Librarians make me giggle.

While I found this rather enjoyable, I'm glad I graduated from Rutgers without impersonating Lady Gaga whilst lauding the benefits of proper searching.

Link via Boing Boing (found on facebook via Jess T).

TAG! You're it.

My teens are super cool and wanted nothing to do with the traditional "Teen Advisory Board" name and went for the funkier Teen Action Group. It makes me feel like we shouldn't be meeting in the Bicentennial Room of the library, but instead an underground command post with a drop down plasma screen TV the mayor uses for his urgent communications. ... Or not. But still!

Anyway, the only program that regularly gets attendance is TAG. For the life of me, I don't know why. During the summer I got people, but now that it's the school year I only occasionally get people to roll up to Teen Cafe. This absence is despite the fact that the teens show interest in programs like the creative writing group when talking about them in TAG. I spent 4 potential writing programs doing other work.

Well I'm sick of that. I've decided to take action myself. If the teens are only interested in TAG, well they'll only get TAG (actually not true, but whatever). Instead of having a monthly writing program, I am going to have writing exercises at the original Monday night TAG meetings. Instead of a craft program, there will be a craft activity at the new Tuesday night TAG: The Echo meetings. BAM. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

I already tried out the writing exercise this month and it went swimmingly! We ran the meeting for about 45 minutes with little to no tangents and then started an exercise I like to call Judging a Book by its Cover. The teens each got a book they most likely had not read before taken from either the juvenile, YA or adult fiction sections with nondescript or weird covers. Without turning to the back or inside jacket flap they had to create a 4 sentence synopsis. After they were all done we took turns reading first our synopsis and then the official blurb. One girl was mostly spot on and she had the weirdest cover! It was a great time and I look forward to pulling this back out in a few months. :)

New job -- Holla!

Okay. There's no getting around a blog post now. I got my computer back (woohoo!!) and I have today off. Those two items yield bloggyhood, duhz.

To start, everyone seems super nice. Sure, mostly everyone is nice to people they just meet, but it seemed like more than that. The overall atmosphere of the library is very laid back and relaxed. I felt slightly dressed up my first day in and outfit that would have been casual at NBFPL. So far, so good. I'll probably still wear my fancy skirts and dresses A) because I own them and B) because that's the type of librarian I am.

Two YA librarians before me kept EVERYTHING. I don't think you get it, she. kept. everything. I recycled at least 7 New York Times Children's Bestseller lists from 2007 and old carts lists and a bunch of other stuff that made my eyebrows scrunch together when I saw it because... wtf? Why was it saved? No clue. The YA filing cabinet (which I'm guessing my most recent predecessor never used) was reduced to half the size when I was done. I was a one woman recylcing circus this past week.

In addition to all that, I found out that there is greater support in this library system than I had previously seen in my old consortium. I spent the first two hours of my shift on Wednesday at another branch learning the ropes of our system from the YA librarian perspective and was amazed at how much these individual branches seem to make up one family. Since this branch is 5 minutes (if that) down the road from mine, we decided to do cross promotion for summer reading. I have to figure out when I'm planning my programs for the summer next week, but I'm going to attempt to arrange it so that there will be a program at one of our branches nearly every day. :)

All in all, a good first week!!

* Please Note

Now that graduation is upon us (and by us, I mean me) and only a handful of days away, I would like to tell you that I am not going to be a librarian. Despite spending 2 annoying years in library school, I have decided that I just don't see myself as a librarian. Instead, I am going to take my newly minted MLIS and my fancy new jobs and become a book pimp.

What exactly is a book pimp?

A book pimp can be described as a person that pimps out books. Oftentimes one can find these creatures exclaiming things like, "OMG YOU NEED TO READ THIS!!!" with such enthusiasm that it frightens puppies. They create book displays of utter beautiousity that it could bestill even the Twits' hearts. In their spare time, the produce booklists that are so nifty, even the most reluctant reader can't just walk past it.

True, there is still the whole shebang associated with collecting money. Any good book pimp knows to delegate this task to circulation. Lest we forget about the hoe slapdown of 87, it will serve no one to have a book pimp slap hoes unless it is in the most dire situations either.

Applications for Pimp My Bookcase are now being collected.

ETA: There is also the requisite nametag worn on a gold medallion of the nametag owner wearing a gold medallion. No book pimp is complete without this regalia.

A term paper by any other name...

...will still be annoying to write whether it is being turned in to a professor at the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies or the newly proposed name change School of Communication and Information. Fortunately, the application for my degree I filled out earlier in the week shows that regardless of what the board of governors actually decides upon, I will be a SCILS graduate, not an SCI graduate.

