Skip to main content

The Quarterdeck, Part 1: Being in Command on the Oceans of Possibilities with ReadSquared

Originally published May 2, 2022

*****

As you review the administrative tools your library uses to manage services and programming, consider leveraging online resources to maximize your efforts. In the following interview, fellow library worker Rebecca Ivey explains how what began as a seasonal offering quickly became a staple in the library’s suite of services.

***

Question 1: What online tool are you promoting?

  • Name: ReadSquared
  • Purpose: We selected this platform in 2018, based on its ability to log patron reading records.
  • Price: Approximately $3600

Question 2: How did you find out about this tool?

We were looking for an online reading program tool, and this is the one that other libraries in our area were using. After researching the platform, we realized it would work for our library system as well.

Question 3: As a youth services library worker, how do you use this tool to support your community?

We initially used ReadSquared for our Summer Reading Challenge.  Our staff was thrilled to electronically track readers and distribute prizes via the platform, but we quickly realized that we could do more for our community and started a Winter Reading Resolution challenge in 2019.  Then, in 2021, we incorporated a 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. In short, we’ve loved how this program has allowed us to expand our services and encourage our patrons to set year-round reading goals.

***

Rebecca Ivey is a Public Services Librarian, specializing in Youth Services at Denton Public Library South Branch since 2007. She served numerous terms as Chair of the Summer Reading Committee, introduced 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten to Denton, and received several grants to further support literacy needs at the library. Rebecca is currently serving as Chair of the Texas Library Association’s 2×2 Reading List Committee and has served as Adjunct Professor for the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas for the past two years.

***

This is part of a series written for the CSLP slogan “Oceans of Possibilities.” For the associated programming resources, graphics, and book lists, peruse the 2022 program manual on the CSLP website.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Becoming a Comics Librarian and the Importance of Joining a Community of Practice

  Originally published April 5, 2023 Library Developments Blog |  Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission ***** As a freshly-minted librarian, I was hired to serve at THE high school bearing my district’s name alongside an amazingly zany, veteran librarian who knew the current collection inside and out as she’d been the one to revitalize it with bond money just prior to my arrival. To say that I was intimidated about what I could possibly have to contribute is more than an understatement. So when the moment of truth arrived and I was handed a “small” purchase order to get my feet wet, I. Was. Stymied! Her  fingerprints were all throughout that collection, and what  she  didn’t read our assistant  did . How would I ever fit into this team?! What could I possibly contribute?! To be honest… after teaching a core, tested subject for fifteen years, I was just beginning to read young adult literature regularly...

ARSL 2024 Conference Recap

  Originally published October 25, 2024 Library Developments Blog  |  Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission Waiting outside Gate 21 where the scent of pizza from the nearby Eastside Pies booth filled the air, I excitedly chatted about the transitional weather with my new teammate – to quote James Hurst “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” – the logistics of traveling for work, and our preparedness to attend the 2024 Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL) conference . Neither of us truly knew what to expect, but we had been told that ARSL is THE conference for rural and small libraries, with conference organizers who not only understand the constraints of these libraries but also the unique opportunities for their being chrysalises of change. The conference theme “Libraries are (r)Evolutionary” proclaimed the event aimed to provide an opportunity for exploring the transformative power of rural and sm...

Staff Highlight: Christina Taylor

Originally published July 28, 2021 Library Developments Blog | Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission **** As part of our effort to make sure you know who the staff here at the Texas State Library are, we would like to periodically highlight staff members that you may at some point come in contact with! For our next staff highlight of 2021, I interviewed Christina Taylor, Library Development and Networking (LDN)’s new Youth Services Consultant on the Continuing Education and Consulting (CEC) team)! What are your job responsibilities at TSLAC? As the Youth Services Consultant, I will work towards ensuring Texas libraries are knowledgeable about and have the resources to implement youth services that meet the needs of their communities. To that end, I will lead projects for internal, statewide, and national initiatives relating to youth services. What projects are you excited to get started with? As a fervent advocate for comics and graph...