LEGO Movie Party at the Library

A few weeks ago I held a party to get everyone pumped up about the LEGO movie coming out in February. Promising nothing but watching the trailers and talking about the movie with other LEGO fans, and some playing with LEGO, we had nearly 40 attendees on a sub-zero no-school day (read: they had no other reason to leave their houses, but they came to our program)! I also had WAY more parents come and stay for this than any other program I've held (it was about 2/3 kids) so it made me think that just inviting people of any age to come to a public place and geek out together about their favorite things might be a good idea for a program.

(I might just have adult programming on the brain, too, thanks to Audrey Barbakoff's awesome webinar at the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference. I collected all the tweets on Storify here. Check out all the great programs, including one about unprogramming by Marge and Amy!)

As an aside, I wonder how much I could charge to live-tweet the shizz out of someone's webinar. You can't multi-task while you live-Tweet. 

Live-Tweeter for Hire.

I'll be all like ...

...all over you webinar about whatever.

Pinky-swear promise. 

(GIFs extra.)

ANYWAY: Here's how the LEGO party program went:

It's January, and You're Stellar.

We all know by now (or maybe we don't) that I am not a New Years Resolution maker. Yeah, I get it, I wrote a New Years Resolution thing for you to try-- but in my defense, you can try it at any time (in case that wasn't clear by the title that includes the words "new" and "year" and "resolution". Sorry about that).

Here's my thing with New Years Resolutions, and goals in general for that matter:
1. You make a resolution to be something other than you are.
1. You live your life always looking at the future, and disappointed in things you DIDN'T DO (part of that "starting in the negatives" I mentioned before when talking about being a new hire, but throughout your entire life).
2. Point #1 really sucks, seeing as though your life is CURRENTLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Cue guilt for life "not lived in the moment".
3. To counteract this, you resolve to LIVE RIGHT NOW NO I MEAN NOW NO I MEAN NOW.
4. See #1.

This cycle feeds the Impostor Syndrome Beast really well.  And if that's how you feel when it comes to New Years Resolutions (I know I do), that Turkey Picture up there is just for you.

Hey. Read: An Unsolicited Rant and a New Year’s Resolution

TL;DR: Dear Reader, You are Reading.--@Horse-ebooks

Note: this post is about the problem I personally have with aliteracy; and if you are currently aliterate, steps you can take to change that, if you'd like. If you or someone you know struggles with direct or indirect effects of illiteracy (functional or not), there are places that can help. One of my favorites is the website for the Florida Literacy Coalition, which is full of resources on the subject.  

I’ve heard and read about proud non-readers before, but my social media feeds lately have been full of people who say things like, “So glad this became a movie because I don’t read” and “if anyone gets me an E-Reader for Christmas I’m throwing it away” and various other ways to inform the world that this person dislikes written communication. People who have the means and opportunity to read, and yet proudly say that they don't.  Not like I actually care, but I originally wrote this post at 4 AM on a Friday morning because I couldn’t sleep because of People Like You.

I’m here to tell you: it’s most definitely not your fault that the word “reading” gets you so apathetic. Chances are you, like me, were told outright that you needed to take standardized tests because if you were sick that day the class wouldn't get enough money. Or maybe you went to a school where bodies in the seats weren't considered currency, but regardless your literacy was treated as a means to an end, rather than the gift to yourself that it is.

You were wronged; it's okay to be mad about it. But reading has so many personal benefits and the only person who is missing out by not reading is you.

I once was like you. It’s true. Me. The librarian and educator who literally went to school for reading, twice, and once to obtain a reading-related job. I went to undergrad for English because I wanted to make sure I didn't drop out, and I enjoyed reading books. By the time I graduated with honors in 2004, I HATED READING BOOKS. Freaking hated it. Though I still believed in the importance of reading (which is why I went back to school to get my literacy development Master’s degree) I personally did not pick up a book I hadn't read before for leisure between the years of 2004-2010. Reading felt like a chore, and I couldn't fully enjoy stories because I got hung up with stuff like “word choice”. My biggest pet peeve when reading is still when an author rediscovers a word and then uses it three times in one chapter. It took me awhile, but I got over it in favor of trying to really lose myself in a story.

Thrive Thursday: Illusionology! 3rd Grade Outreach

This post is part of Thrive Thursday, a school-age programming blog-hop started by Thrive After Three in the same vein as Flannel Friday. Check out the round-ups here and join the fun!

So my library decided we needed some grade school outreach up in here. You know, over 3 years ago, when Abigail started the idea of the "Elementary School Menu," a few offerings the department would bring out each year to the elementary schools. And then she left the outreach to die on an island because I was hired and I hardly knew anything about libraries. (Except for what my MLIS prepared me for, of course, but we all know that's why blogs like this exist.) But after a chance trial-run at outreach with a local group of second graders, I felt ready to pilot the menu this year. I started with kindergarten, second grade, and third grade. This was a deliberate choice: kindergarten and second grade are both coming into the library on field trips this year, and third grade just saw us last year as Library Stars. Each of these is pre-made and stored in a bin, with a script so that anyone can do it (But I usually want to because it's the best).

Why, if it's already written out, did I wait so long to post this awesomeness?! The world may never know. Or maybe it's the existence of C.O.P.S. on You Tube.  You understand.

