Teen Tech Week Bingo (Library Life)

March has brought about another Teen Tech Week. This is an annual event that encourages teen library goers to use the libraries non-print resources for fun and for academics. After seeing so many QR code scavenger hunts I really thought it would be cool to do in town because we are located in such a neat little village. However March is still cold, and I’m not sure parents would appreciate sending their kids all over town. However I helped come up with something similar, an interactive game of BINGO!!

This ain’t your run of the mill bingo game. Each square features a different task that the teens had to complete. Each task is technology related and vary. Tasks were as simple as following the library’s Goodreads page, or involve them recording a video book talk on either vine or youtube. Every time a task is completed they saw a librarian that stamped their bingo card. Once they made a straight line or a diagonal, they won a prize.

We wanted to make sure the kids shared their content with us so we asked that most of the tasks be submitted to us by email or shared with us on social media. We also created a hashtag teens could tag the stuff they were doing for the contest.

Something that I didn't take into account, was that not all kids use social media. A lot of the younger teens are not allowed to go on certain sites, so weren't able to complete some of the tasks. Luckily I included a few tasks that were about technology, but did not require social media. I asked them a few tech related question that they had to answer. An example is I asked them to define an internet troll and one tasked asked them to translate binary. 

It was a fun contest and I hope we get to do it again next year.

'Thankful for books' - Library Life

I know Thanksgiving is over and everyone is in full on holiday mode, but I thought better late than never to share with you my November bulletin board display.I made a giant turkey that is very Thankful for books!

I made the turkey out of construction paper and drew him by hand. The letters were made with my silhouette machine.

Monsters Display - Library Life

Since October is upon us it was time to update my display! I was trying to think of a good idea for this one. I didn't want anything too scary or too cheesey. I didn't want to put 'Read BOOOOOks'. I like a good pun but I wanted something clever! When I came across the quote 'A Book a Day Keeps the Monsters Away'  I knew what to do!

I had my quote, now I needed some monsters! I thought I would use some literary monsters including: Leonardo (the terrible monster), Ed Emberly's Big Green Monster, Grover and Mike Wiskowski. I enlisted the help of our resident artists, Morgan and Annmarie. They constructed these guys and they came out awesome! The used some cool spooky fonts on picmonkey and cut the letters out on my silhouette machine.

Library Card Sign Up Month Display - Library Life

We are in September, Fall time (ya-hoo!) This is also library card sign up month. To celebrate I made a very bulletin board display that is all about libraries!

I thought about doing another back to school display, like last year, however, I decided to switch it up a bit. Besides,the rest of the room was pretty decked out in with a back to school theme. First thing I needed for this display was a good quote! I am a librarian that like’s to pun-tificate and come up with cheesey rhymes, so I was excited when I found this quote on pinterest inspired by Arthur! Now that I had my quote, I needed a fun visual element. I decided on making a giant library card, but whose card would it be?! I chose one of the most fun characters that I could think of, Mo Willem’s Pigeon! Now that I had all of my ideas organized, it was time to put it all together!

For the background, I used a vynil table cloth from the dollar store. They make bulletin board displays so easy because they are lightweight and won't fade. I chose a nice red (because it goes with our library’s colors) For the giant library card, I used some oak tag and cut a square in it (for the ‘patron’ picture). I used some sharpie’s to make the library’s logo and it came out pretty good for free-handing it. Next my friend Annmarie drew a Pigeon on some teal construction paper. I added some extra details and stuck him on the card.

For the quote I used my silhouette machine for most of the letters. I wanted to emphasis ‘Library card’. I found this printable of an old check out card, it’s from The Creative Place blog. I used this printable and formatted it in Microsoft publisher and added the letters on the cards. I printed them out and attached them to some card stock because they were a little flimsy. I strung some yarn across the display and attached the letters using tiny clothes pins.

It came together quite nicely and I think it looks great! Now I’m starting to think about my Halloween display!

Doctor Who - Library Life

In the Spring time while we were still planning programs for the summer, the teen librarian asked if I would be interested in holding a Doctor Who program. I nearly fell off the reference desk with excitement. I partnered up with another librarian and whovian, Monica and together we made a pretty awesome program. Here is what we did....

We couldn't have a proper Who program with out a TARDIS. We had a ton of PVC pipe in my garage so I had Timbo cut it up to my specifications. He did it because I am klutzy and not to be trusted with power tools.  After all the pieces were cut I took it to the library then began assembly! I wrapped it with blue butcher paper and used my silhouette machine to cut out most of the details.

Other than the TARDIS we had different stations for the kids to take part in while roaming around the room. This included bow-ties, making t-shirts, putting the Doctor's in order and a snack of 'Fish finger's' and custard. Afterward we tested their knowledge in Who trivia.

