Teen Swap Recap and Videos

Several librarians shared what they did with teens this summer at the Teen Brown Bag on November 12th! Among the sharing was a "candy-throwing" icebreaker (click here to see more ice breakers for teens), as well as a 30-minute-webinar given by Keith Schroeder (click here for his site) on some tools your teens might have fun using in the library!

And, listen to what Karla (henna tattoos), Kathy ("keep things basic") and Stephanie (Movie Magic) said what programs worked for them this summer!

Do you have "Nerd Girls" at your Library?

Q. What is Nerd Girls?
A. Nerd Girls is a growing movement by young women in the sci-tech fields to create a worldwide network and to offer support and encouragement so that more girls will study these subjects in school and enter into what have historically been male-dominated professions. An equally important part of the Nerd Girl mission is to dispel the myths and stereotypes about these fields and the women who choose to enter them.

Q. Why are Nerd Girls so important right now?
A. Our planet desperately needs engineers and scientists to tackle the myriad problems we currently face. We particularly need more females to enter these fields to fill the growing demand and to offer the full range of perspectives so important to the inventive process. The Nerd Girls are committed to improving the quality of life for individuals, communities and the environment.

Check it out!



- From Arrowhead Library System's "Monday Memo," November 3, 2008

Teen Swap Set for Next Week

Remember that the Teen Swap has been rescheduled for Wednesday, November 12th, from 1 - 3 pm at Neighborworks. Please plan on bringing some ideas that you did this summer that you can share with the group. Some fantastic door prizes will be given away, so don't miss out!

Sign up today!

The Pins are In!

I just received the "Read" pins from Michelle Gebhart from the Colorado State Library. They are similar to the ladybug pins that were handed out at last year's planning meeting. Everyone who attends this year's meeting will receive one, too!

Game Training Set for November 20th!

We will be conducting a "Game Training" on both the Wii and Xbox System on November 20th, from 1 - 3 pm, at NFLS.

Learn how to set up both systems, check out the games and play Guitar Hero!
Check out the youtube video for a quick behind-the-scenes look at the game inventory with Wheelee, the new technology coordinator.


Contact myself or Denise if you are interested in signing up! (There will be future sessions if you cannot make this one).
Once the systems and cases are ready, we will have more information on the web on how to check out the equipment for a library event!

Bits from Barb

2008 CSLP Art Work should be Removed from Library Web Sites
Under CSLP's copyright guidelines all libraries should
take down the 2008 SLP art work from their web pages by the
end of September. Now that the 2009 manuals are here,
libraries can put the new art work up instead. Please
remind your librarians that CSLP's copyright must appear
if they use any CSLP art work electronically. Up
until this year,partnering agencies were not allowed
to use the CSLP art work on their web pages at all,
but that will change in 2009 (see next item for details).
Under an agreement from several years ago, public libraries
maycontinue to use the art work from all past CSLP programs
onprint items whenever they wish. They can not, however, allow
partnering agencies to continue to any of the artwork. All
use by non-library agencies,including schools, should cease
at the end of the given summer.


New Edition of "Teen Spaces, The Step-by-Step Library Makeover"
Kimberly Bolan has written a new edition of
her book "TeenSpaces."  It is available through the American
Library Association. Good examples of teen spaces in libraries
around the country are now readily available, and interest
in them continues to grow. With a strategic use of web-based
technologies-from the author's website to a Flickr account-
this second edition showcases success stories as it reaches out
to attract a global community of YA librarians committed to
meeting the needs of young adults.


National Gaming Day November 15th
Hundreds of libraries across the country are preparing to
celebrate the American Library Association's (ALA) first
annual National Gaming Day @ Your Library on November 15th.
ALA invites libraries of all types to join in the
celebration by registering for two national gaming
activities: a national video game tournament, and a board
game challenge. Libraries also can develop their own
activities by using free resources from the ALA.
For more information go to
http://gaming.ala.org/resources/index.php?title=Main_Page.


