Tag: library

Everything Else: 2013 in Review

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Top row: S & I in the mountains on vacation, our new dining room, gifts my teens at the library gave me. Bottom row: some of my best friends, my amazing writer friends, and S & I announcing the pregnancy.

I suppose it’s no surprise that, aside from getting a book deal, the biggest highlight of 2013 for me was learning S and I were going to be parents. I mean, you can’t top that, can you? I think not. So even with the mood swings and weight gain, the aches and pains, the cravings and exhaustion, I’m still celebrating the little human that’s growing (and kicking) inside me. A friend said that once you’re pregnant you instantly fall in love, despite not knowing anything about your child. Well, she was right.

Highlights:

S and I took a crazy road trip from Orlando; up to Pine Mountain, GA; over to Nashville, TN; through the Blue Ridge Mountains; around to Asheville, NC; down to Charleston, SC; and then back home. We learned to like country music, swooned over waterfalls and mountains, ate a ton, saw friends, and bought a lot of records. (Ok, S bought a lot of records. I bought a book. Surprise!)

I enjoyed my job at the library more and more with each experience. Sure there are moments when patrons make me want to throw things, but those scenarios are quickly trumped by memories of a girl giggling over her first library card, a boy telling me he likes the books I pick out, my regular kid visitors who made me a bracelet because they like me, the grandmas from my book club shrieking over the baby news. One of our high school volunteers designed her own program, and we successfully put it on (and let me tell you, I couldn’t have been more proud). Summer Reading Program was a HUGE success with some events having more than 120 very happy children. My teen club, the nerdfighters, celebrated its one year anniversary, and they surprised me with a party and scrapbook that brought tears to my eyes. If starting the club, and bringing all of them together, was the best thing I ever did as a librarian, I’d be set.

Also…we bought a house! Yeah, S and I are homeowners which feels so adult (oddly more adult than having a kid.) We fix things and paint things and own a rake. It’s awesome, though, having this little house of our own. It’s ours to do as we please with (like paint the kitchen teal, which I might have done) and ours to love. And now, ours to create a little nursery in.

I turned 30. Scary. But kind of great, too.

Other Favorites

Movies: I think I saw a grand total of four movies in the cinema this year. Maybe more. I don’t know. I love watching movies, but I also get restless. And I hate being disappointed. So I don’t really have favorites of the year. I did really love Catching Fire and Frozen though. (The soundtrack of the latter may be on repeat at our home. S definitely does not want to build a snowman anymore.)

TV: During my first trimester, when all I wanted to do was sleep, I decided to check out Awkward because I love teenage melodrama (surprise surprise). I might have finished the first season in a weekend. And then the second. And then the third (as the last few episodes aired). So, yeah, you could say I’m a fan now. S & I together finally jumped on the Friday Night Lights bandwagon and I’m so glad we did (see: teenage melodrama). We might have just purchased the box set. Riggins! As for old favorites, I’m still highly in love with Mad Men and Parks and Recreation.

Plays: We saw Book of Mormon this year, and it was awesome. I love the songs (as awkward and awful as some are), the story, the whole moral. (Yes, there’s a moral!) It’s just a supremely well-done show, and I’m so happy it finally came to…ORLANDO!

Music: Let’s be honest, I haven’t updated my iPod since college. Aside from radio hits, the only *new* CD I checked out (aside from the aforementioned Frozen soundtrack and other various Broadway musicals) was Rkives by Rilo Kiley. A compilation of previously unreleased b-sides from a band I loved…in college. So I guess my music taste hasn’t changed much. But, man, that CD was great.

And, I suppose, that is it. There were downs, too, but I’d prefer to reflect on the ups, on the ways the year will be remembered. 2013 was great, and I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings.

And to you all, thank you so much for reading my blog, and going through these journeys with me. Your comments and likes make me smile. If I could hug you all, I would.

And so, until next year. Thanks for reading!

xo, Lauren

Pirating Books

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Fun fact: libraries provide free books! I know, right? It’s a bit crazy. You can walk in, grab books, check them out, and leave. And it’s free! No one will stop you! You just have to return them after 3ish weeks (depending on the library). Libraries even have free eBooks! And movies! And CDs!

I know the above is a well-known fact, but sometimes I think people forget. They forget that libraries are there to simply provide free information (such as, you know, books). I bring this up because I keep hearing about the pirating of books, and it makes me a bit angry. Apparently people are ripping eBooks (or even scanning paper books – what!) and putting them online for people to download for free. This isn’t a new thing, it’s been around for a while, but It’s a bit disheartening to say the least. And I don’t say this from an author’s perspective (an author who’s afraid her books will be pirated, too), but from a librarian’s perspective. Because, hello, we’re here to give you free books!

So here are reasons people are pirating:

I want the book, but can’t afford it. Understood. It’s pricey buying every book you want. Does a friend have it that you can borrow? If not, go to the library!

But it’s checked out at the library. Put it on hold, it’ll come back soon! Or, does your school library have it? See if they do. (And if it’s checked out – put it on hold! Twice the chance of getting it quickly.)

But I want it NOW!! Does the library have an eBook of it? An audio book? See! Perhaps that can hold you over until your copy is in. (Also, browse the shelves. There are hundreds of other titles that may keep you busy until the book is in.)

