Youth Services

Service areas include:

• • Family Play Spaces | Website
  • Youth Services administration
  • Design and arrangement of Children’s and Teen facilities
  • Collection development and weeding
  • Reference and reader’s advisory services
  • Community partnerships, working with volunteers, and outreach
  • Program planning
  • Training and information
  • Public relations

Family Play Spaces Project

Project Website 

Since 2021, SEKLS has implemented Family Play Spaces in Kansas libraries across Southeast Kansas. Family Play Spaces in Public Libraries promotes the primary prevention of child maltreatment through applying the Protective Factors for the Prevention of Child Abuse to library services. This looks like: creating warm, inviting environments that are welcoming to young children and families; applying knowledge based in child development, primary prevention, and family engagement during library programming; and partnerships and promotion of other organizations whose primary audience includes very young children and their caregivers. This program is currently supported through funding from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.

Summer Library Program

SEKLS cooperates with the State Library of Kansas and the other six regional library systems to provide Summer Reading Program materials for public libraries choosing to participate.  These materials include reading records, bookmarks, posters, award certificates and door hangers, which are all available at no cost to SEKLS system libraries.

The Manual

Also Supplied to each library free of charge is one manual containing artwork, lesson plans, marketing and programming suggestions.  Copyright restricts the use of the manual to librarians or volunteers helping with the summer Reading Program in your Public Library.   Patrons may not check out the Summer Reading Program manual!  For permission to reproduce materials for any reason other than the Summer Reading Program, contact the Youth Services Consultant or CSLP directly.

Participating

Each fall SEKLS will ask each library in the system to determine how many bookmarks, reading records, posters, award certificates, and door hangers they estimate needing for the following summer.  Orders are placed by SEKLS and distributed via courier the following spring.

Summer Reading Workshop

In late February, or early March, SEKLS hosts a Summer Reading Workshop.   This is a professional development opportunity for you and your library to gather information and ideas for your Summer Reading Program.  This is also an opportunity for librarians to network and share ideas and coordinate performers in order to save programming budget dollars!  Continuing Education  credit is available for attendees and Summer Reading swag is distributed!

Ordering other Materials

A catalog featuring book bags and other thematic items for your library to purchase is available each fall from Collaborative Summer Reading Program (CSLP).

Summer Library Program Archives
(2021-Present)

Resource Links from the past Summer Library Programs