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

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.