Feel Free to Ignore This Post

Unless you are another librarian swapping postcards with us. If you are in that group, you should shortly be getting a postcard featuring our library - a LONG time ago. I can't find when that picture was taken, but it was definitely a few years back. Here is the library now, for comparison:

And, the postcard shot:

Slug bug! (ouch!) (sorry!)

We're guessing early seventies, before the addition on this side, which now houses reference (and leaks), and the addition in the back (not visible) which houses the Children's Room (and leaks).

The biggest thing we noticed was the landscaping. Those huge trees outside our book drop didn't even exist yet. Hard to tell if that tree to the left is the same one or not. We're sad that there are trees here that obviously don't exist any more, though. Don't worry, the grass is still green much of the year, it's just January now - while we don't have snow, unlike 90% of the country right now, our vegetation does take a little winter break.

Of course, you library kiddos will probably be looking at this during the summer - remind us, and we'll update it. In fact, by then we should have a new, NON leaking roof to show off!

Article from Library Journal, commentary from Miss Ami

 Library Journal XPress has an interesting article this week about book review blogs. When I first started working as a librarian, I came fresh from years as a teacher. I knew what my students liked, and filled in some holes in the collection accordingly. Like a good little librarian, however, I relied heavily on published reviews - like those in the School Library Journal - for the rest of my ordering.

And bombed heavily.

Readers everywhere are different. While the time-honored review sources should be looked at, they are just one of many tools. As I got to know my patrons better, I became better able to choose books they would need or want (there is often a difference - very seldom to kids come to me and ask me to please buy more books about the constitution - but they sure do go out when US History report time comes around!)

We had one director, briefly, who believed heavily in the power of reviews. We frequently had one of two conversations:

D: We don't need this book, it didn't get good reviews.
A: There are already two patrons on the waiting list.

or:

D: You need to order this book, it was on the Land of Enchantment list.
A: But it's stupid. No one will read it. (P.S. - I was right, no one did)

Not that I don't make mistakes. I really thought the video series on authors that followed them around their homes, etc., was pretty cool. So it irked me to discard them this week, after acknowledging that they have only gone out once or twice each in the past four years. I recently made a quick check of books I have ordered for YA recently, and they have all been checked out at least once already.

I don't really get the credit for that, though. Neither does the School Library Journal. Credit for the YA selections mostly goes to Miss Amanda at A Patchwork of Books, who is NEVER wrong about YA. I mean it, never! For picture books? Amanda again, but Bookie Woogie is a also good source of both new titles and old ones we may have missed. For scifi? Charlotte's Library, or A League of Extraordinary Writers. Abby the Librarian is a great source for middle grade fiction titles.

My point? If it weren't for book bloggers, each with their own little niches, I would miss out on a lot of titles my patrons enjoy. I would also probably order books that look great in a catalogue, but fail to deliver. Do I buy everything that gets a good review from a blogger? Heavens no - but through blogs, we can get to know the reviewer, get a feel for how in sync they are with our patrons, and order accordingly. With the New York Times, not so much.

So, yay for bloggers! I give us all a

10 out of 10.

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT??? (and a review)

One of the joys of being a Children's Librarian, who is commonly known to like animals, is that when people need a home for an animal they automatically think of you. Over the years Miss Ami has been the recipient of countless hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards, baby birds, orphaned rabbits, injured turtles, etc. This morning she came in to find this on her desk:

Wow.

She did know he was coming, and had set up a cage and left instructions with the night crew.

We may need a bigger cage (no fear, amphibian lovers, one is coming).

I mean, they said it was big, but...wow! We have seen (and had) big frogs and toads before, but not running loose in southern New Mexico. Does anybody recognize this guy? We are pretty sure he's a toad, and have named him Bufo, thanks to two great books:

We love this series from Capstone, which includes alligators/crocodiles, butterflies/moths, and leopards/cheetahs. Many nonfiction books don't make for great read-alouds, but these do, and they answer the questions countless kids (and adults) have very clearly and thoroughly. The pictures, by Bandelin-Dacey, are not only attractive, they enhance the descriptions perfectly.

For a name, of course, we could go no further than:

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Magic Shop series by Bruce Coville, and wish there were more! The best one, and a permanent fixture on our recommended reading list, is Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher . Our Library dragon (a large plush dragon used as a seat, pillow, and wrestling partner until Miss Ami catches you), is even named Tiamat, after the dragon in that story.
 
So, we know his name, and we are pretty sure he's a toad, but...what kind of toad??? Any armchair herpetologists (or anyone with more time to research than we have today) out there???


UPDATE:

Okay, after a little googling, we think it's actually a plain old (but HUGE) American bullfrog - which would change his name to Rana. But we still love the books:)

Christmas in July!

Oh, book lover's bliss! The end of the fiscal year in June always means a gap in ordering, as accounts are closed out and reopened, new purchase orders requested, etc. At the end of July we finally start seeing boxes of new books roll in and go through processing, which is like water in a desert. At the same time, we have our annual Scholastic Book fair - imagine, boxes and cabinets just full of books! Books we don't have! Books we just ordered (oops - dangit)! Books we get for FREE when our lovely patrons stock up for Christmas and birthdays! And then...the Lerner Review checklist comes out. It's almost too much excitement for a small turtle to handle!

Over the next week or so, we will be featuring mostly books from the Book Fair. If you are a local, you will be seeing them on our library shelves soon. If not, you can purchase your own copies by clicking on the cover art for each post. Rumor has it we would receive a small portion of the proceeds from Amazon, but we have never actually earned enough to meet their minimum for sending out a check. That's okay, because we are feeling absolutely rich in books right now! Off to relax under our sunlamp with a nice big stack! Stay tuned for our first review tomorrow!

Old Spice Guy on Libraries

We're not sure this is what was meant by "saying a few words", but the ladies that work here seem to be happy with it.

Job Posting: Reference Librarian

One of our two reference librarians will be enjoying her last day of work tomorrow! She is looking forward to retirement, but we are sure going to miss her. She has forgotten more sources than we will ever have in our mental files, and remains calm and patient no matter what the request or obstacle. It will also seem strange to have a staff meeting in which we don't have to dodge her pen as she gestures! There are so many little things she has picked up responsibility for over the years, like cleaning the kitchen towels weekly, that we probably won't realize what half of them are until they suddenly aren't being done.

Somehow, though, we are going to have to find someone to fill her position (who may or may not get responsibility for the towels). Following is the official job posting. If you or anyone you know fits the qualifications and might be interested, you can contact our Personnel Department at 575-439-4399. This is a great place to live and, if we can say it without sounding too biased, a great staff to work with!




** CITY OF ALAMOGORDO JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT **


OPEN RECRUITMENT

Applications are now being accepted for an

REFERENCE LIBRARIAN

Full-Time Regular Position

APPLICANTS MUST MEET MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF POSITION AS ADVERTISED

AT TIME OF APPLICATION

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

EDUCATION:

EXPERIENCE: Master’s degree in library science, plus at least one year of library reference

experience; or Bachelor’s degree, preferably in liberal arts, plus at least two years of

library reference experience; or any equivalent combination of experience and training

which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. Have MLS or Grade II

Library Certification or be able to obtain within 1st year of employment.

SPECIAL JOB

DIMENSIONS: Knowledge of: current developments in the library field; principles and practices of

professional library reference services, including use of traditional and computer

reference sources. Skill/Ability to: Demonstrate proficiency in both oral and written

communication; draft and prepare documents for the media; operate standard office

equipment, including fax machine, copier, calculator, microfilm reader and computer

using standard word processing, spreadsheet, and library reference software, and

establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, other city

employees, other local libraries, community organizations, schools, vendors, and the

general public.

WORKING

CONDITIONS: Library/office environment. Requires standing, walking, stooping and lifting.

JOB SUMMARY: Assists library patrons in locating material and answering reference questions;

examines review sources and selects materials for purchase; maintains nonfiction,

reference, and periodicals collection.

SALARY/WAGE: Hourly rate: $14.4165

POSTING

PERIOD: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 until filled

All interested applicants must apply at City Hall.

Located at 1376 E. Ninth Street, Alamogordo, NM 88310.

THE CITY OF ALAMOGORDO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Support Your Local Zombies!

Zombies eat brains. Libraries feed brains. If libraries have to close, or reduce hours and services, the zombies' natural food supply will dry up! Don't let this happen near you!

http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com/

(I wonder if we could get zombies on the endangered species list, which would make it illegal to harm their natural habitat?!)

New Fuzzies!

It has been a while since we had any good wormies to munch, and our goldfish have grown too big for us to eat, so we were very excited when someone brought Miss Ami a whole mess of caterpillars. Turns, out, though, they aren't for eating!

Miss Ami spent the better part of an hour transferring dozens of teeny tiny caterpillars into what looks like a million communion cups with lids (what, you're surprised to find out turtles go to church too?). She says they are going to turn into butterflies, but that we won't be allowed to eat those, either. Pooh! They are all going to be released at the local Earth Day Fair. Seems like a silly waste to us, but people do some strange things.

They even have cool little houses for their stay here


and Miss Ami is keeping the runt of the litter at her desk to give it special attention.


We just hope this doesn't mean we will be neglected! We are the stars of the show, after all!

Miss Ami is also hoping to find more activities and presenters at the Earth Day Fair for our Summer Reading Program. Like many other libraries across the country, we are using the "Make a Splash" theme. Now, that is more up our alley! Perhaps a summer-long project to build us a giant new deluxe habitat would be good...

We'll keep you up to date on our progress with both the butterflies, and the summer project idea - although we have the feeling one is going to be much more successful than the other.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...in the Library

Not good. The deluge that flooded much of town last night overloaded our old ceiling as well, right over such unimportant authors as Eric Carle and Lauren Child. As turtles, we think all that excess water is great, but apparently it's not such a good thing for books.

Quick action on the staff's part saved a great many books from being ruined, but come morning we were faced with very squishy carpet under what was becoming very squishy wood shelves. We (and by we, we mean we watched the YA Librarian and Custodian) moved three ranges of shelves to the program room - then made quick signs cancelling programs - then dismantled shelves, extracted water from carpet, and answered the same questions twelve times from the patrons who missed the cancellation signs.

Well, we needed to shelf-read anyways, right? And hadn't we talked about painting those walls? Always try to look on the bright side. While holding your breath, because that carpet smells worse than the teens' feet did Tuesday night.

Hopefully, tomorrow we will be back on track with some new reviews. In the meantime, a side note to all those publishers we have been contacting about review copies: this would be a REALLY good time to send us your surplus picture books. Especially if the author's last name starts with a "C".