The library is hip....I checked out these movies/music from my library!

Mostly Martha
The Triplets of Bellville
El Bola
Empire Records
He Died With a Falafel in His Hand
(sorry I'm too lazy right now to give you reviews but they are all really good!)

Jay-Z - The Black Album
Kanye West - College Dropout
Joss Stone - Soul Sessions
Hole - Live Through This (high school flashback)
Putumayo presents - Afrorock/Puerto Rico/Salsa and more

I liked Kanye West and Joss Stone enough to buy my own cds after listening to library ones. Late Twentysomething patrons appreciate the new sounds but we still need a core collection for the moments when we want to return to our "grunge" roots.

Approachable Librarian

Lately I have had this thing with chewing gum. Don't throw your hands up in the air. I chew it very discreetly at the information desk. It does two things for me. Belive it or not, chewing gum helps me chill out. Though most of my family and friends would gush about how I'm such an extrovert- I still have an occasional issue with social anxiety. Sometimes I have to force myself to ask young adults if they are finding the books that they need or if they need assistance. I like to be the approachable librarian not the intruding librarian. Another reason for my gum chewing is simple- I don't like to let on to all my patrons that I cook with lots of garlic and onions. Remember that teacher in school who always had coffee breath from hell? Well I still do....and I don't want to be her. By the way, don't write to me suggesting I try Altoids (I have and they don't do anything for me). Are you still reading? What are your coping strategies? If they abolish my gum habit, I just might have to picket.

2 days until Summer Reading! If you advertise they will come

Okay look.... they actually started asking for info on the summer reading program two weeks ago. I was thrilled and happily began handing out SRP entry logs. Within a day or so they turned them in and asked for more. School has been out for just a few days and they are coming in droves. They are leaving with armfuls of YA fiction, horror, graphic novels, do-it-yourself manuals, cd's. I love the buzz in the library right now. It is electric. I hope it continues through the summer!

"Someone said I could like...register to vote here?"

I've been looking everywhere for a t-shirt that says, "register to vote at your library". So far I've come up with nothing. As the big election draws nearer I think that I may have to just design it myself. I want to create a little sign for my car window too. We don't exactly publish this information on our website or in our calendar of events- at least I haven't seen it yet. People approach the information desk daily with the timid question. Secretly I wish I could wrap the library with a giant flashy banner so everyone would know. Because not so long ago I was one of them. No one ever told me that I could register at the library.

Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes/ Well worth your time

I sift through so many YA books each week. It is an experience when I find one that such pleasure to read. This is not to say that there is a shortage of good YA lit, just that I'm still playing young librarian catch-up so I try to read it all. Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed. The story of death of Olive Barstow just lifts off the pages. Henkes communicates the sense of uncertainty and immortality with such ease.