From: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults & Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

To: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults & Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 00:01:14 CST

Subject: PUBYAC digest 24

PUBYAC Digest 24

Topics covered in this issue include:

1) RE: Limiting Books & Request for web sites

by "Joan Enriquez" <joane@ocln.org>

2) Re: publishers on Pubyac

by LWilli0316@aol.com

3) School libraries

by Katherine Heylman <kheylman@apk.net>

4) Treatment of Pages

by Simpson <jsimpson03@snet.net>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Joan Enriquez" <joane@ocln.org>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: RE: Limiting Books & Request for web sites

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 11:29:54 CST

From: Jim Zola <jim.zola@ci.high-point.nc.us>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: RE: Limiting Books & Request for web sites

Date sent: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 11:32:16 CST

Send reply to: pubyac@prairienet.org

Hi,

I can't get this link to work. I wonder if there is ann error in the

address.

Thanks,

Joan Enriquez

> There is a wonderful web site for special school projects. Got to http://www.hipopl.org/library/dept/kids.htm and lcick on favorite links. Then look at homework help or special school projects. Hope this helps.

>

> Jim Z.

>

------------------------------

From: LWilli0316@aol.com

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: publishers on Pubyac

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 12:07:10 CST

Martha,

I didn't know that... and I do believe Lowry has earned the clout to be

able to insist. However, from what I have heard about book packaging, authors

don't usually get that strong of a say in the illustrations, or covers, of

their books. Certainly, the Newbery status of the book saves it from shelf

sitting. I still say it isn't a cover that makes kids ache to read the book...

Linda Williams

In a message dated 99-12-18 15:41:30 EST, you write:

< About the photo of the old man on the cover of The Giver...

In Lois Lowry's Newbery acceptance speech, she says that she herself

took the photo of the man, who is someone she knew. I guess it was

pretty important to her to have the man pictured on the cover of her

book!

Martha Simpson, Stratford (CT) Library

LWilli0316@aol.com wrote:

> publishers. No one else could possibly be able to answer them. Examples:

Why

>

> did they put that old man on the cover of The Giver (I could never

> understand

> that... it certainly doesn't pull in readers...)?

>>

------------------------------

From: Katherine Heylman <kheylman@apk.net>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: School libraries

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 12:41:11 CST

In reply to Barbara Amberg's question about the 3 most important things

in a good school library, the answer to the first thing is easy. A

librarian. Once there is a librarian in place, she/he can advocate for

budget and program. The librarian and the collection are the basis for

everything else, and how administrators expect there to be a decent

collection without any money is a total mystery to me.

Barbara, my guess is that your committee will hear a lot about

using volunteers to run the library. Is here any other place in a school

system where volunteers are expected to assume the duties of a teacher,

or administrator, or pscyhologist, for instance? Volunteers are great

for taking care of some routine jobs like shelving books and checking

them in and out, but they cannot be expected to build the collection,

initiate and carry out programs, or give reader advice. As a former

school librarian, now retired, I have some very strong opinions about

what should happen in a school library (a lot!).

I think it's encouraging that the committee has asked the public

librarian to participate, but please keep hammering away at the need for

a school librarian. Good luck! Kay Heylman

kheylman@apk.net

------------------------------

From: Simpson <jsimpson03@snet.net>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Treatment of Pages

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 13:14:20 CST

Our library has had teens and adults as pages. In the 6 plus years I've

worked in the Children's Dept, we have always hired adults for this

area. This is not by design, it has just worked out that way.

We seem to treat our pages a lot differently than other depts. in the

library do. Our pages are very capable, so we give them more

responsibility than shelving books (which they do, also.) Our pages

help set up displays and bulletin boards, prepare crafts, pull books for

displays, and sometimes take photos during programs - actually things we

allow our YA volunteers to do, too. We also have them do minor clerical

jobs, like phoning patrons to remind them to come to an upcoming program

(our past union president wouldn't allow this, but the current one is

more reasonable), replacing paper in the copy machine, and restarting

patron's PCs when they freeze (which happens several times a day.) And,

yes, if a patron has a call number but doesn't know how to locate the

book, our pages can help him find it. We also do something that I guess

is pretty radical - we ask our pages for advice. Sometimes, they have

the best ideas about where to put a new display and can suggest ideas

about how they can do their job more efficiently. No, they don't get

paid any more for their extra efforts (I wish they could!), but it makes

the pages feel good about their jobs because they do a variety of

things, which is more interesting than boring shelving all the time.

The Children's librarians treat our pages as part of the team, and the

respect is mutual. Yes, there are times when a page will sit and yak

with a co-worker or a patron, but I don't make a fuss because I know she

will get right back to work. And let's face it, we librarians sit and

yak with co-workers and patrons sometimes, too. Consequently, our pages

are very productive and we don't have the problems that other librarians

have been discussing. I can't say this for some pages in the rest of

the library.

Martha Simpson, Stratford (CT) Library

------------------------------

End of PUBYAC Digest 24

***********************