Bilingual Biblioburro & Summer Reading

Welcome to Library Lions interviews. We Raise a Roar for Libraries and the outstanding Youth Librarians in Schools and Public Libraries across the U.S. Please Roar today’s guest, Angela Morris!



Angela is Children’s Services Manager North Central Regional Library system. The headquarters are in Wenatchee WA, but the system has 28 branches in five counties.



Tell us about yourself
I was recently the project lead for a grant awarded by the Foundation for Early Learning to do early literacy education to underserved families. We hosted a literacy fair where we presented parent education, offered literacy activities and gave away free books to children that attend the local Head Start preschool.



I plan and execute our very successful Teen Read program every fall where popular authors do school visits and public events - we reach thousands of teens with this program. Last year we had Gordon Korman, this year Avi is coming!

Gordon Korman

Library Love
I love my job because every day is different and I get to do a huge variety of tasks that promote the love of reading to kids and families in our library district. I love helping and supporting the branch librarians with youth services, working with community agencies on early literacy, doing book selection, planning and organizing programs and crafts for the summer reading program, interacting with authors, and a million other things.

Library Laughs
Storytime lends itself to lots of potential for funny moments. I’ve done storytimes where a child asks an awkward question where you have to think quickly or there is one kid that seems to have a comment about everything (these are the smart, verbal ones, so you gotta love em!). I think one of my most embarrassing moments was when I mispronounced a word so badly that the word that came out was the name of a body part that we usually don’t discuss in polite company!

A Lion’s Pride of Programs I am especially proud of our early literacy curriculum we use in our storytimes that we call Links to Literacy. We model ways of reading to kids that emphasizes early literacy skills for the parents and at the same time the kids are having a great time singing, listening to stories and doing activities. Please check out this video to hear me describing Links to Literacy storytimes. http://www.ncrl.org/kids.htm



I also want people to know about our Online Summer Reading Program that we launched this summer. It has been extremely fun and successful with over 11,000 reading hours logged so far this summer (we have 2 more weeks to go). We still offer the in-library summer reading program, but the online version is accessible to kids who live in very rural areas and for older kids. Look for more good things on our Online Summer Reading Program next summer.

Library Lion Cubs
We have a wonderful volunteer who works in the children’s department at Wenatchee Public Library – her name is Sabrina and she is 11 almost 12 and is going into the 7th grade. She works twenty hours per week! Which is amazing. She helps organize book carts, looks for request books on the shelf, keeps things tidy and assists with programs for the younger kids. She loves to be at the library and is following in the footsteps of her older sister who has worked there as a page for several years.


Sabrina

She loves getting the first opportunity to check out new books, observing what books patrons choose and she can’t seem to stop herself from checking out way too many books. Of course she loves to read and her favorites are: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Little Women and the Mother-Daughter Bookclub series. When she grows up she wants to be a pastry chef and teacher. She loves school and has discovered that the more she reads for fun, the easier her schoolwork is (if only all kids learned this valuable lesson!).

Library Lioness on Wheels
Deborah McVay has been traveling all over our district doing bilingual programs. Her biblioburro is pictured with her below!



What’s hot this summer and why?
The sizzling hot books at North Central Regional Library this summer are:

~Pinkalicious series by Victoria Kann – because every little girl wants to look like a princess and have “attitude”.

~Dork Diaries series by Rachel Renee Russell because kids love a funny underdog – and it is sort of a girl’s version of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

~I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore – teenagers with superpowers? What’s not to like? The movie version likely pushed this book over the top for kids in this area.

Author! Author!
The perfect author’s visit actually happened here a couple years ago when Lois Lowry came to do several programs around our library district. I spent several days driving her to her various venues, so I had the opportunity to really enjoy listening to her impressions of our area, observations on life and descriptions of what she plans to write in the future. Her programs were insightful, moving and just good storytelling. I never got tired of hearing her speak. One never knows what it will be like to interact with an author – you are hopeful that they will be pleasant and not too demanding, but Lois Lowry was professional, candid and a wonderful conversationalist. I feel lucky and honored to have had this time with her. And of course the kids and adults who heard her speak loved her too!

