BIBLIOGRAPHY : Dragons (middle grade to junior high level)

     One of our new little 7th graders is a voracious reader, and asks me EVERY DAY for more recommendations. He loves the Bone series of graphic novels, but also reads lots of junior high level fantasy. It's all I can do to keep up with his requests, but that's the part I love the most about this job.
     This morning he was checking out the last few books of Emily Rodda's Deltora Dragon's Nest series that he hasn't yet read, and asked me for more books like that, with dragons. There were more kids waiting in line behind him, so I told him I'd work on it later and have suggestions when he came back.
     Here's the stack of books I came up with:

How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (#1 in the series of the same name)
The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey (#1 in the Last Dragon Chronicles)

Hatching Magic by Ann Downer (#1 in the series of the same name)
Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher (#1 of the Dragon Chronicles)
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
The Saint of Dragons by Jason Hightman (#1 in the series of the same name)
The Dragon of Cripple Creek by Troy Howell

Starfinder by John Marco
Here, There Be Dragons by James Owen (#1 of the Imaginarium Geographica)
Pillage by Obert Skye
The Dragon's Eye by Dugald Steer (#1 of the Dragonology Chronicles)

Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (#1 of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen (#1 in the Pit Dragon Trilogy)

     And no, I'm NOT putting Eragon on that list. There's not a kid alive who hasn't already read it or heard about it. That's like putting Harry Potter on a list of suggested fantasy titles. That just seems unnecessary. But it's acceptable to make a "RIYL (Recommended if you like) Harry Potter" list, or a "RIYL Eragon" list.
     DISCLOSURE: I'm actually not going to recommend The Dragon's Eye to this kid, because it's the first in a series, and we don't have the rest. The kids at this school are completists, and get really frustrated if they can't start with the first volume of a series, and read the ENTIRE series. I think that's cool. But it puts a lot of pressure on the library!
     He may have already read a few of the really popular books and/or series on this list, such as How To Train Your Dragon, and The Fire Within, but I wanted to include them anyway.

UPDATE: This morning the student came in and went through the stack I had pulled. Turns out he had already read How To Train Your Dragon, and Dragon Rider. The book he chose was Here, There Be Dragons. I told him that's actually the one I would probably choose, too!

OCD IN THE LIBRARY

     Earlier today I was steadily working at covering the new paperbacks with clear Contact Paper, as detailed in THIS post.
     About the 9th book in the stack was ALREADY covered in Contact Paper, but I failed to notice this until I had already started applying another layer of clear plastic. It was too late to back up, so I went ahead and finished covering it for the second time.
     Someone's going to notice that, I thought, and think I'm a real freak.
     Oh, well. I suppose it will be EXTRA resistant to the ravages of time, now.
     Suddenly that seemed very pleasing. TWO layers of protective plastic. There's no WAY it could get messed up now. I wondered how many layers you'd have to cover it in to make it impossible to crease or tear. I hate it when paperbacks crease and tear. Would 5 layers do it?
     How many layers would it take to form the equivalent of a hardcover?
     What if someone covered a paperback in TEN layers of clear Contact Paper? How long would THAT last? Until the end of time? But surely that's ridiculous.
     It would be awful if you suddenly felt compelled to KEEP covering the SAME paperback in Contact Paper. Over and over again, until it became Christ-like in its perfection. Then you'd have to start all over again with the NEXT paperback on the cart.
   

PERIODICALS : Vintage 1980 "Jack and Jill" magazine

     We're moving soon, so we're in the slow and painful process of packing up all our stuff. As I do this, I'm discovering, much to my surprise, that apparently I'm one of those people who keeps EVERYTHING. Weird. I guess I didn't realize that about myself.
     Take, for instance, this Jack and Jill magazine from 1980 with Scott Baio on the cover. (A 1980 copyright date means most of what you see is really the earth tone shag carpet ashes of the '70s) I found this in a cupboard amongst old photos and memorabilia. The mailing address on the label has my Slovak Grandma's name and address, which reminded me that she always had copies of Highlights and Jack & Jill laying around for us grandkids. I didn't like either of those magazines, but choices at Grandma's house were a little... limited. You should have seen the "toy box," with its battered selection of ancient dolls and weird crap that screamed "Old Country."
     And no, I did NOT have a crush on Scott Baio. I thought he was skanky.

"Dean uses an Exacto knife to put a groove in a side strip for the stock car he's building."

