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

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 16:48:30 CDT

Subject: PUBYAC digest 187

PUBYAC Digest 187

Topics covered in this issue include:

1) Re: Harry Potter

by "Clare Meehan" <clare329@earthlink.net>

2) Re: Summer Reading Programs

by "Linda Ackerman" <linda_ackerman@hotmail.com>

3) RE: Shelving Picture Books

by Pamela Walker <pamela.walker@fndc.govt.nz>

4) Re: Rubber ducky - wrong web site address!!

by ssteed@parracity.nsw.gov.au

5) Re: Storytime Name

by Paulalef@aol.com

6) Re: Do you keep library application forms?

by Paulalef@aol.com

7) Re: SR prize collection

by Paulalef@aol.com

8) Re: Source for library-related stickers?

by Carol Waxman <cwaxman@crlc.org>

9) Re: Shelving Picture Books

by Carol Waxman <cwaxman@crlc.org>

10) Receipt of Harry Potter #4 books

by "Christolon, Blair B" <bchristolon@pwcgov.org>

11) Re: How many Harry Potters are enough?

by MC <mrc42@yahoo.com>

12) Re: Harry Potter

by carmel <carmel@ulysses.sebridge.org>

13) Re: PUBYAC summer reading prizes

by Lorrie Wheeler <wheelelo@oplin.lib.oh.us>

14) Re: Need more response to exempt

by Ian McKinney <ianmck@tcpl.lib.in.us>

15) RE: Source for library-related stickers?

by gordona@bpl.on.ca (Andrea Gordon)

16) Harry Potter and the Pending Release Date

by JC_MARYSE@4cty.org

17) Exempt vs non-exempt

by "Mary Seratt, Sr.Manager, Main Children's" <SERATTM@MEMPHIS.LIB.TN.US>

18) RE: Shelving Picture Books

by vmenor <vmenor@is2.dal.ca>

19) RE: SR prize collection

by Michele Brannigan <GBrannig@ci.carrollton.tx.us>

20) RE: Left Behind Series

by Martha Jordan <mjordan@ouachita.lib.la.us>

21) Re: [Fwd: Christian Fiction or propaganda]

by Holly Belli <hbelliwcpl@yahoo.com>

22) Re: [Fwd: Christian Fiction or propaganda]

by Carol Leeson <cleeson@nslsilus.org>

23) Re: Fair Labor Standards Act

by Carol Leeson <cleeson@nslsilus.org>

24) Re: How many Harry Potters are enough?

by ILefkowitz@aol.com

25) RE: Summer Reading Prizes

by Carol Leeson <cleeson@nslsilus.org>

26) RE: Harry Potter

by WLPL <children@wlaf.lib.in.us>

27) Collection placement of advanced picture books

by Michele Brannigan <GBrannig@ci.carrollton.tx.us>

28) RE: Shelving Picture Books

by HFL_LISA@stls.org

29) RE: SR prize collection

by Sue Ridnour <SRidnour@flower-mound.com>

30) Re: Storytellers/message (long)

by "Fredda Williams" <freddawilliams@hotmail.com>

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

From: "Clare Meehan" <clare329@earthlink.net>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Harry Potter

Mime-version: 1.0

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

Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 08:37:45 CDT

We've got ours. They are processed and ready to go for Saturday.

Clare Meehan

Carol Stream Public Library

Carol Stream,IL

clare329@earthlink.net

----------

>From: "Oliver, Jim" <joliver@SIOUX-FALLS.org>

>To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

>Subject: Harry Potter

>Date: Thu, Jul 6, 2000, 8:37 PM

>

> I ordered 50 copies of the latest Harry Potter book on February 9th from

> Ingram. I haven't received my copies yet, even though I signed an agreement

> not to make the book available until July 8th. Our local bookstores,

> including Barnes and Noble, have their copies ready to go and are planning

> big parties in conjunction with the book's release.

>

> I'm curious to know if other public libraries have received their copies, or

> are we all playing second fiddle to bookstores.

>

> Jim Oliver

> Head of Children's Services

> Siouxland Libraries

> 201 North Main Avenue

> Sioux Falls, SD 57104

> 605-367-8719

> Fax: 367-4312

>

> "You are what you pretend to be." -- Kurt Vonnegut

>

>

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

From: "Linda Ackerman" <linda_ackerman@hotmail.com>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Summer Reading Programs

Mime-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 08:51:17 CDT

To all:

Just wanted to say I've enjoyed all the info about various summer

reading programs. I will probably incorporate some of the great ideas into

my program for next year.

To add my 2 cents...my program has been pretty much a continuation of

what happened prior to me. We count minutes rather than books, which I like

a lot. I'm up front with everyone, that it is harder to do, but allows more

freedom. You can re-read all the favorite picture books mom used to read

you, or just one super long book that takes all summer. Everyone can read

what they enjoy.

One thing we do, that I haven't seen anyone else say, is that we put

the kids on teams and they compete to see which team can read the most

minutes (everyone helps the team, even if they don't read all that much.)

Everyone who turns in any time, gets a certificate. Everyone on the winning

team gets a small prize at the end - usually a McDonalds coupon. Everyone

who turns in time, has a chance to win a door prize at the end. We don't

give out prizes for reading, but have weekly coloring or activity sheets

that if completed and returned let them pick a prize from the prize box.

The kids have a goal to read a combined number of minutes that when

reached will allow one name to be drawn and they get to put a pie in my

face. (I didn't do this last year and they didn't read as much).

We have a final party at the end. In the past anyone who turned in

any time could come. This year (being 2000) I said they had to read 2000

seconds - 33 minutes to come. I plan to increase this, but felt I had to

start low to break tradition. This year also, because a few parents stated

their kids got discouraged by being on a losing team I stated that anyone

reading 2000 minutes would become a member of the 2000 Club. Didn't really

make any promises about what this means, but it's working. Their names are

on a poster and they think it's wonderful. I also have medals to put on

ribbons to place around their necks, and I plan to notify their schools in

the fall, and plan to have an after hours party just for them. (the local

newspaper interviewed 5 kids today and asked what they liked best about the

summer reading program. The interviewer was sure they would either say

lasts weeks squirt gun battle or the the 8 foot snake brought in today - 3

out of 5 said the best part was reading books).

Happy Summertime everyone!

Linda Ackerman

Portland Library

Portland, TN (linda_ackerman@hotmail.com)

PS I have weekly drawings where I give away better (but fewer) prizes to

the middle school, high school students and to adults. (I've included

adults strictly to let the kids feel like they are in an adult program

rather than a little kids program). They can enter once for each book read.

Our Friends group funds this so I can give away $5.00 bills and some

purchased gift certificates. Everything else is donated by local businesses

- fast food, theatres, local pool, radio stations etc. We also have pick a

book from all those near perfect, but not needed books that are donated by

patrons.)

________________________________________________________________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

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

From: Pamela Walker <pamela.walker@fndc.govt.nz>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: RE: Shelving Picture Books

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:07:09 CDT

Hello from Kaitaia New Zealand.

We are a small rural branch and house our picture books in brightly

coloured bins under initial of authors surname. We put a yellow dot on

top left hand side of cover with the letter on and find the children

have responded really well to putting them back in the right places. I

haven't labelled the bins because we find they move a fair bit and we

don't always have space for the same letters in each box.

Just to give you a bit of an idea of our size we issue approx 1500

pictures per month.

Hope this helps you

Pamela Walker

Librarian

Kaitaia Library

pjw@fndc.govt.nz

-----Original Message-----

From: toni whiney [mailto:whitneto@oplin.lib.oh.us]

Sent: Friday, July 07, 2000 2:08 PM

To: pubyac@prairienet.org; OPLINLIST@epicurus.oplin.lib.oh.us

Subject: Shelving Picture Books

Please help, oh collective minds! Can you share with me how your

library shelves the picture books. Specifically, do you shelve them by

the first two letters of the authors last name, alphabetically, or just

by the first letter of the authors last name? Also, does the situation

work well for your library and for the patrons. Do you use an

alphabetic indicator on the books?

We are in the process of reviewing how picture books are shelved and

your responses are welcome. Thank you! Please reply either to list or

to me personally.

