BRILLIANT BLOGGER JEAN BOOK NERD SHARES LIBRARY LOVE

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians across the U.S. Please Roar today’s guest, Jean Vallesteros. Jean, creator of the amazing book blog, JeanBookNerd  (definitely one of the hottest book blogs out there), is here to share her book love and library love with us! Welcome Jean!   

Tell us how your blog got started:Having many fond childhood memories at my local library, reading has always been an important part of my upbringing and had carried over towards my adult life.

In early summer of 2011, I decided to open up a blog just to share my thoughts and ideas about the books that I was reading. Unbeknownst to me, there was a huge community of book lovers on the Internet. It was great! Being able to discuss the books that I had been reading with others, I really didn’t know what to expect but it turned out for the best. Also getting the chance to meet new people along the way and develop some great friendships.
I was reading Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck and I instantly fell in love with the series.

This is when I began to wonder how amazing it would be to get to know the author and receive answers to my questions about her work first-hand from the creator. In an effort to reach out to Mrs. Houck, a reply came back to me almost instantly!

She was extremely humble and easy to talk to, making the conversation (not to mention my first effort in speaking directly with an acclaimed author) much more comfortable. From there on the wheels kept turning and I realized that this communication between myself and a well known author could be a great event to share with my growing number of followers. Furthermore, I would like thank Colleen Houck and Katie of Sterling Publishing for donating items for my giveaway and for giving me the opportunity to share it with everyone. It is because of them that my blog is the way it is now.

Sharing my passion with others is very rewarding. My blog has allowed me to share my love of reading at a global scale with people who are just as passionate as me.

Jean with D.J. MacHale author of the Pendragon series 

On my blog, followers can find fun, exciting, and interesting author interviews and insights on the latest book titles. You can join in on the discussions and participate in exciting giveaways.

Jean with Michael Scott, author of The Alchemyst 

  JeanBookNerd is an interactive blog that promotes the importance of reading and the invaluable rewards that only reading can bring.

Jean with Melissa Marr author of Wicked Lovely 

Janet: I love visiting your site, Jean. It’s definitely one of my favorites. I always find more great books to read and authors to follow. Your generous site makes the book community come alive.

Library Love When You Were a Cub The library was a huge part of my childhood. It allowed my imagination to explore an assortment of amazing places and introduced me to many interesting characters. The library became like a second home to me and my permanent home every summer.

Jean’s son, Jordan

I remember the excitement that would overcome me whenever I stepped into the library. I spent most of my younger days sitting in the aisles and easily getting lost in the stories, the adventures, the characters and the settings that came bursting from within the pages and pulling me into them, allowing me to journey through my own imagination.

At some point, I had also discovered comic books as an alternative form of literature and became an avid subscriber to Marvel, Archie, DC, Disney and many more. It became an amazing form of entertainment for my growing mind and an outlet for my creativity as a youth.

Even now as I have matured into an adult, I still find appreciation in all styles of storytelling including but not limited to stories of horror, suspense, drama, mystery, action and romance.

I have always appreciated the positive contributions the library has had on my childhood. With nieces, nephews and young children in my life, I use the library as another venue for them to pick up invaluable education and life skills.  

Blogger’s Roar: Funding for libraries, especially school libraries, is currently under threat. As a book blogger, what are your thoughts about that? 

Many people don’t know the other services libraries provide. One service that is beneficial to our youth is that they offer free tutoring. Hiring private tutors is costly but this free service allows for everyone to get help and imprint a positive impact on students’ academic performances.

Let’s Link Up
Website/Blog: www.jeanbooknerd.com & www.booknerdtours.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BookNerdCommunity

Thank you, Jean for your terrific interview!

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot. 

SHARE THE LOVE BOOK GIVEAWAY @ ONLINE AUTHOR VISITS

Today we're Roaring for the terrific Share the Love Book Giveaway @ Online Author Visits

This delightful contest gives you the chance to win books not only for yourself, but also for your library! Our lucky winner will get to choose 3 books from among works by our incredible pool of authors, which includes Dia Calhoun, Deb Lund, Martha Brockenbrough, Janet Lee Carey, Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams, Lisa L. Owens, Claire Rudolph Murphy, and Trudi Trueit. In addition, a collection of books will go to a U.S. library selected by the winner.

