Zombie in Love

Everyone wants someone to love, even the undead. Meet Mortimer, a dashing young zombie, who is simply looking for another zombie to share his undead life with.

Mortimer has tried being funny, charming, and dashing, but when you dine on brains daily, the girls aren’t lining up around the corner.

Mortimer has finally decided to take out a personal ad with hopes of meeting that special girl. With instructions to meet him by the punch bowl at Cupid’s Ball, will Mortimer finally meet his perfect someone?

 Find out by checking out Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio, a delightful picture book that will have you rooting for this young loveable zombie.   

Thanks to Morgan for this delightful recommendation! She knows how much I love my zombies (and Daniel Craig)

My Name is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee

“My name is Elizabeth! Not Beth, Liz, Lizzie, or even Betsy!” Elizabeth loves her name, it is just perfect for her with its nine letters and the interesting shapes her mouth makes when she says her name. She cannot understand why people want to change it though. In My name is Elizabeth, a young girl named Elizabeth deals with the daily frustration of people trying to shorten her name! I understand this frustration, because ever since the first day of kindergarten people have been trying to change my name. I wonder if Elizabeth’s mother sent her to school with a not saying that her daughter’s name is Elizabeth and if she wanted her called Liz, she would have named her Liz. Maybe that was just my mother then. Elizabeth is quite a character and she is determined to make sure people get her name right! Even if she has to tell them five hundred times…a day!

 

It you would like to take My Name is Elizabeth home with you today, you can place your hold here

Seriously... I'm Kidding

It’s hard to believe that it has been eight years since Ellen DeGeneres’ last book. The comedian/author/ talk show host/music judge/spokesperson/voice of Dory has been everywhere the last couple of years. In Seriously…I’m Kidding, she talks about becoming a Cover Girl model, joining American Idol as a judge, and getting married. There are tons of laugh out loud moments in this book that will have you grinning from ear to ear.  All in all, it’s a cute and quirky read that you will enjoy, especially if you are a fan of her show.  A perfect read if you are in the mood for something light and silly.

Problem Shelf

This is my basket for work. What's in it? Problems. Problems that I need to fix. My basket is overflowing.

Basically, if an item is returned damaged or with a missing part then it goes in my basket. From there I look up the patron info. If it is incomplete I call or email them to let them know that a part is missing. I will hold the item for about a month and if the missing part is not returned they are billed.

If an item is damaged, I decide whether or not to bill the patron. See the plastic bag? They got billed...mainly because their item was starting to mildew and smelled absolutely horrid. If I decide to bill them I charge their account the price of the item and send them a letter. The item also stays on my problem shelf for a month.

This is what I do.

Father knows best....

My dad has been staying with me and I got a whole bunch of DVDs from the library so he will have something to watch, since I don't have cable. This is how the conversation went down....

Dad: You sure did get a bunch of DVDs, but what you need to do is get them before they put the security tags on them so you can copy them. That way whenever you want to watch them they will be on your computer.

Me: Or I could just check them out whenever I want from the library.

Dad: But this way you can have as many as you want

Me: Or I can check out as many as I want from the library.

This form of conversation continued for a few minutes. Oh dad, bless your heart.

Hello real world!

I have made a promise to post more and on a regular basis (you've read this before, right ?)

Well I shall!

So I have officially started my full time librarian position (pause for applause.....thank you!)

I am terribly sad to leave my other position though. I had hoped to be able to work both, but ultimately it did not work out. The FT gig ends at a certain time and that would have me working the other job 2.5 hours a night. They really did try to get me to stay. I even considered working all weekends, but alas I couldn't.

I am very excited to be back at my old library though. Same friendly faces. I feel like the kid with the answers to the test already since I know the general layout and interworkings in the place.

Circulation is quite different from children's and reference. So what exactly am I in charge of? Well I am in charge of billing and damaged in materials. Basically I bill people for damaged materials and contact them for missing. Lovely, right?

I have a basket that sits on my desk (OOOOH, I HAVE A DESK!) and what these items are returned someone puts them into my basket (THAT SITS ON MY DESK) with a note stating the problem.

I promise to post more often, but before I go tonight I will leave you with a blunder on my account.

I had entered a message in about a patron not returning a disc on a patron's record. Later on, after then returned the disc and I went to update their record. I thought I was suppose to change the "M" for message to "N" for note. This way when someone accesses their record the message won't automatically pop up. The note would just remain on the record in case anyone needed to see their history. I was super proud of myself for remembering this until I was randomly checking in a dvd that this patron had a hold on. Up pops, "Do you want to accept the hold for <insert patron's name>" Well instead of "Billy, Jim Bob", up popped "Patron has not returned disc, Jim". FYI, "N" does not mean "Note"....it means "Name" #yeahimdumb

drumroll please.....

I AM NOW A FULL TIME LIBRARIAN





(yes....all caps was necessary). I was offered a full time Circulation position at my old library (I was previously in Children's). I am very excited about this move, even though I hate to leave my current library.



