the cardigan librarian

libraryjournal: bookavore: Readers’ advisory practice So...

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:54:53 -0400

bookavore:

Readers’ advisory practice

So cool.

I want to play this at librarian parties. (Hypothetical reference challenges were my favorite part of the notoriously demanding Reference core course at Simmons, and maybe of library school in general. I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER BUT I KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT.)

Holler If Ya Read Me: African-American Writers-and Readers-Fret Over the Future of Thug Lit

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:57:16 -0400

Holler If Ya Read Me: African-American Writers-and Readers-Fret Over the Future of Thug Lit:

bookstacks:

But Ms. Clark actually went one step better. Or worse. She switched places with her husband. She was released from prison in 2007 after serving nine and a half years for mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. She’d been the ringleader of an illegal scheme that solicited thousands of dollars from consumers to put into a pot and then paid out to different “winners” at different times. She wrote her fiction longhand on yellow legal pads, the pages of which circulated through the jail compound at Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, W.Va., with prisoners reading one page at a time then passing it on. It was there that Ms. Clark served time with a wealthy mogul named Martha Stewart, who served as an inspiration and an occasional business adviser. “She did her little five months like a trouper and was always willing to help you out if she could,” Ms. Clark told the Urban Book Source in 2007.

YES YES YES. Don’t know a lot about Street Lit? Love Street Lit? @Brentwood, we try to keep abreast of all the hottest books. Anything you want ordered? In time for the start of Summer, Just Let us know!

When I was browsing for myself lately on C/W MARS’s OverDrive, I discovered we have A LOT of urban fiction. I wonder, though, if this is a good format match. Seems like it would be better to have cheapy paperbacks, although at least with digital you don’t have to worry about theft. What’s your feel on the genre?

schoollibraryjournal: Though Veronica Roth’s Allegiant won’t be...

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:01:34 -0400

schoollibraryjournal:

Though Veronica Roth’s Allegiant won’t be out until October, here’s the cover.

(Thanks BookRiot!)

I guess I will read Allegiant, and eagerly, even but I feel a little betrayed by the last few pages of Insurgent. I can’t be alone in that, right?

Some Kind of Fairy Tale, Graham Joyce (2012)

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:30:32 -0400

Scenario: After disappearing as a teenager twenty years ago, Tara Martin reappears on her parents’ doorstep on Christmas Day with an incredible explanation for her absence.

Pros:

Tara’s explanation kept me reading, hoping, suspecting, fearing.
A compelling, modern update on the fairy story that draws on the English folklore tradition but doesn’t feel derivative or too fantastical.
Tara’s extended family and its response to her arrival broadens the novel from being simply about the one question — Where was she? — to address, more broadly, how a family can move on (or not), love (or not) and trust (or not) in the face of tragedy and mystery.
The working-class setting is refreshing, and the descriptions of the English countryside lovely.

Cons:

Some pretty strong language and sexual content, if that’s a concern for your reader.

Bottom Line: I need to try more Graham Joyce. This book could be a good fit both for literary and fantasy readers, though the content definitely puts it squarely in the adult camp.

responses to seeking advice, 1

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:59:07 -0400

So, last week I asked the tumblarian community how they handle workshop enrollment, after I had a lot of no-shows. I got a lot of helpful responses, which I thought I’d share here.

mauramae:

So, I do adult programming. Most of our programs are open, but on occasion we’ve had to limit. I make that super clear- Registration required on all marketing. Our calendar system sends out an email to everyone, which helps, or I will do the same. No email addresses, we call. We ask people to confirm as there is a waitlist and we’d love to extend to other people if they can’t make it. I also let people know that sometimes there are no shows so they are welcome to come the day of and see what happens, no guarantees though. I haven’t experienced any repeat offenders… but this seems to work well. Good luck!

youtastelikenachos:

This really grinds my gears as well. Two things that have helped:

1. I send out an email reminder the day before any registered program. If there is a waitlist, I include in that email the fact that there is a waitlist. I hope this makes people feel guilty enough to cancel if they are not going to make it.

