Book Riot’s 2024 Read Harder Challenge

This is my third year of completing the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, a set of 24 prompts “that invite readers to explore formats, genres, and perspectives that might go beyond their reading comfort zones.” I employed a genre substitution to complete one of the prompts, but otherwise, I remained true to each prompt’s objectives. Here is my list of books to meet the 2024 Read Harder Challenge.

Ancestor Approved (Erika T. Wurth)

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Nov. 15, 2024 is Ancestor Approved, featuring contribotor Erika T. Wurth.

Schneider Family Book Award acknowledges past missteps

This week, as an offshoot to my studies in librarianship, I reviewed the manual for a literature award that I am interested in, the Schneider Family Book Award. Presented each year by the American Library Association, this award recognizes books for children, middle-grade readers, and Young Adults “for their distinguished portrayal of people living with a disabling condition” (ALA, 2024, p. 6).

Code Red, by Joy McCullough

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Nov. 8, 2024 is Code Red, by Joy McCullough.

Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Nov. 1, 2024 is Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep.

Tone policing through accusations of ‘unsafe’

At EdSurge, school principal Damen Scott shares that a subordinate recently told him that his tone made them feel “psychologically unsafe.” While I appreciate Scott being able to thoughtfully consider and act upon criticism, I’d be worried about accusations such as this being misused as tone policing. One more social landmine to worry about as a neurodivergent individual. Is my tone socially palatable? Am I doing it right, or will someone accuse me of making them feel “unsafe”?

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-03-20-as-a-principal-i-thought-i-promoted-psychological-safety-then-a-colleague-spoke-up

Burden of ‘approachability’ in librarianship

In thinking about librarian stereotypes, and factors that can influence patrons’ user-success and confidence: Pagowsky and Rigby (2014) suggest these factors can include “approachability, identity, warmth, openness, and body language of the librarian” (pg. 7), suggesting that “even active users, who are already in a library with research questions, carry preconceived notions that might hinder or help their access to information, depending on what they encounter and how librarians presents themselves” (Pagowsky and Rigby, 2014, p. 7).

‘Microaggression Bingo’

My studies in librarianship this week led me to the Tumblr thread Microaggressions in Librarianship. One microaggression that stood out for me, which I found particularly relatable, was grouped with assorted transgressions under “Microaggression Bingo.”

Beasts and Beauty, by Soman Chainani (Hansel and Gretel)

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Oct. 25, 2024 is Beasts and Beauty, by Soman Chainani.

Alone, by Megan E. Freeman

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Oct. 18, 2024 is Alone, by Megan E. Freeman.

Jude Saves the World by Ronnie Riley

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Oct. 11, 2024 is Jude Saves the World by Ronnie Riley.

Book haul : Friends of the Library sale, Fall 2024

There’s still time to visit Friends of the Santa Rosa Libraries’ Fall 2024 book sale: 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7 at the Veterans Building in Santa Rosa. I uncovered a lot of treasures at the latest sale, plus I know that proceeds benefit local branches of Sonoma County Library.
https://youtu.be/XIezNLkLlQ4

Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Presenting the winner, in 2024, of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, Pam Muñoz Ryan. Presented each year by the Association for Library Service to Children, this award “honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to children’s literature through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences.” My featured reading is from Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
https://youtu.be/Dc7Vj-kdrfM

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard

This sunflower lanyard proclaims that the wearer has a hidden disability. During a recent trip to Lexington, Ky, I obtained a lanyard at Blue Grass Airport (as well a bracelet and a pin during a stop-over at Charlotte Douglas International Airport).
https://youtu.be/bXcUVw5SOF4

Across the Desert, by Dusti Bowling

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Sept. 27, 2024 is Across the Desert, by Dusti Bowling.

LRS8 : Presentor’s recap

One of my professors, Dr. Amanda Harrison, and I gave a co-presentation at Library Research Seminar 8, which took place in mid-September at the University of Kentucky. Our presentation focused on portrayals of autistic people in “readers’ choice” state book award nominees from 2014 to 2024. Here is a brief recap of my experience.
https://youtu.be/5Xlm5xlmEF4

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture is an open-access journal that has been published twice a year since 2019. Ought’s editorial board positions it as “a small part of the larger neurodiversity movement — the campaign to recognize neurological differences as normal and necessary to human development” (Loftis, cited by Rozema & Bass, 2019, p. 4).

