Thursday, September 27, 2007

Room to Read


I just read "Room to Read: Bringing Books to the World", an article by Laurie Snyder on MSN.com. Room to Read is a San Francisco-based non-profit dedicated to raising literacy rates in developing countries. It was founded by John Woods, a former Microsoft executive who was inspired to quit his job and start helping others while on vacation in Nepal. According to the organization's website, Room to Read has helped more than 1.3 million children in developing countries. It has established 3,800 libraries, built 287 schools, published about 150 children's book titles in local languages, created 136 computer and language labs, and funded 3,448 long-term scholarships for girls, which pay for tuition, school supplies and uniforms. Room to Read has projects in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam and plans to expand to other countries. Room to Read is also a member organization of the Clinton Global Initiative. Pretty amazing stuff!

New Logo for The School Library Tiger

The School Library Tiger has a new logo. This is my virgin attempt at Photoshop, but being a good future librarian I wanted to have an image that wasn't infringing on anybody's copyright. I got the original tiger photo from flickr.com courtesy of "seeks2dream" and the book box image from "ukslim". Both were available for use and "remix" through a creative commons license. In Photoshop, I used a filter on the tiger image and then cut and pasted the two images together, colored and drew a bit, added text and volia! Not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with my new logo for this blog!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library


I like books. And I like Dolly Parton. She's a talented woman and an amazing songwriter and musician. Some people can't get past the boobs and 9 to 5, but I'm getting off track. The point is, if I hadn't found myself at Dollywood one steamy summer day in the Great Smoky Mountain region of Tennessee, I wouldn't know about her book thang. Umm...The Dolly Parton Imagination Library to be more specific. She had this idea to give a book each month to every child born in her home county from birth to age five. It's a pretty nifty idea, I think. You can find out more, including how to start this in your own community at http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/howworks.php.

And if you want to hear a different side of Dolly, check out my two favorite albums of hers: The Grass is Blue and Little Sparrow. And that means you! You'll like it, trust me.

Readin' Owl


Today I returned from a 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday class session for my Collection Management course at San Jose State University. It was a good class, and I learned stuff, but hey, I had to get up at 6-something on a Saturday, even before my 3 year-old daughter deems it civilized to get up on the weekend. I had to skip breakfast, hit Kinko's (to make copies for a little presentation I had to give in class), and drive in the rain to San Jose. Well, okay, no one twisted my arm or anything, but it wasn't my first choice for activities at the end of a wickedly busy week. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my husband and daughter waiting out on the stoop for me as I pulled onto Cole Street. And surprise, surprise! They had a present for me! And even better, I really liked it. Dan and Sammy gave me a little stuffed owl reading a book. He even has a little kink in one knee so he can cross them properly while he looks wide-eyed and enthralled in his book. I plan to put him on my desk when I become a real school librarian. He's super cute and reminds me of the 70s, which makes him even cooler. My husband picked him up at Starbucks (okay, 90 percent of the impromptu gifts I get from him are from Starbucks, but I'm not complaining).

Friday, September 21, 2007

Stardust

I just finished reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It. was. wonderful. Everyone has their own preference for reading material, but this is exactly the type of book I love to read. One of the books on my short list of favorites is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it's been a long, long time since I read a book that put me into that same place. Stardust did that for me. Thanks, Neil. Really.

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Library Lion



The Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes is a wonderful picture book. It has an old-timey look and feel, like a 1950s picture book, although it was published in 2006. One day a lion wanders into the library. Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, doesn't seem to mind as long as the lion follows the rules. Soon the lion is making himself quite useful around the library. The patrons and staff are very pleased, except for Mr. McBee at the circulation desk who thinks that lions do not belong in the library. When Mrs. Merriweather has an accident the lion is forced to break the rules to save her. The moral of the story? Sometimes it's necessary to break the rules, even in the library.

I love the story and illustrations in this book. I also thought that it would be a great book for library media teachers to use to introduce primary students to the library during the first week of school. It's a fun story and also gets across the message that libraries have rules, but sometimes there are reasons for speaking above a hush. I want my future school library to be an orderly place, but also a vibrant and fun one, where students don't always have to whisper. This book could start a good discussion about how students should behave in the library and how this might change depending on the activity at hand.

What's in a Name?

Why the "School Library Tiger"? Well, I like tigers. When I was teaching I had a lot of tiger stuff in my classroom. Students found out I liked tigers and over the years brought me things to add to the collection. And I just discovered a great picture book, The Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen. I kind of combined the two and presto...The School Library Tiger!

First Growl

Hey there! My name is Kathy Teree. I'm a former elementary school teacher who has decided to switch things up a bit and become a school librarian. I'm currently pursuing my MLIS at San Jose State University and hope to be finished with my Library Media Teacher Credential requirements by the end of the spring '08 semester. I'm creating this blog for my LIBR 233 class (School Library Media Centers).

What is my blog, The School Library Tiger, going to be about? Well, I think it will become more clear as I go (to both you and me!). Basically, right now I'm planning on adding my thoughts on great reads for kids and teens along with other miscellaneous school library goodies, news, methodology, etc that I may encounter and want to share with others.