Forty-four enthusiastic participants from nine Western states shared ideas for strengthening library-Head Start partnerships at a Dec. 10-11 workshop sponsored by the California Center for the Book and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
Held at the California State Library in Sacramento, this was the first of three regional workshops administered through a joint agreement between the LC center and the Head Start Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Implemented in collaboration with the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), the Library-Head Start Partnership Project is designed to demonstrate in communities nationwide how libraries that serve children and Head Start programs can combine resources and work together in family literacy programs.
"The Center for the Book is pleased to be able to play a leadership role in developing this vital partnership," said John Y. Cole, the center's director. "The purpose of the three regional workshops is to begin developing plans for operating the partnership productively and efficiently in each state. The Sacramento session was an excellent start, and we look forward to continuing the momentum through workshops this spring in Virginia and in Kansas."
California State Librarian Gary E. Strong opened the Sacramento workshop, which was led by project coordinator Virginia H. Mathews and Susan Roman, ALSC executive director. The starting point for discussion was a viewing and critique of a 40-minute video produced during the first phase of the partnership project. The video, which describes how to form a library-Head Start partnership, is accompanied by a printed guide (see LC Information Bulletin, Sept. 20, 1993). The content of a resource notebook, which is still being developed, was another focal point.
The Sacramento workshop brought many outstanding children's librarians and Head Start teachers and administrators together for the first time. They shared experiences about library-Head Start partnerships in different community situations, profiting in particular from the active family literacy program administered by the California State Library.
On the second day, participants broke into small groups, both by state and by topics of special interest. Many practical issues were discussed, for example, how to develop networks of leaders and resource people who are especially interested in children's issues; how Head Start programs can identify potential library partners and vice versa; how partnership projects might be funded, both now and in the future; elements needed in a memorandum of agreement; the training of volunteers and aids; obtaining parental and family involvement; and opening up communication between libraries and Head Start programs at the local, regional and national levels.
In closing the workshop, John Cole thanked the participants for their contributions and those who made the event possible, particularly Virginia Mathews; Carole Talon, family literacy specialist, California State Library; Vickie Lockhart, program coordinator for the California Center for the Book; and Anne Boni, project specialist for the LC Center for the Book.
Workshop participants were: Karen Akada, Seattle (Wash.) Human Resources Dept.; Sara Bartram, Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council, Wenatchee, Wash.; Beth Bockser, Contra Costa County (Calif.) Library; Terry Chekon, Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library; Jean Childs, Economic Opportunity Board of Clark County, Las Vegas; Susan Comrie, Head Start Family Service Center, Los Angeles County; Jane Dyer Cook, Stockton/San Joaquin County (Calif.) Public Library; Lynn Corwin, Klamath Family Head Start, Klamath Falls, Ore.; Cindy Costales, Los Angeles County Public Library; Diane Cowles, Beacon Hill Branch, Seattle Public Library; Linda Crum, Early Childhood Program, Oregon State Department of Education; Hal DeArmond, Stanislaus County Department of Education, Modesto, Calif.; Blanche Donaldson, Marin Head Start, Novato, Calif.; Bessie Condos Egan, Children and Youth Services Consultant, California State Library; Ellen Fader, Public Library Consultant, Oregon State Library; Elvia Garmon, Los Angeles County Office of Education; Deborah Jacobs, Corvallis-Benton County (Ore.) Library; Jill Jean, Seattle Public Library; Chrystal Carr Jeter, Anchorage Public Library; Norma Johnson, Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, Calif.; Siddiq Kilkenny, North Coast Children's Services, Arcata, Calif.; Hazel B. Knatt, Southern Alameda County (Calif.) Head Start; Maria Mahram, Los Angeles County Office of Education; Penny Markey, Los Angeles County Public Library; Peggy McClendon, Idaho State Library; Nancy Messineo, Long Beach (Calif.) Public Library; Maggie Molloy, Child-Parent Centers Inc., Tucson, Ariz.; Nora Jean Natke, Riverside City/County (Calif.) Library; Julie Odofin, Oakland (Calif.) Public Library; Betty Olstad, Child Parent Centers, Tucson; Susan Patron, Los Angeles Public Library; Susan Peterson, King County (Wash.) Library System; Linda Perkins, Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library; Beatrice Price, University of Southern California; Christine Simmons, Oakland (Calif.) Head Start; Dorothy Still Smoking, Blackfeet Tribe Head Start, Browning, Mont.; Donna Suhr, Head Start Teaching Center, Twin Falls, Idaho; Deborah Tasnadi, Arizona State Library; Gaye Walter, Montana State Library; Sarah Wheaton, Parent Child Services, Portland, Ore., and Leona Wright, Washoe County (Nev.) Library.
"Library History Seminar IX:" A Call for Papers. Library History Seminar IX will be held March 30 - April 1, 1995, at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The conference theme, "Philanthropy and Libraries," will be addressed by the plenary speakers and some of the presenters. As always, the seminar will also feature papers on a wide range of other topics related to library history, representing the best scholarly work in the field undertaken over the past five years.
The planning committee welcomes proposals for papers dealing with any aspect of library history. All geographical areas, chronological periods, types of libraries, services, audiences and communication media are within the scope of the conference.
Potential topics include (but are not limited to) patronage in the ancient world and Renaissance; philanthropy in the 19th and 20th centuries; voluntary service of all kinds, including service by library trustees; biographical studies; institutional histories; cultural and socioeconomic environments; literacy, reading and book distribution; book collecting and collection development; canon formation; information technologies; copyright; censorship; history of the profession; research methods; and teaching methods.
Abstracts of no more than 50 words and a one-page should be sent to Gordon B. Neavill, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama, Box 870252, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0252, USA; telephone (205) 348-1520; fax (205) 348-3746, BITNET GNEAVILL@UA1VM, INTERNET GNEAVILL@UA1VM.UA.EDU. The deadline is May 15, 1994.
Sponsors of Library History Seminar IX include the Library History Round Table, American Library Association; the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy; the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress; the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama; and Libraries and Culture, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Texas at Austin.