Person-first or Identity-first language?

Should you use “person-first” language to describe a person who is on the autism spectrum? Or use “identity-first” language and refer to them as an autistic person? The style guides I examined, suggest that both are permissible — but when you know which language is preferred by a person or by their community, that is the language you should use.
https://youtu.be/ynVXESFdoJ4

Beautiful Something Else, by Ash Van Otterloo

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Sept. 6, 2024 is The Beautiful Something Else, by Ash Van Otterloo.

Constructing a ‘maker’ identity

Hand-made masks, constructed during the pandemic

In Making as Self Reflection, Perdue alumni Dr. Avneet Hira talks about how, when she was attending classes in engineering at Kalpana Chawla (her undergraduate college), everything was “just so theoretical” and “not what [she] thought engineering was going to be like” (Sari & Huber, 2020, pg. 2 of transcript).

Hummingbird, by Natalie Lloyd

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Aug. 30, 2024 is Hummingbird, by Natalie Lloyd.

New From Here, by Kelly Yang

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Aug. 23, 2024 is New From Here, by Kelly Yang.

UCM, LIS 5350 : Introductions

In Fall 2024, I am taking a course in “Culturally Competent Librarianship” through the graduate program in Library and Information Science, University of Central Missouri. Among things I’m looking forward to this year is a department book-club reading of Verified by Mike Caulfield and Samuel S. Wineburg. And check out a couple of fun pictures of myself: a “Wanted” poster for my cosplay of Monkey D. Luffy from the One Piece franchise, and a photo from my junior college days, where I look like a young Justin Bieber.
https://youtu.be/ne6-6HF8qnk

Three Strike Summer, by Skyler Schrempp

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Aug. 16, 2024 is Three Strike Summer, by Skyler Schrempp.

SRCSA library : What I’m looking forward to

As we embark on a new school year (2024-2025), here are some of the things I’m looking forward to in the library at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts.
https://youtu.be/AB6dNbQ3hkw

SRCSA library : New school year, 2024-2025

It’s a new school year and I have boxes to go through before the library is habitable for customers. I ask for your patience as I prepare the library for your use.
https://youtu.be/dWr9t8h9ir4

Lake County Library memories

To commemorate 50 years of service in Lake County, California, Lake County Library has invited people to share their memories of the library system. Here are my memories of volunteering as a shelver at the Lakeport and Middletown libraries.
https://youtu.be/T0T-PB6z8cw

Book-Talk : Homebody, by Theo Parish

This is a graphic memoir of how the author, Theo Parish, came to understand and to comfortably inhabit their nonbinary identity. I really enjoyed this memoir, and I felt grateful for the representation and the visibility it provided me.
https://youtu.be/1OfOFrVTpgA

Free Period, by Ali Terese (eBook preview)

Presenting … First-chapter Friday, the eBook edition. August’s selection features Free Period, by Ali Terese: Read via the Libby app, obtained through Sacramento Public Library.

The Sound of Stars (free-writing prompt)

Among the books I’m reading, The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow, offers near-future dystopian adventure flavored with romance. An alien race, the Ilori, has invaded Earth and one-third of the world’s human population are dead. Those humans who remain live under the control of the Ilori, who have outlawed art, books, music: any type of creative expression.

“How are you feeling about this upcoming school year?”

I’m looking forward to a new semester in my graduate program. This semester, I am taking a course in “Culturally Competent Librarianship.” This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart, due to my intersectional identities as someone who is both autistic and nonbinary.

Book haul : Friends of the Library, summer 2024

I’ve acquired several great books from “Friends of the Library” venues, including More Tales to Keep You Up at Night, by Dan Poblocki; The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Sam Maggs; The Otherwoods, by Justine Pucella Winans; Puzzleheart, by Jenn Reese; Loveless, by Alice Oseman; and The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a short-story anthology.
https://youtu.be/Is4LtXrXoa0

When My Heart Joins the Thousand

Among the books I am currently reading, When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger is a particularly intense read. It’s a Young Adult novel told in the first person by main character Alvie Fitz.

