ESL: English Second Language

The library system where I work serves a population that is ~30% Hispanic as well as having Russian and Vietnamese families. There is often a request for ESL resources like that of Rosetta Stone (as well as free classes).

Aside from the database Powerspeak Languages, we offer a variety of ESL sets from Ingles Sin Barreras to Learning English steps 1-2-3. I just saw however that the US Department of State has an American English website and a new game called Trace Effects. The Digital Shift provides a review and I logged in to see what it was like. The opening narrative is a bit cheesy, but the game requires you to move around and engage in conversation and tasks, which require you to use certain prescribed etiquette, hence the learning aspect. This is how Americans speak, these are the formalities of interaction.

My one gripe is that everything is in English and so a true beginner is not going to know what is going on and on the flip side someone who understands the English to navigate the game may find the scenarios tiresome. But, it may provide a nice review and hey, it's a game.

App Reviews

I started out with Wired Magazine's App Guide ($11). Love it and I have a goal to try at least one app from every section for the Android. However, Wired's Guide doesn't have any children's games/apps. I remembered that the School Library Journal reviews apps and technology, so I stole the most recent print copy from the children's librarians at my branch (Oct 2012) and I'll be listing the ones that I'd like to try below. Online, the column name is "Touch and Go" and is archived under the Blogs and Columns link

I also eavesdropped on a conversation two children's librarians were having regarding the Scholastic Warehouse sale they had attended. So I attended it and picked up a flyer for storia , the e-reader for Scholastic Books which comes with 5 free books and which received an editor's choice award from Children's Technology Review. CTR participates in a few awards presented at the yearly Consumer Electronics Show and the annual Bologna Children’s Book Fair(!), so, I think I've finally found my resources.

Book Apps I wish to check out in the future:

• The Going to Bed Book by Boynton and app created by Loudcrow interactive
• All of these- SLJ's top 10 apps of 2012
• The SLJ 2012 Halloween Book Apps Review. 

Other Apps to Check out

• Tate Modern Art Terms - currently only for iPad

Tech to check out

• https://www.remind101.com/learn_more
• http://www.codecademy.com/ JavaScript coding for kids
• (and while I'm at it, be sure to look at SLJ's 2012 top 10 tech for School libraries)

Publisher's Weekly 11/12/12

These are notes for myself. They are essentially the books I thought looked interesting from a collection development ptv for the Pub Weekly 11/12/12. There are also some things I note that I just want to be aware of, sort of trending topics of interest to me. Will I do this for every Pub Weekly I come across? Possibly.

E-comics:

• iPad- Dim Sum Warriors (Yumcha Studios)
• iPad only: King Fu Guide to Romance
• iPad only: Stir Fried Detective

Does overdrive have comics?- Yes, but they are simple ePub files and not formatted for comics display the way a comics app will format and display. And the one that I tested for download to my mobile reader (Android) does not allow wireless download. I have to first download it to the computer and then transfer it to my device. (LAME!)

Mystery

• Classic in the Clouds by Myers, Amy
• Moon Underfoot
• Russian Donation by Spielberg
• Immortal by Crawford

Literature

• White Dog Fell From the Sky by Morse
• Heft by Moore
• Canada by Ford

Check out the iPad Mini! ... maybe not- screen resolution

Romance

• Red by Kinsey (erotica)
• Please, Sir (Submissive)
• Look for "sweet stories" (no/low sex) by Amazon Montlake Romance, St. MArtin's Press, HarperCollins & Harlequin Heartwarming

Mystery/ Thriller

• The Dinner by Koch
• The Hard Bounce by Robinson- in Spanish?
• The List by Tanabe - in Spanish?
• Adam in Eden by Fuentes - in Spanish?

 Paperback Bestsellers

• My Kind of Christmas by Carr, R.
• Micro by Crichton
• Perks of Being a Wallflower by 
• Practical Paleo by Sanfilippo
• Team of Rivals by Goodwin

Catalog Features - can we recommend other titles from within an item record by Subject (for reference?)
Be sure to look at:

• iBookstore App's Shakespearience by Sourcebooks and DK line
• Also be aware that ePub3 is coming for standard multimedia ebook format.

Sci/Fi, Fantasy and Horror

•  Impulse by Gould (part 3 of the Jump series that we have)

Non-fiction

• Here there, elsewhere : stories from the road by least heat moon
• Stay up la street art by daichendt
• She spiritual but not religious is not enough by daniel

No Time for a Program? Set out a Maker Space

Actually, I was thinking that I didn't have enough time to write up, submit and have my proposal approved in time for the holidays. (I was thinking of doing a letter writing program.) So, instead, I pulled out my supply of holiday cards and stationary, set out a small table and chair next to my book display on the theme of "write a friend a letter" month and stocked it with the cards and a few pens and markers. Anyone who walks in is invited to take a moment and write a letter to whomever is in their thoughts.

This is especially cool for kids and parents to teach them about letter writing.

Cool stuff I don't have time to read

I found the following on my Twitter and Facebook feeds, but I just don't have time at the moment to read through them, though I want to. (info overload!):

• 20+ Free Online Libraries- nice list of cool resources I already know about. I should probably add the links to my delicious feed.
• Massive List of MOOC Resources, Lit and Literati- an awesome webliography of articles pertaining to Massive Open Online Courses
• a blog post with embedded slides on being an Educator Curator
• Creative resources for educators: Sparky Teaching
• I found this page through a link that I decided not to add to the list. It is the Transforming Libraries site of the ALA, specifically the page of a list of blogs I should add to my radar: Blogs to Watch

Picture books and Drugs

Today's interesting information need was by a student writing a research paper on the drugs in children's literature. The patron had already read Go Ask Alice, which was the teen read, and was now looking for a picture book that was a story and not a children's reference on how drugs affect the family. At first I found books dealing with alcoholism:

• Daddy Doesn't Have to Be a Giant Anymore by Thomas Jane Resh
• My Dad Loves Me, My Dad has a Disease by Claudia Black
• Think of Wind by Catherine Mercury

but the patron responded that she needed a book on drugs. (Honestly, the request was for "drugs", which is what I searched on, and last I checked alcohol is a drug, but whatever. I can be snarky here. At work, I sweetly responded, hard drugs?) A look on Good Reads brought up Latawnya the Naughty Horse Two (either horrible or hilarious, depending on your take of the author's writing skill) and so I took a look at amazon and found:

• My Big Sister Takes Drugs by Judith Vigna
• The House that Crack Built by Clark Taylor
• An Elephant in the Living Room by Jill Hastings

I then searched for those titles in WorldCat to see what the subject headings are for it: (su= "Drug abuse") and (su= "Juvenile fiction.") The only problem is, searching this way opens the search to teen and children's fiction and my patron only wants picture books. Still, it is a handy way to get an exhaustive search. In the end, we found a book titled Bird by Zetta Elliott. I honestly have no idea how we stumbled across it (probably on amazon), because in WorldCat it is listed under the subject heading "Drug abuse -- Fiction." and "Drug abuse -- Juvenile poetry."

Tools for Working the Adult Reference/ Reader's Advisory Desk

This past week has been the week of the research paper at the public library. All these middle, high school and college students coming in (the latter I suspect attend the local community colleges, which nonetheless have libraries and better database subscriptions than we do). But I love research! I'm so glad I get to do it with my public library patrons.

Today's college research student wanted authoritative resources on religion in the 1700-early 1800s in the colonial united states. I was looking under religion-United States-18th century as a subject heading. My supervisor spontaneously suggested Daily Life in Colonial America (Lucent library of historical eras) which has a subject heading of United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775. This makes sense as religion was a part of Colonial cultural life whereas "religion- united states - 18th century" may be more about the history and evolution of religion in that era. Not sure what exactly the researcher really wanted, but she seemed to walk away happy.

Her second request was for books about the values and morals of modern families versus traditional families. Well, I started asking for a bit of clarification by what she meant by traditional (nuclear? christian?) and what she meant by modern (same sex parents? divorced parents? blended families?) and she said she hadn't figured it out yet. My supervisor happened to be next to me and he suggested she do a little reading on the broad subject in order to get an idea on how to define her terms and narrow her topic down. She felt overwhelmed, but I explained that it was all part and partial of the whole experience of selecting a topic and writing a paper.

