Free March Webinars

 Happy Weekend all! 

Last Friday, I posted webinars that Webjunction complied that were taking place in February. Well, it's the end of the month so that means they compiled ANOTHER list of webinars happening throughout March. So of course I had to share.

Of course, not every webinar will be relevant to your field of work, but at least one should be helpful. The ones I'm most interested in are Re-Envisioning LIS: Activating Social Justice on March 2, Evaluating Program Success on March 4, and Virtual Program Development on March 11.

My library isn't doing a ton of programming right now so these are important for me to learn more about. Which ones do you think you might check out? The full list of webinars is HERE!

-Megan 

Blue Books Book Display

 I'm blue daba de dabu da.....

I found this cute idea on Pinterest and had to make it for myself. With the weather being absolutely, and horribly wintery, I thought a bright and cheerful display would be helpful. Each of the books for this display have a blue cover which matches the punny display poster. 

Do you really need a list for this one, not really, but you'd be surprised by the amount of books where the spine doesn't match the cover. The amount of times I pulled a blue spine for it to have a white cover was infuriating. So yes, a list is necessary. Luckily our cataloging system has a cover image of most books so it was easy to check. However, user beware! Books have more than one cover so the list might not be perfect for your library.

Here's the list! Hope I didn't get that song stuck in your head!

-Megan

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Read Around the World Book Display

As someone who loves to travel, I love reading books that take place outside of my home country. With the inability to travel right now, these books may mean a lot more to people. I think we all may need a little bit of escapism right now. 

One thing I did when I originally made this display was that I put a printed out the flag and name of the country and taped that on each book. Would I do that now? No. It was a lot of extra work that is already on the inside flap or back of the book. Also, based on the training I have received on making a display, we don't need to add extras to make a book display effective. 

So here are some posters and of course the list of titles HERE. If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

-Megan 

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
 

Free Webinars!

I'm keeping today's post short because, honestly, I'm exhausted and it's been a long week.

I am always looking for ways to learn more about librarianship and how to be better on the job. I love learning and that's probably part of what makes me perfect for the job of librarianship. While researching things for patrons, I always discover new things I didn't know.

That's why today's Free Resource Friday is a link to a bunch of webinars happening in February. I wish I had found this list sooner in the month and will for sure be looking for this list in the future. Special shout out to Webjunction for providing this awesome resource.

So HERE IT IS friends. Go forth and learn something new!

-Megan 

Currently Reading: How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

Dog-Gone Good Book Display

Bark Bark!

Okay, I'll be honest, I'm a cat person. But there are so many cute dog books that I just had to make a dog display last summer. I'm sharing that poster as well, but it wouldn't quite work for outside of summer would it? 

I'm keeping my commentary short and sweet this time so let's get to the free posters and book list shall we?

And HERE'S the list! Hope everyone is having a great week!

- Megan

First in a Series Book Display

I figured it was time for some fiction book displays, so let's start off with an easy one. So many authors have ongoing series that it can be hard to remember and find the first one. However, the great thing about series is that you can be transported into such elaborate stories that just cannot be developed in a stand-alone novel.

I know I use bookseriesinorder.com and fantasticfiction.com to help me when trying to find the order of a series for patrons. Both of these sites are essential resources for me when working as a reference librarian. I know recently I used these sites when trying to create an "auto-buy" list through Baker and Taylor. Such a fantastic resource.

So HERE is an assorted list of fiction, science fiction, mystery, and young adult titles that are all the start of an amazing series. Which ones did I miss that you love? 

- Megan

Graphic Novels

When I started my librarianship, I was wary of graphic novels. I always said "I get why we need graphic novels, but they just aren't for me." 

Past me is eating her words.

I love graphic novels. I think part of this feeling was the negativity that surrounds comics and graphic novels. Many people see them as "lesser" or only for struggling readers. This is simply not true. Graphic novels are for anyone AND everyone. This is a lesson I had to learn by picking up a graphic novel myself.

While graphic novels don't have the figurative language that a novel can have, they instead give you a visual language that a novel can't do. I love observing all the small details that the artists put into each page of the novel or even each panel. I'm still trying to get into manga and comics, but I'll find one eventually. And if not, that's okay too. 

My Free Friday Resource for you today is provided by the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT). They have created resources that are super beneficial to both librarians and teachers. Make sure to check out their page HERE,

They, in collaboration with the Black Caucus American Library Association (BCALA), created a Black Lives Matter comics list of essential titles for libraries. The list can be found HERE and it is something I am using as I expand my library's graphic novel collection. 

Take some time today to explore the GNCRT webpage and learn something new. What do you think are some essential Comic and Graphic Novel titles to have in a public library?

