Elmo’s World:  School is a 17-minute video in which Elmo answers many of the questions and addresses many of the concerns that youngsters have about going to school. Tatiyana Loves Her School follows a little girl through her day at school.  Other videos feature a variety of Sesame Street characters and kids exploring different ways to get to school, what a day at school is like and a sped up version of a school day (a full day in 37 seconds!).

You can also find lots of books about getting ready for school at the library, including The First Day of School by Nicola Barber from The Big Day! series of books for children.  This series focuses on normal life adjustments and helps children and their caregivers explore the feelings involved with change and transition.

Even though school is starting soon, we’ve still got a couple of weeks of summer left at the Madison Public Library!  If you are participating in the Summer Reading Club, prizes are available until August 31.

The Web sites honored include: Animoto; Classroom 2.0; Curriki; diigo; edublogs; facebook; goodreads; Google reader; mindmeister; Ning; OurStory; Partnership for 21st Century Skills; Poll Everywhere; PrimaryAccess; RezED; Second Life; Simply Box; Skype; S.O.S. for Information Literacy; Teacher Tube; twitter; VoiceThread; Wikispaces; Wordle; and Zoho.

All sites are free, web-based sites that are user-friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.

You can find Madison Public Library on both facebook and twitter.

The new parks magazine is also available online.  Your guide to Madison Parks 2010 includes information on reserving park shelters, local dog parks, Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the many Conservation Parks around Madison.  Madison’s innovative Conservation Parks Program began in 1971, and today, with over 1600 acres of conservation parkland, the program has become a staple in the city.

According to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Development and Co-Operation (OECD), comics are the second most popular reading choice for boys after newspapers and magazines.  Comics help develop many of the same literacy skills as books, such as how to follow a sequence of events; connect narratives to the reader’s own experiences, predict what will happen next, and interpret symbols.

Embracing comics and graphic novels as teaching and learning tools helps to promote improved literacy among young males.  The Madison Public Library has lots of great comics available to check out with a library card, including well-loved titles like Amazing Spider-Man, Archie and Looney Tunes.

The complete article is available from School Library Journal.

Get excited about reading!  The Library of Congress and the Advertising Council have launched a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to encourage children and adults to become engaged in reading and all other forms of literacy.  View one of the television spots.

According to the National Institute for Literacy, success in school—and life—starts with literacy.  When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to become better learners throughout their school years and beyond. However, results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test found that 37 percent of American fourth-graders read below the “basic” level.

A series of public service announcements, aimed to reach school-age children and their parents, focus on engaging children in all forms of literacy, whether it is reading a book or magazine, studying history, visiting a museum or simply using their imagination. The TV, radio, online and outdoor spots were developed in collaboration with the Ad Council and Universal Partnerships & Licensing and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and feature the iconic characters from the Curious George book series. The spots aim to encourage parents to read to their children to help inspire them to become curious readers.

The Library and the Ad Council have been partners in raising awareness for literacy since 2000, with the launch of the America’s Library website and a series of PSAs promoting historical knowledge.

Sunday, August 8 - Olbrich Gardens‘ Blooming Butterflies exhibit last day (PreK-gr6 prize #1)
August 16 - last regular Madison Mallards home game (PreK-gr6 prize #1)
August 31 - last date to pick up all prizes at library for Summer Reading Club and Teen Reads or enter Teen Reads prize drawings
December 31 - last date to redeem Noodles & Co. free bowl coupon (PreK-gr6 prize #1, gr6-12 prize #1)
March 31, 2011 - last day to redeem Rocky Rococo pizza slice coupon (PreK-gr6 prize #2)

If you haven’t signed up, it’s not too late! You can sign up for Summer Reading Club or Teen Reads any time between now and August 31, but must redeem prizes by August 31.

The top four racers:
-1st place, Elias, won a golden trophy (Wii-mote and Wii-wheel that is still usable) and a $60 GameStop gift card.
-2nd place, Eric, won a $40 GameStop gift card.
-3rd place, Robbie, won a $25 gift card.
-4th place, Brie, won a $10 gift card.

A great time was had by all. Thanks to all of our competitors for another fantastic tournament. See you all next year!

Looking for more gaming fun at your library throughout the year? Check out our gaming page, with links to gaming software you can check out!

The City of Madison Parks will also be hosting its first Kids to Kids Garage Sale on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the 100 Block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, off the Capitol Square.  Youth will be selling their own items to other kids.*  This is a great way to find deals on slightly used clothes, games, books, toys, electronics, puzzles, etc.  This event is free and open to the public.

*Vendor capacity is full; the City is no longer accepting Kid Vendors.  For questions, please contact Anne Whisner at the City Parks Department at awhisner@cityofmadison.com or 608-267-4919.

• Pre-concept Meeting: Thursday, August 5, 7-9 p.m.
• Schematic Design Meeting: Thursday, September 9, 7-9 p.m.
• Schematic Design Meeting: Thursday, October 14, 7-9 p.m.
• Final Schematic Design Presentation: Thursday, November 4, 7-9 p.m.

All meetings will be held at the Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin St.

Help us get the word out about these important meetings! Share our meeting flyer with other interested parties in your office, apartment complex, organization, church, etc.  Contact Carol Sawyer in the Library Administration Office at 266-6342 if you would like additional flyers.

Read more about the progress of the Central Library project, sign up for email updates, or share your ideas via email if you aren’t able to attend these meetings.

“I’m hopeful we’ll see high participation in these public meetings so we can hear from the entire community about what they’d like to see in the Central Library. This is the community’s opportunity to weigh in and talk directly with our designers.”
- Tripp Widder, President of the Library Board and Foundation

The goal is to build awareness and to encourage parents and others to engage with children from birth on early language and pre-literacy skills.  The methods used in the videos are based on brain and child development research that show the impact that songs, rhymes and stories have on very young children.

The literacy tips and skills presented in each video follow the Public Library Association (PLA) and the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) research-based program of early literacy in public libraries.