Nancy Pearl & Reader's Advisory

I had the pleasure on Monday, June 8th to hear Nancy Pearl speak. It was great. The topic was reader’s advisory, a session at the Institute for School and Public Librarians at Bradley. Key points I learned from Nancy—

• Reader’s Advisory is not about recommending books but suggesting books.
• Give readers three books, one just like or close to the one they just read, one that is similar or pretty close to what they just read and one that is a stretch for them such as non-fiction on a topic or setting of the book just read.
• There are four doorways to enjoy fictions books: story, characters, setting and language.
• Asking the reader “Why they liked the book” gives you an idea of which doorway appeals to them.

“I could not put the book down,” they were attracted to the story.

“The main character was so quirky I loved them,” then they are attracted to characters.

“I felt as if I was there,” setting is key to their enjoyment of books.

“This book had such beautiful descriptions,” then they like the language.

I now have a deeper understanding of why I love certain books and I have some new books and authors to read. I can’t wait to begin.

Summer Reading

Summer reading is on my mind today.

I read a post from Library Link of the Day that talked about summer reading and its importance to kids. The post came from TwinCities.com. That’s right the twin cities as in Minniapolis/St. Paul. They give some facts then many suggestions on how to help your child to keep the reading and writing skills they have in May so that when they start school in September they have not lost ground.

Soon there will also be a summer reading suggestion list from me on the RPLS Front Page.

Happy reading!!

Bibliographies & Citations

I don’t know about you but every time I have to create a book list or bibliography, I dread it. What style of citation should I use? Will I get the punctuation right? I just want to get it done and move on.

Now I know there are websites where you can put in the information and at a click of the mouse it is put in citation form but now I have an easier way. WorldCat. That’s right the OCLC online catalog of books, articles, DVD’s and more. There is a Cite this Item link in the record of materials found in WorldCat through First Search.

If you search through the WorldCat.org public website you can also get a citation. When the specific item you searched for is displayed look just at the top of the record are links to cite, print, email and more. Click site and you can choose from five difference citation styles--APA. Chicago (Author-Date), Harvard, MLA or Turabian

Check it out the next time you have to make up a list of books

Intellectual Freedom

I have been meaning to write about the recent death of Judith Krug. She was the director of the ALA office for intellectual Freedom since its founding in 1967. She died April 14, 2009, a great loss to the library community. Judith helped trustees and librarians when they were facing a challenge to materials placed in their library’s collection.

Intellectual Freedom is a core principle of the library field. It is probably the toughest one to up hold. Each year many books are challenged by parents or groups for a wide variety of reasons. They range from sex to witchcraft, violence to language and many, many more. Authors are often confused as to why a particular part of a book is being challenged? When I think of the loss of Ms Krug in juxtaposition with some of my recent readings on the topic of intellectual I had to write.

The first thing I read was the book by James LaRue, The New Inquisition : understanding and managing intellectual freedom challenges. Jamie, in his book, examines the reasons why books have been challenged at his library. He has found that they fall into specific categories of child development. Jamie also gives the librarian some samples of the letters he has written that explain to the parent why a book is being retained by the library. I feel this should be required reading by every librarian in a public or school library. (By the way RPLS has a copy in the professional collection.)

The second piece I read was an article from the February 2009 School Library Journal. (And yes I know I am behind in my reading of professional journals.) The title of this article by Debra Lau Whelan was “A Dirty Little Secret: Self-censorship is rampant and lethal”. The article speaks to the self-censoring that school and public librarians do when a book is controversial or has is about a topic or issue they are uncomfortable with. The librarians are reacting in fear and expectation of a challenge. Pat Scales, president of the Association of Library Services to Children sated in the article, “If you reject a book just because of its subject matter or if you think that it would cause you some problems, then that’s self-censorship. And that’s going against professional ethics.”

I encourage you to read and think about the issue of Intellectual Freedom.

Legal Information for Illinois Residents

Recently I received in the mail a notice about a web page designed to help Illinois residents with Legal Information and help. That site is www.IllinoisLegalAid.org. According to the information I received the website features:

• A Powerful search engine
• Over 3000 legal articles
• Instructional videos
• Court forms
• Step-by-step instructions
• Referrals to helpful legal organizations.

On the site you can fine information on…

• Divorce, child support, paternity, domestic violence
• Social Security, Food Stamps, Unemployment
• Landlord/tenant, evictions, foreclosures
• Small claims, security deposits
• Guardianship, wills, Medicare/Medicaid
• Consumer debt, bankruptcy, identity theft.

Check out this site it was designed to provide free, reliable legal information to Illinois residents with civil legal problems.

I'm Back

I'm back, at least part time.

If you have missed me on this blog it is because I had a knee replacement on Feb. 26th. I have been concentrating on recuperation. Along the way, I have been tracking email, doing exercises, and reading.

The book I am reading now is by James LaRue and is titled “The New Inquisition: understanding and managing intellectual freedom challenges.” I am finding it very interesting and enlightening. I think it should be required reading for all students in an MLS or Library Media certification program. Jamie does not look at challenges to library materials or services as adversarial but as an opportunity to promote the mission of the library. It is a book that makes you think while guiding you in developing policies and strategies to use when a challenge to materials arrives on your desk at the library.

Borrow or buy a copy for your library and have all staff read and discuss it.

Advocacy U

ALA has a new initiative that is geared to providing tools, training and resources to library advocates. At Advocacy University, you will find the information you need to achieve real advocacy goals in real situations at a local level.

Currently at Advocacy U, you will find—
Add It Up: Libraries Make the Difference in Youth Development and Education. This tool brings together the research and statistics that have been conducted in many states. With this information, advocates can make the case for libraries at every stage of youth development.

Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit gives talking pints, statistics, and data to help make the case for your library. There are strategies to help focus public attention and generate support for your library. Additionally, there are tips on how to connect with decision makers.

During these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to tell your library’s story to those that use and support the library and to those that don’t.