Library work: My first 1,000 hours

Wearing my Hogwarts robes in Bellview library

With the completion of my contract-year in Bellview Elementary School library, I have amassed more than 1,000 hours in my library service career.

‘A Tale for the Time Being’ by Ruth Ozeki

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is the latest book on my summer reading log through Jackson County Library Services.

The story is told through the alternating perspectives of 16-year-old Nao, a girl in Tokyo whose classmates subject her to cruel and relentless bullying, and Ruth, a novelist who discovers Nao’s diary after it washes ashore on the remote Pacific coast island where Ruth lives.

Nao’s mother is her family’s sole earner and her father, deeply depressed, has already attempted suicide and seems likely to attempt it again. Nao believes that her only option is to commit suicide as well.

Standing continues to present challenges

My cane baldric, braided from strips of T-shirt fabric

Two-and-a-half years after injuring my ankle, I continue the process of recovery. It’s a gradual process and, while I have regained mobility, standing for a long duration continues to present challenges.

‘Bikenomics’ by Elly Blue

My latest “Suggest a Title” recommendation to my public library concerns Bikenomics, How Bicycling Can Save the Economy by Elly Blue (Microcosm Publishing, 2013).

In a recent eNewsletter, Utne Reader magazine directed my attention to an excerpt from chapter 1, “The Free Rider Myth.” In it, Blue challenges the “myth” that auto users pay for the roads they drive on.

Blue argues that drivers only pay for half the cost of our roads. The rest is paid for through sales, property or income taxes — whether or not we drive. And much of the money goes to pay interest on loans that financed road construction projects.

RVUUF web editor

Among professional developments this week, I signed a letter of agreement to work as web editor for the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF).

‘Truffula Tree Yarnbomb’

I rely on Google alerts tied to “Library” and “yarn bomb” to help me locate many of the links and images that I post to Yarn Bombing at Your Library.

But I really appreciate it when artists contact me to let me know about their projects, as happened with a Lorax-inspired Truffula Tree Yarnbomb created by Jenny Brown.

Blogging at Hi, Jenny Brown, Brown writes that this was the biggest yarnbomb she’d done by herself with opportunities to learn lessons. Her adventure installing the Truffula Tree Yarnbomb makes an entertaining read and as a fellow cyclist (who rides a yarn-bombed bicycle), I also appreciate Brown’s crocheted seat-cover.

‘Someone with Autism Loves Me!’

My husband found a heart-shaped keychain with the caption, “Someone with Autism Loves Me!,” propped on our front-door handle, braced against the frame. He thought I might’ve left it for him, but I’m as mystified as he is concerning the keychain’s origin. For whatever reason it was left at our place, my husband is snagging the keychain because someone with autism loves him. But he hung it on our wall and so both of us can enjoy it.

EqUUal Access: Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry

The Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry (AIM) credentialing program is officially being released at the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly.

AIM was developed as a joint program of EqUUal Access (a group of Unitarian Universalists living with disabilities, their families, friends and allies) and the UUA. It builds upon a document that I helped co-author, “Accessibility Guidelines for Unitarian Universalist Congregations.”

Exclusion: Children learn from adults’ practices

David M. Perry’s son Nico’s name was “conspicuously absent” from a flier promoting end-of-year performances by his school’s reading groups. Nico’s teacher’s explanation: “Nico will get to participate as an audience member.”

‘So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed’

An attempt at shaming directed against a stranger that showed up in my Facebook newsfeed led me to read Jon Ronson’s book, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Riverhead Books, 2015).

I felt bad for the person depicted in the photo in my Facebook newsfeed. She made a poor decision in the past and attempted to put it behind her.

The photo campaign was an attempt to force this incident to the top of search results again, and I was profoundly disappointed that anyone I knew would choose to participate. Even worse, the campaign against this person is not an isolated case.

Religious Explorations student art exhibit

Religious Explorations lead teacher Liz Bianco and I hung student artwork Saturday in the Great Hall at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

ALA Conference by bicycle or bus

How many library professionals will travel by bus or bicycle during the American Library Association conference (happening in San Francisco this year)? Sarah Stone, a librarian in the Collection Development Office at the San Francisco Public Library, has compiled tips for getting around via public transit, ride services and bicycling. Her essay was published on the official blog of the Association for Library Services to Children.

Cross-posted from Librarian on a Bicycle

Ableism affects all of us

Elsa S. Henry smashed Autism Speaks lightbulbs with her white cane instead of giving in to neighbors’ expectations that the whole street would “Light It Up Blue.” “Disability activism requires us to stick up for one another,” Henry says. “Ableism doesn’t affect one person or one group, it affects all of us.”

‘See you in the library!’

Cartoon image created with Bitstrips

There’s been a lot of reshelving books and “shelf-reading,” putting titles back in order on the shelves, during these final days of the school year. This comic status sums up my wishes for everyone: “Have a great summer. See you in the library!”

ALA elections: Todaro and Feldman

I may have changed my designation in American Library Association membership from “Student” to “Library Support Staff.” But I retain the same interest in shaping ALA policy by voting in annual elections.