Posts filed under 'Librarian Spotlight'
November 20th, 2009
This week, I’m delighted to welcome another lovely librarian to the Librarian Spotlight series. I love getting to know really fab teen librarians (and teachers too!) who are as passionate about YA and middle grades fiction as we are. Today, I’m pleased to welcome…
Melissa Jensen
Platte Valley Youth Service Center Library
As always, Friday guests will be sharing their You 2.0 stories about pursuing their dreams, changing their world, gratitude, and paying it forward. Then they’ll be talking about why they love the YA and middle grades genres and why they love being an author, librarian, or teacher. And good news… Three Truths and a Lie is alive and well on Fridays too!
The Basics
Name:
Melissa Jensen
Library:
Platte Valley Youth Service Center Library
Location:
Greeley, CO
A Bit About the Library:
We are a small on grounds library at a youth detention and commitment facility, serving around 150 residents ages 10-20.
Short Bio:
I’ve been the librarian here for almost two years and have made many changes in that time to change the way that residents think about the library and reading. We have three afterschool meetings every week to give residents a place to talk about what they are reading and writing. These meetings are one of my favorite parts of being a librarian.
(P.S. from Kay: This picture was taken at a local art show where Melissa read several of her students’ poems. Is that awesome or what?)
Questions About You 2.0
The You 2.0 blog is about becoming everything you’re meant to be. It’s about pursuing your dreams, changing your world, showing gratitude, and paying it forward. Here’s a chance for our Spotlight guests to share what You 2.0 means to them.
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Tell us a little about a dream you’ve achieved or are pursuing right now. If you’ve achieved it already, how does it feel to know you’ve made your dream a reality?
Even when I was a little girl, I wanted to go to Peru. I was drawn there, but I didn’t know how to go. I learned Spanish and read a lot of Peruvian literature and history. I worked to save money to go one day. I talked about it with a lot of people. One day, after many years, I got lucky. One of my husband’s relatives heard me talking and told me his sister was going the next year. I was able to connect with her and she told me I could go with her. I had to work even harder to pay for the plane ticket, but we were able to stay with some of her friends in the countryside. While we were there we drove to many places to help the people in the community. It was very wonderful and rewarding. For a while I thought I would move there and work at one of the country schools. I ended up becoming a librarian here in the States instead, but I would love to go back one day.
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
I really think the work I am doing here at the jail is making a big difference. A lot of the young people I work with start out not knowing how to read or just not liking it. I know that one right book can make a big difference, though. By the time they leave, many of the residents have come to love reading, and can’t stop talking about the books they are reading and what they think about them. When they leave here, every resident goes out into their community, and they have the chance to change those worlds too by showing their family and their peers the power of reading.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
I am really grateful for my husband and our English Angora rabbit. They make my home a safe, relaxing place to come home to after a hard day. I am also grateful for homemade ice cream and macaroni and cheese. I am a big fan of food! And I am grateful for my memories: they help me to make better decisions and remind me of how far I’ve come.
4. PAYING IT FORWARD: If everyone took a moment to pay it forward, even just once, the world would be changed in ways we can’t even imagine. What is one thing you’ve done (or plan to do) to “pay it forward” in some way?
I love to share books, leave books in public places, give books away to best friends or complete strangers.
Questions About You, The Librarian
5. Why did you decide to participate in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest?
I am the librarian at a small juvenile detention and commitment center. We have a small budget but a big reading population. Plus, the Great Scavenger Hunt Contest is a great way to answer the ever present question “Miss, what should I read next?”
6. Do you think you would’ve participated in the contest as a teen/tween?
Probably. I loved reading and I was very lucky as a teen.
7. Tell us about some cool teen programming your library has hosted. We love to hear new ideas!
This past year I created and got grant funding for two big programs at my youth detention facility. The first, Writing for Change, is a poetry and writing group. A lot of our kids are writers, most everyone keeps journals as part of their treatment here, and this is a great place for them to share and revise safely. The other is Reading for Change, which is basically a book club, but is unique because the residents get to keep the books we read together. This element is huge since most of them have very limited personal property while there are here, if they have any at all. The even cooler thing about Reading for Change is that often participants then turn around and share their books with other residents after we have finished. It has been a great program for these kids.
8. Why did you choose a book-related career?
This particular position found me (and I am so happy it did!) but I always wanted to do something with books. Write them, sell them, share them, study them . . .
9. What do you love most (and least) about being a librarian?
I love being able to read while I’m at work (only when it’s not too busy), and I love helping young people discover “the” perfect book that opens up so many things to them. My least favorite part is having to budget for everything that I do. Why can’t I do everything? Sigh.
