Okay, so I took the summer off from everything except a few tweets here and there. This summer was just a time-out for me so get re-focused and enjoy bliss. Don't get me wrong, I love the library, librarianship, librarians...but I wanted to enjoy other things. I painted, swam, became a master at Tiny Wings, and cooked some savory and unsavory dishes. I vacationed, I slept, and I spent time planting trees and trying to keep them alive in this hellish heat.
But now, I'm back at work and there's something to be said about going back to work and getting back that professional focus. I want to be ON FIRE this year!! So, what do I have planned? Oh, so many things!
First of all, this is the year I program! I've been saving emails, listening to what others have done, and will try to replicate these in the library. Here are a few ideas (not all my own ideas, so thanks virtual friends out there!) We'll meet once a six weeks or monthly, depending on how good my group is :)
Blind Date a Book - wrap a book in brown paper wrapping and have them be checked out by my (hopefully) book club to read and swap.
Poetry Slam - So many ideas! I'm following a thread right now about Blackout Poetry and Susan Smith has a wonderful idea dealing with words and pages. I'm also going to try my hand at spine poetry as well
Book Club - I've heard many people talk about how hard it is to get a high school group going, but I'm still going to try. I'll do it during lunches where there will be incentive (think food) as well as online through bookclubit
Book Bake-Off - I saw this last semester and loved the idea! Read a book, bake something that's thematic or relevant to the book and display (tasting later!!)
Book Art - Who doesn't like a great craft now and then? Who doesn't have weeded books they're getting rid of? In comes book art for the book club. It'll be all about cutting, shredding, pasting, and redesigning for library displays!
Book Techie - Let's get these kids involved! I'll be setting up GoodReads and Shelfari with the students as well as getting each one to read an e-book from the collection. I'll also try my hand at book trailers (of course!!)
I Dont Wanna Read Non-Fiction! - Get the club to choose and read non-fiction and create a web-based project about the book to be displayed on the library webpage
Booktalking by Genre - pick a favorite genre, read a book, booktalk it!
And so that's what I want to do this year besides the co-teaching with teachers, doing booktalks, helping with technology and databases and being involved on the state level. You know, it may sound like a lot, but for high school librarians, it's something we can all handle and do, especially with capable help.
Wish me luck in this endeavor!!!!!
2 comments:
Naomi,
We have been holding a relatively steady and successful book club at our high school for several years now, and you are absolutely right... food is the draw. When we had 2 librarians, we each made a crock pot of soup for our club kids (relatively cheap and makes lots of portions!). That drew them in, and we generally have 20 kids sign up and about 12-15 show up. This year, we're down to one, so I plan to just make dessert (cookies, cupcakes, or brownies) and the kids can bring their lunch with them. We'll see if I still get decent numbers, but good luck!! Let us know what books you all are reading!
Naomi,
Good luck! I love all your ideas. Know that you are an inspiration!
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