Toni Whitney

Youth Services Librarian

Ashland Public Library

Ashland, Ohio

E-mail: whitneto@oplin.lib.oh.us

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

From: ssteed@parracity.nsw.gov.au

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Rubber ducky - wrong web site address!!

Mime-Version: 1.0

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

Content-Disposition: inline

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:17:40 CDT

I obviously didn't copy and paste the correct address for info on fads and

inventions etc. Sorry! The correct address is www.badfads.com

Sarah Steed

Children's & Youth' Services Librarian

ssteed@parracity.nsw.gov.au

Parramatta City Library

Sydney, Asutralia

######################################################################

This e-mail message has been scanned and cleared by MailMarshal

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

From: Paulalef@aol.com

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Storytime Name

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:23:54 CDT

Joyce -

Yes, your idea is very doable in terms of the time span, etc., but we've

found that age group is too wide, although I know people for whom it works.

We have two Stories Plus groups, one for 3's and one for 4-6's. Given our

druthers, we'd break up the older group, but we don't have time to do any

more programming since we do at least two sections of each of the Stories

Plus and programs for infants, toddlers and school age kids as well. While

all the baby programs are held first thing in the morning to allow for naps

later, we have a section of each Stories Plus in the morning (usually 10:30)

and at 1:30. This allows parent time to pick up older, school age kids and

for naps. Since so many of our kids even younger than 3 are in preschools,

they may choose a section at a convenient time not to conflict with preschool

schedules. We still have a problem with Gymboree, swim classes, etc.,

though. I frankly can't understand why such young children need such a busy

schedule, but perhaps I'm old-fashioned! During the summer all story hours

are in the morning and other programs are in the afternoon.

We also have a half-hour evening program for all preschoolers, but it's

straight stories and fingerplays and songs with no craft or other activity.

Parents and we would prefer to break out ages there too, but we can't do more

than one night program for preschoolers because of other needs, including

school age and YA programming.

Our Stories Plus follows the following format more or less: opening song;

presentation of theme; book, fingerplay, song or stretch; book; fingerplay,

song or stretch; book; other activity, which may be a craft, a singalong with

the rhythm instruments, a walk around the outside of the building to check on

seasonal changes, a simple science experiment or the like. The first part of

the program takes about a half hour and the "Plus" is about fifteen minutes.

We have one or two parents or caregivers, depending on the group, each time,

but in rotation. Children are expected to stay alone. Parents must stay in

the library, however. The parent who stays delivers children who need the

bathroom to their parents, cuddles lonely ones, etc. There have been parents

who object to leaving their children and they are given the choice to remain

in the 2's program, which is shorter and has no other activity. In order to

fit the 15 (for 3's) or 18 (for 4-6's) and have room to move around, we can't

have all parents and siblings as we do for the younger children: the room's

too small.

The crafts we do are very simple, especially for the 3's, whose hand-eye

coordination is less well developed than the older children's. All children,

even the babies, love Hap Palmer's "Color Song", which is done with different

colored Ellison cut-outs laminated and mounted on tongue depressors. This

probably is the most-requested thing we do in story hours and all groups get

it nearly every time. Themes for 3's are simpler, more concrete and more

child-centered than for 4-6's for the most part, although obviously a theme

like "cats" could be interpreted differently for all ages.

We've been doing story hours for 45 minutes for these numbers of kids for

at least twenty or twenty-five years, longer than anyone still on staff can

remember, and the system continues to work. Good luck!

Paula Lefkowitz

Head, Children's Services

Parsipany (NJ) PL

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

From: Paulalef@aol.com

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Do you keep library application forms?

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:25:57 CDT

We maintain permanent files of library applications. Comes in handy when

someone loses a card or when we need more info about the person than we're

willing to put on a database that's accessible to lots of people, such as the

reference the applicant gave, etc.

Paula Lefkowitz

Head, Children's Dept.

Parsippany (NJ) PL

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

From: Paulalef@aol.com

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: SR prize collection

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:28:16 CDT

We count time rather than books, but every year, this year being no

exception, we have kids who sign up at 10 AM and report the first 4 hours at

11. Interestingly, it's been our teen volunteers who nix that after a while.

We tell kids to report in when they choose to and stamp off the number of

half hours they've read. Sometimes they get several prizes at once. As long

as it's not impossible, as in the first example, we go along with it.