“Think about a time when you felt hopeful about something in your life”

My ‘No Bully’ mugshot

When I attended school in Calistoga, CA, I didn’t fit in with any of my classmates. I didn’t have any friends and, in addition to simply feeling isolated, I was actively shunned and bullied by what felt like the entire student population.

The isolation I felt began on Day 1 of Kindergarten and persisted throughout my K-12 career at Calistoga Elementary School and Calistoga Junior/Senior High School.

The adults did very little about it; an individual teacher might build me up by saying that my reading ability put me at the top of the class but there were no anti-bullying programs the way that there are now (Safe School Ambassadors, Challenge Day, and the like).

“Who inspires you?” (Response to writing prompt)

Over the summer I’ve been helping out in a high-school English classroom. Each morning, the teacher assigns her students to work from a writing prompt and I decided to tackle those prompts myself. The writing prompt for July 18 was, “Who inspires you?”

Book-Talk : Ollie in Between, by Jess Callans

Being nonbinary, I found so many things to appreciate about Ollie in Between, which concerns a nonbinary 13-year-old navigating gender expectations. And as I read, I wondered if the protagonist might also be autistic. Ollie in Between will be published by Feiwel & Friends and April 2025.
https://youtu.be/0YUsvsDspAs

Books I’m reading during Summer 2024

I’m enjoying a productive summer so far. Among the books I’ve read, here are Love Letters for Joy, by Melissa See; Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork; and The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig.
https://youtu.be/gZ3zEYKlbLA

Thanks for Listening, by Molly Horan

This was a fun read. I appreciated Mia’s frustration with her friends for not heeding her advice, and enjoyed her solution, in the form of an anonymous social media account. Mia started out with good intentions, but it seemed as though, inevitably, her self-interests supplanted her altruism. I also read it with the cautionary idea that you aren’t necessarily as anonymous as you think you are online; Mia pretty much recognized every one of her friends who DM’d HereToHelp, in spite of the filters they used to mask their identities. I especially recommend this book for readers who enjoyed Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See and Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao.

Homebody by Theo Parish (free-writing prompt)

Over the summer I’ve been helping out in a high-school English classroom. Each morning, the teacher assigns her students to work from a writing prompt and I decided to tackle those prompts myself. We had a free-writing prompt for Friday, July 12, so I wrote about a graphic memoir that I had read recently, Homebody by Theo Parish.

The Blackbird Girls, by Anne Blankman (eBook preview)

Presenting … First-chapter Friday, the eBook edition. July’s selection featured The Blackbird Girls, by Anne Blankman: Read via the Libby app, obtained through Sacramento Public Library.

Homebody, by Theo Parish

I adored this graphic memoir about a nonbinary person coming into their identity. Like the author, Theo Parish, I had to navigate arbitrary rules of gender, all while feeling like these expectations were inauthentic to me. 

Books like this offer much-needed representation for nonbinary individuals. At whatever age, we need to be able to find ourselves reflected in stories.

And as an autistic reader, I appreciate a note from the author's biography, that Parish is neurodivergent. While not specifically addressed in this memoir, our shared neurodivergence was one more reason for this book to strongly resonate with me.

It Sounds Like This, by Anna Meriano (eBook preview)

Presenting … First-chapter Friday, the eBook edition. June’s selection features It Sounds Like This, by Anna Meriano: Read via the Libby app, obtained through San Francisco Public Library.

Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. To wrap up the school (and programming) year for 2023-2024, this week’s preview is Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis.

Summer reading, 2024!

In my approach to youth librarianship, one important emphasis for me this time of year is to promote my public library’s summer reading program. Sonoma County Library is hosting its summer reading program from June 1 through Aug. 10, 2024. Readers of all ages can log their minutes spent reading via the Beanstack app or by completing a paper log.
https://youtu.be/Q701MRlc3A4

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn, by Sally J. Pla

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 31, 2024 is The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn, by Sally J. Pla.

Book-Talk : Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by TJ Klune

I obtained a four-chapter preview from NetGalley, for Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. Four chapters in, and there is already so much to love about this sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. There are such intense stakes so very skillfully conveyed, and such relevant parallels to our current society. I look forward to the book’s expected publication in September 2024.
https://youtu.be/XgAaLN5UGt8

Monkey D. Luffy cosplay : ‘Wanted’ poster

From the One Piece manga, anime, and live-action franchise: I created a Wanted poster featuring my cosplay of Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. To create the poster, I used a template in Canva (an online graphic-design tool). The foreground photo of me was taken at home and, with my pose, I attempted to duplicate that of Luffy in his own Wanted poster. I removed the background and I layered it over a photo that I took during a walk along the San Francisco waterfront.

Eagle Drums, by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 24, 2024 is Eagle Drums, by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson.

The Greatest Superpower, by Alex Sanchez

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 17, 2024 is The Greatest Superpower, by Alex Sanchez.

SRCSA Library ‘Top 10’

What books are students most frequently checking out?

Most popular types of books in SRCSA library

More than 5,000 items were checked out from our school library during 2024-2025. Among those 5,145 items circulated between August and May, what are the most popular types of books checked out from our library?

Wild Blues, by Beth Kephart

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 10, 2024 is Wild Blues, by Beth Kephart.

Simon Sort of Says, by Erin Bow (eBook preview)

Presenting … First-chapter Friday, the eBook edition. Yesterday’s selection featured Simon Sort of Says, by Erin Bow: Read via Hoopla, and obtained through Sonoma County Library. Simon Sort of Says is a nominee, in 2024-2025, for the California Young Reader Medal, in its Middle School/Junior High category.

Moonflower, by Kacen Callender

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 3, 2024 is Moonflower, by Kacen Callender.

Character education: Books about Creativity

SRCSA’s character-education focus for May 2024 is “Creativity.” Here are several books from our school library that support the theme of creativity.
https://youtu.be/DNv92k-4Rh4

Cover One book-repair machine

Using Scholastic Dollars from the Scholastic Book Fair, our parents’ group purchased the “Cover One,” a loose-page book repair machine, for our school library.
https://youtu.be/EtRK_Oy8v7M

The Graham Cracker Plot, by Shelley Tougas

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for April 26, 2024 is The Graham Cracker Plot, by Shelley Tougas.

Death by Chocolate : Little Fitz and Ziggy

Vaudeville performer Little Fitz and his ventriloquist’s puppet “Ziggy” are characters from a murder-mystery dinner party game called “Death by Chocolate.” I got to choose my character, and I wanted to be Little Fitz. I watched a video by Jeff Dunham where he explained how to do ventriloquism and I got a cat puppet to be my “Ziggy.” Here is a pre-game exchange, getting into character. To be true to Ziggy as required by the game, I had to portray Ziggy as a bit of a jerk. It was a lot of fun, and I think I might keep going, keep having fun with it.
https://youtu.be/Soy_p4Rr-Oc

Rez Dogs, by Joseph Bruchac

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for April 19, 2024 is Rez Dogs, by Joseph Bruchac.

‘Big words’ don’t need apology

The narrator of a story I was reading, apologized for using “large words.” But I am autistic and using “big words” is part of who I am. In the past I was teased and ridiculed for having a large vocabulary and, when I read that passage, it seemed like the narrator had internalized being shamed for their vocabulary. I want to push back against the idea that people should apologize or feel at all ashamed for using “big words.”
https://youtu.be/9aIABl34AHg

Let’s build a Community of Readers (2024)

“When children see the adults around them using reading and writing in their everyday lives, they’re more likely to become readers and writers themselves.” — How to Create a Literate Home: Young Child and Kindergartener, PBS Kids, March 26, 2012. I created flyers for colleagues to display a book that they are currently reading. My design is based on one by Andrea Trudeau. https://youtu.be/9agrAN5Nbts

Ethics in library cataloging

This week, I watched “Change the Subject,” a documentary that’s related to the ethics of library cataloging.

