No Shhing Here

Usually conferences leave me feeling revitalized and invigorated. Today? Not so much. I left this afternoon appreciating just how much I have left to learn. I might excel in some areas of being a librarian, but in others? Ouch. We’ll save the most painful realizations for another post. Today, I’m just going to focus on why I hate mission statements: They’re always really dense Who the heck bothers to ever read them? They’re a dumping ground for jargon and edu-speak Needless to say, developing a mission statement for my library program was never a high priority. I probably would have continued to avoid it had I not attended today’s session. It took a fair amount of mental arm-twisting, but ultimately we came up with one. It was a team effort – contributors included myself, an elementary librarian, and our district’s technology director. Our goal was two-fold: write the shortest mission statement possible and make it understandable for elementary AND secondary students. Her...

I have a habit of saying yes. It's almost a disease. Someone makes a suggestion or offers me an opportunity and my mouth just can't seem to form the letters n - o. My inability to decline usually equals lost sleep, increased stress, and a messy house. I'm blogging right now, at 6:55 AM because I got up forty-five minutes early -- and that was after going to bed an hour late. My stomach is nervous and churning. My house is a DISASTER -- I have not one, but TWO banana peels sitting next to the keyboard. It can only mean one thing -- I said yes. Today, I'm presenting at the School Library System's Fall Conference at the Doubletree Hotel in Syracuse, NY. It's not the biggest venue I've presented at, but it's still a venue. Venue's are scary. The keynote speaker is Ross Todd. In case you don't know, he's a BIG DEAL. Maybe he'll talk a really long time -- sooo long that I don't have to do my presentation. That'd be awesome. But unlikel...

The kids in our library can't get enough of Hunger Games -- our reserve list is miles long. Also, kids that loved the Hunger Games want to know what's next. The solution: Not that this is, by any means, the most amazing bulletin board you've ever seen, but hopefully it gets the job done! All the books pictured on the board are also displayed on a bookshelf with ample signage. If you're looking for a list of Hunger Games read-alikes, the Evanston Public Library has a great one here.

We're sooo lucky to have lots of cool technology donated to the library. Between iTouches and Kindles, we've got some of the latest and greatest tech toys. It's great that we've got the toys, but it'd be awesome if we also had money to buy fancy storage options to keep everything organized and secure. Unfortunately....we don't! So for now, we're coming up with creative ways to store our stuff. We started last year with three iTouches, and ended the year in June with just two. Our checkout procedure and storage obviously needed to be revamped. This year, we've gotten super-duper fancy. Meet our iTouch storage cart: Yup, it's totally what it looks like. We just stuck a locking file cabinet that we already owned underneath the circulation desk. The custodian drilled a hole in the side, which we wrapped with electrical tape to cover any jagged edges (the hole is circled in red at left). We have a USB hub to manage the multiple iTouches, so the power cord...

UPDATE (January 7, 2024): I wrote the blog post below almost 15 years ago (!!), and since then, a lot of things about Colibri have changed. The company is under new ownership, and the customer service has improved sooo much! Now there are virtual trainings and lots of check-ins to make sure everything is working correctly. A phone call or an email to the company puts you in touch with people who can help - no hassle trying to get ahold of someone.  The machine has also undergone a major redesign - there's no manual lever system to hold down when covering the book - now everything's electronic, and the machine cuts with the touch of a button (or the press of the foot pedal, which allows for hands-free operation). The welding bar, which is what bent on my original machine (probably because the people applying the covers were 13 years old😁) is now readily available for purchase online, which can prolong the life of the machine. I haven't had any issues with the bar on my new ...

I'm taking an online class through Simmons College, and it's got me thinking a lot about Social Networking and my junior high library. Currently, my social networking efforts are rather limited, though not totally non-existent. I do use Twitter, and a link to follow me is included on the library's home page. Twitter isn't blocked at school, so I thought it would effective in reaching students - but to be honest, most junior high kids just don't have Twitter accounts. I've been nervous about making a foray into other social media avenues because I'm not tenured yet, and I'd love to keep my job (as I do have a fabulous one!) This is my tenure year, so I'm willing to branch out a little bit, though I'm promising to be SUPER vigilant. I decided I wanted to create a Facebook Page for our building's library. My first step was to do TONS of research. I began by investigating other school libraries with Facebook pages. Here are some of t...