Resources
SLJ Day of Dialog

Do you love authors and hearing about their creative process? Do you live to add books to your TBR pile and library? Skip the travel, and join SLJ October 6 for the most anticipated librarian gathering of the fall 2022 publishing season—fully virtual and free to attend! A daylong program of author panels, in-depth conversations, and keynote talks will leave you informed, inspired, and entertained. Register: https://vshow.on24.com/vshow/SLJDoD100622/registration.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ (MDHHS) Stay Well program is offering educational tools and resources to help create and maintain a calm learning environment.

Among the free tools available are child-friendly “Create Your Calm” posters, stickers and magnets. These items demonstrate simple breathing and emotional grounding exercises that anyone can do when feeling overwhelmed, anxious, tense or distracted. The items may be ordered by completing this form, which is available on the “Resources for Schools” page of the Stay Well website.

The grant-funded Stay Well program launched in early 2020 to help Michiganders cope with emotional distress caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis. The program is sharply focused on serving youth and their caregivers, including parents, teachers and school counselors.

“Numerous studies show the mental health of our young people declined during the pandemic,” said Jody Lewis, Stay Well program director. “That has made teaching all the more challenging, leading to burnout and emotional stress among educators. Create Your Calm is intended as a reminder to kids and adults alike that we can concentrate and learn better when our minds and bodies are relaxed. We hope schools – and youth-oriented organizations of all types – will take advantage of these free resources.”

Also available on the Resources for Schools page are recorded webinars with strategies for addressing behavioral and mental health issues among students:

• Helping Students Thrive: Tools for promoting social-emotional development.
• Part 1 – Self-compassion
• Part 2 – Relaxation and mindfulness
• Part 3 – Control: noticing and managing thoughts
• Psychological First Aid: Supporting students during a pandemic.
• Be Kind to your Mind: Friends helping friends. This webinar is for teens who want to know how to help their struggling friends (i.e., what a panic attack looks like, the best ways to offer support, warning signs of suicide) and also how to improve their own mental wellness.

To learn more, visit Michigan.gov/StayWell.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to announce the availability of $24.5 million in funds for a grant to provide in-person before-school, after-school, before-and-after-school, or during the summer programming to children in grades K to 12. This grant opportunity will be awarded through a competitive application process under the Michigan Public Act (P.A.) 144 of 2022, Section 32n. Out-of-school time (OST) programs must provide educational programming in core subject areas, including, but not limited to, mathematics, reading, and science.  2022 - 072 2022-2023 Out-of-School Time Grants

Hanging Together – the OCLC Research Blog
Resources for Advancing IDEAs (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility): A New Blog Series - https://hangingtogether.org/tag/IDEA/.
A new blog series shares resources and learning opportunities for library staff Advancing IDEAs (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility). Twice monthly, series editor Jay Weitz compiles a collection of information, stories, and tools on timely IDEAs topics and publishes them on Hanging Together, the blog of OCLC Research. You can subscribe to receive the latest Hanging Together posts to your inbox twice monthly.  

Resources collected in this series include book lists, interviews and articles, webinars, and toolkits produced by a variety of sources that address topical subjects—such as Pride displays and other LGBTQ book lists—and issues that are top-of-mind for library staff, such as intellectual freedom and book bans. Below are a few excerpts from three recent editions of Advancing IDEAs, published 14 June, 28 June, and 12 July 2022.

Kids’ Book Choice Awards

Since 2008, the KIDS' BOOK CHOICE AWARDS has been the only national book awards program where the finalists and winners are picked by young people. This is the second year with cool new categories, like Stellar Storyteller, Character Crush, and Picture Book Dream Team! Spread the word that they can still cast their round one votes until August 22! Vote at everychildareader.net/finalists-2022-vote for all the categories and nominees! Don't forget to share and encourage others on social media using #KidsBookChoiceAwards.

In the News…

Thousands of Michigan children are eligible for free school meals. Here’s how you can make sure your kid gets theirs. – MI Radio, 8.15.22

The Bible is among dozens of books removed from this Texas school district – NPR, 8.18.22

Stay cool out there,

Cathy Lancaster

Youth Services Coordinator

Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915
My Pronouns: She/Her/Hers - See www.mypronouns.org to learn more.

LancasterC5@michigan.gov | 517-335-8129 | www.mi.gov/libraryofmichigan
Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Join the MiYouth Listserv, created for Michigan public library staff to share and discuss children and teen programming and services.