 
Roar for OAV (Online Author Visits)
Inviting one of our Online Authors to your classroom, library, or book event is a great way to motivate students to read and write. Virtual visits allow students to learn more about the craft of writing, discover what really goes on behind the scenes in book publishing, and peer into an author’s world firsthand. Plus, with virtual visit fees a fraction of the cost of a live presentation, it’s an affordable option that helps support a worthwhile cause (OAV authors donate 25% of their virtual visit fees to charity).  

Joan Holub
“. . . Connecting with kids is my favorite part of any visit, be it virtual or on-site. . . .

Trudi Trueit
“The incredible thing about virtual visits is that no matter how far apart you are from your audience, once the creative juices get flowing the miles between you melt away. . .

Deb Lund
“I’ve Skyped with classes, library groups, and whole schools, but my favorite online visit happened on a blustery evening in Ohio . . .


Want to hear More??  
Read the rest of these virtual visit stories and more from all the OAV authors.  

The Share the Love Book Giveaway contest runs from February 14, 2013, through midnight (PST) Sunday, February 24, 2013.

Swing by and enter to win free signed copies for yourself and more for the library of your choice -- a way for us all to share the love.

 
Happy Valentines

ZOOM! Library2Go Bookmobile

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians serving youth in schools and public libraries across the U.S. Today we’re on the road. Can you feel the zoom? Librarian John Tun is stopping off to tell us about his travels with the Library2Go Bookmobile here in King County.  

Tell us a little about yourself and your work with Library2Go:

I am a reference librarian at the Bellevue Library and once a month, I get to drive the big red Library2Go Bookmobile van and visit the Bellevue neighborhood communities.

Our vehicle carries approximately 1,500 library items for all ages including books, audiobooks, DVDs and music CDs that are available for check out at each stop. The vehicle is designed with several green features, including solar panels on the roof that recharge the batteries and interiors furnished with recycled materials.

 

Collections for these vehicles are funded in part by generous donations from the King County Library System Foundation.  Local Friends of the Library groups have also supported Library2Go!

The Skinny: What do you love most about your work with the book mobile?

Meeting the kids and their families during our visits. There’s something special about the library coming to where people live and play; it makes the interactions more intimate and easygoing. I especially love the excitement we see in our patrons, especially the kids! Their enthusiasm makes our visits seem like Christmas morning.

 

One of the most rewarding aspects of the KCLS Library2Go is that we get to bring library materials to people who cannot visit the library. We never get tired of the surprise and joy that lights up in a reader who visits our bookmobile for the first time and sees all that we have to offer in such a compact venue.

On The Road: Describe a typical day for you and L2G.

A colleague and I prepare the van with updated items from the library’s collection and stop at various designated stops during the afternoon visits. Our stops include the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club ht

 

and various apartment housing complexes in east Bellevue. Throughout our stops, we take notes on who wants more of what and make sure we stock it for our next visit. Our afternoon runs usually take four hours total.

 

Readers Roar:

For what may have been a tough day in a life of a teen, one of our youth readers exclaimed “This is the best part of my day – the library coming here and me getting to choose anything I want!”
--Anna, 7^th grade

 

Book Brag: What three books are hot this year? Why?

For all the historical and science buffs I would highly recommend Sam Kean’s The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, As Written by Our Genetic Code.

Kean is a natural at explaining complex topics through remarkable historical events and anecdotes. This work on the topic of DNA, Kean weaves stories and historical accounts including JFK's bronze skin and Paganini's ultra-flexible thumbs and fingers.

 

Also, anything by Tamora Pierce, the winner of the 2013 Edwards Award! Can’t go wrong with the classics: Song of the Lioness and Protector of the Small series.

ONE LAST ROAR: Anything more to Roar about, John?

