This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
This winter, the Longmont Public Library’s ever-expanding collection of Experience Bags will be joined by a new collection of “Youth Experience Bags” – four kinds of bags designed for various age groups, topics, and purposes. Not long after the library introduced its popular Experience Bag collection in March 2016, local parents began clamoring for something similar, but curated specifically for children. Library staff responded and started researching different approaches. More than a year later, staff decided that one kind of bag wouldn’t be enough and instead began assembling four separate types of bags for children and teens. The results are a whole new collection of fun bags for every age.
First Experience Bags are designed for preschoolers through young elementary school children facing first time experiences that can be scary or cause apprehension. These bags include books, videos, music, and toys to help ease the fear of the unknown around common childhood experiences. The materials in these bags come in many formats that are geared towards a full sensory experience that allow for conversation starters and imaginative play. They are light blue in color.
· Going to the Dentist
· Going to School
· Going to a Sleepover
· Getting a New Sibling
Story time Kits are ideal for preschoolers through elementary school children. Each bag features several books on a theme, a particular author, or a series, plus a stuffed animal friend or manipulative toy. These stories and toys are designed to be fun and engaging and are meant to facilitate read-alouds between grown-ups and children or a group of friends. These bags were previously known as “CATS Tales” but have been refreshed and re-branded. These kits are also in light blue bags.
· Alphabet
· Ducks
· Fancy Nancy
· Farm Animals
Children’s Book Club Kits are designed to encourage children and their adults to begin their very own book groups! Each kit contains multiple copies of a single popular title, along with ideas for discussion and other materials to encourage conversations about the book. These kits are aimed at later elementary and junior readers. These kits are in dark blue bags, and, along with the Teen Book Club Kits below, were previously part of the Teen “Books in a Bag” collection but they have also been refreshed and re-branded.
· Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
· Frindle, by Andrew Clements
· The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo
· Little Britches: father and I were ranchers, by Ralph Moody
· Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
· The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White
Teen Book Club Kits are created for tweens and teens to facilitate a communal reading experience, whether as a formal book club, or just a group of friends. These kits contain multiple copies of a single popular title, along with materials to prompt discussion about the book. These kits are in teal-colored bags.
· Feed, by M.T. Anderson
· The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
· Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith
· Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen
· Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
· The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt
· The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
· A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
All of these bags are part of the Youth Experience Bags collection, and sub-collections will be delineated by their different bag colors. All Youth Experience Bags can be checked out for two weeks, so patrons have plenty of time to enjoy their bag (even over and over and over again!). Bags are not renewable, and each patron may only check out one bag at a time. Overdue fines for Experience Bags are $1 per day, per bag.
Librarians in the Children’s and Teens’ section will continue to expand the collection as funds allow. Patrons with suggestions for new bags are encouraged to share them with librarians, either in person or via the library website. Library staff hope that families and teens enjoy the bags and a richer reading and learning experience with them.
