Making Books Holiday-ish!

Ok, Thanksgiving has passed so I can officially put up the tree. We usually head out and find a live tree to put on our window seat. But this year inspired by Pinterest and clever librarians everywhere, I made a book tree. So here is my baby.


It's a little crooked but it has lots of our favorite books (Ulysses!  1001 Arabian Nights!). The advantage is it never needs water. The disadvantage is that I can't pull out books from it to read...I must be patient. Gack!

If you are looking for more bookishly holiday things to make, check out Book Riot's post here!

Celebrating My Favorite Days at the Library

I love working around the winter holidays.

It's a little oasis of calm for professional level work (you guys are all on vacation) so my email is almost empty, my phone messages are zeroed out and my teammates are taking some well-deserved time off.  I can't spend much time planning anything since colleagues everywhere are elsewhere celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Solstice and preparing hearth and home for all the food, guests and celebrations - or quiet contemplation - that the season brings.

Although we still have families coming in, our check-outs and reference dip as people clear the deck for the holidays. There will be an uptick of use between this week and the first of the year when school is out but even these visits seem to bring happier, less stressed interactions. There are delicious cookie and candy treats shared from staffers, patrons and staff families so I clandestinely sugar up as the days flow by.

And, although my work is truly caught up and I feel the calm of a deadline-less reprieve,  there is always a bit of time devoted to cleaning up and readying myself for the new year - deleting emails; weeding; organizing my desk or finishing a small piece of a project that has been laying there waiting for closure like this tired old year.

Somehow it seems fitting to the moment.

Image: 'Happy Winter Solstice!'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/15004954@N03/5280170521

Holiday Books ...On Holiday!

Over at Booklights, Susan has a delightful post that is worth a link on your library's blog if you have one for the public.  The audience for Booklights, a PBS sponsored blog, is parents and families.  The writers share tips on books and literacy and there is always a fresh bright perspective.

In today's post, Susan gently explains to people what happens when they look at the library for a holiday book to check out just prior to a holiday.  Usually, all they'll find is a few tattered and picked over titles - the dregs.  While this is obvious to us as library staffers, it is an important piece of info for folks who walk in and wonder why we don't have anything for them. 

Few libraries have the budget to spend endlessly on holiday materials; many of us create temporary limits on loan periods or limits on numbers of books that can be checked out.  We want everyone to have a little something.  And in the post, Susan reminds readers that it is good to be aware that many people want these same subjects - and that it is good to share!

We'll be posting this on our Parent's Page - it's good advice, well delivered!

Image: 'happy St Patrick's Day!'   http://www.flickr.com/photos/41403643@N00/424096833

Teens Say "We Heart You"

Teen programs take many forms - from gaming to parties to podcasting and webcasting to...well, whatever. We are fortunate to have a very active Teen Advisory Council (TAC) at our library and a dynamic Teen Librarian, Linda Jerome. The TAC kids brainstorm ideas for a monthly teen program. Yesterday, the teens did a terrific "We Heart You" program that put the focus on positive messages for their peers and little kids.

Linda Jerome relates "Our Teen Advisory Council came up with the idea of spreading a little Valentine’s cheer by creating paper hearts to put in random books in our children’s and teen collections. Teens wrote positive messages (similar to what you might find on a candy heart) and decorated the paper hearts and then placed them in books for children and teens to find. The hearts placed in children’s books also had an additional sticker on them which directed kids to bring the paper heart to the Children’s Room desk for a little treat. Teens had a great time both coming up with messages and decorating the paper hearts as well as “hiding” them in books throughout the collections. We are curious to see how many of the hearts are turned in at the Children’s Room desk over the next few weeks!"

A day after the program, the first thrilled preschooler sidled up to the desk with the biggest grin on his face and a found "heart" in hand. The two little chocolate kisses he received completed the moment. This is an easy program and let teens show their "helping" side. What a sweet treat!

Outer Limits

To limit or not to limit - that is the question. Having just come off the December holidays, almost survived Valentine's day (just...three...more...days, huff puff huff puff) and about to embark on the adventure of spring, St. Pat's Day and Easter day book rush time, talking about limits is swirling in my mind.

There are only a small number of titles available specific to any one holiday or season (alright, I'll cop to the fact that winter and Christmas books do seem to be in endless supply). These books languish on the shelves "between times" until the holiday season rolls around and then, "Boom!", the stampede for these titles is on. It's pretty much not a budgetary option for most public libraries to buy multiple, multiple copies or load up the collection with as many books on these subjects as can be unearthed.

So, though we love to fill requests and love to be as open as possible, the subject of limits comes up. Without limits, we create a “first come, first served” expectation rather than one where we try to provide some kind of consistent and fair way for many people to have a chance to enjoy very limited but high demand resources. Setting limits of a few books per family or group allows us to have more resources available for more people.

Of course it also means people will have to share with others. That may be the true "outer limits" nature of the beast. Limits can work with patience and gentle explanations to our customers (who sometimes want more, more, more). At least we hope so!