Let me back up a bit and give a brief summary of what the heck is going on. If you're in New Jersey or conversant with Rutgers happenings, then you may please allow your attention to wander down to the next paragraph. For the rest of you, here's what you need to know: Brandy new to the job, SCILS Dean Jorge Reina Schement decided to further the school's emphasis on communications while repeatedly shafting their largest program, library science. The dean argues that the change to SCI away from SCILS will provide a more cohesive unity in the represented schools and ease confusion many outsiders face upon hearing School of Communication, Information and Library Studies.

Excuse me? How does that even make sense? Previous to knowing anything about library science I knew SCILS had a library program. Why? The name told me so. It's that simple. Now that I am only too-versed in library theory I can understand the correlation between libraries and information as a brand, but to the common public? I can imagine it now...

"Hey you wanna give us some money? We need help with library advocacy blah blah blah. Oh you will!? Fabulous! Make that check out to the School of Communication and Information. No... I'm not trying to scam you into giving money for communications and IT, it's our name. ... Yes I know it doesn't say library but I swear to you we teach library ish. For real! We've got the best program in school libraries. Or we did, now we're like number 5 because everyone forgets about us now that we aren't technically a library school. ... No! No! That's not what I meant! We ARE a library school but we're losing street cred because the word library isn't in our name anymore. [sigh] I can send you the FAQ brochure explaining this and other inane decisions made by the powers that be."

Here's what other folks are saying:

• Library Journal
• NJSLA
• right from the horse's mouth
• that grammatically autrocious school paper that convinced me to enter this stupid profession in the first place: The Targum

Q strikes again

My favorite seventh grader to quote has given me permission to use his first initial to distinguish him from the other kids that say funny things that end up on this johnson.

“The bathroom smells like straight up booty crack. Someone blew the bathroom to smithereens.” ::Q, the hilarious 7th grader::

OMGZ How adorable!!

I had a fondness for my library for years. Back before I worked here and even before I began the library school process, I fell in love with the outside of NBFPL. But this historical postcard makes me love it that much more! Check out more historical postcards on our website, especially if you have an affiliation of any sort with New Brunswick, Rutgers, or just plain ole NJ!


And to think, those stairs are now covered with rambunctious teenagers doing all kinds of things they can't do inside the library...

Writing and librarianship

Being a writer is hard work (duh).  There are many things one has to consider and even if the stars align and the plotline is in order, the remaining legwork can be tremulous and quite annoying on occasion.  For example, I have only one chapter outlined in a young adult series and despite knowing where the books are going I am hesitant to call myself a writer because of this minimal effort.  Perhaps this is because the only real writing endeavors I've had as of late is from my heyday as a creative writing major (which, as I've found, is the major of choice for librarians so I don't even know if I count this).  Even when I was in a regular workshop setting my professors' reactions to my desire to write for a younger audience led me to believe my grade would be lower than if I wrote supposed real fiction so I never even got to practice the type of writing I want to do.  How the heck does any of this encourage me?  Oh wait.  It doesn't. 

Thankfully, I have the interwebz!!  Despite never directly asking for help, especially not from the one and only Laini Taylor, help comes again and again.  First came the discovery of her amusing and inspiring blog Not a Robot many moons ago and now she wrote a post that serves as a bucket of ice water waking up my lifeless inner writer.  Thanks Laini!  :)  I can't wait for the hell that is library school to end so I actually can do things I enjoy in my spare time instead of tedious homework assignments.  

Wondering why I'm spending all this time talking about Writer Kristi(e) when we all know that this is a forum for me to spew librarianship and fandom at you?  Because part of being a good librarian, even if one has no desire to write, is understanding how books come to be.  Yes, enjoying an author's work is fine and dandy, but I find that the more I know about the writing process the more I enjoy the books I read.  Just some food for thought.  And while you nibble on that, check out this video posted on Tales From An Open Book to get a humorous look into the life of a book.  

BONAS JONAS: 

• Tales From An Open Book also posted this gem about what happens when people pretend that books are similar to Twix bars.
• Something Awful decided to rewrite the classics, need I say more?

Remember that time I was a technological idiot?

I was so excited to have my computer back that I overdid it on the whole internet thing and used up all the bandwidth my dorm allows for the week in two days. As a result, I'm banned from going on the computer. How silly. To honor my stupidity, here is the lowdown on Teen Tech Week 09 along with some other online and/or gaming information.

Here is a link to the YALSA blog detailing what to do with little to no money and still celebrate Teen Tech Week. It features several podcast type things that I can't listen to because the current computer I'm on is without speakers, but based on the blog post they seem like something worth checking out. There are videos on budgeting, TTW in the school media center, and how to get started if you're a newbie.

