ECIS Library 2018

I just returned from a great conference in Chennai, India.  ECIS Library happens every three years and is some of the best PD for international librarians that I have experienced.  I met many people, learned a lot and now have a long "to-do" list of all sorts of fabulous ideas for the library!

I presented at ECIS Library this year on our nonfiction gentrification process for the MS/HS Library.  I have blogged about the process here.  If you would like the slide presentation, please let me know.  If you attended ECIS Library, the presentation and materials are in the shared Drive folder.

Here are a few photos of the workshop:

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

(Amazon.com)

I've been walking by Dumplin' on the library shelf for awhile wondering if I should read it.  Then, I pre-ordered the upcoming sequel, Puddin', and wondered some more.  Finally, someone returned it to me in the library and I took the book home with me.
I am glad I did!  This book made me laugh and it made me cry.  I stayed up extra-late just to finish it.

A teaser from the Amazon.com blurb:

"Dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin...With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . .  until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.  Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant"

Find Dumplin' in our library at: REALISTIC F MUR

The Flip Side by Shawn Johnson

(Amazon.com)

I've always been a fan of gymnastics and ordered this book last year when it was reviewed in School Library Journal.  The Flip Side was written by  olympic gold-medalist, Shawn Johnson.

Gymnastics is a topic that's been in the news a lot lately so I picked it up off our Realistic Fiction shelf when I was looking for something new to read.  

I enjoyed the first half of the book, but ended up not finishing it; the book felt predictable and it made me lose interest.  So, I admit it....I just skipped to the last chapter to make sure it ended like I thought it would.

But, as we all know, just because it wasn't my favorite book doesn't mean it won't be yours!  Try this book out if you like professional sports, want a look "behind the scenes" of the gymnastics world and/or like a bit of romance in your books.

Find this book in our library at: REALISTIC F JOH

Book Speed Dating

Book Speed Dating has been a hit in the library this week.  Students had four "dates" with different books and then ranked their dates using an emoji rating system.  Many students left with 2-3 new books, which is great for our upcoming discovery week.  No devices allowed, but books are!

Credit to Jessica Drinks; I used her slides on SlideShare as a guide in creating this presentation.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

(Amazon.com)

I have been know to comment at my book club that we need to get away from World War II books because there is so much written about that time period.  So, when my husband read this book over Christmas break and then passed it on to me saying it was really good, my first comment was "Is it all about Nazis?  I'm tired of reading about Nazis."

The answer is NO!  Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is one of the best books I've read recently.  It's a story of refugees, hope and survival.  Salt to the Sea is a WWII historical fiction novel about refugees leaving East Prussia to obtain passage out on one of the many evacuation ships, one of them being the Wilhelm Gustloff.  The book centers around the stories of 3 refugees and one soldier.

Though largely unheard of, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is the largest maritime disaster in history.  The loss of life, over 9000 people, was much larger than the more well-known stories of the Titanic or the Lusitania.

Salt to the Sea managed to be both depressing and uplifting.  It made me question how much history is changed over time or covered up.  Why is the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff so largely overlooked in history?

Find Salt to the Sea in our library at: HISTORICAL F SEP

Library Signage

Our last step was to create signage for the new sections.  I wanted something that could be seen among all the colorful book covers as our current signs seemed to blend in.

After doing some searching online for signage, and realizing our school has a lot of spare chalkboard paint, I asked our team of carpenters to modify a design found online.  We used natural, untreated wood (both for cost savings and for the rustic look) and chalkboard paint.  Chalkboards make the section titles really stand out.

We were not able to put the chalkboard signs on the tall shelves without hitting the ceiling so I used a chalkboard background and printed posters to put in frames to keep with the chalkboard look.

We had about 40 signs made and our talented assistants learned to do chalk art via YouTube tutorials.  Here is our beautiful new library signage:

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

Believe it or not, due to only being able to order once per yer, our library did not have Turtles All The Way Down yet.  So, I picked it up when I went back home because so many students are requesting it.  My sister-in-law, also a librarian, said it wasn't her favorite work of his so I didn't start it with high hopes.  BUT...this is now my favorite John Green book!  I finished it in a day.  Those of you who know me know that I am an extremely slow reader so the fact that it only took me a day to read is amazing.

I won't give too much away but this book is about love, friendship, mental illness and resilience.  There is a billionaire, good friends, and a bit of mystery.  The ending, though not what I expected/hoped, is typical John Green.

Find Turtles All The Way Down in our library at: REALISTIC F GRE

Or, put a hold on it...it's already checked out! 😁