Category Archives: library

What to Read Next???

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I find it harder and harder to keep up with finding, reading/reviewing and buying new books for our Library collection. The number of books for YA have grown each year and I just don’t find the time to keep up. (I am still about 6 months behind is reading Booklist – a magazine book buyer/reader advisory publication)

So when I saw another Librarian posted the question? “How do you keep up-to-date on the best and trending children’s and teen books?” to a Library Listserv I was interested to see the results – and oh there were many.


Some go traditional and use print media (also available digitally) targeted at Librarians and Booksellers: The Horn Book, School Library Journal, Booklist, Bookmarks, Gale/Cengage, Salem Press, Greenhaven, Lerner or Cavendish Square


Use digital media targeted at Librarians and Booksellers:
 Netgalley, Edelweiss, Titlewave, Kirkus reviews, Junior Library Guild


Some use publisher’s lists, print or digital media targeted at the everyday reader:
NY TImes Books, NPR, Paste Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly newsletters, 
NYTimes book supplement, and Indie Next list.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgtorOQ4j79YmD-Rggl04XlLetU9M_c37


Some use the blogs and listservs written by Librarians or Library groups:
VOYA
YALSAHub http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/
yalsa-bk https://lists.ala.org/sympa/info/yalsa-bk


And then there are those who are just passionate about books and reading and want to tell the whole world through :

Edi Campbell’s blog https://crazyquiltedi.blog/
Lee & Low, #weneeddiversebooks https://www.leeandlow.com/
Bookish
Rich in Color
BookRiot
2020 YA/MG Books with POC Leads https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/124900.2020_YA_MG_Books_With_POC_Leads
We Need Diverse Books
The Brown Bookshelf
American Indians in Children’s Literature
Reading While White (on this blog, there is a list in the right-hand column of “Kindred Spirits”–other blogs with a similar purpose)
Pinterest lists


And some have time to keep lists that they share with others:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12-HyFGc5xQB7yigy0J8L1RVnh9jvWm02L27FpLhpaW4/edit#gid=744337181


Personally, I just can’t keep up with it – sad to say that I bought one of these books a couple years ago (after hearing Michael Cart speak at a conference) and I still haven’t finished it, and it’s only 105 pages!



When I was in Library school I was reading 4-5 Young Adults books a week minimum, now I am lucky to finish 1 book a week – where has all my time gone! I am like our students, I took a stack of books home over Christmas break and they are still there – unread in a pile in my living room – and then feeling guilty that I am keeping them from someone else reading them. So now my goal is to spend 30 minutes each day reading one of my advisory magazines, books or blogs and hoping that I can get back into a daily routine of staying just a little up to date on what is going on in bookland. 

Art and Literature in Real Life

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Art and Literature in Real Life

Kate and I collaborated on English I outside reading during the Fall Semester–Book Folder Reports.
As part of the assignment students created a marketing tool for each book they read–this was a colored folder that was decorated with cover art and included information on the book characters, plot and read-alikes.
For the cover art, students could print out or reproduce the cover on the book they read or they could create their own unique cover.
One student, Eunice Casa, was really attracted to this aspect of the assignment and came up with a unique cover for the book: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zapia.
Original Bookcover
Even better than that, after the assignment was completed, Eunice continued to work on her art and eventually came up with a new version which she posted to Instagram (tagging the author).
Eunice with her Book Folder Project and the revised artwork post on Instagram.
Last week, Eunice came bouncing into the library with Kate to tell us that the author had seen her post and commented how much she “loved it”. This week Eunice came bouncing in again to tell us that the author had even re-posted Eunice’s artwork on her own account.
This intersection of art, literature and real life really made this student come alive this is why we do what we do. To have our students come alive–to further their studies on their own after being sparked by something in our classrooms.

Genre–What?: Creating a more Student-Centered Library

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Our Library has gone through several transformations since the January.

First, the Fiction was broken out into 10 subject-based genres. These topics were decided on based on student request of books for their outside reading in English.

Genre Fiction: Realistic (orange) & Made Me Cry (blue)

Genre Fiction: Touch of Magic & Historical

Now fiction books are sorted into Faith, Mystery/Suspense, Horror/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Touch of Magic, Romance/Relationships, Historical, Literary Classics, Realistic & AWW/Made me Cry.

Second, the library physical space was reorganized. Eliminating the rows of computers and adding more chairs to the existing tables encouraging more student interactions.

Third, new furniture was ordered and finally arrived (this week!). The taller bistro/cafe tables are a big hit in the library and the perfect height for helping students with their work.

Finally, the books are moving again as we begin to make cross-curricular and interdisciplinary connections between non-fiction and fiction topics. One example is in 940.53 (World War II) memoirs and first-person accounts of the Holocaust, Japanese Interment or life as a solider are paired with novels on the same topics. This necessitated adding new stickers to the books so our students could clearly determine if the book they picked up is non-fiction or fiction.

Soon additional sections that will appear in the non-fiction are Books based on Shakespeare and Serious/Terminal illnesses (think John Greene’s The Fault in Our Stars).

Chaos in the Library

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This week we have been having Frosh English classes into the library for a short library orientation and to choose their outside reading book.

During third period on Wednesday, as the students swarmed the stacks,  I became overwhelmed with answering questions and checking out books. Mary Beth Dittrich who was working at a table during her prep started to help students locate books and answer questions.

Thanks to her several students found the books they wanted and also had an interesting conversation along the way.

In the end, over 50 books were checked out to students for their outside reading enjoyment and our shelves have more space. Which the interns like–it is easier to re-shelve the books.