State Library of Iowa highlights youth‑collection picks, storytime tips and spring training dates in February “Check It Out” webinar

Janae Jackson Doring, youth services consultant at the State Library of Iowa, used the February edition of the library’s monthly “Check It Out” webinar to recommend new and notable children’s and teen titles, describe a practical storytime‑collection strategy for library staff and announce upcoming professional development and district events.

Doring opened the session by explaining the program’s purpose and scope: “storytime standouts are books that are the best to use for storytimes,” she said, and then moved through picture books, board books, early readers, middle‑grade and teen fiction, graphic novels and children’s nonfiction. She also demonstrated how she organized a dedicated storytime collection at a previous library to make outreach and program planning faster.

Why it matters: the State Library’s recommendations and collection tips are aimed at public‑library youth librarians and caregivers who select books for storytimes, outreach and age‑based collections. Doring paired concrete purchase and shelving suggestions with release dates and series alerts librarians can use to plan orders and displays ahead of budget cycles.

Doring’s selections ranged across age levels and…