Futzing around the Blogosphere

The Hate List, The Miles Between, and Liar

2009-07-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

I've read three ARCs over the past three weeks. I couldn't put ANY of them down. And I waited about twenty minutes in the Bloomsbury booth at ALA Annual for the women there to notice me so that I could get a copy of Liar. A friend of mine gave me one of those one-sentence synopses for it and I knew I had to read it.

The Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Valerie's boyfriend shoots up the school, and even though she throws herself in front of him to stop the violence, she still gets blamed for what happened, because she helped him write the Hate List, a list of people they wish would disappear off the face of the planet. This was one of those books where you know there's an awesome resolution coming--where the protagonist is finally going to stand up for herself and find closure--and it did not disappoint. I really can't find anything critical to say about it, except that Nick's last name, Levil, was a little heavy-handed. :) But the story was perfect and it was very moving. Of all three books, this was my favorite.

The Miles Between by Mary Pearson
Mary Pearson is one of my favorite authors; I talk up Jenna Fox to everyone. I was hoping that The Miles Between was going to be another slightly spooky story where a mystery lurks in the background, and that's what I got. Yay! I cried my eyes out at the end and thought the buiding romace was great. Destiny is a lovable character who really develops as the story progresses. I did figure out the twist right before the reveal, but I think that was supposed to happen. Pearson is such a fantastic writer and she really sucks in her readers. It may be a hard book to booktalk, but it will definitely appeal to any of your readers who like realistic fiction.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
I can't give too much away about this story, but it's the kind I love--unreliable narrator, big secrets, and nice twists. I wasn't nuts about the resolution; it seemed a bit too hasty and undone. I wanted a little more reveal. But the build-up was phenomenal and the pacing was breathtaking. I loved Micah's voice, and I thought that the premise was so sad. There were a few plot elements that seemed incongruous, though. However, I'll definitely recommend this to teens when it comes out.

I'm back!

2008-12-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ack! It's been almost a year since I've posted anything here. A lot has happened in that year: I began my job at the Darien Library, and I welcomed (along with my husband) my daughter into the world. Whew! Those two things alone have taken up most of my time and energy. And now the Darien Library is MOVING! To an amazing new building! As the person responsible for the new teen space, I've been:

* Weeding
* Buying new titles, including loads of awesome non-fiction
* Re-organizing all our teen books into genre categories: romance, mystery, sports, series, etc. I think this will make the collection a lot more browsable and accessible.
* Buying gaming systems and games
* Planning a hefty slate of programs, including gaming tournaments, Gossip Girl viewing parties, and study nights
* Promoting the new teen program on Facebook and in person

I am so excited for us to be in the new building! And once we get there, please watch this space for more frequent posts. And if you want to read some of my recent pieces on the YALSA blog, here they are!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

lazy

2008-02-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

New YALSA blog post.

Midwinter

2008-01-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

For my reflections on Midwinter, go here.
What I didn't really write about: two amazing dinners, thanks to Darien, here and here; spending the whole afternoon with Louise, Alan, Kate, John (and my mom!) talking about the New Darien Library; eating a lot of potato chips at the Darien blogger reception; meeting Sara Ryan; giggling with Lisa at the YALSA advocacy institute; learning how to use a PC again; coveting an iphone so that I could twitter everything; getting kind of fond of SEPTA; and really, REALLY liking Philly.

The differences between school and public libraries

2008-01-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to pick on the woman who commented on my earlier post about Gossip Girl, but her response did make me think--what are the differences between school and public libraries? Should there be any?

Certainly, when I start building the teen collection for Darien, I won't be collecting 15,000 adult nonfiction titles to support the curriculum--there's no curriculum to support. And I won't be worried about collaboration with teachers (although I will be reaching out to the schools). I won't have a reference section.

But what will stay the same? I'll still want to create research guides. I'll still want to teach teenagers how to use the library and support their homework and research needs. I'll still have databases and web guides and I'll still educate kids on how to safely use the internet.

I'll buy more YA lit, for sure, and more graphic novels--because they don't seem to circulate here, for some reason. But the kind of literature I'll buy will be the same. I'll still buy high-interest fiction, lots of series books, and see what the teens want. I'll still have DVDs for them to borrow, and fun magazines to browse like Teen Vogue and People and Vibe and ESPN. Fortunately, I won't have to let them login with my username in order to circumvent the Facebook and YouTube blocks, and that will be nice.

Another nice thing will be the ability to let kids wear hats inside, use their cell phones, and eat...

