July Eureka Moments

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School’s out, I’m no longer sick, and the blog is no longer down! In honor of the evolving focus of this column, I’ve changed its title and broadened my scope. But don’t worry; I’ll still be trolling the various databases for hard-hitting research, too. The first month of summer is usually the busy one, in which students are still finishing school, are already in summer school, or have begun to embark on busy summer adventures, like camp and travel. So the ideas I’m offering you are a bit more low-key or focused on the librarian, rather than the patron, since I gather that your patrons are not exactly in the mood yet for anything that requires a lot of commitment.

  • Last weekend, PostSecret put up a (trigger warning) postcard from someone who dislikes being labeled intolerant for saying that certain types of people are, maybe, hypocritical about oppression. That made me think of a tumblr I found once upon a time called Oppressed Brown Girls Doing Things, whose tagline, “Because we’re still oppressed,” is awesomely readable in a multitude of ways. You might just find this fun to read when there’s a lull in your day, but I know I’d love to see some of these posts find their way into a collage on a library wall, a bookmarks list on a library computer, or into the meeting of any group that meets in your teen room. While the content ranges from NSFW language to sarcastic gifs, the blog also brings up a lot of pertinent points about what it means to be a woman of color. Read More →

    • YA Lit Symposium: A Side Trip…

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    As I was unable to make it to the YA Lit Symposium’s Pre-Conference Session: On Beyond Stonewall, I decided to head to a local bookstore Friday night for an intimate and informal discussion about LGBT issues in teen literature.’  Present were authors Malinda Lo (Ash), Lauren Bjorkman (My Invented Life), Megan Frazer (Secrets of Truth and Beauty), Alexandra Diaz (Of all the Stupid Things) and Kirstin Cronn-Mills (The Sky always hears me and the hills don’t mind), all of whose books feature characters dealing with LGBT issues. Read More →

    Stereotyping Teen-Casual Conversations

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    I recently heard a story about something that happened at a library and it got me thinking.

    Several unfortunate incidences happened to a young adult librarian and her co-workers. They were robbed at their place of work.’  Most of us can probably recall a time when a patron printed materials that they didn’t pay for or when a book walked off the shelf and never came back. But having a staff member’s personal belongings taken might be a bit rarer. As the conversation about the event took place, of course the topic of ‘so who did it?’ came up.
    Read More →

    Have fun on the Screamer, but prepare to whisper

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    These headlines caught my eye as the subtitle reads, “Neighbors’ gripes makes for a library-like thrill ride.” The article goes on to talk about how an amusement park has gotten complaints from neighbors and has instituted a no-shrieking rule.

    Of course the comparison made to libraries as quiet places, raised my eyebrows a bit. While I wouldn’t advocate for allowing shrieking at most libraries 🙂 I would advocate for spaces, especially for teens, where they are allowed to be a bit loud, where it’s okay to not always feel they have to keep quiet. If people don’t have resources to afford enclosed places for teens in their libraries,and the library is serving all people, some who might have preferences for being quiet, including teens themselves, how do you balance trying to meet everyone’s needs? Share some ideas.

    Posted by Kelly Czarnecki