For the bow-ties, we used felt and ribbon. We assembled them using the glue gun. I have some pretty gnarly burns from helping them, however they all did a good job. I gave them each a safety pin so they can wear it. One kid passed up the bow-tie because he said he already has too many Whovian bow-ties.

The t-shirts did not go over so well. This was mainly because only one kid listened to our reminder phone call warning about brining a shirt. I showed them how to make the t-shirts at home. For the stencils I cut out some Who themed shapes.

With a program like this, these kids are going to need food. I didn't want to do something lame like pretzels. It had to be Who-themed! I came across this recipe for 'Fish fingers' and custard. The 'finger fingers' were actually cookies and the custard was vanilla pudding. Monica is quite an accomplished baking so she handled that. They came out pretty awesome and they tasted really good with the pudding.

I wasn't sure how the kids were going to do putting the Doctors in order. Most of the kids are Who newbs and are familiar with 9 and on. However they surprised me and with some team work they got it! This idea Monica got from this Teen Librarian Tool Box.

After all the bow-ties were made, the fingers fingers were eaten and the doctors were put in order, it was time for trivia. Monica and I had been working really hard to come up with some good questions. I think we did pretty good because we stumped some of the most die hard kids! One of my favorite stumping questions was: What do the Doctor Who actors, Freema Agyeman, Karren Gillian and Peter Capaldi all have in common? Answer: they were all in Doctor Who episodes before being cast as main characters.

Monica and I weren't the only ones dressed up. We invited kids to come in Cosplay. A few looked great, while the others opted for Doctor Who t-shirts. 

This program was so much fun and based on the reaction we most certainly are going to do it again in November for the 50th anniversary. I'm grateful for the help from Monica, the kids that came and the fact that I get to do things like this for a living.

Read Anything Good Lately? - The Familiars

So I have been trying to catch up on some reading lately, so I have
decided to introduce a new section to the blog, Read Anything Good Lately? I read quite a bit and I am especially fond of Fantasy and Sci/fi. I also read a lot of Children's and YA novels so if you were expecting reviews of the latest and greatest in more mature literature sorry to disappoint. For the very first installment I give you, the Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson.

Around Thanksgiving I was excited to have my family stay with me. This included my Dad's girlfriend Louisa and her daughter, Danielle and husband Brian. While talking Brian mentioned that his brother wrote a kids book so of course my hears perked up. So I was excited to see that we had it at my library!

The Familiars takes place in the magical world of Vastia. Young witches and wizards are taught magical abilities along with an animal companion known as a familiar. When Aldwyn a typical fish thieving back alley cat accidentally gets chosen as a young boys familiar he is thrusts on an adventure he is unprepared for. Aldwyn meets up with two other familiars, sparrow Skylar and a tree frog named Gilbert. Together they have to go on a quest to save their loyals (their human companions) that have been kidnapped by the corrupt queen of Vastia, Loranella.

The Familiars is a quick read but is jam packed with adventure. The book does a good job appealing to kids, its an easy read and the content, although suspenseful at times is not scary. Although the content is geared toward a younger set it, it doesn't skimp out on the fantasy and epic novel tropes we have come to expect, including humor, side quests and of course and open ending. The Familiars does take a new spin on the magically fantasy book, the main characters are the animal companions! The supporting characters end up becoming those given great power and tremendous responsibility.

The adventures of the Familiars continue in the Secret of the Crown and Circle of Heros. Production on an animated movie version of the Familiars has begun. The film's release is expected in 2014.

Back to School Display

Its that time of year, the kiddies are gearin' up to go back to school. Kids coming into the library get upset when they see our back to school books out, so this year I thought I might jazz up back to school with a display. I'm sure they will still be bummed that we are in the final days of summer and it won't make them any happier to see my display.. but at least I think its awesome. Maybe its also because for the first time in 18 years I don't have to worry about going back to school.

I had a bunch of left over paper towel rolls from back when I did my Star Wars program. I used them to make the pencil. Then I cut some in half to make the crayons. I was thrilled with how they came out and I loved how giant it looked. I kept on with the giant theme and make a big piece of loose leaf paper and a big ol' ruler.

Any of you getting in the back to school spirit?

Dr. Seuss & Truffala trees!

In the Children's library world March is associated with a very special birthday, Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss)

This year I got to do a few special things. First I made this super awesome bulletin board.
I found this Dr. Seuss quote and loved it, it also fit in the library perfectly. Then I referred one of the Cat in the Hat books and sketched a mock up. I gave to Port Jefferson Library's resident artist, AnnMarie and she make a large scale version and TA -DA! it looks pretty neato

My Dr. Seuss March madness did not end there! If you must know the Lorax feature film was recently released (which I really hate what cinema has done to some Dr. Suess classics but that's besides the point). I figured it would grab the attention of some kiddies so I did a Lorax program! And if you don't know the Lorax.. why he speaks for the trees! So I decided we should make some Truffala trees.

