Sass and Serendipity: Take the poll!

Please welcome ShelfConsumed's very first guest blogger, YA author Jennifer Ziegler! 

Jenny is the adorable author of How Not to be Popular, a 2009 Texas Lone Star reading list selection.  Recently a fellow librarian and I ran into her at the TLA conference, and she asked our opinion about the cover of her new book, Sass and Serendipity.  "I love the cover," Jenny remarked, "But I don't know which girl represents Gabby (Sass) and which one is Daphne (Serendipity)."

Since I'm obsessed with the covers of books, I love Jenny's idea of a poll in which you, the readers, get to cast your vote as to which sister is the one in the purple dress with the crossed ankles. 

Let the fun begin!

Jennifer Ziegler writes...
Growing up, I hated having a sister. My sister Amanda spied on me and tattled on me and took my stuff without asking. She even once pulled a knife on me. (It was a round-tipped butter knife and all she did was threaten – but still!)

Amanda and I shared a bedroom from the day our brother Jason was born until the day I left for college. It was tough not having my own space where I could keep my stuff – and my secrets – safe and sound.

Now that we’re both adults, Amanda and I are the best of friends. It’s comforting to have someone who understands you so well … who knows what worries you and what cheers you …who can pick out the perfect gifts and YouTube clips to pass along to you … who can recall the exact face Dad made the day he discovered the petrified piece of something in your brother’s room and then laugh about it with you.

Back when I was sixteen and yelling at Amanda that I wish she’d been taken home from the hospital by a different family – preferably a gypsy family who roamed far away from our house – I never would have guessed that someday I would miss her and want to see her more often. But I do.

My relationship with Amanda was a big source of inspiration for my new novel, SASS & SERENDIPITY, which comes out July 12. The book is about Gabby and Daphne Rivera, two sisters who live in a present-day small Texas town. Gabby is the older one. She is sassy and super-responsible and believes that “true love” is just an excuse for people to go crazy. Daphne, the younger sis, is an optimistic daydreamer who believes that any guy could potentially be “the one.” It was a joy to write and I’m very proud of the results.

One of the last steps in creating a book is the concept for the cover art. As the author, I can have input on the cover, but I don’t design it. Mainly what I do is cross my fingers and hope that the art department at my publishing house will “get” my book and create an image that evokes both the theme and mood of my story. Happily, they did both with this design. In my view, it perfectly captures the classic-meets-modern, silly-meets-romantic, sweet-meets-edgy atmosphere of my novel.

But one detail isn’t clear on the front cover: Whose feet are whose? Do the crossed ankles of the sister in the purple dress belong to Daphne – the one who believes in romance, true love and serendipity? Or do they belong to sassy, dependable, no-nonsense Gabby?

I’ve decided to let readers decide. What do you think? Please cast your vote and help me decide which girl is which.

Help! Who do the crossed feet belong to?

Gabby (SASS) or Daphne (SERENDIPITY)?

QuestionsView Results

Working on your "to don't" list

Other people's "to do" lists fascinate me. Many people simply jot a list of tasks on a legal pad and mark them off when finished. Others have elaborate systems involving color-coded pens, multiple notebooks, and grids.

I quit writing a "to do" list a year or so ago when I realized a) it was depressing, and b) I was spending time on the "to do" list that I could actually be spending "to doing" instead. But that's another post.

You may not be ready to give up your "to do" list, but some management geniuses think you should work on a "to don't" list.

Come again?

In a fantastic piece this week, Daniel Pink draws from the ideas of Tom Peters and Jim Collins to suggest that we could improve our work with a "to don't" or "stop doing" list. Some of my colleagues have been talking about a similar idea of selective abandonment. Selective abandonment!

In other words, what things can you just not do anymore?

