Day in the life and how do I get there

The blog assignment is coming to an end, which has me reflecting on the end—the goal of the class, or all the classes I am taking.  What would it be like to be a youth services librarian?  

Abby the Librarian has recently posted a couple of ‘days in the life of a children’s librarian.’  See how her days went here and here.  

Since Abby works at a public library, I searched the Internet for a couple of days in the life of a school librarian.  I found a couple of interesting days, one at Heart of the School and the other at Support School Libraries (teacher-librarian).

Caitlyn posted a snap shot of a day at a public library on her blog that made me smile.

Now, how do I get there?  Finish up with classes, go on the market, interview, etc.
Abby the Librarian posted some tips for applying and interviewing for positions.  She had recently been interviewing for positions at her library.

Books and Art

Last week our art instructor, Mr. G, displayed some projects he had the art club and different classes working on during first quarter.  He had sent an e-mail out about one of the projects letting us know that the students can touch them.  In his e-mail he said “these projects are rethinking what the shape and form of a book can be so they are meant to be interactive by design.”  I asked him (via e-mail) about the project and he sent me his lesson plan and gave me permission to post (with pictures).

Title: Great Themes of Art

Objective: Students will discuss and define the six great themes of art that art historians have identified as reoccurring throughout art history.  They are Self, Relationship to others, Nature, Spirituality, Urbanization and Cycle of Life. They will then look at various works of art and in groups try to identify each as fitting into a specific category. During final discussion they will compare and contrast findings with the objective that it is not always clear a work of art fits neatly into a single category. Afterwards they will be introduced to the works of Julie Chen who creates books that are more sculptural in nature, but still communicate an idea. Either working in groups of 2 or by themselves using various materials students will create a book using one of the great themes of art as a main focus. They must make sure that it is interactive like a book but takes on characteristics of a visual art form as well.

Standards:
26.B.3d  Visual Arts:  Demonstrate knowledge and skills to create 2- and 3- dimensional works and time arts
27.B.3  Know and describe how artists and their works shape culture and increase understanding of societies, past and present.

I think this holds great potential for cross-curricular/library collaboration.   Students could create these art books and share them with younger grades during storytimes.  Older students could help younger students create their own interactive books based on stories they write or their favorite storybook. They could go on a library hunt for interactive books.

Thanks Mr. G for sharing!!!

I left class and ran into a Zombie!

I logged off of class this evening and noticed that Abby the Librarian had a new update to her blog--Zombie Makers.  Abby has posted a review of Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead by Rebecca L. Johnson.  Might not help with the Zombie Apocalypse but looks like an interesting book to add to the shelves.

Flash Mobs, Social Media, and the Library

Last week someone sent me a link to the University of Maryland’s parody of Psy’s Gangnam Style video.  The library has a Facebook page that gave instructions for practicing the dance and where/when the flash mob would take place.  A majority of the video is shot in the library with the flash mob meeting on the quad.   I have seen other parodies of this song/dance but none done in a library.

How does this relate to youth services librarianship?

Well, my students have been talking about and doing this dance for about a month now.  I even saw a local high school soccer team doing the dance on the evening news when they were featured.  And many of them use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  So I started thinking about how social media could be used in youth services librarianship.  I took to the ORR to search out some articles for ideas.

“Online Marketing Strategies for Reaching Today's Teens” by Laura Horn discusses using Facebook, blogs, web pages, and widgets to market library services, programs, and event to teens.  It also discusses having a TAB Facebook group to share ideas and planning events.  The article lists some sites as well for ideas and ways to get started.

“Libraries Get Social--Social Media, That Is!” By Victor Rivero offers resources for school libraries using social media for students and librarians.

“Very Pinteresting!” by Kate Messner gives great ideas about using Pinterest in schools and public libraries.  She even lists sites to help those getting started with Pinterest and links to libraries/librarians using Pinterest already.  There are also a number of authors’ Pinterest sites given.

I think social media can be a very effective way to reach and serve youths from a library perspective.  Multiple articles mentioned a few things to keep in mind such as updating and keeping up.  Teens will lose interest in sites that are not updated on a regular basis.  As librarians, we will also need to keep up with what is new in the lives of those we are trying to reach.  


Horn, L. (2011). Online Marketing Strategies for Reaching Today's Teens. Young Adult Library Services, 9(2), 24-27.

Messner, K. (2012). Very Pinteresting!. School Library Journal, 58(7), 24-27.

Rivero, V. (2010). Libraries Get Social--Social Media, That Is!. Multimedia & Internet@Schools, 17(6), 8-12.

