Summer Reading Volunteers, 'Utterances', TAB, Teen Tech Week

Hope everyone enjoyed their snow days last week (I know I did!) :)  We're adding prizes and commitments for prizes to our summer stash just about every day at this point--got over $300 in hair products from a local salon just a few hours ago!  We've also got workers and volunteers putting together our registration packets.  Speaking of volunteers--we're looking for a few good ones!  If you've volunteered with us before, Erika should have already called you to see if you're coming back (and tell you about our orientation--which I'll get to in a minute!).  If not, just give us a call--the number is 706-236-4625.  If you've never volunteered and are interested (and are at least 13 years old), come to the Children's Department and ask for an application.  We'll get back to you based on the times you can work and when we need workers--which leads me to to the aforementioned training......

So that all staff and volunteers are on the same page, we'll be doing a mandatory volunteer training for all volunteers this year, whether it's your first year working with us or your fifth.  You'll choose one of five sessions to come to (it will only last about an hour).  The dates are:

Monday, May 4th at 5

Tuesday, May 5th at 5

Wednesday, May 6th at 5

Thursday, May 7th at 3

Saturday, May 9th at 11

When you turn in your application, just let us know which one of these you plan to attend.  If for some reason you can't make any of them, just let us know, and we'll work with you to get you trained before opening day :)

'Utterances' creative writing workshop is tonight from 6:30-8 in the Coosa Room.  Future meetings will be:

Mar. 17

Mar. 31

Apr. 14

Apr. 28

Teen Advisory Board will be this Thursday at 5 PM in the Children's Department office.  We'll be making plans for Teen Tech Week next week, so bring your ideas and a snack to share :)  Just for future reference, our next two meetings will be April 2 and May 7, and we'll figure out whether we're going to meet over the summer and discuss fall meeting times (since several members are involved in activities that have late practices for a few months).  We'll also discuss the possibility of activities in the coming months, so bring your ideas :)

New email on blog

Hi again--I know I just posted, but then I decided to change the email affiliated with the blog to the new address I've just received for the library.  This will send your messages to the address I check most often, and bring questions and the like to my attention a little quicker.  I haven't quite figured out how to hyperlink the new email, but I'm working on it--and in case you can't access the sidebar for some reason, the new address is ldawson@shrls.org

Utterances Is Back!

Got an email from Bailey at Berry the other day--due to popular demand, some of the students are going to hold another 'Utterances' workshop this semester!  The first one will be next Tuesday (the 20th)--still from 6:30-8, still in the Coosa Room.  The meetings will be every other Tuesday after until the end of April (the last one will be on April 28th).    Here's the offical flyer:

Jeanne and I had a great time at the Performer's Showcase last Thursday--we've booked everything for Story Hour this summer--but didn't book any workshops for teens due to low participation the past few years.  There's always a chance that something local might come up before May 26th (aka Opening Day), and I'll keep you posted if it does.  But.......we tentatively have booked a Halloween horror show for teens in October--we'll let you know when it's finalized :)


Remember that TAB meets tomorrow (the 15th) at 7 in the Children's office, and that the library will be closed next Monday (the 19th) in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

TAB next week and Summer

Hi, hope everyone had a great holiday season (and break from school!) Our time before the break was dominated by moving everything (almost) out of the Children's Department so we could get new carpet and shift everything around.

Now that it's mostly taken care of (the big stuff anyway),  we're gearing up to start our preparations for the Summer Reading Program--the YA theme this year is 'Unmask!', and the general theme is heroes. We're getting our contact list ready for donation requests (how we get most of the prizes we give away in our weekly drawings!) and tomorrow Jeanne and I will be going to Fayetteville, GA for the South Metro Performer's Showcase--which is exactly what it sounds like--an opportunity to watch different performers that we might be able to get for shows this summer.  We usually try to book at least one or two for teens for afternoon shows--hopefully we'll be able to get some really good performers for all of you :)

Because the showcase is two hours away and starts so early, I'm making the executive decision to move TAB from this week until next week, the 15th, so that we'll have a chance to go through all the information we're given and get an idea of some of the performers that might work for teen shows.

