It’s not too late to consider nominating yourself or a colleague for the 2013 Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children. The annual award honors an individual who has shown exceptional understanding and support of library services for kids. But don’t delay, the deadline for submitting an application is December 1.
The Debut: The Teen Technology Project, Jeremie Miller
By on November 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
Former teacher and virtual event entrepreneur Jeremie Miller created the Teen Technology Project to marry his passion for technology, teens and social issues. After discovering his project through its Facebook page, I got in touch with Jeremie and asked him to tell me more about his hopes and aspirations for the project.
From The Trenches: Books About Books
By on November 20, 2012 1 Comment
The idea of a book within a book is not a new idea—The Book Thief, Inkheart, and Fahrenheit 451 all explore this theme. It’s fun to think that the characters you are reading about may show up in your living room, ready to interact and share their literary lives with you. In some cases, such as Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, the books become characters themselves. For a light-hearted and quick read, check out It’s a Book by Lane Smith. Although it’s a children’s picture book, the humor will definitely appeal to teens.
Fresh Paint: Planning Programs in the Dark
By on November 19, 2012 1 Comment
How do you plan a party for someone you have never met? It’s stressful enough planning a party for someone you know very well—you already know what foods to cook, what music to play, and who to invite. But planning a party for a complete stranger—or a whole group of them —with no inkling of their interests? That is downright terrifying. Nevertheless, it is what I have spent the past couple months doing.
Music and Game Reviews from Young Adults
By on November 17, 2012 1 Comment
Go ahead, have a second helping of stuffing and gravy—Just Dance 4 will keep it from going right to the hips! Feeling nostalgic, missing Ash and Pikachu? Fire up Skylanders Giants for a battle fix. And dear sweet Taylor Swift is not one to stay in that country box—she’s even experimenting with dub-step, and clearly it’s working. Her new album Red earned the highest sales of any album since 2002 (Eminem’s The Eminem Show), with 1.2 million copies sold in the record’s opening week.
On the Radar Teen: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild: Ghost Stories for Teenage Readers
By on November 7, 2012 Leave a Comment
Some genres have year-round appeal. Enter the ghost story. This fall’s ghost stories combine other elements our students enjoy reading. A girl dies too soon. A crime needs to be solved. The Titanic. These books have short, cliff-hanging chapters with no good stopping place. You can almost read them in one sitting―unless your fear factor is released. Like me, you may have to do Pinterest between chapters, and refrain from reading them before bed! Happy haunting!
National Forum to Focus on Libraries & Teens
By on November 7, 2012 Leave a Comment
The National Forum on Libraries & Teens is a year-long grant funded effort that brings together key stakeholders from the areas of libraries, education, technology, adolescent development and the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to explore the world of young adults and library services to this population, and ultimately produce a white paper which will provide direction on how libraries need to adapt and potentially change to better meet the needs of 21st century teens.
Wanted: 365 YA Programming Ideas
By on November 6, 2012 2 Comments
Find yourself looking for inspiration when it comes to creating awesome programming for your teens? The 365 Days of YA Task Force wants to help, but first, you have to be willing to share your successes and creativity! The 365 Days of YA is a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) task
force charged with creating a calendar of easy to implement plans for programs, services, and activities for teens. These are simple ideas that can be used by anyone working with youth in libraries.
Book Reviews from Young Adults
By on November 6, 2012 2 Comments
Tales of aliens and bounty hunters, rockers and assassins, and a true story about addiction that reads like fiction are all part of this issue’s contributions from Bookmarked’s readers.
Get Cash for Great Programming
By on November 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
The American Libraries Association (ALA) Public Programs Office is now accepting nominations for the ALA Excellence in Library Programming Award, sponsored by the ALA Cultural Communities Fund. The award will recognize a library that demonstrates excellence in library programming by developing and presenting a cultural or thematic program or program series during the previous year (September 1, 2011 – August 31, 2012).
Media Mania: Spy Novels for James Bond Fans
By on November 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
With the release of Adele’s lushly orchestrated theme song and heaps of media coverage, the buzz is building for the opening of Skyfall (PG-13) on November 9, 2012. Take advantage of the Bond bonanza and display or booktalk a selection of recently published young adult spy thrillers. Impossible to put down, these titles feature an array of unforgettable protagonists, a mix of time periods and settings, and a teen-tantalizing variety of narrative styles.
