Editor’s Note

By Sharon Verbeten

OK, we’re a couple months into 2018; how are your resolutions going? Now granted, as I write this, we’re only a few weeks into the New Year, so mine are going great…but as we know, things tend to drift as the year goes on.

While my resolutions had nothing to do with my job as a librarian, I’m sure many of us think of things each year that we can do better for our patrons—especially our young charges. I’m planning on introducing some sensory storytimes for my suburban branch, targeting those with autism and other sensory needs. Thankfully, we’ve covered that topic several times in Children and Libraries, so I have a lot of solid research and best practices to consult.

I also hope to stress more to our parents and caregivers the importance of “play.” Too often, I hear a parent tell a child, “We’re not here to play; we’re here to look at books.” I want them to know that play, also, is an important component of learning.

And I hope to convince at least one parent or grandparent that reading a comic book or graphic novel (or listening to an audiobook or reading an ebook for that matter), DOES count as reading! It’s all part of that great expanding literary world we live in—which does include screens, devices, and silly pictures!

What are your goals/resolutions for your library this year? And how can you use your skills and resources to make them happen? I wish you a great start to 2018—hope see you all in Nawlins this summer! &

Interested in the importance of play? Check out the PLAY (Play, Literacy, and Youth) issue of Children and Libraries (Spring 2012). Articles include “We Play Here!: Bringing the Power of Play into Children’s Libraries,” “The Preschool Literacy And You (PLAY) Room: Creating an Early Literacy Play Area in Your Library,” and “A Museum in a Library?: Science, Literacy Blossom at Children’s Library Discovery Center.” Access the issue online at https://journals.ala.org/cal.