‘Cataloging Correctly for Kids’

Highlighted among books and resources on my professional shelf: Cataloging Correctly for Kids, An Introduction to the Tools by Sheila S. Intner, Joanna F. Fountain, and Jean Weihs (American Library Association, 2011).

I took a course in cataloging as part of my pursuit of a library degree, and, while it offered a good foundation for my eventual work in a library, I felt that there was more to learn — particularly in the realm of working with records in an online catalog. Add in, too, my wish to learn those practices that are especially helpful to children, and it was clear to me that reading this book was essential to my professional development.

Newspaper PR: Special inserts can have early deadlines

From time to time, I receive questions about effectively sending items to newspapers. (I worked several years as an editor for a northern California newspaper. I also served as volunteer publicist for weekly church listings and a Toastmasters club.)

One recent question concerned special publications like a weekly Arts & Entertainment tabloid, produced by a newspaper publisher and inserted into the regular newspaper. My questioner was concerned because a listing he’d submitted was not published by the newspaper.

Estoy la coordinadora para Six Flags Read to Succeed

(En español / In Spanish)
Estoy la coordinadora de Six Flags Read to Succeed para Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. Estudiantes, por favor, completa tus seis horas de lectura recreativa y devuelve el diario de lectura a tu maestro por 15 de febrero 2019.

(En inglés / In English)​
I’m coordinator of Six Flags Read to Succeed for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. Students, please complete your six hours of recreational reading and return the reading log to your teacher by Feb. 15, 2019.

‘Six Flags Read to Succeed’

Parents of children in Kindergarten to sixth-grade at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts: keep a look-out for reading logs for “Six Flags Read to Succeed.” Students who complete six hours of recreational reading will earn a free ticket to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Our principal, Ms. Vogel, has been involved for several years with “Six Flags Read to Succeed,” and she asked me to serve as program coordinator for SRCSA. Teachers can earn a park-ticket too, if enough students from their class successfully qualify.

Bullying: Trump would be ‘bystander’ in schoolyard, celebrating violence against journalist

As someone who works toward a school and social climate where bullying is eliminated, I want to talk about comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, in which he spoke admiringly of a Montana congressional candidate who “body-slammed” a reporter.

Reverse-applique on this year’s ArtWalk T-shirt

One of the ways that our generous community supports Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts is the sponsoring of T-shirts for students and staff for the annual ArtWalk fundraiser. This year’s fundraiser took place last Friday, and here I am wearing my shirt. I spent the weekend customizing it with reverse-applique along the sleeves, shoulders, and front neckline. I used patterned fabrics in the white, black, yellow, and blue of the T-shirt’s Narwhal design, plus I threw in some squares in green cutwork fabric because it’s my favorite color. Got a lot of appreciative reactions when I wore it to school today.

Illinois libraries, ‘inclusive workspaces for individuals with autism’

Appreciation to the Skokie Public Library and the Midlothian Public Library in Illinois, which have “positioned themselves as inclusive workspaces for individuals with autism.” The upcoming annual conference of the Illinois Library Association has a “Libraries: All Inclusive” theme (Oct. 9 to 11, 2018), and among presenters, two staff members from the aforementioned libraries “will share their employment experiences.” Speaking as an aspiring librarian who is on the autism spectrum, I find the library environment to be an ideal match for my autistic strengths. Dare I hope this conversation reaches a national platform at an upcoming meeting of the American Library Association? Here’s Special Needs and Inclusive Library Services (SNAILS) with an overview of programs related to accessibility at the ILA conference.

Submitted via social media to the American Library Association

Staff picture for 2018-2019 school year

Off to the start of a great new year at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts, and here is my official staff photo for the year, which was taken by MugsyClicks.

Completed work on the hat and blouse just in time for school-picture day; I assembled them from quilting fabric in school colors of black, white, and gold.

‘Art Walk’ T-shirt with reverse-applique

Over the summer I was given a stash of unused quilting fabric, and a lot of it was in official colors for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. (Those colors are black, white, and gold.) Here’s the shirt for last year’s “Art Walk” fundraiser, embellished with reverse-applique along the neck, and ribbon accents along the shoulder seams and sleeves. Lookin’ forward to this year’s fundraiser; students are collecting pledges.