little free library

I recently took a trip to Minneapolis. It was my second time there, but the first time in great, just have to be outside weather. On top of all the wonderful activities this lake filled city has to offer during these glorious weather stretches, the whole place is very walkable.
As I trekked through the neighborhoods surrounding the downtown area, my friend pointed out the Little Free Libraries that have popped up all over. The LittleFreeLibrary concept began in Wisconsin, but is quite popular all over now. The community movement is simple-folks put out tiny decorated boxes that serve as lending libraries for the area. There is a site where you can order your own little library or just read about the movement.
NPR did a piece on these tiny libraries as well - take a listen!

Images: wikipedia, cascadiahomes, laughingsquid, indiegogo

makerspaces

Libraries are community hubs, a place for gathering as much as they are a space for housing books. In just the past couple of years it seems the idea of libraries being home to spaces set aside specifically for creating is catching on and speedily spreading. It is the development of the "makerspace". Whether it be craftsmen/women of similar artistic endeavors, children armed with their Legos and imaginations or tech enthusiasts engineering their latest projects- these groups have a space to gather and utilize to create.

Sometimes the spaces are called labs and contain equipment and tools otherwise unavailable to patrons, but often they are rooms dedicated to hosting a writing group or knitting circle. The important aspects of a makerspace in the library is that it is a place of creativity and collaboration. Check your local library's newsletter or website and see if they are part of the trend toward makerspaces. Also, this post on The Unquiet Librarian blog has links to much more information about makerspaces and their creation and some generally fantastic ideas about how they tie into participatory learning.

Image: danwoog via google

Banned Books Week

It is the 30th anniversary of the annual event held to celebrate the freedom to read. The American Library Association's Banned Books Week starts today and their site provides a history of the celebration, information about banned or challenged books, and a calendar of events throughout the week.

An interesting addition to Banned Book Week is the Virtual Read Out Page. The following comes from the page and explains how you or your local library could participate.

"For the second year in a row, readers from across the country and around the world will be able to participate virtually in the 30^th anniversary celebration of Banned Books Week, Sept. 30 – Oct.6. Participants may proclaim the importance of the freedom to read by posting videos that will be featured on a dedicated Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out YouTube channel.

Instructions on how libraries can participate in the event can be found on the How your library can participate in the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-out! page. If your organization will host a Banned Books Virtual Read-Out, consider using this free promotional poster.
Video criteria

• Videos (no more than two minutes long) can be submitted by anyone as long as it includes a reading of a banned or challenged book. The video must include information on where and why the book was banned or challenged. You may also wish to add your thoughts on the importance of keeping that particular book on library or bookstore shelves.
• Videos of up to three minutes long can be submitted giving eyewitness accounts of local challenges.
• For those who are camera shy, you can still participate in the Banned Books Virtual Read-out by creating a video montage that centers on banned/challenged books. Thomas University created a video last year that can be used as an example.

Submitting your video
Submit your video by filling out this form. You must have a YouTube/Gmail account in order to upload to YouTube."

So spread the word and happy reading!

 Image: ALA

calling all patrons

My town did a survey this winter to find out what the average person thought of the library and if, as well as how, they used our public library. Over the course of the last three weeks the local paper has published a series of articles regarding the results of this survey. The articles were both inspiring and discouraging....
It was a shame to hear just how many people never use the library, but I was really impressed by the "Friends of the Library" group here in town and I fully intend to join. This is a funny sort of post- the only point is to remind everyone to use their community library. In an age of everything being at your fingertips through your home computer, libraries are severely under utilized and in danger of losing funding.
The services libraries can provide go beyond borrowing materials, most have wonderful children's programs- such as book clubs and story hours. Libraries can have museum passes available and they offer workshops and speakers open to the public. However, if there are low circulation numbers and sparse attendance, there is a danger these programs and resources could disappear.
Once upon a time, I imagine as soon as you moved somewhere and settled in, you went and got a library card- how else could you get books for yourself or your family or where else would you or your kids find information or research? Now, when a library can often be viewed as a simple spot for lending, I doubt that getting that card is nearly the priority it once was to people.
This weekend I am taking my five-year-old to get his own library card. He could not be more excited.....it is a step in the right direction.