Book-Talk : Paige Not Found, by Jen Wilde

During Autism Acceptance Month, April 2024, I am reading Paige Not Found by Jen Wilde. It features a protagonist who is autistic and nonbinary, who learns that a chip was planted in her brain without her consent. As a reader and librarian who is autistic and nonbinary, I feel visible through reading a book that features a main character who is so like me.
https://youtu.be/n0fWnuBqZu4

UCM’s SOLIS Book Club : Poll winner for Fall 2024

The poll has closed and TJ Klune’s House in the Cerulean Sea was the top vote-getter for SOLIS Book Club to read and discuss in Fall 2024.
https://youtu.be/vhJV6ug8EcY

The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for April 5, 2024 is The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander.

Ellen Outside the Lines, by A.J. Sass (eBook preview)

Presenting ... First-chapter Friday, the eBook edition, beginning with Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass: Read via the Libby app, checked out through San Francisco Public Library. I will preview another eBook on the first Friday of each month, or on first and third Fridays if available content warrants it. Each eBook will be available from an area library.

Books for National Poetry Month

Here is a sampling of books from SRCSA library: Picture books of poetry as well as novels-in-verse, to commemorate National Poetry Month.
https://youtu.be/a82v-WzHMGE

May 3 : Last day for student check-out

Hello, everybody! The end-of-school-year will be here before we know it. The last date for student check-out will be Friday, May 3. Please encourage students to check at home and in the classroom, and return any library books that they still have. And teachers, please check your shelves for materials checked out from the library.

Character education: Books about Courage (#2)

SRCSA’s character-education focus for April 2024 is “Courage.” Here are graphic novels and prose novels that support the theme of courage.
https://youtu.be/tom5uMG9PB0

Character education: Books about Courage (#1)

SRCSA’s character-education focus for April 2024 is “Courage.” Here are several picture books that support the theme of courage.
https://youtu.be/L676shx19Gc

The Schwa Was Here, by Neal Shusterman

Presenting the winner, in 2024, of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Neal Shusterman. Today’s reading is from The Schwa Was Here.

The True Definition of Neva Beane, by Christine Kendall

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 22, 2024 is The True Definition of Neva Beane, by Christine Kendall.

‘Neuroinclusion in libraries’

When libraries tout their inclusive hiring, do they extend those assurances regarding disabled and neurodiverse applicants? I recently viewed a fascinating webinar about “Neuroinclusion in libraries.”

Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 15, 2024 is Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff.

Book haul : ALA Youth Media Awards, 2024

Among recent arrivals in SRCSA library: Our ever-generous parents’ group has purchased winners and Honor Books from the 2024 Youth Media Awards, which are presented each year by the American Library Association.
https://youtu.be/pB8zA9EOHfk

The Eyes and the Impossible, by Dave Eggers

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 8, 2024 is The Eyes and the Impossible, by Dave Eggers.

Character education: Books about Cooperation

SRCSA’s character-education focus for March 2024 is “Cooperation.” Here are books from the school library, which address the character trait of Cooperation.
https://youtu.be/GscWigU4lvg

Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for March 1, 2024 is Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins.

Scholastic Book Fair 2024 in SRCSA library

Welcome to my happy place! Our school library has been transformed for the week, to host Scholastic Book Fair in 2024.
https://youtu.be/CbBdSnPU72E

The Creativity Project (Bagley and Shurtliff)

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Feb. 23, 2024 is The Creativity Project, featuring contributors Jessixa Bagley and Liesl Shurtliff.

Subjectivity of cataloging

Something that stood out from my reading in Hoffman was the subjectivity of cataloging. “Just like no two catalogers will necessarily choose the same subject headings, no two catalogers will necessarily choose the same classification number” (2019, p. 169).

The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Feb. 16, 2024 is The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon.

Controlled and uncontrolled vocabulary

Last week I composed an “Aboutness Statement” for Solitaire by Alice Oseman, which concerns a series of increasingly malicious and destructive pranks committed by a group called Solitaire. I used the word “pranks” to refer to this group’s activities but when I looked up an appropriate subject heading within a variety of authorities, I discovered that “Practical jokes” was the controlled-vocabulary term that should be used instead of “pranks.”

