Library publications and blogs are filled with two types of articles these days: horror stories and fantasies. First, the horror stories. These are the news reports of budget cuts, most of which are in fact quite horrible. Academic Library X is getting its budget cut by 30%; School District Y is firing all of its … Continue reading Winning the Budget Wars
Although some may question the notion of a reference renaissance (did reference ever really die?), few would deny that “reference has been transformed from an area that focused on resources and artifacts to one that explores a human process of questioning, contextualizing, and learning.” So notes the introduction to Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends, … Continue reading Reference Renaissance
Librarians who work with teens will welcome these useful guides. In Booktalking with Teens, Kristine Mahood explains how to use booktalks to engage teens with the library. She discusses what teens are reading (and how to find out); surveys various genres, including graphic novels and classics; and outlines the steps in making booktalking a success. … Continue reading Titles for Teens
There’s nothing quite so satisfying as a good story well told. We all tell stories, and libraries are the best places in the world to share them. With a growing national trend toward taking advantage of the cultural and literary programs, personalized professional learning assistance, and community social hub that good libraries offer their constituents, … Continue reading Tell Us a Story
There are few pleasures in life as rewarding as being in the presence of a great storyteller—an opportunity I get every year when the University of Washington SLIS hosts the Spencer Shaw Lecture, in honor of our beloved emeritus faculty member. This year’s treat was Patricia McKissack, whose talk was titled “On the Front Porch … Continue reading The Biggest Front Porch
One might reasonably think I’m beyond having a favorite teacher. Having turned in all my assignments and completed my formal education years ago, such a declaration might seem a tad unnecessary. A note on author Nikki Grimes’s Facebook page, though, called my attention to Teacher Appreciation Day, recognized early each May. Her words, to say … Continue reading Chalkboard Heroine
For many years, readers’ advisory has been a fundamental and valuable library service that has helped library patrons and others decide what books to borrow from a library or to buy from a book dealer. Librarians have also been prolific writers of book reviews, which have helped other librarians make purchasing decisions and helped readers … Continue reading Let’s Review Everything
A couple of months ago I started a daily blog entitled "Will Unwound." At first, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that as a retired librarian I wanted to stay connected to librarians on a daily basis. Call me crazy, but I think librarians are the most interesting tribe … Continue reading Quirkiness “R” Us
In the latest book on a persistent challenge, Michael Sullivan offers readers’ advisory as a strategy to bring boys to the library and get them to read. Serving Boys Through Readers’ Advisory explains “boys’ lit” and outlines how to use readers’ advisory effectively. Librarians will appreciate the many boy-friendly booktalks and book lists. Indexed. 152p.PBK. … Continue reading New from ALA: May 2010
Michael Sawyer takes pride in weeding books. In fact, he estimates that over the past 30 years he has overseen the removal of more than 500,000 items across eight library systems. As you can imagine, this has not been without controversy. “Many librarians have an emotional attachment to their collections,” Sawyer observes. "They think of … Continue reading Weeding Grows the Garden
If books disappear, they’ll have a fitting monument in The Oxford Companion to the Book. The first part of this hefty Companion comprises 48 in-depth essays offering a tour of the book’s evolution from Sumerian clay tokens to e-books. In between are discussions of printing, paper, illustration, bookbinding, children’s books, and other topics, as well … Continue reading Tomes’ Tome
If we think back, we can imagine a time before the book and, once books became inexpensive and widespread, how revolutionary and democratizing the book was as a tool for sharing information. It must have been incredible to think that you could have so much text in such a compact form, and so many of … Continue reading Gadgets and Gizmos
