PIN UP GIRLS

This is a delightful time of year, I think. The quiet at the library, before the holidays, is a nice time to dream and plan. Programs will be starting up again in January, and I have some new puppet pals, new stories and songs to share, and summer reading programming to plan.

Really looking forward to our system wide SLP Workshop, starring the one and only Marge Loch-Wouters from LaCrosse Public Library, and her blog, http://tinytipsforlibraryfun.blogspot.com/.

Cynthia and I will be doing a little "bit" at the workshop,too. We plan on sporting our, not to be missed, SLP presentation costumes!

Much of my creative inspiration has been coming from my Pinterest obsession. Such a terrific way for me (being the visual person I am) to save all these wonderful sites, ideas, how-tos, etc., that I find while surfing the web. I can also enjoy other pinners finds! There will be a Webinar on January 11th to learn about Pinterest and how librarians are using it.

Follow me on Pinterest.

Program To The MAX

That lovable Rosemary Wells character, Max, stopped by the library for a program last week. Our library does not have a Program Room or a Community Room, so we are relegated to the library proper. It can pose a problem with crowds. There have been times when I feared for my life in a parental crowd push to get to Curious George, or just plain old hot chocolate and cookies!

Our "staging area" (formerly the Storytime Room) was the Bunnycakes Cafe'.

There was Bunnycakes Bowling,





 and a table for puppet making,too.







 Children looked for Bunny Money  and  turned it in for a prize (leftover from SLP). Big hit-------nothing like something you can buy with pretend money! I am taking some along when I go shopping since Nordstroms is very customer friendly : -)


Sooooooooooooo.......we now advertise to register ahead of time and pick up a very special ticket for the event. It is a public library and we are doing the program right in the middle of the Children's Room, so we are not turning anyone away from participating, but it has cut down on overcrowding.
It makes the program seem special and families feel more of a commitment.


 I am positive the Fire Marshall would be pleased.

Library Wishes

A few months ago I saw this great idea on the Storytiming blog as a quick and easy way to comfort kids when they are having a difficult time leaving when their parent says it's time to go. These lovely origami stars were made by my assistant Cynthia who is a remarkable artist, creator, and crafter.

Read the original entry on http://storytiming.wordpress.com/ that includes a link to a video tutorial for making the stars.

Finally It's Fall!

After the big summer reading extravaganza, the other surgery, and two kids moving home and out once again, I am FINALLY back to work at the library! It is great to be back to books and kids!


Fall programs have begun and the babies, toddlers, and school kids are swarming the library. The Middle School has moved out of walking distance, so after school is much different in the teen area.


In an effort to record and share our programs Cynthia and I created two new blogs. The first is "Storytime Plans: The Good, The Bad, And What Doesn't Work At All". The second is "Library CPR for Teens"
Creative Programming Recollected.


We attended the Northwoods Children's Book Conference last week and enjoyed the CCBC presentation, as well as David LaRochelle and Joyce Sidman. Did you know that David LaRochelle is a
Master Pumpkin Carver,too?

Looking forward to new books, new ideas, and a fresh new colorful season!

Tasting India with Teens

This summer we decorated the teen area to represent Bollywood. The colors are wonderful and they love the gold fringed chandelier. This week we had a Taste of India event and it was a blast!

Cynthia and I took a road trip to the World Market in Minneapolis for inspiration and unusual purchases. I found rice flour at   and colored with vibrant food coloring in the hope that we could do a Rangoli painting outside. It was just too windy the day of the program, so we used paper with the design outline and tissue paper. Cynthia is a fan of plastic tablecloths for crafting and decorating. The colors do not fade and they can be used over and over. She taught everyone how to make pom pom flowers using bright colored.....plastic tablecloths!

Since decorating is so much fun, we turned the story time room into a restaurant.

We have some small tables that are easy to set up and don't take up much space (always an issue for us). Cynthia has several of the battery lit candles that were added to tables for atmosphere. The food was Indian food from Trader Joe's that only required a couple of minutes in the microwave. Each dish was served individually,the name and history of the food was read, then tasted. Everyone actually tried each dish offered and found favorites they never imagined they would like.

The party ended outdoors with a water balloon toss. Partners tried to keep the balloons from breaking as long as possible and counted the number of times they threw it back and forth.

They all enjoyed the party and asked to do it again with other countries. It really makes my heart skip a beat to see teens so happy and having fun at the library. We are in desperate need of a new library that has more teen friendly space, so we try to do all we can to make things special for them.

 Feels good when we get it right.