Interestingly it's nonreaders who pull the 4 hours in 1 routine.

Our YA club counts books. 6 books wins a CD paid for by the Friends of

the Library. There's an extensive booklist from which to choose and kids know

up front that a librarian has to approve their selections and may want to

discuss the books read. We also are giving kids an opportunity to review

their books for our website and one of our branches is encouraging kids to

review books at program meetings. We'll see how that goes. We did the CD bit

last year for the first time and of course it wasn't the kids who gave us the

hard time; it was the parents who had fits when we wouldn't count Sweet

Valley Kids for 7th graders in the Honors program!

Paula Lefkowitz

Head, Children's Department

Parsipany (NJ) PL

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

From: Carol Waxman <cwaxman@crlc.org>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Source for library-related stickers?

Mime-Version: 1.0

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:30:47 CDT

In West Hartford we give Arthur stickers that say "I got my first library

card". I bought them from either Demco or Gaylord catalogue about two

years ago. Perhaps you could call those companies to see if they still

sell them. Good luck.

At 10:00 PM 07/06/2000 CDT, you wrote:

>We're looking for a source for library-related stickers so we could give

>kids who are getting their first library card a special sticker, e.g., "I

>got my library card

>today!" We've checked Upstart, Demco, and ALA Graphics. Rivershore

>Reading Store does have one that would be OK, but I'm wondering if

>there might be other sources that your libraries have found.

>

>Thanks,

>Rae Kozloff

>Anacortes Public Library

>raek@cityofanacortes.org

>

>

>

Carol H. Waxman

Children's Services Librarian

West Hartford Public Library

20 South Main Street

West Hartford, CT 06107

(860)523-3280

(860)523-3236FAX

cwaxman@connect.crlc.org

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

From: Carol Waxman <cwaxman@crlc.org>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Shelving Picture Books

Mime-Version: 1.0

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:32:39 CDT

We shelve them alphabetically by author's last name. This does take a lot

of work but otherwise, we can't find anything.

Carol H. Waxman

Children's Services Librarian

West Hartford Public Library

20 South Main Street

West Hartford, CT 06107

(860)523-3280

(860)523-3236FAX

cwaxman@connect.crlc.org

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

From: "Christolon, Blair B" <bchristolon@pwcgov.org>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: Receipt of Harry Potter #4 books

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain;

charset="iso-8859-1"

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:43:16 CDT

To answer, Jim Oliver's question (from Siouxland Libraries in SD) we have

NOT received our copies of Harry Potter #4 as of this morning 7/7/00 , 8:30

a.m. We also ordered our copies from Ingram in March. Blair

Blair B. Christolon

Librarian, MLS

Supervisor of Print Resources

Prince William Public Library System

13083 Chinn Park Drive

Prince William, VA 22192-5073

(703)792-6251***fax(703)792-4875

bchristolon@pwcgov.org

-

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

From: MC <mrc42@yahoo.com>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: How many Harry Potters are enough?

MIME-Version: 1.0

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 09:45:37 CDT

We are a small library where most of what we get rates

1 copy, but we have 10 copies each of the Harry Potter

books and all still have rapid circulation.

Mary Christian

Children's Librarian

Delaware County District Library

Delaware Oh

=====

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

From: carmel <carmel@ulysses.sebridge.org>

To: "Oliver, Jim" <joliver@sioux-falls.org>

Subject: Re: Harry Potter

Mime-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:38:37 CDT

We received our copies from Baker and Taylor yesterday (7/6) with a stern

injunction against putting them out until Saturday, the 8th. I understand

that some Barnes and Noble and Walmart stores have begun selling them and

are being sued. Such a brouhaha! Marilyn Schlansky, Reed Memorial

Library, Carmel, NY

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

From: Lorrie Wheeler <wheelelo@oplin.lib.oh.us>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: PUBYAC summer reading prizes

