School Age Programs and Services Committee: Learning Beyond: Twenty-First-Century Summer and Out of School Time Toolkit

Abstract

This fall, library staff serving school-age children have a new ALSC toolkit with a supportive framework that applies year round: Learning Beyond, available online at https://bit.ly/3FR5BUT. Here are a couple key tools from the work that I think especially apply to programs and services during this school year.

Firstly, the case studies in each section show how libraries of different sizes and structures put these tools into practice. This grounded approach ties together the breadth of ALSC membership and illuminates the structure and topics with examples. These examples are from the task force members’ own experiences leading this work and many center on STEAM as a tool for building equity and access. Case studies are handy for demonstrating proven relevant results of investing in scientific and makerspace equipment and programming partnerships to funders in your community and your boss or board.