This document summarizes the work of a librarian with children in Bulgaria. It discusses several initiatives organized by the librarian including [1] decorating the Christmas tree at the Sofia City Library; [2] organizing book presentations and meetings with authors; [3] using donated ICT equipment to make the library more attractive; [4] creating a "Children's Hands Club" where kids make crafts and raise funds to buy books; [5] doing "Reading to my Dog" sessions to maintain children's love of reading; and [6] implementing a "Librarian for a Summer" program where kids help out in the library. The librarian finds the training from Global Libraries to be a source of new

1. ST. IVAN RILSKI 1926 PUBLIC CHITALISHTE
GERMAN
To the Youngest
with Love

2. The love between
children and the
TO THE YOUNGEST WITH LOVE
chitalishte is
shared.
There is no better
thing than
children’s smiles!

3. MY BIGGEST SUPPORTERS IN MY WORK WITH THE YOUNGEST ARE SOFIA
CITY LIBRARY, THE GLOBAL LIBRARIES AND CHITALISHTE LIBRARY
COLLEAGUES.
Christmas tree decoration in Sofia Love of books should not
City Library fade!
 Yet, how are we to nurture this love
with such a strong competition?
Media, movies, new technology,
children’s clubs... To mention just a
few of the temptations that
increasingly detach children from the
world of books. There is one way. To
help each other by exchanging
ideas, conducting joint events and
most of all celebrate together! The
book presentations and meetings
with writers organized by the
Children’s Department of Sofia City
Library are wonderful and children
are happy and willing to attend them.

4. MEETINGS AND TRAINING ORGANIZED BY THE GLOBAL LIBRARIES AND
SOFIA CITY LIBRARY: A SOURCE OF IDEAS OF NEW AND UNTRADITIONAL
METHODS FOR WORKING WITH CHILDREN.
 Here I should extend my  More and more often they use
gratitude to the Bill & Melinda the computer for lesson
Gates Foundation for the preparation and for chitalishte
donated ICT equipment without and school celebrations. Thus
which the library would not have they obtain information about
been so attractive, especially to legends and traditions related to
the youngest. They were deeply traditional celebrations like
impressed by both the new Christmas, St. Lazar’s Day,
acquisition and the fact that it is Easter, Baba Marta, etc. For
not only them but also Aunt Yulia Midsummer Day, for example,
who goes to school and receives the young readers found
a diploma. In our day-to-day information on the internet about
contacts, I shared with them some famous herbs, picked lime
what I had learned and together blossom and made the church
we discovered the opportunities goers happy with their gifts of
and new applications offered by knowledge and herb bags.
computers.

5. INTERNET: SOURCE OF IDEAS
Nominated Easter wreaths Children’s Hands Clubs
 Here my idea of the Children’s Hands
Club was born. Before every holiday,
young readers surf the internet and
borrow ideas for their decorations. At
the library, we made dozens of
martenitsas, Easter wreaths and
painted eggs. We organized bazaar
exhibitions. We used the generated
funds to buy Fabian Lenk’s “The Time
Detectives” and celebrated the Day of
the Child. Children are already skilled
users of specialized websites and
links like YouTube, Lenagold, etc.
They suggested that the money they
raised from their works be used for
purchasing new children’s books.

6. READING TO MY DOG

7. THIS IS AN UNTRADITIONAL AND VERY EFFECTIVE WAY TO MAINTAIN ALIVE
CHILDREN’S LOVE OF BOOKS. THESE LITERARY READINGS TAKE PLACE ON A
MONTHLY BASIS AND IN COOPERATION WITH ABARASH PUPPY MILL.
 The dogs are of the Bern
Shepherd breed and are
specialized in therapeutic work
with children. The psychologist
Ms. Iva Deneva teaches children
how to choose a pet and how to
take care of it. Thus, they build a
sense of responsibility and gain
self-confidence as complete
personalities. Young readers
walk, comb and caress the dog
Tanana with lots if love and joy
and most of all read to it their
favorite books. Every lesson with
the dog is a carefully prepared
celebration accompanied with
riddles, fun and games.

8. CHILDREN ARE CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS. THEY ARE PERSONS WE CAN
TRUST.
 The lessons with the dog not
only maintain alive their love
of books: they also give them
the opportunity to
demonstrated creativity and
express their talents. Pepi
Lilov demonstrated his
artistic capabilities and
gripped the attention of his
peers and Tanana with
poems dedicated to the
man’s best friend. Gergana
Stanoeva had made a
brilliant display of her
organizational skills. With my
help, she prepares the
scenarios of the joint
initiatives implemented in
cooperation with Abarash
puppy mill.