Mime-Version: 1.0

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:42:47 CDT

Toni Whitney made very good points about providing prizes for summer

reading. Our library also operates similarly to hers, by providing small

incentives for children who continue coming to the library throughout our

program. (It is also for 8 weeks, but is for children from 2 years old

through 6th grade. Our young adult group is separate and the reading

program for them has a different structure.) We give stickers for each

visit, a small prize for each 2nd visit, and a paperback book for the

"final" 8th visit. We also have weekly challenges, a weekly raffle, a

"grand giveaway, and a "book bingo" game which the kids can play all

summer. Toni's statement that our good readers will always be readers, but

by getting the attention of a "nonreader" by providing incentives, can be

very rewarding in the future for the child, the library, and society. Yes,

it is a lot of work to acquire the incentives (most of ours are provided by

donations which we solicit); it is also work to keep track of each child's

progress. But it definitely creates positive results! Our program is very

successful. It provides great PR for the library, keeps kids coming to the

library for recreation and learning, and is a boom to circulation.

Lorrie Wheeler, MLS

Tuscarawas County Public Library

_____

/ /)

/____/ /)

)_____)//)

)_____)// "So many books --

so little time!"

wheelelo@oplin.lib.oh.us

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

From: Ian McKinney <ianmck@tcpl.lib.in.us>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Need more response to exempt

Mime-Version: 1.0

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:45:13 CDT

At my library they are non-exempt unless they fulfill an administrative

role (director, asst. director, dept. head, asst. dept. head).

Ian McKinney

Youth Services Librarian 627 South Street

(765) 429-0121 Lafayette, Indiana 47901-1470

ianmck@tcpl.lib.in.us

http://www.tcpl.lib.in.us/youth/

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

From: gordona@bpl.on.ca (Andrea Gordon)

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: RE: Source for library-related stickers?

MIME-Version: 1.0

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

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:47:06 CDT

We are using an Arthur sticker - I got my library card today! that we

purchased from a Canadian supplier - Carr McLean. According to the imprint

on the sticker, they originate with Demco. The phone number given is

1-800-356-1200. Sorry, no product number.

Andrea Gordon

Burlington Public Library

Burlington, Ontario

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

From: JC_MARYSE@4cty.org

To: PUBYAC@PRAIRIENET.ORG

Subject: Harry Potter and the Pending Release Date

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:48:22 CDT

7/7/00

In regards to the messages about Harry Potter, Book 4:

Our two copies of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire arrived on Wednesday

afternoon (accompanied by our Adult Services Librarian's shouts of "Guess

what's here, guess what's here!"). We ordered them through Baker and Taylor

and just automatically asked for two copies to keep up with the demand -- even

though we don't have a lot of reserves on the books yet, we will have by the

end of next week when people realize it's finally out. I have my own personal

copy on reserve at a local store, (I will pick that up on July 8th, just like

everyone else) and that one will circulate among the staff so the patrons can

read the library's copies.

My children's room clerk and I naturally each took a copy of the books home

with us. We justified this by saying that we do have a series of on-going

Harry Potter programs (next one on July 31, Harry's birthday), and because we

can't loan them out to patrons until July 10th (we're closed weekends during

the summer). Besides, being a children's librarian DOES have its perks.

I was extremely surprised to see our two copies this early. I had a phone

interview with a local reporter about a week ago, and I told her (and I

honestly meant this) that we probably wouldn't see the books until about two

weeks after the July 8th publication date, due partly to shipping and partly to

the processing at our regional office. I'm very happy to be wrong this time.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is about the width of the average World

Almanac and is pretty intimidating, but I finished it last night. Without

giving anything away, I must say I was very interested in getting background

information on Neville Longbottom and in finding out some of what Professor

Snape had done in his wild, misspent youth....

Avidly looking forward now to Book Five,

Maryse Quinn

Johnson City, NY

JC_Maryse@4cty.org

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

From: "Mary Seratt, Sr.Manager, Main Children's" <SERATTM@MEMPHIS.LIB.TN.US>

To: DOERIN@SOSMAIL.STATE.MO.US

Subject: Exempt vs non-exempt

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:49:43 CDT

According to our "personnel guy", there are standards in the form of two "tests"- a long form and a short form- that are used to determine exempt status for

positions. If a position requires professional preparation, imagination,

initiative, creativity, and some other subjective qualities, then it can be

considered as an exempt position. In our system,degreed librarians certainly

count!! We went through the criteria when we were considering the creation of

a new position, and it seemed pretty clear. I'd like to refer you to the

website http://www.paychex.com/library/exempt.html#FSLA

It has both the tests for professional employees listed- as well as information

about other job classifications.

Have a great vacation!

Mary

Mary Seratt, Senior Manager, Main Children's

Memphis Public Library

1850 Peabody

Memphis, TN 38104

serattm@memphis.lib.tn.us

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

From: vmenor <vmenor@is2.dal.ca>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: RE: Shelving Picture Books

Mime-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:51:18 CDT

At my library we are in the process of switching from filing by first letter

of the last name to strict alphabetical order. I having been going crazy

looking for books and having to search through the entire section of S. I am

not sure how well it will work, but we are lucky to be making the switch now

while we have summer student volunteers to help. Unfortunately, the pages and

adult librarian feel that it is not worth the effort, so I am not sure how

long past the summer it will last, but I feel that I have to at least try.

Vanessa Menor

Children's Librarian

Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library

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

From: Michele Brannigan <GBrannig@ci.carrollton.tx.us>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: RE: SR prize collection

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain;

charset="iso-8859-1"

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:53:03 CDT

Jan, this summer we decided to set a date on which we would accept finished

logs. We determined 3 weeks from the first day of summer reading club would

be fair - it would allow us time to distribute the logs without having to

hand out prizes at the same time. Best decision we have ever made! It

hasn't kept those who would try to beat the system from doing same, but at

least our sanity was saved. We hand out about 4,000 logs between two

branches and generally have about 1,000 come back.

G. Michele Brannigan, Librarian

Youth Services

Frankford Village Branch Library

Carrollton, Tx

gbrannig@ci.carrollton.tx.us

Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

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

From: Martha Jordan <mjordan@ouachita.lib.la.us>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: RE: Left Behind Series

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:54:19 CDT

I have read the Left Behind Series. They are VERY well written, if you are

familiar with the Bible, especially the book of Revelations. The library

provides materials for ALL patrons, including Christian patrons. IF the

books are wanted, why not provide them?? The Left Behind Series for adults

and children are among our most requested books. The newest one, The

Indwelling has at least 40 people on the waiting list. I think that

justifies having the series!

Lashoma Clayton

Ouachita Parish Public Library

Monroe,La

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From: Holly Belli <hbelliwcpl@yahoo.com>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Fwd: Christian Fiction or propaganda]

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:55:45 CDT

--- Lesley Knieriem <lknierie@suffolk.lib.ny.us>

wrote:

> On Thu, 6 Jul 2000, Lodge, Debra wrote:

>

> And just a humble question, do all of you folks railing against the

> "intolerance" of the LEFT BEHIND books have the Narnia books on your

> juvenile shelves? I think Lewis was pretty explicit about what happens to

> those who don't "love Aslan."

>

> Of course, the Narnia books are beloved classics and of exceptional

> literary quality. But if the problem is one of intolerance, I would

> think they would qualify.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> ~ Lesley Knieriem

> ~ YA / Reference Librarian (631) 549-4411

> ~ South Huntington Public Library fax (631)549-6832

> ~ Huntington Station, NY 11746

> lknierie@suffolk.lib.ny.us

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>

True, but people don't worship Aslan...he is a

storybook character, not a major world deity. Not the

same thing at all. People all over the world haven't

killed over their belief in a talking lion.

=====

Holly Belli

Head, Children's Services

West Caldwell Public Library, NJ

A book is a present you can open again and again!

__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?

Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.

http://im.yahoo.com/

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

From: Carol Leeson <cleeson@nslsilus.org>

To: "Lodge, Debra" <ldebra@bellsouth.net>

Subject: Re: [Fwd: Christian Fiction or propaganda]

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:57:00 CDT

Actually we have copies of "Little Black Sambo" on our shelves. We also

have the newer versions of the tale, which I choose to share with my own

son. We have a high usage of this book by educaction and library students

who need to see the original version to understand the controversy

surrounding it and to see how sensitivity to others has progressed in the

books we see published today. So, if you would like to ILL one of our

copies for your patron, please feel free.

