World Book Night January 17, 2012
Posted by lessalibrarian in Programs.Tags: world book night
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Hmmm… This sounds interesting, but I just found out about it and am not sure how to go about incorporating it with my Teens. Anyone else participating individually or with a group?
The main idea is to have 30 free book sent to you and then you are supposed to go out at night and distribute those books to complete strangers – they want to reach people who don’t normally read or may not have access to books, but they are pretty insistent on giving the books to strangers and making sure you don’t know the person. They also want individuals only to sign up, not groups… hmm…
FYI. The deadline to submit an application is Feb. 1.
January Teen Programs January 16, 2012
Posted by lessalibrarian in Programs.Tags: Redondo Beach Public Library, teen advisory council, Teen Programming, teens, video games, xbox kinect
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This month, my TAC meeting was the very first day the kids were back in school from Winter Break. I had to admit, I was almost certain no one was going to show up, so I was preparing myself for an extra hour of catch-up work. Surprisingly, I was wrong. There were only2 teens absent. After last month’s TAC meeting, I was seriously trying to figure out how the heck to get the teens to talk more. The usual ice breakers weren’t working, so this month I went for Human Bingo. When I remember, I’ll post my human bingo board, but, seeing as I’ve been trying to do that for 2 weeks and I haven’t been successful, I’ll just post someone else’s for those who don’t know what it is. Basically, you create a bingo board with human characteristics – they can be physical appearances, likes/dislikes, places visited, sports played, etc.
I have to say that the human bingo went over really well. They all got to know a little more about each other and they all actually talked to each other. One thing that was a little dismaying was that for one of the boxes, I put “Likes to Read” and when we were playing for blackout no one would admit to liking to read so they all asked me to sign my name. It was a very interesting revelation and kind of made my question why exactly they chose the library for their volunteer hours. Ease? Location? Our awesome Graphic Novel section? Maybe I’ll ask them at next month’s meeting… Give them a little survey on how we can improve TAC.
Something I also discovered this month… RBPL teens are not into video games at the library apparently. Or, at least Dance Central 2 & Kinect Sports. My program for January was a New Year’s Resolution themed program – Get Fit with Video Games – I had available the two games I just mentioned, plus stuff to make trail mix and we were supposed to have stuff to make tea (Jan is also Tea Month) but I couldn’t pull it off so I just bought some tea in case any teens were interested. I was pretty excited about it. Especially since this was the first Teen program that I did where I was in charge from inception to implementation. Sadly, though, only 1 teen showed up. She had a blast though and played Dance Central for almost an hour straight. 45 minutes in, I dunno if she felt bad for me or what, but she asked me to battle, so I played with her for a little bit. Some younger kids peeked their heads in, and I asked if they wanted to stay since the teen that was there was only in 7th grade, and these looked like 5th or 6th graders, but they said no, that they had to leave and they just wanted to see what was going on. So, disappointing in the lack of attendance, but at least the one who did attend loved it. Luckily, it was a pretty cheap program to put on and I now have trail mix for days…
Next month I’m throwing an Un-Valentine’s Day Party on Valentine’s day, so we’ll see what attendance is like… Below are pictures from the program!
Job Application Stats December 29, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Librarianship.Tags: job applications, Job Searching, lessons learned, library jobs
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Back in September, I totaled my overall Job applications stats to date. Here, I’d like to reflect on my job search in 2011 and what I learned since I don’t think I’ll be applying to anymore jobs in the next few days. In 2011, I expanded my criteria for jobs, applying to jobs which are not in the LA area, and which are sometimes not in California.
In 2011…
I applied to 11 jobs
I went on 6 interviews
I filled out 1 supplemental application beyond the initial one included with the application
and I took 1 written exam
Out of those interviews, I received 1 job offer for my part-time LAPL substitute position that I have only been able to go to once, 2 of those interviews were phone interviews, and at one place, I made it to the second round, out of which they picked the candidate, so that’s not too shabby.