9. LIBRARIAN FOR A SUMMER
 Again, I would like to thank the
Global Libraries for the
conducted training. It is an
inexhaustible source not only
of knowledge but also of ideas.
After each module, I come
back to the library with heaps
of ideas and implement at least
one of them. This is how the
Librarian for a Summer
initiative became a fact. The
most active participants were
the third and fourth graders.
They were responsible and
keen on performing their
librarian duties.

10. YOUNG LIBRARIANS ARE SKILLFUL IN DEALING WITH THE LIBRARY STOCK
AND PROVIDE LIBRARY SERVICES WITH A SMILE. THEY EVEN RECOMMEND
THEIR FAVORITE BOOKS TO THEIR PEERS.
 Walking among the shelves,
children find out new and
unknown authors and titles. Their
inherent inquisitiveness
increases and their love of the
fairy tale world of books
strengthens. Thus, they realize
that reading is not an obligation
but pleasure. Sadly, only here
many of them learn that adults
read, too; that it takes lifelong
learning in order to feel complete
and keep abreast of time. At the
end of the summer, each young
librarian brought a book to their
families according to their
individual interests and taste.

11. LEARNING COMPUTERS WITH CURIOSITY AND LOVE. HOW DO WE
WORK WITH ELECTRONIC CATALOGUES AND HOW DO WE KNOW WHO
THE AUTHOR IS?
 The training of young librarians
was also an interesting and
entertaining way for enhancing
their computer literacy. They
were happy to approach the
computer whenever a patron
was looking for a book and did
not know who its author was. I
use these occasions to
introduce my assistants to
some new computer
functionalities. They learn to
work with MS WORD, write
letters and CVs.

12. THE SUMMER 2012 BEST LIBRARIAN PRIZE WAS
AWARDED TO GERGANA STANOEVA
 Geri does more than just
providing services to patrons in
a perfect and smiling manner.
She knows very well how to
work with the computer and
trains her peers. She shows
them the internet, how to
create e-mail accounts, how to
use Facebook. Almost all
young readers are already
aware of the risks the
worldwide web hides and how
to prevent them.

13. WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET THAT CHILDREN FEEL FLATTERED WHEN
WE TRUST THEM.
 One of their favorite websites is
the GLB website because I
assigned them with the task of
checking the e-mail, reviewing
the news and publicizing news
from our chitalishte. Simeon
Marinov uploads photographs
from a “Reading to My Dog”
event. It is nice to edit the text,
insert the picture and then see
the published news item.

14. THE BIG SMALL READING
IN THE WORLD OF ROALD DAHL AND FABIEN LENK
 All young readers were enthusiastic  Fabian Lenk’s “The Time Detectives”
to take part in the Big Small Reading. series was also very warmly
They were fascinated by Roald accepted by children. The author
Dahl’s characters and most of all by presents the stories to his readers in
Matilda’s adventures, the funny an entertaining and intriguing
stories about the Twits and the Magic manner. We did not forget about the
Finger revenge stories. They incentives. Those who had read the
competed to read book after book, biggest number of series books
swapped them and commented and received reader’s diaries.
discussed them with enthusiasm.  At the end of the school year, we
They filled in their reader’s diaries in gave our most active readers a book
a diligent and responsible manner. and an illustrated folder.
 The competition was won by Natali  Our chitalishte interacts very
Belchinska who received an award. successfully with the teachers from
 In order to stimulate and encourage the local school. Every week we
their willingness to read, I took the organize literary readings dedicated
most active participants to the days of to an author or a favorite book.
German culture at St. Nedelya  Every year, the teachers bring first
Square. We rode on the tram and graders to the library and we
listened to fairy tales. introduce them to the world of books.

15. TO THE YOUNGEST WITH LOVE AND MORE CARE: TAKING THE
FAIRY-TALE WORLD OF BOOKS OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY
 For those who still cannot read,
we set up a small corner with
plush toys. On Fridays we read
tales or perform improvised
puppet theater for them.
 Very often, reading is combined
with games and is taken outside
the library. The most favorite
thing is reading in front of the fire
after games in the open. We
make fortified walls of snow, we
fight with snowballs, we sleigh
along the icy slopes and steep
streets. When they get tired,
children are happy to crowd
around the fireplace, open the
colorful books and hungrily
devour the stories about knights,
kings, princes and princesses.

16. LET’S CONTINUE WORKING FOR CHILDREN WITH LOVE!
THEY ARE OUR FUTURE!
THEY ARE OUR HOPE!