     The picture above is from a profile article about some kid whose hobby is putting models together, probably because he has asthma and no friends. (Just guessing)
     Poor Dean, with his horrible mop of wavy '70s hair, and crushingly dorky glasses. This could totally have been me. Only difference is my hair was blonder, I was fatter, and had more zits. Dean is a dreamy pin-up compared to me at that age.
     Spending too much time at Grandma's house could make you feel antsy and hopeless about ever attaining coolness.

"The Nut-T-shirt"

     T-shirts with crap printed on them were big in the '70s. It almost didn't matter what they said, just the idea that you could get a T-shirt made with just about anything printed on it was, like, "high-tech" for that time. There were whole shops devoted to custom-printed T-shirts.
     I like how triumphant that kid looks with his "Nut-T-shirt," like he's really making a stand for something. He has climbed atop that mound of shag carpeting to proclaim himself a proud Herbie the Health Nut fan, and will probably get his ass kicked at school because of it.

BOOKMARKS MADE FROM DISCARDED PAPERBACK COVERS

     I thought I had already posted this picture, but I guess I didn't. I made these at the end of last school year, June of 2012. These were covers from old 1980s paperbacks that somebody donated, and I declined to add to our library collection. Because they're lame.
     I was kind of surprised to see those Sweet Valley High bitches again. I thought they were long gone and forgotten.
     I love the utterly pathetic "All Alone In the 8th Grade" cover, with that forcedly cheerful nerd girl in her purple gym shorts. She is BEGGING to get her ass kicked.
     What's that? Oh, why yes, I DID make those beaded tassels myself. I'm gay, and we know how to do stuff like that.

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

     There are some really cute little 7th graders this year. Very sincere, and eager to use the Library. They're so EXCITED about it, which I love seeing.

     One of the super friendly ones came in during lunch today. As I was scanning the barcode on his student ID to check his books out, he said this:

"This card thing is fun, being able to come and check books out with it. ‘Cause my mom doesn’t like to go to the public library every day, but I can come to the SCHOOL library every day and return books and check more out! It makes me feel more grownup. Well, thanks, Mr. Kovac! Have a nice day!"

     I thought, Wow, are you kidding me? It’s like I SCRIPTED that for him and PAID him to say it! 

     Only I DIDN'T! I swear!

BOOK PROCESSING : Covering Paperbacks With Contact Paper

     First it puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again--

     Oh, wait. Wrong directions. This is for covering paperbacks with clear Contact paper to make them last longer and stay cleaner in a school library. 

GET SOME CONTACT PAPER, & MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR. (Target, Home Depot, wherevs. Look for shelf liner.)

TAKE THE BOOK YOU'RE GOING TO COVER AND LAY IT ON THE CONTACT PAPER SO YOU CAN ROLL OUT THE RIGHT LENGTH.

     (By the way, see that bottle of generic-brand Windex next to the keyboard? It wouldn't kill you to wipe off the donated books, because you don't know where they've been, what crack-heads have been handling them, or what babies have drooled on them. Seriously, gross.)

THE LENGTH YOU CUT SHOULD BE LONG ENOUGH TO EXTEND ABOUT AN INCH OR SO BEYOND THE FRONT AND BACK COVERS. YOU ALSO WANT ABOUT THAT MUCH EXTRA AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE BOOK.

(Why? So you can fold it over, but that comes later. Don't get ahead of yourself.)

(Yes, we actually labeled the scissors "Library," so nobody steals them. Shut up--you don't know how hard it is to keep office supplies from wandering off in a school library.)

I usually find that I can fit two books for each length of Contact Paper, as shown above.

Here's the paperback and the Contact Paper cut to size.

TAKE ONE EDGE OF THE CONTACT PAPER AND PEEL THE CLEAR PLASTIC AWAY FROM THE PAPER BACKING.

PEEL ABOUT TWO INCHES BACK FROM THE EDGE AND LAY IT CAREFULLY ON THE EDGE OF THE BOOK COVER, SO THAT ONE INCH OR SO HANGS OFF THE EDGE. PRESS THE CONTACT PAPER DOWN FIRMLY AND SMOOTH IT OUT. START PEELING MORE OF THE PAPER BACKING AWAY, A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME, SMOOTHING AS YOU GO.

IT IS BEST TO USE A BONE FOLDER, OR "BOOK BONER" AS THEY ARE SOMETIMES CALLED (Don't laugh, this is serious) TO GET ALL THE AIR BUBBLES OUT AND MAKE SURE THE CONTACT PAPER GOES ON EVENLY AS YOU PULL MORE OF THE BACKING AWAY FROM THE PLASTIC.

ONCE YOU'VE WORKED YOUR WAY TO THE SPINE, STOP TO TRIM THE CORNERS AS SHOWN ABOVE.

(Don't look at how fat and weird my hand looks in this picture. It looks like my Slovak Gramma's hand.)

HERE COMES THE FOLDING OVER PART. FOLD EACH EXTRA FLAP OF CONTACT PAPER INWARD AND PRESS DOWN FIRMLY. (If they overlap a little, that provides better protection for the book.)

See how nice that is? Now the corners of the paperback won't get all ragged.

(In case you didn't know, it's awkward trying to do this left-handed, with my right hand holding my cell phone to take pictures)

NOW THAT YOU'RE DONE WITH ONE COVER, CONTINUE APPLYING THE CONTACT PAPER BY PRESSING IT TIGHTLY OVER THE SPINE. (I said TIGHTLY! Do you WANT air bubbles to ruin it?!)

 USE YOUR BONER TO APPLY THE CONTACT PAPER TO THE OTHER COVER, JUST AS YOU DID THE FIRST.

TRIM THE CORNERS LIKE YOU DID ON THE OTHER SIDE, SO YOU CAN FOLD THEM OVER AND SEAL THE BOOK FOR ALL ETERNITY, INVIOLATE.

 IF YOU PUT THE BOOK POCKET ON BEFORE COVERING THE BOOK, PRETEND YOU MEANT TO DO IT THAT WAY, AND CUT A LITTLE NOTCH SO THE PLASTIC DOESN'T COVER WHERE THE CHECKOUT CARD GOES INTO THE POCKET.

EITHER THAT OR JUST REMEMBER TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE CONTACT PAPER IS APPLIED TO PUT THE POCKET IN.

TRIM OFF THE EXCESS CONTACT PAPER AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE BOOK'S SPINE.

YOU'VE COVERED ONE PAPERBACK!

NOW DO ALL THE REST.

SPOON OF SHAME

     I like to take my lunch break alone, and I typically barricade myself in the Library's back storage room, which does have a little desk to sit at. I'm forced to hunker back there, because if I stay in my office, I can hear the choir next door practicing, and that is not conducive to healthy digestion.
     At least the back storage room is quiet, and there's no phone. I can eat and read in peace.
     Back in my secret hideaway I sometimes have a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of Nutella, and well... you know how things just kind of HAPPEN. The spoon spends time in both jars, and things get a little crazy, like a '70s love-in.
     The really bad thing is that I'm usually too lazy to wash the spoon after lunch, so it sits there for at least a day in its smeary filth, hardening and probably being licked by rats and cockroaches. That's my worst fear.
     Yesterday I finally shooed all the students out, turned off the lights, locked the door, and closed for lunch.
     I crept back to the scene of the previous day's lunch crimes, and grabbed the spoon. Disgusting. I headed for the sink, holding the spoon out in front of me like a dirty diaper.
     Suddenly I heard someone fumbling at the locked door, and the principal barged in, apologizing for interrupting my lunch break. There I stood, in darkness, with my spoon of shame. I quickly shifted my grip on the spoon so the dirty business end was enclosed completely in my fist. I casually dropped it to my side, hoping she wouldn't notice.
     I slipped behind the circ desk while she asked me the quick question that was the purpose of her visit. As she spoke I surreptitiously dropped the spoon on a storage shelf below the counter. It made a "CLANK" sound, which I ignored.
     As soon as she was gone I took it to the sink and scrubbed away the shame, and the specters of rat tongues and dancing cockroach legs.
     Today it occurred to me that she probably noticed I was weirdly hiding something in my hand, and she probably heard the sound as I dropped it to the shelf out of her view. What if she thought I was concealing a hip flask of vodka? Who knows what she might imagine that could be even worse than the spoon of shame. It briefly crossed my mind that I could fess up and explain that it was a dirty peanut butter-and-Nutella encrusted spoon I was hiding, not anything illegal or perverted.
     But I know that would only make it worse, especially if she hadn't noticed anything.
     Sigh.
     Let her think it was a crack pipe.
   
   

SPRUCING UP DONATED (USED) BOOKS : Missing Dust Jacket

     See this hardcover copy of Michael Crichton & Richard Preston's Micro?

     It was donated to our little school library by a Science teacher (figures, right?), but was missing the dust jacket. Just a plain black cover. So I found the cover image online and pasted it into a Word document so I could size it correctly for printing. Then I opened up another Word doc and copied and pasted the book description from Amazon, plus a crop of an image from another edition of the same book (I think the paperback) so there'd be some sort of graphic on the back.

     After I printed both pages out and trimmed them to fit the covers, I glued them down, then covered them with clear contact paper, which overlaps onto the inside endpages, so hopefully it's all very secure and will survive intact. 

     

Details of graphic and text glued to back cover

      Yes, I know this is very OCD. Hopefully kids will borrow this book, and it will be worth the small amount of time/effort. Nobody's going to select a book from the shelf if it has no cover image and no description or summary anywhere on it. I think it stands a chance now, though, because we always have some students who are Crichton fans.
     Also, we have no book budget at all, and depend completely on donation programs and the generosity of parent groups. I take what I can get!

80s TEEN NOVEL : "Probably Still Nick Swansen"

Probably Still Nick Swansen by Virginia Euwer Wolff

     One of my English teacher friends asked if I wanted about three bins full of old books, and I said yes. There's no library funding, so I'm big on donations. Whatever we can't use for our library I take to a used book store to trade in for store credit, which I use to get things we CAN use.
     As I was going through all the old books, I found this little paperback gem from 1988. The cover illustration struck me as pathetic, along with the tagline, "What's wrong with being Nick Swansen?"
     If you have to ask...
     Then I flipped it over and read the synopsis on the back:

Nick has a problem. No, problems.
Nick is 16. He is still trying to learn how to drive. He's an expert on some things, not so good at others. He's haunted by the memory of his sister who drowned nine years ago. Nick is a "Special Ed" kid.

He's been teased about it. But that doesn't stop him from asking Shana, a former special ed classmate, to the Prom. That, Nick thinks, will be really special.

But things don't always go the way you plan.

Suddenly Nick wishes he was anybody but who he is... anybody but Nick Swansen.

     Oh, dear. Poor Nick Swansen in his awkward tuxedo, waiting for his "special" date. And what's up with that seemingly random brick of tragedy tossed in, about Nick's dead drowned sister? Like Nick's struggles aren't enough "teen issues" for one book without a haunting accidental death from the past? Virginia Euwer Wolff, you are one hard and unflinching writer.
     There's even a nice little insulting "Author's Note" at the beginning of the book, which reads:

This book contains some incorrect grammar and punctuation in order to tell Nick Swansen's story in language that is consistent with his.

     Wow, Virginia Euwer Wolff, I'm not sure who's more insulted by that, poor Nick Swansen, or the reader.

BACK TO SCHOOL LIBRARY BULLETIN BOARDS : part 2

"TIME TO TURN YOUR BRAIN BACK ON"

     Since I'm struggling to get my OWN brain re-focused on school stuff (weh), I figure it must be even harder for the kids. Anyway, this is my slogan, and I think David Sedaris is a great example of a smartie-pants thinking person. Plus I put up some articles on the enduring popularity of print books even in this era of (relatively) affordable ereaders and free ebooks.
     I used the Bone poster because it's not like graphic novels are DUMB, right? Represent.

"TIME TO TURN YOUR BRAIN BACK ON" detail

     I just Googled "brain" and "light switch" images and pasted them into a Word doc, one on top of the other, then printed it on nice brainy pink paper.

"BIG IDEAS MAY COME IN SMALL PACKAGES"

     For both of these boards I also Googled "light bulb" images, and printed them out in varying sizes. Easy and cheap, like yer mom.
     Fuchsia is a cool color, but the spelling of the word is seriously f***ed up.

ALA ZINE PAVILION : Nobody told ME about it.

     Back in June I spent one really frantic yet fun day at the American Library Association Conference in nearby Anaheim. I picked up a copy of ALA Cognotes, and just now finally had a chance to leaf through it while I'm working my Library station during registration for the new school year.

     I came across THIS picture:

The Zine Pavilion on the ALA Annual Conference exhibit floor

     Enraged that I had missed out on this opportunity to promote my OWN zines, "Library Bonnet," and "Disenchanted Moue," I Googled it and discovered that it was this awesome conference-long exhibit with a bunch of events taking place at different times each day, such as raffles, group zine-making, etc. Sounds totally FUN, and I'm really pissed off.

     How did I miss that booth?! And why didn't someone tell me about it AHEAD of time, so I could have participated?! My friend Julie and I did 8 issues of a zine called "Library Bonnet," for f***'s sake, we would have been PERFECT for that. We should have been special featured guest stars of the Zine Pavilion, worn crowns and/or tiaras, and arrived on diamond-studded library carts, drawn by miniature ponies.

     Or not.

     Anyway, I was sitting here gritting my teeth with chagrin to have missed out. That picture is killing me, I wanna know what other awesome zines were there! I'm pouting about it, but there's nobody to see me pout. Except for the students and parents who come in to register for school, but as soon as the door opens I drop the pout because... well, it would be too much to explain, and they probably wouldn't care anyway.

     Now I'm DOUBLE-pouting.

Read more about the Zine Pavilion here:  http://www.alaannual.org/content/zines

BOOK REVIEW : "Psychos: Serial Killers, Depraved Madmen, and the Criminally Insane" by various authors, edited by John Skipp

Get Psychos, edited by John Skipp, from Amazon HERE.

     I got an advanced e-copy of this book through NetGalley. This anthology is edited by John Skipp, and collects a very wide selection of stories involving murderous psychos from various perspectives, some humorous, some chilling. Authors include classics like Poe, Bradbury, Gaiman, Thomas Harris, Lansdale, Bentley Little, Elizabeth Massie, Robert Devereaux, Kathe Koja, and others. 
     To me the absolute chills-down-the-spine standout piece that made the whole anthology worth it was "All Through the House" by Christopher Coake, an author I was unfamiliar with. Skipp gives a brief intro to each story, and in numerous places "warns" the reader how freaky the upcoming story is going to be, but "All Through the House" was one of the only ones that really lived up to that for me. It focuses on a mass murder mainly from the viewpoint of the murderer's best friend, who suffers tremendous survivor's guilt. But the genius of the story is the way it creates a truly haunting (and haunted) sense of history about the location by slipping back in time before the murders, then moving forward to even after the house is burnt down, then backing up to before it was burnt down and a true crime writer was visiting to exploit the event for her own purposes. 
     Another stunningly horrid (in a good way, for a psycho anthology) story was John Gorumba's "Mommy Picks Me Up at Day Care," written very believably from the viewpoint of a little boy. The boy's mother "snaps" and the author is unflinching in the way he shows this young child's mind trying to process and cope with the situation in his limited way. Meanwhile, as the reader you're able to translate the child's perceptions, so you realize what's really happening. Very clever. 
     Included in the appendix is a very thorough and thoughtful afterword about psychos in popular culture by Cody Goodfellow, and then the actual letter sent from cannibal murderer Albert Fish to the mother of one of his victims. It's not for the squeamish. 
     I feel the book as a whole is pretty well done, the second half being more rewarding than the first. The "centerpiece" of the book is a novella by Adam-Troy Castro called "The Shallow End of the Pool," but unfortunately for me it was one of my least favorite in the book. That might just be because it wasn't what I was really hoping for, based on the theme. For other people it might be very worthy precisely because of that, since it's not what you would expect.

BACK TO SCHOOL LIBRARY BULLETIN BOARDS : part 1

Coming Soon in late 2012...

     So, I'm back at work after summer break.
     Things feel a little grim because the district is in such dire financial straits, and they followed through with their threat to eliminate all but ONE of the credentialed Librarians in our district. Which means all of us Library technicians will be running our libraries single-handedly ALL the time, rather than just half the time. It's a sad joke to expect ONE credentialed Librarian to manage 18 libraries.
     As of this writing the district hasn't even told our lone Librarian where she's supposed to report on her first day, whether she'll have an office at the district to work out of, or if she's supposed to just float between all 18 campuses, or what.
     Anyway, at least I still have MY job. For now.
     7th grade orientation is this week, likewise registration for all students, so I realized I needed to get something up on all the bulletin boards and display areas in the Library.

Ray Bradbury memorial wall

      One of the students asked me in mid-June right before school was out if we could do some sort of tribute to Bradbury in the Library, and I felt bad that I didn't have time right then to get something together. Better late than never, right?

Vintage Muppets library-themed poster featuring Kermit and Miss Piggy

      My site Librarian who just retired (since she would have been eliminated anyway), brought in this awesome old Muppets poster, which had a little bit of mold damage on it, but I carefully used some Windex and then laminated it. I love the Muppets and this old poster is great because there's absolutely NO nod to any current obnoxious trends. I'm guessing it's from the late '70s because of Piggy's outfit.

James Patterson article, plus "Maximum Read" poster, and various Patterson book cover images

      The now-retired Librarian was always bringing in book- and reading-related articles from the newspaper (the actual print version!), and I tried to use them around the library when possible. I figure it's a good idea to visually remind kids of various formats, and that it all counts as reading. Know what I mean? Print-rich environment, etc.

New book posters, plus My Little Pony calendar

      Behind the circ desk I did a simple board with some free book posters the Librarian and I grabbed at ALA in Anaheim this summer.
     We have a lot of Asians at this school, and I predict that the Koreans, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc. will make some snipey comments about the poster that proclaims, "THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE."
     (I would)

"BEWARE: QUIET READING TIME IS SACRED." "A Library is for Peaceful Reflection..."

     Since the Librarian is now officially retired, not to be replaced, her old office was just sitting there, and even though it felt a little weird... Well, it's MINE now.
     To put some of my stink on it, I took an old Sweeney Todd movie poster, printed out my own slogans, and glued them over the original wording. Now it's a threatening library poster complete with a straight razor!
     I love working with the kids, and create a welcoming environment and stuff, but seriously- when it comes to my breaks, I want my book, a cup of coffee, and SILENCE.

OFF-TABLES : I knew it.

     One of the first things I do every morning when I first come in and open the library is patrol the very back shelves, looking for out-of-place books the students might have stashed back there at the end of the previous day. They're always easy to spot.
     Then I go through the rest of the room and grab any books left lying on tables, or otherwise out of place. I then scan them in "statistics mode," so our circ system will know that they've been used, even if not officially checked out. I also do this after any period of heavy library traffic, once things calm down. This is important to show the REAL usage some of your library's books are getting, since when it's time to evaluate books with weeding (discarding) in mind, one of the factors you look at is how many times they've been checked out. If you did NOT scan the "off-tables," a book such as "The Period Book," about girls' reproductive systems, might appear to have never been used. But if you have done off-tables, then you might see that "The Period Book" had actually been used about 3,000 times in one year. But no one's been brave enough to actually check it out.
     Anyway, a while ago we received a batch of free books from Disney Press, which included the super cheesy and disposable, "Wizards of Waverly Place: the movie: the junior novel." It's a horrid 123 pages of dreck and movie photos.

     But I decided to go ahead and put it into our collection. Here's why:
     Our school is a college-prep academy with an entrance exam and extremely high standards. BUT... our students are still kids. They may argue philosophy and do quantum mathematics in their sleep, but they also watch cartoons and play video games. I was dying to see if any of them would be bold enough to check out the stupid Wizards of Waverly Place book, in between the David Sedaris and Sartre.
     No one has officially checked it out. But FINALLY, this morning after the before-school rush of kids, when I went around and collected off-tables, THERE IT WAS. The lame-ass Wizards of Waverly Place book. And it was lying on a table near the circ desk, and there had NOT been raucous laughter coming from that table. That table was quiet. Which means whoever had been looking at it or reading it had NOT done so in a mocking fashion.
     I KNEW it. Everybody needs their deep dark guilty pleasures, even young geniuses.
     This does not mean I would ever want to PAY for something so stupid, but if it's free and gives a hard-working kid a few moments of freedom from serious thought, then why not?

BOOK REVIEW : "Existence" by David Brin

Click HERE to see/buy the book on Amazon.

     This book is a treasure-trove of ideas! It's set hundreds of years in the future, when humanity experiences "first contact." But of course it's not what anyone is expecting, and there are revelations and hoaxes and twists galore. 
     The scope of the book is so huge and complex it's hard to summarize it, but one of the major themes is trying to figure out and avoid the many possible fatal pitfalls of advanced civilization. One idea I found VERY interesting is that many people (politicians and extremists on both sides of the spectrum) become addicted to self-righteous indignation, which keeps them from rational discourse. And our society tends to just feed into that and make it worse, rather than realizing an addiction for what it is: the enemy of a mature and rational society.
     This is the kind of book you sort of wish everyone HAD to read because there are a lot of clever and "important" concerns and ideas. I love the idea that diversity is vital to the survival of a species, that it brings "hybrid vigor." 
     I swear this book is very entertaining, too! Not just concepts and causes. There's a lot of great artificial intelligence stuff, genetically-engineered smart dolphins, extreme future sports, virtual reality Matrix-type mind trips, etc. Lots of adventure! Hopefully humankind won't self-destruct in any of the creative and plausible ways detailed in this book, but instead survive and thrive. 
     The ultimate message of the book is very hopeful and enlightening.


NOTE: Existence is slated for a June 19th, 2012 release. I was lucky to get an advance e-copy for review through NetGalley.

LIBRARY PRODUCT OF THE DAY : Demco Clear Book Pockets

The picture from Demco's online catalog

     Discovering these clear book pockets was like a revelation. Typically, the book pocket goes on the front inside cover of a book, but what if there's a MAP there, or some other really cool thing that you don't want to cover up?! How do you deal? Even if it's just a list of the rest of the books by that author, someone might want to KNOW that. It might be IMPORTANT.
     Normally I put the pocket on the back of the following page, but then there's always the worry that some other well-meaning library worker will come along and think there is no pocket, and possibly apply a new one OVER whatever the cool visual thing on the endpapers is. This is not acceptable. It would ruin EVERYTHING. You don't want to ruin everything, do you?
     The solution I had come up with before the life-changing discovery of clear book pockets was to place a label on the front inside page noting that the pocket was on the FOLLOWING page. This is not ideal, but at least it's better than covering up awesome endpapers, such as you find inside Scott Westerfeld's "Leviathan" series.

(Ugly white label reads: "NOTE: card pocket on next page")

     But now that I have the clear pockets, I can breathe easy, knowing that on a book like Sy Montgomery's biography of Temple Grandin, the book pocket can be exactly where it needs to be AND not obscure Temple's totally rad map.

Where's the card pocket? I assure you, it is there...

See? I told you.

     In case you are interested, here's the link to the product page on Demco's website: http://www.demco.com/goto?BLK94694

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Bottom Shelf and Superheroes

     One of our library regulars happens to be an Eagle Scout, and told us he wanted to do something for the library as his Eagle Scout Project. I guess this is something they have to do by their 18th birthday, and needs to be some type of public service/work. We suggested that he could make a slat-wall enclosure for the horribly ugly electrical tower that looms dangerously between the flag and the storage room.

Touch me! I am full of live electricity! I'm an accident waiting to happen!

     This room was originally built as a shop room, not a library, so it has high ceilings and some ungainly things that we've had to be creative in order to camouflage.
     Here's the lovely new facade/enclosure the student made for the ugly tower:

"Books From the Bottom Shelf"

     Isn't that nice? We're very happy with it. Not only does it completely camouflage the electrical tower (the side walls are white) but it gives us extra space for book displays because of the slats.
     Right now we're using it to highlight some of the books that get lost and forgotten on the lowest shelves.

"READ: What's On Your Most Wanted List?"

     We felt rather uninspired in the dull days after Spring Break, especially since we're losing all our credentialed Teacher Librarians for next school year. But we finally had to suck it up and ditch the Easter eggs, baby chicks, and "March is Women's History Month."
     We found some new posters we'd forgotten about in the back room, one of them with Batman and other superheroes. So I put together a display with novels that are about or related to superheroes and comic books (or have some cool sequential art tie-in). Here are a few of the titles:

Hero by Perry Moore
Will Eisner: a Dreamer's Life In Comics by Michael Schumacher
It's Superman! a novel by Tom de Haven
Mary Jane: a novel by Judith O'Brien
How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found by Sara Nickerson
Sidekicks by Jack Ferraiolo
Interworld by Neil Gaiman

LIBRARY PEEPS

Week 1: The Silver Peep

     For the three weeks leading up to our Library Book Fair next week, we've had a Peeps Hunt Contest. Each Monday we've hidden a marshmallow Peep somewhere in the library, and the first student to find it wins a $10 gift certificate to the book fair.

     I anticipated the admin's objection to sugary candy lying around in the library and possibly drawing ants by painting each Peep with a layer of Elmer's glue to seal it. I also anticipated the way kids are sneaky and occasionally dishonest by spray-painting each Peep a different, secret color. (So a kid wouldn't be tempted to buy a package of Peeps, sneak one into the library, and say, "Look, I found it!")

Week 2: The Blue Peep

     The first Peep was found in about 5 minutes.
     The penultimate Peep was discovered after about 7 minutes.
     The final Peep, though, I inadvertently hid VERY well, apparently. It was sitting on a very bottom shelf in the corner, atop a book on Egypt. This was the black Peep, so it was harder to spot in its shadowed location.

Week 3: The Black Peep

     By the third week there were plenty of kids who were aware of the contest, and determined to get the last gift certificate. I counted at least 30 students who filled the library as soon as lunch started (that's when I said the hunt would begin) and immediately spread out and began frenziedly searching.

     After 10 minutes no one had found it, and they were all clamoring for hints. One of the girls eyed the two eraser hamsters that sit on my monitor and said, "I bet THEY know where it's hidden."

     I said, "Maybe I didn't tell them."

     She smirked, "I think they see EVERYTHING that goes on in here."

     After 15 minutes the Peep was still undiscovered. I started thinking I might have to let it stay there until after school, when they could search for it some more. But in the meantime they were racing up and down the aisles, peering under tables and chairs, knocking into each other, the panic building...

     One of the boys kept saying, "Found it!" even though he hadn't, just to screw with the other kids' heads. They kept yelling at him to stop saying that. I couldn't help snickering.