"Cool--I can get my sister to check it out for me"

So that is what I heard today from one of my students.  We were going over homework at the end of the day and the students were talking about book report books.  One young man mention the book he wanted to read and another told him that it wasn’t at our school library.  I seized the opportunity to teach them how they could find out where they could check it out in our area.  I asked if they knew where they could look online.  They knew that they could go to the public library website to see if the book was available there and sites for purchasing the book.  My interactive whiteboard was on and connected to my computer so I loaded up the WorldCat site.  We put in our zip code and the title of the book.  Sure enough you could find it at our public library but it was also ‘on the shelf’ at two of the local high schools.  You can search WorldCat from the public library site but it requires some setting changes.

Hopefully, I have given my students another tool they can use when looking for specific books…. and this young man’s sister checks something out for herself too.  

Borrowing Ideas

This past week for class we read some articles about creating programs in libraries including storytimes.  We talked about borrowing ideas from other libraries and librarians.  Abby the Librarian is one of the blogs that I read fairly regularly.  She often will post, in great detail, the storytimes that she does at her library.  This week’s theme was construction and last week’s was about bugs.  She even had a page on her blog dedicated to storytime themes, which includes links to other webpages.   What an awesome way to get ideas when getting started or when you are stuck.  Thank you Abby!

The ALSC blog also posted about a Mad Libs Writing Workshop for 3rd and 4th graders.  Mad Libs = Mad Fun!

I shook the hand of an Olympian

This week Tyler McGill came to talk at our school.  He greeted about half the school as they entered the gym and the other half as they left.  Everyone had the opportunity to touch his gold medal.  He talked about setting goals and working hard to achieve them.  He also spoke about what is was like to be at the Olympics and winning a medal.

He let the kids ask question for about 20 minutes.  Most of the kids asked about swimming, training, the Olympic village, and the YouTube video the Olympic swim team made.  One student asked him what was his favorite book—how cool was that!!!  I thought I needed to remember this and think about what I would do with that information if I were a youth services librarian.

Well, I didn’t remember the book but luckily for me some of my students did when I asked the next day.  How cool is that—they paid attention to the answer of that question.  Tyler McGill’s favorite book is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.  We had a nice discussion about the assembly and the book.

So what would I do with that information if I were a youth services librarian?  I could set up an Olympic book display.  Our librarian had one at the beginning of the year.   I decided that I would have local celebrity picks.  We are so fortunate in our area (Champaign-Urbana) to have many local celebrities who could provide a librarian with their favorite childhood book and why.  We have Olympians, pro sport athletes, college athletes, Big Ten Coaches, TV and movie personalities, a former Miss America, authors, and Nobel laureates to name a few.   I could have the books either on the shelf (cover facing) with the who and why or in a display area or both.

Thinking back to the boys and reading discussion earlier this semester, maybe some of the male celebrity picks would encourage some of the boys to pick up the books that were once their favorites.

A 'Library' Outside the Library

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

The ALSC Blog has a post about Down Syndrome Awareness Month with a link to reviews for a couple of children’s books on Down syndrome that are now available for e-readers.  There is also a list of books for children with Down syndrome or about Down syndrome.  Each book is linked to WorldCat so that you can see which library in your area has it available for check out.  I think that is a really neat way to link to library collections.

I remembered that the Buddy Walk is this weekend in Champaign-Urbana, which is sponsored by the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network.  I went to their website and found that they have a lending library with a link to their catalog of books and other materials available for checkout.  They have a lot of resources and books for children and adults available for check out.

I work with someone who is involved with the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network and she brought me the new parent bag that they give to parents after the birth of a child with Down syndrome. It has videos and books for parents, a great book for younger siblings (one of the books that went digital), and a book for older siblings.  There is also a community resource guide/notebook for parents.

So how do you get the word out about these ‘libraries’ that are outside the library?   The person I spoke to told me that they get the word out through the initial contact with the parents, meetings, and events like the Buddy Walk.  It is a volunteer run organization and they maintain their library.

As I looked through the tote of information, I found bookmarks from the National Association for Down Syndrome (NADS) here and there.  One of the suggestions they list on their site to promote awareness is to have NADS posters and bookmarks at schools and libraries.  Perhaps they could also have informational fliers about events like the Buddy Walk or organizations like the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network listing resources they might offer.

One of the bookmarks marked a story printed in Gifts 2: How People with Down Syndrome Enrich the World edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper.  The story was one written by a woman I know.  The bookmark was not just here or there but in a place for my awareness.

