Has Mike Spoken in YOUR state?

Red - Yes          White - No           Other colors - Soon!

Programs for Librarians and Educators:

These are programs I have offered in the past; programs can be altered to fit your needs. Fees for presentations are $1,000 plus travel for a program/half day, $1,500 plus travel for multiple programs or a full day.

Connecting Boys With Books : Boys are in trouble. All right, it seems boys are always in trouble, but this is serious. Boys are failing to read at an alarming rate. Libraries are not solving the problem because boys are not a presence in libraries. Find out how we lose boys, and why, what the consequences are for boys, and what we as librarians can do to save boys from lives as non-readers. Michael Sullivan brings more than fifteen years experience as a Children’s Librarian and Library Director, storyteller, chess teacher, and author of the book Connecting Boys With Books ( ALA , 2003) and The Fundamentals of Children’s Services ( ALA , 2005). He will share practical, proven, and sometimes off-beat suggestions on how to turn boys into life-long readers.

Connecting Kids With Stories : Storytelling is a great way to reach kids, and can be an even better outlet for the kids themselves. Storytelling stimulates imagination, reinforces memory, and broadens the experience of language, especially for those kids who have difficulty with the written word. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a story is a living picture that is composed of words and so much more. Storyteller Mike Sullivan shows you how to use storytelling in your own work, and how to encourage kids to tell stories themselves.

The Fragile Future of Public Libraries : Public Libraries are in trouble. Slashed budgets, librarian shortages, governmental and social pressure on library collections and policies, even the closing of many public libraries. Meanwhile, library advocates smugly claim that the public library will never go away, and technological futurists confidently assert that public libraries will go the way of the horse and buggy. What are the real challenges and the real dangers? What is merely mirage? If public libraries really are in danger, what can we do to assure a place in the future?

The Power of Children’s Services : Children’s Services drive public libraries, but they are not as effective as they could be, so libraries are not as strong as they could be. Children’s librarians are dedicated, focused, hard working, but they often fail to take into account the importance of everything other than direct service to children. Directors are pressed for time, short on resources, harried, and often fail to understand the impact of children’s serves on the rest of the library. This workshop will address issues such as the place of Children’s Services in the library and the larger community, resource allocation, statistics, budgeting and justification, and the different languages children’s specialists and administrators speak.

Breaking All the Rules : Which is more important, the way we have always done things, or the person standing before your circulation desk? Think carefully, the future of your library may depend on your answer. One library maverick will challenge every assumption about public libraries. Hold on tight; this will be a ride.

Programs for General Audiences:

Programs are $200 plus travel, no travel costs within 50 miles of Portsmouth, NH.

Tales Told Tall: Stories from Around the World

Origami Workshops

Origami Storytelling (A story or two that include the making of an origami figure, followed by a class on how to make the figures.)

Juggling Workshops

Chess Demonstrations/Workshops (Life-sized chess set available for some programs.)

Author Visits - Escapade Johnson and Mayhem at Mount Moosilauke:

(Release date, September 28, 2006)

Read and Sign... FREE! You just pay travel costs. No travel costs within 50 miles of Portsmouth, NH.

Author Visits for Schools, Libraries, and Children's Groups. Contact Mike for costs.