TBT: Wherefore art thou?

Our wonderful Library World is silent today.

O, patrons, patrons! wherefore art thou patrons?
Deny thy summer day and refuse thy yard work;
or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my patron,
And I'll no longer be a nag.

...we'll perhaps I should leave the fancy writing to Shakespeare. At any rate, you're not here, so not much is happening. I have some work to be done, but let's face it without patrons, the day just isn't as interesting.

With all this free time, I did find a great photo for TBT (I didn't miss this one) and shall use this post to remind patrons that I want to bring back story hour.

I can't wait to have the little ones back in for a good story! I'm planning on September being the first month of story hours.

Yours-in-waiting,

Sarah

Current Read: Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West (I can't wait 'til Clarabeth realizes that sleep isn't a punishment...)

Current Mood: Sleep deprivation and Coffee

Current Location: Where the coffee flows.

Wednesdays

Hello dear patrons,

Nothing new to report...

Please enjoy these funny book-related memes:

Yours in nothing new,

Sarah

Current Read: Sleep suggestions for a 6 month old

Current Mood: Sleep

Current Location: Not my bed.

Kitties, Puppy Chow, Book Pages and Graphics

Hello SAPL patrons!

I'm sorry about the lack of posts yesterday. Clarabeth had a doctor's appointment and I always take the day off when mini director is due for her shots. Of course, she did excellent and had no problems...she cried less than I did.

But that meant I played with Clarabeth yesterday and didn't get a chance to blog.

Here are the things I would have posted had I been able to:

Summer Reading Program "Paws for Reading" 2014 is complete!

We had a total of 14 participants, 7 who showed up to the party and 9 who successfully completed their logs.

Randolph County Humane Society was kind enough to bring in a kitty, Ethan, and help educate the kids on animal care at our party. Ethan was a definite favorite and the seemed to enjoy the kids as well.

 We also played "Pin the Tail on the Dog" and made puppy chow--which was tasty.

"I just wanna eat the puppy chow already... *le sigh*" 

A big thanks to Ruth Rowley for reading to us! I was so excited and enthralled with the stories that I forgot to take a pic.

Also, a big thanks to the parents who made time to bring their kids to the library during the summer and then took 2 hours on a Saturday to play at a party and help me with all the crafts and games. I know it isn't easy, but I hope it was worth it!

Congrats, Summer Readers! I hope to see you again next year. 

On another note, the latest edition of Book Page has been delivered and awaits your pickup. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but it looks promising. 

Finally, the graphic novels I ordered arrived yesterday and Betty is hard at work cataloging them. Leona should have them covered by the end of this week. I'm a little excited so I prepared them a place of honor:

 Featured are the graphics we already had in the teen section. Check them out and then come back and check out the new material!

That's all for today, see you (most definitely) tomorrow.

Yours in excitedly-made-book-displays,

Sarah

Current Read: DON'T HATE ME!!! My husband and I got a free 3 month trial of Hulu-Plus and I've been catching up on all my TV shows. Hello, Gordon Ramsey marathon...I'll get back to reading ASAP.

Current Mood: Working 

Current Location: Ze Office

Friday Flashbacks

I apologize for the lack of posts yesterday, my dear SAPL patrons. I was sick and tired and I came to work late (thinking I was better) only to be told to go home.

After an hour of consideration, I went home.

While not 100% today, I felt compelled to come to work! Why? Because tomorrow is out Summer Reading Program Party! If you don't remember, we are having our Paws to Read party from 10-12 p.m. Saturday July 26, 2014. Here's another copy of the agenda:

I have been prepping all day for tomorrow's big event. I've got the puppy chow ingredients ready, certificates signed and games for us to play. Oh, and I have prizes for all of our wonderful participants!

Here is a last look at our paws! Our readers really went all out this summer.

I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow. Please stay tuned for pictures of the event!

In other news, I have placed the Graphic Novels order. Betty is going on vacation in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure these get catalogued and ready before the last and final teen book order. Prepare yourselves!

Finally, I missed TBT. I even had the perfect photo planned...so I'm making today Flashback Friday! FBF! (I bet you didn't see that one coming.)

