Is the Library Still Relevant for Teens?

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Teens are one of the hardest age groups to get into the library. They have jobs, sports, and they want to just “hang” (whatever that means). As a Teen librarian I still strive to be relevant to them and plan things they will like but I sometimes wonder if I’m getting through to them.

But the library is so important! Teens can come and find people who want to invest in them. I try to plan events that will appeal to them and that they will want to come to! Here’s an example of my most successful program thus far!

Last summer I had a lot of success with a fandom themed cupcake wars. I made TONS of cupcakes. I had them pre-register so I would have an idea of how many kids were coming and they each got two cupcakes. We had about 5 extra teen show up. So that’s an extra 10 cupcakes. Thankfully I was covered cupcake wise. But it was amazing! They were making marvel themed cupcakes, Hunger Games themed cupcakes, and other things that I didn’t even know what they were!

A Pokemon cupcake

A Hunger Games Cupcake
Our wonderful Slytherin Judge (Yes I know she’s wearing Harry’s glasses but she claims Slytherin as her house!)

I also had a local business send someone to be our judge. She dressed up in her Harry Potter garb, adding to the fun atmosphere, and it got the community more involved in our Summer Reading Program.

This year we’re doing the cupcake wars again, and I’m really excited. I hope to get lots of Teens that want to come again. But I’m keeping things simple. One event in June and one event in July.

In July we are going to be doing a Hunger Game themed event. They will have to build a shelter, get through an obstacle course, identify poison plants and edible ones. I’m excited! Hopefully both of these events will be well attended because I want to provide something for our teens to do. In a small town there isn’t a whole lot going on in the summer, especially for Teens.

If you have any tips for me, please feel free to put them in the comments because I could use all the help I can get!

Keep Sparkling,

-B

The Magical Land of Cardigans (and other magical things)

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As a librarian I realize that it takes something spectacular to be me. Many people think that being a librarian is boring but they have no clue. I know many librarians. Some are a little boring….. but are they? They are masters of the Dewey Decimal system. Need to know where to find poetry? Boom! 811! Need to find books about pets? Boom! 636. Want books about holidays? Boom! 394

But really. We are magical people. That cardigan is a superhero cape. That bun is containing all of the information. We get to inspire young minds. We get to listen to people who just need to have someone listen. We have the incredible job of interior decorator, craft designer, and Public Relations all rolled into one.

But we aren’t the only tough job out there hiding in cardigans! Did you realize that case managers in foster care work on social skills, advocate for their kids, teach Life Skills to teenagers, write reports, and are often on call 24/7? Their tired eyes are the because they see the hard things. They are magic. They are often the only constant in some of these kids lives. They buy ice cream. They show up to special events. They. Are. Magic!

What about teachers? They need those cardigans for all those pencils they magically produce when students forget! We all know teachers are important! They spend most of their day with everyone else’s kids and still go home and parent their own! It takes a special kind of magic to do that. (Well magic and good friends. I don’t know a single teacher who can do it all on their own). Teachers become mentors, stand-in parents, nurturers, scientists, encouragers, and sounding boards.

And let’s not forget those sweet gentlemen and ladies who teach music to small children? They need those cardigans to grip tightly in their hands when they are so frustrated but they can’t show it. When that kid continues to POUND on the piano instead of play it. When that child has broken his 4th guitar string this month because he is playing so hard or decided to bounce things off the strings. They need those cardigans!

So the cardigan is amazing. It’s versatile. It’s magic- for more than just Librarians.

Keep Sparkling

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The Library is the Quietest Place in the World

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This is the normal idea right? You go to the library because it is quiet.

You go because people will leave you alone.

You go because it’s the one place your kids HAVE to be quiet.

As much as I would love to agree with you on this point, this has changed drastically over time.

The library is no longer a place for silence. Libraries have morphed into acting as community centers on many occasions. Recently I had 4 different families in our small children’s area on a Friday morning. Kids were running, some were on computers, mothers were chatting, and there was the occasional crying. This is a typical Friday morning for me.

But on top of that, most people no longer even attempt to be quiet in my Children’s Section. Sometimes it would be nice to at least have a parent attempt to keep their child from running amuck.

So a few guidelines would not go amiss: so here are a few tips to help your librarian not feel like she needs to go to the back and sniff her Peace And Calming essential oils!

