Facebook Page Up and Running

Image via CrunchBaseThe Library's Page on Facebook has been up for about a month now and it's going great guns.

At first I wasn't sure what was going to be on the page but after a couple days I discovered it's really not that difficult to find interesting tidbits to share with the fans of the Bessie Chin Library.

One thing which students should find useful is a regular posting of links to websites which will help them with current research projects. So when Mr. Brown's government class was doing research on constitutions (his Xlandia project) we put a link to the interactive Constitution.

A couple other postings done on a regular basis are a Library Quote of the Day and a Website of the Day. Just today we added this quote by GraceAnne DeCandido to the page: "One of the great joys of being a librarian is that it is the last refuge of the renaissance person--everything you have ever read or learned or picked up is likely to come in handy."

We've also found it's an easy way to share other library and school events very quickly and provide links to interesting web sites about the event. Today we added several links connected to Diversity Week presenters.

By "Liking" such sites as NPR, the Bel-Tib Library, Reuters and Wikipedia, as well as Facebook itself, we have their feeds showing up on our Page too.

All in all, this is the neatest way I've found to communicate easily what's happening in the BCL.

I encourage everyone, especially during Love Your Library Month, to go to the Facebook Page and "Like" us. You won't regret it.

Library Facebook Page Up and Running

Image via WikipediaThe library's new Facebook page has been up for a week now and we are adding info to it regularly.
You don't need to remember a complicated URL to find it, just search Facebook for Bessie Chin Library and it will come up.
There is a lot of information on the page including library mission, hours of opening, photos of library art and events, links to other library social networking sites like Twitter and our blog, Library Leaves.
"Like" us and you will receive regular updates.
We know there are privacy issues with Facebook but your privacy will never be compromised with our page. Students cannot currently access Facebook from school computers but they can generally access it from home and from their smart phones.
Keep up with the latest news and resources in the Library by using the BCL Facebook page regularly.

Martin Luther King Birthday is a Day of Service

Cover of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday is a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the famous civil rights leader of the 1950s and 1960s. Starting in the mid-1990s, the day has been a national day of service. Martin Luther King, Jr., who once said: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" It also reminds me of President John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech, given almost 50 years ago, in which he said: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

What will you do this weekend to celebrate the legacy of these two American heroes?

"The national Martin Luther King Day of Service was started by former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act. The federal legislation challenges Americans to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer service in honor of Dr. King. The federal legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994." -- Wikipedia

The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

Related articles

• Martin Luther King Day: Celebrations And Service In LA (huffingtonpost.com)
• 25th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Will Unite Americans in National Day of Service (prweb.com)
• "The National Constitution Center Honors Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 17: Craft-Making, "I Have A Dream" Speech Recitation And More" and related posts (uwishunu.com)
• Carl Lewis: Dr. King's Dinner Conversations (huffingtonpost.com)

Why Do They Keep Telling Me to Use Quote Marks in Google Searches?

Image via WikipediaCute video about searching in Google. Have you ever felt this way helping someone find something online?
Patience, patience, ...

Related articles

• 10 Simple Google Search Tricks (thesocialmediaguide.com.au)
• How do you limit the number of results given by search engines (wiki.answers.com)

A Slice of Life in the Library

I made this Animoto video last year for a Board presentation but still think it's pretty neat.

What do you think?
Ask the librarian if you'd like to learn to make something like this video.

My YA 2001 Wish List

Image by Pesky Library via FlickrThis post from Daniel Kraus on the Booklist Book Blog is a funny, poignant look at the current status of young adult literature.

What do you think? Are you fed up up unrealistic romantic heroes, vampires, novels-in-verse, lack of adults, first-person narratives, and so forth?

What do you (or don't you) like about the current fiction scene?

The Hub: Your Connection to Teen Reads

Here is the description of a new blog developed by the Young Adult Library Services Association. One neat thing about The Hub is that you can add your own comments to the reviews, including video reviews. 

Recently reviewed books include Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, Jane by April Lindner, and The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

Take a look.

"The Hub is the literature blog for YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association.  You can learn more about YALSA here.

The mission of The Hub: Your Connection to Teen Reads is to provide a one-stop-shop for finding information about teen reads, including recommendations for great teen reads, information about YALSA lists and awards, book trailers and other book-related videos, and best of the best lists.

Content is created by librarians and teens, with a particular focus on YALSA’s booklists and book awards, book related projects, literacy and reading, and authors.   The Hub Member Manager and Advisory Board members regularly review comments on the site to guarantee appropriateness."

"We embrace the fact that reading can mean reading a traditional book in a new format (iPad, Kindle, etc.) or reading a story written in an untraditional way (for example, entirely in text messages).  And we especially embrace that the internet connects millions of readers every day and provides thousands of ways for people to share their thoughts about what they’re reading, log what they read, connect with authors, become an author, and more.

We hope you’ll visit The Hub daily for a peek into what the online world is saying about YA books.  You’ll find fresh original writing about what teens are reading, book reviews, introductions to other YA lit blogs, podcasts, videos, and more."