Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Sticks is fortunate that it has a college in it, which is great because it: A. brings diversity to Sticks B. almost doubles our small population for 3/4 of the year C. brings lots of fun events to Sticks D. Sticks College is very keen on supporting local and being as active as possible in the community! I recently met with some of the Education Dept. professors and we worked out a way for the Ed. majors to get some of their Field Experience done right here at Sticks Library! I am excited to see how this new challenge unfolds ,and quite honestly, excited for some fresh ideas and energy--I've def. been burning the candle from both ends lately! Starting next week I will be splitting my storytimes with the Ed majors, meaning I will begin the storytime and they will finish them; we will be working the same theme (the students have to pick the theme and inform me of it the week before) and the students are responsible for some type of activity: game or art project. I am eager to ...

I know sometimes it's hard to be inspired by storytimes with the kiddos; sometimes you're tired and just plain tired of reading out loud to groups that sometimes consist of screaming little monsters who continue to bang their hands on the heater, forcing you to read EVEN LOUDER--not speaking from personal experience. It is at these low points when we need to be reminded why storytimes and librarians are important!  One of the many things that librarians and teachers have in common is that we are constantly thinking of ways to educate and stimulate children; as a librarian we can use this time as a means to experiment with how best to interact with and engage our audience—being creative, without worrying when things don’t work as you hoped they would. I have been working with children for over 10 years and every day is still a learning experience.   Storytime isn’t just about the kids hearing stories, it is about: exposing children to the Library, teaching a love of literat...

Because I've been attending the high school's Teen Book Group, I've had to add a few new books into my repertoire--we recently read Divergent by Veronia Roth, and oh my gosh, I had so much fun! I've been reading some slower moving books about spirituality and some others for my Adult Book Group that wouldn't necessarily be things I would seek out on my own, so this was such a breath of fresh air! The book, a dystopian novel set in a time when our country is divided into factions (a little Hunger Games-y), follows Beatrice as she must decide whether to stay in her faction or choose a new one, all while she is musing over some disturbing and confusing bit of info about herself that she recently received. The book reads like so many teen books, fast paced and fun, what it lacks in perfect writing style and has in cliches, it makes up for it by being absorbing the same way that The Hunger Games was, and like The Hunger Games , Divergent is set to be another YA tril...

I really hate reading books that fall under the same theme each week when I do storytimes--I get it, themes help reinforce learning, blah blah blah--I fall into the school of thought that if you love what you're reading, you communicate something just as powerful to kids! Fortunately, when I do school visits the teachers give me free reign, just glad that I am there and giving them a half an hour break from being in charge. :) At a recent school visit I did a couple of stories I LOVE and also shared some Shel Silverstein poems to boot, the below storytime was with the first graders (the Kindergarteners have less time with me, so just some books geared toward to them).  The BEST 1st Grade storytime: One of my favorite pictures from Extra Yarn , Marc Barnett, illus. Jon Klassen Extra Yarn , Marc Barnett, illus. Jon Klassen  How can you not love a story about a girl who has magic yarn that never seems to run out--she makes "sweaters for things that don't even wear ...

Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and author of books such as, The Gifts of Imperfection, recently published, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Life, Love, Parent, and Lead . Brown has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame and reflects on what she has learned in her research, interviewing people about their experiences, also sharing her own. Though I am not a parent, I LOVE this manifesto! Daring Greatly --a phrase taken from a Teddy Roosevelt speech--is, as the title suggests, a book about how to be courageous in the face of vulnerability, how to overcome shame, how to live freer lives. I hate to call it a self-help book, as many of us have a preconceived notion of what we think those books are, but I guess that's just what it is; a book to encourage an ownership over ourselves and ideas on how to improve it. Where the ti...

I recently read and really enjoyed Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa's, Foolproof , which I found to be a fun, accessible cookbook. What I really like about this cookbook are both the recipes and photos; the meals that sound delicious and simple enough for any home cook. Garten also includes suggestions for table settings and "Foolproof menus" in the back for anything from Thanksgiving dinner to "French Bistro," "Dinner for In-laws," and "Snowy Day," meals! Not to be overlooked are the drink recipes too. :) Check it out, though you may have to put a hold on it, our copy's been out since we got it!

"Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.  We affirm the promise of our democracy.  We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.  What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.  For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never...