My sup then sneaked up behind me and slid the following two books on my desk for my perusal and professional development:

• 10,000 Ideas for term papers, projects, reports and speeches by Lamm, K. 1998 - This book lists ideas under broad topic areas (ex. Foreign Policy (broad topic), "Compare reconstruction policies of the United States in Japan and in Germany after World War II." (specific topic)) Helpful symbols indicate those topics on which there should be plenty of source material, which will need prior specialized knowledge, which topics will need to be broadened or narrowed, etc. Just ideas are listed here, no other resources. 808.02 LAM
• 100 More Research Topic Guides for Students by McDougald, D. 1999 - This book pairs ideas with extra information, such as a general description, call numbers and subject headings to search for books that will provide source material, as well as suggestions for specific titles, periodicals and indexes to search, internet sites, videos, organizations, etc as well as related topics. (Very awesome and helpful, but only if your topic idea is listed, still, it helps to see how the info may be organized.) Reference 025.524 MCD

Finally, my supervisor placed in my hands the DEWEY Decimal Classification 11th Abridged Edition, which is found on the ready reference shelf. As I didn't take a traditional cataloging class, this is most helpful to just see how the subjects are grouped. I especially like to reference the relative index which lists the broad subjects alphabetically and lists the sub-topics, then shows the dewey numbers, which could be all over the place. The Central branch has the LOC subject headings and I would love to own a copy of that, but it's a multi-volume set and always being updated, so I guess I just wait until I'm rich.

What I'm (Not) Reading

Just a quick entry. Yes, I am reading something:

• Q & A - the book on which the movie Slumdog Millionaire is based. It's good! I like it! I'm taking my time because I have a batman costume to sew for my kid.
• the Yellow Birds - a novel about the Iraq war by a veteran. The words are like poetry and I wonder if the whole thing will be a sort of stream of consciousness or if maybe I was asleep when I was reading the first chapter. 

What I am not reading (otherwise known as new books that came in and I'm trying to increase my recall of the authors and title/subject matter to help people choose a book):

• Two books about Native Americans. The first about the Iroquois of the 1400s titled People of the Black Sun and the final installment of the People of the Longhouse series. Written by a husband/wife pair of archeologists. My first thought is that people who liked the Clan of the Cave Bear series might like this, but novelist has Mercedes Lackey, James Alexander Thom's Follow the River and Bernard Cornwell- mostly for the fantastical elements, but maybe b/c the main character of PotBS turns out to be a prophet and there may be some spiritual/fantasy elements. The second NA book is set in modern day and written by Louise Erdrich and is titled the Round House. The basic premise is a boy's mother is attacked and he starts an investigation of what happened when tribal justice just takes too long.
• I also didn't read Mitch Albom's the Time Keeper where father time must teach some people the true meaning of Christmas (no, wait, time), in order to save himself.
• I did read a passage from somewhere in the middle of Alexander McCall Smith's The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds- something to do with projectile vomiting that was really funny in a debased way, but then unexpectedly turned to a touching moment between two characters. It made me want to read it. Instead, I busted reader's advisory on my mom and will let her tell me all about it.
• I rolled my eyes at the guy has girl, guy loses girl, guy meets up with girl again later in life as they work to save the local mom and pop bookstore romance The Bridge by Kingsbury (why can't they just figure it out the first time around and spare everybody the grief?), however, the girl attracted to bad boys in me was interested in Phillips' The Great Escape, where the perfect girl adopted by her perfect ex-president of the United States mom leaves the perfect marriage to the perfect guy and hops on the back of a motorcycle of a not-so-perfect friend of the groom.

RA log: Discovery of Witches by Harkness *spoilers

Cover: The cover is dark blue with chemistry/alchemy symbols all over it. It does not have the typical fantasy / romance cover art featuring the characters, so the book's cover is more applicable to a wider audience than the women fantasy-romance set- more like general fiction. The title is in larger print and info says this is the author's debut novel.

The jacket blurb gives a bit of a summary, but doesn't hint at what happens other than "equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense." Other authors that recommend this book are Danielle Trussoni (Angelology- secret group dedicated to fighting against the evil efforts of the Nephilim, children of Angels and humans. The fight takes a turn when the main character "finds" a letter full of ancient secrets the Nephilim want.), Ivy Pochoda (Art of Disappearing- about a girl who falls in love with a real magacian only to wonder as she sees his magic grow unstable if her love for him is the result of a spell.) and Jane Borodale  (Book of Fires- prego in 1750s flees small town, joins up with fireworks maker to assist in creation of most spectacular fireworks- possible romance? this book is in turn linked to Geraldine Brooks's Year of Wonders: a Novel of the Plague, who also wrote Caleb Crossing and March and People of the Book (do you remember reading this, Hernandez? It was a struggle)).

Typeface was easy to read, not cramped. No illustrations. Adult readers.

At 592 pages this book had a little heft, but it felt like a solid book and one that you'd feel proud being seen reading. Hardback, easy to open.

The story starts with description. We don't really learn anything more than what the jacket blurb tells us. There's not a lot of action and I'll be honest, I'm board. There just doesn't seem any enthusiasm on the character's part for the history she's researching. I get the feeling its there just to give context on how the book was discovered. I skipped to the middle and read a chapter on blood and vamps researching blood lines and the DNA of humans and "others." The main character still dislikes her witch abilities, but is willing to learn about the skills she has "in her blood" via a blood test. We meet the vampire love interest. I skipped to about 3/4 of the way. Some more vamp family members are introduced and the main character has married the vamp. She's been kidnapped and tortured by her own kind. At the end, the main character and her vamp are getting ready to go into hiding... back in time. Nice set up for book two, which I didn't realize it was going to be a trilogy until I read it on Amazon.com.

Pacing- I found this pacing to be a little long, but probably on target for the appropriate reader who wants to spend time with the character and her developing acceptance of her witch skills and opening up to a vamp love interest, both of which she's fought against having in her life. (The book was compared to Twilight.) There are memories, but I don't think there were any flashbacks. Seemed fairly linear plot.

Story line seems to emphasize people over events/ plot/ action. Stuff happens to be sure, but it takes a little while getting there. The author's intent is to be taken seriously. We are to be caught up in this drama of magical events.

I feel as though I've met these characters in every "discovering my magical abilities," "coming of age," "highlander romance," type book. The character accepts her magic by the end of this book, but the real reason she wasn't really into it in the first place is that her own mother put a block on her to "keep her safe," so I just don't buy that the main character is having any real personal growth. She's simply coming into her inheritance because events conspire to force it onto her.

Most dominant appeal: very special witch does gorgeous vamp... they are the center of the universe.

Plot: Girl denies abilities. Girl finds book. Vamp finds girl. Girl accepts abilities. Genre: witch/vamp romance.

DofW is the first in a triology. I didn't know this and I didn't care when the two main characters "walked off in the sunset" per se. But, I suppose if you really cared about the characters you'd want to know if they were going to be followed, etc.

Romantic dreamers who swoon over vampires and magic would like this book. (Which makes me ask, why did MA like it so much?) I only got interested when the main character was tortured- I was interested to see if the magic would burst out of her, but it didn't and then they were safe. I skipped the chapter where they were supposedly attacked by other witches, but there didn't seem to be an sense of anxiety or dread or we're not safe, even though they were going off to be safe- I mean, they hung out to give Halloween candy out. Seriously?

October is also Family History Month

I was just assigned to work to a new branch and my new branch said, "let's treat her as if she'll be here forever." Which means that I'll be learning lots and I'll be assigned more responsibilities. One of which is to create displays and showcase the collection around unique themes. I did a little research on ALA's programming librarian site and looked at a event's calendar that my co-worker recommended. (reminder to get the site again) Within a day I settled on a Family History theme for our main books display to coincide with the genealogy program that will be offered next week.

I pulled out of the collection genealogy books, scrapbooking books (to encourage the creation of family heritage gifts and mementos), some fictional books on family histories (and skeletons in the family closet), some non-fictional family histories and immigration stories, and just for fun, some scrapbooking murder mysteries, because scrapbooking would drive me to murder. I forgot to make notes on my search process, but at the end I'll include the full list of titles I found with the thought that I can re-construct my search statement from the subject headings and keywords found in their bibliographic records.

For the banner that I created (which is shown above) I consulted two design books (Creative Newsletters and Annual Reports by Rockport Publishers and Creative Edge Brochures by Gail Finke) for ideas such as using quotes about family and layout of pictures in the background to add layers and depth. As I was using the software at work, which unfortunately did not include a photo editing program, I found a free online photo editor.