2. I haven’t had to do this yet, but look for patterns. If you have a repeat offender, I think it is totally fine to follow up with them and say something like. “Hey, I noticed you were not able to make it to the last two programs we had you registered for. If you’re not going to make this program could you just let me know so I can let someone off the waitlist.”

nerdylikearockstar:

We’ve had this happen quite a bit especially with Children’s programs. Here are some things that have helped:

We only put out the signup sheets two weeks before the programs so not too much time passes in between.

We emphasize to patrons that if they sign up but they can’t come, they should call so we can fill their spot.

We don’t have waitlists. Instead, we tell the parents who are interested after the program is full that if they come to the library on the day of and there are spots, we’ll get them in. This doesn’t work for some people but for a lot of others even if they can’t get in to the program they can still enjoy a trip to the library.

It’s frustrating to turn patrons away only to find out that you would have had room for them; with kids there are going to be days where things don’t go according to plan. But these things have helped mitigate the problem at our library. Good luck!

notyourstereotypicallibrarian:

I always ask for e-mail addresses b/c it’s so much easier to send out a mass reminder instead of calling each person one at a time. Plus, I hate talking on the phone…

schooledlibrarian:

From working at a school, especially for our Open House events, I’d think email addresses and follow-ups are key. The email we send out to those that signed up is usually just framed as “confirming” that that person is on the list; we add a few more details on the event that they might need, then ask for RSVPs if they don’t plan to come. Sometimes the people that sign-up simply forget about the event, and others will hopefully do the courteous thing and let you know if they aren’t coming. We also tend to overbook to make up for the no-shows.

sarahbethlibrarian:

we do have a signup sheet (online) for most of our programs, but it means basically nothing. we’ll have programs with 35 people registered and 10 show up, and we’ll have programs with 10 registered and 50 show up. So mostly, I just hope for the best and figure I know my community and what they like, and we get a good turnout.

There are a few exceptions: For computer classes, we require registration, make reminder calls the day of the class, and call the waitlist for anyone who cancels during their reminder call. For classes with really limited supplies, like art or cooking workshops, we require registration, REALLY emphasize it, but DO allow walk ins. We just wait by the door with a sign-in sheet and just let people who haven’t registered know that we are technically full and may not be able to accomodate them. Luckily, we’ve never actually had to turn anyone away even then— it just always works out. But it still makes for lots of nail-biting situations when I don’t know if anyone will show to a program I’m super excited about!

deweyscloset:

If there were a lot of no-shows, and you had a wait list, definitely hold them accountable. Talk to the parents and let them know what’s going on. Say that there was a long wait list for the program and that when they didn’t show up it put you in a tight spot. They may not have thought it was a big deal or not have known there was a waiting list so you need to let them know. Let them know that if something comes up to please call in so that you can let other parents know that a spot is available. If it is a new program or you have new parents it wouldn’t hurt to call the day before to make sure they can make it-but then again if you have 100 kids that’s a pain. For my smaller art class I only have 5-8 kids and I call the day before when a few didn’t show up.

reasonsimsinglealsobutts:

I’d usually go with ritualized sacrifice of the no shows, but I’ve been told that’s no longer acceptable.

Instead, email addresses work as well, otherwise I’d do first come first serve in the future. No sign ups, just a queue. Email reminders might work though.

This really helps with SRP planning. I think I’ll go with email addresses and a mass reminder with mild guilt trip when I create the sign-up for my summer reading Hunger Games Training Day. We’ll take it from there, depending on how things work out this time.

Thanks, youse guys!

librarymayhem: thecardiganlibrarian: themugglelibrarian: carri...

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:30:29 -0400

librarymayhem:

thecardiganlibrarian:

themugglelibrarian:

carrieryan:

I have a new eOriginal short story set in the Forest of Hands and Teeth World coming out on May 14, 2013! Similar to Hare Moon, this short story, What Once We Feared, will only be available in digital formats and you can get it anywhere ebooks are sold: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million | Google [I’ll add more links as they become available - some sites don’t have a way to pre-order digital works]

What Once We Feared is a 7,000 word story set right at the moment the Return (aka zombie apocalypse) hits and follows a group of teens trying to survive.

