National Library Week Activities

May 6, 2011
Yet through despair my life should gloom,
Though horror should around me close,
With those I love, beyond the tomb,
Hope shows a balm for all my woes.
~from “Hope” by Percy Shelley
Dedicated to everyone who lost
their lives, loved ones or homes
to the tornados on April 27, 2011.
The Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library
was busy during National Library Week. On
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, they
held showings of “The Librarian” miniseries
starring Noah Wyle. On Tuesday, the library
started off with a breakfast for the staff in
honor of Library Worker’s Day. Later that day,
Sherry Blanton, a master gardener, presented
a public program on “What to Grow and
Where to Grow It”. Wednesday was National
Bookmobile Day and the library opened the
bookmobile (below) to the public for tours in
the library parking lot. The library ended the
week with a blow out book sale for the Friends
of the Library on Friday night.
National Library
Week Activities
In honor of National Library Week and author
Beverly Cleary’s birthday, the Piedmont Public
Library hosted “Ramona Days,” to celebrate
one of Cleary’s most popular characters,
Ramona Quimby. Each day, librarians read an
excerpt from one of the books in the Ramona
series. Children completed a craft to go along
with the book. In the words of Ramona, the
week was “terrifical!”
This year for National Library Week, the
Gadsden Public Library held the 1st Annual
Library Olympics. The purpose of the Olympic
games was to promote unity among staff
members and to inform the public about the
daily duties of library staff. The library held
a parade (with a torch!) and competitions
in shelving, check-ins, and reference. There
was even a triathlon. The medalists received
prizes such as Books-a-million, Chili’s, and
Applebee’s gift certificates as well as extra
break time and V.I.P. parking passes.
Staff Development
The Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library
conducted a staff development day on March
31st, while the library closed for a systems
upgrade. The morning started off with a group
breakfast, followed by a safety talk by Lt.
George of the Anniston Police Department.
Afterwards, the staff adjourned outside where
the Anniston Fire Department conducted
hands-on fire extinguisher training.
After a catered lunch, Angela Walker, a
motivational speaker and image consultant,
spoke to the entire staff on “How to Provide
Stellar Customer Service.” A special session
for the women titled “Feeling and Looking
Fabulous on Purpose” concluded the day.
Book Signing Event
Capt. Tony Taylor instructs staff member, Deborah
Battle, in the use of a fire extinguisher.
Jeanne Duke, author of Caroline, Through
A Baby’s Eyes, held a book signing at the
Attalla-Etowah County Public Library on April
18th, 2011. Jeanne is currently working on her
second book, a historical fiction novel, titled
Whitaker Winds.
Several members of the Attalla Readers and
Writer’s Book Club attended the signing. The
club invited Ms. Duke to attend their next
meeting and explain the process of having a
first book published. The Readers and Writer’s
Club meets the 4th Thursday of every month.
Angela Walker motivates the staff
Have You Met...
Orange Beach Public Library
Bonnie Lee has been the director of the
Orange Beach Public Library since 2002.
Her library philosophy is to provide the
community with free and open access
to information, materials, and services
for life-long learning, civic engagement,
and the exchange of ideas. Bonnie
stated that her favorite part of the job
is collection development - something
the entire staff gets involved in, because
she enjoys reading reviews and selecting
items that the patrons will enjoy. After
seeing so many patrons receive e-readers
for Christmas, the library recently began
offering regularly scheduled classes to
teach them how to use their devices and
how to download from Camellia Net. Their
Book-a-Librarian program allows patrons
to make appointments for one-on-one
help with a librarian where they can get
personalized instruction on how to use
their e-readers.
When asked what her biggest achievement
as director is, Bonnie refuses to take any
credit, stating it belongs to the staff, who
she encourages to dream big. She also
credits her staff as her favorite part of
coming to work each day. She said “It
is important to me that the staff enjoy
their jobs and have fun at work. It’s
also rewarding to see how much our
community loves coming to the library.”
The front of the Orange Peach Public Library
Q&A with Bonnie (above):
What character in a book do you
identify with most?
Eve Dallas in J.D. Robb’s “… in
Death” series is one of my favorite
characters. I don’t really identify
with her, but I would like to have
her man, Roark!
What’s your favorite book?
My favorite book is “The Four
Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
A beautiful marble floor runs down the center
of the library. It was designed by David Fowler
and inlaid by Mike Bush
Easter Celebrations
before playing games and hosting a flashlight
egg hunt in the library. Prizes were given for
the most and the least eggs found. Parents
brought snacks for the kids to share.
