Wednesday, November 28, 2012

What's New At the Library?

So, Thanksgiving is over and the winter holiday spirit has taken over the the library! You'll be sure to notice the giant toy nutcrackers painted on our windows as you walk or drive past the library throughout the month, and the large starry-snowflakes dangling in various places, as well as the candy treats!

 
 
If you're looking for a local author to support, and need a gift for that special child (or children...or adults) in your life, Pat Gabler visited with us on Tuesday, November 27th to read selections from her recently published picture books.
 






Pat will be visiting with us again, here at the library, on
December 4th at 6:30.
If you can't make the author talk, her 7 books are also for sale at the Whispering Winds Grainery Gallery in off of CTY JJ on Rodell Rd and at Sweet Temptations Bakery in Osseo (located next to Subway).  Pat's books include lots of color, humor, and "hidden treasures" in their pages, as well as family activities in the back. A stuff animal comes with each book you purchase.
 
 
Finally, as a continuing program throughout the month, we're inviting patrons of all ages to write their letters to Santa for a display! We'll have the stationary, crayons, colored pencils, markers, and anything else you could think of needing while writing a letter to St. Nick. Stop in, write yours, and check out the lists that other patrons have left for the Man in Red.

Cassie and Rebecca are so excited, they've already written theirs!
 
...I think I had better get working on mine!
 
Happy Reading,
Samma

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Check This Out!

Cassie has created a new blog dedicated to Storytime @ the Library!

Can't make it to Storytime that day?  No problem!  Augusta Library's Storytime Resources will be the perfect place for parents and caregivers of toddlers and preschoolers to get inspired; allowing Storytime to be recreated at home!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Sensory storytimes are a messy kind of fun!

Okay, so I'm sure that not every sensory storytime is messy, but the one we had here at the library last Friday was more mess than we've had at storytime in quite a while.  With the program title Every Color of the Rainbow and the book Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert we set aside about 20 minutes at the end to let the kids explore with two types of rainbows. 



Rainbow Gelatin Sensory Tub

















Colorful Sensory Bags



While both were a big hit, the gelatin sensory tub (by far the messier of the two) was much more exciting as you can tell by the smile,

 
 

Everything is better with chocolate

Saturday, October 20, 2012

National Novel Writing Month

So, National Novel Writing Month is almost 10 days away. Here at the library, we've been prepping with some writing talks, trying to get people more involved. We think everyone has a story to share.

To start off, I talked with Amanda J. and Amanda G. about What is NaNoWriMo on 10/10. You can view a shorter version of our talk on YouTube. We talked generally about what NaNoWriMo is all about, how to get involved, rules and regulation, and then I spent some time showing them around the website.

On 10/14, I sat down with Lydia to do a talk called Teens Have the Write Stuff. This talk a was a little more in depth but I think we both had some fun. I tried to bring up some things in the YouTube video that I may have forgotten when I was talking to Lydia.

By the way! On the slide about getting the creativity flowing, the suggestion I couldn't think about was one from Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! In it, he says that when you're planning what to write, you should make two lists. The first list is all about the things you LOVE in books --for me that might be magic, cowboys, romance, independent women. In the second list, you list things you HATE to see in books; women who have to be in a relationship to be happy, sick kids...whatever it is. Then, he suggests putting them somewhere you can look at them while you're writing. I think that's a great idea, especially for young authors. Why would you want to read a story filled with all the stuff you don't like?

We will also be doing another talk on October 24th at 5 PM for Adults, So You Want To Write a Novel. I will have the link to the YouTube voice over up for that shortly after the talk, so if you're interested, stay tuned!

For those who are interested in my master list of resources, I have it posted on the WriMos of EC Facebook group, the Elsewhere Facebook group, and can e-mail it as needed. I'll post a complete version of it as soon as all of the talks are done; I don't want to forget anything!

Also, we're doing a Short Story Writing Contest here at the library! Entries should be less than 1000 words (but a little over is OK), double spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font. They can be e-mailed to me at johnson@augustalibrary.org or you can drop them off at the front desk by 7 PM on October 24th. I have NaNoWriMo-inspired goodies for a 1st and 2nd Place winner!

One final thought regarding NaNoWriMo: any WriMo's should be sure to stop in during our Write-In's on Wednesdays from 5PM-7PM. I will have special treats for you --but you have to be a writer!

Happy Reading,
Samma

Friday, October 19, 2012

Interview with Toby, the Storytime Dog

Toby with Youth Librarian Cassie

What did you do before you were a storytime dog?
I have actually been at the library for a while now, reading books and sleeping in the storytime room. I would sit quietly by the cupboard while Lillian the library lion would help the previous youth librarian with storytimes. I always liked hearing the stories and the songs they sang with the group and was very excited when Cassie chose me to help with storytime this year.

What is your favorite book?
There’s so many to choose from, for so many reasons. I really like books with animals in them and books that make me laugh. I like books that have big, colorful pictures in them so that when I’m listening to someone read I can just sit back and enjoy the pictures. Some of the books I’ve read more than once—a clear indication that they are worth checking out again—include Big chickens by Leslie Helakoski, Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Widget by Lyn Rossiter McFarland. But honestly, I can’t choose just one!

What is your favorite song from Storytime?
Definitely "Rock n' Roll Spider" sung to the tune of "Itsy, Bitsy Spider".  It gets me dancing!

What is your favorite part of working at the library with Cassie?
My favorite part is being able to play with Cassie and the storytime kids. I still get to listen to the stories and watch the games and crafts that the group does throughout the year, but now I get to lead the beginning song for the whole group and talk about how my week has gone. I also get lots of hugs and kisses from the kids, which is very exciting, although I wish some of them wouldn’t hug so hard and that others would wash their hands first sometimes.

Which book character do you think you’re most like?
I read this book once about a velveteen rabbit…

What is your costume going to be for Halloween?
I'm going to dress up as a cat!  Meow!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

End of Summer


Well, summer is officially over. The kids are back in school and the library has grown rather quiet again. We had a really successful summer here; about 75 kids involved in our Summer Reading Program with a maximum of 45 at one of our sessions --and that doesn't include the number of parents, care-givers, and volunteers that were involved too. You can see our pictures from the summer up on our Facebook Page. We're still working on getting a slideshow for the main web page; bare with us!

However, the end of summer has brought in some changes here too. Jane, our youth librarian, is retiring this month. She promises however to still be avidly available here, volunteering, running our book club, and filling in as we need the extra help. So, don't miss her too much; she'll still be here!

Taking over her youth librarian duties is Cassie, whom you may remember as our intern from last fall. She'll be heading up Story Time, which starts September 14th from 9:30-10:30. We have brochures available at the front desk with our themes and other information, so check those out.

Also new in the library, is Rebecca our new library aide. Our previous aide, Lillian, is working at the UW-EC Early Learning center, and wouldn't be available to continue to work her library hours as well, but Rebecca was ready to step in!

Hopefully we're done with the staff changes for awhile!

Finally, make sure you read the newest issue of the The Pulse that should have arrived in your mailbox this week. There's a very nice article about the library's involvement in NaNoWriMo. There is also a great article by Rebecca in the Augusta Area Times this week about Jane's retirement. Both of these papers are available for the public, here at the library.