Creswell Library at 64 W. Oregon Ave. has stacked their youth collections, for ages infant to 18, with 260 new titles, based on award lists. The book are available at the library for checkout. PHOTO PROVIDED
Creswell Library recently received a $3,000 grant from State Library of Oregon used to refresh the youth collections, for infants to 18 year olds. That means there’s 260 new books on the shelves waiting to be read.
Nick Caum, youth and community services librarian, was tasked with buying an assortment of award-winning books that are now available for check-out at the library.
”This grant supports all youth (readers),” Caum said. ”Keeping our collection updated is very important to us.”
Some new titles purchased with the grant funds include, ”The First Rule of Punk” by Celia C. Perez, ”Shell Beak Tusk” by Bridget Heos, ”Over and Under the Pond” by Kate Messner, and ”Landscape with Invisible Hand” by M.T. Anderson.
How are books chosen?
In this particular case, the grant stipulated which books could be purchased.
Caum was given several book and award lists to choose from, including the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2018; 2018 ALA Youth Media Award Winners and Honor books; 2018 American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Awards and Honor books; 2018 We’re the People Summer Reading List; and 2018 Children’s Africana Book Awards.
Even with those lists to comb over, it’s still quite the task to narrow down what titles will be the most appealing to readers, though Caum said there’s a method and a unique library network to help to populate their shelves.
”Librarians have a strong network behind the scenes where excellent print and digital material is shared,” Caum said. ”Blogs, social media, conferences and various professional organization meetings all help us to find wonderful books for the children and teens in Creswell.”
He will rely on the opinion of reviewers and other librarians, and will watch webinars about the publishing industry and upcoming books.
However, reading reviews from reputable sources like Kirkus and School Library Journal plays a big role in which books get ordered, he said.
The library also takes request from children and teens, and they do their best to fulfill those requests whenever possible.
”Even if we can’t get the specific book children request, it is great to know what the children in our town are interested in so that books in the same or similar genre can be purchased, or more nonfiction titles on the subject can be ordered,” Caum said.
Creswell Library is located at 64 W. Oregon Ave. For more info, email Caum at [email protected] or visit creswell-library.org.
