Santa Clara City Library, with the support of the library’s Foundation and Friends, received a NEA Big Read grant and recently wrapped up a multi-week series of programs themed around Jack London’s Call of the Wild. The book has particular significance in our community, for the opening scenes take place in our city and Jack London had many friends in the Santa Clara Valley. During the Big Read, numerous books discussions on Call of the Wild were held at the library and at other historical city sites. I hoped to include kids in the community reading celebration, but wanted to choose a more accessible, age-appropriate book. Sheep by Valerie Hobbs seemed a perfect companion piece to Call of the Wild. Both books feature a dog protagonist taken away from a comfortable existence and forced to endure harsh circumstances. Sheep was also a recipient of a California Young Reader Medal, an annual award…
Category: Blogger Susan Baier
ALSC Blogger Susan Baier
Fairy Fun – A Rainbow Magic Holiday Extravaganza
by Susan Baier, Santa Clara City (CA) Library Do your library kids freak for fairies — specifically, the Rainbow Magic variety? The Daisy Meadows series is wildly popular here, and we like any excuse for a party at our library. So two weeks before Christmas, we threw a Rainbow Magic Holiday Extravaganza. We targeted it to the kindergarten through fourth grade crowd, and had 50 kids in attendance. Since it was the holiday season, I began the program by reading aloud an excerpt from Paige the Christmas Play Fairy. In this installment the mischievous goblin Jack Frost wreaks havoc in the lives of Rachel, Kirsty, and their friends, and a delightful fairy must help the girls save the day. You’re shocked, right? Let’s keep it real – these books are a tad…formulaic. But if they get kids exciting about reading and bring them into our libraries clamoring for the next…
Hall of Shame
There are countless anecdotes out in Library Land about crazy reference questions (Where can I find a photograph of a dinosaur?) and misunderstood book titles (Can I get a copy of Tequila Mockingbird by Harper Lee?) But I plead guilty to some verbal gaffes, malapropisms, and just plain confusion of my very own in the name of public service. Won’t you join me in a journey down my embarrassing memory lane? A young girl infected with Justin Bieber Fever recently asked me, breathlessly, if we had any books on the pint-sized heartthrob. None were on the shelf, so I put some on request for her. She walked away, and my next patron asked for several items including Elizabeth George Speare’s The Sign of the Beaver. “Yes”, I said, “the catalog does indicate we have on the shelf The Sign of the Bieber.” Sigh. Maybe Justin should have chosen that for…
Tales from Summer Reading: A Cheese-tastic Afternoon with Geronimo Stilton
by Susan Baier, Santa Clara (CA) City Library Geronimo Stilton is one of those series that flies off the shelves at our library, so we decided to celebrate The Big Cheese himself during summer reading with an afternoon of “Geronimo Games.” We targeted the program to grades 1st through 5th, and had 135 Geronimo fans in attendance for the hour. We were excited to learn that a Geronimo costume was available for rental through Costume Specialists for $60. The costume consisted of a suit, a jacket, two hand mitts, two fur boots, a fat pad (!), and Geronimo’s (heavy) head. The staff person selected (coerced?) to wear the costume should be of average build and height, and in good physical condition — the costume is hot and heavy! I bought our Geronimo a shower cap to wear as a barrier between her head and the costume. Our program began with…
Countdown to Summer Reading: School Visits
by Susan Baier, Santa Clara City Library The month of May brings flowers, Cinco de Mayo, Mothers’ Day, and Memorial Day. But I would guess that for most youth services librarians, May should be declared “National OMG — Summer Reading Starts Next Month!” Month. That’s how I always view it, anyway. My May calendar is almost full with appointments to visit schools to promote summer reading. But as I talk with other librarians both virtually and face-to-face, I’m sensing that the traditional summer reading school visit isn’t the “must-do” task that it was in years past. Budget cuts and hiring freezes have forced libraries to reconsider many practices that used to be commonplace, and some have determined they simply don’t have the resources to send librarians off site for school outreach. These are hard decisions for every library, and there aren’t absolute right or wrong answers. But for me, school…
Have Rolling Bag, Will Travel – Participating in Community Outreach Events
Outreach is one of my favorite aspects of my job, and I eagerly accept most invitations to staff a library information table at community events. Taking the library message outside the walls of your building and into the community is critical in these lean budget years where we need all the advocates we can get! You’ll introduce nonusers to your services and entice them to visit, and you’ll connect in new ways with your current patrons. Over the years, I’ve learned (often the hard way) about the best approaches to these outreach opportunities. These are my standard items to bring to any event: Bookmarks with library information Library giveaways like pencils, magnets, reusable bags, etc. Stickers for the kids (a surefire way to draw families to your table!) Library calendar of events/flyers for upcoming programs Baskets and literature holders for giveaways Tablecloth and banner with library name Scissors and tape…