New Blog to My List

I was reading one of the blogs that I am following, Abby the Librarian, who was at the Association for Library Services to Children institute recently.  She posted about sessions she attended, literacy skills, and storytime programs.    

This led me to the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) blog.  There is an interesting post on Common Core standards, which lists some ways libraries can collaborate with schools.  I am familiar with Common Core standards from a teacher and school perspective and appreciate the seeing it from a library perspective. 

I think I am going to add ALSC to my blog list.  

Today was the day....

I got up this morning and put on a fall appropriate outfit—yes, fall not Fall.  I chose an outfit that would survive an on stage fall.  Today was the day I was going to do the hip-hop dance at the bullying assembly that I mentioned in an earlier post.  I reported to rehearsal on time—didn’t always keep time with my steps but learned the moves and made it through the performance.  Luckily there was another teacher, about 15 school kids, and the group presenting dancing on stage—I could blend in a bit. 

The assembly was really good.  The performers were all middle school and high school aged kids.  They talked about local incidents as well as national.  They sang, they danced, and they acted out some scenarios.  They related to the students and got the message across.   Their message for the kids was about stopping bullying and making a difference.  They also talked about how important it is to have trusted adults who work with kids like teachers, principals, coaches, and youth services librarians and the importance of reporting for both kids and adults. 

I am planning a lesson to continue the discussion and I am sure there will be more lessons to follow.  I might use part of Flowers for Algernon (there is an excerpt in our Literature books) and talk about how Charlie was treated to reinforce the message.  

Youth Literature Festival

I saw a billboard in town for the upcoming Youth Literature Festival to be held on October 4^th-6^th in Champaign-Urbana.  Check out the webpage for the festival that includes a Community Day Celebration on October 6^th that is free to the public. 

I was thinking of ways a school library could incorporate this event before and/or after the author visits the school. 

Hang fliers prior to the event

Have a display of the book(s) written by the author visiting the school

Have a display of the books written by all the authors participating in the festival

Have the kids create book jackets or posters for the books written by the participating authors to display

Hang/display crafts or projects done at the festival/community day by the kids who were there

Other ideas?

What the boys were reading

This week was standardized testing week at my school.  I asked the kids to bring in homework or a book to read if they finished the section before time was up.  About mid-week I had finished with this week’s class reading and decided to see what the boys were reading.

Here is the list:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter, Vol. 1 by Janck Miller and Joe Certa

I had a couple of boys who put their head down after finishing a test.  I encouraged them to go to the bookshelf and pick out something to read.  They chose the following:

Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World’s Best-kept Secrets by John Farndon

The White House: An Illustrated History by Catherine O. Grace

I feel like they were right inline with what the readings said the boys would read.  We had adventure, fantasy, history, a graphic novel, and a random fact book.  

McKechnie, Lynne (2006). Becoming a Reader: Childhood Years.  In Ross, Catherine Sheldrick, McKechnie, Lynne, and Rothbauer, Paulette M. (Eds). Reading Matters: What the Research Reveals About Reading, Libraries, and Community (p. 63-100) . Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Sullivan, M. (2004). Why Johnny Won't Read. School Library Journal, 50(8), 36-39.

Books to Movies

I have been thinking about books that have become movies and it seems that I am not the only one.  One of the blogs I have been following posted a list of YA books that are being released as movies. 

I was thinking about a couple of books to movies that were not on that list.  One would be the Twilight series with the upcoming release of the last Twilight movie.  I remember when the first one was released in 2008.  All the girls in my class had read the book and were going to the opening night screening (yes, they went to a midnight show on a school night).  They were so excited and couldn’t wait to tell me about it the next day.  I don’t recall any of the ones released after that getting the same reaction.  One of my students did tell me today that she was looking forward to seeing the next one.

This year it was The Hunger Games.  All spring students were talking about the books and the movie.   Not just the girls in the class but the boys read these books and saw the movie as well.   I feel like the Harry Potter books/movies generated enthusiasm with the girls and boys as each one was released. 

Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games were popular books at the time they were made into movies.  I feel like a lot of kids and adults read or reread the Narnia books when the movies were released and the same goes for the Lord of the Rings movies. 

So, will kids read books like The Hobbit when the movie is released?  Do libraries have books that are movies displays in the YA and children’s sections?  Should they?  What about having a launch party at the library when the movie is about to release?  Win copy of the book in a raffle? Or better yet, check out the book and get your name in a drawing for free movie tickets (maybe the theater will donate a couple of tickets)?