Books with Beat!

Well hello again everybody. Another week has come and gone, and here we are on Friday again.

The life of a programming librarian can include many meetings, and this week started with one. I had a chance to sit down with the secondary education librarians from the Coeur d’ Alene school district. We chatted about the Hayden library’s upcoming October programs and ways to support each other and stay in contact. I love meetings when everybody is on the same page and want to move toward the same goal.

Wednesday brought the Inland Northwest Blood Center bus to the library. The bus has been coming to the library for the past two years, and staff members and patrons have consistently donated blood. This blood drive was the third time I’ve donated on the bus, and the first time I’ve had any problems. The donating went fine, the standing up afterward went fine, the walking to the back of the bus to eat some treats and drink some juice went fine. What didn’t go fine was a couple minutes later when all color literally ran from my face and a snowstorm was playing in front of my eyes. Turns out that donating blood on an empty stomach isn’t a good idea. This is something that I know, but didn’t practice this time. But, the blood center has a few units of my blood, and I have my color back.

Last week, I mentioned a few programs that were coming up in October, and I wanted to expound on them a little bit. Alysun Sanders, a graduate from Lake City High School, has published a book called “Talli’s Tale.” She is going to be at the library on October 15 from 6:30-7:30pm. Although she only has one book published, Alysun has enjoyed writing and telling stories for her entire life. She is going to be discussing being an author, getting published, and writing.

The next Friday, October 22, we are having Airband Awesomeness from 7:00-9:00pm. October 17-23 is Teen Read Week, a national event put on by the young adult arm (YALSA) of the American Library Association every year, and the theme this year is, “Books with Beat.” We were scratching our heads looking for a fun program, and Karen remembered something hilarious that she did when she was in high school. She told me about airband competitions that were held at her school, and I thought that we had to try it. So, pick a song, divide up the parts (vocals, drums, guitar, etc.), and come rock out with nothing but air. My thought is the more you put into it, the more fun it is going to be. So go all out with costumes, hair, makeup, and the style that the band plays in. If you can’t tell, I’m pretty excited about it.

Something else to do with Teen Read Week is the WrestleMania Reading Challenge. This is an event put on by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), Mattel, and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). It involves students from grades 5-12 pledging to read five books between Teen Read Week and April 2011. It also involves students submitting a creative project about literary characters and WWE superstars. The grand prize is ring side seats to WrestleMania 27 in Atlanta! If you are interested come by the library to get the pledge and project sheets, and return them by October 25, 2010.

Don’t want to take up too much more of your time, so I’ll see you on Wednesday.