     More and more kids were coming up to me, eyes wild, begging for hints.

     "Is it in the locked cabinet?" (No, of course not.)

     "Is it up higher than where we can see?" (Duh, NO.)

     "What color is it this week?" (Not telling.)

     I had to tell them that it was definitely not anywhere behind my desk, so they didn't converge in my work space.

     I could see the artificial ficus trees at the back of the library thrashing and shaking like there was a hurricane blowing through the room.

     "Hey!" I yelled, "I did not hide it anywhere that requires DESTROYING anything!"

     I realized the library would never survive more hunting after school, so I had to start giving hints.

     "Okay, first hint: Neither of the eraser hamsters can see the Peep from where they're sitting."

Eraser hamsters

     One of the kids said, "The brown one is missing his left eye, is that important?!"

     "No," I sighed. "Just pretend he has both eyes."

     The kids began assessing the hamsters' lines of sight, which was pretty funny. But the clock was ticking away and still they weren't finding that stupid Peep. Meanwhile, there were a bunch of other kids working on the computers, printing stuff, and checking books out. I was ready for lunch to end.

     One of the Peep-hunters ran up to the desk and asked earnestly in a rush, "Do you have a ladder?"

     "Okay everybody!" I yelled, "Second hint: the Peep is LOW."

     All 30-some Peep-hunters dropped to all fours throughout the library, and it sort of looked like a covert military maneuver. One of the high schoolers hanging out by my desk shook his head in amusement. Most of the hunters were junior high kids.

     I thought for SURE they would find it after that hint, but a few more minutes passed.

     One of the kids asked, "What if somebody ATE it?"

     I said they'd be very sick because it's covered in a layer of glue and spray paint.

     The cleanup bell rang. 

     "Third hint: EGYPT!" I yelled.

     In the resulting chaos, one of the kids yelled, "What? Regis? Did he say Regis?"

     "Not Regis, EGYPT!" I clarified, wondering if that was a Regis Philbin reference. Do teenagers even know who Regis Philbin is?

     There was a chorus of exclamations and squeals, thundering of feet, etc. Finally the sounds of triumph and disappointment as an 8th grade girl claimed the prize.

     Whew! 

     The cool thing is that because of the nature of this particular school (college-prep academy with high standards) the girl who found the Peep went through the Egypt section and straightened it up for me of her own volition, because she had noticed what a mess it was after the frenzy of the hunt.

     Incidentally, I ate a few stale Peeps last night. They really do taste like shit.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Easter and Spring

"Read, Know, Grow," plus a sneak peek at the upcoming book fair

     Okay, after processing a bunch of new books we were able to order with profits from our Amazon Associates Account, I finally added wording to the Library Pinwheel Bunnies board. The Librarian suggested the old stand-by, "Read, Know, Grow..." Simple and springy.
     I just printed the letters out using the "Curlz" font on green paper.
     I also printed out some sneak preview pages from the Mrs. Nelson's Book Fair website. We're hosting one of their fairs the last week this month, right before we all go on spring break.
     By the way, the background on this bulletin board is striped because I didn't have enough of any one of these colors. Time to hit the school supply store, again.
     After spring break the only things I'll have to change right away are the Easter Eggs and book fair preview pages. That'll buy me some time.
     Our district is planning to lay off all the credentialed Teacher Librarians again this year. They threatened that last year, but this year the general consensus is that it will really happen. By law the district has to keep ONE Teacher Librarian, but how effective is that going to be, for 18 school sites? Please. Anyway, this will mean all of us Library technicians will have almost no support at all, and have to establish new parameters as far as what we're willing to do, and what we're NOT. Some services will have to go by the wayside. One person can only do so much.
     Anyway, that's one of the reasons I'm thinking bulletin board decorations may be low on the priorities list when we get back. There's already lots of angst and drama and resentments brewing. Easter Bunny better bring me some f*cking Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Library Pinwheel Bunnies!

Yes I made these myself, out of discarded library book pages and construction paper.

Library Pinwheel Bunnies!

     Library Pinwheel Bunnies!

          Library Pinwheel Bunnies!

     Are you trying to figure out how to decorate your library for spring? Not sure what to do? Library Pinwheel Bunnies!

     There is no situation that can't be improved by Library Pinwheel Bunnies!!!

This photo is blurry because I was shaking slightly from being SO EXCITED about the BUNNIES!!!

     Never mind that I can't come up with a reading or library-related slogan, yet. I'm still thinking.

LIBRARY PINWHEEL BUNNIES!!!