Celebrating Children's Book Week

Image courtesy of indiefixx

Happy Children's Book Week! In honor of these days dedicated to the celebration of children's literature, we have decided to make it a week of book talk (bear with us :) )- just some thoughts about a few of the amazing books, authors, and illustrators of the genre.

A particularly appropriate selection for kicking off a week about children's literature is 2006's Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. The tale is not only an impressive union of narrative and picture, it is a storybook tribute to libraries.

Image courtesy of bisforbooks

Miss Merriweather, head librarian and decorum-keeper, first meets Lion when he saunters past his stone counterparts and into the stacks. Scowling circulation assistant Mr. McBee seems intent on having the enormous cat ejected, but his boss declares that as long as he breaks no rules, he is welcome. The beast does misbehave though, roaring loud displeasure when storytime ends. At Miss Merriweather's reprimand, the contrite-looking lion promises to reform. In fact, he becomes something of a fixture in the building, dusting with his tail, licking envelopes, and serving as a stepstool for small patrons. Everyone appreciates him–except Mr. McBee. When Lion lets out another tremendous RAAAHHHRRR!, the man bursts into Miss Merriweather's office to snitch–and there he finds her in distress, having fallen from a stool and broken her arm. Lion, à la Lassie, has saved the day, but he is so chagrined by his own rule-breaking behavior that he doesn't return to the library. People miss him. Even Mr. McBee. A feel-good ending and a reminder that Sometimes, there is a good reason to break the rules bring the story to its most-satisfactory conclusion. - School Library Journal Review

Ms. Knudsen's story is original, humorous and poignant, but in my opinion, it is the illustration of Mr. Hawkes that makes this tale particularly special. His muted palette reflects the quiet, timeless atmosphere of the library, yet the expressive nature of the drawings captures the often lively bustle of the space.

Image courtesy of bisforbooks

Image courtesy of bisforbooks

Image courtesy of goingonabookhunt

Library Lion is one of those ideal picture books, perfect for read- alouds and a beautiful addition to any child's personal collection.

The Fledgling

Book cover courtesy of blog.patrickrothfuss.com

When I turned ten, a family friend (who happened to be a school librarian) gave me The Fledgling by Jane Langton. I had not heard of it, but was definitely drawn in by the dreamy-looking cover (hey, I was ten- the cover mattered!).

Some 25 years later, I still consider this book a favorite. It is an incredible mix of fantasy and coming-of-age story - punctuated with humor and suspense, it also manages to be an essay on Thoreau and the transcendentalists. Now, in fourth grade, I certainly would not have described the book this way. I probably would have said it was about a girl who is taught to fly by a Canadian Goose and how her family feels about it...either way, it is a truly interesting, touching story.

Middle grade fiction is riddled with literary mediocrity and endless series. It is a shame because when I think of the army of voracious readers out there in that age group, I think they deserve more books like this one (and that is the preachy librarian in me :) ).

The Sally Draper Reading List

via Booklicious

Inspired by this 1955 found photograph of an 11 year old girl engrossed in her book despite sitting in the middle of living room amongst her non-reading family members, a blogger for the New York Public Library blog saw a resemblance to "Mad Men's" own Sally Draper and so imagined what the fictional girl may have been reading (aside from Nancy Drew) during 1964 and 1965, the years in which the fourth season of the show is set.

And so here's the NYPL list of books published in 1964 and 1965 that might have been right up Sally's alley:

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - Roald Dahl
"Harriet the Spy" - Louise Fitzhugh
"Over Sea, Under Stone" - Susan Cooper
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" - Ian Fleming
"The Phantom of Pine Hill" - Carolyn Keene
"The Long Secret" - Louise Fitzhugh
"The Black Cauldron" - Lloyd Alexander
"The Mouse and the Motorcycle" - Beverly Cleary
"The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" - Paul Zindel

I love this list and want to read or reread all of these works - don't you? And be sure check out the post's comments section too for great books that Sally would have totally been reading even though they weren't necessarily published in 1964-'65 like "Seventeenth Summer" (1942) by Maureen Daly and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1943) by Betty Smith.

Thursday, a library, and Etsy

Library Card Bookplates courtesy of ModernClassicsKids

If I had the good fortune to have a whole room in my house dedicated to something totally frivolous, but also totally awesome, I would make it into a library for my kids. A space separate from their bedrooms or play space where we could go to read and do schoolwork....wow, this really is kind of a dorky dream, but still I love the idea- for this Thursday and Etsy entry - a children's library.

