Called "A Community of Learners," twelve libraries scheduled trips to an area children’s museum, giving children and their parents a taste of the wonderful world of science to children ages three to nine. The program also showed how libraries and museums are a snug fit. A federal grant made it all possible.
The seldom explored intermingling of libraries and museums was the brainchild of the staff of the North Suburban Library System (NSLS) of Wheeling and 12 participating libraries in the area, all members of NSLS. The museum was the Kohl Children’s Museum of Wilmette.
Teaching the wonders of science to children ages 3-9 can be a fascinating experience for them. It can also lead to a lifetime fascination with the subject and possibly a career in the fields of science and mathematics.
These experiences were all made possible by a $ 59,700.00 Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) federal grant administered by the Illinois State Library. Among other things, the grant made possible three onsite family/teacher programs for each of the 12 libraries. It also included two family field trips to the Kohl Children's Museum of Wilmette, 130 free passes to the museum, $500 for science book purchases for each of the 12 libraries and three toolkits for each library participating in the program. Many of the titles purchased with the $500 were featured in a special display when advertising their in-house programs or field trips. Finally, the 12 libraries with the capability of doing so have linked their library to the museum.
North Suburban Library System staff members Miriam Pollack and Sharon Ball, the Project Director for the grant, made sure this was a parent/child driven project. By providing parent/child educational opportunities, "the libraries and the museum truly became a community of learners," Ball said.
"By educating museum and library staff about each others roles, we were able to develop resources that tie the two together including joint promotion. One of the things we found in researching the project before we applied for the grant was a big gap in the amount of good science and math materials within the collections of each library, so a bibliography of the best science and math titles was complied. This gave us the idea for the $500 for each library to expand that area in their collections.
"One of the libraries," Ball said, "instead of the family/child programs of the other libraries, hosted a workshop for their local preschool teachers, giving them tips on how to introduce the basic concepts of science to their students. This touched even more individuals with the project. Committed to reaching their at-risk population, another provided parenting workshops at their library.
"Each library also received free passes to the museum. Admission for children is normally $5. These passes were given away at the discretion of the youth services librarians. Many of the low- income families patronizing these libraries were given the opportunity to visit an institution whose admission fee could be another barrier.
"We had some initial glitches at first with budget and timetable, but they are minor compared with what all the grant activities have and will bring with the new opportunities for discovery through the "Community of Learners" project."
The staffs of the Kohl Children’s Museum, the North Suburban Library System (NSLS), and the twelve participating libraries are experienced, well-educated professionals. All Youth Services Directors and Library Directors hold of Master of Library Science Degree and have ten or more years of experience in the library profession. They include:
Kathleen Callahan, Director of Public Relations, Fremont Public Library
Brenda Duff, Head of Youth Services Department, Ela Area Public Library, Lake Zurich
Janice E. Bojda, Head of Children’s Services, Evanston Public Library
Lyn Persson, Head of Children’s Services, Wilmette Public Library
Madeline Reed Head of Youth Services, Round Lake Area Library
Yvette Johnson, Head of Youth Services, Glenview Public Library
Susan Keller, Head of Youth Services, Fox River Grove Public Library District
Sharon Levine, Head of Youth Services, Lincolnwood Public Library District
Charlene Peterson, Director of Youth Services, Rolling Meadows Library
Kathy LaBuda, Director, Antioch Public Library
Colleen Costello, Head of Youth Services, Vernon Area Public Library, Lincolnshire
Carol Leeson, Head of Youth Services, Mt. Prospect Public Library
Sharon Ball, Multitype Consultant, North Suburban Library System, Wheeling
Marsha Hema, Director of Education and Exhibits, Kohl Children’s Museum
(For further information regarding this grant contact: Ms. Sharon Ball, North Suburban Library System, 200 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL 60090-2799, Telephone 847-459-1300 Ext. 7124 e-mail sball@nslsilus.org)
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