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Moving to a New Library

Today is my first day as a Children's Librarian at Phillis Wheatley Branch Library.

My head has been in 2 places ever since I found out I was leaving Sully. Between programming and the beginning of summer busyness I was found either hyperventilating or whining on more than one occasion last week. I am really excited for the new challenges at my new library (while leaving some challenges behind at the old.) But obviously between summer reading and moving libraries I have been in no right mind to blog. So until I can get comfortable over there, and find a way for both YA and J to be in my life, this blog will continue to take a backseat.

Be back soon, promise :-)

Summer is officially here...

Here is a post from Teens Rock in Monroe County!

That little guy there was made by yours personally :-)

Pre-Summer-Reading-Week

I have been reading all of these summer reading posts, I thought I would join in on the fun. Today was the kids last day of school. Summer Reading officially starts this coming Monday.  I have 1 weeks left at Sully being a YA librarian before moving to Wheatley to be their Children's librarian. Which means at the same time that I am finishing up random projects at Sully, and trying finish up summer reading plans... I am trying to get an idea of what my new library is like (via email) and trying to think of summer programming ideas for children.

The summer reading program at my current library has been outlined  for over 2 months. I collaborated with the Children's librarian to plan activities which was a great idea. The majority of our programs we designed to be all ages. We're doing a different continent/area (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America and Space) each week to organize our activities.

Summer Reading Kick Off: Minute to Win it games. We picked about 6 games for an hour long program. It's on Monday, I'm so excited since it's the only program I helped plan that I'll be able to see!

Teen Movie Madness: Our safe to be smart guy mentioned to me that these kids have seen all the new movies, so I should pull out some old ones. So for Asia we're using an old martial arts movie. (I was so mad, the Bruce Lee movies were rated R!) For Europe we are showing one of the older James Bond movies. I picked 10 Things I Hate About You for the United States. Mostly because it's one of my favorites.

There were a few specific activities that I planned and won't be able to do, knitting during Antarctica Week and the origami craft during Asia week. I was also super excited about a Harry Potter Trivia party, but I am going take that idea with me to my next library. During North America Week we planned on doing a 60's party, but my partner in crime and myself are both leaving. I planned nothing for South America Week so I am going to add that to my massive list of "things not to forget to do".

My day was a brain spinning cloud of randomness and running around. I think I did accomplish something... Maybe. I don't remember standing still for more than 10 seconds but I do remember hyperventilating at one point while chugging a diet mt. dew. I collected a good 75% of the summer reading books on the school's list into one spot in the front of the library. Tomorrow I am going to sticker them and write a memo notifying everyone they are there. I helped my boss lady with next year's magazine subscriptions. I sit by our magazines so I took them on as one of my pet projects. I also pulled all of the college prep type and had a clerk sticker them. I was a good delegater.

There are only a couple things left I have to do and they're pretty easy: Put a YA shopping cart together on our vendor's site for them to order. They'll be set until September. Make a list of the books that aren't released yet. My teens read a lot of series! They also tell me a lot about the books they want, I figure I will do the diligence and pass along the release info.

Top Ten Tuesday

Courtesy of The Broke and the Bookish

This week is The Broke and the Bookish's year blogoversary! So in celebration, this week's top ten is list of everything that we love about blogging! 

1. I love blogging because it puts me in a community of like minded thinkers who love YA literature.
2. I love those who want to analyze the literature as much as I do, rip them apart, not like the popular stuff just because it's popular.
3. I love reading everyone's reviews and putting my reviews out there for others to read.
4. I love venting my thoughts on the library community and the YA world.
5. I like the random Meme in this blogging community, especially the ones where we talk about ourselves so I feel like I know a little more each one about the bloggers I follow.
6. I love posting random news/links that I find interesting. I like that maybe some random person is finding it on my blog and found a new random blog because of my link. 
7. I love that blogging, this blog, makes me want to read. I feel like I am not just loafing around, but my reading has a purpose.
8. I love keeping track of what I read and how I felt about it. 
9. I love using blogs as one of my review sources when piking out new materials for my library.
10. It makes me want to read books outside of my comfort zone because these blogs make me away of them!

Links and Miscellaneous Things I Like

Best quote ever:

"Picking on libraries is like picking on premature babies: what sort of person would actually do it?"- Anthony Doerr in his article Learning to Read on Zero Dollars a Day

This is what they have been saying for YEARS! Where is this magical place that there is a growth in the library field?

"Figures compiled in the United States Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition state the potential for future employment in the library sciences is above average, due in part to a large body of current librarians nearing retirement age and to the ongoing modernization of libraries overall." Occupation Outlook Handbook 

Ashford University will be providing a BA program for Library Science... where was this when I was an Undergraduate? It doesn't provide the professional certificate... but still. To be able to take more classes would have been a great opportunity. I felt like I had to put 1.5 billion interests into this small 36 credit bubble. Read the full article here: Ashford University Introduces Bachelor's Degree in Library Science and Media.

Since I am in this boat also, I have really appreciated these articles:

Doing Summer Reading for the First Time

Summer Reading is Killing Me
I have read others, I just can't for the life of me remember where they were!

I have also recently found, on suggestion from boss lady and then by happenstance: Miss Mollie's Storytime Fun. It's amazing what you can do with felt. Librarians never cease to amaze me. Miss Mollie has an amazing blogroll that I have begun reading as well. I love the story time ideas! I'll need them soon enough!

Waiting on Wednesday

 Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine. 

Let us know what your most anticipated releases are!

This week I am anxiously awaiting the next installment in Aimee Carter's Goddess series. 

I have been following her blog + tweets and she released the back cover info this week!!!

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

What are you waiting for?

YA Revolt has a new meaning...

I am still gainfully employed.

I got word this past week that I was going to be bounced to another library in my city. I am truly thankful for it. I get to work with a new group of people, some I have met before so that is exciting. Over all there are way more pros than cons, especially because, well, I still have a job.

Here is the thing. I will be a children's librarian. I have only been a young adult librarian for 6 months but I fell in love with it. One day I'll be back.

Here is my challenge: I have to plan the summer reading program. We are using the collaborative theme, One World, Many Stories that libraries all over the United States. So I have a built in multicultural theme that I find interesting and easy to work with. There is a great educational aspect of it that I admire. Kids don't know there is a whole world outside of their city much less their country. I planned a whole program for my library with the teenagers so that is the sad part, now, to do it all over again with a younger audience. Any help is appreciated.

So here is my second point. I think that I am still going to continue this blog in the spirit of Young Adult. Maybe a little children's once in a while, because, well, kid's books are cute.

I will be revolting against my job. I will be a Children's librarian trapped in the body of a YA librarian.

I look forward to the challenge.

The Books I've Read-May Edition

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.

I received an ARC of this book months ago and finally had the time to sit and read it. I took it camping with me and read it in about 3 hours. I used my head lamp by the end of it because it was just getting too dark and I had to know how the story unfolded. 

Things I liked:

For the most part I liked London. She was a little girlier than the characters that I'm used to. Like she kept mentioning the word boyfriend over and over again instead of just saying his name. I enjoyed her relationship with Luke I found myself smiling at their first date, or when he apologizes. I liked the plot... Memory is a complex thing, I think that Cat Patrick did a great job exploring the ramifications of not remembering your own past. 

Things I didn't like:

I didn't like, or maybe, just didn't appreciate her relationship with her mother. I thought they were a little distant, and realistically it seemed like London would have needed her more therefore creating a stronger relationship.... Does that make sense?

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.

I only liked one thing about this book, the ending. I like that they let us know what happened years later with Katniss.

Everything else: I didn't like.  All of a sudden, it was a change in genres. It wasn't just dystopian, it was action-political.  I couldn't even read it, I found myself skimming the pages and only reading the narration. Eh. Very disappointing for the finale of this disturbing series.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future–and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

I love Adam. I love that this story was told from his point of view. He is just pretty damn dreamy. Even more so than in the first novel. 

It was nice to see the characters grow up a bit. I mean, they're growth was still stunted completely by her accident, the loss of family, the loss of each other, but they handled each other so differently in this novel. They no longer took each other for granted. I found this novel to be more of the emotional roller coaster than the first, maybe because it was about love.

I have a hard time reviewing novels that I love. I am realizing this more and more. 

Previously reviewed...

WOW! FIVE BOOKS!!!

I'm pretty proud of myself.

Anatomy of a Librarian

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Source: Master Degree Guide