When I checked on the Left Behind series last we did not have it. I asked

our pbk selector to look into it. After all I am told it is set in Mount

Prospect!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Carol Leeson

Head of Youth Services

Mount Prospect Public Library

10 S. Emerson

Mt. Prospect, Il 60056

(847)253-5675

cleeson@mppl.org

The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the Library.

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

From: Carol Leeson <cleeson@nslsilus.org>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: Re: Fair Labor Standards Act

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:58:26 CDT

We are classified as exempt.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Carol Leeson

Head of Youth Services

Mount Prospect Public Library

10 S. Emerson

Mt. Prospect, Il 60056

(847)253-5675

cleeson@mppl.org

The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the Library.

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

From: ILefkowitz@aol.com

To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: Re: How many Harry Potters are enough?

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:59:42 CDT

We are a medium sized suburban library and we have ordered at least 10 copies of the newest Harry Potter. We have 12 of the first, all are currently checked out. Five of the second, all of which are currently checked out and 4 of the third which are also all checked out. I think we have about 5 or 6 holds on the fourth already. We will probably beef up the holdings of the second and third with paperbacks as well.

Ilene Lefkowitz

Youth Services Librarian

Mount Olive Public Library (NJ)

ILefkowitz@aol.com

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

From: Carol Leeson <cleeson@nslsilus.org>

To: andrea <juvserv@dialup.customnet.com>

Subject: RE: Summer Reading Prizes

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 11:01:16 CDT

We are having boom in our enrollment this year as well. We hit our total

number for last year at the midpoint in our program this year. We have

noted a couple of possible explanations. 1) the weather - last year was

hot and dry and many of our patrons chose to spend their time at the local

pools, this year has been much milder and I have heard that we have

average rain every three days; 2) gas price - although I haven't heard

too many of our patrons bring this up, I know my family canceled our

planned vacation, what was affordable at $1.20/gal was way out of budget

at $2.10+/gal; 3)promo skit - we used our usually affective tactic again

this year, our newest employees were assigned to write our promo skit,

thus bringing in those fresh ideas. Our team hit on the perfect catch for

kids this summer and I have heard more references to the skit than I have

in the past few years. I woke up in the middle of the night last night

with an idea to check on one of these ideas. I'll have my program

developer call the pools and see if their numbers have changed

significantly from last year.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Carol Leeson

Head of Youth Services

Mount Prospect Public Library

10 S. Emerson

Mt. Prospect, Il 60056

(847)253-5675

cleeson@mppl.org

The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the Library.

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

From: WLPL <children@wlaf.lib.in.us>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: RE: Harry Potter

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 11:02:44 CDT

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We have our copies. I think they came in Wednesday. I'm not aware that =

we had to sign anything, but I'm not sure. They are cataloged and =

ready, but of course all the copies will fill prior holds. We will not =

send out the hold notices until Friday afternoon. We only have 10 =

copies-19 holds so far. It is exciting. We are lucky enough to have a =

volunteer who just returned from England. She brought us copies of =

articles in the London Press and I made a quick display of them this =

morning. It's reall interesting.

Pam Koehler

children@wlaf.lib.in.us

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

From: Michele Brannigan <GBrannig@ci.carrollton.tx.us>

To: "'PUBYAC@prairienet.org'" <PUBYAC@prairienet.org>

Subject: Collection placement of advanced picture books

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 11:04:22 CDT

We would appreciate having input of other libraries regarding the placement

of advanced picture books in juvenile fiction because of subject matter,

i.e. topics such as death, holocaust, other

emotional issues. Rose Blanche or Pink and Say or The Butterfly for

example. Also is there a consideration when the amount of text equals the

amount of illustrations? Astrid Lindgren for example. Right now we have

the following as collection code guidelines for Easy:

Easy Picture Books - meant to be read to a child, generally under age 6

illustrations are the dominant feature; type

is usually large

Usually unpaged

Frequently large in size

G. Michele Brannigan, Librarian

Youth Services

Frankford Village Branch Library

Carrollton, Tx

gbrannig@ci.carrollton.tx.us

Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

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

From: HFL_LISA@stls.org

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: RE: Shelving Picture Books

Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 11:05:42 CDT

We shelve our 15,000 picture books by authors last name alphabetically with

Mc filed as MAC. We also file each title with an authors area alphabetically

so that when you are in Seuss The Grinch comes before Thidwick. It may take

some more time when shelving or shelf reading but it sure makes it easy to

find a book!