Date Me, Bryson Keller, by Kevin van Whye

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Feb. 9, 2024 is Date Me, Bryson Keller, by Kevin van Whye.

Subject analysis in cataloging

LIS professionals perform “subject analysis” in order to provide “subject access” to items in their collections (Holley & Joudrey, 2021, p. 159). Doing so, enables a cataloger to determine which subjects to apply to a resource, and Hoffman warns that “Subject analysis can be a complex and subjective process” (2019, p. 152).

LumaCon ’24 : personal highlights

On Feb. 3, 2024, I went to a youth-oriented comics convention, LumaCon in Petaluma, California. Event highlights, for me, were talking with creators Maia Kobabe, Brian Fies, and Alexis E. Fajardo, as well as a sighting of the BiblioBus: a mobile branch of Sonoma County Library. (One more sticker to affix to our map of Sonoma County Library branches!)
https://youtu.be/bIKtPXO1bp8

Mañanaland, by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Feb. 2, 2024, is Mañanaland, by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Character education: Books about Honesty

SRCSA’s character-education focus for February 2024 is “Honesty.” Here are books from the school library, which address the character trait of Honesty.
https://youtu.be/yfQ5FB9vviE

SRCSA library : Virtual tour (January 2024)

This is an updated version of a virtual tour of the library at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. It incorporates footage from an earlier video, recorded in August 2021, along with new footage that was recorded in January 2024. https://youtu.be/Qk5f0tc8DO0

‘Find Your Path at the Library’ (Update, January 2024)

We’re on an adventure to collect as many stickers as we can for a map of libraries in the Sonoma County Library system. During our most recent adventure, we collected stickers from the Sebastopol and Guerneville branches of Sonoma County Library.
https://youtu.be/G8HRWsuKz88

Book-Talk : Look on the Bright Side, by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann

Brit, Sasha, Christine, and Abby, those student activists from Go with the Flow, are facing new challenges in Look on the Bright Side. This time around, the girls’ romantic relationships take center stage as Sasha spends all her time with her new boyfriend, Brit is confronted with two very different suitors, and Christine and Abby are contending with their feelings for each other.
https://youtu.be/amcdIaNOUeI

Martin McLean, Middle School Queen, by Alyssa Zaczek

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Jan. 19, 2024, is Martin McLean, Middle School Queen, by Alyssa Zaczek.

Book-Talk : The Tea Dragon Festival, by Kay O’Neill

Kay O’Neill’s “Tea Dragon” graphic novels form one of my favorite series in cozy fantasy. The Tea Dragon Festival is second in the series, but earliest in the story timeline. It combines a sweet story with beautiful artwork.
https://youtu.be/l6BQH6vVnmE

Morale-boosting reminder : ‘All library staff’ were ‘Librarian of the Year’ in 2022

Library workers faced multiple challenges in early 2022, and it remains tough for us now. In the interest of boosting our collective morale, here is a reminder that in 2022, Library Journal honored “all library staff” as its Librarian of the Year.

Outcasts United, by Warren St. John

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Jan. 12, 2024 is Outcasts United, by Warren St. John.

UCM, LIS 5700 : Introducing myself

For LIS 5700, University of Central Missouri, in Spring 2024: I created this video to introduce myself to classmates in LIS 5700, “Organization of Information;” to share some of my thoughts about library cataloging, and to share some of my classification schemes for books, blog posts, Gmail messages, and Pokémon.

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Jan. 5, 2024 is The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

UCM’s SOLIS Book Club : What shall we read next?

As a new semester dawns for the LIS program, University of Central Missouri, my thoughts turn to what our SOLIS book club can read next. Here are some medal winners and Honor Books that represent exceptional media for young people.

Read-aloud : Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gág

Happy New Year! With the arrival of 2024, Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gág, is now in the public domain. Here is a commemorative read-aloud.

Our cat’s surprising reaction to a book about cats!

We found this book in a Little Free Library, and were surprised by Starfire’s reaction when she encountered it. We guessed that at some point in its past, the book had been exposed to catnip.