Use These Tools! 

This presentation featured several Youth Services Librarians discussing various websites that they use and why we should consider using them.  Websites included YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, Vine, and Minecraft.  I found the YouTube presentation particularly compelling.  Ideas discussed included uploading short videos of librarians demonstrating rhymes and fingerplays.  This creates a learning opportunity for parents and also a way to promote library story times to young patrons.  Videos could embedded into library websites or shared on the library Facebook pages.  I thought book trailers created by young patrons would be fun to share.  This librarian also uploads video of programs.  She seemed a bit lax in regards to patron privacy stating that it is legal to photograph or video people in a public place.  While it may be legal to do this I think there are ethical issues to take into consideration.  The presentation on Pinterest was also interesting.  The Librarian presenting uses this site to feature a children’s book illustration of the day and links to book trailers.  This was a fun session offering an opportunity to see how others are using popular online tools to enhance their library programming.

Mary Beckett from Edythe Dyer Community Library in Hampden.