Display: Just Keep Reading (Ocean)

At this point, I'm content with the fact that there are no original ideas anymore. The human race has been around long enough at this point that we're just stealing one another's ideas and giving credit where we can. 

The idea for this display came out of a need for more displays in our library this month. The managers sent out an email asking us to sign up for display units since not too many had been claimed yet. Thanks to a quick Google search, I decided to make an end-of-summer, swimming-theme display. Another librarian blog (don't remember which one, sorry!) showed off the awesome Finding Dory display they put up when the movie came out a few years ago, which gave me the idea to take Dory's famous catchphrase and library-ise it. Even though the idea came from my very own brain, I'm 100% sure I'm not the first person to use this display idea. Even so, it turned out cute and I'm happy with it!

Originally I was going to put any books that looked pretty on this display, because "just keep reading" could refer to anything. In the end, I decided to raid the nonfiction section in search of books about fish, other sea creatures, water, and the ocean. Later this week, I plan to add adult, children's, and YA fiction books with the word "water" or "ocean" in the title. Here's a list of the current and planned titles for this display. I was surprised to find that so many novels by different authors are titled Thicker Than Water!

YA/Adult Nonfiction

• Dreaming in Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures by Peter Laufer, PhD (2018)
• The Dragon Behind Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt (2016)
• What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe (2016)
• Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea by Richard Ellis (2001)
• Firefly Pocket: Guide to Seashells of the World by A.P.H. Oliver (2004)
• Big Pacific by Rebecca Tansley (2017)
• The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Oceans Are One by Sylvia A. Earle (2009)
• Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn (2011)
• Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of Earth's Last Dinosaur by Carl Safina (2006)
• Shark Drunk: The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean by Morten Stroksnes (2017)
• Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity by Sandra Postel (2017)
• The Oceans by Ellen J. Prager with Sylvia A. Earle (2000)
• The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey (2010)
• The Attacking Ocean: The past, Present, and Future of Rising Sea Levels by Brian Fagan (2013)

Adult Fiction, Western, Mystery, Sci Fi

• The Water Children by Anne Berry (2012)
• Good Water by John D. Nesbitt (2016)
• Black Water by Louise Doughty (2016)
• Under Water by Casey Barrett (2017)
• Water Walker by Ted Dekker (2014)
• Deep Water by Pamela Freeman (2008)
• Hot Water by Erin Brockovich (2011)
• Blue Water by Manette A. Ansay (2006)
• The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)
• Still Thicker Than Water by Takerra Allen (2015)
• The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (2019)
• Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge (2017)
• The Iron Water by Chris Nickson (2016)
• Into the Water by Paula Hawkins (2017)
• Blood, Salt, Water by Denise Mina (2016)
• The North Water by Ian McGuire (2016)
• Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore (2016)
• Thicker Than Water by Sally Spencer (2015)
• Dark Water Rising by Sharon Sala (2019)
• Flat Water Tuesday by Ron Irwin (2013)
• We Are Water by Wally Lamb (2013)
• Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge (2013)
• The Water Thief by Ben Pastor (2007)
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)
• Coldwater by Samuel Parker (2018)
• Waterborne by Bruce Murkoff (2004)

YA Fiction, Mystery

• Big Water by Andrea Curtis (2018)
• Like Water by Rebecca Podos (2017)
• Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer (2016)
• Water in May by Ismee Williams (2017)
• Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough (2018)
• The Dark Water by Seth Fishman (2015)

Children's Fiction

• Wild Water Magic by Lynne Jonell (2014)
• A Long Walk to Water by linda Sue Park (2010)
• Water Steps by A. LaFaye (2009)
• Haunted Waters by Mary Pope Osborne (2006)
• Deep Water by Watt Key (2018)
• Treading Water by Laurie Halse Anderson (2014) 

Display: LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2019

Time for my annual Pride display! Pride Month is like Christmas for me. I joke that it's the only month of the year I get to be gay at work. It's not, my workplace is super inclusive and accepting, but it IS the time of year that I get to hang rainbows everywhere with relative impunity! This year, I focused on YA fiction and nonfiction books, but invited the whole staff to add books as they found them.

Throughout the month, a lot of books made their way through the display. You can also check out 2017's display list for more titles. Here are the ones you can see in the photo:

• Traffic by Ellen Hopkins (YA fiction)
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (YA fiction)
• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (YA fiction)
• Queer America by Vicki Lynn Eaklor (YA fiction)
• Stonewall by Ann Bausum (YA/adult nonfiction)
• And She Was by Jessica Verdi (YA fiction)
• The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson (YA fiction)
• Being Transgender: What You Should Know by Thomas E. Bevin (YA/adult nonfiction)
• At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson (YA fiction)
• Ship It by Britta Lundon (YA fiction)
• FML by Shaun David Hutchinson (YA fiction)
• The First Man-Made Man by Pagan Kennedy (Memoir)
• Hold Me Close by David Levithan (YA fiction)
• Here We Are Now by Jasmin Warga (YA fiction)
• Alice and Frida Forever: A Murder in Memphis by Alexis Coe (YA/adult nonfiction)
• Journey to Same-Sex Parenting by Eric Rosswood (YA/adult nonfiction)
• Becoming an Ally to the Gender-Expansive Child by Anna Bianchi (YA/adult nonfiction)

To draw even more eyes to the display at the front of the library, one of my volunteers made this bulletin board strategically placed in the teen area. The writing on the shooting star reads, "Check out the PRIDE display in the front lobby!"

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!

Display: Teen-Made Bulletin Boards

This is just a very short appreciation post for the bulletin boards our teen volunteers made in 2018. We are currently working out a schedule to have teens change out the boards every other month, so there will hopefully be more posts like this to come. I just wanted these works of art to be immortalized on the internet because they've been brightening up our library for the last few months!

