THE GREAT GUYBRARIAN!

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, the great guybrarian, Paul Warner!

My name is Paul Warner and I am the teacher-librarian for over 1,100 6^th – 8^th graders at Shahala Middle School in Vancouver, WA (right across the Columbia River from Portlandia!). The students call me JEDI WARNER the GUYBRARIAN because of my love of Star Wars and all things sci-fi fantasy. 

If you walk into our library you are likely to see books displayed with posters and life-size standees of sci-fi fantasy characters, kids learning with Mr. Warner using various film clips connected to sci-fi fantasy books, patrons listening to sci-fi fantasy instrumental music while they work and read, and you’re likely to be greeted by an enthusiastic Guybrarian dressed as a Jedi, a wizard, or some other fun sci-fi fantasy character.

The Skinny:  

What I love most about my work is connecting reading with fun activities. For example, every month we hi-light a different genre and promote books in that genre by making fun library videos for the whole school to see. We also make fun videos to promote new books available. Many students and staff love to be in these productions, and after the videos are shown those books start flying off the shelves! I have included Youtube links to a few of our videos below. 

Photo scene from school video

Youtube links:

To promote new books we received through purchases and donations, we made this video for the school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IX6I6KkJD0

To promote the genre of mystery/horror we made this funny video for the school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVW8ueEInLM

Video to promote our sci-fi family night & book fair event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaG-Ky96bCQ

Video after our sci-fi night to celebrate by showing everything we did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWYONaVNClw

We have the most fun of the year at our annual Sci-Fi Fantasy Family Night & Book Fair.

We do lots of activities like Lightsaber making

Costume contests

Trivia games, Origami Yoda, collectibles, projects connecting sci-fi and real science technology, and much more! 

This year Mr. Warner dressed as a Jedi Knight, Assistant Librarian Mrs. Royster became Princess Leia, and one of our teachers was Doctor Who! Plus we have special guests stop by from the 501^st Legion, an international organization of costumed Star Wars characters that have a local chapter nearby. Last year they brought a clone trooper and Darth Vader, and this year they brought Imperial stormtroopers and a real, life-size, working R2D2 robot that interacted with library visitors!

 

 

Library Laughs:

We’ve had a couple of really funny days in the library this year. One was on “Talk Like A Pirate Day” when I became a pirate and any kids who entered the library and talked like a pirate to me while checking out a book got some candy (“pirate booty”).

Then later this year we collaborated with our amazing ASB program to have an all-school “Dress Like a Book Character” Day!

We gave prizes to kids who checked out any book featuring the character they were dressed up as.  All day long the library was filled with laughs and smiles as Katniss, Batman, Laura Ingalls, Chewbacca, Ponyboy, Hogwarts students, pointy-eared elves, manga characters, various Avengers, Percy and friends from Camp Half-Blood, and some very entertaining Spongebobs checked out books about themselves!

It was also really funny to see the looks on the kids’ faces when they saw the Guybrarian’s character: Darth Potter. 

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be Vader or Harry, so I combined them in one costume, held up books about both characters, and greeted kids with a deep voice stating: “Luke…I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!”

A Lion’s Pride of Programs:  

I really want visitors to know more about all the on-line tech tools and assistance we provide for our students and staff.  For research work and non-fiction reading we can help kids learn how to use databases such as Worldbook and eLibrary instead of just randomly searching the web, and help link kids up to ebooks and to professional, trusted web sources on any topic they need.  For presentations, I offer help for kids and teachers to create podcasts about books or topics of study, digital video book trailers, and presentations on any topic with the use of web tools such as Prezi, Glogster, Picmonkey, Pixton, Storybird, Tagxedo, Animoto, and Educreations. 

We’ve also started creating QR Codes on books to take readers on-line to author sites, book trailers,quizzes, interviews, and more. We are also proud of our after school Eagle Book Club in the library,which focuses especially on sci-fi fantasy books.

 

In addition to reading and discussing books together, we also create technology projects connected to the books by using many of the tech tools listed above.

After reading Ender’s Game, The Eagle Book Club made this book trailer video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w49-8-osTk

Readers Roar:

“Reading is awesome because it allows me to journey to Middle Earth, Camp Half-Blood, and other worlds, all without leaving my own land.” – Max (7^th grade)

“I like reading because you never know what will happen to the characters next, and sci-fi fantasy has such intense paragraphs.”  - Ruth (6^th grade)

“I love reading because it takes me to a place and time I can’t go in real life.” – Hibbah (8^th grade)

“Reading helps me imagine things.” – Damian (6^th grade)

“Reading is like a movie in my head.” – Caledonia (8^th grade)

“I can’t remember the last time I went to a library book fair, but I got so excited to go to the Sci-Fi Night that Jedi Warner planned!  After that I started reading some sci-fi!” – (6^th grade boy)

"I want to thank you for the Sci-Fi Family Night you hosted for the community.  I brought my son and we had a fantastic experience meeting some of his STAR WARS favorites. We loved visiting with other families, picking out books, and dressing up for the costume contest.  Even days later, my son is still talking about how wonderful the night was. You made his month!"   - Anna 

"Sci-Fi Family Night was a huge opportunity for students to see the two way connection between science and science fiction. That event, our library, and Mr. Warner have inspired students to read more and connected the science department to the library in new ways."  -  Mr. C. (8^th grade science teacher & parent)

“It was quite remarkable to see so many people at the Sci-Fi event that were energized about science fiction and reading! Great to see such a diversity of community members there with a wide range of interests participating in a common event around a shared love of science fiction books, movies, and games!  -  Mr. P. (8^th grade math teacher & parent)

Note to LL readers. Excuse the white background above. It's some kind of befuddling glitch! Thanks

 

“I have never before seen kids so excited about coming back to a school's library for an evening event, but they talked about the Sci-Fi Night and Book Fair as it approached and they were still talking days after it." -    Mrs. E. (8th Grade Language Arts & Social Studies teacher)

Book Brag: Currently, our most popular books are by Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan, Veronica Roth, and James Dashner.  Collins’ Hunger Games series continues to be checked out by kids who saw the film but haven’t yet read the book, or students who want to read the sequels before the next films are released.  Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus series are continuously checked out from our library.  Dashner’s Maze Runner series has become very popular and hard to keep on the shelf, and Roth’s Divergent and Insurgent are constantly requested.  I believe all these books are hugely popular because sci-fi fantasy stories of adventure or dystopian struggles have such great appeal to this age group, especially if the stories include a hero’s journey coming-of-age tale and the age of the characters in the books is close to the reader’s age too.

Author! Author!

This is only my third year in the library so I haven’t had very many author visits yet, but I really want to because during my 16 years as a language arts and social studies teacher I attended some great author visits and saw the positive affect they have on the kids.  I think the perfect visit involves the author reading some from her work, sharing about her own life, using a visual presentation, teaching about the craft of writing, and having a Q & A session about her books and reading & writing in general.  If time allows, I think it is great to have the kids actually do a little writing of their own while with the author.  I saw a writer do this once with a class of kids by getting them to brainstorm ideas to get down on paper and encouraging them to start keeping journals of ideas that could later develop into writing pieces; it was very inspiring to the kids and adults in the room who did actually start keeping writing journals after that visit. 

For me personally, my 3 favorite author visits have been:  (1) When Holocaust survivor Alter Weiner, author of the book From A Name to a Number, came to my library with stories and visuals to teach the students about the Holocaust;

(2) When Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes and Teacher Man, came to the high school where I taught and shared with the students about the importance of always asking questions in reading and in life;

and (3) When Henry Winkler, author of the Hank Zipser series (and Fonzie from Happy Days of course), came to a local bookstore and spent a few minutes 1-on-1 with my son to give him inspirational advice on how to be a writer (had a very positive influence on my son).

Photo Meeting Henry Winkler2

Library Lion’s Last Roar:

I want to roar loudly for all those school librarians & guybrarians out there who take the time to work with and teach lessons to the students.  Every week I am teaching whole classes and 1-to-1 with students about reading skills, research skills, writing skills, technology skills, presentation skills, and the important critical thinking skills needed so much in the information overload world we live in today.  Too often I run across folks who think all a school librarian does is sit at a front counter and check out books all day; therefore, they incorrectly and unfortunately view such a position as unimportant and expendable.  So I also want to roar for the Library Lions website and all the authors, teachers, principals, and students out there trying to spread the word in this country that our librarians are not expendable and are so much more than just book-checker-outers, but are actually professionally trained educators collaborating with classroom teachers and working with students on so many crucial skills today, in addition to the important job of helping them find books to read. 

Also, let’s roar for all the librarian hard work and passion that goes into reading promotions and community building and outreach, plus all the behind-the-scenes work of obtaining the right resources and reading materials for multiple subject areas and grades to help diverse young people with a wide variety of reading levels, interests, and needs.  I have always believed that librarians must have the magical powers of The Force in order to accomplish all that they do, but since joining their distinguished ranks I have begun to realize that librarians actually ARE The Force that keeps libraries working for kids.

Let’s Link:

Blog:  I would like people to know about my blog for sharing and learning about how today’s technology tools can be used in education.  It’s a Google blog called Educational Tech in the 21^st Century.  I would LOVE for people to go there and join up with my blog so we can share tech tools and ideas!  Here is the URL: http://21stcenturylearnerandteacher.blogspot.com/

Library Website: Our Shahala Middle School library website, with many tool and links, is part of the Schoolwires system right now at the following URL: http://schools.evergreenps.org/domain/1871 However, by this July our district is leaving Schoolwires so our library website will be changing to a Google website sometime during the Summer.  I will have the new link for it sent to Library Lions as soon as it is available.

Twitter: I have also started using Twitter to connect with educators, authors, and librarians and would love to connect with more folks!  On Twitter I am:  @jediguybrarian

                                    ~            ~          ~

 Thank you, Paul, for your terrific interview! May the force be with you!

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. 

 

LIBRARY GRAD STUDENTS ANSWER THE CALL

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians across the U.S. This week’s Special Edition highlights the Library Program serving seniors at The Ballard Landmark. I learned about the volunteers who started this innovative program when I met Greg Bem last summer at the ALA conference.

 

Greg, Erin, Emily and Gina have stopped by Library Lions this week to tell us about the program.

In fall of 2010, four MLIS students at the iSchool at University of Washington responded to a call for help via a listserv at UW. The BallardLandmark Retirement and Senior Living Community in Seattle needed assistance with its library.

Four students responded to the request and founded the current library program: Greb Bem, Erin Boyington, Emily Small, and Gina Kessler.

Erin Boyington (photo taken at the Museum of Flight)

Emily Small

 Gina Kessler Lee

These students came together to conduct an assessment of the library collection and actively volunteer to restructure the collection, provided reader advisory services and technology instruction to the residents. The Landmark’s collection was small enough to allow for some significant library coordination from four students new to library work. After a quarter, the library had been transformed from sheer chaos to a carefully refined, regularly-weeded and regularly-developed information center. 

 

The Skinny: What inspired you to create the Ballard Landmark Senior Center program?

While we were asked to come forward from the depths of academia and participate in assisting with the Senior Center, we were given a relatively “open” space to work with. Many library science students often only rarely discover opportunities to gain practical library experience, and while the Landmark is certainly fairly limited in its scope as a library, it was a perfect jumping off pad for turning all of the theory of the classroom into practical adventures. We have learned a lot through working together to make the library more organized and user-friendly and doing outreach to the resident community. Inevitably, our relationship with residents in the Landmark inspired us to continue (and expand) our program.

Tell us about the Program

The program is run exclusively by MLIS students. Our new student volunteers are: Jessica Blanchard, Susan Fitch, Breean Kay, and Shannon Moller. Students of all backgrounds and at all stages in their graduate studies volunteer regularly, and at least one of us works at the Landmark for two hours every Saturday. Our drop-in hours are advertised to residents on their monthly activities calendar.

How the program “works” depends on which volunteer is present at the library and what the volunteer is comfortable with. Typically the program begins each week with the volunteer doing shelf-reading and basic organization of materials. There is a returns container that usually has a plethora of books for reshelving, and books have typically found strange places on the bookshelves. Magazines are weeded each week as well. The library is small, consisting of just a few hundred books, but it is a beloved resource for a few dedicated users.

After the initial review of the collection has been conducted, the volunteer then seeks out residents that need help. Whether help consists of learning an iPad application, recovering lost computer passwords, finding something new to read, or getting a book review, the volunteers at the library are happy to help. In addition to working within the library, the volunteers also help residents at the two computer workstations existing around the corner, where residents are often conducting research or checking e-mail.

 

Gina Kessler Lee with Cathy

The volunteers also help with computer set up and other basic technology needs of the residents. In addition, we have established relationships with the Seattle Public Library Mobile Services and the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library to make sure we can get books for seniors who are no longer able to get to the public library or who need large print or audiobooks (which does make up a small part of the Landmark’s collection). Last summer, we also successfully requested an acquisitions fund and were able to purchase additional books for the Landmark at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale.

Our services provide small but important benefits for these seniors, from promoting reading at every age to enabling them to keep up with new technologies. Sometimes, they are just glad to have someone new to chat with. This spring, at the suggestion of one of the staff, we hope to organize a lesson on video chat through Gmail, Facetime, and Skype so that residents can communicate interactively with their families who live far away.

 

University House, a nearby senior living community, employs one MLIS student as a part-time librarian, but that librarian’s primary job is collection development. We have been trying to do programming and really emphasize personal interactions with the residents in addition to managing the collection. We would love to hear from librarians embedded in other assisted living facilities to find out what has worked for them.

Roars for the Library Program

“Great job! Many thanks!” - Betty, a resident

 “Thanks so much to your group for your help. The library is looking great. We love having you.”      - Landmark’s Director of Vitality

Residents are regularly thrilled to visit the volunteers each week and know that the library is actively being maintained and facilitated by students. It’s not uncommon for a volunteer to develop a friendship with returning residents each week. The residents regularly stop by for assistance and, in some cases, visit with the library volunteers to simply exchange stories and share information with one another. They have been especially grateful for readers advisory and computer and e-reader help we provide.

Bob and Cathy stopping by for books

When we attended the Landmark’s annual herring festival (Ballard has historically been populated by many Nordic immigrants) as a form of outreach, nearly everyone we spoke with was familiar with our work and had stories of how we had helped their friends, if not them directly. We have also implemented a suggestion box, which residents use to thank us for our work, make suggestions about the layout, and request that we add certain books to the collection.

Alki, the Washington Library Association Journal, published an article by Greg Bem about our work at the Landmark. Check out the article on page 23 of the March 2013 issue.

Library Laughs

Coming to the Landmark, you never know whom you’re going to meet! In one day, I might get a dance lesson (the resident came to us with a reference question about how to get on Ellen on TV with his dancing skills), find a new thriller for the resident who has a stuffed cat and an empty mini bottle of Wild Turkey attached to her walker, and discuss the latest celebrity drama with the residents who have come to read the latest issue of People.

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR

In the fall of 2011 the library volunteers started using LibraryThing  to develop a basic, online “catalog” of the library collection. While not as sophisticated as an ILS, LibraryThing has allowed volunteers to document the entire collection and prepare for a public release. It is our goal to ultimately make the LibraryThing collection available to the residents so they can search their collection using modern tools. The entire collection is recorded online, and it took many months to accomplish!

Janet - Congratulations to all of you on the accomplishment! We're Roaring for you and the whole volunteer team working on this innovative program!  

                                                           ~

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 RED READING CHAIR

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 Amianne Bailey!

I met Amianne through her wonderful blog Red Reading Chair

and invited her to share about her experiences as a school librarian at Ruby Shaw Elementary. Take it away, Amianne!

Thanks, Janet. This is my fourth year as the librarian at Ruby Shaw Elementary in Mesquite, Texas. We are a K—6^th grade campus with close to 800 students. Our library is on a flexible schedule and is considered the “heart” of our school. While research lessons and read-alouds are occurring, students come in for self-checkout at point of need, so it’s always busy! There is no “shushing” in the Shaw library—it’s a place where learning can be a little loud, chaotic, and lots of fun!

 

 I had our old circ desk ripped out because it was archaic and not kid-friendly for self-checkout, and our district’s carpentry department built this one for me. I’m kind of proud of it.

The Skinny:
My passion is getting kids (and teachers!) excited about reading. I love reading aloud to my students and feeling that magic take hold of them; I know it’s not me—it’s the power of the book. I love “making the match” between book and reader. Basically, I love showing kids how reading and learning can transform their lives!

A Mighty Roar!
To me, it’s all about access. Studies show that the playing field becomes considerably leveled when children have increased access to books. I view libraries as the “leveler” for so many of our kids who do not come for print-rich environments. When we provide access to great books, choice and time to read, and exposure through read-alouds, libraries can change the world!

Library Laughs I actually attended Shaw as a student from 3^rd through 6^th grade and was a library helper, so it has an extremely special place in my heart. I guess it was destiny that I become a librarian! My students find this picture hilarious.

 

Readers. The first one to correctly guess which one of these three girls is Amianne, will win a signed paperback copy of DRAGONSWOOD from Janet, the Library Lions post host. Left to right, is she girl 1, 2, or 3? Just make your guess in "comments" below to win. 

A Lion’s Pride of Programs
We are fortunate to have access to one of the largest digital library collections in the nation! Mesquite ISD has been on the cutting edge of introducing audio and e-books to our students. Rather than worrying about how this technology will impact our libraries, we embrace it and show our students the benefits of both physical and electronic books in our world. I am fortunate to work with such an amazing team of librarians!

Readers Roar  

We recently celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday!

 

 

And we used Face Time to share our writing with other 4^th graders in our district!

 

Book Brag: What three books are hot this year? Why?
Press Here by Henri Tullet is one of the best read-alouds EVER! Who knew pressing dots could be such FUN?!

Postcards from Camp by Simms Taback won the Texas Bluebonnet award, and my students LOVED it when I read it aloud! It is the most requested book in the library right now.

Wonder by RJ Palacio has been the MUST-READ-ALOUD book that my teachers have been sharing with their classes. Most of the 4^th—6^th grade classes have read it and fallen in love with August. We are also signing pledge cards to “Choose Kind” in our school, families, and community.

Author! Author!
Two years ago, we had Marc Brown visit our school, and it was the BEST DAY of my librarian life. He graciously signed hundreds of books and did a fantastic presentation for the students about his own writing process. I will NEVER top that. Perfection. (These pictures were taken before our library makeover).

 

 

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR

My Red Reading Chair blog has been nominated by the Texas Association of School Librarians for the MVP award (Media and Virtual Presence). I will find out in April at the TLA conference if it “wins.” I am also presenting at TLA. My presentation is called “Putting a New Face on Your Library,” and I will talk about cost-effective ways to spice up the physical décor, atmosphere, and virtual image of your library.

These sweet faces represent why I have the best job in the world!

 

Let’s Link:

Blog Red Reading Chair 

Shaw Library Website:

Thank you for showcasing the terrific library programs Shaw Elementary, Amianne. We love your Red Reading Chair blog and will be popping by to read it again soon!

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 JR. HIGH LIBRARIANS!

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 guests the Teacher-Librarian Heidi Rikard and Library Assistant, D’Arcy Rowe.  Heidi and D’Arcy work at West Valley Junior High in Yakima, Washington. 

Heidi and D’Arcy St. Louis 

Tell us About Yourselves

Heidi: I am the teacher-librarian at West Valley Junior High in Yakima, WA.  This is my 3^rd year as TL here in WV.  Before I came here I was a language arts teacher for 11 years.  I spent nine years in Selah, WA and two years in Issaquah SD.  I went into education because I love learning and I love helping students learn new things. 

D’Arcy: I am a library assistant at West Valley Junior High in Yakima, Washington. I love finding books for students and turning them on to reading!  This is a perfect age for kids to discover reading a book for entertainment!

The Skinny
D'Arcy: We have about 850 students at our junior high in the 7th & 8th grades.  We have a pretty large library with about 15,000 books and four computer labs for students to use.

Right now we are in the process of genre-fying our fiction section in our library!  This is a huge project and will probably take a couple of months for us to finish.  If you don’t know what it means to genre-fy here goes:  we are taking all of our fiction books and categorizing them as to a genre and then putting stickers on them so the patrons will know what kind of book they are.  Afterwards we will put them in specially marked areas in the library.  It will be kind of like being at a bookstore.  Our genres are:  adventure, classics, fantasy (sub-genres of fantasy are-paranormal romance; animal fantasy; dystopian & post apocalyptic; mythology; fairytales; mermaids, witches & fae; and dragons), Holocaust, sports, scary, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction.  I’m super excited about this project!  I think it will make it easier for students to find books they like and they may even find books that they’ve never seen before and check them out.

What Do You Love Best About Your Work?

Heidi: The thing I love most about my work is helping connect students to the right book.  I also love that there are students in this school who may have no other place where they feel completely “safe” or at home except for in the library.  Students know they can come in the library before or after school or at lunchtime and they will be welcomed and offered a cozy place where they are truly accepted.  They can pick a quiet corner to read, get that homework finished, or just relax with some friends.  I definitely have a core group of kids I get to know well as they are our “regulars”.  I love that these kids love our library.

D’Arcy: One of my favorite things is a student who is sooooo excited about a book that they are literally jumping up and down and squealing about it.  I got this reaction last year when I dressed up as Effie Trinket (from The Hunger Games) too.

A Lion’s Pride of Programs

D’Arcy: We are really trying to make our library a place where students love to come.  I am doing a weekly art class with some students after school.

 

We also run contests and have raffles for different things.  Every year we have a book drive and have students donate new or gently used books.  We then have a party with prizes for everyone that has donated books. 

Heidi: We try to have as many events and programs for students as we can.  We want them all to know the library is the best place to be. We offer after school programs during the week.  On Monday we host an art club.  Thursdays we have a book club.  The students in book club have become the reading advocates for our school.  They help promote happenings in the library by making posters, talking to classes, and doing book talks.

During the holiday season we have a community service project book drive.  Students donate picture books, chapter books, non-fiction, and appropriate YA books.  We then have a celebration with all the students who donated.  Local businesses donate door prizes and treats, and it’s a celebration of books and giving.  Students also get new books of their own.  The donated books then go to three or four local outreach services for children, youth, and families. 

We celebrate several times throughout the year with special events for students and teachers to participate in.  We enjoy Banned Books Week, Teen Read Week, Teen Tech Week, Dr. Seuss Week, and National Library Week.  Last year, with the release of the Hunger Games movie, we celebrated with a week-long trivia tournament, prizes, and just overall Hunger Games mayhem.  We even had a staff team competing against kids in our trivia challenge. 

 

A Mighty Roar for Libraries!

Heidi: Libraries are vital to a healthy school.  We are quite literally the center of the learning universe here.  Because we service every student at WVJH, we have to be ready for each individual who walks through our door…from our most hard-working Special Education kiddo to our highly capable students, we need to have the right materials and the right information that fits their needs.  We help students with research, homework, finding books, and even some life skills.  Teachers look to us as a partner and resource.  If we were not here, there would be a giant void in the school, and in the lives of all who learn and work here.

D’Arcy: Libraries are so important in schools because the librarian is a great resource to teach research skills.  Also, because we are one of the few places in the school where students can come together to study, read books, or just hang out with friends.

 

Readers Roar: (Let’s hear from the kids!)

Alicia, 8^th grade says: “This library has amazing books that I love to read.  Where the Red Fern Grows would be one of my favorites.  I love coming to the library to find new books I can read and be absorbed into another imaginary world.”

Jessica, 8^th grade says: “I love going to my school’s library because it has a large selection of books, all of which I enjoy!”

Book Brag:

Heidi: We promote the Evergreen Book Award nominees and also the YALSA Teen’s Top Ten.  So, those have been our hottest books.  At the beginning of the year I was able to do book talks with all 7^th grade language arts classes.  The result?  Our hottest books were (and actually continue to be) Matched by Ally Condie, Bruiser by Neal Shusterman, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.  Students seem to be spreading these books through word-of-mouth.  Divergent by Veronica Roth has also been big.  I get the ball rolling in the fall, and do more book talks throughout the year, but kids keep it going by talking to each other and passing around the books. 

D’Arcy: I'd also add The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. These are all award winning books that we have book talked this year and the kids just really love them.  Two of these are dystopian and that is a really popular genre right now and another is just a wonderful tearjerker.

Author! Author! Describe the perfect author visit from a librarian’s point of view.

Heidi: The perfect author visit would be from an author who is well-known and has some great books, but is also well-spoken and can relate to teens.  The author would be well-prepared to share with students and teachers about a certain topic or area that has previously been decided upon.  Also, student questions would have been written down ahead of time, and the author would have had a little time to peruse those so as to answer them without feeling too “on the spot”.  The students will also have time to speak to the author one-on-one (if time) and get books signed. 
To me, this would be the perfect author visit. 

D’Arcy: The only author we’ve been able to have at our school is a local author, Chris Weedin.  He actually works in our school district so we have easy access to him.  It’s wonderful when he comes in and talks to the students.  They are always very receptive to him and want to check out his books for quite a while afterwards.  We would love to be able to have more authors come here or have some Skype visits.

Let’s Link:
Visit our West Valley Junior High Library Website  

Thank you Heidi and D’Arcy for working on this interview together and letting LL readers know about your terrific programs at the West Valley Junior High School Library!

 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.