Sign and send your books to Ferguson

The Ferguson, MO Public Library is hoping to build up their children's section while there is still unrest following the protests and school closures of recent weeks. In her blog, best-selling children's author Joelle Charbonneau show how PAL writers can provide signed copies of their own books to add to the collection––and also show support to a community's children who have faced a great deal of upheaval.

Authors love libraries

Recognize some familiar names? If so, and if you're in the north end or happen to be near Mukilteo in a couple of weekends, come show some love for your local SCBWI-ers on this panel.

Party alert: Seattle Central Library turns 10

The Seattle Public Library will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Central Library with a week of free concerts and programs from May 15 to May 23. One special event on Saturday, May 17, will celebrate, honor, thank, and feature local and regional writers.

Authors Gone Wild: A Celebration of Bookish Proportions 
7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Seattle Central Library Living Room, Level 3 

The evening will feature entertainment and readings by Seattle7Writers and the band The Rejections (and Trailing Spouses), as well as book signings. Masters of ceremonies will be Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Erik Larson, author of In the Garden of Beasts. Get more information.

Sex in the library (and the Secret Garden Bookshop)

Authors and librarians Mary Jo Heller and Aarene Storms share their new book, Sex in the Library: A Guide to Sexual Content in Teen Literature (Voya Press) on Tuesday, April 29. The event, which will be held at Secret Garden Bookshop in Ballard at 7:00 p.m., addresses the development of library collections dealing with sex and sexuality for teens. The book provides no-holds-barred and no-body-parts-left-out reviews of more than 100 books to be considered for collections (including, maybe, one at home). Bring your questions.

Do You Want to Be Interviewed?

Library Lions interviews youth librarians and gives a Roar for School Libraries and Public Libraries across the US. We also have special Author Spotlight posts. Kirby Larson is up on the blog now telling to tell us about her Library Love. You don’t have to be a Newbery award-winning author like Kirby to do a Library Lions interview.

We’re looking for authors with Library Love stories, who do school visits, and if you attend or speak at library conferences (local or national like ALA) that’s even better.

We’re scouting authors now for 2012. If you would like to do a Library Lions interview, contact Janet Lee Carey. jlcarey@hotmail.com

Come Roar with us!

Good News for Ann Leda Shapiro

Congratulations to Ann Leda Shapiro! Her book, MY ISLAND has been selected by the State Librarian for the Summer 2010 Washington Reads. Come celebrate with Ann at the Vashon Island Library next Wednesday, July 28, from 4 to 6 p.m.

You can find more about Ann on her website, and more on the Washington Read here.

Books stolen from Port Orchard library

Here's some appalling news from School Library Journal about one of our library systems:

By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 5/12/2010 2:00:00 PM
As if severe budget cuts weren’t enough, Washington’s Kitsap Regional Library has suffered another huge blow—someone stole 1,348 picture books valuing nearly $23,000 from its Port Orchard branch.

“Nearly all of the titles stolen were newer books or new copies of classic titles,” says Branch Manager Kathleen Wilson. “From Barbara Abercrombie’s The Show and Tell Lion (S & S, 2006) to Charlotte Zolotow’s A Father Like That (HarperCollins, 2007), the entire alphabet of picture books was picked through by the thief.”

Read the whole thing.

(Thanks to Jennifer Mann for sending the link.)

Speak up for librarians

A librarian sent this our way. These people need our voices, so if you have time, please consider speaking up in support of their work:

The federal jobs bill was introduced this morning in the Senate, and despite a $20 billion provision for public service jobs, library workers are left out. A vote might come as early as Monday.

ALA's position is that libraries have suffered federal, state and local funding cuts. We are THE free community link to the Internet for many citizens, and we are providing the means and training for job seekers.

My own library system has cut, demoted and laid off staff, but our branches are busier serving the public than ever before. Other libraries are cutting staff, hours, materials and services. Many have upcoming levy lid lift elections for operating funds. If those fail, more draconion cuts will result.

This link makes it easy for you to send a message to your Senators--the software sends your message to the appropriate legislators automatically. Please consider completing this form and sending it, in turn, to others. That's easy, too.

Thanks very much. Yes, cops and firefighters deserve support through this bill, but library workers are filling a day-to-day community need for millions of citizens in the middle of our own funding crisis. Help us preserve jobs and be there for our citizens in need.

Here's the link.

Are libraries (and books) endangered species?

Here's an interesting speech about how one headmaster wants to evolve a school library. He talks a bit about books and their history, imagining here we're still in 1439, when manuscripts were copied by hand:

I want to tell you about this wonderful scriptorium that we have at Cushing Academy in 1439. We have scribes working full time to illuminate and copy the central texts of western civilization, especially Aristotle. We now have a remarkable library collection of 200 manuscripts, of which we are justly boastful. Now, I just learned some guy named Gutenberg claims to have perfected a method of movable type, which he thinks is the next big thing. I’m skeptical. I don’t see how this is ever going to replace the beautiful illuminated scripts that we have. So much of value will be lost if we move to these ugly, nondescript, black and white, uniform looking things called printed books. It surely will never compete with the aesthetic value of illuminated vellum. Compared to the human, personal expression of handwritten texts, where’s the individualization in printed copies? Also, these books are not going to be safe for society, because we won’t be able to control information from getting into the hands of troublemakers and even well-intentioned people who can’t handle it responsibly.

Read the rest...