Eric Carle display above the board books

Board advertising movie musicals in the teen area

A celebration of diverse and inclusive books in the teen area

Movie display in the Children's Room

Movie display in the Children's Room

Kids Decorate the Library

I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this program, but by the end it turned out to be one of my favorites! The concept was simple: Set out a bunch of random craft supplies and large pieces of butcher paper, and let the kids make whatever they wanted with the intention of beautifying our library.

I had some pre-cut paper pieces in the shape of butterfly wings, rectangles, circles, flower stems (the rectangles and circles can be strategically placed to look like a flower), and triangles. I was delighted to find the kids took these and ran with them! Some copied my sample flowers and butterflies, and others went off the map completely, turning the circles into caterpillars and other incredibly creative things I would never have thought of. This is proof of what I have been saying since last October's Mad Science: children are more creative than I could ever hope to be. That's why I've started structuring my programs a lot less, and just letting them run with the supplies I put out to see what they'll come up with.

I also printed a large banner in 11x17 pieces and set it out on the table for anyone to color. After the program I put the banner together and laminated it to hang up with some of the art. Here are the creative and colorful results:

Some of our first attendees starting their projects

Busy artists at work

Batman made a caterpillar!

A teen volunteer coloring the banner

Finished decorations!

Finished decorations!

Finished decorations!

Finished decorations!

Banner after I attached and laminated it

March 2018 Bulletin Board: Spring Into the Library!

As we get into the Spring season, I thought our main bulletin board in the Children's Room needed a little spruce. Using a friendly laminated butterfly I found in a cabinet and Mr. Frog from our recent Valentine's Day Party, I created our interactive "Spring Into the Library!" board.

The board is interactive because I painstakingly die-cut about 100 flowers out of construction paper, and have this invitation up for patrons:

If you click the first image of the whole bulletin board and zoom in, you can see all the things our smallest patrons love about their library. 

Also, at the end of the month we can count each flower as a participant in a passive program and add it to our stats! 

November 2017 Display: Intrigued by the First Line?

I have to admit, this display was not my original idea. I got lost in a Google search loop of amazing library didplays, and these ones especially stood out to me:

Source: Google Images

Source: Google Images

Source: Brooklands Primary School, UK

I like these clever displays because they get patrons to read the first sentence or first few lines of a book, and judge it solely on its actual content rather than how it looks or how popular they've heard it is. I have been learning for years that "don't judge a book by its cover" is actually incorrect because merchandising techniques matter, and this is true to an extent. However, I think it's fun to pick up a book and just start reading without knowing anything about it. So, I made this display for my library using 8.5x14" sheets of paper wrapped around YA fiction books.

The best part about making this display? You can use ANY book! I didn't have to place holds on materials or spend hours making a list of themed books (which I actually enjoy, but they are incredibly time consuming when my other work is piling up). I just grabbed a pile of books from the YA section, making sure to have a good mix of genres and authors, and typed and printed out their first lines. 

It is very easy to make and maintain this display. Another plus is that it's not oriented toward any specific time of the year or holiday, so I will be able to keep it going through the end of the year. Once 2018 hits, I'll update the YA display again, but this one has been going strong for a month and will continue to be an easily maintained, eye catching display through the end of December. 

September 2017 Display: Banned Books

Happy Banned and Challenged Books Month!

The technical, officially recognized holiday is actually Banned Books Week traditionally celebrated in the last week of September, but I like to celebrate all month long by bring attention to all the books that have banned or challenged through the years. 

This year, I made an informational display in the YA section of my library. It included mostly YA books, but also some classics that are not technically considered teen lit. 

The text on the back of the display poster reads: 

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community...librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types...in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read. 

Source: American library Association: Banned Books Week

Front

Back

Below is a list of the books I have displayed throughout the month of September. Find a full list of every banned or challenged book ever on the ALA website, broken down by decade here, or Wikipedia (I know, it's not always super accurate, but this list is inclusive).

• Nonfiction
• The Words of Cesar Chavez by Cesar Chavez
• In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences by Truman Capote
• Classics
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
• Howl by Allen Ginsberg
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Adult Contemporary Fiction/Genre
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
• Slaughterhouse-Five, or, the Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut
• Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
• Children and Teen
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
• This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
• George by Alex Gino

June 2017 Display: Pride Month

Because June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, I decided to make a display celebrating pride in the Young Adult section of our library. Here are some pictures I took of the display right after I finished it. (Sorry about the weird warping on a couple of them... I attempted to do panoramic view pictures)

Below is the list of books I displayed. For the record, I have not read too many of the books on this list yet. My favorite genre to read is YA fiction, so this list could easily double as my to-do list for the next couple years. Feel free to use as a jumping off point for introducing more LGBTQ+ positive lit in your classroom or library!

• YA Fiction
• Meg & Linus by Hanna Nowinski
• Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
• Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley
• Pretend You Love Me by Julie Anne Peters
• How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity
• Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
• Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
• Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan
• Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden
• Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
• None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio
• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
• One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva
• Hero by Perry Moore
• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Ash by Malinda Lo
• Lies my Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters
• Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn
• How I Paid for College: A Novel if Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theater by Marc Acito
• True Letters for a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan
• If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
• Thinking Straight by Robin Reardon
• Promposal by Rhonda Helms
• The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins
• Drag Teen: A Tale of Angst and Wigs by Jeffrey Self
• Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate
• You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison

• YA Nonfiction
• The ABC's of LGBT+ by Ashley Mardell
• Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge
• "You Can Tell Just by Looking" and 20 Other Myths About LGBT Life and People by Michael Bronski
• It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living 
• This Book is Gay by James Dawson
• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out edited by Susan Kuklin
• The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities