Library Blog

Well, school is off to a great start this year.  The library is busier than ever.  The freshmen English classes are visiting the library to learn all about our various offerings.  I am always excited to see new faces and to welcome back familiar faces from last year.

This year I am blessed to have three great library aides – Jessicca, Kaity, and Ashleigh.  I know they will be great help in such a busy place.  Plus, I am sure they will LOVE to dust books.

Soon I will be able to order new books.  If you are a student at SHS and have suggestions for book purchases, please let me hear from you.  I value your input.

Hope to see you in the library soon.

April is the month for the Texas Library Association Conference. This year it is being held in historic San Antonio. 

The conference is the single best growth experience as a librarian that I have each year.  7,000-8,000 public, K-12, and academic librarians attend each year. 

There are a zillion workshops available to attend.  Many of these are conducted by librarians who share their best ideas with the group.  Other workshop sessions feature current authors from every genre imaginable.  Often they discuss their newest books, how they develop their characters and story lines, and something about their personal lives.  So interesting!

In the past there have been great keynote speakers for the two general assemblies.  This year the keynotes will be given by Julie Powell (author of Julie and Julia) and Scott Simon of NPR fame. I am especially excited to attend a breakfast which features Gary Paulsen as the speaker.  Just like lots of students I have taught and many more that I work with now, I love Paulsen’s writings (Hatchet series and numerous others).

Another fun thing to do during the conference is to visit all the vendor displays.  This gives us an opportunity to see what the newest publications, software, and library products are on the market.  Many of the publishing houses also bring in their authors to do book signings.  (One year I waited for an hour and a half to get Stephenie Meyer’s autograph.)

The only frustrations I have during conference time are these:
 - sessions overlap so you can’t go to all the ones you are interested in
 - the lines are often too long to wait for author signings
 - free books are heavy
 - no matter what shoes I take, my feet always hurt

The best things about conference:
 - lots of free stuff
 - lots of great, motivating talks
 - lots of time to network with other librarians
 - a great opportunity to recharge the creative battery juices
 - enjoying a fun time with my sville library buds

Don’t plan to find me at school from April 14-April 17. I’ll be in San Antonio!

Yesterday, I got to see the movie New Moon. I loved it.  Of course, this book was my favorite of all four Twilight books.  I’m a Jacob fan.

I thought the acting was better in this movie than in Twilight. I could actually understand what Kristen Stewart was saying most of the time – not so much mumbling.  I also loved that Dakota Fanning was in this movie, but I wish her part had been bigger.

It was interesting to see the wide vary of people in the theater – teens, children, women from 20 to 60, and even MEN!  I wonder if they came because they HAD to or because they wanted to see what the hoopla was all about.

Favorite scene – when Bella tells Jacob that she loves him, but that it has always been Edward.

Biggest laugh – when a girl somewhere in the audience reacted to the first time Jacob takes off his shirt

Watch for the release of Eclipse next June.

Leave a comment about your thoughts on the movie.