- Megan

Currently Reading The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkeller

Biography Book Display

Sorry for yet another nonfiction based book display, but that seems to be what I have ready to go right now! I'll try to have at least one fiction based one next week.

Anyways, let's talk about biographies. I'm not a big nonfiction reader to begin with, and biographies are quite literally the last kind of books I am drawn to. Sometimes I'll lean towards a memoir, but biographies and autobiographies? Barely a chance. It would need to be an interesting format (like Neil Patrick Harris's), about someone I'm really interested in (like a strong female I've never heard of), or something a musical was based off of (yes, I did start reading the tome that is Chernow's Alexander Hamilton!)

What about you? Do you read biographies often? What're your criteria for picking one up?

Well HERE is a link of titles that will allow you to "meet" someone new! 

Hope everyone is staying safe out there!

-Megan

Black Music Artists Book Display

Happy Monday everyone!

I thought I'd share another display that's great for Black History Month. This display focuses on Black Music Artists, both contemporary and historical. While the list I'm sharing is all books, this is a great way to showcase both your nonfiction and CD collection. You could have a book on the artist behind a CD that the artist created or performed on. While I have not done this, It is something I will probably do in the future. 

This is a good spot to remind you that displays that focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous,  & People of Color) displays do not have to be limited to special holidays or events. These displays should be used year-round. For myself, I think I'll use this one sometime in the spring or summer. When there isn't a pandemic, my city is know for its music festivals. A good time to showcase these amazing artists!

Two posters again for you all. I am the most indecisive people ever. HERE'S the list of titles I plan to use for this display, but this is a good one to find titles by browsing the music section of your library.

Have a wonderful week!

-Megan

Currently Reading Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 

Tracking Your Personal Reading

How do you track what you're reading? Goodreads? Instagram posts? I've done both, but I've found the best way for me to track this is with a Google Sheet. Now a spreadsheet may not seem revolutionary, but it can be when you add some *special features*! 

One of my reading goals this year was to read more diversely. I mean this not just in terms of diverse characters and authors, but also in terms of the materials I was reading. In order to make sure I'm sticking to my goal, I added sections to my spreadsheet that keeps track of things such as author race, main character sexuality, book format, and more. Then it creates a handy pie graph for my visual brain to comprehend. 

Here's an example of what my Google Sheet looked like at the end of last year.

Pretty cool right?

Well, I wanted to share this tracking tool with all of you. While it requires a little extra research, I think it's a great way to keep yourself in check and see exactly what you're reading throughout the year. HERE is a link to the Google Sheet which you can make a copy of and fill out on your own. The pie graphs should automatically curate a visual (as long as you don't change any of the columns.) Yes, you can also check back and see what I'm currently reading since I'm sharing my personal reading tracker.

Share what you use to track your reading habits. I'm curious to see what works for you!

-Megan

Currently reading: Nothing Special by Katie Cook on the Webtoon's App

Black History Month Book Display

It's February which means that it's Black History Month! This is a month to celebrate and learn about Black history. While it may be a tough topic for many white people to learn about, it's important to understand what our people have done to hurt this wonderful community. 

I am a library in a predominately white area so our Black History collection is not the best, because our patrons don't want to read it. It's hard to push to add more to this area because the circulation is down. That's why it's so important to have displays like this to highlight the collection and convince our readers to pick up these books. Each and everyone of them, regardless of it's a fictional story or a true story, is able to show non-Black readers what it's like to be a Black individual. I know one of my goals this year is to read more diversely, and I've already read 2 books featuring Black leads. 

I hope this display inspires you and your patrons to pick up more books about and by Black individuals. It doesn't matter the format, there's always something there to learn.

And for Black patrons, it's important to make sure they see themselves in literature. This display (of course) allows for that as well. Make sure when you're making displays of any kind to include materials by authors of a variety of backgrounds. We can't expect our readers to read diversely if we don't show them diverse materials!

Two poster options for you today! And of course HERE is the link to the titles. I hope this helps you out and convinces you to pick up one of these books as well. 

What Black History Month inspired read are you picking up this month?

-Megan

Currently Reading: Fresh Ink: An Anthology edited by Lamar Giles

Fractured Fairy Tales Book Display

Twisted fairy tales, fractured fairy tales, retellings; these books go by a variety of names. Sometimes you just need to read a story that you know the basics to in order to feel a little bit more relaxed. Or maybe you didn't like the ending to the original and now you a book that changes it. Whatever the reason, twisted fairy tales aren't going away any time soon. 

Many of the YA books on this list are ones that I have either read or are sitting on my (extensively long) TBR list. Some favorites include Cinder by Marissa Meyer and A Court of Roses and Thorns by Sarah J. Maas. I'm excited for her newest book in a few weeks!

As always, HERE is the list of books to use for this display. Leave a comment with your favorite book on the list!

- Princess Megan