Book Fair was a great success!

Thank you to all who supported the Labay library by purchasing items at our book fair. The library was able to purchase several new titles to add to our collection! I am very excited to add some graphic novels, popular fiction titles, as well as some non-fiction titles!
Thanks to everyone who helped out!

Book Review - North of Beautiful

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley was not what I was expecting. I thought I would be reading a book about typical teen-girl self-consciousness: a Cinderella story where a girl who doesn't know she is pretty catches the eye of the popular guy at school.
How wrong I was!! This was a GREAT book! Terra has a birthmark across her cheek, so she compensates by religiously working out and wearing pounds of make up. Her home life is awful - her father is a bully - not a physical abuser, but he shames and emotionally abuses Terra and her overweight mother.
When Terra and her mother run into Jacob and his adoptive mother (quite literally...they get into a car accident), they form a supportive and lasting friendship. Terra begins to have feelings for Jacob and must wrestle with them - afterall, she does have a "hot" boyfriend from school.
Jacob helps Terra to see that beauty is more than just what is outside, and he helps her to become a stronger person emotionally.
LOVE IT! It was a great teen read, and better than many of the girl-meets-boy books that have been inundating the library shelves. In fact, I think I'll go read it again!!

Let Freedom Ning!

Social networking sites are as popular as i-Phones and the Kardashians, so why not use this to a library's advantage? By creating a ning, or a social networking site that links people through their interests, hobbies, or passions, librarians can link their patrons as well as their communities. Users can add value to the ning by adding book reviews, trailers, podcasts, and links to great articles that they find. This means that nings do not have to be designated as "for school patrons only", unless, of course that is what one wants. Rather I see the ning as a place where librarians can gather and add valuable information. Everyone who loves books in the community can join the ning - teachers, parents, students, etc.
One drawback I foresee is moderation of the users. If we have learned anything from Facebook and MySpace, the social networking sites can be places full of inappropriate comments and cyber-bullying. One must stay on their toes in order to use this technology. But if you can stay on your toes, you can keep the ning a place of healthy discussion and exchanging of ideas!

Online video and file conversion

Gone are the days of pen and paper reports. Today, many teachers and students are using various types of media to present information in the classroom. Information can be obtained throught several video sites such as Youtube and Teachertube, and it seems everyday someone is asking me how to embed these videos into lessons or projects.

Librarians are also utilizing this platform to get information to their patrons. I have used book trailers to get students interested in current novels available at the library, and I have used movie trailers from Youtube to advertise great books that have been turned into movies (i.e., the Twilight series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Percy Jackson to name a few.) Other librarians have created videos and sketches to show patrons what technology and other information they can find in the library, and they will also post these to sites such as Youtube. However, getting these youtube or teachertube clips off of the Internet and in view of students can be difficult.

There are tools available on the Internet that will allow someone to pull a video off a site and download it onto their computer. Sites such as keepvid and zamzar make it easy to pull videos and place them into your presentations! These two sites are great tools to help librarians put even more information in the hands of their patrons!

Check out what this library posted on Youtube! This is a great way to entertain the students as well as inform them of library technology!

RSS feeders - is there anything they can't do?

An RSS reader allows a person to subscribe to various websites and blogs that are updated daily. In order to do this, one must create a reader account (I chose google reader), then subscribe to the websites by locating an orange box with white lines in it (like the one to the right).

When looking at the directions for subscribing to an online news source, whether it be a blog, news site, or forum, you would think I would have it nailed down (find the orange box with the white lines, click it, fill out the info, and voila! you have subscribed). So why is it that I cannot find a little orange box to save my life?! Everyone wants me to be a facebook fan, watch them Tweet, or listen to their podcast! To think outside the box, I decided to just create my own subscriptions in google reader, and I must say, it is much easier! I am now subscribed to TLA, online books, the Houston Chronicle, and the Shifted Librarian. I easily subscribed to a few blogs based on my interests in library-ing as well, like (ir)Responsible Reading, Don't Make Me Shush You, and a few book trailer and online novel sites. Searching for these sites was done in a couple of ways. I first looked at my favorites on my computer and checked to see if any of those sites had feeds. I then began searching the Web for sites that were related to my profession. Finally, I narrowed my selection down to a few that I hope will be meaningful. I chose these sites for many reasons - they have to do with books, libraries, and current events. I like the fact that the google reader site keeps all of my subscriptions, both online and on blogspot, together. It is like one stop shopping!
Something like the RSS readers can help schools by enabling users to keep everything together and allow them to see when information is updated. Students can use it for research projects, current events (such as the Gulf oil spill, elections, and Tony awards), and general information!

The summer begins! And so does my blog!

Happy summer, everyone! Today I am beginning my blog, and I am terribly excited about it! This blog will be dedicated to books, book trailers, and new instructional technology. In order to create this blog, I had to read up on some blog "etiquette", so to speak. I understand that I shouldn't ramble. So if I do, someone out there please comment on that (rambling is a weakness of mine). I also understand that I should have links and tags within my blog entries to clarify or expand upon information. Finally, I figured out that I should write for my community of readers, which is you! I need to be entertaining, quick to the point, and educational all at the same time. I think I'm ready! Watch out World Wide Web! Here comes a blog from a middle school librarian!!