But my library doesn’t carry it. Talk to a librarian, and ask them to order it. We love hearing recommendations. We can’t read everything, so perhaps we might miss a title. Let us know.

But it’s only released as an eBook. A lot of libraries have eBooks now. I know mine does. Check.

But how is getting it from the library different than pirating it? The author still doesn’t make any money. Wrong. First off, authors don’t like when you pirate their books. Period. Second, in libraries, check out statistics are very important. If a book has a lot of holds, there’s a strong chance we’ll purchase more copies. (We just put in a large order for Cuckoo’s Calling, obviously. And even though it’s an older book, my library just received a new batch of Looking for Alaskas because the hold list was just that long.) Also, if we see a book by a specific author is getting checked out often, we’ll definitely order their future books because we know readers want them. Supporting us supports the authors.

A main goal of a library is to give the patron what they want. If you come in and want a book, we’ll do everything we can to get it to you. You may have to wait a few days, but you’ll get it. You’ll see.

My (Work) Desk

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I was leaving work today and realized that I have a weird desk. I mean, a really weird desk. It screams public librarian. I’ve always enjoyed blog posts where people reveal their work spaces, so I thought i’d show off mine. Today – work desk. Tomorrow – home writing desk.

Great, right? Okay, so I’ll explain –

Top row – random papers, balloons, felt pieces (for penguin craft), cup, pens (including my awesome Wimpy Kid pencil-topper), flag (from the citizenship classes I teach) ball, box of pencils (for craft), tissues, lots of books*, nerdfighter bookmark, hand sanitizer (because some books returned are just gross), library mug, paper hedgehog, crown (for being an Employee of the Year finalist), files, paper strong man (because who DOESN’T have a paper strong man on their desk?)

Bottom row – Multiple Flat Ponces**, calendar, laptop, rest of penguin craft, juggling balls (for circus program – made out of balloons and rice), Wimpy Kid diary (also for upcoming program.)

As you can see, my desk primarily acts as a resting place for craft supplies and program preparation. It’s crowded and messy most of the time. It’s colorful and crazy. And man, I love it.

* – My favorite book there is Huck Finn. A girl donated it, and it’s all annotated with her notes. But these aren’t “this is symbolic because,” notes, oh no…they’re “OMG HE IS AWFUL” notes. And I feel like THAT’S how you should read a book. She’s relating to it, responding to it. And it’s awesome.

** – My library is celebrating Florida’s 500th birthday with many programs and crafts and promotional materials. One thing we have is Flat Ponce de Leon. We’ve already given him a tour of the library. My co-worker and I are now giving him new clothes, because WHY NOT?

Banned Books Week

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(UPDATE: The images should be working again. Feel free to use them at your library! I’d love to know if you do! I also removed the dates so you can use them every year.)

Not surprisingly, I’m celebrating Banned Books Week at the library. As it happens, most of my favorite books have been banned at one time or another, so of course I want to publicize this week. Because I believe people should read anything they want to read. Sometimes the more “questionable” materials help us in ways we never expected.

Here are bookmarks I made for the library:

bannedbookmarks1-page-001 bannedbookmarks1-page-002

If you’re a librarian, feel free to use them at your library if you’d like. If you’re a parent, please don’t think Junie B Jones is bad. Please.

Life, The Universe, and Nerdfighters

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Permit me to be sappy for a second.

The above video was taken last weekend. After planning it for quite a few months, my Nerdfighter Library Meetup* happened, and it couldn’t have gone better. Twenty-one awesome people showed up, 17 of which were teens (which is a very high teen count for our library. Very high.) Everyone was so nice, and so excited. We were all unified by one common interest, and it showed. And, really, by the end, I couldn’t have been happier.

That is, until one of the teens posted the above video and I kind of teared up. Because, you guys, this is my life.

At 28, I’ve had three different careers. Not jobs, careers. I was a high school English teacher. (I quite\ after a year because it was just so hard. I loved some of my students, and I would have continued for them, but there’s just so much pressure, and honestly, I was only 23 at the time. And I sucked at discipline.) I was a copyrighter/magazine editor. (Fine jobs, but I never wanted to write for myself when I was writing all day. I started hating writing because it was forced and assigned, not creative and fun.) And now I’m a librarian. (And, yeah, still a writer, too.) I was so scared to start library school because even though it sounded amazing…what if I didn’t like it? What if it was just another failed career move? I went into the degree knowing I wanted to work with teens again, and I left confident.

And now, a year and a month after I graduated, I have that job. I’m a public librarian working with teens. And for the first time in my career, I can honestly say I love my job. I know how rare it is to hear that. I know how lucky I am. And don’t think it’s all cotton candy and unicorns and happy soundtracks. There are bad days. There are bad patrons. But I get over them because I know there’s also so much more.

There’s a little boy who called me his favorite librarian after I recommended a book he ended up liking. There’s a little girl who visits me weekly, just to say hi. There’s a teen who asked for relationship advice, and other who asked for career/college advice. There are the moments I know I’ve made someone’s day better just by having the one thing they were looking for in stock. And there are teens who make videos of my events and post them to YouTube because they genuinely had a good time.

This is my job. I honestly couldn’t ask for me.

*For librarians interested, I’ll post more on planning this meetup later.