Happy Banned Books Week

Hopefully you and your libraries are celebrating Banned Books Week in some creative way. I hosted a book club meeting to discuss Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War. We talked about censorship, books challenges, and why some of their favorite books now appear on the Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010 list. We also had a Chocolate Trivia War and a chocolate tasting which, I'm not going to lie, were the most popular elements of the program.

Here's another creative way one cheeky British filmmaker has come up with to keep explain the dangers of censorship and the symbolic meaning of book burning.


Library of Burned Books Pitch from Alasdair Beckett-King on Vimeo.

You can support the creation of this film and even appear as a supporting artist in the production. This could be the perfect gift for those librarians on your holiday list!

Reforma National Conference 4

A few weeks ago I attended the 4th Reforma National Conference (RNC4) in Denver, Colorado. The theme was Elevation Latino Services to a Higher Level and celebrating 40 years of Reforma. I have to say, I've been to my share of library conferences, but this one was by far my favorite. The sessions were good and relevant to my work, the socials were entertaining and lively, the city was gorgeous, the conference committee and staff were organized and friendly, and the people I met were awesome! I also liked that it was a much more intimate conference than what I'm used to, by the last day I felt as though I' had interacted with the majority of the attendees. The vibe was relaxed and I didn't feel as though I had to rush to cram everything in, the earliest sessions started at 9:30am. Overall it was a good time and worth the investment.

Here's a list of what made RNC4 a worthwhile experience for me:

• Networked with other librarians serving similar populations and exchanged ideas.


• Promoted and recruited presenters for an upcoming workshop I'm hosting at my library.


• Learned about the history of Reforma and connected with some of the pioneers that paved the way in the organization for incoming librarians.


• Got inspired to better serve Spanish speaking communities and brought home two new program ideas to implement at my library.


• Learned about oral storytelling programs and listened to talented story tellers during the "Noche de Cunetos".


• Met several bilingual children's book authors and even booked some of them for upcoming library programs.


• Talked to Spanish book vendors and learned more about the Guadalajara book fair experience.


• Learned about YA book titles with Latino characters and attended a session where several of these authors Skyped in to talk about their work.


• Did a little site seeing and experienced the city culture.


• Met active inspiring library professionals and made new friends!

To learn more about Reforma and RNC4 check out their website: http://www.reforma.org/

Monkey See Monkey Do

Unfortunately, I don't have the chance to do storytimes very often as a teen librarian, but I'm always on the lookout for great resources for my coworkers in the Children's Department.

If you're a visual learner, you'll appreciate StoryBlocks, a website created by Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy that provides videos demonstrating fun songs and rhymes that parents, educators, and librarians can use to help the children in their lives become great readers - long before they ever enter school.

Finger Puppets Fun

After seeing another great flannel post on Mel's Desk, I begged my cousin Jess to make me some finger puppets. On Saturday I got the best surprise package in the mail filled with finger puppets. The blackbird finger puppets are for the rhyme "Two Little Blackbirds" but I am sure I can find another rhyme they can be used for as well.

The black bats are from Mel's Halloween version of "Two Little Blackbirds" called "Two Little Black Bats." Jess made me enough that I can have a pair and the teen moms or dads can have a pair when we do the rhymes. Last week's early literacy practice was talking to your child and we were working on understanding the concept of object permanence. These finger puppets arrived just in time so we can continue building on that lesson.

I am excited to use these in storytime, because whenever we use the regular finger puppets the kids love it, so I am sure they are going to like these new ones.

Check out Mel's Desk for the pattern and rhyme