Category: libraries now!
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We Live in a World of Bad Text
Obamacare vs The Affordable Care Act Fake news versus propaganda . . . (one more) Alt–right versus white supremacist ripped from the womb vs late term abortion * * * There is power in names, in language, in how we describe things and what we call them. When female authors write under male pen names (or just use their…
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Management According to Hamilton: Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton Their name is Alexander Hamilton, and don’t you forget it. In fact, you couldn’t, even if you tried. This employee doesn’t usually stay around too long, but when they’re in your organization, you can’t avoid hearing their name. They work their way into the best projects and onto the most interesting committees,…
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Hi, Miss Julie’s Loves of Librarianship
Libraries are for everyone Everyone benefits from libraries, whether they use them or not Make every interaction delightful, wherever it happens A degree does not a librarian make Every library its community, and every community its library Libraries are for everyone Libraries are for everyone in your community, whether they are homeless, trans, on the spectrum,…
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Picture it: a program
Do you want a program that you can do at your library that is: intergenerational? collaborative? creative? involves multiple departments, including tech services? celebrates picture books and novels? Well, here it is: Buy a bunch of blank books from Bare Books. They have paperbacks, picture books, graphic novels, board books–all of them blank and ready…
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Out of STEAM
I have a confession to make: I don’t care about STEM. Or STEAM. Or even STREAM. I just don’t care. .fin. Ha, no, just kidding. Here’s what I love: The Boombox at Skokie Public Library. They had a ton of middle schoolers who needed something to do and exposure to teach, so they decided the library…
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libraries are not neutral spaces, and neither is the human heart
I’ve heard it in more than one training and workshop that part of customer service is when you’re faced with an unhappy or even irate patron, you should consider what has happened in their day, their week, their life, up until that very moment, that might be causing their distress. If there is an outburst,…
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Why Kids Need to Read What They Want
In the most recent edition of Cover to Cover by K.T. Horning, there are no early childhood, middle grade, or ya distinctions in books for children. Encompassing fiction and nonfiction, the breakdown is: Picture books (including board books) Readers/Beginning Readers/Easy Readers Transitional books Chapter books That’s it. We have those formats, and within those formats, every genre is…
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Every Action Has an Equal, Opposite Reaction
In my post Where Do The Teens Go? I posited a Youth Services Department which is formed around a core staff of four two-person teams. Ideally they would all be full time, but that might vary depending on the size of your community and the number of schools you serve. Certainly some of the positions…
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Where Do The Teens Go?
Where do the teens go? (saxophone solo) Where do the teens go? I’ve long had a belief that service and programs in the public library, especially Youth Services (if you define Youth Services as 0-18), is a conveyor belt of sorts. We start with children in lapsit storytime, and our ultimate goal should be to create…
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Private Lives
Or, Private Eyes Are Watching You. Everyone (paid or unpaid) who provides governance, administration or service in libraries has a responsibility to maintain an environment respectful and protective of the privacy of all users. Users have the responsibility to respect each others’ privacy. – http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/privacy I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in public facebook groups dedicated…
Hi, Miss Julie 