Is Everybody In?

Seth Godin's take on curiosity is interesting. It's true, curiosity is dangerous and not often encouraged within structured environments like schools. On the other hand, large institutions like libraries are inherently set up for the curious - the concept of browsing, of kismet, of finding a special book because your curiosity leads you to it. The satisfaction of curiosity as a book is read and thought about.

On the level of work in libraries, we encourage curiosity by exploring -different collection formats, different programs and ways of programming, trying new ways of reaching more patrons and customers. To be curious means that one is willing to keep looking for solutions, trying new stuff and exploring to make things better. Curiosity=change!

I use the line from one of the Door's songs, "Is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin," because I think we are ready for that future leap now, that leap of logic, curiosity and commitment that opens us up to adventures in better service and better libraries. Here's to curiosity!

Next Favorite Video

My partner is an IT guy so I always get a major kick out of this - both from the perspective of the many patient IT folks who have helped me over the years and my own reactions so perfectly mirrored by the frustrated book user!

One of My Most Favorite Library Videos

I fall over laughing...

1000 Books Before Kindergarten Ready to Launch

After a year of planning, design and fundraising, the Children's Dept is set to launch a multi-year, pre-literacy effort aimed at encouraging families to read at least 1000 books to their preschooler, birth to age 5 before they enter school. Modeled on a pilot program in Indiana, this exciting program is directed by children's librarian project leader Ann Hardginski. Partners in this project include Target, the Friends of the Library, the Menasha Rotary Club and the Menasha Educational Endowment Fund.

Families can sign up beginning March 2. Themed on Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar, each family receives a "Read and Grow" binder, a book bag and pages to record their first 100 books read. After finishing and recording their first 100 books read, families return to the library and receive a CD of songs and nursery rhymes, a new set of pages to record their next 100 titles and two stickers: one to put in their notebook and one to put inside our giant caterpillar in the Children's Dept. Each time a family completes 100 pages they receive a new set of stickers and a new CD -10 in all!

Each set of pages is themed to a different food item that the caterpillar will eat: apple, pear, ice cream cone and so on. Families who finish all 1000 books receive a certificate, a book to keep and the child(ren)'s name will be entered on our giant Butterfly Wall of Fame.

The goals of this project are to help kids enter school ready to learn; to expose them to a wide variety of books and to promote use of the library and it's collections - a treasure trove of free material available to all community members. Click to listen to a short introduction for the project!

Let's Take a Tour

When kids come to visit the library, why not make it fun? There's more than one way to explain to kids the nitty gritty of how the library really works. This is what we've found works for us!
Each year we choose a theme for the tour based on a favorite children’s book. This year we are using Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar. We start the visit by sharing the story. That settles them in and they are ready for the meat of the visit.
We tell the kids that the library is like a house that the books live in. But books love to visit with kids at their house! With a library card, children can take home materials for a nice visit. And, just like a visit from a friend (we all know that visiting friends don't stay forever), the books have to return home to the library after a few weeks so they can visit with other children. This simple explanation hits home with kids and helps them see how a library works.
Then its time for a walk about the room. Wooden fruits and veggies are plunked down in strategic areas we want to highlight (specific book collections; Check-out and Info desks; book drop, etc) . Then we walk around using a caterpillar puppet to find the food, munch it and describe to the tour group what area they are in. Kids often spot the food first which adds to the fun and the excitement of discovery. Once we've finished the walk, kids are free to go back and browse and/or select material for check-out.
Kids remember the food on subsequent visits with parents when library staffers are overheard saying to kids “Remember, you check out your books over by the banana.” It brings a grin to all our faces.

Hey Baby, It's Cold Outside?

For those who shudder at the upcoming Wisconsin winter, I recommend a delightful course of Arctic and Antarctic reading to reassure us all that our winters "ain't nothin'!" Snow baby: the Arctic childhood of Admiral Robert E. Peary's daring daughter by Katherine Kirkpatrick
A fascinating account of Marie Ahnighito Peary, born in the Arctic and raised in Washington DC and Greenland. A short biography perfect for 3-5th gradersHow to Survive in Antarctica by Lucy Jane Bledsoe
Part memoir, part survival tips, part curiosities, this book lets readers vicariously experience the author's adventures while on exploration in Antarctica.Call Me Ahnighito by Pam Conrad; illustrated by Richard Egielski
A fictionalized meteorite biography! A huge meteorite describes how it lay half-buried in Greenland for centuries until it is finally excavated by members of a Peary expedition and begins a new journey.

Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Describes the unbelievable events of the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition, when the ship the Endurance was crushed in a frozen sea and the men made the perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land.

Recess at 20 Below by Cindy Aillaud
You haven't had a great recess experience until you've gone out in the Arctic circle. A great book of photos written from a child's perspective will have readers thinking globally!

Playaway Day

Do you love taking books on tape or CD with you as you ride in the car -but hate the drama of changing the CD/tape at 65 miles an hour? Or wish you could take them on vacation but hate to take a bulky box and worry you might misplace a tape or CD in some off place? Then Playaways may be for you. This new format is a self-contained digital audio book in a tiny package that comes complete with it's own controls. Just pop in a AAA battery and your earbuds and you can listen to great books - all in a package the size of a deck of cards. We have plenty of titles that check-out for a month with an additional renewal month if you need it. Play them today!