New Reading Selections

Sorceress
If you like historical fiction and/or stories about witches and the Salem Witch Trials this is a great book. The story begins in Witch Child when Mary Dowd is swept away from London to America when her grandmother is hanged for being a witch. Mary believes she can have a fresh start in America only to have the same circumstances occur again and this time she is accused of being a witch. Sorceress takes over where the first book left off to discover what really happened to Mary Dowd after she was accused of witchcraft.

Endymion Spring
Endymion Spring is a mute apprentice to Guttenburg, the inventor of the printing press. Spring discovers a book that was made from dragon skin and contains all the knowledge in the world. The book reverts between the 1400s and the present day where a young boy finds the treasured book that is sought after by many.

Pendragon: The Merchant of Death
This is the first in a series that so far spans 8 books. Bobby Pendragon is by all accounts a normal kid, at least until his uncle Press tells him that he is a Traveler and must leave his whole life behind to save the people on a territory known as Denduron from annihilation. Bobby sends journals back to his friends on Second Earth describing his wild adventure.

What makes a good interview?

I had an interview last week at a public library for a Teen Librarian position. I felt lucky to even get the interview because the job market is very competitive here. The bad part is that I have had interviews in the past that I thought went pretty well and then a week later I get the dreaded letter in the mail telling me that there were so many qualified candidates and it was a hard decision...blah, blah, blah. Anyway, Ive decided that no matter how well the interview goes I will no longer get my hopes up. The interview went so-so in my opinion. I was in there with the library Director and another Youth Librarian and I felt like I got no feed back whatsoever letting me know that they even liked me. I did decide to do something different this time and I brought props. I made a pamphlet showcasing all the programs that the library could do within the next year in order to get more teen patrons. I think they liked it, but like I said before, they were stonefaced. Then today I get a call from 2 of my references saying that the Director actually called them! The Director told one of them that the decision was down to me and someone else! I hate to say it but PICK ME! I would feel horrible for that other person but I really want this job, you know? I am trying to stay calm but inside Im freaking out.

Audio Books

I have always been a fan of the audio book, however, for some reason I have never listened to very many. I am an addict of the Harry Potter books, so I have all of those audio books and I will listen to those over and over again in the car when there is nothing on the radio. Recently, I have begun to listen to more audio books and I am finding them incredibly useful. There are more and more books that are being turned into audio books and therefore the selection at the library is profound. Furthermore, if an audio book is listened to while doing everyday chores in the house a book can be "read" in less than a day most often. I have become so fond of this type of book that I actually purchased a small alarm clock with CD player so that I can listen to my book while doing the dishes or making dinner. I often just pop in a book on tape and listen while I am knitting on the couch. It can be very relaxing and I love that I can do multiple tasks while still "reading" the books that I have been itching to get my hands on. Since I am in school I find that I often do not have time to read an actual book, and since I am in the car a lot anyway I have ample time and feel no guilt by listening to a book.

In the last 2 weeks alone I have listened to 4-5 books. Some of which include "Feed" by M.T. Anderson. This is an interesting tale about people who get controlled by an implant in their head to purchase more and more items. The language is a bit too surfer-dude for me and the tale turns out incredibly depressing, but the message is clear and undeniably close to home.

"Rebel Angels" by Libba Bray is the second book in what I believe will be a trilogy; the first book being "A Great and Terrible Beauty." The story centers around Victorian age London and is enraging and extremely moving with the weight of the world being rested on three 16 year old girls who have absolutely no power of their own accord in the described day and age. This is a great read for girls, and some boys may enjoy it as well, but probably not much.

"Coraline" by Neil Gaiman was recommended to me in one of my teen literature courses and I was intrigued to discover what the fuss was all about. I was disturbed by the tale, which didn't end up being what I thought it was. A young girl is transported into another dimension by stepping through a locked door in her apartment and is held captive by what I can only guess was a demon, though what the woman happened to be was never disclosed. If you enjoy odd mysteries with strange music and talking cats then this is for you. I would definitely listen to the audio book because the author is the storyteller and the music is outrageous.

I am currently listening to "The Minister's Daughter" and I am annoyed and vexed by the actions of the characters. The story takes place between 1645 and 1692 in London during the ridiculous time when witches were believed to be real and burned at the stake or else thrown in the river to drown. The story is sad and moving and if you enjoy historical fiction as much as I do then you should at least try this book on for size.

That's all for now chickydees. I'll let you know more as I devour more literature.

Computers are so frustrating!

I'm really starting to think that as much as computers can make life easier they are a living hell. I am taking this computer course right now for my Library Science program and I completely bombed the midterm. Yuck! I am doing fine with all the assignments but the midterm just kicked my butt. It asked very technical questions that had me looking at the computer going "huh?" I think my problem is that I am not taking enough of an elementary approach to this class, I should be doing vocabulary terms every week because that was basically all that the test was. Maybe for the final that is what I will have to do. I'll just write out vocab words for each chapter and then go over a couple times per week and then perhaps by the end of the semester one or two of the words may have stuck. Or perhaps the computer techie thing is just not for me. I can understand the programs and how everything runs and how to use everything, but I cannot for the life of me understand or remember what all the parts are called, for example RAM...what? I have no idea. Do I even need to know this to be a librarian? I know that I need to know how to use the computer, which I do. I mean for goodness sakes, I work for a compuet company right now. But if I need to know the inner workings of the computer or how it runs I will take it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Scheesh, all I know is that I better pass this class despite my crappy midterm grade because I cannot afford to lose out on the outrageous amount of money that I am paying to take this class!

Finding Work

So here's the deal, I'm sick of my current job. I graduated last year with a B.A. in Psychology and after that I was...lost. I didn't know whether to get a job or get a Graduate degree or both. I realized that I needed a "real" job sooner rather than later, especially since my insurance ran out once my schooling was finished. But finding a job in Michigan is so hard! After 9 long months of searching I finally got a job working for IBM in their accounting department at about the same time that I started school again for Library Science. Now after about 6 months of working in accounting I realize I hate it!! I actually dread coming to work. I don't like feeling that way. I've decided that if I'm serious about having a career in the library world I need to step up to the plate and look for a job, anywhere in the country, that will hire someone that does not yet have their degree. I have just come up with this plan 4 days ago and have already sent out 13 applications. I really want this opportunity. The library is one of my favorite places to be in the world and the idea of actually making a living by working in one is almost too much to bare. I'm nervous that because I am applying for so many jobs out of state that maybe I won't be taken as seriously, I'm not sure why. I guess I'm just thinking that maybe they'd hire a resident over a non-resident, silly I know. I really hope I get one of these jobs, I need a big change like this right now.

Computers in the Library

Having free computers has really brought the library back to life. I did an observation this Winter at the reference desk of my local library & the job that the librarians did the most was monitoring the computers. By monitoring I mean signing people in & making sure people only stayed their allotted time because there were so many people who came in to use very few computers. One problem that current librarians have told me about is the practically "mandated" filtered computers. In some libraries all the computers have filters which block sites out that may contain images or verbiage dealing with sex, nudity, illegal activity, etc. One library in my neighborhood still has not instituted a filtering system on their publicly used computers. From what I was told, Library Directors are the ones who decide whether patrons can view questionable materials, i.e. pornography. This particular library allows their patrons to view porn on the computers & because of it other patrons have become upset, so much so that there was an article about it on the front page of the paper about a month ago. A mother was upset because she wanted to use the computers with her daughter & the librarian told her that she may not want to do that because there may be other patrons looking at images deemed inappropriate for children. Besides that, people believe that because patrons look at pornography they may also be trying to pick up underage children for sexual purposes. Computers have brought libraries a lot of business but they seem to be hindering them in some ways as well. Basically you're damned if you do & damned if you don't.