Flapper Alert: A Roaring Twenties Giveaway
By on November 4, 2012 Leave a Comment
Bootleggers, gangsters, and a dash of romance—what could be more glittering and decadent than New York City in the Roaring Twenties? In Janet Fox’s new novel, Sirens, seventeen-year-old Josephine Winter is shipped off to live with her rich cousins in Manhattan. Caught up in the swirl of the bobbed-hair set—and the shady men who court them—Jo soon realizes that this world of jazz and gangsters and their molls hides a nest of lies, and she is faced with a choice: hang on to her soul, or lose herself in the decade of decadence.
Music and Game Reviews from Young Adults
By on November 3, 2012 Leave a Comment
Whether your teens like blasting a soccer ball into the net or covering their enemies in corrosive goo, our reviewers think they’ll like the the new releases FIFA 13 and Borderlands 2. For those that want to get their feet moving instead of their thumbs, Push and Shove from No Doubt delivers a pack of dance tunes guaranteed to delight old and new fans.
Tech Tidbits from the Guybrarian: Where do you get your ideas?
By on November 3, 2012 2 Comments
The smartest teachers in the world work in my school—they have brilliant lesson plans, amazing classroom management and solid assessment skills. It is really enjoyable to work with them on a project and just when we need it the most, I can say, “This looks like a job for Sound Cloud!” or “Storybird would be great for this fable unit.” I love pulling the perfect tool out of thin air. My teachers think I’m a genius!
The Debut: The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers
By on October 17, 2012 1 Comment
In his debut novel, The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers draws on his own experience of combat in Iraq to tell the story of Private John Bartle and his attempts to honor a promise to bring his friend Murph home safely from the war. Told in chapters which alternate between a brief two-month stretch of the war, and the much longer period of Bartle’s homecoming and adjustment to civilian life, The Yellow Birds is a rich, powerfully felt addition to the ranks of American war literature. Powers’s novel was recently named a National Book Award finalist.
Inspirational Programs at Your High School? Reap the Awards
By on October 16, 2012 Leave a Comment
If your secondary school is in the U.S., has a minimum of 40 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches, and has at least five senior classes, you could be eligible to apply for the annual College Board Gaston Caperton Inspiration Award. This is no small prize—three winning schools each receive $25,000, and an additional five could receive $1,000 honorable mention awards.
Book Reviews from Young Adults
By on October 16, 2012 1 Comment
When YA author Gina Damico set out on her Slapdash Road Trip Book Tour, she set aside time to visit our teen reviewers, Bookmarked, at Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy in Jefferson, Louisiana. What a thrill it was for Fred, pictured here with Damico, to meet a new favorite author face to face! You can read his review of her latest title, Scorch, right here.
Fresh Paint: The Trouble with Being the New Kid in Town
By on October 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
Part of the fun of opening a new library is getting to tell people about it, and seeing their reactions. Myself and some coworkers have recently attended farmer’s markets and back-to-school nights in the Gum Sping area, talking to residents about the new library and answering their questions about resources and programs. We have encountered excited citizens whose enthusiasm is palpable. But we have also met hesitant residents who have never experienced a public library who are unsure of its purpose, and fearful of its unfamiliarity. While we appreciate the former group, the latter group is what drives me to outreach events, in hopes of educating them on the benefits of the library so that when we open they are educated as to our mission and seek to learn more about us.
International Games Day @ your library
By on October 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
The American Library Association (ALA) is coordinating the annual International Games Day @ your library (IGD12) for Saturday, November 3, 2012. It is estimated that more than one thousand libraries around the world will showcase gaming programs and services in support of IGD12. This year marks the 5th annual event. In 2011, over 27,700 people played games at more than 1,400 libraries across the U.S. and in other countries.
Fall Graphic Novels Take a Walk on the Dark Side
By on October 11, 2012 Leave a Comment
Vampires, zombies, robot policemen—this fall’s graphic novels don’t shy away from the dark side. You’ll find plenty of humor as well, to lighten things up.