Despite these little differences, I think we should approach both areas of librarianship--school and public--with the same philosophy. I know my point of view is unique because I don't work at a public school, but having been in this field for three years now, I think I would have the same attitude about services to teens either way. I want to give them the books they want to read. I know it's harder to fight parents in public schools and that principals are afraid of lawsuits; I know that budgets are smaller (although, mine's not that great compared to some big public school systems) and that librarians have to make more choices about the books they buy. I know that the attitude of the community can very much influence the philosophy of the school.

So, maybe I'm being idealistic. Maybe, if I worked at a school where I didn't feel supported, was constantly being audited by conservative parents (and yes, our parents are pretty conservative), and where I felt like my last $20 would be better spent on a history book than the latest Clique book, I would feel like schools and public libraries are inherently different. But I'm not sure I would work there very long--either I'd get fired for standing by a book or I'd quit because I was sick of it. I took a class on school library management this fall and I have to say, the picture that is often painted of school libraries is pretty grim. I'm not sure why anyone would go into the field after hearing horror stories about filtering, banned books, restricted budgets, angry parents, and fixed schedules. If we want to recruit energetic new librarians into the profession, shouldn't we be looking at why school libraries are the way they are? Today's library school students want to use social networking sites and read Gossip Girl. They're not going to work in schools--they're going to work in public libraries.

I admit that I'm feeling some guilt over leaving a school for a public library. I'm not trying to say that I'm perfect at my job, but I do think that schools need librarians who treat their libraries like teen rooms--places where students can feel safe and comfortable to be themselves. There are tons of people who want to go into teen services and shake things up, but not as many who want to go into schools and show people how librarianship has changed.

Providing teenagers with popular paperbacks isn't being an irresponsible school librarian; it doesn't take away from the fact that you're also supporting them in the classroom. We shouldn't be, as a parent once said to me, "providing them with a choice between broccoli and carrots instead of a choice between broccoli and cake." If we want students to keep coming into the library after their teacher makes them--if we want them to be lifelong library users--we have to give them the cake.

Revised Midwinter Schedule

2008-01-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

Thursday

5:00 Arrive at parents', hop on train in Yardley
7:00 Dinner with Darien

Friday

9:00 YALSA institute: Taking Teen Services the Next Level
11:30 YALSA lunch
1:30 Meeting with Darien
5:00 YALSA happy hour (maybe)
7:30 Dinner with Darien

Saturday

Pre-lunch: visit the exhibit halls; stop by the YALSA all-committee meeting, 10 a.m.
1:00 Visit YALSA booth to try to meet Holly Black
1:45 AASL Web Guides committee meeting
5:30 Reception with Darien

Sunday

Head home!

Monday

8:00 watch the webcast of the youth media awards

All the while: blogging for YALSA.

Gossip Girl

2008-01-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

I think that reading Gossip Girl was what made me want to be a teen librarian. I just devoured them. I wished that something that engaging and AWESOME had been around when I was a teenager...of course, there wasn't much YA lit when I was in middle and high school, so I pretty much just skipped ahead to the adult books. I think some kids still do this, but there are so many more appealing titles now to entice even mature readers.

Anyway, I haven't read the whole series, because I had to stop at some point to read some other books. But I'm now fully addicted to the tv series on the CW. I love some of the elements of the series that they've put in, but I also love that it's become its own entity. Unfortunately, I hate the characters of Dan and Vanessa, and I loved them both in the books. I adore Blaire and Serena, though--and in the books, I was less attached to them. Meg Cabot wrote in her blog about being annoyed that the TV version had turned the story into a morality play--especially when it comes to Serena, who certainly is nowhere near as reformed in the books as she is on the show--and while I see her point, I think that the show does need one character who is the story's moral compass. In the books, I think it was Dan. In the show, I think it's Serena. Dan comes across as sanctimonious and whiny in the TV version, if you ask me.

I know that the girls at my school are eating up the show--and checking out the books more than usual. I think it hits all the right notes, and it's SO satisfying.

My first book challenge was over Gossip Girl. A 6th grader brought it home, and her mom contacted me about it. The ensuing conversation was really hard for me, because I understood the mother's point of view (her daughter was only 11 at the time), but my own convictions couldn't allow me to agree that the book shouldn't be in the library. Ultimately, the mom dropped the challenge. When I told Robin about it, he secretly emailed Cecily Von Ziegesar to tell her what had happened. I got an email from her that made. my. year. I won't reprint it in its entirety because I feel like that's a violation of her privacy, but the part that got especially got me was this:

I'm eternally grateful for your bravery and commitment. You have my full support, and without question the support of the entire library community--librarians love Gossip Girl!

It's soooo easy to bash Gossip Girl. Hey, my fellow school librarians do it all the time on LM_NET (which I just shouldn't read...it gives me heartburn). But go ahead and apply those 40 developmental assets and see what you come up with. Sure, on first glance, it might seem like these books--and even the show, to a lesser extent--are about rich teenagers with no morals and no consequences. But that's the lazy way out. Whether girls are reading it because of the breathless drama or the fact that they feel emotionally connected to one or more of the characters, the fact is that they ARE reading about teens who think, feel, and act much the same way that they do--just, maybe, with better shoes.

