruited members of the local media as willing volunteers. The
Teen Space opening celebration included teen DJ IIIa Jamz and Los Charlys, a local Latin
fusion band. The all-day event also celebrated the first anniversary of The Teen Space. Over
100 teens attended.

12. DCPL LAUNCHES A JOB SEEKERS WEBSITE AND HOSTS A CAREER EXPO
The public library has become central for helping people who are looking for jobs. DCPL’s
response to this need is a special new website: www.dclibrary.org/jobseekers. The site is a
single portal that displays library resources for job seekers and recommends other resource
websites. DCPL also co-sponsored with the Department of Employment Services the Fall
2010 Career and Training Expo. Local job seekers numbered 578 at this day-long event that
featured 13 prospective employers and training providers, job readiness workshops, online
job search fundamentals, and other practical programs. Fifty staff members from both
agencies made this day a success.

Document #8
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 17, 2010
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