10. What books influenced you as a teen/tween?
My senior year of high school I read The English Patient for school, and it changed my life. It showed me that I could combine my interests in history and literature, and ultimately led to my studying the effects of colonialism on literature in college.
11. What do you love most about the YA and middle grades genres?
Even as a teen, I rarely read “YA” books until I became a youth librarian. Now I read them all the time. I love the diversity in YA books, and the ways that they take complex issues and say “you don’t have to understand everything about this. Let’s just look at this one piece and really try to learn something about it.”
12. Are you also a writer yourself? If so, what do you like to write?
Like a lot of people who work with books, I also write now and again, mostly short stories and poetry.
13. If you could go back in time and give your teen/tween self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to do the things you want to do. All those people at school whose opinions are so important right now? You won’t even remember their names in five years. Be who you are now, so you don’t lose yourself later.
Will the Real You 2.0 Please Stand Up?
14. I love the game Three Truths and a Lie because there are so many unexpected and interesting things about people that we never get a chance to learn about them. What are three truths and a lie that our blog readers can guess about you?
– In junior high and high school, I spent part of each year in China.
– I got married to my high school sweetheart when I was 20.
– After I graduated from college, I taught English at a school abroad for a year. <--UPDATE: That was the lie!
– When I was a little girl, I wanted more than anything to live out of a suitcase and be a political speechwriter.
(Readers: Your guess gets you an entry into the You 2.0 monthly contest for an ARC of The Cinderella Society or a prize dive in the awesome You 2.0 Prize Basket. Guess correctly and you get a bonus entry. Plus, you never know when the next impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway will be for one recent commenter. Will it be you? I’ll update the post later to spill the big lie, so get guessing and have fun!)
Thanks to Melissa for a terrific interview!
September 4th, 2009
First, be sure to check out Kim Pickett’s lie from yesterday’s Booklover of the Week feature. Did you guess it?
For today’s Friday Spotlight, I’m delighted to bring you another Librarian Spotlight! Please help me welcome head of the Youth Services Department…
Jennifer Hopwood
Franklin T. DeGroodt Memorial Library
As always, Friday guests will be sharing their You 2.0 stories about pursuing their dreams, changing their world, gratitude, and paying it forward. Then they’ll be talking about why they love the YA and middle grades genres and why they love being an author, librarian, or teacher. And good news… Three Truths and a Lie is alive and well on Fridays too!
SPECIAL GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
To celebrate another fabulous librarian guest, I’m giving away an ARC of Lauren Bjorkman’s upcoming debut, MY INVENTED LIFE (Henry Holt, September 29, 2009). MY INVENTED LIFE is a new participating title in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest for libraries and their teen and young readers, so I thought that was a fitting prize. 
It’s going, going, gone to one lucky commenter on this post! You don’t even have to guess Jennifer’s lie correctly to be eligible. Winner will be announced on Monday.
So without further ado, please join me in welcoming the wonderful Jennifer!
The Basics
Name:
Jennifer Hopwood
Library:
Franklin T. DeGroodt Memorial Library
Location:
Palm Bay, Florida
Short Bio:
I am a Jersey Girl by birth. In high school, I started out as a library volunteer, but it turned into my first job. I mistakenly thought I wanted to be a High School English Teacher (I have a BA in English & Education). Big mistake! After 9/11, we moved to Florida. Unemployed, I finally got two part-time jobs, one as a tutor and the other as a Reference Librarian. The part-time Librarian job became full-time and then I switched from Reference to the Youth Services Department. I am currently the Head of my department and I am working on obtaining my MLIS from Florida State University.
A Bit About the Library:
The Franklin T. DeGroodt Memorial Library is one of two libraries in the city of Palm Bay. Palm Bay is one of the largest residential cities in Florida. We are known as the Space Coast because Brevard County is home to the Kennedy Space Center.
Questions About You 2.0
The You 2.0 blog is about becoming everything you’re meant to be. It’s about pursuing your dreams, changing your world, showing gratitude, and paying it forward. Here’s a chance for our Spotlight guests to share what You 2.0 means to them.
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Tell us a little about a dream you’ve achieved or are pursuing right now. If you’ve achieved it already, how does it feel to know you’ve made your dream a reality?
As a teenager I really loved books and writing. I knew I wanted to be a writer. However, I was realistic enough to know that I still needed to pay the bills and that the road to publication was very far off. My path led me to working in a public library and eventually to the Youth Services Department. I really enjoy working as a Youth Services Librarian. Every day is different and a way to show my creativity. Perhaps someday you will see my name listed on the Hunt, but in the meantime I am very happy where I am at.
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
As a result of the economy, many animals have found their way onto the streets. If I had the money, I would open up a ranch to rescue stray dogs. We have a 1 ½ year old Australian/German Shepherd mix who we rescued. She is the sweetest dog. It breaks our hearts to know she was on her last day at a kill shelter.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
I am grateful that I have a wonderful son and a job that I love.
4. PAYING IT FORWARD: If everyone took a moment to pay it forward, even just once, the world would be changed in ways we can’t even imagine. What is one thing you’ve done (or plan to do) to “pay it forward” in some way?
My husband and I are firm believers that if you do good things for others and try to keep positive about things, it will all come back to you in some way (kind of like karma). Sometimes it is done in small ways like paying for the car behind you at the toll booth or giving a random kid your prize tickets at the arcade. It is the little things that have the biggest impact.
At the library, we believe in giving people “the pickle”. It means giving people the little things (i.e. like an extra pickle) at no charge. In library terms that sometimes means letting them pay for copies next time they are in or calling another library to make sure a book is on the shelf before the patron drives all the way across town.
Questions About You, The Librarian
5. Why did you decide to participate in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest?
It is a great way to get tweens and teens interested in reading. I love contests and this is an easy one to promote. Our department is short staffed, so it is hard to provide lots of programs. The Hunt is great because it is a program that doesn’t involve taking someone away from the desk to supervise an event.
I love the fact that there are such diverse titles available to choose from. Most of the titles are also Sunshine State Reader Award Winners which a lot of the kids have to read for school. The Hunt is a great incentive for them and makes that “required reading” a little bit more fun.
6. Do you think you would’ve participated in the contest as a teen/tween?
I love doing contests. I know of some adult authors who have similar contests on their websites. I wish there was one site that grouped all of them. Though I have never won anything off these contests before.
I was a kid when the internet was still new. The first contest I ever participated in was one for Prodigy Online. It was a Scavenger Hunt to find the answers to different questions that could be answered using the World Wide Web. I won a little purple backpack that had the Prodigy logo painted on it. It would have been cooler if the contest had been about books. So, yes, I would definitely be a participant.
7. Why did you choose a book-related career?
I love books. No matter what is going on in your life, a book can take you away from it or help you to understand it. I use to read a book a day when I was in high school. I love historicals and used to read ones that were the same time period as what we were covering in history class. Needless to say I passed all my essay tests and was in the top of my class. I don’t think my teacher ever caught on to what I was doing.
8. What do you love most (and least) about being a librarian?
I love reading but I remember being the kid who wouldn’t pick up the book that was more than 60 pages. I still remember the first time I realized I could read and love it. It was a Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery that the librarian had given me by mistake. I was so bored that weekend that I read it anyway. I spent hours reading that book and never put it down until the very end.
This is why I dislike reading levels. I think they reinforce that reluctance in kids to read. I was that kid and I know if someone had told me back then that I could only read certain books I probably wouldn’t have picked up that Nancy Drew book.
So far this summer the best story I have heard is about a reluctant reader in 1st grade who read 25 books on her own as part of our Summer Reading Challenge. Her mom told us she has never willingly read a book on her own before. That is what makes me proud to be a librarian.
9. What books inspired you as a teen/tween?
I love books that take you to other worlds. In middle school, I read all of the Star Wars books and this was before they introduced the Young Jedi Academy series. But it wasn’t the space travel that I enjoyed; it was the magic of the force and the almost aristocratic/noble nature of the characters. After that I discovered Tamora Pierce, Robert Asprin, and Mercedes Lackey. I love the worlds that they create and the magic of their stories. I also read Lurlene McDaniel, Ann Rinaldi, LJ Smith, and Christopher Pike. My reading tastes were pretty varied, but my perfect book would be one that takes place in the past with supernatural leanings and a hint of romance.
I also read a lot of comic books. My father insisted on buying me Betty & Veronica or Archie comics. It took me a long time to convince him I would rather have X-Men.
10. What do you love most about the YA and middle grades genres?
When I was in school, it seemed like all the books written for teens were the ones with the oh-not-so-subtle messages in them. They were very clean cut and perfect world-ish, it didn’t seem to me then that their worlds were like mine. That’s probably why I tended to lean more towards supernatural/fantasy type stuff. I very much enjoy the books that are out now. They have real problems in them.