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

From: Sue Ridnour <SRidnour@flower-mound.com>

To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'" <pubyac@prairienet.org>

Subject: RE: SR prize collection

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 11:07:06 CDT

Our publicity and instructions state that the first prize can not be

redeemed until one week from the start date. In our program, the kids had

to read five books to claim the first prize, so a week seems like a

reasonable requirement. Might not work so well if you are counting time. I

didn't get any complaints about the time limit.

Sue

Sue Ridnour

Children's Services Librarian

Flower Mound Public Library

Flower Mound, TX

972.691.0059

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

From: "Fredda Williams" <freddawilliams@hotmail.com>

To: pubyac@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: Storytellers/message (long)

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Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 16:48:30 CDT

Julie,

I too have thought long and hard about this issue. In my opinion, public

libraries have an obligation to keep their programs free of religious bias,

and telling Bible stories seems to cross that line. On the other hand, we

often use myths from other cultures, and one definition of mythology is

"other people's religions." So it can be a sticky question.

Still, I feel very uncomfortable if someone tells overtly religious stories

in a program sponsored by the library. Early in my career I was working in

a regional library in the mountains of North Carolina. Part of my job was

to do the storytimes at the various libraries that were part of the region.

One week I showed up as usual for my summer program at one branch, and

discovered that the branch manager had, without consulting anyone, booked a

youth puppetry group from a local church to perform during my program time

(can you tell that I was seriously annoyed?) Anyway, the program they did

was religious in nature and I was very uncomfortable throughout the program.

The town was rural and isolated, and I don't think we had any

non-Christian families in attendance, so no one expressed any concern with

the content. But here's my point: I am Catholic, and the point of view was

that of a specific Protestant religion which has a different perspective

from the Catholic interpretation. If I had been there as a patron with my

child, instead of a librarian whose program time had been usurped, I would

have been unhappy that the public library was sponsoring a program with a

specific religious approach. And I think we have to be very careful about

not presenting the appearance of promoting a specific religion. Even if we

are in a community in which we "know" everyone is Christian, there are many

different Christian viewpoints.

The community in which I now live is very diverse. Audiences for library

programs are likely to include Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus,

Jews, and possibly other religious groups. Just the other day I was talking

to a homeschool family who are members of the Native American Church. Since

I can't possibly include religious stories from all the groups represented,

it is better, in my opinion, to stick to other types of stories for programs

while making sure the collection includes as many books as possible to

reflect the diversity of the community.

As a librarian, and a storyteller, my role is to introduce children to books

and reading, not to religious beliefs. In my storytelling programs I try to

include interesting and entertaining stories from a wide range of cultures,

without getting into the interpretation of the religious traditions of those

cultures.

I think that you raised a key question about the line between storytelling

and preaching. There are Bible stories which are really good stories to

tell, but the problem is whether the storyteller is able to tell those

stories without attaching their own religious beliefs. I personally find it

hard to detach my emotions, so I choose not to tell those stories in a

public library or school. As far as stories with "morals" are concerned, it

seems to me that the best stories are those with a moral which is implied

rather than stated. And there are many of those stories - the new book by

Bobby and Sherry Norfolk has some great suggestions. We don't know how kids

are going to interpret the stories we tell them. All we can do is tell them

the best stories we can and hope that the stories speak to the children in

some meaningful way. Hitting them over the head with a moral is not going

to be effective.

I apologize for this long post. You've raised an important issue that needs

to be discussed even though there are no clear answers.

Fredda

Fredda Williams

Children's Services Manager

Knox County Public Library System

freddawilliams@hotmail.com

________________________________________________________________________

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End of PUBYAC Digest 187

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