August 2008 Calendar / News / Book Awards / Professional Reading / Website MARK YOUR CALENDAR Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians

BAYA Workshop on Teen Readers Advisory:
Many library employees, whether you are the children's librarian, adult reference staff, or do everything at a small branch, are asked for book recommendations by teens. Dr. Joni Bodart of San Jose State's library school will head up a workshop on Readers Advisory for teens. This is not for Young Adult librarians only, but for any staff member who serves teens. The workshop will be held on Thurs., October 23, 2008, 9:30am-12:30 at the San Leandro Public Library, 300 Estudillo Ave. Go to www.baya.org to preregister for $20; registration at the door will be $25.

Borchert, Don. FREE FOR ALL: ODDBALLS, GEEKS, AND GANGSTAS IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Virgin Books, 2007. $21.95. ISBN 9781905264124.

Scott, Douglas. QUIET PLEASE: DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN. DeCapo Press, 2008. $25.00. ISBN 9780786720910.

Two books were recently published that have a lot in common - both are nonfiction memoirs on working in a public library in Southern California. On the surface, the biggest difference is that Borchert doesn't have an MLIS and Scott does, but they do similar duties and have had similar experiences. The biggest difference to me is that they are of different generations: Borchert is probably in his 50's and Scott is about 30.

Borchert had several other jobs from aerospace to restaurants, before applying for a civil service job at the South Bay Library System, a suburb near Los Angeles. He has worked there for over twelve years, working his way up from shelver and clerk to the reference desk in a branch library, where every employee learns to do everything.

Borchert's stories are witty and very believable; many of us have had similar experiences, with the homeless, latchkey kids, and with fellow employees. I didn't hear Borchert's talk at the recent ALA conference but I imagine it was laugh-filled, as he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. He does love libraries, though, and believes they are vital to the community.

Scott also believes that libraries are vital; his book has a more serious underlying tone although he also recounts funny incidents. But Scott talks about the time his branch was closed for renovation, and he was transferred, and the effect that had on the community. Scott also recounts his experience at library school and some of the illogical classes and professors he took at San Jose State while working on his MLIS. Scott works at the Anaheim Public Library. Even though Scott is younger than Borchardt, he sounds more jaded.

Each author devotes at least one chapter to the summer reading program; if you only have time to dip into each book, read those chapters. Borchart talks about the children who cheat to win the incentives, but you can tell he still thinks a summer reading program is worth the effort. Scott talks about reading to a class, which turns out to be his favorite activity even though he didn't think he would like working with children. Scott also tells a great story about a teacher who drops the kids in the library and hangs out in the parking lot, something many of us have experienced!

FREE FOR ALL is Borchert's first published writing. On the other hand, Scott has written for McSweeney's magazine, and writes a blog. He studied writing in college, and you get the impression that working in a library is a stepping stone to being a full-time writer for him.

Often during the busy days of the summer reading program many of us feel burned out; reading either or both of these books was actually uplifting, and “recharged” my spirit. One thing both books talked about a length was the fact that libraries are taken over by middle schoolers from 3-6pm every day; when will communities realize that moms work now, so kids need a place to go after school? And maybe the library isn't the best place for them to go?

Both books are well worth the time to read and really validated a lot of what many of us feel about libraries, books, computers, and kids and teens.
Penny Peck,
San Leandro PL

Rogak, Lisa. A BOY NAMED SHEL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN. St. Martin's Press, 2007. $24.95. ISBN 978-0312353599.

Shel Sivlerstein wasn't the "cuddly" children's poet many people think of; he had a personality bigger than life and didn't really like kids. This anecdotal biography achieves a nice balance by discussing his many career paths, his work, and his personal life. Fans of his work (and pop culture in general) will find it interesting.

The author recounts Silverstein's youth in middle America as the child of immigrants who could never please his father. Then the narrative goes into his time in the military where he was a cartoonist, which led to a job doing cartoons for Playboy magazine and living at Hef's mansion. Silverstein also lived on a houseboat in Sausalito, and other houses in several cities in the U.S. He also travelled quite a bit throughout the world until some injuries forced him to slow down.

There are a few chapters devoted to his work as a writer and illustrator for children, and his work with his editor Ursula Nordstrom at HarperCollins. These passages will be of special interest to children's librarians. According to many accounts Silverstein did not like to change his work once it was complete even though some poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light In the Attic proved problematic with censors.

Just as interesting were the sections on his success as a songwriter. Did you know he wrote Johnny Cash's hit A Boy Named Sue or The Unicorn, a big hit for the Irish Rovers? That part of the book was fascinating; he wrote several songs, not all of them comedic, that you might have heard of. He was even nominated for an Oscar for "Best Song," for a song he wrote for Postcards from the Edge that Merle Streep sings at the end of the movie. Of course, Silverstein didn't go to the ceremony - he didn't want to wear a tuxedo.

If you are a fan of Silverstein's work, or of popular culture, this breezy biography was an entertaining read.

Saroj Ghoting is one of the national trainers for the Every Child Ready to Read @ your library initiative from ALA and the co-author of Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library which seeks to give librarians the tools to incorporate early literacy information for adults into storytimes.

She recently added a feature to her website earlylit.net called "Storytime Share" (under the Storytime menu tab). This feature allows two things:

• a. early literacy skill
• b. age level
• c. storytime element (book, fingerplay, songs, etc)
• d. your name
• e. your library system

Because Storytime Share can be searched by name and library system, this offers a number of options.