The selection of materials wasn't as strong as I'd have liked, but I only had a few hours (stolen between assisting people at the info desk) to figure this all out. I'll get better as I gain more experience. I also would like to put together a window display to accompany the materials. About.com had some great ideas to celebrate family history with kids or to get started with collecting family histories and so the window will a tape recorder and a list of family interview questions, scrapbooks and old family pictures, a map with pins on where the family has lived and family trees.

List of Books and DVDs (not all of them used):

• Long-distance genealogy Crawford-Oppenheimer, Christine, 1950- 
• Genealogy online
• A land of immigrants
• Island of hope : the story of Ellis Island and the journey to America
• The making of African America : the four great migrations
• We are Americans : voices of the immigrant experience Hoobler, Dorothy. Hoobler, Thomas Vietnamese in America Coleman, Lori. 
• Ritmo al éxito : cómo un inmigrante hizo su propio sueño americano
• The windmill movie Olch, Alexander.
• The memory book
• Outstanding scrapbook pages. Making memory books by hand : 22 projects to make, keep, and share
• Bookworks : books, memory and photo albums, journals, and diaries made by hand
• Memory gifts : preserving your treasured past in special ways Browning, Marie. 
• Making memory boxes : box projects to make, give, and keep Mauriello, Barbara. 
• Objects of our affection : uncovering my family's past, one chair, pistol, and pickle fork at a time
• How to do everything genealogy
• Morgan, George G., 1952- Genealogy online for dummies
• Helm, Matthew L. Helm, April Leigh. Genealogy for the first time : research your family history
• Best, Laura. The complete idiot's guide to online genealogy
• McClure, Rhonda. The source : a guidebook to American genealogy
• Szucs, Loretto Dennis. Luebking, Sandra Hargreaves. Genealogy online
• Crowe, Elizabeth Powell. Getting started in genealogy online
• Dollarhide, William. The researcher's guide to American genealogy
• Greenwood, Val D. The complete idiot's guide to genealogy
• Rose, Christine. Ingalls, Kay German. The everything guide to online genealogy
• Powell, Kimberly. Family tree
• Delinsky, Barbara The family tree
• McPhail, David, 1940- Family tree : a novel
• Delinsky, Barbara Design your family tree
• Leavitt, Amie Jane. Aunt Dimity and the family tree
• Atherton, Nancy. The family tree resource book for genealogists
• Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo, 1956- Nevius, Erin. The genealogy handbook : the complete guide to tracing your family tree
• Galford, Ellen. Ancestry.com (Firm) The genealogy of Greek mythology : an illustrated family tree of Greek myth from the first gods to the founders of Rome
• James, Vanessa. Black roots : a beginner's guide to tracing the African American family tree
• Burroughs, Tony, 1948- Kinfolks : falling off the family tree : the search for my Melungeon ancestors
• Alther, Lisa. Daughter of deceit
• Sprinkle, Patricia Houck. Uncovering your ancestry through family photographs
• Taylor, Maureen Alice. Family history 101 : a beginner's guide to finding your ancestors
• Melnyk, Marcia Yannizze, 1951- Green
• Roberts, Laura Peyton René has two last names = René tiene dos apellidos
• Colato Laínez, René Graullera Ramírez, Fabiola, ill Walking with cavemen
• Sachs, Andrew. Hedgecoe, Mark. Green, Nick. Oxley, Peter. Dale, Richard. Journey of man
• The Sookie Stackhouse companion
• Harris, Charlaine. America's Black founders : revolutionary heroes and early leaders : with 21 activities Sanders, Nancy I.
• American Heart Association healthy family meals : 150 recipes everyone will love American Heart Association Looking for Miza : the true story of the mountain gorilla family who rescued one of their own
• Hatkoff, Juliana Greste, Peter ill. Family first : your step-by-step plan for creating a phenomenal family
• McGraw, Phillip C., 1950- Three weeks with my brother
• Sparks, Nicholas. Sparks, Micah. The working mother's guide to life : strategies, secrets, and solutions
• Mason, Linda, 1954- Ninety-three in my family
• Perl, Erica S. Lester, Mike, ill. Gilead
• Robinson, Marilynne. 365 unplugged family fun activities : a year's worth of ideas for TV-free, video-free, and computer game-free entertainment
• Bennett, Steven J., 1951- Bennett, Ruth (Ruth Loetterle) Producing a quality family history
• Hatcher, Patricia Law. Organizing your family history search : efficient & effective ways to gather and protect your genealogical research
• Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo, 1956- The sweet hell inside : a family history
• Ball, Edward, 1959- The Jesus family tomb : the discovery, the investigation, and the evidence that could change history
• Jacobovici, Simcha Pellegrino, Charles R. Bringing your family history to life through social history / Katherine Scott Sturdevant.
• Sturdevant, Katherine Scott. In search of our ancestors : 101 inspiring stories of serendipity and connection in rediscovering our family history
• Smolenyak, Megan. The sleuth book for genealogists : strategies for more successful family history research
• Croom, Emily Anne, 1943- Ancestral trails : the complete guide to British genealogy and family history
• Herber, Mark D. Society of Genealogists (Great Britain) The genetic strand : exploring a family history through DNA
• Ball, Edward, 1959- The secret family of Pancho Villa : an oral history = La familia secreta de Pancho Villa : una historia oral
• Osorio, Rubén. Sul Ross State University. Center for Big Bend Studies. All the presidents' children : triump and tragedy in the lives of America's first families
• Wead, Doug. Spies and lies : famous and infamous spies
• Mitchell, Susan K. The flight of the Romanovs : a family saga
• Perry, John Curtis. Pleshakov, Konstantin. The ties that bind a memoir of race, memory, and redemption
• Berry, Bertice. Chilton, Karen. The girl who disappeared twice
• Kane, Andrea. I, Claudius. Vol. 5. Episode 13
• Graves, Robert, 1895- Pullman, Jack. Wise, Herbert. Jacobi, Derek. Phillips, Siân, 1934- Fireflies in the garden
• Lee, Dennis. Weber, Marco. Coifman, Vanessa. Chew, Sukee. Rose, Philip. Grandma Maxine remembers : a Native American family story
• Morris, Ann, 1930- Linenthal, Peter, ill. I, Claudius. Vol. 4. Episodes 10 - 12
• Graves, Robert, 1895- Pullman, Jack. Wise, Herbert. Jacobi, Derek. Phillips, Siân, 1934- Tanya's reunion
• Flournoy, Valerie, 1952- Pinkney, Jerry, ill. Grandma Lai Goon remembers : a Chinese-American family story
• Morris, Ann, 1930- Linenthal, Peter, ill. Little blog on the prairie
• Bell, Cathleen Davitt. The Tale of Halcyon Crane [a novel]
• Webb, Wendy. Blackstone Audio, Inc. Sound of noise
• Nilsson, Johannes Stjärne. Simonsson, Ola. Birmant, Jim. Péchard, Guy. Audeguis, Christophe. Jewels
• Rochelle, Belinda. Van Wright, Cornelius, ill. Hu, Ying-Hwa,
• Ancestor hunt : finding your family online Shepherdson, Nancy, 1955-
• The new policeman Thompson, Kate, 1956- 
• Out of Patience Meehl, Brian,
• I, Claudius. (roman family saga)[dvd]
• Scrapbooking traditions Gibbons, Leeza. 
• Better scrapbooking Vanessa-Ann. 
• Scrapbooking for dummies Wines-Reed, Jeanne. Wines, Joan. 
• Scrapbooking for beginners Memory Lane Videos (Firm) 
• A year of scrapbooking Janask, Debbie Swinney, Anna 
• Digital scrapbooking for dummies Wines-Reed, Jeanne. 
• 515 scrapbooking ideas / Vanessa Ann. Vanessa-Ann Collection (Firm) 
• Scrapbooking for the first time Carter, Rebecca. 
• The complete guide to scrapbooking Haglund, Jill. 
• Scrapbooking : keep your special memories Hufford, Deborah. 
• Fun ideas for cardmaking and scrapbooking Memory Lane Videos (Firm) 
• Scrapbooking your vacations : 200 page designs Ure, Susan. 
• Teach yourself visually scrapbooking Ludens, Rebecca Schmidt, Jennifer. 
• Scribbles, stickers & glue : a kids' guide to scrapbooking Larsen, Nikki. 
• Totally teen scrapbook pages : scrapbooking the almost grown-up years. Memory Makers Books. 
• Scrapbooking : 100 techniques with 25 projects plus a swipefile of motifts and mottoes Beaman, Sarah. 
• Tragic magic Childs, Laura. 
• Motif for murder Childs, Laura. 
• Frill kill Childs, Laura. 
• Death swatch Childs, Laura. 
• Fiber & brimstone Childs, Laura. Skeleton letters Childs, Laura 
• The organized & inspired scrapbooker : expert advice, projects, quizzes, inspiring scrapbook spaces Smedley, Wendy. Garvey, Aby. 
• Scrapbook of secrets Bryan, Mollie Cox, 1963-
• Ready, scrap, shoot Campbell-Slan, Joanna. 
• Cut, crop & die : a Kiki Lowenstein scrap-n-craft mystery Campbell-Slan, Joanna. 
• The scrapbooker's idea book Ross, Kathy (Katharine Reynolds), 1948- Bosch, Nicole In Den
• Family tree magazine. 
• The trip back home Wong, Janet S. Jia, Bo, 1962- ill.
• Are we there yet, Daddy? Walters, Virginia. Schindler, S. D., ill. 
• Sharing digital photos : the future of memories Howard, Dane M., 1971- 
• The official guide to ancestry.com Morgan, George G., 1952- 
• The silence in the mountains Rosenberg, Liz. Soentpiet, Chris K. ill. 
• The keeping quilt Polacco, Patricia. 
• To the far blue mountains L'Amour, Louis, 1908-1988. 
• How I became an American Gündisch, Karin, 1948- 
• A picnic in October Bunting, Eve, 1928- Carpenter, Nancy, ill. 
• The memory coat Woodruff, Elvira. Dooling, Michael, ill. 
• Hannah's journal : the story of an immigrant girl Moss, Marissa. 
• Behind the mountains : [the diary of Celiane Espérance] Danticat, Edwidge, 1969-
• Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. [dvd]
• Small beauties : the journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara Woodruff, Elvira. Rex, Adam. ill.
• In America [dvd]
• American tapestry : the story of the Black, White, and multiracial ancestors of Michelle Obama Swarns, Rachel L. 
• Hemingway adventure Great railway journeys Palin, Michael.[dvd]
• Ellis Island Jango-Cohen, Judith.
• Ellis Island interviews : in their own words Coan, Peter M. 
• Coming to America : the story of immigration Maestro, Betsy.
• Bound for America; the story of the European immigrants Meltzer, Milton, 1915- 

What I've Read This Week

This week was the week of graphic novels and cook books. I picked up a few books with lots of words, but just didn't get into them.

Read

• The Kite Runner in graphic novel format
  I'm glad I read this is graphic nobel format because I knew I was never going to read the novel format. I had tried reading the Bookseller of Kabul
• Aya
• Bayou vol 1 and 2
• Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family will Enjoy

What I Picked Up

Well, apparently I didn't pick anything up, or else I forgot to list it. I'll check my GoodReads account.

What I've Read This Week

I think I'm going to take a page from Nick Hornby's title and just start putting down what I picked up and what I read and what I may intend to read.

Read

• Blue Heaven by C. J. Box- I picked this up on the recommendation of a patron who is a fan and who thought we were crazy not to have purchased any new titles by that author. (As it turns out, we purchase everything by this author, they're just all checked out b/c my patron is not the only fan.) After I helped my patron by placing some hold requests for the newest Box we have in the collection, I walked over and pulled this one off the shelf. I fully intending to read it RA style, but after reading the random middle chapter, being with even more new characters and discovering the writing was really decent, even good, I decided to just read the whole book.
  
  Pretty straight plot with good cops, bad cops, kids witnessing murders and a little bit of redemption. There's no real character development, but they're all human and fairly realistic nonetheless. If you're looking for something to while away the plane ride or wait in the doctor's office or if you're visiting family and would rather read than talk to them, well you can't go too wrong with this book which won't hurt your brain and give a fairly satisfying showdown ending.


• Mush!: Sled Dogs with Issues by Glenn Eichler and Joe Infurnari. Hilarious! If you like graphic novels, enjoyed the movie Office Space or just like dogs, this is a good, easy, fast read to have some laughs before or after the daily grind.


• Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown is going to be a classic must read for any Gen Xer who grew up quoting the original Star Wars and now has kids. I laughed my way through it, giving myself a great ab workout. The pictures are excellent and I can just hear Vader's voice as he says to 4yr old Luke, "I find your lack of patience disturbing."

Tell Me Something I Don't Know - Meaningful Community Engagement

I'm developing myself professionally about all kinds of stuff and today it's community engagement in order to plan for services and programming. I didn't attend the Tell Me Something I Don't Know - Meaningful Community Engagement Webinar by InfoPeople, but those great folks made a speech to text transcript. So below I'm going to insert some quotes and then muse in pixels about those insights.

"It is absolutely mandatory to start off a conversation with a member of your service are who represents the constituency in your service area with something they can answer easily. Something down-to-earth and practical. Not theoretical or imaginative. Something not about the library. Their first interaction with you should be something they know about. They need to feel smart and you don't need or want to set up a situation where they look to you to give them a hint about the right answer. If they start saying stuff like "I know this is probably stupid" that is a good sign that you are not asking the right question. Ask about what they know. Don't ask them about the library."

Okay, this makes sense. People don't sit around thinking about the library like library professionals sit around thinking about the library. So why ask them about the library? Below is an example provided about asking people about the library and examples of the right question to ask:

We had an experience where we were listening to a young librarian report on the successful project that she did for our summertime mad science program. This was a great public library program. They had scientist come in talking to people. They blew things up in the parking lot. It was fun and had good media coverage and attendance. She gave her report and it was upbeat. At the very end she said, this just proves the public doesn't know what they want because I asked what kind of programs people wanted. On my survey I did not get a response. I did not hear anything about mad science programs.

The speakers say asking the public what kinds of programs they want is not the right question. For example, questions for parents should be "what do you want for your kids? what kinds of outcomes/ results?" Parent's responses may include things like:

• to retain their intelligence over summer break.
• have stuff to do that gets them out of the house.
• to do stuff that doesn't cost me $100 but is fun for the whole family

Parents are not going to come up with library tasks and programming for the librarians. It is for the librarian to take the outcomes and figure out a program that meets the outcomes. So in terms of programming for seniors, instead of asking, "who would you like to see here?" ask, "what does SSH do for you, or what would you like it to do for you?" For instance, a co-worker mentioned that SSH provided some entertainment for the seniors. The speakers of the webinar caution against asking about behavior, such as, "where do you hang out on the weekend?" but to instead restate the question as "what makes a weekend activity or destination attractive to you?"

When asking about the future, instead of asking what things they want, such as features, ask them to imagine how they want to be able to use the website or the library space. What would make them want to come back. Ask, "what do you imagine your community will be like in five years?" (I imagine bike lanes everywhere and healthy, happy people riding their bikes.)

Don't ask patrons to commit to future programs. No, "if we did x, will you do y?" Market research says consumers are poor predictors of their own behaviors. "The single biggest reason [a person will] ...go somewhere or... try something is because my friends do."

Techniques:

• community meetings should present problems for people to solve with certain boundaries that govern how they go about solving it.
• run a microphone to people instead of having them line up
• note every comment, and thank participants for their contribution, but only address those comments that are on task.
• use social media to talk to people, and not just on library channels- delve into conversations.
• When interviewing ask these:
• "What keeps you (or your constituents) awake at night?
• What do you wish you knew more about?
• Who else should we talk to?
• If they mention a fear, something that they don't want to fail at (job search was an example), ask, 'what would indicate a turn around, that we (you) are heading in the right direction?'"
• if got the $$, do a focus group. Invite only important constituents. 8-12 participants. Ask no more than 6 questions and start them broad and then get narrower. Neutral moderator. Library rep to record answers (on audio is preferable) but not to give answers.
• Look for common threads, things that link people, rather than what is different b/t people.
• Finally, ask non-library people to talk about results. Let library staff then design the library response that brings those results. win-win.

I liked this. There was lots of information on how to craft a question. I liked having people design by what they want to achieve instead of the tools they think they might want to use.

Info Miracle 00000001... Revealing the Magic Trick

So a patron walks up to the Library Genius Bar and says,

"I read this book from the new section last year. I don't remember the title, but it was about an Arabian adventure or quest and I think it was written by Smith. I want to know if you'll be getting the second one."

 I smiled at the patron.

And then I opened NoveList, a database that indexes books on subjects and keywords, authors and series names. I selected the advanced search and filled in the following:

"arabian" in the [left blank] Select a Field
AND "adventure OR quest" in the [left blank] Select a Field

I selected Boolean Phrase

And I limited the Published Date fields to
Jan 2010 to August 2011

I got back a list of 14 titles with pictures (yea, NoveList!) and I turned the computer monitor to the patron and scrolled down til the patron exclaimed,

"The Desert of Souls! That's it! Oh, haha, it's by Jones."

As NoveList didn't have a second book listed, I went over to Amazon.com and found that book two is titled The Bones of the Old Ones and is not due out til December. I informed the patron and made sure to tell my selector that there will be an interest in part two.

Happy patron in less than 3 minutes. And now you know how.

Steve Blow for Senior Social Hour at the NMLS

first, I just want to say, "Wow!"

Backstory
This is my first week at work at the new job. I had a "touching base" chat with my supervisor who shared with me the needs of the Central branch in anticipation of the possibility of me being permanently assigned here. One of those needs was the adult programmer whose duties include programming for senior social hour. I'll admit, I was a little scared at the prospect, but then I was requested to shadow the upcoming program with speaker Steve Blow of the Dallas Morning News. My supervisor even suggested I stay for the duration, which to me is an incredible investment in a new person to allow them to observe a program instead of returning to the reference desk for more reference desk training.

And I am so glad I did stay. One of my fears about returning to my hometown is I didn't know if I'd fit in because I thought I'd changed so much. But as I'm meeting people, finding new places (like the Generator Coffee House) and seeing places I grew up in changed (I think for the better), I'm starting to think I may fit in here after all.

And that brings me to our speaker...
After his talk, Mr. Blow hung around to chat with the audience and I got to swap a few words with him. He mentioned being glad that he could connect with the audience based on the shared experience of his stories and asked if I got anything out of it. I told him he totally brought me back with his reference to the two key pieces of literature in his household- the King James Bible ("because we wanted to read Jesus' words in his original old English") and the Reader's Digest.

I was delighted to be reminded about this aspect of Texas culture (which was so mundane as to be literally forgettable), and especially to learn that it wasn't just my household. But Mr. Blow used that connection of everybody reading the RD to segue to his talk and to capture his audience with his little "digests" of characters he'd met along his career path.

In case you get the chance to hear him speak, I won't ruin Mr. Blow's talk about chasing happiness, forgiveness being a gift to yourself or how kindness brings its rewards by detailing his sketches. But I do want to reflect on the "institutional knowledge" the Senior group has by virtue of their years. Mr. Blow woke them  (and me) up to it when he said, "I'm sure 100% of you know this ad jingle, 'Winston tastes good...'"

and the Seniors responded in a snap, "like a cigarette should."

Just being reminded of Texas culture through the speaker, being brought back to the kindness, the civility and respect Texans have, and being shown the jewel the Senior group is and how the library serves them through the monthly Social Hour... well, it was really fantastic.

For more information on what's going on at Garland's library, see the Events and Programming Page.

RA log: the Book of Madness and Cures by O'Melveny

I found this title on the new book shelf of one of the Colorado libraries I visited. It looked good to me based on a cover using a portrait from the 1400s and the jacket plot synopsis. 56 pages in and the text flows with soft imagery built by an excellent use of language. It reminds me of what I loved about Jane Austen, though I am very aware this is a modern author structuring her language to echo (what we think we know of?) the Renaissance without overburdening her readers with difficult forms.

Quotes illustrating the author's language:

"And what life is worth living if it shuns those who provide love and consolation?" p43
"My dear, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could resuscitate my daughter's reason." p24 

And a whole passage:

How I treasure the dark nights when my candle is the only one lit, perhaps, in the entire city. It may be that when no one else is about, I find greater entrance to my soul. It is not a simple matter of uninterrupted time. No, it is the darkened theater just after the play, the street after the festival, the emptiness that holds the semblances. there is something hallowed about the late hours that suspend one's life. To be apart, to be silent, to pace or lay down the heart's agitation. To find in words the plangent* bell that calls one home. And if by chance I should move tot he window and see another window, far down the street, lit for a scholar or a corpse vigil or even a midnight birth, we are instantly bound by the intimacy of our solitude. p57

 *(of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often melancholy; early 19th Century; 

And now for the exercise:

What does the cover say about the book?

Cover of a woman, with small circles of dots and images of the context- Vienna, medicine, cures. Aimed at over 25 crowd. Male or Female; Uses a painting from the 1400s, but the design is modern.; Genre- not suspense, not thriller, not horror, not obvious romance; a debut novel, author is a poet
Title in larger font size than author name; Title in gold- for a book about "Madness and Cures," gold reminds us it is the ultimate cure or purity.

 

Jacket Blurbs

Plot- father goes missing; daughter follows his trail to find him, in a setting where women were not permitted such indulgent freedoms. There is a brief bio- author is a poet- thus the sound rich language. Recommendation, "marvelous, inventive story," by Kathleen Kent of The Traitor's Wife & The Heretic's Daughter; who, from the title of her books is an author of other books about women challenging their roles. 

Typeface
Easy typeface, plenty of white space so the book will be easily read by anyone in teens and over.
First three words of a chapter are in bold, just to reaffirm the new chapter. Just one typeface used and there are no illustrations.

Physical Characteristics of the Book
Heft: At 320 pages, not heavy- a good weight
No problems carrying it around in my bag- I barely notice its presence.
Hardcover
Easily opened, lays almost flat.

Sample Passages (see above quotes)
The story starts with action- immediately we are aware that father is gone, the main character's livelihood as a physician is removed and she decides to go after her father. We learn the back story through thoughts and memories. In the middle it begins slowing down. The pieces of her father she picks up along the way don't really reveal anything about him, but we learn plenty about the main character and how she begins to regret the journey. In the end, she finds her dad, he dies, her Scotsman lover catches up with her in time to find out, surprise! she's prego. Life ends happily ever after.

Appeal Factors

1. I find the pacing to be even- Things are happening, but not so fast I cannot catch my breath. There is more description than dialogue, but the description is from a 1st person ptv, so it comes off as internal dialogue. Plot is revealed quickly- within a few chapters we- both the Gabriella and the reader learn of her father's madness, which may be what is driving his disappearance.  This is a pretty linear plot and it begins to get tedious by about 3/4 of the way in. Stuff happens, the most heart breaking is that my favorite character dies. Gabriella also falls in love with someone, but is too afraid to stick around to make something of it and she leaves, but no surprise, she's pregnant, which really should be not a surprise to her b/c she's a doctor and doesn't she know how to prevent these things?
2. Frame: We know where Gabriella is by the water and when by the letters and language- I suppose it helps to have the location and date marked at the beginning of the first passage like a news column. The background is minimal- it is not another character and only surfaces when someone is reflecting upon it. No previous knowledge is essential.
3. The story emphasizes people with an exploration of the interior- what is going on in the mind. It is contemplative, with just enough humor to keep the reader from sinking into melancholy with Gabriella's father.
4. While I am on Gabriella's journey, my favorite character by far is the husband of her maid servant, Lorenzo. The servants may be typecast, it remains to be seen if Gabriella grows as a character as she traces her father's steps. The father's character grows a little by revelation- we meet him through Gabriella's eyes, but there's not enough and in the end, finding him was a disappointment to me.
5. The appeal is a character who is a misfit for her time- she is of it in dress and manner, but she continually challenges the roles placed before her- first by her mother to become a "simple" girl, secondly by her profession- medicine- to cease her practice, thirdly by her associates to cease her quest for her father.

Other Factors

1. A Renaissance doctor, barred from practice due to her sex, seeks her errant father so she may reunite her family and resume her practice under his patronage.
2. Genre: I think this is "regular fiction." I wouldn't even categorize it as historical romance... perhaps historical fiction.
3. Not a part of a series.
4. First novel of a poet author, so language is lovely, but the pacing slows down dramatically, even though I know this to be a character book, toward the end I was hoping it would... you know end.

Connecting to Other Books and Readers
I would connect this book to other ones exploring the female in society. The physical journey corresponds to the mental journey of the main character, though I felt like she was taking a long time to "get it." Other books- like Ann Patchet's State of Wonder. And Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar, by Suzanne Joinson or Kate Pullinger's Mistress of Nothing. I think a youngish (20 something) adult reader might enjoy this. Most likely women.

Moyer, J.E., & Stover, K. M., eds. (2010). The Reader's Advisory Handbook. American Library Association: Chicago, IL.

TexShare: Expanding Access to Materials

So, yea! I'm a librarian in my hometown library. I haven't gotten my card yet, because I haven't gotten my Texas Driver's License yet, because I haven't finalized the purchase of my home yet. But that's neither here nor there, or so I thought when I learned that my system does not carry music cds.

WHOA.

Hey, no worries. The budget is only so big and there are certain priorities, one if which included hiring me (have I said, "yea!" already?). So, follow up to that was to find out if we participate in any sort of consortium.

We do. It's called TexShare. It's a bit different from what I'm used to. Here, we issue the TexShare card and the patron may visit the library of their choice and check out materials according to the lending libraries own rules, which may change from system to system (public, academic, city to city). Nicholson does offer free InterLibrary Loan services (for books, no media), which defaults to members of TexShare as primary sources for materials. So it all depends on the effort you want to expend- drive out there yourself and get it now, or wait the necessary time for the item to arrive via ILL.

 The only difference I miss is being able to search a combined catalog for the materials. With California's Link+ Consortium, there was one catalog... though, I suppose I could search WorldCat. (Need to set up an account that limits my search to a geographic area or even to the specific libraries in the TexShare.)

Here's my List of TexShare libraries in a 20 mile radius on which to focus in a WorldCat search for materials I may desire.Then there's nothing to it, but to get in the car and drive!

• Amberton University
• Dallas County Community College District
• Mesquite Public Library  
• Rowlett Public Library
• Sunnyvale Public Library
• Dallas Public Library  
• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
• Sachse Public Library
• Balch Springs Library-Learning Center
• Southern Methodist University
• Texas A&M - Baylor Health Science Library
• Criswell College
• Richardson Public Library
• Rockwall County Library
• Highland Park Library
• University Park Public Library
• University of Texas at Dallas
• Dallas Theological Seminary
• Plano Public Library System
•  Seagoville Public Library
• Parker University
• Hutchins-Atwell Public Library
• Paul Quinn College
• Southwestern Christian College
• Farmers Branch Manske Public Library
• Carrollton Public Library
• Allen Public Library
• Gilliam Memorial Public Library
• Crandall-Combine Community Library
• Dallas Baptist University

I'm a Librarian!

Library in Aspen

Well, technically, not yet, but still! I need to pass the physical... I wonder what that entails?
In the meantime, while I am going through the process, I went on a trip to Colorado to climb rocks, hike mountains, bike historic rail routes, tube and paddle board down Glenwood Canyon (then bike back up it), sit in hot sulfur springs and of course, visit libraries. I like to see what types of buildings are used for libraries, what services are being offered and best of all, what books inhabit their new material shelves.

Here is a list of titles I'll be looking up soon in order of when I discovered them:

• The Year of the Flood by M. Atwood after Oryx and Crake
• Da vinci's Ghost by Lester 
• High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service by Solomon 
• Floating Worlds: The letters of Edward Garey & Peter e. Neumeyer 
• Just Send Me Word by Figes
• Tyranny of the Textbook by Jobrack 
• the Voluntourist by Budd
• Queen of America by Urrea
• Book of Madness and Cures by O'Melveny
• Lone Wolf by Picoult

• Absolution by Flannery
• Liberator by Harland (teen)
• Rash by Hautman (teen)
• Unwind by Shusterman (teen)
• Among the enemy by Haddix (teen)
• Americus by Hill (graphic novel)
• Wonderland by Kovac (GN)
• Permaculture Handbook by Bane
• Handy Dad in the Great Outdoors by Davis
• Rust by Mars
• Hitchers by McIntosh
• Men in Space by McCarthy
• Taliban Cricket Club by Murari
• Second Person Singular by Kashua and Ginsburg

I didn't get any pictures of the Denver library exterior, but here's some cool stuff I found inside:

 Lost? Can't find your book? Don't know what floor you're on, much less which floor you need to go to or where the escalator is?

Pick up one of the many phones at the Central branch of the Denver Public Library and ask a librarian!

Love it.

So here's a unique concept... instead of staff recommendations or at least along with them, recommendations by users of the library! We go from experts to community.

There were several other browsing topics like this such as the "We Live" which had health, personal safety and genealogy sections and "We Explore" for travel in and around Colorado.


Finally, some cool posters. I love the idea behind the digitization service and the blue poster is just really cool use of typography.

Juliet, Naked

I had a post interview followup (which reminds me, I need to send a thank you card) call with one of the members of the interview panel in which I let slip that "honestly, I read more children and teen fiction than adult fiction."

"Yes, that seems to be the trend."

My response, "The quality of adult writing just isn't any good."

It's hard to say a statement like that because it dismisses all adult fiction in one lump. Perhaps it is better to say, "popular fiction," but even then, I enjoyed the clear, direct writing of Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (up until the point she describes the vampires getting aroused at the sight of one of their kind getting killed and the main character's lover-vamp "plows her into the ground"), although I won't be reading any of the remaining books in the series, because a look through the synopsis shows it is more or less the same plot over and over again and how can a character who professes to love another character within days or weeks of meeting then go on to become the lover of a nemesis or some other fellow, while completely ignoring the guy next door who may very well be pining for her through eleven books?

Anyway, the point of this is to say that I read Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked, which I was putting off because I didn't want to read a book by the author of High Fidelity, which I didn't read either, but saw the movie and saw that the movie was literary in ways at the age when I saw it I wasn't ready to appreciate. And so, Juliet, Naked is a good book to disprove my above assessment of adult fiction.

And disproves it in a better way that Ann Patchet's State of Wonder, which I wanted to like because everyone else liked it and because it was a bestseller and because I was supposed to like it, but just fell short and completely betrayed itself twice by switching once from plot to character and then in the final chapter back to plot. I was so aggravated by the Hollywood-ran-out-of-budget ending that I turned around and read the Hunger Games trilogy three times.

The Reader's Advisory says to look at the blurbs on the books for info for read alikes to see if any other authors or titles are mentioned, but the blurbs on my copy only refer to Hornby. I don't know how to describe the book better than "subtle," which is the very adjective I was searching for when I saw it on the back cover describing Hornby the writer. I laughed at the dialogue, I loved the development of the characters and their emotional evolution. And maybe that's why I prefer teen/children fiction: because so much of adult fiction, including State of Wonder, doesn't address the evolution of an adult's emotional/spiritual/personal being in that cathartic, realistic way that the book the Uses of Enchantment says is so pivotal to children's books. I guess I've been looking for books that address my evolution as an adult and found few books taking it seriously and just focusing on the sex.

Or maybe I just identified with the main character who so desperately wanted to have sex because she is a woman who wants to live, but who wanted her partner to be someone she'd be happy to wake up next to the next morning, even if he's got serious inner conflict of choosing to be an artist over being a parent. And I just didn't get that with Sookie or Dr. Marina Singh. So thanks, Nick Hornby, for writing a book that looks honestly at being an adult. I always liked your column Stuff I've Been Reading in the Believer.

Moyer's Eight Steps to Reader's Advisory

Another tool to beef up my Reader's Advisory skills is to create a journal or log and follow Jessica E. Moyer's How to Read a Book in Ten Minutes: Eight Easy Steps*:

1. Start with the cover: all the colors, images, and text on the cover are meant to convey a message. These elements are critical in the publisher’s marketing of the book and can tell a reader a lot. What does the cover tell you about the book?
1. Do the cover images look like they are aimed at a particular sex or age?
2. Is the cover image off-putting to its intended audience or obviously dated?
3. Does it give you an idea of the potential readership or genre?
4. What does the cover say about the author? Has he or she won any awards?
5. Is the author’s name or title in larger print? A very large name is a good clue that this author might be a best seller.
6. Is an unusual font or color used? Bright red text that drips like blood would be a good indication that this is a scary book.
2. Open the book and read the jacket blurb or the back cover or both.
1. What does the blurb or cover tell you about the book? Is a plot summary given? Is the book directly compared to any other books?
2. What about the author? Is a bio given or a list of previous books?
3. What do other authors think of this book? Who are those authors? Use these to help you start making read-alike connections.
3. Flip to a random page. Check the typeface.
1. How easy is it to read?
2. Is the typeface better for younger or older readers?
3. Is there anything especially noticeable or unusual?
4. Is more than one typeface used?
5. Are there illustrations? Do they have captions or enhance the text? Do they add to the overall story? Are they an integral part of the story?
4. Check the physical characteristics.
1. Heft: Can readers easily carry the book? How big and heavy is it?
2. Will the intended audience be willing or able to hold the book and carry it around?
3. Is it hardcover or paperback or mass market?
4. Can the book be easily opened while reading?
5. Read a sample.
1. Read the first chapter. What happens at the very beginning? Which characters or what setting is introduced? How does the story start—with a description or with action?
2. Read some pages in the middle. Are the same characters or setting still present? What kinds of events are taking place? Is the text mostly dialogue or mostly description? How much white space is on the page?
3. Read the last chapter. How does the story end? Is the ending resolved? Left wide open? Left a little open with room for a sequel? Is it a cliffhanger that demands a sequel? Who is still alive/giving the final speech?
6. Consider the book’s appeal factors.
1. Pacing: How quickly are characters and plot revealed? Is there more dialogue or more description? Check for white space; the more dialogue, the more white space. Are there short sentences, short paragraphs, and short chapters? The shorter the sentences, chapters, and paragraphs, the faster it will read. Are there multiple plotlines, flashbacks, or different points of view, or does the book have a linear plot? Is the ending open or closed?
2. Frame: Is the background detailed or minimal? How is the book supposed to make the reader feel? Is a special background integral to understanding the story? Is the reader assumed to have certain types of knowledge—for example, subject information essential to full understanding or previous knowledge of the world in which the story takes place (e.g., books in a series)?
3. Story line: Does the story emphasize people or events? Is the focus interior/psychological or exterior/action? What is the author’s intent—serious versus light; comedy versus drama?
4. Characterization: Are characters fully developed or are they easily recognized types? Is the focus on a single character or on several who intertwine? Is characterization the most important aspect of the story? Are characters developed during the series or in one book? Are there memorable or important secondary characters?
5. What’s the most important or most dominant appeal factor?
7. Consider other factors.
1. Plot: What is the book actually about? Can you summarize the book in thirty seconds or less? If someone asked you, “What is this book about,” how would you respond?
2. Genre: Is the book part of a recognized genre? If so, which one? What about subgenre? Is it a genre blend? Does the book conform to genre formulas in terms of plot or characters, or does it break the rules?
3. Series: Is the book part of a series? First in a series? Must the other books in the series be read before this book, or does it stand alone? Based on the ending, how eager are readers going to be for the next one?
4. Author: Who is the author? What else has the author written? Does the author usually write in this genre, or is this a new direction for the writer? Is this book a return to a subject the author hasn’t written about for several years?
8. Using all the information gathered in the preceding questions, connect this book to other books.
1. What genre or subgenre might this book fit in?
2. What other books or authors share similar appeal factors?
3. What kind of reader might enjoy this book?

Moyer, J.E., & Stover, K. M., eds. (2010). The Reader's Advisory Handbook. American Library Association: Chicago, IL.

Infopeople Webinar: Digital Preservation: Audio and Video Formats

So in taking a moment to beef up my site, I wandered over the the Infopeople.org website to see what was new and found that they had archived in the webinar section four presentations on Digital Preservation:

• Fundamentals
• Text and Image Formats
• Storing and Managing Digital Collections
• Audio and Video Formats

I just happened to click into the Audio and Video presentation. Key info:

• preservation format should be in WAV and probably in BWV (broadcast wave)
• resolution (96) kilohertz and (24)bit-depth capture is going to be beyond the "limits of human hearing" and while you may ask, why should I capture outside those limits, you may have a collection of animal song (birds, whales) which is outside of human recognition
• video as compared to film is generally captured on "unstable formats" and so digital transfer is a given for video preservation

so I want to be a Readers' Advisory Librarian (wait... I do?)

I just had an interview for a Reference Librarian position in my home town. Who knew that you needed to be able to recommend books to adult readers for the job!?! Well, my home town library appears to cater to a bunch of readers because there's a reader's group (Page Turners), and I was point blank asked why I like adult reference (this was hard to answer because I like people reference- no matter their age, gender, or color), and about my reading habits, (what genre I preferred and what areas of non-fiction which I am "familiar").

Well, I realized that this was an area for growth, because I was flabbergasted. You want to know what I read? I read everything, but only if it is well written. And my tolerance for popular fiction, especially series tends to be very low (as in one book out of a 12 book series low). However, this discovery of where I need to improve has made me realize that I need to be able to talk about books and "recommend" them, but that I don't need to like them. So what are the resources out there besides Novelist?

• First thing to look at might be the catalog of books offer by your library's vendor. In the case of SPL- Baker & Taylor, which would be FC: Forecast
• Library Journal's Reviews
• Bookmarks Magazine
• ALA's Booklist
• ALA bookstore also has a list of Readers' Advisory books (for historical fic, for street lit, etc)
• and finally (at least for this list) the New York Time's Book Review

This would be for Adult RA, because a job description's duty expectations should never be crossed. But I don't believe that.

Watch and Return DVDs

I just had to share. We were getting a lot of DVD donations at my branch and I was feeling so torn because I knew that the cataloging staff did not have the time to add a bunch of single title DVDs (like Andy Griffin shows or a movie starring Brett McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords (whose title escapes me now) which I knew would leap, fly, and zoom off the shelf), but I just felt we would be missing out on providing these resources to our patrons instead of just putting them out to sell and to go home and sit on one person's shelf.

So I went to my sup and I said, "What if I create a "Watch and Return" collection out of these DVDs?"

"Who, what?" she responded.

I held up a "Read and Return*" book and said, "now imagine this," followed by some waving of  the donated DVDs, "but only a DVD."

Then I smiled real big. And waggled my eyebrows. And she said, "sure."

YES!

And guess what? They've been coming back. I like to think that they touch some small part of people, the part that yearns to be an active part of the community, one that depends on trust. Either that, or people just realize, "why should I keep a bunch of DVDs taking up space on my shelves? This is going back to the library and it can take up space on their shelf."

*Read and Return- a paperback book that is not cataloged, nor which has any record in our database. These books serve those who do not have a library card, simply do not care to check materials out, or are surprise titles like our "The Help," which reward patrons for coming into the branch, browsing and finding something that is of interest.

From Jan 2012 to April 2012

I was on hiatus from posting in this blog because for my Social Media class I was required to create a new blog and log my inept attempts at designing a website. There are 19 posts, some hemming and hawing and griping about my limitations and the professional issues, such as dealing with other designers or non-typical hosting solutions. If that sort of thing interests you, check it out, INFO 621 Web Design Journal.
I'll admit, it was very handy in keeping track of what I did and what I need to do for future similar web design projects.

Experiencing Second Life

Instead of working on my website assignment, I've been exploring the time-suck, Second Life. Which I know I will absolutely love. I'm at a random scuba place and here's the thing, off shore there's a fin circling round and round. My pulse totally jumped! I thought it was a shark. It's a killer whale, which can be just as dangerous, but my pulse jumped! That's how "real" an experience can get. I can't wait to go scuba diving! I'm going to make a video of it and then post it to my facebook page as my scuba trip! hahahaha! I'm such a nerd. Below is a picture of me in Second Life:

Shopping for Glasses

Info 621 Virtural Worlds

This week we are studying virtual worlds. I totally want to create a Sutter's Fort virtual world, (I'd also like to earn a paycheck to do it, hah! Wishing.), as a Library Services and Technology Act project, with the goal being to create a 3D world that the kids could explore and "manipulate" the objects to learn about that time in history. There are supposed to be lots of virtual worlds for kids and I should probably look into them, too.

Anyhoo- the blog, SecondLifeUpdate.com, has a list of links that look interesting and helpful:

• Tutorial to Show a PowerPoint Presentation in Second Life
• YouTube Videos in Second Life
• Cool Ways of Streaming Video in Second Life
• Business Collaboration in Second Life with Immersive Workspaces 2.0 from Rivers Run Red and Linden Lab
• Open Loft Prim Sculpting Tool in Second Life

You can also develop a game in second life... I wonder if you can make the Sutter's Fort experience game like with tasks...? "Your goal is to survive the winter. You must grow your crops, make your tools, fortify against the elements, etc."

Other Resources:

• The Unofficial Second Life Wiki
• How to Build in Second Life
• Be sure to check out YouTube Videos, too.
• This list could go on and on, so I'll stop with: How to Replicate a Real-Life Building

Articles about Sutter's Fort as sources of information:

• Sac History Happenings: Fun and games at Sutter's Fort
• Sacramento Press: Hands on History at Sutter's Fort
• 
  

I am my family's personal librarian...

I currently have a three year old and while I've grab a parent's guide to books for kids before, I just want to note that the Choosing Books for Children by Hearne is pretty good. I now have ten new books on the way from T.S.Hyman's various illustrated adaptations of the Grimm stories to Well's Max books. You never know what will resonate with a kid.

On the books for the adult male in the household front, I've brought home American Vampire vol 1 & 2, G. del Toro's Stain trilogy and currently the Animal Dialogues.

I'm still just reading stuff that relates to my school work, such as Your Digital Afterlife...

Personal vs. Professional (Online) Identity... Can they remain separate?

This week the prof will be hosting a FB chat on the above theme. She posted some questions to get our juice thoughts flowing.

Personal vs. Professional Identity
Looking at conflation of the personal with the professional while participating on social media:
-- What are we learning about one another?
-- How does this effect our interactions?
-- How does social media affect our learning as a group?
-- What value do you see with using social media professionally?

We've read several articles which say that there is no way to completely separate the two. And considering how things may be indexed, linked, quoted, uploaded, etc without a person's explicit participation or permission, I can see how this is technically true. Doesn't mean that I won't try my damnedest to maintain a separation such as using Facebook solely for friends and family (and editing the privacy permissions in my profile), while building a professional network on Twitter and LinkedIn.

I think the question I want to focus on is the third one. This week we read an article called "Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted" by Malcolm Gladwell and published by The New Yorker Oct 4, 2010. While the gist of the article argues against the ability of social media to drive revolutions, one of the supporting points is that social media supports/drives weak connections. You are connected to people you don't know personally (think your Twitter followers/followees) or with whom you don't share a strong tie (such as long lost friends you want to re-connect with). He points out that those very weak ties are the ones we most benefit from in terms of learning new ideas and getting connected to the people we need to know to advance in the world.

So my classmates and I are weakly connected. We share the same school and class, but we live away from each other (different states), and we have no motivation outside of completing our coursework to interact with each other using the online tools. But, this group will probably be my most informationally influential group because more eyes will be able to read the vast quantity of content, filter out the relevant or interesting ones and drive them to me. I can tell you this, I love to see what my mom is doing, but her posts will not advance my career (though they may help my household).

Web Design Journal: First Meeting with Client

Today I had my first meeting with my client, a small non-profit looking to establish an online presence which promotes transparency, establishes their authority and builds the confidence of their local (donating) community. It was an interesting experience because my primary contact for the web design project had obvious experience using the web for her own purposes, such as searching for products and surfing for general interests, but was inexperienced in the possibilities of exploiting the web to build relationships that would drive use of the proposed website.

One of our readings for class studied the various literacies young people have and use for various activities, most specifically to foster their social relationships through instant messaging. The reading made a point to distinguish between the deep, reflective reading that is taught and valued in academic environments, (which adults value), and the social literacy that young people adopt in the management of multiple social communication networks, often simultaneously. (Lewis & Fabos, 2005 ) This makes me wonder if my client is expressing her perspective of the use of the web onto her ideas for the use of the website.

For instance, I asked if she would be interested in allowing visitors to the site to upload their picture, to which she responded, "no." I didn't ask her for details for why she was opposed to the suggestion, but I made note to create a sample page of how allowing visitors to create content would be beneficial by showing examples of use of the organization's facilities or participation in the organization's events. However, she did show great openness to my needs as a student for my assignment and so I know I'll be able to create a social media rich site from which she can choose the elements her organization is interested in using.

Listening to ALA Midwinter Tech Trends

Over 900 "attendees" logged in today 10am Pacific time for the free, online Tech Wrapup from ALA Midwinter 2012 to listen to three panelists talk about the trends they were most impressed by. I joined in to learn about the following...

• Jason Griffey- noted two machines. One was a dock/bay for iPad checkout. At $25,000 and not including the iPads, many attendees response was ouch! Jason also showed us 3D printers and the idea that "Digital Becomes Physical." Read more at Jason's blog Pattern Recognition
• Marshal Breeding was highly interested in the small software. He saw trends leading to the launch of a new categorization of products (which he's calling "Library Services Platform") to support the "management of print, digital, and electronic resources" and "shared data models" (such as Resource Description and Access). His point is that many of these developments will not be supported by current library ILS, but more libraries are moving toward cloud based environments.
• Sue Polanka had a lot of information that was of interest to me. Quickly:
• EBSCO dropping additional ebook fees, libraries will now just pay for the items; 
• Ebrary launches iOS app to support download option to user's personal iPad app; 
• OverDrive talked about 2011 use data with the main point being that use has doubled. Look for the Library Journal Patron Profile for great data. Sue suggests looking at public library's ebook hold/check out ratios as compared to physical items hold/ check out ratios. 
• Was looking at Unglue.it- an open access ebooks crowdfunding model to encourage authors to release books via creative commons. 
• She ended with a few reference book items, including a lifetime achievement Darmouth award to the Statistical Abstract of the United States published by U.S. Census Bureau, which has lost funding for future publications. 
• Check out Sue's Blog No Shelf Required for more details about the above.

Very interesting, glad I read my email notification. #libday8

Web Design Journal: Linking Accounts and Getting Started

One thing my social media class will do for me is get me more active on my LinkedIn account, as well as using Twitter to make conversation. The first thing our professor had us do was embed our tweets in both the Facebook and the LinkedIn accounts, which I did with my original Twitter account. I'm not so keen having Twitter on Facebook as none of the people I hang out with on Facebook care about "information." However, I definitely see the advantage of syncing the tweets to LinkedIn as I want to use both to attest to my information expertise. (Update: I figured out how to direct my tweets to just a specific group of people on fb. And, I notice, it only displays my tweets, not the tweets of those I'm following.)

My original Twitter account is @superbrarian, but as my prof wants all of our pages to be consistently branded, and Facebook and LinkedIn both say (Lynnette) Angie Hernandez, I decided to create another username rather than change @superbrarian. Well that was a hassle. Two Twitter accounts cannot share the same email, so I then had to create a new email address. And then, because I didn't want to have to remember a whole new login and password (I already have one for work,one for school and two personal emails), I enabled my preferred email to access the new one. I also had to go into Twitter and revoke permissions for LinkedIn and Facebook, wait for those accounts to "realize" they no longer had access to the @superbrarian feed (which took a few hours), and then re-set up the Twitter app again for the new Twitter account. Phew! Lesson to take away: Decide first which accounts will talk to each other, then act.

Here's the kicker, though... Once this course is over, I'll want to revert to @superbrarian, as that's how I've branded my vanity URL. Argh!!!

Web Design Journal: First Impressions of Social Media

One of the assignments for my social media course is to design an interactive website which makes use of embedded social media. The first steps to figuring out what sort of social media I'll want to use in my site design is to first sign up for the major social media networks

• Twitter
• Facebook
• a blog service (this one)

to become familiar with the purpose, audience, uses, positives and negatives, and to also sign up for my choice of at least one major social media news source

• Mashable
• AllTop (a news feeder/aggregator)
• ReadWriteWeb

to remain current in what is happening with social media, the latest developments and so forth. The first thing that I'll have to say is that I'm going to have to be very mindful as to my purpose to going to these resources so that I stay on topic and within my allotted reading time. (Only so much time for so much news.)

I say this because I love to surf the web and these resources are really good at providing interesting links. For instance, instead of wanting to read about Google+'s search engine changes to retrieve stuff that is "personal", I read about the Open Sourced Star Wars parody. Both of which are social media related. So I'm becoming more aware of my habits and telling myself stay on target, deciding beforehand what sort of news to look for, then seek it, find it, read it and move on.