Welcome Emily Scherrer!

I have exciting news! Emily Scherrer will be joining the Children's Department staff! She is busy planning new and exciting programs just for teens! The Teen Advisory Board will be getting back on track starting Tuesday, January 19 at 4:00. The meeting is open to anyone 12 and older interested in volunteering at the library. Of course, snacks are included! Come on in, meet Emily, and tell her what kinds of teen programs you want to see! Her ideas include a Twilight Ball to celebrate Eclipse coming to theaters in June, a spa day, and much, much more! More updates to come. Thanks for keeping up with our blog.

New Teen Area

This past Saturday, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to "open" the new teen area at the library. New shelving, a larger space, and new furniture have been added, thanks to a donation made by Runzheimer's, to create a fun and relaxing place for teens to hang out. Books are easier to find and there is lots more room for new teen books. Thanks to the Heinze family for cutting the ribbon with me and to Smoov Music DJ Service for providing the entertainment. Stop in and check it out!

Teen Top Ten Winners Announced

More than 11,000 teens voted online for their favorite book of the year through the American Library Association. John Green's Paper Towns came in first place. Here is the final top ten list:

Paper Towns by John Green
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Wake by Lisa McMann
Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Graceling by Kristin Cashore



Look for bookmarks in the teen area at the library. Thanks for voting!

How to Steal a Car

Pete Hautman is having a video contest! Here's the invitation I received in my e-mail:

Attention Muggles!

Soon, muggles of all ages will be able to experience the wizarding world in Orlando at the addition planned for the Universal Islands of Adventure. Scheduled to open in spring 2010, shops, food and entertainment inspired by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series will be open for exploring. The planned experiences include Honeydukes, Zonko's, Derbish and Bangles, a "flight of the Griffith" roller coaster, a Hogwarts castle, Ollivander's and much more. A picture gallery and more information are available on Universal's "Wizarding World" Web site. Very cool!

Nominate the One You Love!

The New York Times, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the American Library Association are now accepting nominations of public, school, sollege, and academic librarians for the I Love My Librarian! Award. Anyone can nominate a librarian online until October 9. Librarians will be judged on their quality of service to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources, and a commitment to helping library users. The awards will be presented on December 3 at the New York Times headquarters in New York City. Winners will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque, and a $500 travel stipend to attend the awards ceremony. Let's have a winner from Wisconsin this year!

A Library Without Books???

On September 4, the Boston Globe printed a story about Cushing Academy, a prep school in New England just outside of Boston. School officials decided that a traditional library is outdated and no longer necessary. They will be getting rid of all of their books. All of them except extremely valuable books and a few hundred children's books will be given away or donated. Instead, the library will be a learning center with flat-screen TV's, study desks, a coffee shop, and 18 electronic reading devises loaded with reading material. If the electronic readers aren't available when a student needs them, assigned texts will be available via computer. Here's a link to the full story: Boston Globe

Personally, I can't imagine a library without books. I love looking at the covers and thumbing through the pages. I love wandering in the stacks. I think that there are benefits that come with turning the pages of a book that you can't get on a Kindle. Books can be dropped, thrown in a backpack, used in the sand and in the sun. They can wait for me in the car and even survive splashes from the bath. They can be stored for long periods of time without losing function. And I believe there is a tactile and often emotional benefit that comes with curling up on the couch under my favorite blanket with a cup of coffee and a good book that just can't be replicated with an electronic device. I also worry about the kinds of information that will be lost as the technology gets outdated. Remember floppy discs? What happens when the newest, greatest electronic reading devise comes out. Will all of the books released on today's technology be able to be updated to the newest format? Or will they be lost like the information on my floppy discs?

I think what the Cushing Academy is doing is a big scary step. Maybe I'm old-fashioned. Maybe I am technophobic. Maybe I'm afraid of what will happen to all of the wonderful stories and important pieces of information if it is only available electronically where people can manipulate the words or lose them all together. Whatever the reason, this story makes me sad. I hope that other libraries will find ways to blend the best of technology with print materials. I hope that books never go out of style.