PSSST…Secret CIA Information

Do you want the latest, most up-to-date, country information for your student’s report? The best site I’ve found is the CIA’s World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ As of this posting, the site was last updated on August 7, 2008. And, here’s the best part: It’s Free! Not to mention how cool it will be to cite the CIA as your information source! Talk about inside information.

Cramming for the GED

I saw a sign years ago that I would like to put up at the library. It states “Poor Planning on Your Part Does Not Constitute an Emergency on Our Part.” Such a sign would have been handy the other day when a patron came in requesting, as she put it, books about reading, math, social sciences, and biology. As my assistant worked to find books fitting this very generic description, the patron indicated that she was really in a hurry because Continue Reading »

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is about an elementary school student with attention-deficit disorder. Joey tries very, very hard to follow the rules, but between his disorder and his vivid imagination, he finds staying out of trouble to be quite difficult (often with humorous results). The author of the Joey Pigza books, Jack Gantos, does a phenomenal job of reaching into Joey’s head and Continue Reading »

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twisted is a coming of age story about a boy of nearly eighteen who is facing many challenges in his life. He is no angel, but he is not the bad boy everyone seems to believe he is. His home life is troubled, and his future is uncertain. When he is falsely accused of a crime that could very well send him to prison, he loses hope and seriously contemplates Continue Reading »

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

For good reason, library policy states that only parents or legal guardians can sign for library cards for children. I have met many well-meaning grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others to whom I’ve had to recite this policy. As an extra precaution, we ask not “Are you the child’s mother?” but “What is your relationship to the child?” When someone does claim legal guardianship, we ask for Continue Reading »

Much Ado About Shakespeare

Perhaps it’s the spring weather that has sprouted the Shakespeare phenomenon at my house, or perhaps it is mere coincidence, but Shakespeare is everywhere I turn lately. First a friend of mine invited me to see a Shakespeare play at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. Then, my sixth grade son began spouting lines from the oft-quoted balcony scene in Continue Reading »

Secrets of Dripping Fang

It’s gross! Giant ants collect nasal drippings and stinky-foot odor to feed their ant larvae. It’s absurd! For example, a professor is married to a giant spider. It’s hilarious! The children are orphaned in part because of an unfortunate port-a-potty incident. And sometimes it’s a bit Continue Reading »

Reading Makes You Smart!

Recently, an adult came in to the children’s department and selected a number of juvenile non-fiction titles. Before she left, I asked her if she had found everything she needed. She replied that she had found what she was looking for and added, “I like to read about a lot of subjects, and I prefer to read the children’s books because they are Continue Reading »

“Isth a disthasther!” or The case of the missing teeth

One of my assistants has spent the better part of a week digging around in her basement, rummaging through boxes of flotsam and jetsam in search of a missing set of dentures. Why? Because I mentioned that I was doing a story-time about teeth and would be reading a story about a grandfather who awakens one morning to discover Continue Reading »

What’s in the bag?

My boss tells the following story from her days as a reference librarian. One day a patron approached her and asked for a book about snakes, particularly snakes in that region of Florida. After she had retrieved some snake books, her eyes fell on the paper bag that the patron had placed on the counter. “What’s in the bag?” she asked. Continue Reading »

Why I hate the Accelerated Reader Program

Recently, a mother came up to the desk with her third-grade daughter. The daughter had selected a book about horses that she seemed very eager to read. The mother asked me if it was on the Accelerated Reader list. It was not. “Well,” she said, “there’s no point in my daughter reading this book if she can’t get points for it.” The child was then made to put the book back on the shelf. Need I say more… Continue Reading »

Reading on the job

I supervise four library assistants, and I encourage them to read as many children’s books as possible. My rule about reading on the job is simple: If we are slow, by all means read a book; but, it must be a children’s book. One of my assistants is a college-aged girl who recently discovered Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who thinks he’s a chihuahua. It is hysterical. Continue Reading »

Spam Sandwiches

The Trap by John Smelcer grabbed my attention because of it’s cover. Drops of blood on the snow near an animal trap led me to want to learn more about the story. Survival stories can be quite riveting, and I was in the mood for a fast-paced and gripping read. The story, set in Alaska among a Native American community, is beautifully told. The grandfather’s fight for survival is excrutiating to read about because as the reader you feel his pain and frustration. Continue Reading »

Hi, I’m Joel and I’m an addict!

A few months ago, Allie recommended that I get some audio-books to help me pass the time while commuting to and from work each day. She selected the prequel to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time Series, but neglected to mention that it was the beginning of a very long series. The next thing I knew, I was hooked. It was nice. Bad traffic was no longer a problem. No road rage for me. I would just sit and listen to my book. Sometimes I would remain in the driveway after returning home because I just couldn’t “put the book down.” Continue Reading »

Discovering Jane Eyre

As an undergraduate, I majored in English literature. Except for the grammar classes, I loved every minute of it. I read books I never would have read otherwise, like Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. At first, I dearly hated that book. It was, I thought, impossible to read, but I pressed on. Today, I count it among my favorite books. Unfortunately, even an English major does not read everything, and somehow I missed the classic Charlotte Bronte novel, Jane Eyre. Recently, I stumbled upon Jane Eyre through the unexpected activity of Continue Reading »

Chicken Walks in to the Library - Ha! Ha!

A chicken walked in to the library, went up to the librarian, flapped her wings and said, “Bok! Bok!” The librarian reached behind her, grabbed a book, and placed it under the chicken’s wing. And, out the door, the chicken waddled.
A few minutes later, the chicken returned. She placed the book on the counter, looked at the librarian, flapped her wings, and said, “Bok! Bok!” The librarian shrugged, reached for another book, placed it under the chicken’s wing. And out the door the chicken waddled. Continue Reading »

Between the “O” and the “P”

Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting a class of kindergartners for a story-time and a tour of the library. I was reading the book, Curious George Goes to the Library by H. A. Rey. At one point in the story, Curious George rides a book-cart into a stack of encyclopedias. He goes flying up into the air with the books, then lands between the “O” and the “P”. As I read this line, I happened to notice Continue Reading »

No I won’t wear a Beaver costume

One of the hazards of my profession is that I am often approached by self-published authors, self-professed performers, and other similar self-promoters who want to do a “free” program at the library. This translates to: “I can’t get anyone to pay me to do this, but I’m sure I’ll be rich and famous if I can just get some people to notice me.” Don’t get me wrong. Continue Reading »

Not all information is good information

Go to martinlutherking.org and you will find offensive and inflammatory material written by Klan sympathizers. Countless students will no doubt discover this page quite innocently as they prepare to do school reports. This web-page is a blatant example of why Google is not a replacement for libraries. Students often think that whatever material they find on the Internet is factual information. Sometimes adults also fall victim to this kind of thinking and fail to Continue Reading »

Where’s my Powerpoint presentation?

Recently, a teenager waved me over to the computer on which she was working and asked for my help in accessing her PowerPoint presentation. Thinking that she had never before created a PowerPoint, I was preparing to walk her through it. However, her problem was not what I expected. She opened up the PowerPoint program, and then Continue Reading »