Of course, deciphering all this means actually READING the books...which I doubt many of the dissenters have done.

Regardless, I will always love Gossip Girl, and I will always have the utmost respect for the series' creator...and it's pretty cool to have her email in my address book!

Starting the new year in the best way possible

2008-01-02T06:18:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve, Robin and I celebrated by watching TV and folding laundry. We did get invited to a party, but after all the chaos of the holidays--driving to and from Pennsylvania and then getting right back on the road to go to Horseneck Beach for the day--we were festivity-ed out. The pets certainly appreciated our decision.

But despite this lackluster ringing in of the new year, the truth is that the start of 2008 is worth celebrating. 2008 is the year I'm starting, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, my dream job. When I started grad school at Simmons, I thought that I would be an academic librarian. I took reference and cataloging classes and went along my merry way. Then I took Linda Braun's young adult literature and services class (a course that has now been split in two), and absolutely fell in love with teen services. It started with the literature, which I devoured, and moved into the services, which I discovered were fun, challenging, entertaining, and beyond anything I'd imagined library work to be. I took some more coursework on the subject, including Linda's awesome emerging technologies class, and then I was ready to go--I planned to apply for jobs all over the country in the hopes of getting my foot in the teen services door.

What ended up happening, though, was a little different than what I'd imagined. A fellow student was leaving her position as a private school library director and asked if I was interested in applying for her job. She told me all about it, explaining that while she had worked hard to establish a solid academic program, it would be my chance to integrate everything I'd learned at Simmons into the library--increasing teen literature and programming, mostly. I interviewed for the job and was offered it on the spot. And three years later, I feel as though I've accomplished everything that I set out to do in those first few weeks of thinking about the job. I did increase the YA collection--and with it, circulation. The library got a massive makeover this summer, focused mostly around creating a large area for reading books, magazines, and graphic novels, playing games, or just hanging out. The Nook, as it's called, is now an incredibly popular hangout that's been one of my proudest achievements! And the library has become a new center for activity, with everything from game nights to Family Guy marathons to crafting to hosting cool speakers like an ESPN reporter or a CSI officer from the Springfield Police Department, who dusted for prints and let us tour his mobile crime lab.

But now it's time to move on--which is where the dream job comes in. On July 1, I'll start as the first Head of Teen Services at the Darien Library in Darien, CT. (!!!) There are a million reasons why I'm excited to work at Darien, and one of the coolest is that I'm being allowed the opportunity to build a teen department from the ground up. The new Darien Library will open in January 2009, and with it, the new teen space. The library has been serving teens all along, of course, but this is our opportunity to increase the number of teens who know about and use the library. I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head about how to do this, and the best part is that the people of the Darien Library want to hear those ideas and help make them happen. I know that my mission is to create something really special and that's a mission I'm prepared (overjoyed, truth be told) to accept.

I've already been welcomed into the Darien Library family, and I've gotten to meet a lot of really kind, motivated people who surprise and inspire me all the time. I've found a friend in Kate Sheehan, a fellow newbie who has already invited me to visit her when we're house hunting. And I've found endless support, openness, and encouragement in Louise Berry, Alan Gray, and John Blyberg. I really could not be happier or feeling more blessed at this point. Librarians tend to live their jobs--I certainly do. And a change like this, it's a quality of life issue. I can't wait to get started.

I wish you all a very, very happy and healthy 2008! And if anyone knows a good apartment broker in New Haven, let me know. :)

Name change

2007-12-22T10:05:00.001-08:00

Robin and I were talking about the name of this blog at some point during our loooong trip from the beginning of the cross-Bronx expressway to the end of the GW Bridge.

Since I'll be turning 30 in a few days, I needed to think about what to do with the name of my blog...and we brainstormed some ideas, some of which were not suitable for mixed company, some of which set me up to not live up to the promise of the name, and some of which were just plain dorky.

So when I mentioned to him that the blog used to be called "Futzing around the Blogosphere," he got mad at me for ever changing it from that, because apparantly, "futzing" is just one of those words that doesn't get used quite enough. (And I think the word "blogosphere" is hilarious.)

Long story to explain something really simple...but there you go. Sorry for the back-and-forth; I think I'll be sticking with this name for a while.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

teen pregnancy

2007-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen Juno, but quick question: why is it okay--and kind of cute, judging by the previews--for the teenage girl in that movie to have a baby, but not okay for Jamie Lynn? People are calling for Nickelodeon to sever ties with her or else risk losing their audience. So it's okay in a movie--which we can walk away from with a good feeling and then forget--but not in real life, which reminds us that yes, 16-year-olds are having sex, and no, they don't necessarily know how to prevent pregnancy. (Or want to, in some cases.)

