My favorite holiday is coming up soon, and I'm sure you can tell by today's blog title what it is. Halloween!
This year, I am in a unique place to celebrate... the library. I have lots of plans already in the works, but I will need a little assistance from the community of Sleepy Eye! We are always accepting donations, but in particular we will be in need of the following to make the month of October extra spooky: Halloween Decorations, Party Supplies, and most of all CANDY! If you have any questions about if we will accept something, don't be afraid to stop in, call, or comment on this post!
First off, there will be tons of Halloween Stickers to go around!! We have a sticker bowl at the circulations desk, and children are welcome to take one every time they visit the library!
All of my storytime themes during October will be Halloween themed, and all children attending are welcome to dress in costume, relating to the theme or not! I have a scary prize for each child who does! *CAcKLe, caCklE* By the way, after each storytime activity, I give out a sticker! Storytime is every Friday at 10 am, and all ages are welcome!
Movie Night is USUALLY the last Friday of every month, BUT Halloween this year is on the last SATURDAY, and I am going to take FULL advantage. We will be hosting a 'HALLOWEEN MOVIE MANIA"! Buh, Buh, BUuUuUuh! 4 MOVIES! Starting every other hour at Noon! Movie #1 will be rated G. Movie #2+3 will be rated PG. Movie #4 will be rated PG-13. This way we have a movie for EVERYONE! No doubt about it! You will be seeing more about this event as it draws near, so be sure to watch our Facebook page!
So in the spirit of taking full advantage of Halloween, Saturday we plan on turning the old part of the library into a 'Haunted Library'! (That is were donations will be needed most!) We will have candy for trick-or-treating, and snacks and treats for our Movie Mania attendees!
We want to offer the community a safe, family friendly Halloween option that is also full of spooky fun!
See you on Halloween................. Mwahahahahah!
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Friday, September 11, 2015
Want To Be A Writer
So I have to admit, my favorite class in school was always Math. My senior year of high school can attest to this! I took 3 Math classes, all of which were year long courses, and only 1 was an actual required credit, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable!
If I'm going to be completely honest, I always dreaded walking into English, the course that is required EVERY year of high school. Now don't get me wrong, I love to read, but out of all the books that we were required to read, I only finished ONE! (It was Whirligig by Paul Fleischman) But it wasn't just the uninteresting reading that got me down, we then had to WRITE about the uninteresting books as well.
I always thought my mom and sisters were crazy. They were always writing, filling notebook upon notebook with stories. Why in the world would they find that fun? Each of them have tote boxes (Yes, I mean that as the plural.) FILLED with notebooks. I don't know if they are all different stories, related stories, or what, but they are there. Evidence of each of their imaginations, and love for writing, fill those notebooks. My sisters have traded in the notebooks (most of the time), for laptops, and tote boxes for external hard drives, but when I see my mom write, she still has a handy-dandy notebook!
At the beginning of this year, I thought of a story. It wasn't the first story I have ever though of, but this time was different. I have a passion for this story. I started writing, each new idea popping up faster than I could type. When I needed encouragement to keep at it, I joined Camp NaNoWriMo. (A suggestion from my sister, who has actively been participating with the organization for many years.)
So now I have a book, which I am currently editing, and I plan to self publish. Its geared towards young adults, and the Lewis Carroll fan club. It wont be my last!
I will explain the blog title a little better, for those of you who do indeed, WANT TO BE A WRITER. But first, there are probably a few of you who read 'NaNoWriMo' and said, HUH? (This stands for National Novel Writing Month, which is November.) This is a "fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing." Starting November 1st, all participants start working on the goal of writing 50,000 words (A Novel) by November 30th. Visit there website to find out more about it --> http://nanowrimo.org/about
This year I have registered our library for the 'Come Write-In' program. This program connects libraries, bookstores, and other community spaces with local NaNoWriMo participants, helping build writing communities!
So... Do you? Want to be a writer, I mean. You can sign up at http://nanowrimo.org/, and watch for postings about our Write-In events here, at the library, and on our facebook page!
If you have any questions, comment here on the blog or stop in and ask! I am looking forward to an eventful November!
