Tumblarian Time!

Tumblarian: noun. A librarian who uses Tumblr to promote his or her library program.

 
I have been a loyal blogger for over 2 years now, and I will continue to be a loyal blogger... but, I worry that the only people who read my blog are other librarians and bloggers. Now that I am moving into a young adult library setting,  I need to put myself where the teens are! I am trying my hand at Tumblr- a place for teens to visit and learn about books, reading, libraries, current evens and pop culture. Like my daughter said, "Mom, you need to try and be cool." You can visit my Tumblr here! For a great list of Tumblarians, visit this list at Shhh! No Running in the Library.
Kathy Kaldenberg, Solon Teacher-Librarian, shared a fabulous article about librarians and Tumblr.  If you are a librarian who wants to reach your audience0 read it! Then head over to Tumblr and get started!

Here are some other Teen Library Tumblrs that I have been enjoying. If you have any great teen Tumblrs (public or school library) that I have missed- PLEASE share with me in the comment section! If you have a Tumblr, please share the link!

Davenport Public Library
Glendale Public Library Teens (This is the first Teen Library Tumblt I ever read!) 
GRPL Teens
Mercer Area Library Teens
Milton Library Teens
Pickering Public Library Teens
Shhh! No Running in the Library
Tiverton Library Teen Room
White Oak Teen Stuff at the Library
YA Books Central
YALSA 
Wells Library Teens

Librarian Lays Down the Law

Have I given this tirade in the library before? It sounds sooooooo familiar!

Thanks to Jo at The Book Bug for sharing this video!

I Shoulda Thought of That!

Librarians ♥ Donuts

It is a little known fact that librarians love donuts. Love them. Bring a librarian a donut and you will get to check out an extra book. Bring a librarian a dozen donuts and she may just overlook the fact that your dog gnawed on the newest copy of 39 Clues. 

I am thrilled, and a little worried for my health, that a former Lemme Family has opened a donut shop 5 blocks from school. I usually don't photograph pastries, but these are so pretty and so delicious! If you are in Iowa City, stop by Daylight Donuts on the corner of Scott and Court.  Tell them Mrs. Butcher sent you! May be they will name a donut after me?

TwtPoll Test

Why am I just now discovering twtpolll.com?  I am looking for ways to make this blog more interactive and I thought these polls were a great idea! I get to see what my viewers think and it is very easy for them to interact! So, here is my first ever poll! This question is relevant to me because it happened to me last night. I was reading Trapped by Michael Northrop. I was excited to have this title for my Tween booklist.  When I got to page 8, it was not longer a tween (grades 4-8) book, it was clearly a high school book. I wanted to read it, but my to read pile is colossal and my time is precious. So, I put the book away. What do you do in this situation?

I ♥ Librarians

Thank you @LitJrzyGrl for sharing!

Proof Positive!

I've obtained proof that I actually rock as much as I claim to.

Check it, peeps:

Thanks Simeon, Corrine & Ammon! 

Rock Star Mentality

Last week I had a chance to write a guest post over at ECSLibrary.  This week I get to bring the post home to The Lemme Library.  Here it is!

Children’s Book Week celebrates the idea that children’s books change lives.  Children’s books change lives?  That’s an awfully big statement, right?  Well, I know from experience that it is absolutely, 100%, without a doubt true.  It’s also true that books have some stiff competition these days: video games, internet, tv... the list goes on and on.  So, how can librarians get kids to put down those other temptations and pick up a book?  I’ll let you in on my little secret: Rockstar Mentality.  To get kids pumped about books, to get them to read and love reading, to let those books change their lives, you must become a rockstar.  Yes... a rockstar librarian.  
How do you adopt this rockstar-mentality?
1.  You have to be the librarian that kids love and the librarian that loves kids.  When you walk around the library helping kids, there should be a flock of kids following you, waiting for you to help THEM find a great book.  Kids should wave to you in the hall and yell your name when you walk to your car during lunch recess.  
2.   You have to know your kids and what they are passionate about.  Once you know that, you have to get books about those topics into their hands.  If you know that Ceci loves horses- every single Monday you BEST have at least 3 great horse books ready for her.  She may ask for your autograph, so be ready.  
3.  You have to refrain from taking yourself so seriously.  Yes, with librarianship comes great responsibility- budget, networking, collection development, yadda-yadda-yadda.  But really, you wouldn’t have a job if you didn’t have those kids.  So, forget about all that business mumbo-jumbo and remember why you actually became a SCHOOL librarian and not a law librarian.  Have fun.  Laugh.  Be silly.  Break rules and never, ever shush people.  
4.  You have to build the trust of your students.  Don’t hand them a book you’ve never read.  This means more work for you- lots of late nights reading, but it pays off.   Don’t tell a kid that  a book is awesome if you hated it. They know and they will think you like bad books.  Keep your promises.  If you say you are going to do something- do it.  They may be “just kids”, but they are smart and they remember everything.  If they can trust you, they will keep coming back to you. 

Rockstars aren’t made overnight.  It will take some time and dedication, but if you follow these 4 steps, you will discover your inner rockstar.  You may be rolling your eyes after reading this, thinking: “Rockstar?  How silly!  I have my masters degree in Information Science- I will never act like a rockstar!”   But remember, you are the only one standing between your students and all of those life-changing books.  If acting like a rockstar gets one kid- just 1 kid to read a book, isn’t it worth it?  That’s what I thought.  Rock on.