Holyoke, where I lived for a few years during grad school, has the highest teen parent rate in the state. Teen moms are a reality. Yeah, we've got to educate kids on how not to get pregnant...but we also have to help them once they do. It's not my job to tell a kid what choice to make, only to arm her with information.

Midwinter schedule so far

2007-12-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have been getting so many flyers in the mail. My midwinter registration must have just kicked in and now I'm on the mailing list.

My plan so far:

Arrive Thursday. Dinner with friends. :) Start blogging for YALSA.
Friday: all-day YALSA advocacy institute
Friday night: YALSA gaming extravanganza, followed by drinks w/ Linda (and hopefully Jack from NYPL)
Saturday: Lunch with friends. :) :) Nothing else planned, so I'll probably cruise around the vendor floor and feel overwhelmed, young, and intimidated. Blog about it.
Sunday: head home.

There might be a committee meeting thrown in there somewhere, but since we're a virtual committee, it would just be a meet and greet. I'm following with interest the many conversations going on right now about how ALA should start allowing for virtual meetings. Too bad I'm really bad at tinkering with my avatar and I'm currently sporting a crop top and a bald spot in SL....

online predators vs. cyberbullies

2007-12-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

We hear a lot about online predators and how they're a growing menace. While there have been a few sensational (and very sad) cyberbullying cases in the news lately, the topic just doesn't get as much press.

According to what I found out in my research for LIS406, publicized statistics show that 1 in 5 children are approached online by a sexual predator. This is the number that gets thrown around constantly by those who want to scare parents about social networking sites. Where does this number come from, and what does it mean?

Thanks to Benjamin Radford, I found that this stat originated in 2001 (red flag--6 years ago), when the Department of Justice conducted a report surveying teens about sexual solicitation online. The results were as follows:

Almost one in five (19 percent) of the young Internet users surveyed received an unwanted sexual solicitation in the past year. Okay, that's bad, but break down that number a little further and you discover that...
Five percent of the surveyed youth received a distressing sexual solicitation (i.e., the solicitation made them feel very or extremely upset or afraid).
Three percent of the youth received an aggressive solicitation involving offline contact or attempts or requests for offline contact.
None of the solicitations led to an actual sexual contact or assault.
Adults (age 18 and older) made 24 percent of all solicitations and 34 percent of aggressive solicitations.
Juveniles made 48 percent of all solicitations and 48 percent of aggressive solicitations.

While these numbers are still troubling, the fact is that a very small percentage of online youh received distressing or aggressive sexual solicitation, and nearly half of any kind of sexual interaction was initiated by another teen (this doesn't make it okay, but it does make it a different story than a child being solicited by an adult, in my book).

In other positive news, I found the following news item via Scott McLeod's blog:

Children less likely to encounter online predators

In contrast, 32% of teenagers who use the internet say that they have been the target of cyberbullying—"a range of annoying and potentially menacing online activities, such as receiving threatening messages; having their private emails or text messages forwarded without consent; having an embarrassing picture posted without permission; or having rumors about them spread online" (Social Networking Websites and Teens: An Overview. Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2007).

To me, this is the scarier issue. The web makes it easier to bully because it's easier to be anonymous. Bullying is an issue IRL, for sure, but parents and educators most likely have no idea when cyberbullying is happening. Are we teaching kids how to handle this? Are we talking to parents about it in the same way that we scare the crap out of them with all this sexual predator talk? Ultimately, the topic is brought up as a reason to block kids' internet access or take away their ability to use social networking sites. Which does nothing--they just use a proxy and hop right back on there, unarmed with any knowledge of what to do if they DO get solicited or bullied.

filtering

2007-12-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

Why do I always find myself embroiled in yucky debates on LM_NET? I find that listserv to be particularly conservative, but where else are the school librarians supposed to go for quick feedback to questions?

Recently, another school librarian posted about how her students are accessing MySpace through bypass proxies. So, inevitably, librarians are spending a lot of time figuring out what these proxy sites are and passing that along to IT so that they, too, can be blocked.

And when I responded, asking if it wouldn't just be easier to let the students use MySpace, I got lots of responses:

If there wasn't porn on it I wouldn't care.

...trying to keep kids on educational tasks when they want to be continuously checking MySpace is a waste of my time. They can check MySpace somewhere else.

Of course there were some posts from people who agreed with me, too...but I know this is a fight I won't win; by which i mean I won't be able to ever convince the dissenters that social networks AREN'T porn and that they DO belong in the library.