The concept of a whole wall of shelves for storing and organizing books makes me giddy..... I may even have to employ the dewey decimal system!

Custom Bookcase courtesy of xenasdad

I like a table and chairs for the workspace, just like in a real library with plenty of room to spread out and perfect lighting.

Shabby Painted 1940's Dining Set with 4 Chairs courtesy of royaloakcottage

Oh So Industrial Office Desk Lamp courtesy of happydayvintage

For something a little more comfortable- a couple of beanbags and a cool, cozy chair.

Kid's Beanbag Cover courtesy of mookah

Mid Century Marvelous courtesy of thevintagelaundry

On the walls - cheerful, useful, and colorful.....

Best Day Ever (Gold) courtesy of erinjaneshop

Large Cork Bulletin Board- Wood Scallop Frame courtesy of LaffyDaffy

World Map Recycled Collage Poster courtesy of artandphilanthropy

Some decorative touches....

1960's Vintage 10 Inch Replogle Globe

Large- Moon and Stars Paper Chandelier/Mobile courtesy of kismetsunday

The space will also have all the supplies they could need....

Set of 3 Ecological color pencil case courtesy of memegalarce

Let's Play Fabric Covered Journal courtesy of rabbitandtheduck

Pretty Flowers and Monsters glass marble push pins courtesy of MostlyMagnets

Finally, just because it makes me smile every time I look at it...how often do you see a funny clock? This is one great library....

Nancy Drew Book Clock courtesy of SackReligious

Art Show

Something different for tonight....I'm going to an art show in a nearby library. You have to love libraries, not only can you find the various types of literature, music, and film your heart desires- they also support the local artists (and give me something fun to do on a random Tuesday night!).

In the spirit of the New Year, I am making an effort to appreciate the art around me and check out the area's library galleries once a season. I will always have something beautiful on the calendar!

catalog of (card) catalogs

via JanelleGrace

There are not too many pieces of furniture that are musts for me. I like a lot of different things, but I've long desired two specific pieces of furniture. First, I've always wanted a worn, brown leather old man chair. The boyfriend, it turns out, had been keeping his grandfather's old leather chair hidden in his junk room - completely unaware of its perfection nor my lust for it. It is now "visiting" my apartment and gives me yet another reason to hold on to the bf.

The second piece of furniture that I've always wanted is a card catalog. The beat-up quality of the wood, the little drawers perfect for compulsive organizers - yes, I know it is considered hipster decor and not entirely practical (how many drawers do you need for buttons?), but, boy, do I love the look.

via bitsandbobbins

via ooh food

via urbanroutine

via squiggle

via adorevintage

via tumblr

via portlandmonthlymag.com

via Abbey Goes Design Scouting

via Bliss

via Home Sweet Home

via seesawdesigns

via the city sage

Libraries and Art

Image of P.S. 47 library courtesy of The New York Times

I have never met a library I did not love, even the musty, overcrowded ones and the too cold, too quiet varieties, but my true favorites have real character and very often that comes from their art. I do not mean simply what hangs on the wall, although that certainly is part of it, I mean how everything is laid out to welcome, inspire, support...and much more.

My friend forwarded me a slideshow from The New York Times that included the new library in P.S. 47, complete with an art installation by illustrator Maira Kalman. The image shown above, and this one from a detail of Kalman's work, really demonstrate how art and design bring personality to these towers and rows of books.

Image courtesy of The New York Times

As I clicked through the slideshow and read about this library and the others featured, I learned about the Robin Hood Foundation L!brary Initiative. I became intrigued by the collaboration of the Robin Hood Foundation and New York City's Board of Education to revitalize and maintain the school libraries in many of the impoverished communities of the city.

Individuals saw the need to re-invent the forgotten libraries- these spiritless rooms were certainly not the vibrant centers of learning the schools and students needed - so the initiative was born. Nine years and sixty-two schools later, the program continues to marry libraries and art and their union brings happiness to countless children.

The following are just some examples of the new spaces.

Image of P.S. 96 courtesy of The New York Times
Image of P.S. 192 courtesy of Architectural Record

Images of P.s. 36 and P.S. 186 courtesy of Pentagram

There are two great articles about the initiative at Architectural Record and Pentagram. They introduce you to some of the people whose designs and art have breathed new life into the school libraries.