I have friends who joke with me about being a librarian. I think they do that because they aren’t really sure they know what a librarian does. My friends tell me it must be nice to go to work, in a quiet, stress-free environment where you get to read book after book after book. They wonder why I needed to go to “Library School” to learn the alphabet and the Dewey Decimal System. And some of them even think that being a librarian isn’t “real work” because we get to sit at a desk all day long and answer the same questions over and over.
There are many different types of jobs people do at the library. Some of us work at the Circulation Desk issuing new library cards to customers, checking out materials and then checking those materials back in and putting them back on the shelves. Some people work in Technical Services where they unpack, catalog and process all of the new materials that arrive every day. Others of us work at the Youth and Adult Reference desks where, yes, we do answer customer’s questions and help them with the computers. Some of us plan youth, teen and adult programs such as book discussions, story times and author visits. And some of us do scheduling, budgeting, building maintenance, strategic planning, staff development, personnel management and other business administrative duties.
Libraries across the country will be celebrating National Library Week from April 10th to the 16th. I encourage everyone to visit the Beloit Public Library this week to take advantage of all of the resources we offer and to get to know us a little better. Go ahead, friend, ask us what we do.
Don’t miss the upcoming FABL (Friends at Beloit Library) booksale going on during National Library Week. The sale begins Thursday April 14th at 9:30 a.m. and will be held in the Public Meeting Room. For more information about the booksale be sure to visit www.beloitlibrary.info .
Check out these books coming soon to the Beloit Public Library:
Beyond the Trees: Stories of Wisconsin Forests by Candice Gaukel Andrews. "Recognizing the social and ecological values of Wisconsin's forest resources helps us to achieve a more equitable and sustainable use of some of the most beautiful places on earth — our forests. Beyond the Trees reaches back into history — linking our forests together and at the same time seeing their great differences. This splendid book allows each reader the chance to explore the intimate reaches of Wisconsin's forest history with depth and excitement, mystery and adventure." (Nina Leopold Bradley, founder and director, the Aldo Leopold Foundation) (Review)
Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World by Catherine E. McKinley. For almost five millennia, in every culture and in every major religion, indigo-a blue pigment obtained from the small green leaf of a parasitic shrub through a complex process that even scientists still regard as mysterious-has been at the center of turbulent human encounters. (Product Description)
Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception by Gary Paulsen. Kevin doesn't mean to make trouble when he lies. He's just really good at it, and it makes life so much easier. But as his lies pile up, he finds himself in big—and funny—trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. (Product Description)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
February 2011
I know that, technically, winter doesn’t arrive until the end of December, and I know that it isn’t spring until the end of March. Officially that only gives us about 12 weeks of winter. Yet, for some reason I always think of Wisconsin as being locked in a cold, miserable, snowy grip for months on end. That’s why I’m always surprised by the weather in February. I expect it to be wet and downright disagreeable. And sometimes it is. Just look at the huge blizzard that swept through at the beginning of the month. But then you get a streak of days where the temperature is in the 40’s and you can actually see patches of green beneath all of that white (and sometimes gray) snow. I start to get hopeful. I start thinking about reading books on the beach. I start thinking about taking the dogs for a walk on a nice sunny day. And then another blizzard blows through in March. Oh well…
Whatever the weather, when it comes to returning your library materials, the Beloit Public Library has you covered. With our outside Book Return, you can return your books, cds, dvds, and magazines any time of the day from the comfort of your car. No more running through the rain or slogging through the snow to bring your materials into the library. Located on the south side of our building, you can get to the Book Return from the access road that runs between the library and Eclipse Boulevard. Just drop your materials in the slot and we will take care of the rest.