What I learned…
- Phone interviews are scary, but, according to the librarians who conducted it on the other end, I came across friendly, confident, and knowledgeable, which they said is difficult to do. They are also awesome because you don’t have to dress up – although I did for both. The first one because it was supposed to be a Skype interview, but they couldn’t get the Skype to work on their end, and the second one because I had to leave for work as soon as my interview ended.
- Read all job postings very carefully. For one job, I found out that there was a caveat – they were only reading the first 200 applications and I took my time with my supplemental questions and turned it in the day before it was due. Apparently there were more than 200 applications and mine was never read (and let me tell you, it was an amazing supplemental application). In the postings on list-servs and the job application descriptions I read I never saw this announcement, but a peer said that they saw it in one of the postings on a list-serv, so I need to read all of them and read them thoroughly and don’t procrastinate and turn in the application with plenty of time to spare
- Don’t get too comfortable. Depending on the interviewers and their style, sometimes I get too comfortable with my answers. Interviews are not a time to be playful or joke around, no matter how the interviewer may seem. You never know how your words can be misconstrued and since its a high stress situation and you’re kind of on edge anyways, who knows what will come out of your mouth.
- Be descriptive. Sometimes places don’t even look at my application because I’m only part-time and they feel that I haven’t worked enough hours to meet their minimum 2-years experience requirements. One HR department let my friend in on a little secret – list everything. List hours worked, # of months doing out of classification work, paid and non-paid professional level work. Some places literally count minutes on the HR part of your application, so make sure you’re well-represented.
Here’s to lessons learned in 2011, an interview the first week of 2012, and hopefully a shot at a full-time job.
Altoid Tin Makeover Craft for Teens December 28, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Programs.Tags: altoid tin craft, altoid tins, first aid kit, Redondo Beach Public Library, Teen Programming, teens, travel games craft, zen garden
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This post is long overdue. A few weeks ago, I hosted the last of the programs planned by my awesome predecessor at RBPL who moved to Kentucky and is now a wonderful, doting father to a handsome little guy named Atlas. Seriously. That’s a pretty awesome name and you know he’s gonna be super buff.
Anyways, I was left with a program title and the ever fateful words, “If you Goggle it, you’ll see a lot of really cool ideas”. I did, and I sure did. The options for converting old Altoid Tins into other fun stuff were overwhelming. I picked my 6 favorite, most shoe-string friendly, teen appealing options and had my TAC vote on their 3 favorite. I like to give the kids options. A lot of the supplies I brought from home. The Altoid Tins were collected before I was involved with Teen programming, but I suspect they were staff donations. I brought my iPod for them to listen to music because the awkward silence is really too much for me to handle and I facilitated a little bit of conversation but not too much. I also told my first parent that she couldn’t hang out — the program was for teens and she was welcome to come back at 4:30 to see what her very capable teens came up with. And creativity flowed through the room. Check out the photos below of some of the results!
the three options:
First Aid Kit: In the first aid kit, I offered cotton swabs, gauze pads, bandages, hand sanitizing towelettes, alcohol wipes, tylenol caplets, and a little baggie to keep things sterile. All of this was purchased mostly by me because the kids didn’t use too many of them and I can always use first aid supplies. A lot of it was bought from the 99 cent store, so its not like I was out a ton of money either…
Travel Games: This one was my favorite and required the least number of supplies. I printed the template available at instructables and bought some sculpy from Joanns for game pieces which I baked in the oven while the kids finished up with other parts of their craft.
Zen Garden: All we needed was sand and rocks, readily available at the beach. I used some old tongue depressors which have been sitting in my craft box for years and skewers so the teens could make rakes. This one took the least amount of time to make — under 10 minutes, but garnered the highest number of votes from TAC which surprised me.
The Results!
This was my favorite first aid kit made for the day. I asked her if she was a girl scout, and of course she said yes…
The teens got super creative with their game pieces (see photo below) and for the photo above, the teen actually made up her own game within the game pieces – each red square has a design that matches a brown square to create a kind of matching game.