Arab American Book Award Winner
The winner of this year's  Arab American Book Award in the
Children or Young Adult category  is "Tasting the Sky:
A Palestinian Childhood"  by Ibtisam Barakat (Farrar,
Straus and Giroux). The award is given annually for a book
written or illustrated by an Arab American or that addressed
the Arab American experience. The portrayal or
representation of Arab Americans must be accurate
and engaging, avoid stereotypes, and reflect rich
characterization.


Books to Read to Children During a Financial Crisis
A review of several American children's books that deal
with tough economic times for families is included in
a recent posting by Erica S. Perl's at www.slate.com/?id=2201710
Among the titles annotated at the site are:
Little House on the Prairie-Wilder
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry-Taylor
Ramona and her Father-Cleary
Tight Times-Hazen
How to Steal a Dog-O'Connor


First Lady Doyle's Recommended Children's Titles for this Month:
First Lady Jessica Doyle has initiated an online
book discussion club for children and adults.
Each month her Web page for the book club,called
"Read On Wisconsin," lists the titles for discussion.
All books were carefully selected by a Literacy
Advisory Board and reflect a commitment to
diversity in their content and message.
Mrs. Doyle hopes you find them as interesting and
appealing as she does.

The titles recommended for this month are:
Preschool: "Jazz Baby" by Lisa Wheeler
Primary: "Los Gatos Black on Halloween" by
Marisa Montes Intermediate: "The City of Ember"
by Jeanne DuBrau Middle School: "Middle School
is Worse than Meatloaf" by Jennifer L. Holm and
"Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen High School:
"Sunrise Over Fallujah" by Walter Dean Myers

For more information, or to join the "Read On Wisconsin"
book club, go to
http://readon.wisconsin.gov


 SYSTEM YOUTH LIAISON POSTING
 Barbara Huntington, DLTCL
 October 2008

Jen Thiele's NWCB Experience

I would like to extend a thank you to the Nicolet Federated Library System, not only for providing an opportunity to go to the children’s book conference in Cable, Wisconsin, but also for helping me realize the dream I’ve had since I was just a young librarian starting out in the world. The dream that involved meeting Nancy Pearl, the most famous librarian of all time.

It happened like this. I woke up early and decided to take advantage of the free continental breakfast offered in the lobby. I grabbed my blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee and headed back to my room to get my agenda for the day. I opened the door to the hallway of rooms and gasped! Standing there, no more than two feet away from me was the fabulous Nancy Pearl. I was taken aback, juggled my steaming cup of coffee and smiled at her, a little too enthusiastically. Soon enough, she realized that this was simply a fan.- a librarian who had read all of her books, saw her speak every time she came to Wisconsin, and allowed each one of her three babies to chew on her action figure when they were teething. A few words were exchanged, and I walked away happy, knowing that this conference was already one of the best ones I’ve been to this year.

Of course, the Nancy Pearl exchange wasn’t the only thing fantastic about this conference. I was also able to find out the 2009 finalists for the CCBC, and sit in three breakout sessions on storytelling for young adults and children. Several local authors were available to discuss how they incorporated history, dialog and real life research into their novels. My favorite speaker by far was Katie McCay, a former teacher who decided one day to be a full-time writer.

After seeing Katie speak I was able to attend a workshop given by John Coy, who has written several books for the reluctant reader. He gears many of his stories towards boys, mostly because preteen/teen boys are the toughest population to target. He shared his experience writing his books, and how closely he worked with kids in getting active feedback in background and design.

The last breakout session was a session on history, and incorporating it into a book. Loretta Ellsworth had written several historical novels, and discussed how she came up with her ideas and did her research.

Overall, I do believe that the conference in Cable was a great experience—both for the writer and librarian. If I have an opportunity in the future I would love to go back. Only next time, I’m dragging along another librarian. Six hours is an eternity in a car by yourself. :)