Tag Archives: libraries

A Library Field Trip.

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My nephew’s daycare went to the library this week. On the way home he said, “Mommy, when we get home let’s play in my room. It has books like the library. I will be the library worker and show you what to do.”

Then I got these videos:

Love that he whispers!

Who still stamps books?! What library did they visit?!

When he was checking Beej’s books out the library phone just kept ringing, but he had other customers to help! (Sound familiar to anyone?)

(When is YouTube gonna embrace the vertical video format?! I mean, I realize some are like NO, JUST STOP IT! But everyone I know forgets to turn the phone when taking video — including me. Just embrace it, interwebz.)

The Peculiars by Mareen McQuerry

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I’m often attracted to books because of the cover and I will admit that The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry is one I read because I was so attracted to the incredible artwork.

Since childhood, Lena’s been told she’s a goblin…a Peculiar, just like her always-in-trouble father. Her father leaves when she’s young, but on her 18th birthday, her mother gives her a letter from her father that sends Lena on a quest to find him and herself.

One of the first people we’re introduced to besides Lena, is Jimson Quiggley — he’s a librarian. There’s even some “you don’t have a library degree” snobbishness from Lena (her mom is a Children’s Librarian). So that made me love the book all the more. I mean, if you dig books, then definitely give this one a shot because they spend quite a bit of time in a super cool library.

While reading The Peculiars, all I could think about were the books it reminded me of. Most of them I really enjoyed, so that’s a good thing. First, this book reminds me of Chime, except that I like Lena and never understood Briony. Both girls have a “something” that makes them different, but don’t know what it is. I also get a sense of the Gemma Doyle series (A Great and Terrible Beauty) — a young woman out to find herself in a kind-of Victorian era (I’m not entirely sure of where The Peculiars takes place, but I do know it’s the late 1800s). There’s also a hint of Alexia Tarabotti here (Soulless). There are some steampunkish elements and, like Alexia, Lena is a girl that’s a little different from everyone else. Finally, I can’t quite place why, but something about Lena, the setting, or something, reminds me of Switched.

Definitely a fun read and totally refreshing to read something a little different from what I’ve been reading (which is mainly YA dystopias). (Though I am bothered that the name Lena was used…I mean, considering the popularity of Delirium, couldn’t a different name have been chosen?)

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review via NetGalley.

Pinterest @ My Library and other thoughts.

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I blogged about Pinterest way back in June. I loved it then, I love it now. And while I kind of tossed around ideas about how to use it in libraries I wasn’t totally sure about it. I was thinking about as a personal tool that I could also use for work.

But lately EVERYONE’S been talking about Pinterest and many libraries have started using it. Sacramento has some of my favorite boards, but there are lots of others. I’ve just started pinning via work and I’m hoping I’ll get a few other staffers in on the fun, too. (I mean, my director and a couple of co-workers ARE already hooked, so it shouldn’t be too difficult!)

Any board suggestions? I was thinking about starting a “readalike” board for a few popular titles. We’ve just started a floating collection, so as new titles come in I could pin those. But I don’t want to just pin things that link back to our site because that’s not fun! You catch people with the fun and then they don’t even realize that you’re sneaking in meaningful things (mainly more web hits for us!).

Honestly, I think the trickiest part is timing. I mean, one person starts pinning a lot and you miss stuff from other pinners you follow. Not to mention, things change SO quickly on Pinterest (and searching for pins can be tricky, too…of course, they are still in beta!).

Then the other problem is pin descriptions…PLEASE start using actual WORDS for your pins and linking them back to the POST that the image is on!

What do patrons want from their library?

Aside

This whole HarperCollins/Overdrive mess made me think about when I just a library patron and what I wanted/expected from the library.

When I was a kid, I was just grateful to have a library. I didn’t have expectations about what they would have — I simply went to discover. For the first 10-15 years of my life, my bookstore options were the small Christian bookstore that had more Bibles than Christian Fiction and mall bookstores more than 45 minutes away. Later on, my options expanded to include the new Wal-Mart. I didn’t expect the library to have DVDs and I was shocked to discover VHS tapes (and I only discovered them in high school!). My public library didn’t have CDs — at least I didn’t know about them.

It’s great that larger library systems can offer CDs, DVDs, and eBooks; but do patrons expect because you have it or did they ask for it first? Most smaller libraries simply cannot afford these overpriced services (like OverDrive and Freegal). And are these services something that they should strive for or are they just fancy services for the larger systems?

I haven’t been back to my hometown’s library in nearly a decade, but I know, thanks to my 17 year-old niece, that they still have a lot of gaps in their collection. Of course, she knows that she can request-a-purchase, but only because her librarian Auntie told her she could…it doesn’t mean she has. She doesn’t even expect the library to have what she wants, she does hopes they do! (And like a good Auntie, I simply send her the books she wants, much like what my sister used to do for me.)

Sorry…I’m a bad librarian.

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I know I’m supposed to be boycotting HarperCollins because they hate libraries (and apparently LJ Smith), but I’m not going to deny myself a good book because they don’t want to play nice with their eBooks (and anyway, their stupid rule doesn’t start until March, so I’m in the clear until then, right?).

Sarcastic me has lots of boycott related questions: Am I supposed to boycott ALL HarperCollins materials or just their eBooks…and if I’m only borrowing from the library, does that count? Should I punish the authors by not raving about their book if their publisher is HarperCollins? Will someone be providing a list of all HarperCollins imprints so I can boycott those too? I mean, I’m halfway through The Fates Will Find Their Way and I LOVE it (but it’s from a HarperCollins imprint)…I’m even going to incur an overdue fee from the library so I can finish it (which you can only do if you check-out physical books, by the way, because eBooks already self-destruct after the predetermined check-out period).