One Last Roar!
The summer reading program theme this year - “One World, Many Stories” was awesome. It gave endless opportunities for highlighting all of our great books on cultures, food, geography, animals of the world and on and on. Typically our branches give out inexpensive incentives for reading prizes and this summer to celebrate world cultures, many of them introduced a program in which their Friend’s group donated money to Heifer International for every hour that the kids read. This was a great way to increase awareness for how other kids in the world live. The "prayer flag craft" is an example of one of the crafts we did this summer that goes with the theme "One World, Many Stories".



Let’s Link

Library Website www.ncrl.org

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/NorthCentralRegionalLibrary Thank you, Angela 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.

Roar For Children's Lit Fests!

Welcome to this Library Lions Special Edition. This week we’re highlighting the terrific Children’s Literature Festival at Truman State University, MO!


Host Campus Truman State University Kirksville, Missouri

Daisy Rearick, Reference Librarian/Periodicals/Microforms at Pickler Memorial Library, Kirksville, Missouri, is here to tell us about the Lit Fest! Daisy grew up in Mexico. She loves children’s books. Welcome Daisy.



Share Your Dream with Us.
The purpose of the Children’s Literature Festival is to stimulate an interest in reading and literature among young students. The festival provides an opportunity for children from the northeast Missouri region in grades 4-6 to meet and interact with authors and illustrators from around the country.


Francisco Alarcon's workshop 2011

We lost the Festival for a few years. What Happened?
The Children’s Literature Festival was an annual event for 21 years until 2004 when it was discontinued due to severe budget cuts. In 2007, a Children’s Literature Festival Fund was created in an effort to bring the festival back, and two years later, the event began taking place once again. For the past two years, the Festival has also received grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

We're Happy to be back up and running now!


2011 Festival Presenters

Tell the LL readers what happens on the Festival Day.
During the festival, the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students have an opportunity to meet with three authors and ask them how their work was created and came to be published. The authors present fun workshops inspiring students' love for literature, encouraging them to explore their own writing and drawing projects in school and out.

The 2011 festival highlighted the work of 10 authors:
Francisco Alarcon, Darleen Bailey Beard, Carmen Bernier-Grand, Janet Lee Carey, Dianne Gray, Lynne Jonell, A. LaFaye, Laurie Lawlor, Anna Myers and N. A. Nelson. Ard Hoyt, an illustrator, also participated in the event.


Mary Amato's workshop



Janet Lee Carey's workshop 2011


We also have a book signing


Ard Hoyt at the book signing

Cheers for the Children’s Literature Festival at Truman University!

~ “Lots of kids don’t enjoy reading and this [festival] is another tool to encourage them to make it “cool”. Many students from Northeast Missouri don’t get an opportunity to travel and hear speakers other than school trips, so they are that much more engaged.” From a teacher.

~ “I cannot think of any other chance I have had as a student, and can think of few occasions I will have as a professional, that will provide me with such a unique chance to connect with so many different types of professionals all so concerned with literacy.” From an MAE student

~ “Thank you so much for inviting me! The young people were wonderful, and I hope that a few went away inspired. And the committee - I applaud all of you. Through your hard work and organization, the Festival ran seamlessly.” From an author who presented


Anna Meyers's workshop 2011

Readers Roar. Let’s hear from the kids!
~ “It has inspired me to want to try to write a short story.” Anne – Grade 4

~ “at the lit festival, I feel so inspired to read more books and learn more about authors.” Ben – Grade 6

~“[the festival] tempts me to read different kinds of books” Jennifer – Grade 5


N.A. Nelson's workshop 2011

~ “[I have changed how I feel about reading] because authors get their ideas from real events, and it makes me wonder what things go on in the world.” Student

~ “it changed how I feel about reading or books or authors because I learned to always have a problem.” Student


Darleen Bailey-Beard's workshop 2011

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR
We already have seven of our authors lined up for the 2012 Literature Festival, and we are thrilled to once again have a state grant to help us out with the expenses!

Let’s Link
Library Website: http://library.truman.edu/

Children’s Literature Festival website: http://library.truman.edu/Children'sLiteratureFestival.asp

Thanks again for the terrific interview, Daisy!

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.

The Big Move

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for Libraries and for the outstanding Librarians serving Children and Young Adults in Schools and Public Libraries across the U.S.. Please Roar today’s guest Linda Baker.



Linda works at Jefferson Public Library – Jefferson Oregon.



The Skinny Tell our readers about the Big Move
The sky isn’t falling but the library (pictured above) in Jefferson Oregon just might! A recent engineering report found the 150 year old Conser House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and home to the library, to be “….severely structurally deficient…”.

