Your webinar will be held on February 27, 2029,  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm  ET.

Login here: http://connectpro85922111.adobeconnect.com/r0ib97ize8l1/

Within 7 days, the recording of this session will be available in our On-Demand section.

Play is one of the Early Literacy skills outlined in Every Child Ready to Read. Yet, babies in libraries are often overlooked in play programming, because there has traditionally been a struggle to engage their parents and caregivers enough to merit bringing babies to the library. While baby story times have often been champions of early literacy, they often leave out explorative and sensory play, opting for lap sit activities to contain the chaos.

At Suffolk Public Library, our Busy Babies program has had upwards of 90 people attend to play with their babies in the library, simply by hosting a monthly baby playdate. Join us for this interactive and informative program and discover how easy it is to engage this age group and their caregivers in sensory play, tummy time, and messy free play. Benefits for parents and caregivers who bring their babies to this program will also be discussed.

Participants will learn:
• The why and how for creating a baby playdate
• How to create stations for play that can be shared system-wide
• Strategies for engaging parents/ caregivers with their babies through sensory play

Biography ~ April Watkins
April has worked with children in some capacity her entire adult life, including six years as a high school journalism teacher, and three years as a Children’s Librarian. She can regularly be seen rocking rainbow knee-high socks, tulle skirts, blue hair, and pigtails as she embodies her childhood heroes, Rainbow Bright and Punky Brewster. She loves scrapbooking, alternative music, dystopian YA novels, and binge-watching. April has a BS in Education from Bowling Green State University and a MA in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Florida. She currently serves as the Early Childhood Services Senior Librarian for Suffolk Public Library where she has started a city-wide reading initiatives, and transformed the way SPL conducts Early Literacy Outreach. She lives in Smithfield, VA with her husband, two sons, and their very large St. Bernard.

Your webinar will be held on February 25, 2020,  10:30 am – 11:30 am  ET.

Login here: http://connectpro85922111.adobeconnect.com/r3648kbc50cn/

Within 7 days, the recording of this session will be available in our On-Demand section.

We know that employees who care about their work will work harder, be more motivated, and be more invested in a positive outcome. But how do we actually get employees to care? Unfortunately, we can’t simply force them to exude loyalty, but we can give them the opportunity to be committed and the support they need to succeed.

In this informative and interactive program, we’ll explore some of the techniques and approaches that organizations use to engage their employees and to build a “we care” culture.

As a result of this program, attendees will learn how to:
• Communicate your expectations and what you value
• Work with their employees to rediscover “their why”
• Share that they care about their employees and co-workers
• Implement the “5 Minutes With” technique to build morale

Biography ~ Andrew Sanderbeck
Andrew has experienced life as a commercial disc jockey, retail manager, corporate training manager and an adjunct professor. Today, he thrives as an introverted entrepreneur, spouse, parent and grandparent who loves animals, people, books, music, spiritual conversation, quiet time and travel. (The order varies from day to day)

People tell Andrew that they love his inspirational online publication, The Friday News Minute – which like Andrew, does not go out every Friday.

Your webinar will be held on February 13, 2020,  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm  ET.

Login here: http://connectpro85922111.adobeconnect.com/rw2nns6rvgxp/

Within 7 days, the recording of this session will be available in our On-Demand section.

Libraries are increasingly becoming hubs for community play and engagement. But, do we really have what it takes to create a large scale community program that is both free to the public and a celebration of our library users? In this interactive and informative program, we’ll explore strategies for planning a community carnival, creating a planning team that involves community members, and executing this type of event. Snippets of past carnivals will be revealed, as well. Challenges and future opportunities will be discussed.

As a result of this program, participants will learn:
• How to create a planning team, and the planning process
• Strategies for creating this type of program at no cost to the library user, while being budget friendly for the library
• Strategies for creating community partnerships, including offering community members a seat on the planning team

Why this type of program is important:
The current trend in libraries is to create experiences for library users that often face barriers that prohibit them from the experience. In doing so, libraries are spending money to provide free programs on a smaller scale. But, a community carnival is an opportunity to have a broader impact, and to involve overlooked community partners and resources. This type of program does not have to be budget busting either. It is possible to create a large-scale program for the whole community without charging for any of it.

Biography: April Watkins
April has worked with children in some capacity her entire adult life, including six years as a high school journalism teacher, and three years as a Children’s Librarian. She can regularly be seen rocking rainbow knee-high socks, tulle skirts, blue hair, and pigtails as she embodies her childhood heroes, Rainbow Bright and Punky Brewster. She loves scrapbooking, alternative music, dystopian YA novels, and binge-watching. April has a BS in Education from Bowling Green State University and a MA in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Florida. She currently serves as the Early Childhood Services Senior Librarian for Suffolk Public Library where she has started a city-wide reading initiatives, and transformed the way SPL conducts Early Literacy Outreach. She lives in Smithfield, VA with her husband, two sons, and their very large St. Bernard.

Your webinar will be held on February 6, 2020,  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm  ET.

Login here: http://connectpro85922111.adobeconnect.com/rtibopfxh5fp/

Within 7 days, the recording of this session will be available in our On-Demand section.

Whether you are a newly developing group or tight-knit team who has worked together for several years, there is always the potential for unintended and unwanted drama. Even those who prefer not to contribute can be tempted into conversation that can quickly turn into complaining or gossip.
In this session we will explore the four stage of team development and how to avoid the pitfalls of tempting drama, such as gossip in the workplace.

Attendees will learn:
• The four stages of team development and how to work through each
• Steps to function as a Team of Individuals
• Strategies to avoid the temptation of contributing to drama in the workplace

Biography ~ Dana Bomba
Dana Bomba is a Branch Manager with the Chesterfield County Public Library near Richmond, Virginia. Her primary focuses are daily operations, staff development, and outreach initiatives. The area of her job she enjoys the most is staff development as she helps her team realize their full potential in an encouraging and empowering way.