Anime Clubs ^_^

I’ll admit, the thought of starting an Anime Club for my library branch was a little intimidating at first. The last time I had seriously watched any anime was when I was in high school, in the late 90′s. Needless to say, a lot has changed about the industry. New genres, styles, and new performance rights rules. Oy vei. I had no clue where to start.

Luckily, the collective brain over at the YALSA listserv YA-YAAC had lost of suggestions. My favorite resource so far is probably Operation Anime, a DVD request service from the Funimation studio. They send you 1 DVD a month to view at your leisure. They always send you the first disc of season 1 which has 6-7 episodes to hook in your viewers. The series selection is pretty impressive (considering you’re getting titles from only one studio) and runs across a good many genres. The series tend to be newly released (and probably unfamiliar to most of your teens) so one can imagine why Funimation might want feedback on these hot off the presses series. They also let you keep the DVD’s to start building your own in-house anime library.

And the best part?

It’s absolutely free! (My favorite price!) All you need is an e-mail address connected to a library or school. Funimation also asks for viewer feedback in the form of short surveys. While this may sound tedious, I was shocked to find out just how much my teens enjoyed telling Funimation exactly what they thought of the new series (oh the power!)

Another great resource, especially if you’re looking for inexpensive anime and manga goodies to use for prizes, is RightStuf.com. They’re an anime superstore and fairly frequently have great sales on all sorts of anime related merch.

I also highly recommend getting in touch with local anime enthusiast groups, especially ones that organize conventions in your area. About a year and a half ago I approached a group that put together a yearly convention in Southern Nevada with the idea of running an info table in their vendor room to spread the good word about libraries and FREE manga! Instead of a table in the vendor room, they asked me if I’d like to host a program during the convention. They also kindly asked if my library would be interested in hosting their monthly anime screenings. Screenings that draw between 60 and 80 people each month. Screenings where they would provide their own equipment and performance rights. Screenings that would cost the library nothing more than freeing up our large program room the second Saturday of each month. My reply was nothing short of “heck yes!” Moral of that story: It never, ever hurts to ask.

So now, with my little library’s anime club reaching it’s 2 year anniversary, we have 20-25 teens enjoy our anime club each month. Hooray! It’s probably one of my favorite programs because not only are the teens who attend fantastic (they always offer to clean up and put away chairs!) but once you get into a rhythm, it’s easy as pie. I’m in the process of planning a CosPlay contest to host later in the year, possibly a fan art contest too. I’ll keep you updated when it happens!

ISLMA Conference 2010

Over Halloween weekend, I attended the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) Conference at Pheasant Run in St. Charles, IL, and gave two presentations.

The first presentation was on the AMAZING International Children’s Digital Library. We presented an overview of the resource, handed out a sample worksheet tutorial for students and discussed ways to use the site in the classroom. The lesson ideas were based on my idea generated by talking up the site to a wide variety of people including a University linguistics professor, a high school World Cultures teacher, middle school LA teachers, foreign language teachers and clubs, culture clubs, ELL students, art teachers, elementary school teachers and special education teachers.  I facilitated several lessons in these areas while student teaching at the Middle school level and the students loved the site.  Visit our wiki for backgroundinformation on the site and its creators, our powerpoint (including a walk-through tutorial of the site and database), and sample lessons/handouts.

Wiki: http://icdlresources.wikispaces.com/ICDL+Presentation.

Powerpoint: ICDL Presentation

http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=islmapresentationrevised-101029023223-phpapp01&stripped_title=icdl-presentation-5604223&userName=CorrieBall

The second presentation was on K-12 games in the school library. Maggie Hommel discussed recent literature and research supporting the implementation of games and “play” in education. Then, I shared some of my favorite classroom games, adapted for use in the library. For more information on the resources and games presented, please visit our wiki and ppt.

Wiki: http://k12librarygames.wikispaces.com/

Powerpoint: Power of Play: Games in the Library

http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=gamespresentationrevised-101029023423-phpapp02&stripped_title=power-of-play-games-in-the-library&userName=CorrieBall

Self Introduction…

Hi everyone,

My name is Corrie Ball and I’m an aspiring school librarian. This fall, I’ve been student teaching at a middle school (completed) and an elementary school (current). It has been really eye-opening, fun and busy!

Speaking of being busy, I’m sorry I’m so late on getting start with the blog!  This blog was intended to be a duo project that we had hoped to start last spring, but I’ve really been lagging behind. I hope to make it up to readers in the next few weeks, though!

My posting plan for November is to write about my middle school student teaching experience (fun displays, lots of Web 2.0 lessons, booktalks and reading incentive programs), recent presentations at the ISLMA conference, and ideas gleaned from elementary student teaching.

Happy reading!

 

Jack of all trades…

I was catching up on my google reader during today’s lunch break and absolutely loved this post (I’m a Doctor, Not an Escalator!)  from October 26th on YALSA’s blog.

I’ve added never having an “That’s not my job” moment to my list of professional goals. Part of the reason I became a librarian is because the position gives you so much flexibility. By stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching out to new groups you’re not only enriching yourself professionally and personally, you’re also giving people a new perspective on what the library is and does. And don’t you love those moments when you’re talking to non-library folks and you have one of those “I can’t believe I get paid to do this?” moments?

So what is Sarah’s job? 

• Zombie dance insturctor (Thrill the World)
• School librarian liason
• Joining in on impormptu dance parties in the middle of TAG meetings (after business is settled of course)
• Volunteer coordinator
• Cartooning enthusiast
• Gamer extrordinaire
• Interactive display creator
• Teen Lit Magazine editor
• SRP video editor
• Blogger
• General wrangler of teens

Braaaaaaains!

Teen programming this October is all about ZoMbIeS!*

Here’s some of what’s going on:

• Quirk Books generously donated 50 copies of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and “Dawn of the Dreadfuls” to sponsor zombie-themed book clubs (We just e-mailed someone in PR and they said yes! Seriously. It never hurts to ask!)
• We set up a reading challenge telling our teens that “If you read, we will DYE!” Basically we told teens that if they read 2,000 pages between October 1st and 15th, we teen librarians would dye our hair. The color? Whatever won the most votes on our library’s blog!  We got our inspiration for this from a September SLJ article. Thus far our teens have read over 15,000 pages and counting!
• To tie in with Teen Read Week’s Books with Beat theme, a teen librarian from another branch and I are holding weekly workshops to learn Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for “Thrill the World.” It’s the first time I’ve hosted the program at my branch and I’m super pumped! I’ll most definitely have some future postings on the program itself once it’s all done ^_^
• Every month I hold a “Crafty Teens” program and this month we made zombie finger puppets! I saw a template on Etsy.com and let the teens design their own using felt, thread, sequins, and glue guns. Here’s the handout I made for my teens complete with traceable appendages and instructions. You can click on the thumbnail for a larger size. (Sorry it’s a bit squished. I haven’t figured out how to post PDF’s on wordpress yet so I uploaded it as an image instead.)

 

My teens were super excited about making their own zombie finger puppets. Here are some of their wonderful creations!

 

 This month might be packed but it is too much fun! I’ll be sure to fill you all in once things settle down ^_^

*My fiancé find this hilarious to no end because of all horror movie creatures, zombies terrify me the most. Seriously, I read Max Brook’s Zombie Survival Guide and had to sleep with the lights on.

Technologic

Great googly moogly, it’s already October! Seriously, where does the time go? Between Halloween, Nevada Day, and Teen Read Week the public library is absolutely hopping with programs this month but I’ll save that for another post.

What I want to share with you right now is a nifty way to take advantage of your patron’s love of smartphones while promoting library programs. It’s called a QR code. QR codes are a specific kind of barcode that encodes text, URL, or phone numbers. It’s amazing how you can pack oodles of information in such a tiny square! 

And here’s the best part. Anyone with a smartphone can scan and read QR codes with the click of a camera, and anyone with access to a computer can generate QR codes themselves. I’m starting to put QR Codes on my teen program fliers. I realize that not too many of my teens have smartphones yet, but they’re always interested in new technology so hopefully it will generate some buzz ^_^

If you can cut-and-paste you canmake your own QR Code. Here’s the handy-dandy generator I use.

