In June of this year, Slate ran a now-infamous piece called “Against YA,” in which Ruth Graham argued that adults shouldn’t read young-adult fiction, and should be embarrassed if they do. A flood of posts and essays were written in response; my own response is here. In the short term, as far
Continue readingTag: becoming a librarian
wmtc: what i do, what i miss, and what are they thinking: answers to the question, "what do you do?"
When we moved to Canada (nine years plus a few days ago), I wondered what, if anything, I would miss about the US. Who would have guessed it would be watching “Baseball Tonight”? Yup, the only thing I miss about living in that crazy country is watching a baseball-highlights show
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #16: my least favourite library customers
I must preface this post with a happy disclaimer: I love library customers. I love helping them. I love giving them a good feeling about the library. I value great customer service and I love to provide it. At least 90% of our customers are polite and appreciative. Perhaps another
Continue readingwmtc: libraries and ebooks: a good fit, but a very bad deal, or why library users should just say no to ebooks
Do you ever borrow ebooks from your public library? Do you have any idea how your library adds ebooks to its collection, or at what cost? The number of library customers who borrow ebooks is growing all the time. How many of them, I wonder, are aware of how their
Continue readingwmtc: in which i attain the holy grail of librarianship: the permanent, full-time job
Meet the new permanent youth librarian at the Mississauga Central Library. I’ve been in this position since January, but on a temporary or contract basis. Two big things had to happen in order for this job to post as permanent, and they were completely out of my control: two other
Continue readingwmtc: libraries with pride of place
Central Library at National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City While I wait impatiently to post some exciting news, please enjoy these photos of amazing libraries all over the world. I’ve seen six on this list: New York Public Library, Butler Library at Columbia University, Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library
Continue readingwmtc: how a reinvented dutch library set new attendance records and why is this still controversial?
This is a library! (Image found here.) This article about the incredible Nieuwe Bibliotheek (New Library) in the Netherlands got me thinking about the current state of libraries – and library staff and library customers – and people’s attitudes towards change. Facing declining visitors and uncertainty about what to do
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #15! one that makes me very happy!
The conversation was simple enough. Teenage girl: “Where is the nonfiction?” Me: “Nonfiction is upstairs, but it’s organized according to subject. There should be some nonfiction books on the Bingo display.” Teen: “I think they’re all gone.” Me: “OK, we’ll find you something. What would you like to read about?”
Continue readingwmtc: upcycling with teens at the library
My summer youth programs have been going really well. Attendance has increased with each program – first 7, then 13, then 15 – and yesterday we hit the jackpot with 23 teens. We actually had to turn away three kids without tickets, as our program room was so packed with
Continue readingwmtc: summer, teens, the library, and me
Yesterday was my first summer program at the library. Attendance was low, but very keen. An artist and activist (who happens to be a friend of mine from the war resisters movement) led a workshop I called “Comix that Save the World”. We explored the use of the comics form
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #14
One of our regular Readers’ Den customers approached me with her usual long list of movies. She researches movies online, prints out lists, and comes to the desk to see what we have in our collection. Anything we have, we place on hold for her. She’s a great customer, in
Continue readingwmtc: memo to ruth graham: readers who try to shame other readers should be embarrassed at their narrow-mindedness
Ruth Graham, writing in Slate, says, “You should feel embarrassed when what you’re reading was written for children.” How sad. If anyone should feel embarrassed, it’s Graham. She apparently writes this commentary without realizing how narrow-minded, outdated, and ignorant it makes her appear. Then again, what can we expect from
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #13
A boy, maybe age 8, was confused about what he needed. He said he needed “chapter books about the human body,” which sounded to me like two things – books about the human body for a school project, and chapter books, meaning junior fiction that is not a picture book,
Continue readingwmtc: youth books, children’s book edition #10, and the best part of my job
I thought readers’ advisory was the best part of my job, but that was before I began running our library’s teen book club. Once a month, I spend an evening with a group of teens who choose to spend their evening at the library, talking about books. We hang out,
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2014, part 3: hip-hop programming in the library
My final post about the OLA Super Conference sessions I attended saves the best for last. “Sub-Urban Beats: Hip-Hop Programming in the Library” thrilled me with possibilities. Even more exciting, it was co-presented by two librarians from the Mississauga Library System who are youth specialists, Erica Conly and James Dekens.
Continue readingwmtc: march break for teens at our library
I’ve just finished my first March Break (the Canadian equivalent of Spring Break in the US) in my new position as a youth librarian. It was exhilarating and a lot of work, but not nearly as exhausting as I imagined. March Break was great for many reasons. One, I have
Continue readingwmtc: freedom to read week 2014: celebrate your freedom to read
Image from Freedom to Read website Freedom to Read Week 2014 runs from February 23 to March 1. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Freedom to Read Week in Canada. Freedom to Read Week – called “Banned Books Week” in the United States – encourages Canadians to think about
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2014, part 2: a year of tween programming
Tweens – older kids who are not yet teens – are among my favourite library customers. Tween books are my favourites to read, and a tween audience is my most natural writing voice. Sadly, tweens are often underserved at libraries. Library programming often focuses on either pre-school kids or youth,
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2014, part 1: makerspaces, libraries, and me
Yesterday I attended one of the most exciting and inspiring sessions of the OLA Super Conference, one of three that I will write about. It was a presentation by two people from MakerKids, one of the world’s only makerspaces dedicated to and for young people – and lucky for us,
Continue readingwmtc: i am really a librarian: in which i attend my first ola, and get paid for it, too
For the next three days, I’ll be attending the Ontario Library Association’s annual Superconference, always referred to simply as “OLA”. As the name implies, this is a gigantic conference covering issues related to all three types of libraries – public, academic, and special. You can see a program here. In
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