We love us some Twitter, but another place you’ll find us sharing ideas and aggregating resources is Pinterest. Not only do we have over 50 thematic storytime boards which include book, song, rhyme, craft, and flannel story suggestions, but we also have a variety of other boards to support those of us working in youth services. Looking for apps to use in storytime? Or how about what to read or sing in babytime? Maybe you’ve got a bulletin board that needs sprucing up? Or perhaps you just bought an iPod and you’d like to know what recorded music works in storytime? Looking for a collection of links to blog posts featuring STEAM library programs? You get the idea. We like to pin things!
But so do lots of other folks! We’d like to point out some of our favourite pinners and boards (in no particular order) for those of you who are looking for new ideas to bookmark and share. This list is just the tip of the iceberg – there are so many other great ones out there! Please share your Pinterest account in the comments so we are sure to follow you!
1. Little eLit
No one knows apps for library programming better! I love how apps are broken down by age and by use (storytime vs. anytime). But the best part is each pin has a description that includes the developer, age range, brief synopsis, and any pros or cons. It’s an app-at-a-glance!
2. Rebecca Dunn
Rebecca, who blogs at Sturdy for Common Things, took it upon herself to create a board featuring tactile activities for babies after a Twitter conversation sparked the idea. I also love her Tournament of Kids’ Books board because I’ve adapted her display for a summer reading program here in Vancouver.
3. Leah Pearce
Our B.C. friend who blogs at Time for Storytime! Leah has boards broken down by season and common programs. I know we’ve tweeted about it all spring, but she also has an amazing SRC 2014 board with so many ideas for our theme this year- Funny Business. Making us Canadians look good!
4. Flannel Friday
All your flannel story needs organized in every which way you can imagine! A great resource to go to when you can’t remember where you saw that cute duck flannel matching game. But they also have other types of storytelling props such as Draw and Tell Stories and Folder Stories.
5. Thrive Thursday
This is my go to browsing resource when I want to get ideas for school age programming. Lisa does a fabulous job of linking back to all the original blog posts so you know you’re getting directed to high quality blogs. I can definitely see this account growing in the future!
6. Barb Thompson
Check out Barb’s teen and toddler boards! She’s got programming ideas, book lists, storytime prop ideas, STEM ideas, and display ideas. This is the perfect example of a well-rounded pinner!
With 130 boards, Pragmatic Mom has so much to choose from! I love following her “Best Books” boards because they are an easy reader’s advisory tool to check out. Many of her boards also highlight diversity in children’s literature – something we need more of!
8. Amy Commers
Amy blogs at Catch the Possibilities and her collection of boards is amazing! She has everything from babies to teens, and lots of cool program ideas involving popular book characters. One of my favourite Youth Services Librarians on Pinterest!
9. Anne Clark
If you’re thinking of doing a spy camp, superhero camp, library carnival, Star Wars party, or pirate party, make sure to check out Annie’s boards! Then go read her amazing blog.
10. Amy Koester
I started following Amy as soon as soon as I read about her STEAM board. But Amy also pins to many other group boards that include unprogramming, maker spaces, and museum inspirations for libraries.
11. Jennifer Wharton
I love Jennifer’s collection of themed programs for school-age kids including Angry Birds, Elephant and Piggie, Eric Carle, Star Wars, and more! If you’re short on time, also check out her Stealth Programs board. Jennifer can also be found blogging at Jean Little Library.
12. Early Learning with Families 2.0
This is an awesome example of a publicly funded group that has created an outstanding resource for librarians. They’ve got boards broken down into age groups, type of activity, and subject matter. Definitely a “follow all” type of account!
13. Kelsey Cole
Kelsey blogs at It’s a Library Bonanza. She has a great assortment of boards, from app advisory to programming resources to display and space ideas. I especially love her Childhood Research board.
14. Kris Odahowski
Kris is a Youth Services Librarian from Florida and her boards are amazing! She’s got over 500 pins for her summer reading club board already, plus some really unique boards like Search Skills and Non-Craft Teen Programs.
15. Marge Loch-Wouters
Marge is the superstar blogger behind Tiny Tips for Library Fun and her Pinterest boards are right on par. Need ideas for how to partner with your school library? Looking for a collection of free printables? Want to throw a book party? Marge has it all!
There are so many other great pinners and boards out there to support staff working in the youth services field. Please let us know your favourites in the comments!
This is so awesome! Thank you so much for compiling this list.I just went on a pinning bonanza, much like I first did when I found your boards! Thanks again! Here is my own little pinterest world – http://www.pinterest.com/kellyalibrarian/
Kelly, your boards are amazing! We are now following them all.
Thank you so much for this list! I follow so many of these lovely people on other social media sites but I can’t believe how many of them I’m not already following on Pinterest. Such great boards, I’ll be repinning like crazy!
Thanks, Julia. Glad to help you connect with others!
Jbrary, you are the best. Thanks for sharing an annotated list of your favorite Pinterest-ers. I learned about a few new ones thanks to you!
So welcome! There are so many more that we didn’t mention, but there is never a shortage of ideas on Pinterest!
Hi, great post! I love Pragmatic Mom too. I’m a middle grade book blogger and you can find me pinning over at https://www.pinterest.com/readingmiddlegrade