1996 End of the Summer Reading Program Party--there were a lot of children wanting prizes back then.

Yours in FBFs,

Sarah

Current Read: After the End by Amy Plum--I promise to finish this by Monday.

Current Mood: Why is my office so hot?

Current Location: The Office. "Hey, Dwight!"

No Noose is Good Noose

I'm sorry to say, dear SAPL patrons, our library has no news to report today. We finished our training this morning, came to some decisions and have no gone on to work on everyday library stuff.

I would write a book review but Clarabeth is either teething or going through a growth spurt. So, imagine if you will, a tired, bedraggled library director with a un-soothable 6 month old and a pile of unread books.

Yes, I am planning on combing my hair this century...thanks a lot.

Anyway, since I have little to report. I'll post this picture of a scene taken from Mel Brooks' film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It's the part where Robin Hood is about to hang and his friend, Achoo, fires an arrow through the rope, freeing him.

Robin Hood then confronts the Hangman, who simply shrugs, holds up the noose and says, "You know that they say, 'No noose is good noose."

Yes, I'm that big of a dork.

Yours in the hangman's noose,

Sarah

Current Read: Same as Yesterday

Current Mood: Nap time?

Current Location: Contemplating taking a half day. Even library dictators need their beauty sleep.

Old News and New News

Dear SAPL Patrons,

I have most excellent news! We are getting 3 new patron computers. Yes, I put the order in today with Lazerware for 3 fast and up-to-date computers.

Now, I expect to see you in here more often.

In other news, we moved the magazines to make room for the new books coming in later this month.

When searching for a magazine to browse you might find this: 

Don't worry this is a temporary fix and only meant to help us manage the large number of teen books coming into the library. I am hoping that once the students start checking the new books out we can move the magazines back.

Finally, I meant to post this earlier but I've been busy reading about books and buying books and reviewing books...

Our Giving Tree is finished! Here's the before pic to remind you what it looked like months ago: 

It's obvious how much improved the new location, leaves and signage are compared to the old one, so I won't go on about it. I will thank the board members for working hard to make our Giving Tree and our donors more noticeable. If you see one of our board members, make sure to thank them and of course, check out our beautiful tree!

Working on my last Teen Grant book order...this means you have one final say in what I pick. I plan on e-mailing the teachers soon and double checking the number of copies I've purchased. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Yours in belated picture posting, 

Sarah

Current Read: After the End  by Amy Plum (Clarabeth was not in the sleeping mood yesterday. I might get a chapter in tonight, but 3 loads of laundry and some very unhappy plants say otherwise.)

Current Mood: Exhausted

Current Location: Coffee?

Mini Directors

It's Board Meeting night. Which means two things: 1) I will be here later than expected tonight. 2) Clarabeth has been ruling the Library since 8 a.m. this morning.

So far today, I've written a review for Book Club on my latest read 45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson. I enjoyed reading the book and strongly recommend you check it out. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steeleville-Area-Public-Library-Book-Club/537497213020781?ref_type=bookmark

I've checked e-mails. She helped type responses.

I've attempted to do bills. She kept trying to eat them.

Eventually, this happened:

Clarabeth is multi-tasking. You see sleeping baby. I see sleeping dictator-in-training whose teething. One tooth down, nineteen to go!

While my dear protege sleeps off her num-nums, I will say that our Order of 49 is awaiting Leona's touch and should be ready for the shelves this week! 

After she gets started on those, I will order the graphic novels and start working on our final teen book order. Any suggestions should be directed toward me, your lovely and exhausted dictator.

Yours in naps and num-nums, 

Sarah

Current Read: After the End by Amy Plum

Current Mood: Sleepy

Current Location: Not napping on the floor of my office. 

You've # Unread Books

Congrats, Patrons! You've made it to Friday and now (hopefully) we can relax a little and enjoy some reads this weekend.

I've even got a display of reads just for you. Yes, you.

I've set up a display of AARP's Bulletin Summer Read Books of the last 50 years. We didn't have them all, but there are plenty here to go around. I even incorporated my personal favorite summer reads, including Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. 

I wrote a review for the Dorothy Must Die this morning on the Book Club wall. If you're curious of what I thought, or just need another excuse to not mow the lawn, check it out: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steeleville-Area-Public-Library-Book-Club/537497213020781?ref_type=bookmark

I hope to see some of these books checked out on Monday!