I'm doing a project on filtering for my class; I'm presenting on it this Saturday, so I'll post my findings next week. I think that filtering is one of the biggest obstacles facing librarians today--especially those who serve youth.

facebook and myspace vs. a database

2007-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

I just had a great conversation (totally unprompted by me) about the changes that myspace has implemented to make it look more like facebook. What struck me is how good this student was about noticing very small changes and features on myspace, and how attuned she was to the fact that myspace is mimicking facebook.

Of course, the whole time I was thinking, man, if I asked you anything about our new history database right now, you wouldn't even be able to call to mind what it looks like, or what it is, let alone knowing where the different buttons are for particular features.

It just goes to show you that teens pay attention to what matters in their lives and to what affects them in a personal way. And what I got out of this wasn't that she was oblivious about the history database (which is somehow supposed to matter more), but that she's actually very savvy and smart. I love that kids are aware of this stuff.

oops, i forgot to blog

2007-11-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

There are SO MANY COOL THINGS going on right now, NONE of which I can write about. Oh, poo.

Fun things I can talk about: I started twittering, for real this time. I guess what I am discovering about myself is that I get really excited about a new piece of tech and then lose interest or forget that it's there. This may be because I don't really have a way to get online unless I'm at my desk or at my apartment, but it also may mean that I am very busy keeping up with things like...book orders. Oh, how DULL!

(Not really--I know it's not chic to still care about books as much as I do, but I can't help it.)

R. and I are flying to St. Augustine tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with his parents. It's going to be 70 degrees there. 70. I'm hoping for a manatee sighting.

Oh, one more thing: I am going to Midwinter. Yay! I'm going to the YALSA gaming extravaganza....hopefully I'll get to try a Wii.

Not so fun: the stupid writer's strike. For an addict like me, this is not good. Maybe I should start watching Quarterlife?

Okay, have to go pack my shorts. Happy Thanksgiving!

Been a little while...

2007-08-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

So, I got married. It was awesome, and I'm really happy.

I've been thinking about this blog a little and I think I need to start writing about only the things that really interest me. Those things, namely, are:

1. Young adult lit. Any kind, really. I tend not to read books marketed to boys (especially realistic boy fiction), but my tastes here are fairly broad.

2. TV. Yep, I am fully addicted to TV. This summer has been pretty slow, television-wise, so I've been devouring about a book a day. I know this is good for me, but I'm also super-psyched for the fall season to start up.

Um....that's about it. There are other things I care about, like vegetarian recipes, dorky point-and-click games, girly movies, knitting, celebrity gossip (although I am really trying to wean myself off of this), animals wearing outfits, abortion rights (how did that slip in there?!)...but I think it will be easiest/most fun for me to write about YA and TV.

Yay!

Okay, I want to mention three things before I head off to bed.

1. Veronica Mars. I admitted to my husband this afternoon that I have not yet watched the final two episodes because I don't want the series is over. He told me that this is unhealthy behavior. I guess I am still in denial. I heard the other day that Kristen Bell (who is probably one of my top-three favorite actresses, in part because she's an animal-rights activist) might be guest-starring on Lost this year. Now, I stopped watching Lost sometime last year because I got so sick of the stupid run-around the writers/producers were putting the viewers through. I'm still curious to see what happens, but I'm not interested in watching the journey there, since the pace is so excrutiating. However...smart move, Lost! I think there are plenty of broken-hearted V Mars fans out there who are going to tune in just to see KB on the small screen again. I might have to! What am I going to do without the sass this year? We'll see how it goes--I'll watch the first ep with her in it (if she ends up doing it) and decide then, I guess.

2. 24. The franchise lost me last year. I'm going to rent the entire first season of Heroes and then start watching that instead.

3. Stephenie Meyers books. Meg Cabot had a great post in her blog (scroll down to the August 9 entry) about how, as a feminist, she rejects the idea that a girl should have to change her entire being--her species, for god's sake--for a boy. Tooootally agree about the gross message that these books are sending teenage girls. (Full disclosure: I've only read Twilight, but I've read reviews/synopses of the other two.) But I hate Edward Cullen. I find him mean, bullying, violent, and abusive. Yeah, he's good-looking and mysterious. But does that mean that a girl--conveniently, a clumsy, incompetent one--should follow him around and let him treat her like she's helpless and take his crap just because he's hot, moody, and secretive? No! I've been in that real-life relationship and it is baaaaaad news. I know that there are a lot of romance books out there that follow this theme, but the Meyer books are super popular at my library, not to mention nationwide, and I find that troubling. Yeah, I'm going to put them on the shelf becaused it's my job to give the kids what they want, but I'm not going to like it.

That's it for now. School starts up in a couple of weeks. Yikes!