I forgot to bring a pan from home and this was all I could find in the kitchen... We improvised.
All the Zen gardens came out looking more or less the same but the size of the rakes varied greatly. This is one of the larger rakes made that day…
let the 2011 best of… begin! December 28, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Just for Fun, Uncategorized.Tags: american library association, best of, best of 2011, rita williams garcia
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so 2011 has been a long, rough year. I lost my grandmother who played a very large role in my life and spent the rest of the year having firsts without her. Like the first time I went on vacation and didn’t bring her back a gift. Or the first time we had a big family party without her. Stuff like that. But, a lot of good happened in 2011 also, and let’s focus on some of that… We’ll start with something simple.
The top 3 places I visited in 2011:
1. NY, NY: In Jan, I accompanied my mother-in-law to Manhattan. I have to say that the isle is truly magical and I loved it, although I missed my husband dearly. My first time being in non-man made, all encompassing snow was heavenly — even if I did have to trudge across central park from t he Natural History Museum to the Met in freezing rain. I can’t wait to go again next month!
2. Kauai: In August, Christian and I visited Kaua’i for the first time. Eventually we would like to see all of the islands — So far, we’ve seen 3. I went to Kaua’i when I was a baby, so this was my first time in my accessible memory visiting and I liked it a lot. I focused on relaxing, ignoring my smart phone except for pictures and directions, and just enjoying the ‘aina. And boy did I…
3. NOLA: In June, I visited New Orleans for the American Library Association Annual Conference and I had a blast! It was hot and muggy and I needed to shower at least twice a day, but I ate some amazing food, got to spend time with some stellar librarians, and learned a lot about traveling alone and the kindness of strangers.
The top 3 books I read in 2011: (I’m picking 1 adult, 1 YA, & 1 children’s)
1. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Possibly one of the best books I’ve read ever — amongst Childrens & Adults. The story was vivid, the characters flushed out, AND it was historical fiction. I learned a little about the black panthers and the economic climate after MLK’s death. I learned a little about 3 little girls from brooklyn and their crazy poet mother
2. Crank Series by Ellen Hopkins
The first novels that I’ve ever read and actually finished in verse and I understood why people enjoy reading this type of format. The subject matter lent itself to using the imagination just a little bit more…
3. Beloved by Toni Morrison
I think this book needs no introduction…
The top 3 movies I saw in 2011…
1. The Muppets: Feel good movie of the year. Seriously. I was having a terrible day when I went to see this movie. When I left, I hadn’t a care in the world and wanted to do nothing but sing and dance.
2. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: The last movie and my last time standing in a very cold line very late at night for J.K. Rowling’s film adaptations of her books. A solid movie, although I was disappointed they wanted to ruin it with the epilogue from the book. Like the book, the movie ends for me before the epilogue, so that I can continue to use my imagination to determine who Harry, Ron, and Hermoine live out their lives. This is primarily because I cannot stand Ginny and as my husband says, what the epilogue teaches us is that the important thing is to drop out of school and have babies.
3. Bridesmaids: If you haven’t seen this movie, you haven’t lived. Get out there and see it. Seriously.
2012 Talk Story Grant Applications now available! December 20, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Librarianship.Tags: AILA, APALA, Grants, talk story, Toyota Financial Services
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Please visit the Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture Grants section of the website for an application.
Applications are due Feb. 1, 2012.
Funding is generously aided by Toyota Financial Services!
2012 Excitement December 8, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Uncategorized.add a comment
So apparently 2012 is going to be a big year in terms of publishing in our house.
In Feb, March, and April, my husband will have poems published in Conceit Magazine
The week of May 14, our book, Hawaiians in Los Angeles will be published by Arcadia Publishing!