SO excited for this!!

Can we talk about the phenomenon of electronic-only low-priced, short-form promotional tie-ins to YA novels? Is there an analog equivalent? How do we feel about this as a trend? How do we handle these in our collection development?

It’s happening with adult authors, too; Lee Child is the first to come to mind. I have patrons who request them and when I tell them it’s in digital format only, they usually respond exasperatedly, because they don’t own a Kindle or a Nook or a whatever. I might be able to license it for my library’s downloadable collection, but even they still wouldn’t have access to it unless I also load it onto a checkoutable eReader for them.

We do circulate preloaded Nooks, so I guess I could pay for five copies of each title and have them on those… But there’s something about this that just makes me bristle. And I don’t mean to single out any authors in particular - it’s just not a publishing trend I have positive feelings for. And who is driving this trend? The authors? Or the publishing companies?

I didn’t know about the adult authors! Our consortium has access to some of these mini teen titles through Overdrive, which is where I first encountered them. (We don’t have checkoutable ereaders, however.)

Right now I’m reading Requiem, and just read Hana, the short tie-in story that (I guess?) precedes it, through Overdrive. And the little story, while an entertaining way to pass the time in waiting for your copy of the anticipated sequel, is definitely not necessary to following the plot of the “real book.” I could see Hana being a fun, almost fan-fiction-y treat for the true Delirium devotee, though.

As a complicating factor, even if budgets allow for the acquisition of these materials, I’m not sure how many teens are into e-reading, even if a fair number of them could theoretically download Kindle apps to their smartphones.

Love my library job...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:23:07 -0400

because I get to order YA books and get it into the hands of teen readers
because the programs I plan involve such disparate elements as collage and laser guns
because not only does my baby son get to visit me at work, he can check out the newest picture books at the same time
because I don’t pay library late fees
because public librarianship, for me, offers just the right blend of introverted and extroverted work, and of physical and mental work

jessydoesthings: Send me your library card number; I’ll put...

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:55:55 -0400

jessydoesthings:

Send me your library card number; I’ll put random surprises on hold for you.

This is a brilliant idea for the teen who doesn’t know what to read once you’ve developed a rapport with him or her.

themugglelibrarian: carrieryan: I have a new eOriginal short...

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:56:41 -0400

themugglelibrarian:

carrieryan:

I have a new eOriginal short story set in the Forest of Hands and Teeth World coming out on May 14, 2013! Similar to Hare Moon, this short story, What Once We Feared, will only be available in digital formats and you can get it anywhere ebooks are sold: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million | Google [I’ll add more links as they become available - some sites don’t have a way to pre-order digital works]

What Once We Feared is a 7,000 word story set right at the moment the Return (aka zombie apocalypse) hits and follows a group of teens trying to survive.

SO excited for this!!

Can we talk about the phenomenon of electronic-only low-priced, short-form promotional tie-ins to YA novels? Is there an analog equivalent? How do we feel about this as a trend? How do we handle these in our collection development?

spontaneous overflow: Room of Requirement

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:54:55 -0400

spontaneous overflow: Room of Requirement:

alethiosaur:

Today I was looking for bookends. “Have you checked the secret closet outside, past the stairs, next to the boiler room?” asked Librarian Jason.

“I have not.” I went out the loading dock, followed the ramp down, and then further down dark stairs. Just before the boiler room, a secret outdoor…

In which a self-proclaimed non-library-tumbling librarian writes, combining two of my favorite things — Harry Potter and libraries — a meditative essay on the magic of libraries. Let us all remember their magic.

seeking advice, 1

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:48:02 -0400

When you’re doing a workshop or something, and you have a signup sheet, how do you walk the line between holding people accountable and being, you know, nice and still attractive as an institution?