Good night.

Kids and social activism -- a booklist

2007-06-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is a list of middle-school books I put together for a former colleague of mine. His original request:

We are planning a curriculum for next year that will involve urban sprawl, city planning, and social action (all of the expeditions focus on some sort of social action). Do you know of any young adult novels that would contain the theme of social activism or kids working with the city government on community issues?

Annotations are taken from NoveList

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg
Upon leaving an oppressive summer camp, twelve-year-old Margaret Rose Kane spearheads a campaign to preserve three unique towers her grand uncles have been building in their back yard for over forty years.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael Winerip
While serving as co-editors of their school newspaper, middle-schoolers Adam and Jennifer uncover fraud and corruption in their school and in the city's government.

The Heart of the City by Ron Koertge
After she and her parents move to an ethnically mixed inner city neighborhood, ten-year-old Joy and her new friend Neesha decide to do something to keep drug dealers off their block.

All of the Above by Shelley Pearsall
Five urban middle school students, their teacher, and other community members relate how a school project to build the world's largest tetrahedron affects the lives of everyone involved.

Soccer Chick Rules by Dawn Fitzgerald
While trying to focus on a winning soccer season, thirteen-year-old Tess becomes involved in local politics when she learns that all sports programs at her school will be stopped unless a tax levy is passed.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.

The Young Landlords by Walter Dean Myers
Five devoted friends become landlords and try to make their Harlem neighborhood a better place to live.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed.

The mission of the school library

2007-06-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

This discussion going on in LM_NET has gotten me thinking about what a school library's job is. Call me crazy, but I think it's okay if a kid walks out of here without knowing Dewey. I think all they need to know is this:

1. The library is a great place to find information.

2. Librarians are really nice and they'll work really hard to get you what you need.

3. The library is arranged in a certain way, and there is a way of finding the stuff in the library.

All libraries are different. I don't think uniformity is necessarily the number one quality of a library. And the new generation of library users is very adaptable. They don't need everything to look the same in order to be able to use it; they learn by doing.

And I don't think information literacy goes away as soon as you change the way a library is organized. Just because you don't have to look up and find a call number doesn't mean you're not learning how to find the best source possible.

...who knows. I'm excited to see what happens with the Arizona library. I think I just get a kick out of seeing things shaken up a bit.

Farewell to Dewey?

2007-05-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

The internet is buzzing today about one library's decision to do away with Dewey. [There is some debate about whether or not this statement is really true.]

Most people aren't too happy about it, judging by the reaction on LM_NET and in the library blogs.

I've always wanted to create subject-specific mini-collections that are highly browsable, like in a bookstore. Lump all the sports books together and then arrange by sport and then author's last name. I know this is really similar to Dewey, but not quite--it's not as specific. So books about baseball, books about specific baseball players, and books about the Black Sox scandal will all be in the same place, and intermingled. No need for highly-specific Dewey numbers.

And tagging will allow users to identify books using their language, not ours.

This is still a fairly nebulous and potentially problematic idea, but I definitely subscribe to the bookstore model. Like Linda Braun says, people go to bookstores to a reason--and by the same token, don't go to libraries for the same reason.

Hmmmm....

2007-05-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Right now I am planning a major library reorg to take place this summer. It's a bit overwhelming, but in the end I think it will do good things for the library. One of the most difficult things is actually showing people that change is a good thing. I love change. This might mean something about me, you know, psychologically. I was the kind of kid who was always rearranging her bedroom. In the middle of the night. I don't think we should change public spaces for the sake of changing them, necessarily, but if shaking things up a bit will mean you've got a better library on your hands, don't stress about "how it's always been."

I know this takes diplomacy, though, and that's hard. I'm still learning how to argue my case with empathy, understanding, and an open mind.

On another note, I was THRILLED to see the recent post in the YALSA blog about hip hop. The list of artists that they put together is fantastic, with a lot of my favorites on there. Take a peek, and stock your shelves with this stuff!

Not using the library is still a cool thing to do

2007-05-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

At the end of the year, all the students have to come in and have me sign a sheet of paper proving that they don't owe the library any books. This way they can get their diploma.

And for the past two years, I have noticed this phenomenon where the students come in, hand me their sheet, and tell me that they haven't checked out a book the entire year--and sometimes, seniors tell me they've never checked out a book, EVER, in their four years at the school. I'm not sure how to react to this; I usually nod and say something noncommital, like "oh." I don't want to get pissed at them; it's not my business whether or not they use the library. I also don't want to give them the reaction they may be looking for--shock and dismay. To be honest, I don't care if they've checked out a book within the last year or not, but it IS troubling that this is a cool thing to say. Why is that? Is it simple teenage rebellion? Is it a larger social issue--kids still don't want to be perceived as nerds?

I think that, more than answering those questions, it's important to figure out how I can provide better services to these kids. Outreach, outreach, outreach.

I subscribe to a couple of marketing feeds. This is a good idea, I think, because it has nothing to do with books. I need to know what teens are watching on TV and in the movie theatres. What music are they listening to? How are other industries and organizations reaching out?

In a 2006 entry on one of these blogs, Thinking Outside the Book, Jill Stover lists the following tactics for getting non-users into the library:

Bring a friend: I'm a fan of the idea that our current patrons could be terrific partners in reaching out to new patrons, particularly since there is so much distrust of traditional forms of promotion. One way to do this would be to sponsor a "Bring a Friend" event, where current patrons bring friends and family who have never been to the library, have them sign them up for a library card, and enter a raffle. You could even feature your more enthusiastic borrowers by asking them talk to the newcomers about what the library means to them.

Win over key leaders: Every community has key leaders and influential people who may prove to be effective in getting non-users inside your doors. Are there any civic, business or social groups in your community that could benefit from what your library can offer? Contact the leaders of these organizations for a brief meeting or presentation in which you outline specifically how the library can be an asset to members. Perhaps offer to lead an on-site workshop on a topic of interest to members. To be convincing, you may have to change/redesign/repackage your services to fit the needs of these targeted groups. For example, last month the Associated Press reported that libraries in New York and Pennsylvania are reaching out to small business owners through customized online resource aimed at helping them to write business plans and do market research. Tailoring your services leads to the next tip...

Differentiate yourself: It's likely that one reason your non-users haven't made the leap to users is that they probably don't understand why your library's services are different or more useful than other sources of information they regularly use. When you reach out to these community members through e-mail or print mailings, events, etc., be sure to let them know what it is you can do for them that no one else can. Marketers call this your Unique Selling Proposition, and if you have one, flaunt it whenever possible. However, positive selling points will vary between target markets, so it's useful to fit your USP to each segment.

Let people talk back: Perhaps your non-users have all kinds of good reasons for not visiting your library, but how will you know what they are (and how to address them) on an ongoing basis unless you give people opportunities to share their thoughts with you? As you go out into the community, make it a point to ask people what you could do differently or better, or for any "Wouldn't it be cool if...?" ideas they may have. Include suggestion cards with mailings or when doing outreach events, and make sure that your Web site clearly shows how patrons can contact staff with questions or concerns.

These ideas are not school- or even youth-oriented, but they can still be applied to high school library services:

Bring a friend.
This is a great idea for school library programming (and one I hadn't thought of before), but I think there needs to be an incentive. Maybe for a movie night, everyone who brings a friend gets their name entered in a raffle for a pair of movie tickets.

Win over key leaders.
This boils down to forming some kind of teen/student advisory group. These kids can help you plan events that they know their friends and peers would like. They can help you spread information--and that information is far more effective coming from a peer than it is from a librarian. I am blessed with a teen group full of dynamic and highly-visible students.

Differentiate yourself.
I've only been here for two years, and while I feel that there have been some changes in the students' perception of the library, it's impossible to cause a sea change in such a short time. And I think this kind of action often takes place one-on-one, which takes a while. Differentiating yourself can be as simple as having a pizza party or telling middle schoolers that you'll buy any book they ask for--if they're not used to this kind of treatment, they might sit up and take notice. What are some other good PR moves?

Let people talk back.
I get feedback in a couple of ways. One is through the library suggestion box. Obviously, this doesn't reach kids who aren't in the library. I have distributed surveys through English teachers for two years now. These are good for both gathering data and letting kids know what is available in the library. And I have web-based polls, which ask anything from "what's your favorite TV show?" to "do we have enough of the books you like to read?" I think focus groups would be a great idea for this community, too--I have no experience planning them, but I'd like to learn.

Last year, I asked one student who told me he hadn't checked out a book in his four years here why he hadn't--and he said that the library was confusing. He couldn't figure out what books were where. That resulted in me purchasing larger and clearer signage, as well as proposing (and getting approval for) a more major library reorg that should help students find books more easily. So I guess these kids proclaiming that they're too cool for the library is a good thing--because it can bring about positive change. You just need to figure out how it all fits together.

Books I Need to Read

2007-05-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have a long list of books that I need to read this summer. I need to keep track!

~~I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You~~
~~Twisted~~
~~A Bad Boy can be Good for a Girl~~
Tyrell
Skin
What my Girlfriend Doesn't Know
Private
HP7
The 4th Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book
Tangerine
~~Pretty Little Liars~~
~~A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith~~
Hattie Big Sky
~~Shug~~
You are SO Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah
Surrender
The Case of the Missing Marquess
Pants on Fire
Prom Dates from Hell
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Boy Proof
Sloppy Firsts
Second Helpings
Monster Blood Tattoo
Shock Point
The Higher Power of Lucky
Beige
Born to Rock
Firegirl
Clay
Secrets of my Hollywood Life
The Loud Silence of Francine Green
In Search of Mockingbird
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation
The Christopher Killer
Hello, Groin
Bad Kitty
Kiki Strike
Prom Anonymous
Life as We Knew It
The Unresolved
Flora Segunda

....I'll keep adding to this as I go

Library management

2007-05-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

I love a noisy library. Unfortunately, not all of my colleagues feel the same. Nothing gets my blood boiling more than a teacher trying to manage my library. But I know that I am not like most school librarians in this regard, and so it's not really fair of me to get frustrated with my colleagues. I also worry that some teachers might think I am not doing my job when they walk into a library full of loud, boisterous students.

I think this is one of the challenges I face as a school librarian trained in grad school as a public YA librarian. I wonder if this happens often in private schools, since many of us are uncertified MLSes. (How do you make MLS plural? Bahama Mama, thoughts?)

Hello

2007-05-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

I read a lot of blogs. I have 80+ in my Bloglines blogroll. How many more times can I write the word "blog"? Blog blog blog. Anyway, I decided I should start blogging. I mean, I used to have a personal livejournal, and I have a blog for our school library, but I need a space where I can write about library-related issues that aren't specifically about my library, and where I can be a regular person instead of a school person.

Here are a few things you should know about me:

1. I am almost 30. In a month, I'm marrying someone who's a few years younger than me. This makes me feel a little dirty, and very old. But I'm excited to marry him, nonetheless.

2. I am a middle and high school librarian. I love being a librarian and I love working with this age group. I also love being around little kids, and I wish that happened more often.

3. I work at a boarding school, and I live on campus, so I am also a dorm parent. This means I act more like a teenage girl than I maybe should. Sometimes I try to act like a mom, but no one can take me seriously.

4. Did I mention I look like I'm 18? I am frequently mistaken for a new senior, especially by potential parents on their campus tour. This gives me a great deal of authority. I am super intimidating. See no. 3.

5. Everyone thinks I am VERY boring. This may be because I watch a lot of TV. And I don't like, oh, going out. And I am a librarian. And I blush a lot. However, I am not boring. I am fascinating.

6. I live in a tiny zoo. My apartment is itsy-bitsy, and I share it with two cats and a dog. Here are some things you should know about my pets:

Mamie
My favorite, and she knows it. Mamie is a crazy calico who will do just about anything for attention, including flopping out to her full extended length (at least four feet) right in front of you as you're carrying a pot of ravioli to the sink to drain it. Loves cardboard. Loves paper. Will lick your entire arm from wrist to shoulder. Sticks her butt in your face when you're trying to read. Speaks, according to my finacee, with a French accent. Gets an awesome, blank look on her face when she's using the litterbox (ask me to imitate it sometime). My first pet as an adult. Named for Mamie Eisenhower....for no good reason.

Bodie
Mamie's loving and terrified companion. A big gray neutered male. Scared of everything: people walking, people talking, sudden movements of any kind, thunder, weird shadows, the air conditioner, the sound of me folding laundry/fluffing pillows, etc. HATES the dog. LOVES me. According to my fiancee, walks around thinking: "Sarah Sarah Sarah Sarah Sarah." Would probably prefer to live in a small, dark room with only me. Would keep me as his slave. He and Mamie clean each other; watching this, once, I teared up. Named after a character on Dawson's Creek, not Jenna Elfman's weird husband.

Matilda
Funny little dog. According to the place where I adopted her, she's a Golden Retriever/Basset Hound mix. Everyone thinks she's a corgi. She is fat and untrained. She tried to eat a really old dead mouse the other night. She wheezes a little. My fiancee [I need to come up with a code name for him; I know it will be something related to Joyce or Faulkner if he has his way, but if I have mine it will be something slightly emasculating] calls her his Goose. Why? No one knows. Her life's dream is to capture and devour a squirrel. She weighs 45 pounds, but is a lap dog all the same.

7. One of my favorite things to do is help a kid who has sneered at me or the library before, and see their opinion change, if only a tiny bit and not around their friends.

8. I live for new Meg Cabot, Sarah Dessen, and Maureen Johnson books. As well as cancelled shows on the WB/UPN/CW (BASTARDS) and super dorky point-and-click flash games.

9. I often write in all capital letters for EMPHASIS.

Okay. That's it for today. I plan on using this blog for little mini book reviews, commentary on stuff that's happening in library land, etc. etc. Maybe no one will read this....we'll see! Bye!