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Looking Forward!
It's almost autumn, but it seems like we were just spending our New Years Eve giving the Dyckman Library a makeover, and you should know that we aren't done yet!
We are adding an additional station to our public computers, very soon! Our average daily computer usage is 7+ hours per day, and many days we have all 4 computer stations filled, multiple times a day. We know adding another station will give those too shy to ask for a computer, when they see them all in use, a better chance at getting the resources they need!
A few (probably very few of you) may have noticed that our children's computer is no longer set up in the children's room. The Children's Explorer Computer had very little usage, and limited activities. It was also bulky, and took up as much room as a bookshelf! When we moved it, we replaced the empty space with a bookshelf to display the New Junior Books, as well as Junior's Graphic Novels, Audio Books, and Magazines!
We are in the process of setting up a children's iPad station instead, intended for ages 7 and under. It will be equipped with games that target learning and some that are just for fun! The iPad will not be to "check out", it will remain in the activity table at all times. Each child is welcome to play for 30 minutes, and then we ask that you allow another child(family) to have a turn. Our children's iPad will not be connected to the internet, but we ask that any use of the iPad be supervised by a parent, or responsible adult. Abuse of the activity table, or iPad will be cause for it's removal, so please respect the library, staff, and all it's property.
The Young Adult Corner is in need of a furniture makeover! When we gave the teens their own area, we threw together a few pieces and said "Good enough, for now!". NOW, we are raising funds for new furniture to really finish off the area, and make it welcoming and COMFORTABLE! Our goal (for a new double and single chair) is $1500, and you can help us out by going to www.GoFundMe.com/DyckmanYoungAdult! You will also see a widget to the right, with the direct link to our campaign.
We will keep striving to make Dyckman Free Library the best that it can be and thank everyone who supports us!
We are adding an additional station to our public computers, very soon! Our average daily computer usage is 7+ hours per day, and many days we have all 4 computer stations filled, multiple times a day. We know adding another station will give those too shy to ask for a computer, when they see them all in use, a better chance at getting the resources they need!
A few (probably very few of you) may have noticed that our children's computer is no longer set up in the children's room. The Children's Explorer Computer had very little usage, and limited activities. It was also bulky, and took up as much room as a bookshelf! When we moved it, we replaced the empty space with a bookshelf to display the New Junior Books, as well as Junior's Graphic Novels, Audio Books, and Magazines!
We are in the process of setting up a children's iPad station instead, intended for ages 7 and under. It will be equipped with games that target learning and some that are just for fun! The iPad will not be to "check out", it will remain in the activity table at all times. Each child is welcome to play for 30 minutes, and then we ask that you allow another child(family) to have a turn. Our children's iPad will not be connected to the internet, but we ask that any use of the iPad be supervised by a parent, or responsible adult. Abuse of the activity table, or iPad will be cause for it's removal, so please respect the library, staff, and all it's property.
The Young Adult Corner is in need of a furniture makeover! When we gave the teens their own area, we threw together a few pieces and said "Good enough, for now!". NOW, we are raising funds for new furniture to really finish off the area, and make it welcoming and COMFORTABLE! Our goal (for a new double and single chair) is $1500, and you can help us out by going to www.GoFundMe.com/DyckmanYoungAdult! You will also see a widget to the right, with the direct link to our campaign.
We will keep striving to make Dyckman Free Library the best that it can be and thank everyone who supports us!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Starting A Blog/Reading Pete Hautman
Allysa here! (Librarian at Dyckman Free Library!) This is my first post on the Dyckman Library Young Adult Book Blog! I wanted a place where I can talk about what books I have been reading, and even what is going on here at the library, so I hope that I am not the only one who will ever read these!
I'm not sure how often I will post, but I'm sure they will be shared on our Facebook page whenever I do! So be sure to like our page by going here --> www.facebook.com/DyckmanFreeLibrary
For anyone who doesn't know the name Pete Hautman, which is unfortunate for you, he is a National Award winning author, as well as a Minnesota Book Award winner (a few times over!) If you want to know more about Pete Hautman, himself, go here. -->https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hautman
The first time I read one of Hautman's books, I was in a Young Adult book club in Augusta, WI. We were given the book Godless, and I read its entirety that same night. The story was captivating, and when i was done reading, I wanted to read more of Hautmans work. So next I picked up the book Invisible. It was the same. Another story that hit me right in the feels.
So keep in mind, when I was in YA Book club I was probably 15ish years old.
A few weeks ago, I had the 2016 Summer Reading Program on my mind. Our theme next year is Health & Wellness. This is a hard theme to encourage through books in the YA genre. Mainly, I suppose, because no teenager is going to want to read a 300 page novel about So&So's first visit to the dentist, as we can easily find in picture books for children. So I began thinking outside of the box. A type of wellness that many people don't think about too often, is mental wellness. Then my mind went to Godless and Invisible, both of which dabble in mental health, or recovering mental health, and I said to myself, "Now there is an author that I haven't thought of in a long time!"
So I did what any librarian would have and requested a few books by Pete Hautman, that I have not yet read, as well as Godless and Invisible. When they came in a few days later, I scanned through them, and remembered the ups and downs of the story. It didn't take much scanning to remember the stories clearly! Then I sat down with a new (to me) novel.
Rash by Pete Hautman
I am now 25 years old, and reading the story was just as exciting now as i remember it being 10 years ago. Rash takes place in the far future. In the USSA (United Safer States of America), Bo, is a teenager who can't seem to stay out of trouble. He loses his head over a girl, and ends up "Running like there is a bear on his a**" (<--- that is a quote from the book, I couldn't make this stuff up!)
Who would like this book? Anyone! Especially if you like any of the following: Futuristic, Artificial Intelligence, Sports, Male Leads, Mental Health, and even Dysfunctional Families.
In summary, Pete Hautman is an amazing writer for Teens and Adults alike!
I'm not sure how often I will post, but I'm sure they will be shared on our Facebook page whenever I do! So be sure to like our page by going here --> www.facebook.com/DyckmanFreeLibrary
For anyone who doesn't know the name Pete Hautman, which is unfortunate for you, he is a National Award winning author, as well as a Minnesota Book Award winner (a few times over!) If you want to know more about Pete Hautman, himself, go here. -->https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hautman
The first time I read one of Hautman's books, I was in a Young Adult book club in Augusta, WI. We were given the book Godless, and I read its entirety that same night. The story was captivating, and when i was done reading, I wanted to read more of Hautmans work. So next I picked up the book Invisible. It was the same. Another story that hit me right in the feels.
So keep in mind, when I was in YA Book club I was probably 15ish years old.
A few weeks ago, I had the 2016 Summer Reading Program on my mind. Our theme next year is Health & Wellness. This is a hard theme to encourage through books in the YA genre. Mainly, I suppose, because no teenager is going to want to read a 300 page novel about So&So's first visit to the dentist, as we can easily find in picture books for children. So I began thinking outside of the box. A type of wellness that many people don't think about too often, is mental wellness. Then my mind went to Godless and Invisible, both of which dabble in mental health, or recovering mental health, and I said to myself, "Now there is an author that I haven't thought of in a long time!"
So I did what any librarian would have and requested a few books by Pete Hautman, that I have not yet read, as well as Godless and Invisible. When they came in a few days later, I scanned through them, and remembered the ups and downs of the story. It didn't take much scanning to remember the stories clearly! Then I sat down with a new (to me) novel.
Rash by Pete Hautman
I am now 25 years old, and reading the story was just as exciting now as i remember it being 10 years ago. Rash takes place in the far future. In the USSA (United Safer States of America), Bo, is a teenager who can't seem to stay out of trouble. He loses his head over a girl, and ends up "Running like there is a bear on his a**" (<--- that is a quote from the book, I couldn't make this stuff up!)
Who would like this book? Anyone! Especially if you like any of the following: Futuristic, Artificial Intelligence, Sports, Male Leads, Mental Health, and even Dysfunctional Families.
In summary, Pete Hautman is an amazing writer for Teens and Adults alike!
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