Banned Books Week Display

I heart how my job allows me to bust out my love for crafting every so often. One of my favorite things to do is to design creative/interactive displays for my library. I get lots of help from my teen volunteers with the construction and some have even helped me brainstorm themed displays! So with tomorrow being the start of Banned Books Week, I thought I’d share some photos of my display. (Click on the photos to enlarge)

Here’s the view outside of Teen Central. I printed the letters on cardstock using a funky font I downloaded online. Then I  taped the letters on some fishing wire and strung it across the window panes. This was partially to add visual interest but mostly so our view into Teen Central wouldn’t be completely obstructed.

Attempting to entice my teen patrons to go inside, I added extra information on one of the interior walls of Teen Central.  The book  flaps are probably my favorite part of the display. Patrons have to guess what books were banned/challenged based on the original “justification.” (information courtesy of ALA and Robert P. Doyle)

On the yellow flap is the reason why the book was banned or challenged …

And underneath is the cover of the book! Did you guess correctly?

I only put the display up a couple of days ago and already I’ve had quite a few patrons (teens and adults) talk to me about it. I tried to use a mix of books that are generating a lot of teen buzz right now (Vampire Academy, Looking for Alaska, How to Get Suspended and Influence People) as well as classics they’d be familliar with (The Lorax, Diary of Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies).

There’s another wonderful post on The Imaginary Librarian about her books display from last year. Sadly she has hung up her cardigan and is now in grad school for art history, but her blog is still a great source for inspiration.

Speak Loudly Against Censorship

I can’t be sure if it is ironic or fitting that this is happening 5 days before Banned Books Week.

A Missouri State Professor is calling for the banning of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, denouncing it as “soft pornography.”

Other bloggers have been writing about this topic with more eloquence than I can, so I’m just going to post several links for you to peruse. GreenBeanTeenQueen is a YA librarian who lives near Republic High School, so this issue hits very close to home, and Reclusive Bibliophile is compiling blog entries on the incident.

Rape and sexual assault, though they occur with startling frequency, are severely underreported. Books like Speak give victims a voice and allow others to gain some understanding of what it is to be in that position. I have great respect for authors who are unafraid to explore such issues accurately and an even greater amount for the survivors who are able to overcome such tragedy.

I know I should be thinking that perhaps something good can come of all of this. That more people will undoubtedly be reading or re-reading Speak. That in fact, an entire community is coming together to support this book. That for those who are reading it for the first time, this book will shed some light on this difficult topic. That perhaps parents will become more involved with their teen’s reading by way of actually reading, enjoying, and critically thinking about books together. I know there are plenty of others who agree that restricting anyone’s right to read and information is outright wrong. But right now, I’m just plain angry.

Recharging Your Librarian Batteries

Fair warning, this post was much longer than I expected. Sorry!

I’ve always enjoyed school.* Especially the start of a new year/semester. Ah, the crackle of notebook pages as you open them for the first time! Making bookcovers out of paper bags! Fresh highlighters! Yes, yes my friends, it is a love that runs long and deep…

As you can imagine, I’m pretty nostalgic about Library School.  The classes I took were amazing** as were the people. In fact, I met many of my closest friends (including my fiance) in library school. Those 2 years gave me the chance to study what I loved and figure out (at least a teensy tiny bit) who I really was.

So when the time came to graduate, it was bittersweet. I was fortunate enough to have landed a  Teen Librarian position that I was completely stoked about and I’d be working with people each and everyday who shared my passion for literature, outreach, and youth advocacy. Getting paid to chat with teens about great books and play the occasional videogame with them is also a plus.*** 

But already I was feeling anxious. How difficult would it be to maintain the working relationships with my peers and mentors who were now spread across the country? How would I keep up with new web and print resources without the structure of a classroom? Would the day-to-day of running a library take away the shine of being a librarian? That beloved title I had worked so hard to earn?  And when that happens, how can I reinvigorate myself professionally?

Conferences of course, are a fantastic way to recharge your librarian batteries and reconnect with peers. I’ve had the pleasure of attending several already and loved every minute of it. I planned to go to YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium this November but sadly, as is the case for so many libraries around the country, the travel and training budget was dramatically cut. Thus, I’ll be living vicariously through those who do attend.

So what’s a cash strapped librarian to do? Well, besides reading the tried-and-true professional journals, I try to set aside time to catch up on my YS oriented blogs during the workday. I can’t tell you how many ideas for programs and new web resources I’ve found through them. Some of my favorite YA oriented sites are in our blog’s sidebar. The same goes for YALSA’s listservs. I also keep up with folks I’ve met at library school, conferences, and work via e-mail, facebook, and twitter. I even know some librarians have a separate twitter account for more library/lit-centric tweets and include it in their contact info when job searching. I’ve been debating setting up one for myself for a bit.

I’ve also found that networking with local school librarians helps a great deal. When I drop off  promotional materials for library programs (if he/she isn’t in the middle of a lesson) I usually end up sitting down for a chat with the school librarian for at least 15 minutes. I’m very lucky in that all of the schools I work with, 3 middle and 2 HS,  have have staff that are very supportive of library events.

But Sarah, you may say, this post has gotten out of control! What connection does any of this have to your ultra nerdy love of school?

I’m so very glad you asked my friends.

I’ll be taking YALSA’s online class “Growing, Managing, and Defending the Young Adult Budget” in October. I’m pretty pumped about the class. I took “Power Programming for Teens” last fall and it was fantastic! Even though you don’t meet face-to-face, you still get to know your teacher and fellow students pretty well through online postings and e-mail. I noticed that since my classmates had similar goals and library philosophies, we grew comfortable with each other quickly, and became very friendly and open in our correspondence. The assignments were practical and it was great to bounce ideas off of other like-minded professionals. Once the class starts, I’ll definitely post some of the most helpful tidbits to share.

Classes are $135 for YALSA members and it’s worth every penny. Registration for the fall semester ends on the 27th, so if you’re interested you’ll want to sign up soon.

What are some ways that you keep energized and excited about librarianship?

______________________________________________________________________

*Save the occasional viking berserker warrior assignment that landed me a C in a college historiography class. My 1 and ONLY C. I am, perhaps, still a tad bitter.

**Also with the exception of 1 or 2 less than stellar classes. But really, who can say that they’ve gone through library school without thinking at least once “Really? Will this actually apply to me in real-life?”

***Via our library’s monthly program “Wii the Teens.”

Picture Book Report: Illustrators offer cool tributes to their favorite books

 The Giver. Where the Red Fern Grows. Sabriel. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I’m sure you’ve  read and loved at least one of these books. Chances are your teens have too. Well here’s an awesome project that artist Meg Hunt has spearheaded that you’ll want to check out. The Picture Book Report has brought together 15 of the best illustrators and artists to post drawings inspired by their favorite books.

I discovered the Picture Book Report because one of my favorite cartoonists/illustrators, Lucy Knisley, is a contributor*. Because of the sheer size of this project I’ve already spent much longer on this webpage than I originally anticipated but I loved every minute of it. You really can tell just how passionate each artist is about the novel they’ve chosen to reimagine. For Hunt it seems that the Picture Book Report is a call to artists and readers alike, challenging the stigma that  finding enjoyment from books with pictures after a certain age is well…childish.

I’ve already showed this webpage to the teens in my library district via our library’s blog and at a TAG meeting. You could even use this project to inspire your teens to reimagine/re-illustrate some of their favorite children’s or YA books. I think I feel a contest for a future Teen Read Week coming on! And seriously, how cool would it be to  contact some of artists in on this project and see if they could give your teens feedback on their artwork?

The artists involved in this project definitely give a new meaning to active storytelling.

*I highly recommend checking out Lucy Knisley’s website Stop Paying Attention (full of illustrations, comics, toons, and tunes!) not to mention her fabulous book French Milk. It’s a joy and inspiration to read whether you’re a traveller, journaler, or comic-er!

**Click to enlarge the image ^_^