I love reading teen romances, especially when it is the geeky girl getting the hot guy (go figure that this geeky bookworm married a jock). I can do without the product placement that a lot of books seem to have. All I can say to the authors that try this is –weeding. Weeding is what we librarians do to those books that are so outdated that they don’t move off the shelf anymore. If it can’t stand the test of time, it is not going to last on the shelf and I probably won’t buy it for our collection.
11. Are you also a writer yourself? If so, what do you like to write?
I have attempted to have some picture book manuscripts published with little success. I have finally moved on to continue working on my young adult novel that is- yes, you guessed it- a historical novel with supernatural leanings and a hint of romance.
12. If you could go back in time and give your teen/tween self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Scholarships! No one ever told me about all the scholarships that were available for college. If I knew then half the stuff I know now, there is no way I would be so much in debt.
Will the Real You 2.0 Please Stand Up?
13. I love the game Three Truths and a Lie because there are so many unexpected and interesting things about people that we never get a chance to learn about them. What are three truths and a lie that our blog readers can guess about you?
– At one time there were 9 dogs living in my house.
– I am allergic to cats.
– I can’t stand chocolate. **UPDATE: Here’s the lie!**
– I started working in libraries when I was 15.
(Readers: As always, your guess also gets you an entry into the You 2.0 monthly contest for an ARC of The Cinderella Society or a prize dive in the awesome You 2.0 Prize Basket. Guess correctly and you get a bonus entry for the monthly contest AND today’s special giveaway! I’ll update the post on Monday to spill the big lie and announce the special giveaway winner, so get guessing and have fun!)
Thanks to Jennifer for a terrific interview!
July 24th, 2009
For today’s Friday Spotlight, I’m delighted to bring you the very first You 2.0 Librarian Spotlight! This is a feature I’m super excited about because it gives us a chance to get to know some really fab teen librarians (and teachers too!) who are as passionate about YA and middle grades fiction as we are. To kick off this feature, I’m delighted to welcome…
Eleanor Wood
Decatur Public Library
As always, Friday guests will be sharing their You 2.0 stories about pursuing their dreams, changing their world, gratitude, and paying it forward. Then they’ll be talking about why they love the YA and middle grades genres and why they love being an author, librarian, or teacher. And good news… Three Truths and a Lie is alive and well on Fridays too!
SPECIAL GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
To celebrate the first spotlight of a participating Great Scavenger Hunt Contest librarian, I’m giving away a prize pack to one lucky commenter that includes:
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
**unabridged audiobook – 6 hours on CD**
~AND~
Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley
**ARC – an upcoming Great Scavenger Hunt Contest title!**
You don’t even have to guess her lie correctly to be eligible. Stellar, right?
So without further ado, please join me in welcoming the wonderful Eleanor!
The Basics
Name:
Eleanor Wood
Library:
Decatur Public Library
Location:
Decatur, IL
Short Bio:
I’m a reference librarian as well as being the young adult librarian at DPL. I’m still the new kid on the block here, and patrons still come in and know I must be Eleanor because I’m the only face they don’t know yet. I love being a librarian, but started out in another direction entirely. I grew up in New Mexico and studied theatre and anthropology in college. If I ever go back to school, I hope to earn a degree in Forensic Anthropology. (I’ll still be a librarian though!)
A Bit About the Library:
Our library is renovated from a Sears store and is about a block long = big and beautiful! We serve a community of approximately 81,000 people. The library is a member of the Rolling Plains Library System. We’re in the middle of our summer reading programs, which we have for adults, teens, and children so everyone can partake of reading fun.
Questions About You 2.0
The You 2.0 blog is about becoming everything you’re meant to be. It’s about pursuing your dreams, changing your world, showing gratitude, and paying it forward. Here’s a chance for our Spotlight guests to share what You 2.0 means to them.
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Tell us a little about a dream you’ve achieved or are pursuing right now. If you’ve achieved it already, how does it feel to know you’ve made your dream a reality?
I have always loved movies. When I finished college I moved to Hollywood to be a makeup artist in the film industry. I only stayed for a few years, worked on a couple movies, countless short films, commercials, and photo shoots (no, I don’t know anyone famous), but I was there. I did it. Sometimes when you reach the stars you’re shooting for… you don’t like it as much as you thought, so you find a new star to shoot for… there are millions after all. Achieving the dream isn’t the end, just a new start.
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
Being polite. Gandhi is quoted as saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s a small thing, but I try to be polite to everyone – which can be challenging in a library with very upset patrons. Someone may be having a terrible day, and the only thing they remember as being good is that someone was kind and polite.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
My family and my job. I love my job, and with the current economy I realize how blessed I am with this library position. Many of our patrons are homeless or live in shelters, so many times I make it home at the end of the day and realize how lucky I am to have a roof over my head. My family is great. I can always be myself with them; my sister is my role model – and vice versa. She’s actually working as a YA librarian as well.
4. PAYING IT FORWARD: If everyone took a moment to pay it forward, even just once, the world would be changed in ways we can’t even imagine. What is one thing you’ve done (or plan to do) to “pay it forward” in some way?
I’m not sure if I’ve already done this, but I will continue to do what was done for me: listen and respect the speaker. When I was a teen, my teachers and my guidance counselor listened to what I had to say. They never shrugged off my comments as coming from a kid, they heard me out and considered my arguments. It’s very empowering to know that your voice can and does make a difference. This counts for adults too – patrons will come in who are just lonely and want to talk to someone. They aren’t wasting my time, I’m still helping them by listening.
Questions About You, The Librarian
5. Why did you decide to participate in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest?
I think it’s a great way for our younger patrons to put their love of books and book trivia to use. And it’s fun.
6. Do you think you would’ve participated in the contest as a teen/tween?
You bet! Any time I could enter to win prizes for reading I was there – I figured if I was going to spend all my time reading, I might as well try to win prizes for it!
Least: the public speaking aspect! (I’m still a work-in-progress there…)
7. Tell us about some cool teen programming your library has hosted. We love to hear new ideas!
For Teen Read Week a few years back we arranged with a small independent movie theatre in town to show a special scary movie just for teens who participated in TRW; and teens could also enter a drawing to win concession packs (purchased by our Friends of the Library).
We also held a very successful video game tournament – our first was in April and we’re hoping to have these bi-annually.
This month we’re having a Henna workshop as well as various Harry Potter things (movies and book talks) for the new movie coming out.
8. Why did you choose a book-related career?
I’ve always loved to read and always loved libraries. Anywhere I went, I knew a library would be there. It’s like finding something familiar when you’re away from home. So I decided since I like them so much and always volunteered in them, why not make that my career?
9. What do you love most (and least) about being a librarian?
Most: Helping people. When someone has a question or can’t find a book, I love being able to help them. It seems like a small thing, but it’s positive all around.
Least: Having to ask people to leave the library for not following our policies.
10. What books inspired you as a teen/tween?
I missed out on most literature as a tween/teen because I obsessively read R.L. Stine’s Fear Streets and a lot of Shakespeare. I remember several books I read a little bit younger: Number the Stars, Letters from Rifka, A Walk in Wolf Wood, and The Hobbit. I love different cultures and fantasy worlds.
11. What do you love most about the YA and middle grades genres?
Best fantasy books. The fantasy novels in adult (at least the ones I pick up) get bogged down in describing the minutia of their fictional world. YA and tween books live in the world without worrying about setting up and explaining all the whats and whys. And there’s rarely mention of taxes.
12. Are you also a writer yourself? If so, what do you like to write?
I’m not a writer. I have this crazy imagination that is always going 100%, but nothing in my imagination stays the same long enough to put it on paper. Mostly I just write emails and snail mail (with fountain pens and bottles of ink) to family and friends.
13. If you could go back in time and give your teen/tween self one piece of advice, what would it be?
I would tell myself not to do something I felt I was supposed to do to make my parents and teachers happy because everyone expected me to, which I didn’t want to do. A family friend asked if I really wanted to go… I didn’t, but my mother was listening so I said I wanted to go. Biggest mistake of my life. Listening to your heart is more important than pride and a mistaken feeling of duty. And never worry about disappointing your parents.
Will the Real You 2.0 Please Stand Up?
14. I love the game Three Truths and a Lie because there are so many unexpected and interesting things about people that we never get a chance to learn about them. What are three truths and a lie that our blog readers can guess about you?
– When I was 14, I rode a runaway horse along back roads of the rolling Montana landscape. (I was so scared!! But I stayed on!)
– At 16, I was almost taken into custody by a military general on a train in Germany for not having my (whole) ticket.
– I was stung by a jellyfish when visiting a beach in New Zealand on a school trip.
**UPDATE: Here’s the lie!**
– When I was 15, a boy asked me to marry him in the middle of a bazaar in Istanbul.
(Readers: Your guess gets you an entry into the You 2.0 monthly contest for an ARC of The Cinderella Society or a prize dive in the awesome You 2.0 Prize Basket. Guess correctly and you get a bonus entry for the monthly contest AND today’s special giveaway! I’ll update the post on Monday to spill the big lie and announce the special giveaway winner, so get guessing and have fun!)
Thanks to Eleanor for a terrific interview!