The young and the young-at-heart turned out
for two springtime traditions at the Albert L.
Scott Public Library in Alabaster.
The Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library
participated in the City’s Noble Street Festival
on Saturday, April 9th by taking pictures of
children with the Easter Bunny at The Rabbit
Hutch, a store on Noble Street. Library Board
Member, Pam Barclay, put on her bunny ears
and went out into the crowds inviting families
and children to visit the Easter Bunny played
by Shane Spears, Systems Librarian.
Folks at the annual Dye-ing to Color Eggs
Workshop had fun in turning dozens of
plain boiled eggs into colorful art pieces. The
workshop leader, Julie Littleton, provided
dyes, stencils, stickers and markers, plus
ideas inspiring participants to create unique
one-of-a-kind eggs. The event was held on
April 19th.
Heavy rains didn’t stop nearly 65 children
and their caregivers from turning out for the
library’s annual Egg Hunt the morning of April
20th. But because of the downpour, children
gathered in the meeting room to collect eggs
and listen to a lively story presented by
Jane Pennington, who was dressed as “Miss
Spring.” The Easter Bunny was also on hand
for individual photos with children and lots of
hugs.
Grants 101
Woodville Public Library celebrated Easter on a
rainy Wednesday morning. The Easter Bunny,
AKA Tammy Capley, read to the 17 children
Have others proofread your proposal or
application. A fresh set of eyes can catch
easily fixed spelling or grammatical errors.
Having a non-librarian proofread can also be
helpful. They may be able to show you what
needs clarification.
Jacksonville & the
American Girl
Alabaster & the
American Girl
Jacksonville Public Library hosted their
annual American Girl program in March.
This year’s theme was Rebecca’s Moving
Picture Party. Over 40 children and 25
adults attended. During the program, Lera, a
Russian guest speaker from the International
House at Jacksonville State University, spoke
about some traditional Russian food, games,
and holidays. Additionally, patrons performed
in a play, ate traditional snacks, and had a
costume contest. They also showed a Charlie
Chaplin short film, and the library staff
dressed as famous people who lived in that
era like the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, Annie
Oakley, Charlie Chaplin and Coco Chanel.
Reading, history, dolls, crafts, and cupcakes
were all part of the fun during the March
session of the American Girls Club at the
Albert L. Scott Public Library in Alabaster.
About 20 youngsters turned out on March
25th to explore the character Felicity and her
world. The girls participated in a reading grab
bag, and took turns reading aloud from the
library book Welcome to Felicity’s World, 1774.
The girls also shared their favorite American
Girl doll, played American Girl Bingo, and
made three-dimensional book covers. They
ended the meeting with cupcakes and juice.
Young patrons perform in a play.
Girls from Alabaster Public Library show off
what they made during the program (above
and below).
The costume contest winner receives a doll
from Charlie Chaplin (Children’s librarian
Miss Kim).
Seen at ALLA
Programs, sessions and meetings helped
librarians from around the state feel connected
with one another. (above and below)
Gail Sheldon from Oneonta Public Library is
all smiles while visiting the APLS booth.
Sandy McCandless (left) from Decatur Public
Library catches up with Joan Atkinson (right).
Sprucing Up At
Cullman
Cullman County Public Library got a new coat
of paint recently. The children’s department
was spruced up with bright, cheerful wall
colors.
Cyberbully
Workshop
Foley Public Library recently hosted a
cyberbullying workshop led by Kathy
Robinson, Ph.D., from Auburn University.
School counselors, teachers, youth pastors,
and parents from the community attended.
The workshop presented insight and resources
about the nature of this type of virtual
bullying, including the effects, warning signs,
and prevention and intervention strategies.
ConGRANTulations
3 public libraries in Alabama won the YALSA
mini-grant to fund the Teen Summer Reading
Program at the library. Sponsored by Dollar
General and the Young Adult Library Services
Association (YALSA), only 20 libraries across
the U.S. received the grant. Congratulations
to Amy Myrick, Assistant Cataloger at the
Oneonta Public Library, Morgan Higgins,
from the North Shelby Public Library in
Birmingham, and Kelly Brazier, youth services
librarian at Athens-Limestone Public Library,
for working so hard to get these grants for
your libraries!
Woodville Public Library received a $500 grant
from First Book Marketplace and Walmart.
This grant paid for over 200 books. The library
also received a grant from a private donor
for $1,500, which was used to buy over 100
juvenile and young adult books from PermaBound. The library greatly appreciates First
Book Marketplace, Walmart and its private
donor for their support of our children. (Above:
Woodville patrons enjoying new books.)