Thanks to Channel Weekly for alerting me to these excellent, free continuing education opportunities!

1. CCBC Shorts

Are you working on your book tie-ins for this summer’s “Dream Big, Read” and “Own the Night” children’s and teen library program themes? Don’t be in the dark! Cooperative Children’s Book Center Librarians (CCBC) Megan Schliesman and Merri Lindgren put the spotlight on great books to use with readers ages 0-18. You can watch the archived 30 minute webinar.

*On a related note: For the Summer Library Program workshop a few weeks ago, I put together a book list of titles related to the theme that have received starred reviews in the past 10-12 months.

2. Board Books in Libraries: Helping Librarians and Caregivers Develop Emergent Readers

Allison Kaplan, faculty associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), discusses emergent literacy and the use of board books in early literacy programs in a webinar hosted by SLIS. Information from current research on literacy and brain development as well as information from Every Child Ready to Read (Association for Library Service to Children, 2011) was provided. Webinar viewers will gain an understanding of developing programs for children from birth to age 4. The archived webinar can be found here: http://bit.ly/zyNcdP

*Flickr image from rolfkolbe