You can to it's really easy! All that you need is:
Construction paper (I used yellow and red)
Glue
Tissue Paper
Stapler

• I took the red construction paper and made two circles measuring 6 inches
• Then I stapled them together in three spots and left and opening on the bottom
• Then kids then decorated the red circle with different colored tissue paper squares (this is the top puffy part of our tree)
• Then they got to decorate the yellow piece of construction paper that was 8 x 11 inches 
• After decorating the tree trunk we rolled it up and stapled it then place the puffy part on the top
• Instant truffala tree!

Thesis Madness

Hello friendos,

All crafting has been suspended until further notice! Why, you ask? Well I am in the middle of Thesis madness, that's why. It is my last semester and all I have to do is write my thesis. So every free minute I get I am usually doing research. This has been a strain on my life for several reasons, 1) crafty exploits have been put on hold 2) From sitting for so long I am getting serious back and hip pain! 

So since the thesis is serious business at Queens College so I had to prioritize a bit. I put the sewing machine away :( (but its only temporary!) and spend lots of hours doing research. I am having some trouble with it though. I feel like I am over-researching as opposed to actual writing. I think I am getting really tripped up by all the horror stories I have heard about thesis all through out library school. Also the fact that it has to be around 60 pages scares the crap out of me. My undergrad thesis was about Blade Runner and it was only 10 pages long! Luckily I have the option to write it in a group and I am so grateful to be writing it with two lovely ladies. I met them during the intro classes and we have been on the same track together. It'll be nice to graduate with them.

Another thing that helps is that I am doing an interesting topic, Interactive Literature.What like e-books? Yeah e-books are interactive but we are going beyond the digital and talking about pop-up books, textured board books and books with musical components. So I feel good that I am not doing boring nonsensical research.

As for my back pain, I try to get up once an hour. This also freaks me out.....

In the mean time I have doing stuff for myself, otherwise I would go crazy. I did things like get some new clothes and what not. Last Friday Tim took me to see the taping of Chris Hadwick's stand up special. (You know how much I <3 him) It was a lot of fun and Jonah Ray, his nerdist companion and opening act, was soooo hilarious! He read the rules of the taping as jokes. So good! And Hardwick of course was awesome. He took a picture of the audience after the show and if you look real close you can see mwha! (Tim is next to me but he was clapping in front of his face so he looks like a blurry mess) Also the camera was totally pointed at us a few times. I tried so hard not to look and was successful, Tim said he noticed some lady near us always looking at it, so I think we will just make the cutting room floor :( Oh well but it was super fun and can't wait to watch it on Comedy Central.

I am a few people up from his devil horns on the left side.

-Sarina

Net galley

This one is for all of my librarian/bibliophile friends, but can also relate to my craft friends. Read on for further details!

In the library world a big part of the job is collection development. This involves painstakingly combing through review journal after review journal looking for the best upcoming titles. It's hard to blindly order something based on a 200 word review. We often order some titles based on a starred review. When title come in, they often do not live up to the hype. Another problem in the library world is recommendations or reader's advisory. No matter how much of an avid reader you are, it is impossible for librarians to read every single book in the collection. When new books come in we will get them slightly in advanced in order to process them (put labels and catalog them). It doesn't really give us enough time to suggest it to patrons right away.

Net Galley is here to help! It is a free service that allows you to browse their various titles and preview a book before its publication date. It's simple to navigate and they have a great selection of books! For my crafty friends they have craft and art books ready to be viewed!

How does it work? Log on to Net Galley and sign up for an account. Browse by keyword or by genre, then download a copy. This requires you to download Adobe Digital Editions, but don't worry that is also free. Many of the galley copies are also available for e-reader devices so you can read it on the go. After you are done reading a book you can write a review through Net Galley and it is sent to the publisher. Net Galley lets the reviewer keep the rights to any review you have written. So you can publish that review on your own. A little caveat to that, some publishers will email you and ask you to not publish you review until the book comes out.

You may also notice that titles will have an expiration date, which is usually 60 days. Its similar to Over Drive and e-book lending services, you only have the book for a certain amount of time before the file is removed. Hopefully you aren't a slow reader because 60 days is plenty of time.

I am signed up for it and currently reading two books from there. One is a crafty book called Knits for Nerds and the other is a graphic novel called the Coldest City. I think its such a neat idea and more librarians should take advantage! So if ya sign up and read something good I'd love to hear about it!

Sarina