Yours in hot summer reads, 

Sarah

Current Read: 45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson

Current Mood: Ready for the weekend

Current Location: Not at work

TBT: INPUT NOT FOUND

Another day has dawned on our little library and so I begin another day of searching for books to order and purchase.

Today I searched for Graphic Novels. I haven't heard any suggestions about good ones to purchase so I picked a few series I thought would appeal to someone and I found too funny to pass up.

Behold my tyrannical power:

I couldn't resist Library Wars. I found them in paperback on the Baker & Taylor website and figured...they're kind of cheap, I can't get into too much trouble if they're not ridiculously expensive. Plus, they are fun. Who knew being a librarian would entail fighting (military style) to protect your collection?

I won't give any more of the plot away. I don't want to ruin it for you.

I've also previewed and went ahead with the Game of Thrones and The Wizard of Oz series. There are some others I'm looking at but they will have to wait. I am waiting to officially place the order after we've gotten the order of 49 finished up. Look for them at the beginning of August 2014.

I've also posted a little something about my current read Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige on the Book Club wall. I'd love it if someone else would stop by tomorrow and ask me about the book. Or better yet, request a copy and post a review! I can't run a Book Club by my lonesome...unless I develop multiple personalities. That could be interesting...

Anyway, check out the Book Club wall for more info on Dorothy Must Die and stay tuned for my review. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steeleville-Area-Public-Library-Book-Club/537497213020781?ref_type=bookmark

Lastly, it's "Throwback Thursday" though I noticed that someone posted a "Wayback Wednesday" pic on Facebook yesterday.

People, please pick one day for everyone to reminisce! I can't keep up with acronyms anymore.

TBT
TGIF
WBW
WWWCD (What Would a WoodChuck Do?)

It's all very confusing.

Since I missed WBW, here's my TBT pic:

2012 Summer Reading Program Craft Time

Next week concludes our 2014 Summer Reading Program. I'm sad to see the program ending but excited to make puppy chow and read with my fellow summer readers!

Yours in acronyms and tyrannical power,

Sarah

Current Read: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (I plan on finishing this book tonight--if the all-powerful Clarabeth and Anna Neal let me. I'm thinking early bedtime?)

Current Mood: Excited for Library Wars

Current Location: WBW to TBT and headed toward TGIF!

Download Complete

I've been hard at work SAPL folk and finally got the Teen book flyer finished before lunch. Here are the new teen books I've ordered recently:

As you can see, I wasn't kidding about ordering 49 books. It's the largest order I've placed so far and I'm not even finished!

The books should arrive sometime this week and will be processed next week and with some luck and hard work, placed on our overcrowded shelves in the early part of August. If you want a book sooner, please let me know and I will try to get it ready for you.

In other news, I am looking at purchasing 3 new computers and it looks like they will be small and Windows 8-ish. Brian will be calling me soon and I'll give you an update when I know for sure what I'm getting.

Looking forward to seeing some students coming back next month. This summer has flown by! I must say that it's been nice to have so many faces stop in and visit us these last few months...it could always be more though.

Oh well, back to work for me.

Yours in completed tasks,

Sarah

Current Read: Dorothy Must Die  by Danielle Paige (The main character is "edgy" and I kind of like that...)

Current Mood: Ready to go home and read my book.

Current Location: Library World.

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I know there is much anticipation and bated breath for our 5th teen book order, but after all day trying to find the perfect books and a lot of reading, I've gotten 49 new books to share with you--tomorrow. I'm still trying to use up the grant funds before September and thus, I am still looking for books.

I was hoping for more suggestions from our teen readers, but since you are absent and unfortuntely silent, I shall continue to purchase them by my lonesome.

The new Lego Movie has made its way to the Library. We shall have it on the shelves shortly!

Pete the Cat series is now available for check out! There is also a Pete the Cat puppet to be used when reading the stories in the Library. Please be kind to him, kids.

I know Anna and I are excited to start reading more Pete the Cat books and I'm equally excited to see my new teen book purchases arrive. I will (after a well deserved break) start downloading book covers and making a fairly readable teen flyer for everyone.

Yours in teen reads,

Sarah

Current Read: Amazon Reviews

Current Mood: Anxious...where the heck am I going to put all these new books?

Current Location: Blackle (Google's goody-two-shoes cousin), searching for book covers.

P.S. I'm looking at purchasing some graphic novels for the Library. My latest search has turned up Library Wars (which is hiliarious) and Game of Thrones. Suggestions?

Buffering...please wait

Monday again, SAPL patrons! The one day of the week we dread just as much as taxes. It's back to work for majority of us and that means a slow, sluggish day at the library. Never fear dear patrons, as sluggish as today has been I've got your book orders covered.

Behold the Adult Fiction Selection for this month:

Tomorrow I will be working on our Teen Book Order! Please comment any suggestions you might have for books!

Yours in sluggish Mondays, 

Sarah

Current Read: Coffee 

Current Mood: Coffee

Current Location: Coffee

P.S. I am also accepting donations in the form of coffee and oreos.

Happy Friday!

Friday's here SAPL Patrons, which means that we have two whole days to read! Or at least two whole days with a little more time to squeeze in a couple of chapters.

Betty and Leona have gotten all the new teen fiction on the shelves...now we just need some teens to come in and check them out!

I am looking to replace 3 patron computers with newer models--I'll get the quote next week sometime and I haven't been able to order Adult Fiction because Baker & Taylor's website hasn't been working for me.

I'm persistent. I'll get them ordered.

Sadly, EZ Video in Percy is going out-of-business. I stopped in and bought some DVDs from them, which should grace our shelves next week. If you have time, stop in and buy some of their DVDs/VHS today or tomorrow. 

Also, Fighting for Kaitlin benefit is tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Sparta Lions Club! https://www.facebook.com/BenefitforKaitlin?fref=ts Stop in and grab some food and bid on their silent auction goods!

That's all for today.

Yours in weekends,

Sarah

Current Read: Baby Sleep Forums-why doesn't mine sleep more?

Current Mood: Awake and cranky (only slightly)

Current Location: On my way home to see my girls : )

Magic Sunglasses and Work

Hello SAPL patrons,

Today it's been busy at work for this librarian! I've managed to file a report, attempted to order new patron computers and books (the internet must be having difficulties...).

Tomorrow I'm going to be away from the office, so no blog to post then. I have nothing new to update you on, except that when Baker & Taylor fix their website I will order our Adult Fiction for the month.

Also, our Kids Reference books came in and are being processed as we speak! We have James Dean's Pete the Cat series http://www.petethecat.com/, http://www.aldozelnick.com/, http://gayleforman.com/.
(including Pete the Cat puppet), Aldo Zelnick's Series and some amazing books by Gayle Forman. Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out their websites:

The new books should be on the shelves tomorrow or Friday!

Yours in "cool, blue, magic sunglasses",

Sarah
(You'll get that quote if you read Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses)

Current Read: Pete the Cat books

Current Mood: Chill

Current Location: Working on gettin' home.

Kids Paws to Read

And then continue to do so throughout this hot, humid summer. Only 18 days 'til our Summer Reading Program ends and the kids have been reading non-stop! Look at our walls!

 

We've had to start moving the paws to make room for more. Our Summer Reading Program Party is still Saturday, July 26, 2014 from 10-12 p.m. Any more kids interested in joining should do so before next week Friday, July 18, 2014.

For the non-kiddie folk, I started to work on a book order but, as has been the norm lately, Baker & Taylor website is not working. I might end up at the Barnes & Nobles this Thursday (I have a doctor's appointment).

So far, this month's adult fiction pics are (drumroll ): One Plus One by Jojo Moyes,  All Souls Trilogy by Debrorah Harkness, The Fracking King by James Browning , Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I am open to any and all book suggestions!

Yours in paws,

Sarah

Current Read: Still searching but passing the time with Big Ideas for Little Kids by Thomas E. Wartenberg which encourages incorporating philosophy discussions into elementary language arts.

Current Location: Reading book reviews and wishing Jim Gaffigan's new book Food: A Love Story came out this month instead of October.

Current Mood: Search and Find

Murderous Mondays

Good Monday to you, SAPL patron!

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend and celebrated with BBQ's and fireworks!

Today in library world, I set up our latest book display: Murder Mysteries. I got the idea from this month's Book Page "A Summer To Die For" and thought it would be awesome to set out our new and recent murder mystery books. Stop by and check them out!

The History and Genealogy has decided that this month our topic will be "Mayberry Memories" which will remind us all about the good ol' times on the Andy Griffin Show. Interested? Join us on Tuesday, July 15, 2014 6-7:30 p.m. in the Non-Fiction Room.

I will be working on the Adult Fiction book order tomorrow. Any suggestions? Comment, call or stop in and let us know what you want to read!

Yours in murder and mayhem (literary, not literally...),

Sarah

Current Read: Searching for a new one now!

Current Mood: It's Monday.

Current Location: Monday.

TBT: Floats Past

Tomorrow is the 4th of July and  our little library will be closed to enjoy the festivities with all of our wonderful patrons. We will be opened again on Saturday, July 5, 2014 for the usual 9-12 window of book-borrowing, so if you plan on taking a break from lighting up the sky to read, please stop in and grab a book today.

I've been working hard to get everyone back on board for a monthly story hour and this Throw Back Thursday I wanted to show some pictures of a 2008 Library Oktoberfest float advertising Story Hour and reading.

As you can see Story Hour is going to go away without a fight. Let's bring it back and make little presidents out of our kids!

No floats for the 4th of July parade...we librarians like to keep things cool, so you might see us this Oktoberfest! 

SAPL staff hopes everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Yours in loud and bright fireworks,

Sarah

Current Read: The Attachment Connection--haven't read much, Clarabeth is on sleep strike and my husband and I found a new Netflix drama to watch.

Current Mood: Excited for the parade tomorrow, but not so much the fireworks (they are pretty, just not my thing).

Current Location: Coffeed up and working at the library.

Busy Ants

I sometimes wish I were a grasshopper, laying about all summer while someone else does my reports and brings me iced tea, but as everyone knows (especially if you watched the movie, A Bug's Life) things don't end so well for the grasshopper. Which is why I've been busy today planning for tomorrow.

Planning for all the wonderful events and activities the library will host this fall and winter! I've been working on getting a schedule down so I can start posting the dates for my lovely, SAPL patrons.

I'm definitely going to be busy. September brings us Banned Book Week (a personal favorite) and then October, November, December, January, February are chalk full of holidays. Here's a sample calendar (not yet confirmed) for September 2014:

◄ Aug 2014	~ September 2014 ~					Oct 2014 ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1 Labor Day Closed	2 Crochet 6-7 p.m. GED	3 E-reader assistance 1-3 p.m.	4 GED	5	6
7	8	9 Crochet 6-7 p.m. GED	10 Basic Computers 1-3 p.m.	11 GED	12	13
14	15 Board Meeting 7-8:30 p.m.	16 Crochet 6-7 p.m. GED History & Genealogy Club 6-7:30 p.m.	17 E-reader assistance 1-3 p.m.	18 GED Author Night?	19	20 Story Hour 10-11:30 a.m.
21	22 Banned Books Poll	23 Crochet 6-7 p.m. GED	24 Basic Computers 1-3 p.m. Virtual Read out	25 GED Banned Characters Day	26 Banned Books Poll Results	27
28	29	30 Crochet 6-7 p.m. GED	Notes: Activities in Red are for Banned Book Week!

As you can see, I have a lot of work to do. Don't worry though! I shall continue to give you daily updates on our little Library World and deliver great and FREE reads to you.

Yours in anthood, 

Sarah

Current Read: The Attachment Connection by Ruth Newton, PH.D. (I finished Sears' book and I have to say that I am pretty much doing AP parenting style. I can't say I'm doing it on purpose. I mean who really wants to spend their entire time carrying around a 17 pound, squirming bundle of joy and spit-up? I have my moments of letting her fuss, but she's so cute...I just can't stop myself from cuddling her close and letting her do what she wants. Newton's book sounds similar so far but with more studies and data to back up her parenting theory. WARNING: Do not read this when sleepy, unless you intend to fall asleep.)

Current Mood: Busy and slightly sleepy.

Current Location: at the desk with calendar and pencil! We're close friends now.