Less sarcastic me wonders: is it really the fault of HarperCollins? Isn’t it a far larger issue that deals with copyright law and technology? Shouldn’t we have more of an issue with OverDrive? Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves why we’re letting non-libraries dictate how eBook lending  in libraries should work? Why are we letting OverDrive negotiate when it should be LIBRARIANS making the deals? I mean, OverDrive is the only vendor (maybe not ONLY, but the most popular) that’s even taking on eBook lending and everyone pays their exorbitant fees because they think it’s what patrons want. If taxpayers really knew how much was being spent on these ridiculous databases and services (like Freegal and OverDrive), I’m sure they would have a lot of questions.

We (libraries/librarians) spend a whole lot of money on things we DO NOT OWN. All those databases? Yeah, we’re just leasing the rights. If we stop paying, we have nothing to show for all that money spent. Sure our patrons may have a few PDFs on their computers (I know I still do from my school days) and they might even have a few hundred songs they downloaded from Freegal, but what does the library have?

Sure, everyone likes the idea of free eBooks and free music, but is that why libraries exist — are we just there to give patrons the hot item of the moment? I think copyright law has A LOT to do with why we’re in this position, but I’m not totally sure where to start on that…perhaps a letter to John McCain? Maybe the ALA could do something?

If you want to know more about this HarperCollins/Overdrive mess, check out what these far-wiser-than-me folks have to say:

Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back – Librarian By Day

Library eBook Revolution, Begin – Librarian in Black

HarperCollins and the Suspension of eBook Disbelief &  OverDrive and the Library eBook Lending Paradox (interesting comments, too) - Go to Hellman

HarperCollins to Libraries: We Will Nuke Your Books After 26 Checkouts – Boing Boing (Cory Doctorow)

The Publisher of Tolkien Has Taken a Lesson from Sauron – Agnostic, Maybe

You can also check out the hashtag #hcod on Twitter for bitter/funny/sarcastic comments in 140 characters or less.

And now, I must continue my Saturday by going to my local public library to pick-up my requested holds. Guess who published it…Yep. Harper-freakin’-Collins. It’s hard to escape the big six.

Books matter (and so do libraries).

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One of the listserv topics this week is “First Library” – what’s the first library experience you remember, your first library book, etc. Thinking about it makes me tear up, of course, I’m a total sap and cry at everything.

Libraries and books played a huge part in my life. My siblings are all readers, but my oldest sister is the more voracious reader AND she worked at a bookstore when I was a kid so she was the COOLEST. She would always keep us supplied with what our mom refused to buy (for example, thanks to her buying V.C. Andrews for herself and V, I read them sooner than I should have. There’s a pretty significant age gap between the four of us…my bookstore employed/now 2nd grade teacher sister is 15 years older than me, my brother is 12 years older, and my sister that lives here in AZ is 7 years older.) But my sister couldn’t supply me with everything so there was also the library….

Before the big fancy library that’s far from everything, my hometown had a two-story library behind the courthouse. I thought it was so cool to go upstairs. I remember my elementary school library even better and the librarian there was amazing – sometimes she would even let me go to the forbidden section for older kids.

I’ve been thinking about the books that had the biggest impact (and,obviously, the libraries that made reading those books possible). I remember this one book about ballet that I read in elementary school – I really wanted to be a ballerina (I swear it’s not Ballet Shoes by Streatfeild, but I can’t find the book on the web!). I loved Freddy the Pig and read every Freddy book in my elementary school library. While I didn’t want to be a pig, I’m pretty sure my love of Freddy is why I read Animal Farm by Orwell in 6th grade. I didn’t understand it at 12, but I’ve read it several times since then.

When I was in middle school, I read a lot of R. L. Stine, Christopher Pike, V.C. Andrews, Stephen King, and John Grisham. I’ve read most of the early works of each of those authors, but the one with the biggest impact is John Grisham. Reading his early books made me want to be an attorney (in Louisiana or Mississippi). Grisham made it sound so exciting!

Without the public library, I wouldn’t have read Bridget Jones’ Diary in high school. It sounds silly but through Bridget, I learned that everyone has body issues and it is OK to be flawed. I might have totally ignored one of my favorite authors because I wasn’t required to read any Jane Austen in high school. I still remember the day I discovered Emma at the public library (and the cute Kevin Arnold look-alike that volunteered there).

My love of libraries continued in college when I was stoked to discover that I could do my work-study AT THE LIBRARY! I was still interested in law  thanks to Grisham, but it’s when I realized that I could BE a librarian that I started to think about library school. At Chatham, the librarians and IT staff were the coolest people. They make up a large part of my college memories and I keep in better contact with Jenn and Karen then most of my friends from college.

Now that I’m a librarian, I see the impact books have on everyone – kids, teens, adults. I love how technology is used to spread the word about good books – #fridayreads, Goodreads, LibraryThing, BLOGS! I love the feeling of overwhelming awe I get whenever I walk into any library – no matter how big or small. I love that because of libraries, I met some of my favorite people (even if a few are fictional). I love books (and deep down I still want to be a lawyer in Mississippi because of John Grisham).

What books influenced you? What’s your “First library” memory?

Forget cupcakes…

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My favorite parts:

“Libraries will give you things for free. Hi, have you noticed how much hardcover books cost? Not a Netflix person? They will hand you things for free. That’s not an especially hard concept to sell.”

“When your building is open to the public, that means open … to … the … public. And you know what’s a little unpredictable? The public.”

About librarians: “…They live in the world of information, and are employed in part to organize and make accessible large quantities of data. If your computer had feet and a spiffy personality, you see.”