To fulfill with our mission of supplementing the library’s limited resources in order to ensure quality services for the community we have launched a $800,000 Capital Finance Campaign to build a new 4,000 square foot library and meeting room space. This is a huge commitment for our small rural community of 3,000 but we are dedicated and determined.

How Has the Community Pitched In?
I work with a group of enthusiastic volunteers who come from varied backgrounds. A retired elementary school librarian, real estate agent, artist, community volunteers and a retired state auditor. The other members and I are happily at work implementing the Capital Finance Campaign to build a new library. We have a great time meeting with community members of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and income levels. Moving day for the library will allow the Jefferson Historical Society to repair the building and then use that space for museum activities.

Valerie Hauser Library Director



Here are the plans for the new library. Happily, it will be just across the street from the present location so we will be able to easily visit and reminisce.





Linda and Mayor of Jefferson, Mike Myers, signing lease agreement for the library



Tell us Your Dream
Our dream is that the public library in a community such as Jefferson is not simply a building where books are housed. The library will be a place where diverse elements of the town come together and form the tapestry of community. Adults with limited reading and language skills will find assistance with the help of skilled librarians. Children of all ages will have age appropriate spaces and activities. The Jefferson Lions club has pledged to make funding the library of their major community projects. This added support from the community really makes us feel proud and very special!

Library Laughs
Spanish is the first language for many of our children. Sometimes the children whose first language is English want to learn new words in Spanish. One child who worked very hard at learning new Spanish words every day proudly told me one morning that he had learned how to say waffle in Spanish. Excited for him I asked him to tell me what his new word was – Eggo he proudly replied!

The Library Spanish Bilingual Collection


A Lion’s Pride of Programs
Here at Jefferson Library, we truly enjoy helping children and teens find just the “right book” for their reading level and interest! We’re also excited to watch that same child or teen help the “older generation” learn a new computer skill or advance to the next game level.



Many of the people who have used the library computers to successfully find employment end up moving into new jobs. We are particularly thankful to have a Librarian who is excited about collaborating with all the volunteers, providing guidance and encouragement as we work toward our goal.

We also partner with a program called Reading For All and collected 1,000 books to give as gifts to children who are low income and some have never had a new book of their own. It was hard to tell who was more excited, us as the givers or them as the receivers. The bonus is the positive impact this project will have on their lives in the future.

Author! Author!
We have asked many authors to sign books and send them to us to help raise funds for our new library. The authors have been very generous! We have received signed copies from all over the USA, England, New Zealand and even from the tiny county of Principat D’Andorra – do you know where that is – I sure didn’t and had to Google it for the location.

We will have over 500 books to sell when we attend Wordstock, a book fair, in Portland Oregon in October. As a special treat, the authors JA Jance and Steve Berry will be coming to Salem Oregon to meet with the public and participate in a book signing!

A Call for Books
If you're an author who would like to Roar your support, we would be thrilled to have a signed copy of your book to help our Big Move!
You can snail mail your copy to
Friends of the Jefferson Library
PO Box 656
Jefferson OR 97352

If you have any questions, email Linda - library2010@q.com -
THANKS for your support!

And now a Roar for Everyone helping us in the library and supporting us through the Big Move!A few more pics

Jackie Schmacher, Library Assistant



Glenda Adcock. Linn Benton Community College Work Study Student



Thanks again for the interview, Linda, and best of luck with the big move!

Linking Up

~Jefferson Public Library: http://www.jefferson.plinkit.org/~Reading For All: http://reading4all.com/

~Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service (which includes all libraries in
Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties, and which shares materials between the member libraries. http://www.ccrls.org


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.

Roar for Cavalcade of Authors!

Welcome to Library Lions interviews.This month we're Raising a Roar for Cavalcade of Authors! It's an honor to introduce librarian Michelle Lane, creator of Cavalcade!



Michelle has been a librarian for 6 years. Here’s her school library “called The Cat’s Den” at Enterprise Middle School in West Richland, WA.



More Michelle:
I’m 40…something and still play competitive softball. This summer I'll be busy with a supervisory/mentoring position with Antioch University for our new library program which is starting up here in the Tri-Cities.

I'm looking forward to speaking at WLMA in October regarding the Cavalcade of Authors and a new Young Adult – Washington website I am helping to develop that will be the go-to place for readers, writers, librarians, and booksellers in Washington State who love young adult fiction. I will be looking forward to a Janet Lee Carey author feature down the road here. (Janet note - Thanks Michelle!)

The Skinny – Tell us how Cavalcade of Authors began Michelle
Author Timothy Zahn inspired me. In September of 2009, I was presenting with author Maureen McQuerry at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Conference where I attended a workshop about author visits with a panel of authors speaking to what makes a successful author visit. Timothy Zahn brought up that he would much rather teach kids about writing rather than stand up and talk about himself and the rest of the authors concurred. Tim also mentioned a very successful teen book festival in Rochester that invited a large group of authors to work with teens from all over the city. I put the two ideas together and thought to myself, “I could totally do this for my students at Enterprise.” All the way home from Portland I brainstormed and planned. When I returned to school on Monday, I had a plan and started contacting authors to present at our school that April…and the rest is history!

In 2009 I started the Cavalcade of Authors at our school and 70 students from three middle schools in our district attended.



Our first year, we had seven authors on a budget of about $5,000. I wrote and received a $2500 grant from the Richland Education Foundation and received another $2,000 from Friends of the Mid-Columbia Libraries. The remainder of the money raised came from charging schools a small fee for an author visit done free by one of our authors.


(Janet Note - I had a blast presenting at Cavalcade in 2009!)


Photo 2009 author session with Alma Alexander.

The Cavalcade of Authors is dedicated to providing the secondary students of our region access to some of the best Young Adult authors of our modern era. Our special interest is to celebrate Pacific Northwest Authors while introducing students to a variety of genres and subject matter and to furthermore, promote reading and writing within our community.



We have provided for our participants an authentic writing conference experience. Students who qualify by reading a book from four of the authors, attend four 45 minute creative writing sessions each put on by a different author. A free t-shirt is awarded to students who read eight of the authors.



In 2010 we partnered with RADCON and held Cavalcade at the Pasco Red Lion for which RADCON paid. We had 225 students attend from seven secondary schools in our district and this time nine different authors presented. Each school paid $1000 for 50 of their students to attend the writing conference. Our budget in 2010 was just under $10,000. We collected around $3,000 from our city library and schools who paid for author visits.


2010 authors

This year we had 500 middle and high school students from 12 schools in our region, spill onto Columbia Basin College campus to see 11 young adult authors. Next year we will expect nearly 800 students.


2011 Author Panel

We created a partnership with our local college who hosted our event last March where 500 middle and high school students attended from 12 schools in our region on a $15,000 budget. We charged each school only $500 to send 50 students and received business / library donations and sponsorships to cover the remainder. We invited 11authors mostly from the Pacific Northwest, but this time several from around the nation.



In 2012, we expect to bring on six more schools for a total of 18 and we anticipate 800 students to be in attendance. Our authors total 12 and are mostly from around the nation, one from the UK, and a few from the Seattle area. We are now starting to cycle through our Pacific Northwest authors: Janet Lee Carey is our first to make a second appearance!

Check out our Cavalcade videos!
http://www.cavalcadeofauthors.org/2009/09video.html
http://www.cavalcadeofauthors.org/2010/10video.html

How do you do it all?
I have a team of librarians from the Richland and Kennewick school district and one Super Parent that help in the organization and planning. We work closely with Barnes and Noble Book Sellers who does all of our book sales throughout the year each year.

I have the daunting task next year of making $30,000 appear and it is making me nervous. My Super Parent is like a dog on a pork chop and together we have brought in at least $7,000 in the last week from Mission Support Alliance and RADCON, so I’m feeling a bit better these days. Every year fundraising for our project is quite the leap of faith…and nerve wracking, but each year we have met the challenge, thanks to our very supportive community!

Readers Roar. Let’s hear from the kids!
The most touching comment came this last spring from an 11th grade alternative high school student; shared in context by the organizer from the alternative high school in our district, Rivers Edge:

“[Organizing Cavalcade] is very challenging because of how fluid our student body is, as well as their poverty level; however, I’m still convinced it is well worth it. Because many of our students can’t afford a book or a T-shirt, I select Book Room copies that they’ve read to have signed during autograph time. This helps them look like everyone else and gives them a task to fill their time. I encourage them to have their program and/or T-shirt signed also. [This last year] Terry Trueman gave one of our students a signed copy of No Right Turn. On the bus going home that student said, “This is the first book I’ve ever owned and I’ll keep it all my life”. These words from an 11th grade boy brought tears to my eyes!”
– Paula Fallon, Organizer Rivers Edge

~ “It was wicked awesome! How we got to experience the life of an author.”
-Kathleen, 8th grade.

~ “What I liked about the Cavalcade of Authors is that I met students with the same interests as me and I got to know authors which kids don’t always get to do!”
-Sarah 8th grade.

~“I thought Cavalcade of Authors was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I loved how each author had something different to teach us and share their writing experiences and their careers.” - Breanna, 6th grade.

~ “I liked everything: The experience, all the nice authors, the people and how much I laughed!” – Becca Johnson, 8th grade.

~ “I liked the fact that these authors related so much about their personal lives to us.” – Alex, 11th grade

~ “I learned a lot about the intense and imaginative process of writing books.” - Matt, grade 12

Roars from the Authors!
~ “We were treated like rock stars, I tell you.” – Lorie Ann Grover, author.

~ “[What I liked most were] the kids. They were engaged and curious and asked insightful questions. – Brenda Cooper, author

~ “[What I liked most were] the attentive kids, the great staff, and the impressive organization.” – Stephen Wallenfels, author

~ “I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the quick minds, the incredible imaginations, and the sheer unbridled enthusiasm of your students”. – Alma Alexander, author

~ “I loved the way you organized [Cavalcade] having the kids read the authors' works in order to participate in the sessions. This made such a huge difference to the quality of our contact.” – Janet Lee Carey, author

Connections:
Library Website: www.cavalcadeofauthors.org we will be updating 2012 information over the summer.

Blog:Our YA-WA website will be a website with a blogging page. www.ya-wa.com – This site is currently under construction but will be launched by July 16th, 2011.

Thanks again Michelle for the Special Edition Interview!

And thanks to fellow authors who have participated in Cavalcade of Authors for the past three years!

2009 Cavalcade of Authors
Alma Alexander
Arthur T. Lee
Janet Lee Carey
Maureen McQuerry
Renee Riva
S. A. Bodeen
Timothy Zahn

2010 Cavalcade of Authors
Ben Mikaelsen
Brenda Cooper
Deborah Reber
Dia Calhoun
Lorie Ann Grover
Patrick Carman
Royce Buckingham
Suzanne Selfors

2011 Cavalcade of Authors
Mary Jane Beaufrand
Justina Chen
Melissa de la Cruz
Kimberly Derting
Alane Ferguson
David Patneaude
Mary E. Pearson
Lisa Schroeder
Terry Trueman
Stephen Wallenfels
Rick Yancey


Library Lions readers: 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.

Life-Size Monopoly. Library Fun with Jessica Miller!

Welcome to Library Lions interviews. Raising a Roar for Libraries and for the outstanding Librarians serving Children and Young Adults in Schools and Public Libraries across the U.S. Please welcome today’s guest Jessica Miller!



A librarian for five years, Jessica has spent the last three years running the teen department at New Britain Public Library, New Britain, CT.



Jessica created tween programming at her library. Prior to her arrival, children’s programming stopped at grade 4 and teen programming didn’t begin until grade 6. Programs directed specifically at tweens ( grades 4 to 8) bridges the Children’s Department to the Teen Department without losing readers!



More Roars for Jessica
We first met Jessica on her amazing book blog http://ireadtorelax.blogspot.com. She reviews middle grade and young adult materials for three different national review journals. For the past two years, she’s also participated as a judge for the Amazon Novel Breakthrough Award young adult section.

Jessica is currently one of the Young Adult section co-chairs for the Connecticut Library Association. She and her co-chair, Geri DiOrio (of the Ridgefield Public Library), plan the annual Young Adult section annual meeting for all YA Librarians in CT and plan the young adult programs available to all CT Librarians at the CLA annual conference.

The Skinny
Jessica says -- My absolute favorite part of my job is connecting readers with books. A lot of times, here in New Britain, the teens are not really enthusiastic about reading. If you can just connect a teen with one book, one, that really peaks their interest, then they will come back and ask for more. Having a teen say “Miss, you pick out the best books” brightens my day like nothing else! I love to go to the schools and book talk, because a lot of the teens in New Britain don’t have transportation to get to the library, so I have to come to them. It’s another way to reach them and to say, “Yes, reading can be totally awesome.”



A Lion’s Pride of Programs
I’ve already mentioned our Tween Time programs several times. I think that these programs are some of my favorites. We’ve done Life-Size Monopoly, Waterworks (outdoor water games!)



Summer Olympics, a Murder Mystery, a Library Scavenger Hunt, two “Camp-Out” movies complete with s’mores!



It’s a great age group…the tweens are old enough to do just about anything, are interested in just about everything, and they don’t yet have that “too cool to do that” vibe that the high school teens sometimes exhibit!

Some of my other favorite programs include our annual Spring Teen Creative Writing Contest, our monthly craft programs that have included altered books, decorated journals, “stained glass windows,” and beaded jewelry and the food related programs like cookie or cupcake decorating!



Readers Roar
~James – Our Library has a HUGE selection! It’s really great. I never have any trouble finding books I need for school projects or a movie to watch or a great new book. I’m really into science fiction and fantasy and the Library has a bunch of books like that that I can check out. Right now I’m reading my way through Ray Bradbury’s books.

~Blaze - The Library’s really good. I love the “Wii Fun” gaming programs and using the computers. I like to read WWE magazine and Game Informer. I want to be in the WWE when I grow up.

~ Jemima – I love all the new books in the Teen Section! Especially Cassandra Clare’s newest, City of Fallen Angels. I’m obsessed with that series.

Library Laughs
Just recently we did a Tween Time program called, “The Earth and Our Universe.” As part of the program, I decided to have the tweens create an alien…together. We had a whiteboard and a rainbow of dry erase markers and I asked each tween in turn to go up, pick a marker, and draw a part of their alien. At first the kids were a little shy. No one wanted to really do it, but as we added parts and started explaining why the alien had six wiggly arms, or googly stalk eyes or a barbed tail…the kids started cracking up.



At one point, Kaitlyn shouted out that the alien was holding bacon. When I told her that the alien wouldn’t have bacon because there would be no pigs in a gaseous environment, I have never seen a lip stick out further…but when I went on to explain that the alien would be able to eat something remarkably similar made from a “Rumschnautz” and drew an alien pig on the board, she danced right around the room! By the time we were done, the tweens were all snapping pictures of their alien on their cell phones so that they could look at it again later.

Book Brag: What three books are flying off the Teen/Tween shelves right now, and why?
~ The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan – Since The Lightning Thief, any book that comes out with Rick Riordan’s name on it is impossible to keep on the shelves here at NBPL. We have to order extra copies to keep up with the demand and house it in both our Children’s and Teen Departments. Both our tween and teen readers love the mythological aspects of Riordan’s books.

~ The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast – This year’s books, Awakened (Jan 2011), Dragon’s Oath (July 2011), and Destined (Nov 2011) are in HUGE demand. Again we buy multiple copies of each and the hold lists begin months before they come out and run for months after they’ve arrived. The teens love the soap opera feel of this vampire series.

~ City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. Our teen readers love the gritty urban feel of this fantasy. “It’s not in a fairy world. . . but it’s creepy and cool fantasy.” The dark romance, danger, and paranormal aspects of this series really appeal to our high school readers.

Author, Author!
Recently we experimented with doing an author visit via Skype. It was AWESOME. It was super easy and much cheaper than having an author come to the library. We were able to have author, Paul Volponi, do a demonstrative visit with the YA Librarians from around the state. Paul Volponi explained his writing style, other visits he’d done with teens, and then let us ask questions. It was a really great experience!

Through http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/ you can find a list of authors willing to do either free or very low cost “virtual visits” to Libraries across the US.

Library Lion’s Roar
Finally, I’d like to mention that we are located in a very urban, poor area of Connecticut. One of the things we are most proud to be able to offer at our Library is our Teen Department’s Homework Center. Generously funded by a grant from the American Savings Foundation (http://www.asfdn.org/) we are able to offer free one-on-one tutoring to students in grades 6 through 12 four days a week after school. It allows many students who would fall behind in school to get the extra help that they need at no cost to them. It is vital to a lot of New Britain’s families.

Thank you for the terrific interview, Jessica! For those of you who would like to explore more, here are Jessica’s Links:
Jessica’s blog – http://ireadtorelax.blogspot.com
The Library’s Teen Book Blog – http://nbplteenbookblog.wordpress.com/
The Library’s Teen Myspace Page – http://www.myspace.com/NewBritainLibraryTeens
The Library’s website – http://www.nbpl.info
The Library’s Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/nbpl.ct

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 Anime & Manga Goddess

Library Lions welcomes today’s guest Kristin Fletcher-Spear who has worked as a Teen Librarian for going on 11 years



Kristin works at Foothills Branch Library in Glendale, Arizona.