For Art Week, especially with the littlest kids, we were filled up with a wait list. And then there were a lot of no-shows, and I could have let the wait listers in if only I’d known. Do you get email addresses and send out a reminder? Call the day before?

Advise!

"I think the young adult books that spoke to you when you were 11 and pre-pubescent (awful word; we..."

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:21:19 -0400

“I think the young adult books that spoke to you when you were 11 and pre-pubescent (awful word; we now call it tween, which is possibly more awful) form your adult tastes. For me it was Madeline L’ Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time with a side of Walter Farley’s The Black Stallion. It was a direct path from here into fantasy, sci-fi, adventure stories and animals.

Give me some Call It Courage about a cannibal island or Farley Mowat’s Never Cry Wolf. Also The Yearling. A Separate Peace. Charlotte’s Web. The Phantom Tollbooth. And now I’m re-reading these things.

Why do this, when there are so much great new books to discover? 1) I have kids and they are just getting into the American Y.A. canon, and 2) I believe T.S. Eliot when he said in Little Gidding (which I learned is a place, and not as I had thought, a little girl), “We shall not cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time.””

- Reading Young Adult Literature in Middle Age (via bookriot)

themugglelibrarian: movieweb: Graceling Adaptation Lands at...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:03:21 -0400

themugglelibrarian:

movieweb:

Graceling Adaptation Lands at Reliance Entertainment

India-based Reliance Entertainment has acquired as a film franchise starter the rights to Kristin Cashore’s bestselling, award winning young adult fantasy trilogy Graceling in partnership with Kintop Pictures.

Producer Deepak Nayar (Paranoia, Bend It Like Beckham, Buena Vista Social Club) will oversee the project for Reliance and Kintop Pictures and will produce alongside Tabrez Noorani (Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi) of Tamasha Talkies and Leigh Ann Burton for Blu-Sky Media.

British screenwriter Piers Ashworth (Nostradamus: 2012, St. Trinian’s 1, 2 & 3) has signed on to write the script. Graceling is the first installment of a trilogy, which also includes The New York Times bestsellers Fire and Bitterblue. These New York Times bestselling books have won numerous awards, including the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature, the SIBA Book Award/YA, Indies Choice Book Award Honor Book, and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

The first installment of the trilogy, Graceling, published by Harcourt Children’s Books, tells the story of the vulnerable yet strong Katsa, a smart, beautiful young woman who lives in a world where select people born with an extreme skill — called a Grace — are feared and exploited. Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. As the king’s niece, she is forced to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him. Katsa must learn to decipher the true nature of her Grace … and how to put it to good use.

Here’s what producer Deepak Nayar had to say in a statement.

“We are very excited about a potential franchise with a strong and original female lead. Graceling offers an original storyline that we haven’t seen before that combines elements of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones.”

Reliance Entertainment and Kintop Pictures, as partners, are currently producing Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters.

Kristin Cashore is represented by Julie Kane-Ritsch of The Gotham Group and Faye Bender of the Faye Bender Literary Agency. Piers Ashworth is represented by Resolution. Graceling is represented by Julia Scott of Rufus-Isaacs, Acland & Grantham, LLP.

[MovieWeb]

As is always the case when a book I cherish gets optioned for a movie, I’m not sure whether to be excited or nervous. I’m going for both emotions, at the moment.

No surprises here.

jessydoesthings: Someone remind me next year to have a 10...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:22:01 -0400

jessydoesthings:

Someone remind me next year to have a 10 Things program on Shakespeare day.

I love this idea so much.

True or false: 10 Things I Hate About You is this teen generation’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Sixteen Candles.

(Pictured: two photos of the kids trying out photo props I...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:31:54 -0400

(Pictured: two photos of the kids trying out photo props I printed from Oh Happy Day, and a photo comparing one girl’s nail polish with one girl’s paper marbling-dyed hands — plus me lurking in the background)

Probably the best thing to happen in my four workshops for Art Week was the photobooth on Friday, the last day.

Inspired by the advice of la bibliotecaria, I’d envisioned the girls, friendships forged in the time spent water coloring and collaging together, enjoying a sort of free form photo playtime on the last day. I tried to be flexible going in, keeping all the materials from previous days at the library in case the photography workshop didn’t catch on and nervous as hell to unleash a few 12-year-olds on my camera and tripod, but I was pleasantly surprised.

In about half an hour, the kids warmed up and took nearly one hundred pictures, mostly with the props, experimenting with different pre-production filters and growing gigglier and gigglier. By the time I helped them print a couple of keepsakes each, I had a hit on my hands, and two of the girls told me this was the best part of the week.

I wish I could post more of the photo booth photos, but want to preserve the participants’ privacy. Suffice it to say, a lot of goofiness went on.

I kept the photo props, and expect to break out the photo booth again, perhaps at the end-of-summer party.

As promised, what I and the Artist-in-Residence helped the kids...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:22:39 -0400

As promised, what I and the Artist-in-Residence helped the kids and tweens make at the library out of discarded library books for this year’s Art Week. These were the first programs I ever put on by myself, and while they were a bit sparsely attended, they went really, really smoothly.

(Also, don’t you just love that our library has fresh flowers in springtime?)

libraryjournal: Five Great Things Libraries Are Doing With Old...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:37:01 -0400

libraryjournal:

Five Great Things Libraries Are Doing With Old Books | LJ Insider

Library book sales (and their descendants, such as Better World Books) are a great institution, but they’re not the only thing libraries can do—or help their patrons do—with obsolete titles besides the dumpster. Here are five creative reuses from real libraries.

Turning them into New Books

In Richmond, VA, The People’s Library is a collaborative art project to create 100 handmade books of personal history. The Richmond Public Library helped collect discarded books to be recycled into paper, then bound into books with prompts inside them. They’ll be added to the library’s permanent collection, and patrons can check them out and respond to the prompts.

Turning them into Art
In Bath, England, the library found a new use for weeded books that don’t sell. Patrons collect a book and turn it into an art contest entrywith the help, if they like, of a series of library workshops. The resulting art projects are exhibited at the central library and online and the public votes for their favorites; the winner in each category receives a free ereader.

Fixing Them
For 40 years, Georgia’s Hall County Library System has partnered with the National Library Bindery to restore old books and Biblesbelonging to library patrons. Repairs take about two months, and patrons are charged for the service.

Turning Them Into Furniture
An oldie but a goodie: a reference desk made of books in a Dutch library.

Turning Them into Fundraisers
Recycled Reads, the Austin Public Library’s used bookstore, upcycles old books and media into crafts and sells the results.

Been doing #2 all week with a couple of tweens for the April Break Art Week at the library. Pictures to come soon, I hope.

"It’s National Library Week — like Shark Week but with cardigans."

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:48:42 -0400

“It’s National Library Week — like Shark Week but with cardigans.”

- my coworker in the University Archives. (via ex-tabulis)

Well, we do live every week like it’s Shark Week.

(via librarylinknj)

Too good not to reblog; I’m sure you’ve already seen it.

Oh, you're completely awesome! I mean aside from writing book reviews which is fantastic you've read both the Seven Kingdoms books and the Elisa books you win everything.

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:36:25 -0400

Gee, thanks! I’ve gotten more into fantasy in the last couple of years of doing reader’s advisory, after thinking I’d outgrown it as a teen.

The Crown of Embers, Rae Carson (2012)

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:07:10 -0400

You didn’t know I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns, but I did. It was just while I was dying. I read it lying on my side curled in the fetal position about two weeks into morning sickness, and since I couldn’t write a review in that position, it goes unchronicled.

Scenario: Continuing a few months from where The Girl of Fire and Thorns left off, here Elisa’s position as queen in Joya d’Arena is far from secure. Fleeing the pressure to remarry and hoping to finally fulfill the destiny promised by her Godstone, Elisa sets off on a quest across the desert once more.