Florida's Ask a Librarian service (http://www.askalibrarian.org) brings virtual reference to users at their moment of need via the Internet. Ask a Librarian is a growing service with 76 participating libraries including public, school, four-year, and community college libraries. The following article describes how Ask a Librarian was developed…

Funded by the Library Services and Construction Act, the 1997 Florida Library Youth Program is an extension of the successful and long-running Florida Summer Library Program to help librarians provide year-round programs for elementary school-aged children. The goal of the program is to introduce children to the library and its services, and to…

This packet supplements a workshop on summer reading programs given in December, 1998 in several Florida counties. Workshop objectives and ground rules for successful meetings and workshops are outlined at the beginning of the document. The Florida Library Youth Program is then discussed, including basic philosophy, outreach to children in…

Describes the Florida Born To Read (BTR) program, a statewide early literacy program that has grown from 10 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funded pilot projects in 1998-99 to include LSTA and locally funded programs in more than one-third of Florida's 67 counties in 2001-02. Sidebars list topics and presenters at BTR Capacity Building…

Designed to offer guidelines, ideas and help to those who provide library service to young adults, this manual includes information about the provision of young adult (YA) services in six sections. The first section, which addresses planning and administration, includes a definition of a young adult and a checklist for determining community needs…

This manual is a compilation, update, and rejuvenation of 10 of the previous themes from Florida's Summer Library Program, published to commemorate the 25th year of summer library programs in the state. The program is designed primarily for school age children, aged 6 through 12 years, to encourage library use for leisure and continued learning…

This manual is designed to accompany the 1999 Florida Library Youth Program, focusing on the theme of the library as a destination. This introductory section of the manual contains: an overview of the program that discusses basic philosophy, outreach to children in poverty, age and ability levels, and materials and incentives; a schedule of…

Library and health care professionals team up in the Born to Read partnerships in Florida to empower at-risk expectant and new parents to take an active role in the health and education of their children. Designed for Born to Read workshop participants, this manual contains the following sections: (1) General Information, including workshop…