Stop in or visit us on the web at www.beloitlibrary.info and be sure to check out these great new books coming soon to the library:
The Complete Guide to Preserving Your Own Seeds for Your Garden by Atlantic Publishing Company. Seeds are the essence of life on earth, providing the genetic information needed for every plant we currently use for growing food, harvesting for clothing, and creating homes and furniture with…Which is why this book was developed to help any individual who is seeking to start preserving their own seeds for future use and growing. (Product Description)
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer. In this exuberant, rhythmic story, March, personified as a lion, enters a boy's cozy home and leaves a trail of snow flurries and muddy footprints. The boy calmly observes the pouncing, howling, growling lion until in comes the lamb on the crest of a huge sneeze. (Children’s Book - Product Description)
Twilight Garden: Creating a Garden That Entrances by Day and Comes Alive at Night by Lia Leendertz. Covering basic planting and design principles that make the most of outdoor surroundings, this guide helps gardeners establish a unique nocturnal garden. Including chapters on night-scented and night-blooming plants, gentle mood lighting, water features, enclosures, and the use of color and sound to attract wildlife, this is the perfect starting place for gardeners attracted to the ethereal nature of a moonlit landscape… (Product Description)
Whatever the weather, when it comes to returning your library materials, the Beloit Public Library has you covered. With our outside Book Return, you can return your books, cds, dvds, and magazines any time of the day from the comfort of your car. No more running through the rain or slogging through the snow to bring your materials into the library. Located on the south side of our building, you can get to the Book Return from the access road that runs between the library and Eclipse Boulevard. Just drop your materials in the slot and we will take care of the rest.
Stop in or visit us on the web at www.beloitlibrary.info and be sure to check out these great new books coming soon to the library:
The Complete Guide to Preserving Your Own Seeds for Your Garden by Atlantic Publishing Company. Seeds are the essence of life on earth, providing the genetic information needed for every plant we currently use for growing food, harvesting for clothing, and creating homes and furniture with…Which is why this book was developed to help any individual who is seeking to start preserving their own seeds for future use and growing. (Product Description)
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer. In this exuberant, rhythmic story, March, personified as a lion, enters a boy's cozy home and leaves a trail of snow flurries and muddy footprints. The boy calmly observes the pouncing, howling, growling lion until in comes the lamb on the crest of a huge sneeze. (Children’s Book - Product Description)
Twilight Garden: Creating a Garden That Entrances by Day and Comes Alive at Night by Lia Leendertz. Covering basic planting and design principles that make the most of outdoor surroundings, this guide helps gardeners establish a unique nocturnal garden. Including chapters on night-scented and night-blooming plants, gentle mood lighting, water features, enclosures, and the use of color and sound to attract wildlife, this is the perfect starting place for gardeners attracted to the ethereal nature of a moonlit landscape… (Product Description)
January 2011
You wait for it every year. You look forward to the glitz, the glamour and the celebrities. You try to guess who the winners will be. Some years you even throw a party for your closest friends so you can all revel in the anticipation and the excitement of the moment. And then the Big Day finally arrives…
Am I talking about the Golden Globes? Or perhaps the Grammy Awards? Maybe the Oscars? Nope. I’m talking about the American Library Association’s annual book awards for children and young adults. The winners were announced in mid-January and I’m happy to say that your Beloit Public Library owns just about every book that was on the award list.
Here are just a few of the winners:
The John Newbery Medal Award for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature goes to Moon Over Manifest written by Clare Vanderpool. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. (Product Description)
The Randolph Caldecott Medal Award for the most distinguished American picture book for children goes to A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead. Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee’s case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, keeping the shy penguin company, and reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide to return the favor. (Product Description)
The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults goes to Ship Breaker written by Paolo Bacigalupi. In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when… he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . . (Product Description)
The Coretta Scott King Author Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults goes to One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, … and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past. (Product Description)
For a complete list of winners, visit www.beloitlibrary.info and click on the book lists at the bottom of the screen.
Am I talking about the Golden Globes? Or perhaps the Grammy Awards? Maybe the Oscars? Nope. I’m talking about the American Library Association’s annual book awards for children and young adults. The winners were announced in mid-January and I’m happy to say that your Beloit Public Library owns just about every book that was on the award list.
Here are just a few of the winners:
The John Newbery Medal Award for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature goes to Moon Over Manifest written by Clare Vanderpool. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. (Product Description)
The Randolph Caldecott Medal Award for the most distinguished American picture book for children goes to A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead. Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee’s case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, keeping the shy penguin company, and reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide to return the favor. (Product Description)
The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults goes to Ship Breaker written by Paolo Bacigalupi. In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when… he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . . (Product Description)
The Coretta Scott King Author Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults goes to One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, … and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past. (Product Description)
For a complete list of winners, visit www.beloitlibrary.info and click on the book lists at the bottom of the screen.
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