Metrowest Mass. Regional Library System

Metrowest LSTA Grant: After School Storytelling Club
October 2005-September 2007

Frequently Asked Questions

Greetings!

Thank you for indicated interest in the After School Storytelling Club Grant. A list of compiled Frequently Asked Questions follows so you can get a sense of what your participation will entail.

What is the After School Storytelling Club Grant?

What does the grant pay for?

Whom do I credit for the grant?

Why is Metrowest providing an After School Storytelling Club Grant?

What are the objectives of the After School Storytelling Club Grant?

What is the target group for the After School Storytelling Club Grant?

Who is eligible to participate in the After School Storytelling Club?

Do I have to commit to two six-week sessions?

How much time will all of this take?

How many reports do I have to write?

Can I hire someone to help me with the grant?

Can I attend the storytelling training even if I am not participating in the grant?

Who is participating?

What are the outcomes of this After School Storytelling Club Grant?

What is the measure of success of the After School Storytelling Club?

What are the developmental assets the After School Storytelling Club builds?

Who are the LANES storytellers that I can book?

How much do the LANES storytellers charge?

Can I use a different storyteller?

What blog we are using?

How do I post to the blog?

What happens when the funding stops?

I’m convinced! How do I convince my staff/director/friends/trustees?

What is the timeline for this After School Storytelling Club Grant?

What is the After School Storytelling Club Grant?
The After School Storytelling Club Grant is an after-school program will fund a “training the trainer” program for up to 20 Metrowest MA Regional Library System member libraries to have a youth services librarian trained in storytelling and teaching storytelling on site.

The trained librarians will train up to 32 middle school students in storytelling through up to 2 sessions of “After School Storytelling Club,” a 6-week after-school program at their facilities. Each 6-week program will include learning how to create, select and tell stories, seeing a professional storyteller perform and planning a storytelling program for K-4 age children. Members of the After School Storytelling Club members who attend 5 of 6 sessions “graduate” and are eligible to participate in a final program or do storytelling in the community (members over age 14 only).

The two year program trains library staff, builds developmental assets of teens, provides a service learning opportunity, and fills the role of library as community place and cultural center.

Libraries may participate in both Year One and Year Two, or only in Year TWO

What does the grant pay for?

• Storytelling training for librarian by Sherry Norfolk, a nationally renowned storyteller from Atlanta GA. The program will be a hands-on, highly interactive introduction to the art of storytelling and its applications in library service to youth. The next training is Monday September 18 & 19 2006 from 9:30AM-4:30PM at the Metrowest office in Waltham.
• An interactive blog with several levels of security to create a support network for participants and librarians, and to provide a forum for showcasing student work.
• Phone cards (to record sound) and disposable cameras (to record images) to document the program via the blog
• Materials in the form of small deposit collection (10-15 titles) of storytelling resources that your library gets to keep.
• Staff to attend training and execute this program – up to $960 for 4 hours a week for 16 weeks at $15/hour (up to 3 libraries in Year One and 6 in Year Two can subcontract a part-time staff member to execute the grant).
• A professional LANES storyteller who will perform for the community. Students in the After School Storytelling Club will attend, observe, and then meet with the LANES storyteller for an informal mentoring session and Q&A.
• Publicity materials and a suggested curriculum will be provided in kind by Metrowest MA Regional Library System.
  

Whom do I credit for the grant?
Please use one of these two taglines on all grant publicity, handouts, and documentation:

Federally funded with LSTA Funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
OR
This project is being funded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act), a Federal source of library funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Why is Metrowest MA Regional Library System providing an After School Storytelling Club Grant?
This project meets goals of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissions and the Metrowest MA Regional Library System. The program will build developmental assets of adolescents (as outlined in the FAQ on developmental assets). The program balances traditional services (storytelling) with new technologies (blogging). Finally, this is a program that members brainstormed and requested!

What are the objectives of the After School Storytelling Club Grant?
Year One Objectives:

1. At least 6 of the Metrowest region's 36 municipalities will participate in the After School Storytelling Club Grant; at least 6 librarian participants will show changes in their comfort level and attitude towards storytelling, blogging and training students.
2. At least 144 student participants in the After School Storytelling Club will show changes in their knowledge of the storytelling tradition and process. At least 108 students who “graduate” from the After School Storytelling Club will perform free storytelling at a local institution or organization, and at least 14 students from the first session of the After School Storytelling Club at their library will return in a mentor capacity to the second sessions.
3. At least 50% of students in the After School Storytelling Club will show an increase in developmental assets built (as outlined in the FAQ on developmental assets)..

Year Two Objectives:

1. At least 12 of the Metrowest region's 36 municipalities will partipate in the After School Storytelling Club Grant, and at least 6 librarians will show changes in their comfort level and attitude towards storytelling, blogging and training students.
2. At least 288 student participants of the After School Storytelling Club will show changes in their knowledge of the storytelling tradition and process. At least 216 students who “graduate” from the After School Storytelling Club will perform free storytelling at a local institution or organization, and at least 28 students from the spring sessions will return in a mentor capacity to the autumn sessions.
3. At least 50% students in the After School Storytelling Club will show an increase in developmental assets built (as outlined in the FAQ on developmental assets)..
   

What is the target group for the After School Storytelling Club Grant?
Metrowest member libraries in communities that require community service for students will be targeted. Service may be required from schools, scouting groups, or organizations.

Who is eligible to participate in the After School Storytelling Club?
Teens age 12-18 living in Metrowest communities are eligible, but the grant particularly targets students ages 12-14.

Do I have to commit to two six-week sessions?
It is strongly recommended that you repeat the program to offer a mentoring opportunity for participants. An alternative could be to partner with the branch library or the local school and take turns offering the program.

How much time will all of this take?
The estimate is 4 hours a week for 16 weeks - 1.5 hours a week for the program, plus 2.5 hours for planning, publicity, training and keeping statistics. There is some money for staffing, which will be distributed on a basis of need. Libraries with limited staff resources have priority. You will also be expected to participate in a panel discussion about the program in Fall 2006.

How many reports do I have to write?
None! You do need to fill out surveys before and after each training, distribute and collect surveys/evaluations to members, contribute to the blog, and complete an evaluation.

Can I hire someone to help me with the grant?
Yes! Send the full name, SSN and contact information for the person you'd like us to contract with to Beth Gallaway. The grant provides funds for Metrowest to contract with three people in year one and six in year two to assist for 4 hours a week for 16 weeks at the rate of $15 per hour. Metrowest will issue two checks for $480, one in April 2006 and another in October 2006. The library is responsible for choosing someone to work, and tracking their hours. The individual is responsible for taxes to be paid on this extra income. In December 2006, Metrowest will file a 1099-MISC to the IRS on behalf of any individuals who earn more than $600 from working on the grant.

Can I attend the storytelling training even if I am not participating in the grant?
Maybe. Grant participants will have priority for the training sessions with Sherry Norfolk and the blogging trainings. If space is available, the program will be opened it up to other Metrowest members, Massachusetts Regional Library System members, and LANES storytellers.

Who is participating in the grant?
The following libraries will participate in year one:
Cambridge Public Library (main branch)
Dover Public Library
Millis Middle/High School
Newton Free Public Library (main branch)

What are the outcomes of this After School Storytelling Club Grant?

• new skill sets in storytelling training for librarians
• new skills in blogging for librarians
• new skills in storytelling for After School Storytelling Club members
• new skills in blogging and for After School Storytelling Club members
• new skills in library use for After School Storytelling Club members
• peer mentoring skills by teens
• behavior modeling by teens to K-4 students
• increased library visibility in the community
• public speaking skills
• knowledge of oral tradition
• knowledge of how to select a tale
• practice at the skill of storytelling
• new behavior: coming to the library for a purpose other than “hanging out”
• new relationships/connections with peers who have similar interests
• new relationships/connections with library staff
• knowledge of group work
• understanding of cooperation/partnerships/connections between community agencies
• appreciation of resources the library can offer
• adolescent developmental asset-building

What is the measure of success of the After School Storytelling Club?
The project will be deemed successful if at least 80% of librarians show and increase in comfort level and knowledge of storytelling and blogging, and at least 50% of the students show an increase in the number of their developmental needs being met. For a complete list of developmental assets, please visit http://www.search-institute.org/assets/forty.html

What are the developmental assets the After School Storytelling Club builds?

• Support: Other adult relationships (staff will become coaches and mentors)
• Empowerment: Community values youth (partnerships will demonstrate value of youth)
• Empowerment: Youth as resources (members who are 14+ and “graduate” from After School Storytelling Club may perform in community)
• Empowerment: Service to others (members who are 14+ and “graduate” from After School Storytelling Club may perform in community)
• Boundaries and Expectations: Adult role models (staff model behavior and skills)
• Boundaries and Expectations: High expectations (Staff and members will set goals and evaluate success of After School Storytelling Club)
• Constructive Use of Time: Creative activities (After School Storytelling Club combines public speaking, drama, even music and movement and props)
• Constructive Use of Time: Youth programs (members will participation in After School Storytelling Club)
• Commitment to Learning: Reading for Pleasure (members will read stories for selection)
• Positive Values: Responsibility (members will commitment to attending 5 out of 6 After School Storytelling Club meetings; members over 14 will commit to performing as community service)
• Social Competencies: Planning and decision-making (members will select a story, edit/hone a story, and practice a story appropriate to their chosen audience)
• Social Competencies: Interpersonal competence (members will demonstrate self-motivation to participate and succeed)
• Social Competencies: Cultural competence (members will learn who can/should tell certain tales, gain exposure to multicultural stories, and compare similar stories across cultures)
• Positive Identity: Self-esteem (members will gain positive feeling and identity from the After School Storytelling Club)
• Positive Identity: Sense of purpose (members will learn a new skill that can provide education, entertainment, service, and possibly income someday)

Who are the LANES storytellers that I can book?

Mark Binder
Pembroke Villa
PO Box 2462
Providence RI 02906
401-272-8707
http://www.markbinder.com

Diane Edgecomb
PO Box 300016
Boston MA 02130
617-522-4335
http://www.livingmyth.com

Betty Lehrman
88 Flanagan Frive
Framingham MA 01701
508-877-9738
http://www.bettylehrman.com

How much do the LANES storytellers charge?
$350 per program pays for mileage, a performance (30-45 minute) for a K-4 audience while the middle school aged club members observe, and time spent with the teens (30-45 minutes) in an informal Q&A session. Each participating library may schedule up to 2 performances.

Can I use a different storyteller?
We prefer you use the recommended LANES storytellers. If the storyteller you choose is more than $350, your library must pay for the price difference.

What blog we are using?
Our multimedia blog will be powered by Moveable Type, with three levels of security: Administrative, Librarian, and Student. The URL for the blog is http:// metrowest.typepad.com. For more help, see Using the Blog: Typepad Instructions.

What happens when the funding stops?
Grant participants could provide new training for new participants. Librarians could repeat the after school program two-three times annually, as long as there was a staff member who could dedicate a few hours a week for a short period to the running and maintenance of the program. Another possibility for staffing would be to have the trained librarians offer a workshop in their communities for teachers, parents, seniors, toastmasters, etc - who might be interested in continuing the program on a volunteer basis.

Individual libraries could purchase new materials related to storytelling as their budgets allow. Performers could be funded from Friends groups or Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants. The fee for maintaining a blog with administrative controls or multimedia features is currently under $25 a month, which could be found in a library or school's technology budget, or donated by a sponsoring local organization or Friends Group.

I’m convinced! How do I convince my staff/director/friends/trustees?
Use the following resources to support your arguments for the value and benefits of storytelling, the need to build assets in youth, and meeting national and local standards of providing programing with teen participation:

Mitchoff, Kate Houston. “Ignite the Story Within: A Librarian Makes a Case for Using Storytelling to Increase Literacy.” School Library Journal, February 2005 pp. 39-40. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA499382.html

MLA/YSS. Massachusetts Library Association Standards for Public Library Service to Young Adults In Massachusetts. http://www.masslib.org/sectionsandcommittees/youthservices.htm. 2005.

National Council of Teachers of English. “Teaching Storytelling: A Position Statement from the Committee on Storytelling.” http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/curr/107637.htm

The Search Institute. Forty Developmental Assets of Adolescents. http://www.search-institute.org/assets/forty.html. October 4, 2005

Jones, Patrick and YALSA. New Directions in Library Service to Young Adults. Chicago, IL: ALA/YALSA, 2002.

What is the timeline for this After School Storytelling Club Grant?

NOTE: This is a tentative timeline and is subject to change

October 2005

• Grant funds received
• Blog set up

November 2005

• Communities announce interest in participating in Year One by November 1, 2005
• Storytelling resources to add to current library collects ordered
• Storytelling training w/ Sherry Norfolk on November 21 & 22, 2005

December 2005

• Publicity/curriculums distributed
• Librarians plan program
• Librarians contract with storytellers
• Blogging workshops

January-February 2006

• Librarians customize PR
• Librarians seek partners in community (for performance space, etc)
• Storytelling resources distributed to participating libraries
• Curriculum for After School Storytelling Club finalized

March–May 2006

• Spring 6-week programs run

May-August 2006

• Teens eligible for community service perform in community
• Spring Surveys and Evaluations due by June 30, 2006
• Storytelling resources to add to current library collects ordered for new participants

Sept-Nov 2006

• Fall 6-week programs run
• Workshop about grant entices new participants
• Libraries announce interest in participating in Year Two
• Materials ordered
• Storytelling training
• Fall Evaluations due November 30, 2006

Jan-Aug 2006

• 6 week programs & performances
• Final evaluations due August 30, 2006

Septemer 2006

• Grant concludes

This project is being funded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act), a Federal source of library funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services