Speaking of YALSA, they shared an interesting survey on their blog about teens and their online presence. This reminded me of Laini Taylor's post this weekend about authors and young adults using the internet as a communication tool. Very interesting reads there, go check it out!

I was just having a conversation with someone (or a group of someones) recently about whether or not teen literacy is still declining and whether or not video games are hurting or helping. I feel like it was my Materials for YA class, but I can't be certain, so if you know you had this conversation with me please let me know. Thanks. Anyway, I had this conversation and I still think that video games DO help literacy and it turns out I'm not the only one! That's right, the ALA teamed up with the Verizon Foundation forever ago to determine the impact gaming has on literacy.

BONAS JONAS: Poetry Friday, tricked out tech style. Technically it is a remake of the Beatle's Paperback Writer, updated to say C++ Writer instead. Oh man. BUT since there is no recorded version of it that I know of, I count it as a poem. For your enjoyment, the C++ Writer.

Teens teens, they're good for the heart!

The more together, the more the farts!

Forgive me. I am in a sillier mood than usual. My apologies. Anywayz, let's see what my big bag of backlogged blogging delights has in store for you:

• An interesting video relating back to the summer reading theme of creativity and expression. Thanks I.N.K!
• Ever stumble across an accidental teen book? Read the facts so you're prepared how to handle the situation if it arises. Fortunately we have YALSA leading the way...
• Speaking of young adult associations (yes, I'm pushing it here, but work with me), Alicia of the LibrariYAn attended her first YA section meeting of the NJLA. Her reaction is interesting and allowed me, a person who has never gone to one, an inside glimpse.
  
• The month of February is all about advocacy for YALSA, for each day we get more information on advocacy for teens in the library. Here is what they had to say on day one:

I understood that if I wanted to guarantee that teens had great library services, I needed to stand up for them and for the programs and services a library can provide to them. I realized, that I couldn’t simply say “It will never happen” or “No one understands what I’m trying to accomplish” instead I needed to inform others about what teen services and teens are all about.

If I didn’t do it, who would? If you don’t do it, who will?

Thus far, my favorite entry they've published on this topic came on day two: the advocacy toolkit. Check it out!

Express yourself @ Your Library

Schiorgasboard of program ideas for this year's young adult summer reading theme:

• Zee shows us how to paint with coffee by making a neat replica of Westerfield's Extras
  
• This is more of an (anti)Valentine's day craft, but whatevsky. It's awesome, you need to see it--works out like magic. Thanks, SuperPunch! You're the greatest!
• I associate LOLcatz with library science. I never saw them before grad school, now they are everywhere. Therefore, it is a splendid idea to make LOLcat purses as a teen library program, no?
• Perhaps instead of having a bland ::point::click::enjoy:: style photography program, spice it up by having teens bring in or print their digital photos, then turn them 3-D?
• What do teenage girls love more than earrings? RECYCLING! ... They don't? Whatever, because now they can make free earrings and recycle at the same time and there's nothing they can do to stop it. ... besides not go to the program, but why on earth would that happen?
• Fabric boxes seem super easy and super-duper awesome!
• We have a knitting club at my library, but you might have a sewing club. Or you could potentially have a sewing circle. Either way, if you wish to have a sewing program, this blog post of sewing term definitions is a must have print-out. Thanks U-handbag!

Unless otherwise noted, links come from Craft: blog.

A day in the life of a faux-brarian: Sunday edition

What's a faux-brarian, you ask? Well, take a look for yourself:

A faux-brarian is a person who is attempting to finish their MLIS while working as a library associate, causing many confusions to oneself and those around them. For instance, I often answer reference, reader's advisory and other librarian-type questions but that silly slip of paper I have yet to acquire says I am not a librarian at the present time. Oh well. Enough of that and on with the show!

• 12:50-1 PM: Stand in the cold since I am not a real librarian and therefore don't get keys to the building. Fortunately my teal tights keep me warm. Once someone with a key arrives, I scramble to turn on all the computers, printers, lights and so on while trying to figure out why the database printer continually spits out paper it attempted to print on Friday (i.e., not yesterday).
  
