Celebrate National Library Week

This week is National Library Week. I get so frustrated when I hear politicians say things like "With the internet, we don't need libraries anymore." We need libraries now more than ever. Not only because libraries house the books we want to read and use for research but also because librarians are super at helping a person find their next read or discover information about a topic they're researching. Google is great but it isn't a resource for everything.

Many web sites are skewed toward or against one viewpoint or another. Without someone (like a librarian) to help you evaluate web sites, you might get caught using inaccurate information. This is important for students, but it's just as important for an author. If you write an historical novel, for example, using a web site with little authority behind it caught come back to bite you in the behind. Your readers might nail you, or reviewers familiar with that time period might catch you out. Utilizing a library and help from librarians can get you accurate information with a decent level of authority behind it. By authority I mean, a book that's written by an expert in the field. Not just some dude or dudette who may or may not have done research themselves.

So this week, visit your local library. Thank a librarian.
And remember, we do need libraries!

Manic Monday

Greetings everyone,

Last week was wild. I had three programs and I'm dead beat. Even so, I had fun. On Sunday (4/13), we hosted Kali VanBaale for a book signing. On Wednesday (4/16), a local barbershop quartet performed at the library. On Thursday (4/17), author Carol Bodensteiner visited to sign books and talk about her memoir. It was a full rich week.

I finished The Space Between by Kali VanBaale on Saturday night. It was definitely one of those books that was hard to put down. It was gripping and sad all at once. The book is the story of a mother whose son is being bullied at school. One day he goes to school and shoots two of his classmates and kills himself. The book focuses on the "then what?" that we all wonder about after such a shocking event. How do the family members deal with the tragedy? Does the family survive? It was so well written, but I must admit that on my own it isn't one I would pick up to read. I write romance because I like a happy ending, nor tragedy. In my romances, the characters are tortured by the writer but then they come together to overcome all adversity and live happily ever after. The Space Between is about survival but not "happily ever after." In short, it's excellent literary fiction. I enjoyed it but it made me sad. Kali has also received several awards for her book and I know why. Having Kali at the library was really interesting and she is a WONDERFUL speaker. She had some good advice for writers and answered questions in such an open and friendly way. It was a pleasure to meet her. I will look for future books by her because I'm sure they will be as enthralling as this one, regardless of the topic.

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Bodensteiner the author of Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl. This was a very different book though I'd only gotten about halfway through. Carol wrote a series of short essays about her life growing up on a farm in eastern Iowa. I really enjoyed it and it made me remember my youth. Now I wasn't a farm kid, but my grandparents had owned a farm. By the time I was of age to visit they had long since moved into town but I the chapter called "Country Hospitality" helped me realize why Grandma always had treats in the freezer in case anyone dropped by. I remembered stories my mom told me. She and Dad had lived on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa right after they got married and things kind of clicked as I read. I may not be a farm girl myself, but I could relate to Carol's stories. She also enjoyed sharing them with those of us who attended. Carol had chosen to self publish this book and I think her readers are glad she did. It is a fun read for anyone with memories of farm life, whether they are from Iowa or anywhere else.

We had fairly small crowds for our author visits, but the barbershop quartet packed an audience of sixty-two people into the library. It had been a nice spring day so the room was unpleasantly warm, but the crowd stuck it out. It was an SRO evening and when we get low on chairs - I end up on my feet for the duration. I loved the concert, but my feet did not.

I can honestly say I enjoyed National Library Week, but I'm glad it's over for another year. Now comes the time when I gear up for Summer Reading. Two months of insanity instead of just one week. Wish me luck! :-)

Celebrate libraries @ your library

It's National Library Week again! April 13-19, 2008. That wonderful time of year when librarians try to make ourselves and our work extra interesting. So what is it? Exactly?

To quote ALA (American Library Association):

"First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support."

For me it means lining up a lot of programming and pretty much exhausting myself. But I really like NLW. The first year at my library, I didn't do anything special. Since then I've tried to add programming and the last two years have gone much better. I have a barbershop quartet concert and two author book signings scheduled. I really hope I get good turn out for all three.

Regardless, I'm pleased to make my library a "go to" location in the community. What will your library be doing this year? Will you be attending? Do you use your libraries? Share library memories with me to help me celebrate!

It's not just about shushing@ your library!

Happy National Library Week everybody!

Why is this a big deal? Well, first of all, I'm a librarian, so it's a big deal for me. I love libraries and I always have. I spent a lot of time in libraries as a kid and young adult. As I grew up, I found new parts of the library to enjoy.

Why is is a big deal for everyone else? In a library you can find tons of great reading material and it's all free, as long as you return it on time. You can read best sellers, do research, pick up audiobooks to listen to while driving, ask reference questions, use public internet computers.... the list goes on.

Not only that, but libraries (and especially librarians) fight for your right to choose what you want to read and not have that choice made by someone else. It's one reason we commemorate Banned Books Week in the fall. We don't want books banned, we want you to decide for yourself while your neighbor decides for him/herself. We lobby to prevent the government from taking away our right to choose and our freedom to read.

Libraries are also community hubs. They are places to hang out with friends, have book discussions, attend library programs, and take your children to story time. So take a minute this week to stop into your local library and check out a book. Say "hi" to your librarian and thank him/her for encouraging literacy and lifelong learning in your community. They'll give you a great big smile - and they WON'T shush you. I promise. Trust me, I'm a librarian!