I've only ever read one graphic novel and so feel really less than capable when it comes to ordering those particular things for our collection. Some how I stumbled upon this link and today ordered a few of these titles...may this help other clueless collection development librarians out there. :)

From The Tin Forest, Helen Ward, illus. Wayne Anderson I first discovered Helen Ward when I bought a copy of her The Tin Forest --the story of a man who in his solitude creates for himself a tin forest; once he builds a replica of the real things he desires, it is only a matter of time before real plants and animals begin to appear in the tin forest--at a used book sale at one of my old libraries when I was in grad school. What makes Ward stand out is that she always paints an intimate story, including details that pull you into the world of the story. I just love her!   We recently got a copy of Helen Ward's The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse ; not a new story, but merely a retelling and re-illustrating of a Aesop 's classic. I LOVE Helen Ward's artwork, which is a feast for the senses, so full of color, lavish artwork that leaves you feeling as contented as that adorable country mouse.

I'll be honest, though I have the Zooey Deschanel/M. Ward "She & Him," cds and liked her in occasional movies like "500 Days of Summer," and "Elf," I've been hating on Zooey for a while now. I'm not sure if it's her quirky yet cute thing, her over the top Hipster-ness, her pinterests and web site, the way she can pull off super cute outfits I want but could never wear, or her big eyes...whatever, it is, it's over. I am now a Zooey supporter and this article said it all. I've recently begun watching and LOVING, "New Girl," and I'm absolutely in love with Nick and I think slightly angry men in general...oh God, I am learning so much about myself because of this show. And yes, maybe I watched the entire first season this week...in two days...12 episodes one night when I couldn't sleep. Don't judge me. And yes, maybe my therapist laughed and agreed with me when I compared some awkward things I've ...

The Epicurious Cookbook: More Than 250 of Our Best-Loved Four-Fork Recipes for Weeknights, Weekends & Special Occasions I have never met an Epicurious recipe that I haven't liked; their recipes are extremely accessible, even for the non-hardcore cooks out there. And delicious recipes too. My only complaint about this book was A. it needed more pictures and B. it made me hungry! You won't regret getting this book! I need to either check it out from the Library again or buy a copy, so many things I want to try!

Sticks Library participates in a federally sponsored program called E-Rate, which, according to the FCC E-Rate site . "The Schools and Libraries Universal Service support mechanism was established as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 with the express purpose of providing affordable access to telecommunications services for all eligible schools and libraries, particularly those in rural and economically disadvantaged areas." This program examines the community you serve (looking at things like how many students fall under reduced/free school lunches); looks at what type of telecommunications you use and what you make available to your public; how much you spend per month, and then in that amazing way that the federal govt. decides things, lets you know if your library has qualified for money back. The process is a pain in the ass, but money is money and worth working for, because every little bit helps Sticks Library. So, last night I spent three hours pouring ...

Days never work out the way that you think they will. I have a page long to do list that I wanted done by the end of the week, but it looks like it will roll into next week; some days end with me puzzling over where the day went. This week we introduced a Music Collection to Sticks Library. I am more than a little proud because A. we've never had a music collection here before and B. it's gotten good press locally and C. we got our first hold placed for a CD this morning! Creating the collection was as simple as deciding to set aside some money within our existing Audiovisual budget, and now because of so much e-music and iTunes. many people have already offered us their collections and that is really helpful and FREE! :) I've learned as a Director to never say, "no," but rather to say "we'll use it if we can, if not, it'll go in our used book/DVD/CD sale and the funds benefit the library, so you've helped us either way!" We've begun ...

This week at our storytimes we read wintry stories: The Snowy Day , Ezra Jack Keats (one of my all time favorite books from MY childhood) A Hat for Minerva Louise , Janet Morgan Stoeke We danced to Hap Palmer's "Rock and Roll Freeze," with our egg shakers, then we decorated winter mittens with stickers and crayons, then laced them up (this took a little bit more effort on the parents' part for the Toddlers); perfect activity for my 4 and 5 year olds. (The easy directions ; you can google mitten template if you are as art-challenged as I am!) Our cute results! Our cute results!

I have so much to say about work these days. I swear I will post about Library stuff soon, it's just that I've been working  a lot-it's quarter to 10p.m. and I am just now finishing the work day that began at 9a.m.--and sleeping a lot, like a damn bear hibernating!; and just feel like I can't keep up with LIFE! In the midst of all the good stuff I go and stumble upon a lovely poem like this and fall into feeling homesick for New England, my life there a million years ago, my friends tied to that place, my lovely Farm...*sigh.* "New England" Here where the wind is always north-north-east And children learn to walk on frozen toes, Wonder begets an envy of all those Who boil elsewhere with such a lyric yeast Of love that you will hear them at a feast ...

1. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just really busy at work right now, been exhausted and sleeping tons after work...hopefully just a winter funk... 2. So much to say about the Library. SOON!! 3. I have made a couple of friends FINALLY!! and am about to walk out the door; invited to a girls afternoon of games and a movie at new friends'. I am geeked!! P.S. I love the blog Hyperbole and a Half and can't stop laughing about this .  MORE SOON! PROMISE