• 1-1:30 PM: Drink as much cappuccino as necessary to become a functioning human being while logging people into the computers for homework and games. Oh and thanks to a good reference handoff (see and I thought Reference Sources and Services was a waste of my time...look at me knowing the fancy terms) I was able to get the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook before the patron even came downstairs to collect it. Good teamwork!
• 1:30-2 PM: Computer literacy abound. Basic things like how to copy and paste into a word document, ("let me know when your session is about to expire and it won't log you out")^3 and don't use glue by the computer, that's how technological nightmares are created. Oh children...
• 2-2:30 PM: Internal debate over whether or not I should tell a little girl no older than 5 to stop playing the sound on a Dora book because on the one hand it is an annoying sound, but on the other... she's reading. This is solved by an odd reference question boggling my mind: a young boy looking for a report on the Titanic movie. After a five minute ref. interview it is determined that he is looking for a movie review. I think... [Also, amongst other things: more computer literacy and previously mentioned tasks]
• 2:30-3 PM: Much more of the same, this time with a bathroom visit. Fun times. Sundays are the epitome of the lazy library unless a major project is due on Monday. Then it is Crazytown, USA. Running total: two new juvenile patrons have internet permission. That is all.
  
• 3-3:30 PM: Decide to work on the children's reference website update while it is relatively slow. Now that I have the finalists in the science category it is time to narrow them down into facets. Found that some of the sciences are covered (biology, environmental) while others are lacking.
• 3:30-5:00 PM: More of the same only I moved on from science to art. This is proving trickier because most of the sites I had bookmarked are dead. Time to start from scratch, which is aggravated by the fact that a boisterous patron continuously asks for a 3rd turn on the computers despite knowing the children's room internet policy by heart (which means no third turn, buster).
  
  This is punctuated by my sneaking into the youth services office every so often to have some of my bagel. A new girl is reading/playing with the sound book. Damn I hate sound books.
  
  Time to go home! I love how truncated Sundays are!
  

Scrapblog in the library

I am an avid scrapbooker and was always hesitant to continue this hobby because of the expensive materials required and the amount of paper needed goes against my fervent anti-deforestation cause. This all changed last March when I discovered my favorite website ever. Ever. Scrapblog allows you to do so many neat scrapbooking techniques that previous to using this FREE website I could only dream about on my meager wages.

What's more is once I started using this website at work the quality of the library's flyers and booklists have definitely improved. Don't just take my word for it, check them out. Two of my colleagues who also use Scrapblog have generously allowed me to display their favorite publications on my blog so you can see what I mean. Also, the hyperlinks on each of our names takes you to our sc

Here is the booklist I made for a teen book discussion program for next month:

And here is Sara's flyer detailing the upcoming movie programs in the children's room:

Lastly, view Camille's flyer showing the teen programs for the next few months:

Word on the street has it I'm old

According to a 6th grade patron I am old. Why? Well...

"Once you hit 20 you're old. I mean, you're halfway to 40."

He went on to inform me that one should retire at 25 because then you're really old. Here I was thinking that I was just about to enter the grown-up work force, just to find out that I'm retiring in two years. Damn. I don't think I can pay off undergrad and grad school in that time...

Anyway...

I feel like I'm the only person in the kidlitosphere that is apathetic about the Youth Media Awards. Even my friend Sara who doesn't blog outside of once a year dedicated our daily email thread to them. Am I the Grinch that stole the Awards Ceremony? Granted, I did not fashion my aged dog and myself in spiffy outfits and take the correspondences into a red sack, all the while laughingly maniacally. This much is true, but I still am all bah-humbug! about this stuff.

When I was a kid Newberry books were something you had to read for school over and over again, and therefore sucked. Now that I'm a librarian I'm supposed to get giddy about it? I can still see that strained look when kids come into the library with their Newberry assignments, so I know this hasn't changed much in the past decade. I know there are kids out there that get excited about the award books, but from my personal experience they are younger and care about the Caldecott. I honestly tried to be proactive about them the summer before library school started and ... fail. The books I read were enjoyable but that nagging feeling that I was reading a Newberry clouded my brain. Prejudices die hard.

So, Kidlitters, I implore you to show me why I should care about this. Yeah, it's a bit of a demand and yeah, I'm aware 2 people read this but still... IMPLORE!

Note: What do I know? I'm not even a for-real librarian yet, what with that pesky graduation 4 months away. Also: I love Animorphs which should serve as several grains of salt in and of itself.

Apparently I'm into spontaneous booktalks in McDonalds.

When fumbling through my overlarge bag for my wallet, I pulled out a number of things--mainly books. As I was collecting them I muttered, "I guess it's obvious I'm a librarian since I have about 6 books in my bag."

This prompted my pubescent cashier to ask what I'm reading. I gave a mini-booktalk including air quotes around the words "boy book." He informed me he liked horror and I was like oh this isn't like that and felt around my hungry brain for the best way to say "coming of age story" without actually using such a cliche phrase. After I filled up my soda I informed him that word on the street tells me that the book involves a suicide, but I didn't reach it yet. To which the cashier informed me, "Oh, I like suicides!"