We first connected with Kristin on her cool blog Book Obsession Check it out LL readers!

Kristin is also a published author of the book Library Collections for teens: manga and graphic novels. Kristin jokingly calls herself “the anime and manga goddess of Foothills library.”



The Skinny: Briefly, what do you love most about your work?
That’s too hard to narrow down! I love the creativity involved in being a teen librarian. Realizing that even though I don’t call myself crafty, I do a lot of crafty and creative activities with my teens. I love how my job is different every day. I think my biggest love is the collection development part of my job. Buying all the books and media for teens helps me on every level of my job. I love booktalking, displaying, programming around books (I host a monthly Ani-Manga club all about manga), and most importantly connecting teens with books.

Library Laughs
Two fellow teen librarians (one a teen/adult librarian, and one a teen/tween librarian) and I painted our teen space over the course of a weekend. We painted after we closed each night. It took us 17 ½ hours to do the base and all of the fabulous polka dots. The next week, I found out that a print shop could have made vinyl circles for us for under $200. Every time I see the polka dot wall I think about that.



Kristin, we here at LL just want to say your hand-painted polka dots shows your Library Love.

One day I came to work to do a program, even though I had a fever, I was using a blender to show how to make a smoothie and instead of lifting the blender pot up, I twisted it off the base and all the smoothie came out from the bottom! I remember thinking, “This is why I have sick time.”

And from the mouths of teens: On a book review (spelling mistakes not corrected): “Nicholas Sparks is the new William Shakespear.” Whenever we are having a rough day, we pull the review out just to smile.

A Lion’s Pride of Programs
I just did an interview for a teen cable show about teen volunteering and the teen who interviewed me began the introduction with “Do you remember the public library—the one you used to go to for storytime? Well, you can volunteer there as a teenager!” I groaned to myself that this teen is missing out on so many fabulous things if she hasn’t been in the library since as a young child.

We have a wide variety of programming for teens. Hands on activities like crafts, interactive/competitive programs like Yuck Night, Cooking programs like Iron Chef Challenge



We also do movie events, videogaming, and book-oriented programs.



These are just some of the types of programs we hold throughout the year. I would like to highlight our book-oriented programs since they are fit our core values as librarians:Each month I hold an ani-manga club focusing on anime and manga. Teen Book Café is a book club without any assigned book. In both programs, instead of focusing on a specific book, we talk about a genre. I provide a bookmark with title suggestions, a cartful of books, and in between teens sharing their books, I booktalk titles they may not know.

Readers Roar: Let’s hear from the Teens!
Sarah F who is getting school credit for volunteering at the library said:
"Volunteering at the library started off as an obligation and has turned itself into loads of fun. The programs are fun, the staff is great and the environment is fantastic!"

Our teen volunteer program is an amazing opportunity for teens. Last year our teens volunteered over 3100 hours. They help us in programs, at the reference desk, shelving and pulling of materials, and so much more. I love mentoring the volunteers and see them grow as teens.

I also heard a teen volunteer tell a little boy who asked her how much money she makes at the library that she “gets paid in fun”. Probably my favorite quote about volunteerism that I have ever heard!

Book Brag: What three books are hot this year? Why?
Paranormal romance is still the big ticket item at my library. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare’s newest title in the Mortal Instruments series is a powerhouse right now!

For boys, it would be Scorpia Rising, the last Alex Rider novel, or Emperor of Nihon-Ja, the last Ranger’s Apprentice novel.

But I’m most interested in Gayle Forman’s Where She Went, the sequel to If I Stay, which I found so powerful and moving.

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR
As a teen librarian you only get to impact these teens for a few years and then they move on. Sometimes we never see them again, other times word comes back about their successes. Every time I hear that my role in the library helped a teen discover themselves or make an impact on their lives somehow, I get all the encouragement I need to keep going and working with the newest batch of teens.

Kristin’s Connection Info:

Blog: Book Obsession http://bookobsessiongpl.blogspot.com
Library Website www.glendaleaz.com/library
Library Teen Website www.glendaleaz.com/teenlibrary
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/GlendaleTeenLibrary

Thanks again for the terrific interview, Kristin!

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.