  1. As much as we want you and your kids to enjoy yourselves, be conscious of the fact that this is not your home. Food is not allowed in my library. There is a sign on the front door and people are still upset with me when I ask them not have food in the library. I’m not being mean and it’s not that I don’t want you to enjoy yourselves, but Cheeto hands on the books is not my favorite thing.
  2. Please watch your children. It’s actually not my job to babysit your kids. I may be helping check out a patron and have more in line- it’s not feasible for me to jump over the counter to stop your three year old from wandering out the door because you are playing Candy Crush on your phone. I am happy to interact with your kids, but my job is not free babysitting.
  3. If your child is pulling tons of books of the shelf that you are not going to check out saying something along the lines of “That’s okay sweetie. I’m sure the librarian would be happy to reshelve those. You just keep pulling out books” is not the way to get on my good side. I understand that kids are going to pull books off shelves. I understand that you are not going to check out every book that your child puts in your pile, but please don’t encourage them to pull books off the shelf for the fun of it.
  4. If you ask me to help you find WWII books and I find you all the ones we have in the department, don’t go to the other person working in the department and ask them to look for you also. I only found four books in the catalog that are set in WWII that are at the reading level you want because we only have four. The other librarian can look also, but she is going to get the same results I do.
  5. And finally, please respect the fact that this is still a library. Just because it’s the children’s department doesn’t mean that we don’t need some semblance of order. We are happy to have your children, but shouting and screaming would be something to address with your children instead of just ignoring it.

That’s it. 5 simple things that can make your life, your librarian’s life, and the life of the other patrons much happier while at the library. Please keep coming in! Please keep checking out books, just please be conscientious of the others at the library while you are here.

Keep Sparkling

-B

It. Is. Coming

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It’s coming. The craziest time of the year for the library is coming……

SUMMER READING

Yes, that fearful time of year when people stream into the library to get prizes, attend programs, and spend hours reading!

But really, we enjoy having patrons in. We love summer reading. But summer reading means a lot more work in a small amount of time. We are happy to do it but when it is all over I’m usually ready for patrons to go away for at least two weeks!

Alright, I may be over exaggerating a bit. But if you are a librarian, you understand. It’s a lot of work, effort, and time. But it gets people in and ultimately- we do love people.

If you’re not a librarian, take time to thank your librarian for all the effort they put into summer reading. If you are a librarian, thank another librarian- and then take a vacation!

Keep Sparkling,

-B

Same Mistake, Different Day

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We all know how easy it is to make a mistake. Luckily, I’m in a profession that is not life or death. Unlike surgeons, my mistakes will probably not change the course of someone’s life. However, I recently felt incredibly ridiculous in my mistakes.

In preparing to advertise for a resource that is available to Teens during the summer I printed off flyers. I was excited. I was ahead of the game. I had this! Yay me! Right? Wrong.

About a week later I was riding in the elevator and realized that the poster in front of me was for July…. not April. Well crap. Ok. Taking that one down!

Back to the computer where I print three copies of the correct one! Got it! I’m gonna just put them both up and be ahead of the game! Yes! I’ve got this. #winning . Right? Wrong.

Two days later I look at the poster in the elevator and realize the date is for June! June! Crap it all! I did the wrong poster AGAIN! Finally backing up I found the one that began in April and printed it out.

But mistakes! I made the same mistake multiple times! I made mistakes while trying to fix my mistake! Argh! But we are so hard on ourselves.

I demand perfection of myself. I am my own worst critic. You look at me and see my flaws, but you have no idea the magnitude of the flaws I see in myself. What you see as a little flaw, I probably beat myself up for on a weekly basis. But grace is required. Required of you, required of me, required of all. No one will be perfect. Ever. Remember that you matter and your mistakes matter. Learn from them and move forward. Have grace for yourselves and others. Share your mistakes and laugh together at them. It’s okay to laugh at me. That’s why I told you this story. Laugh. Enjoy. Move Forward. Go spread some grace.

Keep Sparkling

-B.

My Librarian is weird…..

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In case you were wondering, Librarians are some of the weirdest people you will ever meet, but we get a bad rap in many TV shows.

Look at the librarian in Season 2 of “The Middle”. There is a socially awkward woman who is more interested in talking with a 9 year old boy about his book collection than having an adult conversation at the Thanksgiving dinner. I mean that’s not me at all……….

Look at “Parks and Recreation”. Leslie Knope continually talks about how terrible the library is. Now granted, the librarian on Parks and Recreation is creepy, manipulative, and inappropriate. I can understand Leslie’s conclusion on that one. But that’s not most of us!

Most of us are super fun people! For example, last summer our summer reading was music themed so I searched for parodies! My favorite library parody is of “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars- “Unread Book“. It’s hilarious. Go watch it! You will love it!

snapshot from “Unread Book”

Not only that but we have to be a little weird. It takes a special kind of adult to proudly come up with motions to storytimes for babies. I mean really. We all know the kids aren’t doing the motions. We all know we look silly- and yet we do it anyways. For you. The patrons. You’re welcome.

In my time as a librarian I have discovered that I have the perfect blend of weird for a librarian. I mean I can walk up to total strangers, Teenagers in fact, and strike up a conversation. Only here is it not creepy to start a conversation with a perfect stranger about their hobbies and tv show interests. It’s normal! It’s expected! How else am I going to find them the perfect book?

But really, we’re all weird. Not a single one of us is normal. You have the quiet librarians who wear their perfect pencil skirts and their cardigans. You have the crazy ones who wear vibrant colors and can’t stop talking to you about books, even if you would wish them to. You have the specialty librarian who is sure that EVERYONE must be interested in reading the kinds of books that she loves, and the list goes on. They’re each their own brand of weird, but you know what- that’s what makes the library perfect. It’s the perfect place for all of those who fit in, and all of those who don’t. So come on in and find some weird people. I guarantee you, we have a lot of fun.

Keep Sparkling,

-B

What you were Meant to Do

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All the way through school we teach our kids that they are moving towards adulthood. That magic time when they will begin to contribute to society. When they will get a job and have to work every day. When they will delve into one of their interests and stay there for the rest of their lives.

We make students declare a major when they are 18 years old. We want them to have a plan for the rest of their lives at 18 years old. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 80% of students in the U.S. change their major at least once…. Obviously our plans that we make at 18 aren’t working out most of the time.

We ask kids continually, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If you had asked me that for much of my time as a student I would have said, “A Teacher or a Librarian”. Following this logic I went to school to be an Elementary School Teacher. I didn’t think I could ever deal with teenagers and I was certain that this was a job I could do. Why did I think I could do this job? Because multiple people told me I should be a teacher!

That was all the proof I needed. Right? Looking back I see just how ridiculous this is. I had no real concept of what life looked like. I had no real concept of all the jobs that were available to me! It never excited me but it’s what others said I should do.

I loved music. I played 4 instruments and was a singer when I graduated High School. I could have chosen to go into music but I didn’t.

I love theater! I could have chosen to learn that craft and really delve into that. But I didn’t.

I switched to High School English in my third year of college. This added another semester but I didn’t care. One of my professors had convinced me that my personality was much better suited to Teens (I’ll agree with her on that one). I continued but I never loved my teaching classes or my observations. I really enjoyed my Linguistics classes, my History of the English Language, and Literature classes. That’s what I loved! But I pursued teaching anyways.

The semester before my student teaching, nothing was going like it was supposed to. I wasn’t getting placed, I wasn’t enjoying my classes, and I finally found something I loved doing. I got to speak to a group of women about how important they are. I got to tell them how much they mattered and that they had to power to change the world around them. I left that event and I knew that this was what I was created to do. I was created to show others how important they are. I didn’t want to teach.

I tried teaching anyways, it was bad. I left halfway through my student teaching, adding another year to my degree. I ended up with a degree in General Studies with a minor in English and Linguistics. Not impressive. I know. BUT! I loved my classes.

So then it’s time to figure out what to do with that degree. I tried Social Work for a year and a half. That did not go well for me. I began to work at a coffee shop, which I enjoyed, because I was investing in people. I didn’t have to worry about teaching a curriculum! I could just brighten their day and bring them joy! When the summer was over, I was hired at the library. I went back to my roots. Back to my childhood dream, and I love it.

(I know, you think I forgot to talk about books. I promise there is a tie-in.)

I get to interact with patrons. I get to tell them of their value! I get to give them books that will speak to their hearts! I get to let them know how much they matter! It’s amazing.

This is why I try to give kids books with all kinds of characters in them. I want them to be exposed to all their options! I don’t want them to make the mistakes I made and just do what other people think they should do. I want them to live life to the fullest and experience the wide range of the world!

So go out and find what you were created to do! It is the most fulfilling thing you will ever do! Work barely feels like work when you love it. Live life to the fullest!

Keep Sparkling!

-B

Challenges of Being a Book Nerd

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Honestly, being a book nerd is the best! You get to travel to distant lands! Explore Oceans! Live lives of adventure! All from the comfort of your very own chair, or lawn, or wherever it is that you like to read at! But there can be some very real challenges to being a book nerd!

1- People will not get your obsession with books!

2- Other people are not nearly as impressed with your favorite books as you are.

3- You find yourself becoming anti-social many times because the people in books are so much more interesting than the people around you.

4- You become super judgmental of other people’s book suggestions because you’ve read more books than most people.

5- People will say things like “why read the book when I can watch the movie” and you think to yourself “Today will be the day I assault someone”.

6- People will try to convince you to stop reading and go see a something on a screen.

7- You understand that new books are cause for a happy dance, but everyone will judge you for it.

8- Your To Be Read pile continues to grow every time you go to a bookstore, but you can’t resist buying another book.

9- In spite of having lots of books that need read, you will still go back and re-read your favorites.

10- People will want you to give less details in your stories, but you know the importance of good imagery to help them really understand it!

Got any other #booknerdproblems ? Leave ’em in the comments!

Keep Sparkling,

-B

How to Choose a Good Book

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Have you ever been browsing a book store and not felt like you’ve found a “good” book?

Well choosing books for kids is even worse! How do you know what they’ll be in to right now? How to do you know if it will have enough pictures? How do you know if they will like the content?

I had a girl come in who loved to talk with me but NEVER took any of my book suggestions. She’d return books half read because they were too “predictable” or because “it was too happy”. But, I finally found her the perfect book. Not only the perfect book BUT the perfect series. It kept her occupied for months! She wanted a sad book so I gave her……

It was perfect! She loved how unhappy the books were! But … after five of them she told me they were “predictable”.

I can pick out a book that I think will be perfect for a kid! It can have humor, graphic novel sections, and great characters…. but the kid will be unwilling to even try it because they don’t like the cover. It’s things like this that make it hard to choose books for kids. Here are a few tips from me on what may help!

  1. Cover appeal- as much as we don’t want to judge a book by its cover, kids will. Be aware of this. As much as the old books look neat and amazing on our shelves, kids may not be attracted to a leather bound book
  2. Pictures- with the rise in graphic novels I find more and more kids who want to only read chapter books with pictures. I have seen some very high reading level kids that are only in Second Grade. Books like “Stick Dog” by Watson or “Dork Diaries” by Russell may be a great way to send them. But don’t hesitate to challenge them towards books with more narrative than pictures!
  3. What drives the book forward- Relationship building is beautiful but most kids want some action. As adults, we see the value in relationships and stories that touch your heart but if all the characters do is stand (or sit) around and talk this might not be a winner.
  4. Recommendations – If you really want to give a book to kids that they will love, find out what other kids love. I really enjoy giving my patrons book recommendations, but they tend to take them more seriously if I can say another kid really liked the book.

There you go! Just a few tips. As much as we love books for one reason or another, we have to remember to see the books through the eyes of a child.

Keep Sparkling

-B

National Siblings Day (a little late)

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Happy Late National Siblings Day! I know, it’s not April 10. It’s almost 10 days late. But still! National siblings day is something to be celebrated so I thought I’d take a moment to share with all of you about my wonderful childhood memories of my siblings (and I promise that I will try to relate them to books).

I was the middle of seven kids in my family. Seven. That’s right. You heard me correctly. Seven. There were a lot of us. There was chaos, laughter, fighting, and fun. My parents were tired, and rightly so. Still, some of my favorite memories involve reading.

My dad started us out early. He would read us “Mr. Cheepers”. We got to say the words of whatever pictures were stuck in the sentences. He read “Little Tug” more times than I can remember. And “The Five Chinese Brothers”! My siblings and I could listen to these stories over and over. He gave us beautiful memories.

My likes and dislikes were mostly shaped by my older sister. The one right above me. We shared a room for much of our growing up. She’s the one who taught me about reading with a flashlight under the covers or sitting on the bathroom floor with a book at night so no one could catch you reading. That was her. She started my journey of being tricky. She’s pretty awesome that way.

She also gives me some of the best book suggestions to this day. As a homemaker she is deeply aware of what her kids are reading. It’s never surprising to receive a text with pictures of books and how much her kids are liking them. She is an avid reader herself and I often find myself adding her books on Goodreads to my “want to read” list. She introduced me to Kiera Cass’s “The Selection”, Linda Lee Maifair’s “Darcy J. Doyle” detective series, and Ted Dekker.

My oldest sister taught me the importance of reading things that were not just about people like me. She introduced me to diverse books. As she was going to school for Elementary Education, she would bring her books home on the weekend and share them with me. She showed me beautiful pop-ups, different cultures, and rich stories.

My oldest brother would begrudgingly read TO me. It was awesome! Growing up he was very much my hero. If I was scared or had a nightmare, I often found myself running to him. He showed me he cared by reading to me. I remember the occasional question (and I mean very occasional) “Hey, what are you reading?”. You can’t blame him for not being all that interested. A 10 year age gap will do that but still, he read to me.

The next two siblings of mine don’t share a whole lot in the way of literary tastes. My younger brother reads a lot, but we’ve not found many books that we share. But he will listen to me talk about all my favorite books, so props to him.

My sister that is right below me in age is my polar opposite in most things. BUT we can talk about Inspirational fiction. We don’t like very many of the same things, but we can talk about Karen Kingsbury and Francine Rivers for hours.

And finally, my youngest sister. This is my kindred spirit. Any book I suggests, she reads. Any time she wants a new genre, character, or place she comes to me. We can talk books and geek out about them for hours.

I am truly lucky. My life has been filled with books and much of that is because of my siblings. They helped fill my life with books, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Go out and share a book with one of your siblings.

Keep Sparkling

-B