Join us for a presentation about the 2026 Unearth a Story “dinosaur” theme, including suggested resources for planning and other general information.
Date Recorded: 1/7/2026
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Beth Yates, Indiana State Library
Resources:
Let’s explore fun ways to make our spaces engaging, interactive, and thought provoking! Play is crucial for early literacy development, but how do we get our community to engage with these carefully curated activities and spaces? You will leave this session newly inspired with fresh ideas for scavenger hunts, StoryWalks, self-directed programming, and designing safe spaces for our smallest patrons.
Date Recorded: 11/19/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Kelsey Fickinger and Emily Leitch, Peabody Public Library
Join TeachingBooks staff as they explore time-saving teaching tools for teachers, including video and audio recordings with authors, lessons, book trailers, vocabulary lists, and more. Discover ways to deepen connections to books with online materials to engage readers, support families, and facilitate collaboration. 45min / 1 LEU
Date Recorded: 10/23/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Crystal Ballard, TeachingBooks
Join WFYI to learn about PBS Kids resources! We will share where to find them, how to use them and introduce collections that are specifically designed for libraries! 1 hr / 1 LEU
Date Recorded: 8/21/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Laura Makin, WFYI & Jessica Neeb-Smith, Indianapolis Public Library
Resources:
Dive deep into diversifying your collection with TeachingBooks resources. Join us to learn how to use our Diverse Books Toolkit to analyze the cultural representation in your existing collections, how to identify great books to fill gaps, and how to use TeachingBooks resources to promote those books and facilitate conversation with your library staff and patrons.
Date Recorded: 8/7/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Crystal Ballard, TeachingBooks
Looking to integrate more authentic children’s programming for Juneteenth, Hispanic Heritage Month, AAPI, and more? Learn about how a thematic programming formula can help your library plan and facilitate children’s programs for cultural recognition and heritage months. Join us for a robust listing of programming examples for year round: from food to art, from storytimes to STEM, and more.
Date Recorded: 4/8/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Justine Carlotta, MLIS, is the Children’s Department Manager of Westchester Public Library
Resources: Thematic Programming for Multicultural Celebrations slides
To improve the lives of all Indiana children, Indiana Youth Institute provides access to reliable data and resources to empower, educate, and equip those who impact youth. Join us for a dive into the recently released 2025 Indiana KIDS COUNT® Data Book during this State of the Child presentation! Learn and engage with the best and most recent information on child well-being, to inform leaders, policymakers, youth workers, and advocates, like you, with go-to sources for critical data to create positive change for youth in your community.
Date Recorded: 3/26/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Indiana Youth Institute staff
Resources:
Engage and inspire readers with TeachingBooks resources that can be used both with patrons and behind the scenes. In this webinar, we will highlight ways to implement resources in your youth services library programming as well as new tools to complement your work. Learn about the Collection Analysis and other toolkits, ready-to-use resources for your book clubs and story times, homework help features, and more.
Date Recorded: 2/19/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: TeachingBooks staff
As Indiana public schools adopt state-mandated curriculums aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR), what can public libraries do to support parents and teachers? What resources might they be looking for? In this session, we’ll talk about the ways libraries already support SoR through Every Child Ready to Read, and then share the adjustments we’ve made to our collections to complement the Fundations curriculum adopted by Carmel Clay Schools in 2021.
Date Recorded: 11/14/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Jennifer Humphrey, Carmel Clay Public Library
Resources:
Libraries and SoR slides – presentation slides
SoR Indiana Resources – resource document
Participants will gain a foundational understanding of the Science of Reading and the theoretical models aligned with the Science of Reading. Presented by Shaiya Badgley and Paulina Jarrett, literacy specialists from the Indiana Department of Education Literacy Center.
Date Recorded: 9/18/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Paulina Jarrett, Literacy Specialist, IDOE & Shaiya Badgley, Literacy Specialist, IDOE
Resources: IDOE SoR Presentation slides