Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

10. Don't be surprised if you see lots of comfortable shoes with all kinds of outfits. Librarians are about practicality. 9. At some point during the week you will hear discussion of the latest book or comic book/graphic novel turned into movie, opinions about the actors selected, and who really should have been cast. 8. You will see a few too many programs on whatever the latest craze in libraries is in the current year...STEM or Makerspaces ring a bell? 7. You can play a sort of Where's Waldo that includes: one librarian wearing some kind of kitchy library swag, i.e. due date slip scarves or socks; a librarian wearing an ironic cat sweater; a few famous authors, an endless sea of characters wearing glasses. 6.  You and your friends play "Shoulder Bag Show-off." Winner points out the most shoulder bags touting a specific library name, or a book seller. Double points if the bag displays "famous" mascots like Penworthy Bear, or the Baker & Taylo...

Delicious coffee at Pistacia Vera, German Village, Columbus After 2.5 days in Columbus I wanted to: *Move to Columbus! I miss living near(er) to a big, happening city! *Eat at the North Market everyday; Stuffed cabbage and chicken/cheese balls at Hubert's Polish Kitchen, sandwiches and pickles from the barrel at Katzinger's Little Deli, strawberry buttermilk ice cream at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams *Have a roommate again--sharing a room with Prairie Dawn for a couple nights was a blast and made me miss the camaraderie of housemates *Spend hours (decades!) at The Book Loft of German Village *Have a croissant and quiche every day at Pistacia Vera in German Village The conference was great, as was the digs (the Columbus downtown Hilton), and it was definitely hard to leave this happening city, but I was excited to head points north and west for a weekend of camping with ChicagoBoy. ChicagoBoy and I met up at the State Park, Chain O' Lakes , in Albion, Indian...

Feel like I've been so busy, leading up the Ohio Library Council (OLC)'s Expo it was all about the Expo, post-Expo it's been about playing catch up with things I let slip a little. The Expo was FANTASTIC! Not only did I make lots of new library friends, and some are actually not too far from us--SCORE!--but I also participated in my first Battledecks ! Battledecks is a competition where contestants get a certain amount of time (5 minutes in our case), 12 powerpoint slides, and a topic (ours was taken from Sessions presented at OLC). You must cohesively present your slides, describing how they fit in with your topic, and of course the slides are of the most bizarre and ridiculous pictures. It was so much fun and some of them were hysterical! Definitely want to participate in it again next year! So, my talk? It went great! I had about 25 people attend (not terrible for 8:30a.m.) and received loads of great feedback and was even asked to consider presenting it again at o...

Prairie Dawn and I are just about to leave for the OLC (Ohio Library Council) Expo. Did I mention I'm speaking? Did I mention I'm nervous?! Busy week! We're gone until Friday, then as soon as I get back I change, dump my bag and reload it with camping gear and head out. ChicagoBoy and I are camping in Indiana this weekend at Chain O' Lakes State Park (can we say it's going to be freezing?!) My only hope is that while I was packing for both the conference and camping, at the same time last night, that I put the right clothes in my bag, or I'm going to be looking pretty silly presenting...

I am a member of one of Ohio Library Council’s division committees, and at one of our last meetings we discussed how best to get our presence/name out into the world of public libraries in Ohio; we talked about what our presence should be at the Ohio Library Council’s state conference in October. I offered to do a Poster Session (information boards that are kept up at a table for passerbys, so that they may obtain information about your group), I also ballsily said that I would consider doing a Session with another librarian (sessions are hour long talks about a topic that is pertinent within the profession); we even came up with another librarian who would be willing to split the session with me. So we did the proper paperwork and submitted it, and holy Jesus, we just found out last week that the council who decides ACCEPTED OUR PROPOSAL! I AM GOING TO BE SPEAKING IN FRONT OF TONS OF PEOPLE AT THE FREAKING STATE CONFERENCE. NOBODY PANIC!! I literally already starting having ni...

This year is the 15 Anniversary of HP and the Sorcerer's Stone-- the books are being re-released with new cover art. Temple Grandin signing books after her AMAZING lecture! On the left--children's author/illustrator Kevin Henkes! Ann Patchett--I was in the FRONT ROW! Alice Walker! The Diary of a Wimpy Kid bus Exhibitor's Hall before it opened Exhibitor's Hall before it opened My last post was Conference tips, this post will be chronicling all of the AWESOME things that I saw/did at ALA 2013 Chicago! Went to awesome sessions which gave me great ideas and left me feeling EMPOWERED! Talked to cool professional colleagues--met a guy who was the former director of a local library, so he actually had heard of Sticks! Now he's back near Cleveland--good to know if I ever decide to go back out that way... MET!! and had books signed by Katherine Paterson, Patricia MacLachlan, Kevin Henkes Got free yet-to-be-released-books wh...

Was going to post while at ALA, but 1. I didn't bring my computer and 2. though I had access to my iPhone, when I wasn't conferencing I was too busy having fun. I LOVE CHICAGO. It was so nice to be back in the city, a little over a year since my last trip in. I went in prepared to feel a little overwhelmed, which I did, initially--I mean there were about 20,000+ people there!--but, I played it smart and decided to only attend speakers and sessions that were around McCormick Place, choosing to avoid hitting the outlier sessions. Even though I came with a schedule of what I wanted to see and do, I lived in the moment and switched up my schedule if I saw something that caught my eye. I also wasn't sure how much time I would spend in the Exhibitors Hall (7 hours!?) or how tired I would be each day! Things I learned at my first American Library Association Conference: Wear comfy shoes. I chose Tevas, which actually didn't look as bad as I thought they would with skirts. ...

By the time you read this I'm either Chicago bound, or already in the city. I am sooooo excited for my 1st ALA Conference; excited for a weekend break from Summer Reading; super excited to be in Chicago! (I can't believe it's already been over a year since my last visit with the Germans!) All the swanky, big hotels were booked already by the time I decided I was going, so I'll actually be staying in the same hostel I stayed at with the Germans...fine by me, it's right down the street from Chicago Public Library's Main Branch! More details soon!

We're closed today because we're headed to the Northwest Ohio Library Conference! Ohio does a yearly state conference, but also now does regional conferences to catch more people who can't make the state conference in the fall. I'm pleased as punch to have a break from the library, and definitely looking forward to listening to speakers on a variety of Library topics. Maybe I'll post later about all the wonderful things I learn today! Unrelated, but GREAT news! Prairie Dawn starts next week! I am SO happy! Happy weekend everyone!

My absence from blogging was filled with such busyness that I don’t feel as though I have slept for about a week. Last Wednesday I headed across the state to Grand Rapids for my first conference—Spring Institute, a Conference put on by the Michigan Library Association for Children’s and Young Adult Librarians from across the state. It was a really cool opportunity to get some new ideas for programming and art projects, do some social networking, listen to some really great guest speakers and even get some people-watching in—we librarians are a weird, socially retarded lot, I think. The 2.5 hr. ride out to Grand Rapids was lovely. I took in the scenic pieces of countryside that can be found the farther west you drive. The untouched pieces of Michigan not too far north, still quiet in its farm splendor; freshly churned dark, rich fields waiting to yield crops; the lush smell of country seeping into the vents of the car and making me homesick for my old farm life, and smells of animal...