Also, I'm considering changing the meeting time to something earlier, if it works for everyone.  Some of our members have marching band or sports practices in the fall, but at least for now, there's not as much going on after school.  If we could meet from 5-6, that would get everyone home sooner--which would be great since it's starting to get really cold!

Hope to see everyone who's available next Thursday for our meeting--bring your ideas for summer activities, Teen Read Week, or anything else you can think of :)

December Events and Book Review

Wow--didn't realize I haven't updated the blog in almost three weeks!

First of all, library business:  we'll close at 6 this Wednesday (November 26th) and then be closed Thursday the 27th for Thanksgiving.  We'll reopen Saturday at 10 with regular hours (until 5).  We'll also be closing at 6 next Tuesday (Dec. 2) for the Rome Christmas Parade--which leads to.....

"Utterances" (the teen creative writing workshop hosted by Berry College students).  The original date for the final workshop was Tuesday the 2nd--but since it doesn't start til 6:30, the library's closing at 6, and traffic downtown will be awful, we've rescheduled to Wednesday, December 3rd--still 6:30-8PM, still in the Coosa Room :)

The following day, Thursday, December 4th, will be our next TAB meeting--7PM in the Children's Department office.  We'll have some type of snack (I'm open to suggestions!) and do things like:

*Choose a logo design contest winner (if you want to enter, there's still time--just make sure your submission is in by closing on Saturday, November 29th).

*Finalize the plans for our Teen Christmas Party on Saturday, December 13th (from 2-4 PM in the Oostanaula Room).  So far we've got an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest, White Elephant gift exchange, and cookie decorating.  We were going to do classic Claymation cartoons in the background, but the screen and projector are in the Coosa Room, which is already booked.  At our last meeting, we also talked about doing cards for soldiers--I'll look into that and see what I can do :)  Any other ideas you have, bring them on!




Now for the book review--this one comes courtesy of Hailey, age 12.  Her review is on 'The Fault in Our Stars'.  She gave it 5 stars.

"The book was about a girl who had cancer and she meets a guy and they become best friends. I liked it because it had a lot of detail to it and it was sad at the same time."

I had to take a line out of her review because it's a huuuuuge spoiler--but she recommends it for a sixth grader :)


I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving!

'Utterances' and TAB

The second 'Utterances' workshop is tomorrow, November 4th, from 6:30-8 in the Coosa Room.  If you didn't make it last week, no worries--come this time and join in the fun (and work toward your NaNoWriMo goals!)  Can't make it this week?  Next week's workshop will be next Thursday November 13th, since the library will be closed Tuesday the 11th for Veterans' Day and staff inservice day.  Same time, same place, different day of the week :)

Our next Teen Advisory Board meeting is this Thursday, November 6th, at 7PM in the Children's Department office.  We'll have a hot chocolate bar and make plans for a possible December activity, as well as an entry for the Summer Reading Program's nationwide video contest.  Come and bring a friend :)

1st 'Utterances' tomorrow!

The first 'Utterances' creative writing workshop presented by Berry College will be tomorrow from 6:30-8 in the Coosa Room.  It's for students in grades 9-12, and all materials are provided at no cost.  If you can't join tomorrow, no worries--it's a drop-in thing that you can come to once or as many times as you'd like.  The other meetings will be on November 4th (next Tuesday), November 13th (it's a Thursday, since we're closed on Tuesday the 11th for Veterans' Day/staff in-service).

To get to the Coosa Room, you can either a.) come to the Children's Department and cut through the theater or b.) take a left when you first come into the library--then another left and a right--the Coosa room is straight ahead and to the left.

In other news, our next Teen Advisory Board meeting is next Thursday, November 6th at 7PM in the Children's Department office.  We'll be judging entries for our logo design contest (if we have any by then) and possibly making plans for a national summer reading program organization's Teen Video Challenge--the theme is 'Unmask' (since the program theme is superheroes).  Bring your ideas and join us for a hot chocolate bar and other goodies!