Christmas

Winding down and getting ready for the Christmas holidays. My desk has had a makeover....got my Christmas mojo back!!!!

"Mortal Engines' the movie comes out this week. Created  a display for it....

The book "Mortal Engines' is not one that I have read...it is on the holiday reading list.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas. The tree is up at home.

Digital Repositories

These images relate to an assignment where we were learning about digital repositories. The uploading of images to a digital catalogue and ensuring correct documentation goes with the images.Content DM was used...I found it non user friendly. However once I had worked out its 'oddness' I was OK. Not my favourite assignment so far.

Banned Books

This week in the library we completed a display of 'Banned Books'.....books that have been banned in the past for a variety of reasons but are not banned now!!!

It has generated quite a bit of interest from the students. The books were displayed with a note explaining the reasons for the original ban.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Heather Morris' book 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' is based on a true story. After meeting Lale Sokolov a Slovakian Jew and hearing his account of his time spent in Auschwitz the author originally intended the retelling to be in the form of a screen play. Sent to Auschwitz in 1942 Lale is given the task of being the camps main tattooist due to his ability to speak many languages. His work adorns this wrists of many camp survivors. Lale's work does ensure him a small amount of security and he is able to get his hands on extra food which he shares with others. Lale is witness to many atrocities, the ovens, the gas chambers, medical experiments and  also meets the love of his life Gita while in Auschwitz. It deals with the idea of what a person will agree to do in order to survive. Lale and Gita do survive. There love endures.

SLANSW Making Connections, Engaging Learners

I have joined the School Library Association of NSW and yesterday I attended the  'Making Connections, Engaging Learners' conference held at the beautifully refurbished State Library of NSW.

We were taken on a guided tour of the new galleries and display areas which was fascinating. The display cases containing a variety of 'objects' were interesting to me as I am currently trying to complete the unit on 'Maintaining Digital Repositories'.....loved this small collection of glass bottles.

I was in awe of the 'reading room' and would love a library as gorgeous as this closer to home.

A fabulous day away  from the norm, opening up new possibilities with digital technology that can be used effectively in the library and classroom.

I have finished reading this month's bookclub book ready for our discussion on 28th Oct. 

'The Great Alone' by Kristin Hannah, a novel about a young troubled family that relocates to the harsh climate of Alaska, how they survive, the friendships made in such a tight knit community and the struggle to maintain the family unit. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it hard to put down.

Reading Pile

School holidays....among other things I intend to get some reading done.

Staff Holiday Reads

This week in the library we put together a collection of suggested holiday reads for the staff and invited them all into the library for morning tea. Lovely to see some staff members who don't frequent the library.

This week also saw the completion of a huge task to allocate the graphic novels a collection of their own ( they were separated on the shelves but lumped into the fiction) and attach a graphics sticker to the spine. 

'Elanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'

Gail Honeyman

A book recommended by a friend also completed this week.  The book tells the story of Elanor  Oliphant who is anything but completely fine at the beginning of the story. She lives alone, without family or close friends managing  to support herself financially and drinking lots of vodka on the weekends to cope with her loneliness. Elanor is socially awkward, people think she is odd. Details of her disfunctional relationship with her mother and her horrible childhood are gradually revealed throughout the story.As the story unfolds, so too does an unlikely friendship with a co-worker and his family, drawing Elanor out of her isolation and suggesting better things to come.

Task 10: Finalise

I still need to gain invites to a few more class members blogs to comment.

Task 9: Review

I enjoy working in e-blogger. It is a format that I am familiar with as I have had a blogspot for a number of years. I know how to use it and can quickly upload images and text and customise the look of my blogspot without too much angst....I enjoy using e-blogger. It is familiar, safe and known. You are the sole author on e-blogger and although  you  can invite comments from your readers, the control of content and image is all yours.

I have not had much experience using a 'Wiki' and am not as comfortable using it as I am with e-blogger. I do however like the fact that a wiki can allow collaboration on line amongst several people using the one document. I feel you would need to communicate really clearly any changes that you make to the working document and be flexible and adaptable to suggestions from others. Wiki's invite collaboration so you need to be open to working as a team.

I feel that a library should make use a  variety of social media platforms to inform and update their library customers. Facebook, instagram, you tube, pinterest and twitter would all be great helping library staff to advertise, inform and document library activities.

A library blogspot could be used to update library activities on a regular basis. Informing customers of upcoming events, new books, special celebrations and book reviews using text and images. Library customers can be encouraged to comment on posts providing library staff with valuable feedback.

designreflect.com

Task 8:Photo Sharing sites

I have a Pinterest account that I sometimes use. I do enjoy looking through all the photos posted by people and I like the fact that you can organise your own 'Pins' into categories and you can generally search by typing into the search bar  a broad category like 'books' as I did today.

Many, many images are at your fingertips. Quite a few are not watermarked. The image below is one that I found after searching for a while and chosen because I like the feel of the space with the large windows, lots of natural light, and lots of books to read. A gorgeous place to relax and read.

www.steppingintopm.com

Setting up a Pinterest account for your library would be a  great way to organise photographs taken in the library publicising events, showcasing new books, school holiday activities, seniors workshops, and bookclubs. The photographs can be sorted into boards or categories. A great way to make sure that the images shared are easy to search.

Task 7: Video Sharing Sites.

Coffee Break with EBYR

I used the tags book club and  video sharing  to highlight this post, as the video I have chosen to use  discusses starting a book club from scratch, member numbers, choosing books, discussion starters etc. Something I have always wanted to initiate in the library that I am working in. I enjoyed the video and unfortunately they are no longer currently posting, however  there are one hundred other bookish video's posted by Ahna and Katherine......not enough hours in the day......!!!!!!

The library could use video sharing to inform their library patrons about the library itself, a behind the scene library tour, or sharing videos from other libraries (with correct attribution) to inform people of events or information that may be important, relevant or interesting.

Task 6: Social Networking: Facebook

I enjoy social networking.It allows me to gain an insight into what is happening in my field of interest and to connect with like minded people. Without it my access would be quite limited. Social media makes it easy to network. The photos, video's and the 'immediacy' of posting makes it fun and interesting. Posts and sites that you have 'liked' on facebook   will then appear in your news feed keeping you up to date as updates are made. Searching for sites that may interest you is easy via the search bar at the top of your facebook  news feed.

Above the online book club that I have joined and am enjoying very much.

Social networking can be an invaluable communication tool for a library. Setting up several social media platforms such as facebook, instagram and twitter can help to convey information to our library customers, informing them of upcoming events, opening hours,  location, services provided, links to the library catalogue and a way for customers to provide feedback and comments about the services provided and their effectiveness.

Task 5: Class Wiki

I am not that familiar with 'Wiki's' however I did enjoy exploring what you can do with one. I like the idea that it can be a collaborative document that several people can contribute to and edit.

I uploaded the above photo of myself and my daughter to 'Jan's'  page within the Wiki, then answered some questions about social media and played with font and text colour.

You have all the usual bits n pieces in your tool bar for creating a document. You can insert  links, photos and videos. Text can be created and justified as usual or made into bullet lists.

I can see myself using a wiki in the library setting as either a collaborative document amongst  staff when planning an event, display or research task. I can also see it being used in the creation of libguides or with groups of students working together collaboratively on an assignment.

Online Book Club

I have joined an online book club. Life is busy so it suits me that I  can contribute when I can  find time. I actually finished the book in time for the discussion meeting.... I enjoyed the interaction with the other members and their 'take'on  'The Heart Goes Last'  by Margaret Atwood.

September's read is 'Ghosted' by Rosie Walsh.

Will get to work on this book after my Tafe homework is done!

'Ghosted'

by

Rosie Walsh

The Heart Goes Last

This month's read for my online book club is Margaret Atwood's 'The Heart Goes Last'

I  have till the 30th Aug to finish so I can contribute to the online discussion. I am enjoying it so far.

Book Club

I have just joined an on-line book club and our latest read has been "Love and Ruin" by Paula Mclain.

The book deals with   the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, two successful writers working around the time of WW2 and beyond. Told predominantly with Martha's voice it outlines how their relationship develops and implodes as she struggles to gain recognition for her writing while being overshadowed by the fame of Hemingway. I enjoyed the book and admired her courage as a reporter in several war zones and her desire to be independent.

CBCA 2018 Notables

To improve my knowledge of YA books  I have been trying to read my way through this year's CBCA 'Notables', primarily so that I can better recommend them to students. I have decided to review the books and give an indication of suitable reader age.

Nicole Haye's 'A Shadows Breath'

The story of a  troubled young girl, who after witnessing a family tragedy 

struggles with the relationships in her life. Her relationship with her mother is dysfunctional and she has few friends to rely on for support. Lacking self-belief she finds acceptance and love with Nick who encourages her to  get back into her art. We  jump between 'then' and 'now' as the story  unfolds.A story of survival, self-belief, acceptance,grief and grieving.

I found it an easy read that I did not want to put down....I needed to find out what happened next.

Mid to upper secondary.