Upcoming sessions:
Registration will open soon for:
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- American Sign Language for Library Staff, Level 1: Begins October 2, 2023
- American Sign Language for Library Staff, Level 2: Begins January 8, 2024
- American Sign Language with Children in Storytime or in the Classroom: A Practical Guide Course: Begins April 1, 2024
All courses feature 6 weeks of lessons (with 12 weeks to complete them) and are designed to be done at your own pace with a mix of videos, readings, discussion forums, and hands-on projects.
These courses are typically offered once a year through the American Library Association. Information about upcoming course schedules will be posted here as soon as it is available.
See below for complete eCourse descriptions and comments from past students!
American Sign Language with Children in Storytime or in the Classroom: A Practical Guide eCourse
Instructor: Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Asynchronous eCourse featuring 6 weeks of lessons (Participants will have 12 weeks to complete course materials)
Sign Language is most commonly used in storytimes for babies, but the applications can go much further. In this 6-week eCourse, expert Kathy MacMillan explores the benefits of signing with all children. In addition to learning basic American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary appropriate for use with children in library and classroom settings, you will also learn to teach stories, songs, and other activities that incorporate ASL. MacMillan provides you with a linguistic and cultural context to help make your programming more accessible.
After participating in this eCourse, you will:
- Have a working knowledge of approximately 180 signs (introduced through video)
- Create two storytime/classroom activities using the featured vocabulary that you can implement in your storytimes
- Understand relevant aspects of child development and early literacy
- Understand signing in a linguistic and cultural context
Comments from previous students of this course:
“I am amazed. It couldn’t have gone better. I came away learning many signs I can use and gained some helpful information for my storytimes.”
“Kathy is an amazing instructor. She made learning online very easy and comfortable. She replied quickly when students had questions and she responded with feedback with videos to help sign better. Lastly, I love how she explained the meaning of signs and its history; it helps to remember how to do the sign.”
“The instructor was phenomenal, and I am already incorporating course work into everyday interactions in the library. Everything in the course is relevant and beneficial.”
American Sign Language for Library Staff, Level 1
Instructor: Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Asynchronous eCourse featuring 6 weeks of lessons (Participants will have 12 weeks to complete course materials)
American Sign Language (ASL) is an invaluable skill for library professionals. A basic grasp of ASL enhances your ability to serve deaf library users and opens up a new world of possibilities for storytime programs. It’s also a marketable professional skill that can translate to public service jobs beyond the library world.
Ideal for those without previous experience, this eCourse taught by librarian and ASL interpreter Kathy MacMillan will use readings, multimedia resources, and online discussion boards to introduce basic ASL vocabulary and grammar appropriate for use in a library setting. MacMillan will place ASL within a linguistic and cultural context, aiding participants in improving library services.
Comments from previous students of this course:
“Thank you for teaching me much more than I expected. It’s been a wonderful experience that I will certainly share with everyone who will listen!”
“This course has been invaluable to me…I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in the course and truly appreciate someone’s genius in offering it. The instructor was a gem in the way that she provided comprehensive answers to questions, feedback, tips and resources.”
“I absolutely loved the class and would HIGHLY recommend it to ANYONE — librarian or not!”
“This class was interesting, informative and entertaining. It opened my eyes to a variety of ideas and concepts that can only make me a better librarian as well as a better person. I thought things were well organized and presented in an ordered and logical fashion, each lesson building on the one before.”
American Sign Language for Library Staff, Level 2
Instructor: Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Asynchronous eCourse featuring 6 weeks of lessons (Participants will have 12 weeks to complete course materials)
Click here for information about upcoming course offerings.
Level up your knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) along with your library’s services to deaf and hard of hearing library users with this new ecourse! Designed to provide more in-depth learning, practice, and feedback for those who have completed Basic ASL for Library Staff Level 1, the course will use readings, multimedia resources, online discussion boards, and hands-on assignments to introduce more ASL vocabulary, grammar, and culture topics relevant to the library setting. Instructor Kathy MacMillan is a librarian and ASL interpreter, and will provide individualized feedback via a video project customized to your learning goals.
Prerequisite: Basic ASL for Library Staff OR ASL for Library Staff, Level 1.
Please note that these ecourses focus on library-specific vocabulary and Deaf Culture topics. Even if you have taken a conversational ASL course elsewhere, we recommend that you begin with ASL for Library Staff Level 1, as it covers library-specific vocabulary not usually taught in community ASL courses.
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Demonstrate more advanced vocabulary relating to library resources and services in American Sign Language.
- Create and post video captions.
- Identify and effectively disseminate quality resources for deaf and hard of hearing patrons.
- Discuss major topics relating to Deaf culture and history, including Deaf Culture art and storytelling, the fetishization of ASL, and intersectionality in the Deaf community.
Kathy MacMillan 