Yes! Library2Go Mobile Learning Labs are Coming Soon.

Using funds from the 2004 Capital Bond that funded Library2Go! mini-bookmobiles in 2010, KCLS has ordered four new mobile computer lab trucks. Similar to the mini-bookmobile service, these vehicles will rotate among the 47 libraries. Local librarians aboard these vehicles will offer computer instruction workshops. At the beginning of this service, workshop topics will include engagement of school-aged children learning science and math, people learning English, as well as adults with general interests. These workshops will focus on using library resources. Each vehicle will have seven patron computer stations. This service will begin in early 2013.

Last but not least, after a year of construction, the Bellevue Library Parking Lot  will reopen in early 2013 with a three-level parking garage. Stay tuned! The grand re-opening is currently scheduled to be in May 2013.

 Let’s Link:

Bellevue Library Website

Library2Go info 

Bellevue Library Facebook

Thank you for driving L2G by Library Lions today, John, and for the terrific interview!

 

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot. 

Welcome to Library Lions interviews; Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians serving youth in schools and public libraries across the U.S. Please Roar today’s guest author, Christina Wilsdon, who’s stopping by to share her Library Love with us.

 

Welcome, Christina. Before we get started, tell us a little about yourself.

I write books and articles for kids ranging in age from 4 to 14, primarily nonfiction and mostly about animals, natural history, and biology. I write about these topics for grown-up readers, too, mainly on my blog Piccalilli Pie. And in between, I work on picture-book and middle-grade manuscripts whenever I get a chance.

Here are a few of my titles.

Library Love When You Were A Cub

Almost every Friday evening, my father would take me to the big library in the town of Huntington, Long Island, NY, and set me free in the children’s department. When we got back in the car, I’d spread my finds across the back seat and read their titles aloud to him as we drove home. He’d nod and murmur appreciatively and ask me questions about them. I realize now that he wasn’t familiar with any of the authors or titles, but that just makes me appreciate even more how he helped establish my love of books.

Library Love: An Author's Perspective

I can’t get enough of libraries. They make my whole career possible! There at my fingertips (literally, either in the stacks or online) are thousands of books on the topics I’m researching. If they’re not in my library system, librarians will fetch them from far and wide to bring them to me. Add in the many magazine, newspaper, and other databases that I could never afford to subscribe to on my own, and the world of information available to me is virtually limitless. It never ceases to amaze me—and the librarians who’ve helped me access material are always as keen to acquire it as I am.

 

 

Libraries are vital to a well-informed society. It’s imperative to provide citizens with access to knowledge. We need to fund libraries for all, from the person who just wants to pick up an enjoyable read for the weekend to the person who needs to do job-searching online on the library’s computer. Many a child’s first experience with storytelling and picture books occurs in the cozy atmosphere of a library’s children’s section. I’m very grateful to live in a city that values its libraries and usually votes to fund them adequately.

Do You Have a Roar for Librarians?  

Yes! My roar goes to the staff of the Ballard Public Library (except I still believe in keeping my voice down in the library, so I won’t roar while I’m in there).

 

The librarians working in the Ballard Public Library have always been extremely helpful and enthusiastic, and when interlibrary loans have arrived for me, they’ve often started up conversations about them, which really makes my day.

A Lion’s Pride of Programs:

I’ve only done a handful of school or school-library visits, but invariably they are illuminating because kids come up with such a wonderful array of surprising, insightful, or amusing comments and questions. Such visits always reinforce what I remember and what I know about being a kid—and also rearrange what I thought I knew!

 

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR

A library, to me, is like an old-growth forest—full of things ancient and new, ripe for exploration, ageless, eternal, and beautiful. Less mossy, true, and lacking in squirrels (except if you look up Dewey Decimal number 599.36177). It’s a place to visit again and again and make sure is around for future generations to enjoy.

Let’s Link Up

Blog:  Piccalilli Pie 

Website:  Christinawilsdon.blogspot.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/christina.wilsdon.author

 

Thank you for sharing your Library Love with us, Christina! 

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot.