Library Love--Get Outside your Bubble

My favorite Valentine was a letter from a Storytimer at my old library

I am feeling the library love today! It's so wonderful to visit other libraries and get ideas, insight and just experience something different. I highly recommend making the effort to get out of your bubble and visiting libraries outside your system.

Yesterday I took a trip to visit Marge (Tiny Tips for Library Fun) and Sara (Bryce Don't Play)* at their library a few hours away. It was awesome to get a behind-the-scenes look at all the cool things they're doing at their library. It's always so refreshing to talk to Marge--five minutes talking to her can literally change my whole outlook on something.

Sara and I are presenting together this April with Anne (So Tomorrow), so part of the purpose of my trip was to get some work done on our presentation,** but I also got to sit in on one of Sara's fantastic Elementary-age programs (I warned her I would be creepin' on her, so it wasn't like this***).

I totally admire Sara's talent for school-aged programming, and she's planning to blog about the program I attended, "Wild Record Wednesdays." It was another great, simple program idea that WORKS. But more than the program idea, I really appreciated the ability to see how she runs her programs. From when to call a no-show (which it looked like at first), to dealing with non-ideal behavior, to seeing her style of interacting with the kids and conducting the program, it made me feel really invigorated to actually *see* someone else doing what I do and how she does it.

Today I stopped by the library closest to my house, which is in a different system from the library where I work. I just spent about ten minutes strolling around and looking at how they do things. What kinds of displays do they have? How are they communicating with their patrons? What kinds of programs are they doing? In this case it was really interesting because I could see different ways this library was implementing the same programs that my library does since we're in the same consortium.

It's definitely worth the effort to get out and see and celebrate what others are doing.

Superfluous cute story:

My favorite moment was walking past an early literacy installation, which happened to be a bus complete with a steering wheel, the little girl 'driving' the bus invited me to, "Hop in!" Being a good children's librarian, I naturally complied. When I asked where we were going she said, "To college." There was an interactive magnetic map inside the bus, and a little boy came up and started arranging our route. He informed me very seriously that if we were good at the bank, hospital, church, and post office THEN we could go to the park. You're never off the clock if you work with kids!

*pro-tip: her blog title is a lie--she's totally fun

**After Anne read the work we did on the outline she tweeted this gem: "When you plan a conference presentation with @opinionsbyanna and @PLSanders, the outline specifies where GIFs will go. #themoreyouknow

***or was it?

All kinds of Impact

One of the huge outreach programs that my library does is the Kindergarten Party. Basically we visit every Kindergarten in the county and send home library card applications. Every application that is returned equals an invitation for that child to attend the Kindergarten Party where, with great pomp and circumstance, we present them with their very own library card (among other fun things for them to do that day at the library).

I personally presented to a total of about 250 kids during November to promote the program. Most of the classes were strapped for time so we sang one silly song, read Bark, George by Feiffer, and then I told them about the party.

In one class, after we finished and I was packing up my stuff there was one little boy at the back of the room who was sitting criss-cross with his hands clasped in his lap. "I just really want to tell you a secret," he said to me, agonized. "Sure, come on up." I said, and bent over to his level. After he carefully and fastidiously parted my hair so that there was nothing in front of my ear, he whispered with great intensity, "I just love you SO MUCH."*

_________

This month, my coworker was doing a search for a young boy. When she asked for his card, his dad joked, "We'll be back in three weeks then." I knew that the Kindergarten party was three weeks away, so I asked the boy if he was going to attend. He looked at me in that super-suspicious way that kids do when they suspect adults are messing with them. "How did you know that?" I said, "It was probably me who visited your class and told you about the party, what school do you go to?" After he told me what school and I knew that it was I who had visited I said, "Yeah! It was me who came to your class--don't you remember when we read Bark, George?" Friends, his whole face just lit up as soon as I mentioned Bark, George. "I know you!" he said with a huge grin.

_________

I believe I made a difference in those kids' lives, however briefly.  I believe that Jules Feiffer himself would have been proud of how I hammed up the reading of his book. I believe that that book will have a special place in many of those kids' hearts from now on. I believe in what we do.

*And then I melted into a puddle of goo on the floor.

Library Picnic

I've been working really hard to revamp the play area since I started at my new library (there was almost a full year with no children's librarian at my branch). 

Sometimes you just don't know if what you do makes a difference or has an effect. So it's unbelievably awesome to come across a scene like this: 

And a half hour later when I came by again? Everything was neatly put away where it belonged. 

So worth it.

Convincing Reasons to Never Leave Your Job

 From the adorable beyond words file, I received this in the mail today:

As many of you know and others may suspect, I left my job at the end of September. My husband got a transfer with his job, and we are excited to be back in the place where we consider home. As happy as we were personally, it was a difficult time for me, leaving my library and all the relationships I had there. I am beyond lucky to already have a job as a Children's Librarian in our new place, but things have been crazy busy with the move and re-settling. Everything--and I mean everything--is new and different and unsettled right now. But it's getting better.

As it happens I DO have a nose piercing.

I am also known for wearing heels

I'm so thankful for the time I spent at my old job, and so humbled by the impact that I had on all my my little people there. I am sorry to have left them, but I'm totally looking forward to writing some sticker-filled letters very soon!

xoxo,
Ms. Anna

posted from Bloggeroid

Storytime Power

I give out hand stamps at storytime, and when kids stop by to see me in my office. They are VERY IMPORTANT to my kids.

During most of the T-ball season, L had a temporary tattoo of a dragon which he credited with his fast running. Last night he didn't have it, and Coach H. asked him if he'd be slow since he didn't have his dragon. He said, "No! I've got a new one!" and he showed off the SLP "READ" stamp that I had given him. Coach H (who is a regular ST parent) asked if L got the stamp at storytime. L said yes, and that he'd run super fast with storytime power! And he did indeed run super fast to first base after his hit, fueled by storytime power.

Storytime Power!

An Exercise in Futility

At the Head Start Center

I walk in. At first, I am unnoticed.
Then one child inevitably looks up, and recognition slowly dawns. That child proceeds to lose his/her ever-loving mind and starts shrieking, "The Library! The Library is here!" Soon there is a chorus of children yelling, "Hi Library!" and running around the room like I am a shot of espresso they've just mainlined.

Me: "Hi Friends! Does anyone remember my name?"

Them: "The LIBRARY!!!!!!!1!!!"

Me: "I work at the library. But my name is Ms. Anna. What's my name?"

Them: *blank stares* "...LIBRARY!!!!!!!!!!11!!!OMGBBQ!!!!!!!!"

fin.

Keepin' It Real with the Kiddos

I had another Teddy Bear Sleepover this past week, and did a "Cat Mouse Dog" theme. We read Kitten's First Full Moon by Henkes, Bark, George by Pfeffer, and Mouse Count by Walsh. We acted out Mouse Count with the props I made previously, and it was great. I always read the first part of the book, then switch over to the props when it's time for the snake to enter and find the jar.

When I held up the book I said, "This book is called Mouse Count. What do you think it will be about?"

"Mouse!" No, Mice!"

"Yes," I replied and pointed to the cover, "Here are some mice. Who else do you think will be in the story?"

"BROCCOLI!"

Kids are so amazing.

Overheard in Storytime

No, L, don't unwrap that.  It's a crayon not a chocolate.

Overheard in Storytime

Reading Grumpy Bird, which has a variety of woodland animals, and identifying the different creatures. There was a beaver, and I identified it as such, which prompted one little boy to correct me vehemently, "No, it's called a JUSTIN Beaver."