Kindergartners are treated to a Pete the Cat theme, second graders enjoy an Aliens vs. Robots program, and third graders celebrate Illusionology from the -Ologies series! This post is about the third grade outreach,  because I've not only gotten the most requests for it, it's also SO FUN TO DO and the kids and teachers love it and the entire time you're just like:

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Passive Programming: guest post by Ariel Cummins

Behold, a Boredom Buster!

Ariel Cummins started her career as a teen librarian, but quickly decided there was far too much drooling with teens and switched to the under 13 set. She writes about her (sometimes bumbling) exploration of what it means to be a children's librarian at http://hushlander.wordpress.com/ and frequently Tweets about authors, librarianship, and ridiculous things at https://twitter.com/hushlander. She works at San Antonio Public Library, and will probably never leave Central Texas because: breakfast tacos.

When I transitioned from teen programming to children’s programming, I also transitioned from a very busy neighborhood branch to a huge Central Library located in a downtown area. While the collection at our Central Library is huge, it was really, really hard to get people to actually attend programs on a regular basis. It was more of a “tourists drop in on vacation” or “residents come once a year to get books for reports” kind of place, rather than a “part of families’ weekly routines” kind of place. We tried programming in the mornings, in the evenings, on the weekends, and on weekdays, with varying success.

Star Wars Jedi Training Academy

Like everyone and their grandmother's library, October is a time for a Star Wars party. For those who may not be familiar, this is because of Star Wars Reads Day. Saturday programs tend not to work so well at my library when we want a big crowd event for older kids, so instead of having our party ON Star Wars Reads Day we had it on a no-school day. Oh, and we didn't call it "Star Wars Reads Day" because that name is more for adults than for kids.


I had a Star Wars party on May the Fourth Be With You, but I didn't blog about it because I knew I could do better. Then, I was being too canon to the films. Many Star Wars fans these days, though, mostly watch Clone Wars. Some kids don't know what a Wookiee is. They may not know that **SPOILER ALERT**

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 8 Party

Fregley is gawking creepily at your book choices to help me tell you about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid party we recently held at my library for the Book 8 launch. We usually have it closer to the launch date, so we can get the event kit, etc, but I noticed that last year the kids who wanted to put the new book on reserve on that day were already facing a reserve line of 50+.  An early release day about a month ahead of time? PERFECT.

AND, it lets me give all you awesome readers some free stuff to make your upcoming Wimpy Kid party a snap.

Here's how it went down:

Story Action Pod: Halloween Edition!

"Mullet. You know what it is."

An alternate title for this could be: How I dressed as a child's answer to a literacy extension activity for Halloween, and you can too!

Two years ago I created the fastest Story Action Pod I ever produced. I searched my library's catalog for "monsters", and came up with "Even Monsters Need Haircuts" by Matthew McElligot.

And the outcome was hilarious, as demonstrated by the submitted answer to your left.
In fact, I liked it so much, that I went as it for Halloween.

Prescriptions for Literacy: An Unsolicited Rant

Source

“If children know six nursery rhymes by age four, they are more likely to be in the top reading group at school by age eight.”

“Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight”

These are two quotes attributed to Mem Fox. That is each quote in its entirety. They both get at the same thing, but have different ages and different numbers of rhymes. And, there is no citation

These are the things that keep people like me, Amy at Catch the Possibilities, and Mel at Mel’s Desk awake at night. Probably because I found a great cohort of nerds that I have the pleasure of talking shop with at all times. In case you’ve ever wondered what my Twitter feed is all about, it’s mostly discussions that lead to rants like the one you’re reading right now. You're welcome.

LEGO Chima and Pinewood Derby Party: Sneaky STEM

LEGO Legends of Chima is Ninjago's slightly less popular counterpart; probably because there were only 4 episodes at the time I ran my first program (I did one at the Main library and one at our North branch). Because I'm the luckiest jerk in the world, there are now 9 episodes, the fifth one airing on the day of my first LEGO Chima program. Between the two programs, around 70 people attended, a far cry from my 150 collective attendees at my two Ninjago programs. But, for the amount of time I put into it, I still consider it high-yield.

For the uninitiated, LEGO Legends of Chima follows the exploits of 8 tribes who live in the Land of Chima, where the "life force" Chi gives power to animals to walk and talk and fight with swords. Except that it's not REALLY a life force, because we find out a few episodes in that the animals who never took Chi and are just regular-ass lions and stuff are still around, but they're called "Legend Beasts" because the Chima animals never see them much. Once in awhile the tribes gather and race on Speedorz for some golden orb which is supposed to be better than normal Chi. Also, the Legend Beasts give them immunity because they've never taken Chi and so have no swords or opposable thumbs. In other words, it doesn't make much rational sense, unless you think it reminds you exactly of another show. But they're talking animals, so whatever.

Awesome Box: Stealth Program

 Harvard library has created a"Awesome Box", a way of crowdsourcing Reader's Advisory and book recommendations. The Awesome Box was the brainchild of Annie Cain and Matt Phillips, and now is a project that involves many collaborators. Please read all about them here.

I decided to create something similar at the Story Action Pod this summer.

The result was the meme-filled station you see to the left. And it was super fun! Over the course of the summer we got about 50 recommendations from kids about books from liking The Pigeon Wants a Hot Dog because it's funny, to liking 39 Clues because there is at least one scene that includes swords.

Because Summer Reading Program always gives our circulation department approximately 50 million hours of extra shelving work, we decided to keep everything as inside-our-department as possible.

Here's how it went down: