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From: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and
Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
To: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 11:39 AM
Subject: PUBYAC digest 385
PUBYAC Digest 385
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) RE: dvds
by "Tatar, Becky" <bltata@aurora.lib.il.us>
2) Re: [YALSA-BK:14505] Damaged and long gone YA PBs
by <nhill@mailserv.mvlc.lib.ma.us>
3) Re: skateboarding program
by Victoria Miller <millerv@mail.camden.public.lib.ga.us>
4) Re: Damaged and long gone YA PBs
by Victoria Miller <millerv@mail.camden.public.lib.ga.us>
5) Medieval SRP Theme
by Mary Thompson <yshq@cmrls.lib.ms.us>
6) RE: Dial-a-story machines
by jmccann <jmccann@fontanalib.org>
7) Re: Science is Fun program
by Beth Werking <bwerking@kokomo.lib.in.us>
8) RE: Dial a Story Question
by jmccann <jmccann@fontanalib.org>
9) Reading club for elementary students
by "Lani Clarke" <laniclarke@mindspring.com>
10) RE: Science is Fun program
by Tina Hager <Tina.Hager@cityofcarrollton.com>
11) Re: Help W/ Medieval SRP Theme
by Erin Sietz <eseitz@cc-pl.org>
12) Nancy Drew
by Morganfield Library <unionlib@dynasty.net>
13) Nancy Drew and Censorship and "Knee Jerks"
by Beth DeGeer <bdeg@bartlesville.lib.ok.us>
14) Older/Younger YAs
by Librenee@aol.com
15) Re: Nancy Drew series
by Jean Hewlett <nbclsref@sonic.net>
16) Even more on Nancy Drew (sorry)
by Beth DeGeer <bdeg@bartlesville.lib.ok.us>
17) Re: Question About Easy Readers
by Nicole Reader <nreader@snap.lib.ca.us>
18) Puppets 'n' Stuff, Inc.
by Julie Linneman <juliel@wichita.lib.ks.us>
19) Laura Ingalls Wilder
by children@bestweb.net
20) RE: mystery night info
by lisajo@ci.burlington.wa.us
(Lisa Anderson, Children's Librarian)
21) Re: Science is Fun program
by lisajo@ci.burlington.wa.us
(Lisa Anderson, Children's Librarian)
22) Re: Question About Easy Readers
by Lisa Hughes <lhughes@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us>
23) RE: Hiring new grads
by Sue Ridnour <SRidnour@flower-mound.com>
24) Transportation Day/ Touch a Truck Day
by Martha Link <martha@lfpl.org>
25) New Hooked on Phonics
by Christina Johnson <marionthelibrarian@yahoo.com>
26) Thank you--stumper Boy Visits Other Worlds
by Carol Skelton <cskelton@nslsilus.org>
27) patron looking for a book
by smellott@co.wake.nc.us
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Tatar, Becky" <bltata@aurora.lib.il.us>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: RE: dvds
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:30:37 CST
What about Amazon.com? You can search a section on DVD - Kids and
Family.
This would give you suggestions for titles.
Becky Tatar
Unit Head, Periodicals, Audiovisual
Aurora Public Library
1 E. Benton Street
Aurora, IL 60505
PHONE: 630-264-4100
FAX: 630-896-3209
www.aurora.lib.il.us
E-mail: bltata@aurora.lib.il.us
------------------------------
From: <nhill@mailserv.mvlc.lib.ma.us>
To: yalsa-bk@ala.org
Subject: Re: [YALSA-BK:14505] Damaged and long gone YA PBs
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:31:01 CST
Rosemarie,
If you have been able to keep these titles in your collection for three
years you have done very well. Mine never seem to last more than 8 or
9
readings. My own personal opionion is that YA paperbacks should not be
covered. I have seen some "repaired" and they never went out
again.
Paperbacks are certainly cheap enough - with discounts, we're never
spending more than $2 or $3 for one. I would recommend replacing these
titles before ordering more hardcover fiction. I just think that no
matter how good the hardcovers are - the teens would just prefer the PBs.
You should talk to your director about the importance of paperbacks in the
YA Department. Tell him/her how well they circulate and that they can
only take so much wear and tear. Maybe you'll get a budget increase!
Nanci
Nanci Milone Hill, Library Director
Georgetown Peabody Library
Lincoln Park
Georgetown, MA 01833
nhill@mailserv.mvlc.lib.ma.us
On Fri, 2 Mar 2001, Rosemarie Grainer wrote:
> Dear all,
> I am in the midst of a
quandary and am hoping for some good
advice.
> I have been buying the young adult books for the past 3 1/2 years.
What
do
> you do with your YA pbs to keep them from getting demolished by being
loved
> to death? Do you cover them like we do our softcover nonfiction
books?
Do
> you just expect them to be a self-weeding resource? Do you keep a
part of
> your budget aside to replace these well-loved, and frequently
disappearing
> books? I don't have a huge budget. I have a hard enough
time keeping up
> with the new fiction, and all the paperback copies of series books and
books
> that I didn't want to get in hardcover.
> I hate to not have
books that our teens want, but many times we
had
> more than one copy and they are all long gone by being checked out
since
> 1998 or just falling apart due to large numbers of circulation.
Certain
> authors are more prone to this phenomenon than others, too!
> Do any of you have any
suggestions for me? I would really
> appreciate it. Thanks for all the ideas and help that you all
have given
me
> over the past 3 1/2 years.
>
> Rosemarie
>
> Rosemarie Grainer, Reference/Young Adult Librarian
> Olean Public Library, 134 N 2nd St., Olean, NY 14760
> 716-372-0200; Fax 716-372-8651; rgrainer@oleanlibrary.org
> "So many books, so little time." - unknown
>
------------------------------
From: Victoria Miller <millerv@mail.camden.public.lib.ga.us>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: skateboarding program
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:31:18 CST
Ilene,
Try "Thrasher". It's extremely popular here.
Victoria
At 10:07 AM 3/3/01 CST, you wrote:
>Speaking of skateboarding, I am looking into redoing our Teen magazines
and
>wanted a skateboarding magazine. Any recommendations? I'm
thinking about
>getting Thraser but am not sure. Thanks!
>
>Ilene Lefkowitz
>Reference/YA Librarian
>Kinnelon Public Library
>ILefkowitz@aol.com
>
------------------------------
From: Victoria Miller <millerv@mail.camden.public.lib.ga.us>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Damaged and long gone YA PBs
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:31:37 CST
Rosemarie,
We cover our YA paperbacks and place a strip of book tape down the inside
of the cover, front & back. It helps tremendously. Our books
are
circulating a lot longer this way. Hope this helps,
Victoria
>
------------------------------
From: Mary Thompson <yshq@cmrls.lib.ms.us>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Medieval SRP Theme
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:32:10 CST
Hi Christina,
In 1997 we did "Fantasy Quest". It was lots of fun. We
made BIG cardboard
cutouts of a Knight and His Lady. There was a hole cut out for the
child to
stick his/her face in and we took their picture when they had read so many
books. We displayed these pictures in the library and then the child
took
it
home. We made a BIG green dragon (cute) to stand at the check out
desk. He
had
"pockets" that held different weekly puzzle papers for kids to
pick up. He
also
held an 8x10 poster of what was happening for the week. We had a
contest to
make castles from "stuff" at home. Each castle won a ribbon.
The one made
out
of sugar cubes was "The Sweetest". Have fun!
Mary Thompson
Central Mississippi Regional Library System
------------------------------
From: jmccann <jmccann@fontanalib.org>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: RE: Dial-a-story machines
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:32:33 CST
Anne, Charlotte/Mecklenberg, NC has a web based dial-a-story. I
believe
they work with Story Place. www.storyplace.org
- the computer "guru" that
works for our regional system, says they cost to produce such a system is
too much for us to bear. Let me know what you find out. Jennifer
Jennifer McCann(jmccann@fontanalib.org)
Library Assistant/Children's
Marianna Black Library; The very BEST place to start!
33 Fryemont Rd.
Bryson City, NC 28713
Voice: (828) 488-3030 x30
Fax: (828) 488-9857
"Opinions expressed in this message may not represent the policy of my
library."
------------------------------
From: Beth Werking <bwerking@kokomo.lib.in.us>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Re: Science is Fun program
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:32:50 CST
If you really want to pack in the kids, headline your program "Blow Up
the
Librarian".
Its been "a few years back" so you may want to tinker with this
just a
bit--as I recall, we purchased 6-8 gallon zip lock bags then cut a small
hole in one corner, just large enough to fit in a plastic drinking straw.
Tape up the hole with that great book tape that we love so well and zip lock
the bag. That's about it.
When you are ready to do you experiment, place an empty bag on each corner
and at the long sides of a table with the drinking straws out.
Place
another table upside down on the first table. The librarian clambers
up on
this second table and instructs the kids to stand around the straws and when
given the command, to start blowing into the straws. As the bags
start to
fill with air, the second table and the librarian rise in the air--albeit a
little unsteadily, but that's part of the fun. Have the children hold
the
air in the filled bags by putting their thumb over the opening.
I'd test
fly this first!
------------------------------
From: jmccann <jmccann@fontanalib.org>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: RE: Dial a Story Question
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:33:06 CST
Christina, With the Winsor Dial-A-Story system, it counts all incoming
calls that listen to at least 1/2 of the story. As opposed to calling
a
hanging up. Jennifer
Jennifer McCann(jmccann@fontanalib.org)
Library Assistant/Children's
Marianna Black Library; The very BEST place to start!
33 Fryemont Rd.
Bryson City, NC 28713
Voice: (828) 488-3030 x30
Fax: (828) 488-9857
"Opinions expressed in this message may not represent the policy of my
library."
-----Original Message-----
From: Christina Johnson [SMTP:marionthelibrarian@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2001 1:17 PM
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Dial a Story Question
Can you keep Stats on 'visitors' to your dial-a-story
systems, voice mail included?
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
------------------------------
From: "Lani Clarke" <laniclarke@mindspring.com>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Reading club for elementary students
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:33:24 CST
Greetings,
Please forgive me for asking about something that I've seen covered on the
list countless times, but without the archives I'm sunk unless you respond.
I've been asked to create some sort of ongoing after-school reading program
for children aged 9-12. Has anyone out there created a successful book
club
for that age group? If so, would you take a few minutes to respond to
me
off list at lclarke@snap.lib.ca.us?
I'll summarize responses for the list.
I'm looking for something I can do on a biweekly or monthly basis, where we
meet in the library and either read together or discuss a book that we've
all read separately. I'm looking for ideas on how to structure such a
club,
good book selections, tips on how to get an enthusiastic group going, and
anything else I need to know about what works well and what doesn't.
TIA
Lani Clarke
Vacaville Public Library
Vacaville, CA
------------------------------
From: Tina Hager <Tina.Hager@cityofcarrollton.com>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: RE: Science is Fun program
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:33:45 CST
The magazine Mailbox usually has science explorations that are good for
hands-on experiments. If you don't carry it, check with your school
librarians. They come in different editions depending on age. I
did a
program using a puppet as the scientist and I was its assistant. The
kids
were ages in the age range of 6-10 and seemed to enjoy the program.
Tina Irene Hager "Ms. Tina"
Carrollton Public Library
2001 E. Jackson Road
Carrollton, TX 75006
Tina.Hager@ci.carrollton.tx.us
972-466-3365
"Librarians are always over-booked!"
------------------------------
From: Erin Sietz <eseitz@cc-pl.org>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Help W/ Medieval SRP Theme
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:34:08 CST
You may want to try the book "Days of Knights and Damsels: An
Activity
Guide" by Laurie Carlson ISBN#1-55652-291-6. This book has
some really
great ideas. There is so much you could do with this theme! Hope
you have
fun!
Erin Seitz
At 04:36 PM 2/28/01 CST, you wrote:
>We are doing "Catch a Dragon by the Tale" for our
>summer reading program. With Princesses, Knights,
>Castles, etc.
>Any good ideas, decor, crafts, games, etc....
>TIA
>Christina Johnson
>Lebanon Public Library
>Lebanon IN
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
>http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
>
>
------------------------------
From: Morganfield Library <unionlib@dynasty.net>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Nancy Drew
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:34:23 CST
This is a 'good literature vs get them reading' debate. I was also
taught
that Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, Rick Brant were not 'good'
literature & therefore should not be offered. However, I have come
to
believe that the most important thing is to get the children to read.
As a
child I loved these series books. Nancy, Frank and Joe, were my
friends.
I was 'in love' with Rick Brant (anybody else remember him?)
Many of the
books I read were the originals with the non-politically correct language.
But, I knew that they were written during a different time period,
when
what was socially acceptable was not the same as when I read them. I
don't
think I was scarred for life by them. Are we denying our children the
chance to see the changes in our country's social history by swapping these
older copies for the newer sanitized ones?
An interesting side line on 'Little Black Sambo', one of my favorites when
I was little.....Sambo was not Black...He was Indian.
There are no Tigers in Africa and the clothes he wore were Indian. The
occupying Brittish called the natives of India 'blacks'.
Read, Read, Read....one of the most important things one can do!
Laura Wildey, Director
Union County Public Library
Morganfield, KY 42437
------------------------------
From: Beth DeGeer <bdeg@bartlesville.lib.ok.us>
To: "Pubyac@Prairienet.
Org" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Nancy Drew and Censorship and "Knee Jerks"
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:34:40 CST
>From the publisher's note in my Applewood reprint of 1932 version
of THE
PASSWORD TO LARKSPUR LANE:
"Much has changed in America since the Nancy Drew series first began in
1930. The modern reader may be delighted with the warmth and exactness
of
the language, the wholesome innocence of the characters, their engagement
with the natural world, or the nonstop action without the use of violence;
but just as well, the modern reader may be extremely uncomfortable with the
racial and social stereotyping, the roles women play in these books, or the
use of phrases or situations which may conjur up some response in the modern
reader that was not felt by the reader of the times.
For good or bad, we Americans have changed quite a bit since these books
were first issued. Many readers will remember these editions with
great
affection and will be delighted with their return; others will wonder why we
don't just let them disappear. These books are part of our heritage.
They
are a window on our real past. For that reason, except for the
addition of
this note and the introduction by Janet Evanovich, we are presenting THE
PASSWORD TO LARKSPUR LANE unedited and unchanged from its first
edition."--Applewood Books
Let me state again: I personally think it is reasonable to replace old
worn-out copies of Nancy Drew with newer editions. They aren't great
literature, but they are classics of pop culture, much beloved by patrons,
and I think they need to be in the public library. I think the
Applewood
reprints are interesting, and would make a great program, along with THE
NANCY DREW SCRAPBOOK by Karen Plunkett-Powell and the MYSTERIOUS CASE OF
NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS by Carole Kismaric. What an interesting
book
discussion a comparison between the two editions would make. If you
want to
replace them, party on--but this is an interesting discussion that touches
on the heart of who we are--let's continue it.
Now to the point of "if the publisher acknowledges they need to be
updated..." well, publishers thought Susan Beth Pfeffer should rewrite
LITTLE WOMEN and add to the series. I don't agree. I love THE
BIRCHBARK
HOUSE but we still have the LITTLE HOUSE series by Wilder. Note the
new
trend of paring down classics and turning them into watered-down picture
books. Just because the publisher thinks HITTY needs a Rosemary Wells
update, doesn't mean the original goes, does it?
"Why have things that would hurt a child?" Because
books are a reflection
of who we are. Don't underestimate kids--they can understand these
things.
A few years ago we had some African-American parents who were convinced that
Mildred Taylor's MISSISSIPPI BRIDGE should be removed from the children's
choice nominees at the local schools. This small group of parents (by
no
means representative of the African American community in our town) did not
want their children to know "the world had ever been like that".
The book,
as you know, is about Mississippi in the 1930's and a boy who watches a bus
driver order all the black passengers off a bus in the middle of a
rainstorm, to make room for white passengers. These parents felt that
this
book was hurtful to their children. We had a Japanese-American lady
object
to the negative remarks about Japanese citizens in HARRIS AND ME by Gary
Paulsen. Are these books hurtful? Yes, they are. Do we
remove them or
stop promoting them for this reason? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to
host
a public forum addressing these issues? Have a reading group read
HARRIS
AND ME and also read Graham Salisbury's UNDER THE BLOOD RED SUN and talk
about them. Bring in WWII vets and Japanese Internment camp veterans
in and
have them talk with kids about their experiences.
You should have a wide variety of books, and encourage your patrons to read
a wide variety of books. Have book discussion groups that focus on
these
issues of racial stereotyping. Encourage your patrons to talk, and to
see
other points of view. Negative stereotypes may or may not seep into
the
unconscious (do you have evidence for this?) but when you bring them out
into the open and talk about them, it is a wonderful way to combat them and
teach tolerance. I don't think we should burn Babar (see Herbert
Kohl's
book), we should keep him around and discuss him. That's as much a
part of
our job as providing the collection in the first place.
Read the (I think February) issue of HORN BOOK that details the history of
the OZ books and librarians. Not a particuarly attractive part of our
history. As a child, our public library had a "dragon guarding
the books"
librarian, and she was not pleasant. I don't ever want to treat a
child the
way I was treated by that woman--fine, upstanding, well-trained, "only
the
best literature here" librarian that she was--God rest her soul.
And at last (yes I'm almost done) to the name calling: just stop it.
We
are professionals, and to blithely accuse people of censorship for asking a
question is not cool. Also, to accuse people who bring up the question
of
"maybe we shouldn't reject books because of content" of loving
Disneyfied
fairy tales is also not cool. We could all benefit from open minds,
less
name-calling, and backing up our arguements with well-reasoned, thoughtful
answers.
So that's my opinion--in detail--delete at will.
Beth DeGeer
Youth Services Librarian/PC Administrator
Bartlesville Public Library, Bartlesville OK
bdeg@bartlesville.lib.ok.us
http://www.bartlesville.lib.ok.us
------------------------------
From: Librenee@aol.com
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: Older/Younger YAs
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:34:54 CST
I really like the idea of a separate space and collection for older and=20
younger YAs. Anyone who has worked with teens know that there is as big a=20
difference between middle school students and high school students as
there=20
is between children an YAs or YAs and adults. Breaking services down into=20
such small population segments is usually not practical for most
libraries,=20
but is probably more appropriate for the students. That is not to say
that=20
younger and older YAs can't socialize together. On the contrary, when I
was=20
YA Services Coordinator at the Carmel Clay Public Library (IN), our YA=20
section was geared towards high school students (see "Couch
Central" in
the=20
July '98 SLJ) but students from grades 7 - 12 served on our Teen Library=20
Council (I think that most sixth graders are more like children than YAs,
bu=
t=20
that is another story). Gearing the YA area toward older students made it=20
more appealing to high school students (and allowed us to buy more mature
YA=
=20
titles and adult titles with YA appeal) and, of course, since the younger=20
students wanted to be like the older students, the area appealed to them
as=20
well. Having older and younger YAs on our TLC together allowed for a
certain=
=20
degree of mentorship - it was really neat to watch the quiet middle
school=20
students grow into confident leaders over the course of their involvement
in=
=20
the TLC. But I digress=E2=80=A6 I'm looking forward to hearing whether any
l=
ibraries=20
do have a separate area for older and younger YAs. I think it's a great
idea=
.
Renee J. Vaillancourt
=20
Library Consultant
=20
librenee@aol.com
------------------------------
From: Jean Hewlett <nbclsref@sonic.net>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Nancy Drew series
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:35:13 CST
Several years ago I worked at a community college with a
very diverse group of staff and students. One day, students
began arriving at the library with an assignment to find
examples of racial stereotypes in literature.
This would't have been easy in the first place, but it was
made more difficult by our practice of yanking any book that
we felt was demeaning to a particular ethnic group.
Shortly after that, we stopped withdrawing these books and
began giving them the local subject heading "Stereotypes --
fiction." Some of the more outrageous examples were moved to
nonfiction (sociology).
Jean Hewlett
nbclsref@sonic.net
All opinions are my own, and do not represent my employers.
------------------------------
From: Beth DeGeer <bdeg@bartlesville.lib.ok.us>
To: "Pubyac@Prairienet.
Org" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Even more on Nancy Drew (sorry)
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:35:35 CST
This has been the most interesting thing--I've been thinking about all kinds
of pieces of this for days now, so thanks for the original query, Katherine.
It occurs to me that we've been debating the theoretical in terms of
"literature" instead of in terms of McBooks. But, we should
look at classic
"McBooks" because with the homeschool movement becoming ever more
popular,
this is going to come up and we need to think about it.
We ordered some Applewood reprints of about four Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys
titles because: Mildred Watts, who was Carolyn Keene for much of the
original 1930's Nancy Drew Series died a couple of years ago. Her
obituaries ran in lots of news stories, with lavish attention paid to how
different the 30's Nancy was from the 60's Nancy when Harriet Adams re-wrote
and revised the titles. We had lots of requests for the originals from
patrons who became interested because of the stories about Watts.
Around that same time, I started getting a lot of what I considered
"weird"
requests from some of our Evangelical Christian homeschool families.
They
wanted Tom Swift (another Stratemyer series), books by G.A. Henty, and Elsie
Dinsmore. Many publishers who provide Evangelical Christian curriculum
for
homeschool families are pushing these "wholesome" series which
just happen
to be in the public domain and available for republishing by these
companies. Many of our homeschool families are convinced these are
classics
and necessary reading for their children.
Elsie Dinsmore is a series that was loathed by librarians at the time, and
with good reason. Elsie is a self-righteous prig, and there are scenes
of
child abuse, anti-Catholicsm, anti-Mormonism, ugly racial stereotypes, class
snobbery, and a distasteful place at the end where Elsie marries a man her
father's age. They are definately McBooks, and our patrons wanted
them. I
had request after request, and after much soul-searching I decided it was as
much their library as anyone else's and I bought some. And they are
just
awful. But, what would you guys have done? As a librarian, I am
neutral--if I order the Bailey School Kids McBooks to please my
eight-year-olds, than who am I to stand in the way of Elsie Dinsmore?
Where do we stand on this issue, which will come up again and again,
particularly here in the Bible belt. Any comments?
Beth DeGeer
Youth Services Librarian/PC Administrator
Bartlesville Public Library, Bartlesville OK
bdeg@bartlesville.lib.ok.us
http://www.bartlesville.lib.ok.us
------------------------------
From: Nicole Reader <nreader@snap.lib.ca.us>
To: PUBYAC <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Re: Question About Easy Readers
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:35:57 CST
We try to divide our children's collection into as few specialized sections
as
possible, so we don't have a separate easy nonfiction section.
Fictionalized or
brief easy-to-read nonfiction (someone mentioned Selsam) is shelved in the
ERs,
but nonfiction rich in content stays in juvie nonfiction no matter how easy
it
is.
First- and second-grade report writers appreciate it, as do those older
students
who have trouble reading. However, we recognize that uncertain readers
appreciate some indication of the difficulty of a book. Therefore we
give
the
easier-to-read books in nonfiction (and "step-up" fiction, for
that matter)
a
strip
of black tape right above the call number.
N.
-----------------------
Nicole Reader
Children's Librarian
Benicia (CA) Public Library
nreader@snap.lib.ca.us
http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/library.html
> From: Paulalef@aol.com
> To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
> Subject: Re: Question About Easy Readers
> Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 12:13:50 CST
>
> Hi, Toni,
>
> We kind of ponder the same thing, but we keep our easy reader
nonfiction
> with the rest of our nonfiction. On the one hand, this means our Easy
Reader
> section is totally fiction, which helps, but also we have a sizable
> population of kids who are reading WAY below grade level and need those
easy
> nonfictions for reports. It's less embarrassing for them to find what
they
> need interfiled with the rest of the subject area. One of our branches,
> which does not have this problem, has an "EJ 000.00"
designation and
> separates these from both the J nonfiction and the Easy Reader
sections.
>
> Let us know what you decide to do. It's a problem lots of us have.
>
> Paula Lefkowitz
> Head, Children's Department
> Parsippany (NJ) PL
------------------------------
From: Julie Linneman <juliel@wichita.lib.ks.us>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Puppets 'n' Stuff, Inc.
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:36:13 CST
Does anyone in the Big Bend, Wisconsin, area (near Milwaukee) know if the
"Puppets 'n' Stuff, Inc." company is still in their area?
The address I have from a flyer I picked up quite awhile back was listed
as "W224 S8424 Industrial Dr., Big Bend, WI 53103." The
phone is listed
as "(414) 662-4448." When I have tried to call, nothing
happens.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Julie Linneman
juliel@wichita.lib.ks.us
------------------------------
From: children@bestweb.net
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Laura Ingalls Wilder
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:36:28 CST
Dear Pubyac subscribers:
I am having a program about
Laura Ingalls Wilder and her writings
for
children ages six and up. We will discuss the time period of her books, the
life of Laura ingalls Wilder, some of her writings, have games, activities,
crafts and refreshments. If you have ever had a "Wilder" program,
I would
appreciate
it if you could send me some of your ideas. You really helped alot for the
program
I had on the "Middle Ages". Thanks again for your time!
Lydia Kugel, Youth Services Librarian
Mahopac Public Library
children@besteb.net (or you may
reply to listserv) Thank
you!
------------------------------
From: lisajo@ci.burlington.wa.us
(Lisa Anderson, Children's Librarian)
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: RE: mystery night info
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:36:44 CST
Dear Claudia,
Did you purchase your kit with scripts and props from DoubleDog Press? Their
web site is http:/dbldog.com/.
If you did not I would be very interested if you would email me the name of
the company and their address. Our library has purchased and used scripts
from DoubleDog Press for several years and I think we have exhausted them as
a resource or I am going to have to recycle precious scripts.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Lisa Anderson
Children's Librarian
Burlington Public Library
Email Address lisajo@ci.burlington.wa.us
>Hi, Claudia
>
>We had a mystery night back in January. The script we used was one
we
>got from the children's librarian at our main branch - we revised it to
>suit our needs. The program was for YAs in grades 6-12, but most
of the
>attendees were in the 6-8th grade bracket. We had 17 YAs
participating.
>We divided them into 6 teams - 5 teams of 3 and one of 2. They had
to
>go around the library building and interview "suspects"
(library staff
>people who were actually on duty at the ref/circ/children's desks that
>night). We had a "crime scene" set up, complete with
crime scene tape
>donated from a local police station and an outline of the body on
>the floor (done with masking tape). The YAs had a great time and
so did
>the staff! It was amazing to see how serious the YAs were - they
really
>got into the program and we overheard one group cautioning another to
>be careful not to get their fingerprints on the desk they were examining
>! This was the first time we had offered such a program, and we
plan to
>do it again this summer. If you would like for me to send you the
scripts,
>let me know your mailing address.
>
>Miranda Cary
>Otranto Road Regional Library
>Charleston County Public Library System
>Charleston, South Carolina
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: lisajo@ci.burlington.wa.us
(Lisa Anderson, Children's Librarian)
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: Science is Fun program
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:37:06 CST
Dear Roben,
I organized a program station on Air Pressure that was a crowd pleaser. With
a few simple supplies such as glass coke bottles, balloons, yard sticks,
string, rulers and newpaper the children can preform some hands-on
experiments.
I had the children try to blow up a balloon in a coke bottle,to demonstrate
the principle that air takes up space, balance two balloon on the end of a
yard stick and then pop one of the balloons to show that air has weight, and
then I had them try to lift up a sheet one newpaper flatten down on a table.
The ruler must be underneath the newpaper and hang over the edge of a table.
Try to lift the newpaper by hitting the rule with all your force. Do not be
surprised if the ruler breaks. Then try to lift the newpaper up from the
table by pressing slowly down on the ruler.
I hope this helps. If you need the name of some books let me know. I did
this program several years ago.
Lisa Anderson
Children's Librarian
Burlington Public Library
Email: lisajo@ci.burlington.wa.us
>Hello Pubyac!
>A colleague and I are planning a science program for the summer - sort
of a
>combination of Ms. Frizzle and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Rather
than
>reinvent the wheel, I was wondering if any of you have experiments or
ideas
>for a program like this? I plan on setting up four different
stations with
>hands-on activities for the kids. I'm sure we'll do the baking
soda/vinegar
>
>reaction and also something with bubbles. But I'm just curious if
any of
>you have had successful science programs in the past. Any and all
ideas
>would be greatly appreciated!
>We will be doing the program a total of seven times in various locations
>throughout Fairfax County so the ideas have to be somewhat portable.
>
>Thanks in advance!
>Roben Closs
>Lorton Library
>Lorton, Virginia
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: Lisa Hughes <lhughes@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us>
To: pubyac <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Re: Question About Easy Readers
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:37:27 CST
We have catalogued non-fiction easy-readers for some time. (Eyewitness
Junior and New True books being two series that come to mind.) One
side
of the children's area has the picture books and easy reading fiction and
non-fiction. The chapter books are in the middle, and older
non-fiction
is on the other side. It is very useful both for the early elementary
school child who needs to do a report (and we're getting more and more of
those!) and for the preschool child who is interested in a subject (as I
tell parents, if it's easy enough for a primary grade child to read and
understand, it's usually easy enough for a preschooler to understand when
it's read to him/her.)
Lisa Mead Hughes, Children's Services
Campbell Public Library
77 Harrison Avenue, Campbell CA 95008-1499
voice: (866-1991) fax: (408) 866-1433
lhughes@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us
*** All standard disclaimers apply ***
On Thu, 1 Mar 2001, Toni Reese wrote:
> Hi Everybody,
>
> It's me again -- this time with a question about cataloging easy
> readers. We are beginning to get in easy readers that are
non-fiction.
> They are from the "Eyewitness Readers" series and appear to
have very
> good information. I am tempted to catalog them in the general
> non-fiction area with a local subject note in the catalog saying
"Easy
> Reader," but at the same time am worried that these books will be
> overlooked by a mom or kid just browsing for something good to read in
> the Easy Reader section.
>
> Any suggestions? Once again, thanks so much for all your help.
>
> Toni
>
> Toni Reese
> Youth Services Librarian
> Sump Memorial Library
> 222 N. Jefferson St.
> Papillion, NE 68046
>
>
------------------------------
From: Sue Ridnour <SRidnour@flower-mound.com>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: RE: Hiring new grads
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:37:50 CST
Jeanette,
We recently had two new Youth Services Librarian positions to fill and were
not getting a ton of applicants. Since this was in mid-December, we
thought
we would get December grads applying on the theory that by the time they
went through the interview process, they would have the degree in hand.
When we didn't get that many applicants, we decided to open it up to May
grads. All it took was our director asking the HR department to revise
the
posting to say that completion of the MLS degree within six months of hire
date was one of the requirements. I image in a city the size of
Austin,
this might be a harder thing to accomplish, but here they were willing to do
it just on the library director's request. It's pretty hard to get
through
to our hiring specialist, but if you have specific questions I could try to
pass them along, or at least call her and explain who you are and why you
are calling so that she would return your call. Just let me know.
Good luck!
Sue
Sue Ridnour
Youth Services Manager
Flower Mound Public Library
3030 Broadmoor Lane
Flower Mound, TX 75022
phone: 972.691.0059
fax: 972-355-1393
------------------------------
From: Martha Link <martha@lfpl.org>
To: "'pubyac@prairienet.org'"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Transportation Day/ Touch a Truck Day
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:38:05 CST
We're considering kicking off our Summer Reading program this year by having
a bunch of vehicles come to the library so children can see them up close.
Fire trucks, police cars, a city bus, bulldozer, etc.
Have any of the rest of you done this sort of thing? How was the
response?
Did you have any coinciding indoor activities? A rain date? What
was your
catchy title?
Please respond to me directly ASAP, we need to convince our sponsors of the
ultimate coolness of the idea this week.
thanks so very much!
Martha
Martha Link
Children's Special Programs Librarian
Louisville Free Public Library
301 York St.
Louisville KY 40203
502-574-1684
502-574-1833 (fax)
martha@lfpl.org
------------------------------
From: Christina Johnson <marionthelibrarian@yahoo.com>
To: PUBYAC <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: New Hooked on Phonics
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:38:20 CST
For those of you who currently circulate the new
versions of Hooked on Phonics, have you kept them in
their original boxes for check out?
If so, how are the boxes holding up?
Does anyone handle them differently from the original
packaging? Such as bagging everything together, etc.
TIA
Christina Johnson
Lebanon Pub. Lib.
Lebanon IN
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
------------------------------
From: Carol Skelton <cskelton@nslsilus.org>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Thank you--stumper Boy Visits Other Worlds
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:38:36 CST
Thanks to all of you who responded to my stumper. I notified the
patron
that the title is THE LIVES OF CHRISTOPER CHANT by Diana Wynne Jones or
THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW by Lewis. I left a message on his answering
machine
and have not heard from him--yet.
Thanks again.
--
Carol Skelton
Gail Borden Library
200 N. Grove Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
------------------------------
From: smellott@co.wake.nc.us
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: patron looking for a book
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 12:38:53 CST
Can anyone help me with this request? Thanks in advance
Sue If so you can reach me at smellott@co.wake.nc.us
Here goes:
Sue:
Here's the info I was asking you about on Sunday night.
This past weekend when I was home visiting my sister she was telling us
about her favorite book when she was growing up. It was read to her in
elementary school (probably about 30 years ago) and was a story about a
little boy who sold burlap sacks to a store....I think it was maybe a penny
a sack. Anyway each week he would sell these sacks and then buy a
chocolate
bar and a lemon soda. One time he only had nine sacks and so he snuck
a
sack with a hole in it in the middle of the pile. He still got his
money
and.... that's where my sister quit telling the story.
Anyway--I would love to find out the title of this story. I am not
even
sure if it was a book itself or maybe just a short story. Sorry for
the
sketchy details. Thanks for any help you can give me. Lisa
------------------------------
End of PUBYAC Digest 385
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