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!

Return those books or face the consequences.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Libraries Will Survive!

Cookie Monster invades the Library

Jacasta Nu: Worst librarian in the Galaxy

March of the Librarians - video fun

Librarians - the ultimate search engine!

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!

Adult Summer Reading - Get a clue at your library

Summer reading has started at my library. We had a wonderful kickoff picnic for kids and teens and had hundreds of kids and parents at the library to sign up. I love this time of year - even though the library becomes a zoo - because it shows how much people value the library's role in the community.

Not only do we promote a summer reading program for kids and teens, we promote adult reading too. We try to keep our summer reading program for adults simple. Most people don't have a lot of time to come into the library and read anyway. I put together a new program this time (based on something the YS librarian brought back from one of her seminars). I went to the food places in town and pitched summer reading to them in order to get coupons for free food. We had an AMAZING response. It felt great to score all those coupons to benefit/thank my readers.

People pick up their packet and it has a book mark and five entry forms. They can complete the entry forms or not. If they complete them, they can bring them in to be entered into drawings for $25 gift certificates for businesses in town. Everybody wins!

Why participate? Your time is limited and you have vacation and kids and...

Well, just remember....if you don't use it you lose it. Reading can sweep you away to new worlds and new civilizations. You can boldly go where no one has gone before. (Okay yeah, I'm a Star Trek fan - you get the idea).

So stop into your library for a chance to be swept away and have as much fun as the kids!

Never apologize for your reading- or writing - tastes.

In the first edition of Genreflecting, Betty Rosenberg told readers, and especially librarians, NEVER to apologize for their reading preferences. I think it was a revolutionary idea back then, and it still is now.

How many times have you been reading a romance in public and hidden the cover because you were afraid people would look down on you for reading it? I’ve been there as a reader, it was like my dirty little secret. But how much more so does it affect you if you are the writer? I’ve felt the need to apologize or dismiss my own work…. Oh I write romances… Um… yes, they are kind of hot….

NO MORE! I’m proud of it! I write romances, damn it. And not only that…I write EROTIC ROMANCES! The hot steamy kind that require pot holders to handle.

Wooo Hoooo!

Okay, I admit, I’ll have to work on remembering my pride 24/7 but I want to own it and we all have to start somewhere. As a reader I loved reading the erotic romances, I just didn’t want everyone staring at my book’s cover art featuring Fabio’s slick, muscled chest. But talk about contrary, I was one of those readers that WANTED the stepback covers so my hot hunky Fabio was still available to drool over. I just didn’t want to share him with the businessman stuck beside me in coach.

What does this have to do with Betty and librarians? When I’m not writing erotic romances, I’m a librarian. Really, I am! And…Nope. No bun and I rarely shush people, but I do wear glasses. I love being a librarian, yet I’ve known librarians who called romances trash. Now I admit, the ones I’ve heard use the word “trash” were men, but I’ve met female librarians that crinkle their nose about romances. It pisses me off.

Romance is a multi-billion dollar business but I’ve known people who would only add romances to a collection when they received a specific request and did it only reluctantly - like pulling teeth. Romances would circ (check in/out) like mad if they were kept current and weeded well. I honestly think if librarians broke Romance out of the collection the way they do mystery and SF/Fantasy and really BUILT a romance collection circulation would go way WAY up. Oh well, when I win the Powerball and have a few hundred million to throw at the problem, I’ll open my own library with Romances FRONT AND CENTER.

For now, I’ll work on not apologizing for what I read OR WRITE!

Hi, my name is Francesca.

Hi, Francesca.

I’m an erotic romance writer, and I’m damn proud of it!

More about Betty Rosenberg here: http://lu.com/ranews/june2005/rosenberg.cfm