December, December and Teen Advisory Council December 7, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Librarianship, Programs.Tags: teen advisory council, teen appeal, teens
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Wow! I can’t believe 2011 is almost over. Well, I can. It’s been a really long year and I can’t say that I’m sorry to see it go. I guess its time to start reflecting on 2011 and doing some best of… posts like I did last year. Which reminds me… It’s been over a year since i re-vamped this blog and started writing in/on? it again. yay! happy anniversary, blog!
The real point of this post though, is not to reflect on the year as a whole, but to reflect on my Teen Advisory Council meetings. I feel like I’m not engaging the teens enough and I’m trying to figure out how to give them ownership of the council and voice. I can’t tell if they don’t talk because they’re uncomfortable, because they don’t want to be there, or I’m boring them to death. Since this was only my 4th TAC meeting, and 3rd meeting Solo, I think this is a good time to figure out some improvements so that Jan – June will be stellar.
Here are a few ideas I’ve had:
- Have a different TAC member lead each meeting. While its too late in the year for each TAC member to do one, maybe the super into it TAC members will at least help out by taking on a few. Then, if this works, this can be the precedence for next year’s TAC meetings
- Survey time. What better, more librarian way is there to find out what people want than by giving them a survey? For January’s meeting, I’m going to make short, 5-6 question surveys on what they want from TAC, how I can improve TAC, and what we can do as a group
- Do some kind of activity in each meeting. I’ve done ice breakers, but I feel like those are too isolated. Maybe some kind of group activity. For Teen Tech Week in March I’m planning a fun activity, but maybe I should incorporate this into every meeting and not just occasionally.
My main thing is that I don’t want this to be like school. I don’t want to force them to do anything and I want them to have fun. What’s interesting is I feel like I can tell the difference between the kids who are there by force (either parent or school) or by free-will. The teens who are there because they enjoy it you can tell. They participate and smile and look like they’re enjoying themselves. The ones who are there because of some kind of force are much quieter, try to avoid eye contact, and, I’m pretty sure don’t enjoy the sound of my voice.
What do you guys do in your TAC meetings? Have you experienced similar problems? Today the teens got excited when I mentioned having a Zombie program in May. But then when I asked for more feedback than smiles and nods they looked miserable again. I guess I could always assign them tasks but I feel like that might be too “forced”. One TAC member brought up the idea of an Easter Egg hunt for the students and she’s also in charge of making a TAC FB page. Maybe all the others need are direction, something a little more concrete, a task of some sort to make them more interested. Because now that I think about it, that’s how I am in meetings today. But as soon as there is a concrete task for me to do I’m all over it…
At what point does the librarian have too much control over TAC and not give the kids enough free reign? Is it when the kids don’t take initiative that the librarian needs to step in? I think this is where my need to delegate comes in. Maybe the key is for me to plan things but assign them tasks to perform…
What do you guys think? I think I’m rambling now, so I’m going to be quiet and think of something to delegate instead…
Cookies & Cards November 15, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Programs.Tags: cookies and cards, isabella's cookie company, Teen Programming, teens
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I have totally been forgetting to post about this program, but a few weeks ago we did the program Cookies & Cards. We ate cookies donated by the local Isabella’s Cookie Company and we also made holiday cards for the local senior citizens. About 7 teens showed up, many who weren’t already part of TAC, and they made some super creative cards!
Zombies in the Library November 12, 2011
Posted by lessalibrarian in Programs.Tags: Teen Programming, teens, zombies
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Some ZombiGami made by the folks at Horn Book
Even though I’m not really into zombies personally, I recognize that the rest of the world is and is influenced by tv shows like walking dead and the plethora of Zombie movies, survival guides, and apocalypse type stuff that’s been coming out now. Which is why I’m brainstorming a Zombie program – which seems to be the “in” YA thing right now, with people having Zombie days, Zombie proms, and the like. While I’m sure I wouldn’t go super all out (budget, time, and space are issues at RBPL), some of the simpler stuff is totally doable, like ZombiGami!