*Things that cause you to lose focus (Tom Peters)
*Things that cause you to be busy but not productive (Jim Collins)
*Things that cause you to spend less time doing good work & on the people you care about (Daniel Pink)

In regard to the library, I would also add the following:

*Things that take time away from helping kids and teachers
*Things that serve as a roadblock to kids or that make the library less welcoming
*Things that misplace the focus of the program

Below are a few items that I would encourage you to consider for your "to don't" list:

*Fines (punitive; sends the wrong message; a hassle)
*Overdue notices (ditto)
*Library orientation (wastes valuable time on procedures & stuff kids won't remember)
*Passes & signing in (your administrator may require this, but if not, why do you?)
*Fixed library schedule (ditto)
*Lessons in isolation (i.e. here's how to use the databases for LATER; not how we learn)
*Assigning the task of checking out to library staff (more efficient and empowering to allow kids to cko)

What would you add to the list?

As with goals, lists become real when we write them down. Why not begin your "to don't" list for the library today?

Counting the cost of librarian job losses

Early this morning I received an email from the Texas Association of School Librarians (TASL) listserv.  Carolyn Foote, a high school librarian near Austin, TX, has created a Google map to pinpoint job losses of librarians, library aides, and library directors in Texas.

When I first opened the map this morning, it was basically blank.  This afternoon it is a sea of blue pin points, and I'm sure more will follow.  It is heartbreaking.

It is heartbreaking to consider the hundreds of persons who will be out of work. 
It is heartbreaking to consider the hundreds of schools that will be without library services.
It is heartbreaking to consider how many years it will take to rebound from these cuts.

And most of all, it is heartbreaking to consider the thousands of kids who won't have a librarian. 
Who will hand these kids that one book that turns them into readers for life?
Who will show these kids how to be fluent in this information age?

The cost of these jobs is devastating on so many levels and for so many years to come.

Spring for PoetryTagTime

With the arrival of April, spring and poetry are in the air.  An exciting way to celebrate both is with the very first electronic-only poetry anthology, PoetryTagTime.  In this delightful offering for kids of all ages, 30 poets create new poems in a "tag-you're it" fashion.

Jack Prelutsky, Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Douglas Florian, Helen Frost, Jane Yolen, X.J. Kennedy, Paul B. Janeczko, and a host of others share a poem as well as the inspiration from the previous poet that sparked the idea.

The idea for the anthology is the creative work of Dr. Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, and poetry lovers will want to explore both their sites for fabulous poetry resources.  PoetryTagTime is available on Amazon or bn.com for only .99, and the format looks great on both my iPhone and iPad.

Spring for PoetryTagTime and share a poem and a special moment with your favorite kiddo today.

How to make a parent's day AND advocate for your library in one simple step

Sometimes a simple idea is best.  It's great to have a ton of ideas, but we're busy.  And overwhelmed.  And maybe stressed.  So if we could simplify, I'm betting no one would object.

Yesterday one of our wise librarians shared with me that as things get increasingly harried and fragmented, she copes with these multiple demands by streamlining.  She consciously steps back, identifies what is most important in her library, and then focuses on one or two things.  And because she is wonderful, these one or two things involve helping kids love reading and learning.  When she loses focus, she asks herself if the task at hand relates to her priorities.

Simplify.  Streamline.

In an earlier post I listed ten ideas to advocate for our libraries. In an effort to channel the advice of my smart friend, I'd like to feature one idea that several of our fabulous librarians have implemented.

Make one positive parent call a day. 

It takes only a couple of minutes.  Choose a student that you've had a special interaction with that day or one that may need a little affirmation.  The nervous flutter of calling a parent will dissipate once you find out how amazing it feels to make a parent's day.  And calling home isn't just for the little ones.  There's no age limit on feeling good.

The librarian I mentioned has recently started calling a parent each day with terrific results.  She left a voicemail for one parent at work telling the mom what a great kid her son is and how fun it is to work with him.  The mom called the librarian back and said, "I just wanted to hear you say those nice things about my son one more time.  Would you tell me again?"

"The Mind of a Researcher: Keith Curry Lance," is a great article from the April 2010 issue of Teacher Librarian about the critical role of a librarian. After 20 years of gathering data on the effectiveness of school libraries, Lance notes that the message still isn't being heard.  Why?  Lance feels that when we advocate for our own programs, it often sounds self-serving. 

And who does Lance believe are our best advocates?  Parents.

So today I challenge you to adopt the simple idea of making one positive parent phone call each day.  In this small act of kindness you will make the day of a parent and advocate for your library in one simple step.

And one small action can be powerful. 

If you call one parent a day x 180 days of school, that's 180 parents firmly in your corner.  We have 49 librarians in our district.  If each one would call one parent per day x 180 days, we would have 8,820 parents supporting our library program by the end of the year.

And if every school librarian called one parent every day...

Pass the word.

Cool tool for conference connections

Our great Texas Library Association conference is right around the corner.  Two of the best things about conference are reconnecting with old friends and making new acquaintances of librarians, publishers, and authors.

When you attend TLA or other conferences, be sure to take a stack of business cards to exchange with these folks. You may also want to download a fab app called WorldCard.

WorldCard automatically creates a new contact in your smart phone from a picture that you take of a business card.  Among other useful features is the ability to connect with your contacts on social media sites such as Twitter if that info is provided.

Now that's a cool tool for making conference connections!

Mind your Ps and Qs

A new little quilt shop has recently opened down the street from our neighborhood.  I'm fascinated by this because I didn't realize enough people still quilt to support a new business. 

The name of it is "Mind Your Ps and Qs," which I don't really get either.  If the Q stands for quilt, what's the P stand for?  Is this some quilting expression? 

This started me thinking about the odd expression of minding one's Ps and Qs.  Wikipedia offers several explanations for the saying, but the one that makes most sense to me dates back to the days of printing presses when a printer would need to take care not to mix up the letters p and q when typesetting.  He would literally need to mind his ps and qs.

Of course all roads lead to the library for me, so I quickly started thinking what Ps and Qs librarians might need to mind.

How about these?

Mind your Ps:
Libraries are about people.
Librarians must remain positive, even in tough times.
Patrons (of all ages) are our priority.

Mind your Qs:
Questions are always valued.
Quality trumps quantity.
Be quick to serve with a spirit of helpfulness.

Mind your Ps and Qs, librarians, so our libraries are part of the essential fabric of our schools!

Save the time of the user OR How to email efficiently

We all get tons of email, so I've compiled a few ideas to help us be more efficient.

1. Before you send an email to a group, be sure that it applies to the whole group. If it does not, only email the persons to whom it is applicable.

2. Rarely “reply all.” Instead, reply only to the original recipient or to the person to whom it is applicable.

3. At the risk of being redundant, rarely “reply all.” As Ranganathan says, “Save the time of the user!”

4. Make sure that your subject line matches the email’s content. One subject per email is best.

5. When replying to someone, be sure your reply matches their subject line. If you’re changing the subject, change the subject line.

6. If you have more than one point to make, enumerate for easier reading.

7. Use short paragraphs.

8. Read over your email before you hit send. How’s the tone? Do you have errors? Is your meaning clear?

9.  Bcc yourself if you need a copy.  Keep your inbox cleaned out so it can serve as a "to do" list.

10. If email takes over your day, close it while you're working on other projects and only open it at the beginning of the day, before lunch, and before you leave for the evening.

Tough times? Here we go!

The Superbowl is next week, and the commercials have already started.  One batch of ads features eager guys and gals gearing up for sporting or social events with the rally cry of, "Here we go!"

With all the tough education finance news we're hearing lately, it's time for librarians to gather around a rally cry and forge ahead.

It's not pretty out there.  In Texas, our friends in Austin ISD are facing cuts of 22 secondary librarians.  In Grand Prairie ISD, librarian and tech positions are being combined, leaving these persons to reapply for the "new" jobs which will number about one-third of previous jobs.  Funding for K-12 databases and other valuable library programs is in danger.

In response, listservs have been abuzz. Some librarians have felt the need to complain in this very public venue about a variety of unrelated topics.  We've heard about the hardwood floor in one superintendent's office, how coaches aren't being fired, and how much time our schools spend in state testing. 

None of this is doing our cause any good.  It's uninformed, unprofessional, and unproductive. Sure we're worried and upset, but let's focus our energies on positive action.

Ready?

1.  Send a brief email or make a call to your legislator.  Briefly summarize how librarians make a difference in student achievement.  Need data?  School Libraries Work  is excellent.

2.  Meet with your principal briefly every month.  Bring a one-page sheet to leave with your administrator that focuses on how your library program impacts student achievement (See a trend?)  This may include circulation stats, the number of classes in the library that month, how many times you've collaborated with teachers (formally or informally), and specific examples of research and instruction in the library that helps kids.  Share new ideas.  Enlist support.  Ask for their feedback.

After the meeting, email to thank the administrator for their support and include an electronic copy of your info that may also include pictures of programming and instruction, and links to your blog or other things you want to share. 

A note about meeting with your administrator.  Many librarians have said they skip this meeting because, a) their principal is really busy, b) it makes them uncomfortable, or c) they don't know what to say.  This meeting is critical.  Don't skip this important chance to let your principal know how you make a difference with kids.  Don't assume he/she knows what you do and the impact of your program.

3.  Get to know your teachers.  One of our librarians eats with a different grade level each week.  Another has started a teacher book club.  Ask the ones who really collaborate with you to tell their peers.  Ask the ones you never see what they need.  Provide specific ways you can help in case they can't think of anything!

4.  Involve parents.  Remember when you were a teacher and you called parents occasionally just to say something great about their child?  Do the same as a librarian.  "Hello, Mrs. Smith?  I'm Tim's librarian, and I just wanted you to know what a great reader he is." 

5.  Participate actively in professional library organizations. 

6.  Have a professional web presence.

7.  Volunteer to serve on campus and district-level committees.  Once you're there, be positive and look for opportunities to advocate for libraries.

8.  Serve on curriculum writing-committees for the district and work to ensure that the library/librarian are mentioned specifically in curriculum plans.  For example, the implementation phase could say something like, "Work with your librarian to..."

9.  Be about kids.  Everything you do should focus on helping kids. 

10.  Do more.  Know more.  Be more.

Tough times?  We're ready to face them.  Here we go!

Not quite burned out but crispy around the edges OR how to get back to the job you love

The other day someone said that January is turning into another October, and if you're in the school business I probably don't have to explain what that means.  It's nuts around here!  Take that crazy busy-ness, add in a dose of winter blahs, and you may be feeling a little stressed.

This put me in mind of the fabulous title of a book Sharon Draper has written for teachers, Not Quite Burned Out but Crispy Around the Edges.  Draper came to our community-wide book festival a few years back, and teachers and kids alike loved her.

I also read a great article from the January/February 2011 Library Media Connection a couple of days ago called "Avoiding School Librarian Burnout: Simple Steps to Ensure Your Personal Best."  Author Margaux DelGuidice does an awesome job of offering ideas, and I would encourage you to read what she has to say.

Ditto for "A Refreshing Conversation" by Thomas R. Hoerr in the March 2010 Educational Leadership (Thanks, Carol!)

So with thanks to Draper, DelGuidice, and Hoerr, below are a few tips on coping with burnout:

1.  What do you love about your job?  Choose a couple of things and focus your time and energies on them, especially while you're feeling stressed.

2.  Slow down.  I know.  Like this is going to happen.  But you can start small.  Instead of race walking to the bathroom, walk at a normal pace.  Breathe while walking.

3.  Eat lunch.  Honestly, will it make a giant difference if you eat your sandiwch while standing up? Even on the busiest of days you can take five minutes to sit down, rest your feet, and actually chew your lunch.

4.  Cut down on multi-tasking.  Admittedly this is about as futile as limiting sugar intake, but try multi-tasking only on the little things that don't really matter.  With the important things such as helping a student find a book he will enjoy, focus your full attention.  Both of you will benefit.

5.  Cultivate relationships.  The few seconds it takes to stop and chat with a friendly co-worker will not only lower your blood pressure but could be the basis of a new collaborative effort.

6.  Mix it up!  Do new things OR do old things in new ways.  I have a friend whose new year's resolution is to do 11 new things in 2011.  My dad occasionally writes with his left hand just to work out the other side of his brain.

7.  Put at least one thing on your Stop Doing List.  Really.  Just let it go.

8.  Don't mix work and your free time so much.  Is it a self-imposed deadline?  Go home and complete the task when you're feeling fresher.

9.  If you must take work home or stay late, give yourself a little reward for being so good.  You deserve it!

10.  Step back and remember why you love what you do.  You make a difference!