I don't know everything, but...

Yesterday, I was contacted by an old friend that wanted to ask a sensitive question of me.  I'd like to think that I'm an open book and I said yes without hesitation, just interest. The friend wanted to know about my stillborn Caleb because she'd just learned that her niece had miscarried twins.  She wanted to know what my advice was on walking through that experience and if I had any tips or regrets on things to do. I can't have those conversations without tears, but it's not painful in the way you might think. When driving away from the hospital after Caleb had been released to the funeral home, I was broken, but a couple things were clear... ....telling my husband that this event wasn't allowed to tear us up because I wasn't willing to lose any part of a relationship after losing a baby. .... feeling completely empty because you spend months carrying a baby and then it's just gone.  In late-term pregnancy, everyone can tell you're expecting

There are many hard things about being a book lover, but one of the hardest things is that you expect everyone else to love them too.  Getting lost in the stacks, wandering the shelves, reading a dozen summaries before selecting a title that has to go home with you... I guess I just assume that everyone has that capability. They don't. They judge books by their covers.  They put them back because the character has a weird name.  They don't even touch them because they look too long. The list goes on and on. When thinking about marketing the collection, my most basic advice is: Show off covers.  When possible, let your patrons see the cover, not just the spine. Put your hot, new titles in their own spot.  Our patrons always start there. Take a tip from bookstores and stick bookmark recommendations or flags on titles. Change out your displays with catchy or funny themes. Play games with titles and challenge your patrons to explore your collection through fun. Hide sea

I don't know everything, but I like to pretend I do. On the topic of LGBTQ, banned, or otherwise "questionably" characterized books, my response is very uniform: buy a sticker, mark the book, put it on the ding-dong shelf with books of that same reading level.  Some libraries in my area have moved to a subject grouping for their children's books.  I feel that this can be very helpful for small hands that know what they want to read about, but might not fully understand the traditional organization by author and they benefit from subject grouping.  I'm not even a little interested in implementing that at my library.  I'm not a coddler-- I'd prefer to spend some time helping kids learn the discovery of searching for books and navigating the system.  To the parents that are upset that books like I am Jazz  are on our kids' shelves, let me publicly state my belief that your child reading about differences won't make them transgender or gay or bi-sexual

No. The simple and truthful answer is NO. Literature is art.  Literature is beautiful and diverse and nuanced.  If this class has brought anything to resounding light it is that the many genres have common elements, but are diverse in nature and appeal to different people in different ways. That is beautiful. Much like every snowflake is different, every written work offers something new (even ding-dong Twilight that was then changed up to 50 Shades of Grey that was then twisted into the eye-twitching Crossfire series by Sylvia Day-- yes, I said it.). I can reference the ALA Library Bill of Rights ; I can talk about the Freedom to Read statement , but I don't have to.  These documents back up what my mentor taught me, "If you know of a couple patrons that would enjoy a title, buy it." What I LOVE about my job is that I get a true hand in shaping my community and stretching their minds.  Not only by purchasing materials that might challenge their beliefs and teac

Mcmanus, K. M. (2017).  One of us is lying.  New York, NY: Delacorte Press. Goodreads. (n.d.).  One of us is lying.  Retrieved from  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=EzaBwA0tg5&rank=1 Goodreads. (n.d.). Books similar to One of us is next . Retrieved from  https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/64239187-one-of-us-is-next Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J.G. (2019).  The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction  (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: ALA Editions.

T HE READERS’ ADVISORY MATRIX FOR: MAUI REVEALED: THE ULTIMATE GUIDEBOOK , BY ANDREW DOUGHTY 1.       Where is the book on the narrative continuum? o     Highly Narrative (reads like fiction) ✅    A mix (combines highly narrative moments with periods of fact-based prose) o     Highly fact-based ( has few or no narrative moments) 2.       What is the subject of the book? This is a detailed travel guide on the   island of Maui, written by a long-time resident. 3.       What type of book is it?    A travel guide. 4.       Articulate Appeal What is the pacing of the book? Despite its 311-page length, this book is a relatively quick read, mixing quick tips with interesting tid-bits.  It’s easy to hop around, making selective reading easy. Describe the characters of the book. The main character and the focus of the book is Maui, all it has to offer, how to navigate it, what to look for to help the island come to life before you see it. How does the story fe