This is why I am meant to be a young adult librarian. Words that come out of their mouths are more golden than the arches blazing the parking lot of this annecdote's setting.

Nothing Youth Media Awards related at all

Except for this, but then again, it's only because it is Mo. He trumps my anti-award mood any day. Congrats, Mo! My best to Elephant and Piggie.

I know I've been a huge link dump slore, but I wish to get as much goodness to you all as I can. Forgive me? Aw thanks, you're too kind!

Super Punch Amazingness:

• The future is bleak and headed more towards Idiocracy* every day.
• New Pixar movie has a spiffy poster.
• Show me someone who doesn't like robots and I'll show you a liar.

Crafty type items:

• Barfing unicorn. Somehow, it looks even more magical than it sounds. I don't think I'll ever regret the day I added Craft: blog to my reader and this just about proves that point.
• Craftster blog link dump. I'm glad my boyfriend doesn't read my blog otherwise he'll see what horribly "original" idea of a Valentine's day present he is getting, complete with card.
• This is from the same link dump as the last bullet point, but the sheer ridiculousness of time and effort that went into these beads deserved its own tiny little dot on my blog. Absurd.

Other people review so I don't have to:

• All About Sleep by Elaine Scott (reviewed by Abby (the) Librarian)
• Is it cheating if you include a link to someone who links to other people's reviews when copping out of reviewing due to a computer shortage or true genius? Oh, true genius? You don't say! Please view Jen Robinson's review links that also made me want the books too!

Various kidlit tidbits and other johnsons:

• Some TinTin ish. (Thanks BWE!)
• PUPPY BOWL 2009!!
• School librarians making a lot of fuss to ensure my future job security. Thanks guys, you shouldn't have... (Thanks YALSA blog)
• Twilight/Buffy shirt I covet like no other. (Thanks interactivereader!)

*If you are unfamiliar with Idiocracy, let me first shame you and then suggest you add it to your Netflix queue yesterday. That is all.

Drive-by link dump

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Link ambush!

Sorry for the gangsta stylings, but every time I go to blog, I get bombarded with, "Ms. I need more time!" "Ms. how do you find a google images?" "Ms. show me how to make a cootie catcher!" "Ms. How do I find things on google images?" Therefore, you will get overwhelmed with linkity link links. I mean, psht, don't these children know that my computer was attacked by zombies and the only time I have to give you these amazing links is when I am at work? Clearly the job comes first, so I will gladly stop blogging to give them the assistence they need (even if I have to show them the same thing 5 times before they actually get it), but still... YOU NEED TO SEE THESE LINKS!!!!!!

The 6 links up thar on the tippy top of the post are pretty self evident. As for the links that follow, they benefit from some blurbification.

I'm a 21st Century Reader, are you? Thanks, A Year of Reading!

Is it just me, or should someone turn the news into YA novels?

• Man steals live shark
• "U.S. Marshals tracked Marcus Schrenker, 38, to a north Florida campground late Tuesday night, peeling back the flap to his one-man tent to discover him in clouded consciousness with blood-soaked arms, muttering the word 'die.'" Um... excuse me? I thought only fiction writers were capable of this level of epicness.
  

Bib-Laura-graphy link dumps, so I don't have to. Thanks Laura! Though, I will point out my favorite article she mentioned, which is obvious since it is Twilight. Not only is it Twilight, but it involves cognitive pyschology!! I don't often (if ever) mention my love of this subject because Purple Polka isn't really the right forum, but Twilight+cognitive science=Heaven on the web.

The Book Chook offers some helpful hints on how to get those pesky, reluctant readers to enjoy reading. Thanks! Makes my job a whoooole lot easier here in Library Land. Let's get those parents' reading that information!!

Dr. Seuss can use 0nly 50 words to create a masterpiece, can you? Thanks Tales from an Open Book!

Um what? Note: the word Sexting is absurd. Thank you, YALSA Blog, for bringing it to my attention.

7th graders are my blog's BFF

"Ms., it's not fair that dwarf planets aren't considered real when dwarf humans are."

Epic. Truly epic, Mr. 7th grade patron. My blog thanks you for your hilarity.

Can my library do this please?

The Carleton Public Place Library publishes very amusing blog posts for a library. Take this one, for example. I was all ready to believe that a patron's neighbor really did almost get swallowed by her snake. Which, who sleeps with their snake in their bedrooms? I guess I should have known it was a joke. But still... great blogging skills!! Way to engage the library patronage with pertinent and enjoyable resources. 2 points!