Also, I have signed up for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Plan, which is also quite exciting.

I will update more on everything later (I promise!), but Im not feel so great and I think a good douse of sleep is required.

Thanks to everyone who has been sending positive thoughts my way for the last few months. I truly appreciate everyone's help and encouragement.

Stay Tuned....

Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love

I'm still writing book reviews for my library, but I haven't gotten a chance to post any here. #mybad

Sometimes it is nice to know that even the greatest minds in history have
failed at love. In his new book, Great philosophers who failed at love,
Andrew Shaffer reintroduces us to great historical figures, but with a new
twist. For example, did you know that French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre
adopted his mistress as his daughter? Or that Henry Ward Beecher, one of
the most famous ministers in America, was sued for having “criminal
conversations” with another man’s wife? Shaffer’s book is brimming with
juicy tidbits about scandals, murder, unrequited love, and maybe even a
little mayhem. This light read will make you laugh and make you rethink
everything you have ever been taught about some of the great figures in
history.

Christmas Shopping in September!

And it continues!

Since I am working two jobs, I have to get creative when it comes to Christmas shopping. As I mentioned in the previous post, I have been getting a lot of gifts at 2nd and Charles (ie Heaven) where you take your old DVDs and Books and get store credit for new things. Pretty awesome right? I love it, but I have run out of things to take there for store credit. What to do? I came up with this pretty awesome idea (at least I think so). Since the weather is starting to cool down a lot of people are having yardsales. I have been getting up the last couple of Saturdays and gone hunting for books!

Last week I went to 5 different yardsales and spent a total of $20 on 5 boxes of books. From there I took these books to 2nd and Charles. There were some they couldn't take because they have multiple copies already, but I was given about $75 in store credit. Pretty awesome considering I only spent $20?

Well what about those books they didn't take? I plan to hold onto them until the number of copies they have are down.

So what did I buy?

Well I did a little shopping for myself. The Sandman (vol. 1) by Neil Gaiman and 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff are mine.

63 Documents that the Government doesn't want you to read is for my dad (not sure if he will like it). And Sarah's Key and We're Just Like You, Only Prettier are for my sisters (though I don't know who is getting which....)

Christmas Shopping in August

I am pretty big on doing Christmas shopping early and that is exactly what I did today! Since I am a librarian, my family expects books (like you didn't see that coming!). My mother is not too big on reading because it sucks her in and two days will be missing from her life. But my dad and my older sisters are big readers!

I got four books today at 2nd and Charles (ie Heaven) which is a massive used bookstore in my town. The two on the left are a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories and  World War Z by Max Brooks,which for my sister. She loves the classics and I recently found a collected works of the Bronte sister that is from the same set, which I gave her for her birthday. I'm thinking she will like World War Z, even though I have never read it. But wait, how will I know she will like it? Based on the reviews of my friends, I know that this book is awesome (I just haven't had time to experience said awesomeness).

The two on the right are for my dad. One is With the Old Breed by Sledge, who is an Alabama native. The one of the far right is Where the Bird Never Sings by Sacco. My dad loves nonfiction WWII books (along with Civil War...well now that I think of it, any war really). I haven't read either of these but my boss recommended With the Old Breed and his taste pretty much runs the same as my dad. Where the Bird Never Sings was recommended to me by two of my former coworkers who are both librarians. They both got this book for their dad and told it me it was definitely a successful gift.

Now I need to find some books for my oldest sister, but since she has her ipad to read on, ebooks are more her style now.

A classic

How I killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Think back to 2006. Do you remember the first time you heard that a group
of astronomers had decided that Pluto was not a planet anymore? Remember
that sad feeling of “Oh, poor Pluto” or maybe you got angry and thought,
“Why are they picking on Pluto? What did Pluto do to anyone?” Now you have
someone to blame. Meet Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered “the
tenth planet”, which ultimately led to the downfall of Pluto. In How I
Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, Brown raises the question of what
exactly is a planet. You think that the answer would be simple, but Brown
raises several important arguments that might change your views on the
former planet.   How I killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming made me wish
I had paid more attention in astronomy class in college. Who knew an
astronomer could write so charmingly? By the end of the novel, I was
rooting for Brown’s cause. This story is filled with intrigue,
backstabbing, love, and even a baby. Sandra Tsing Loh said it right when
she wrote, “Mike Brown is the funniest, smartest, and most surprisingly
poetic Caltech astronomer who ever made my daughters cry. Certainly their
happy nine-planet childhoods were worth sacrificing for this truly
fascinating and engaging read.”



Google+

Hello Libraryland Friends,
 Most of you have probably already heard about Google+. I had seen a few little tidbits about it, mostly facebook status saying "Oooooh love Google+." or "Not getting Google+". When I got to work on Tuesday, one of the other librarians was explaining it to some of us. She described it as Skype meets FB. My thoughts? "I don't need another social network to become addicted too." So I decided no Google+ for me.....until I got home and there was an invite waiting on me. Then I promptly joined and have been spending the last few days trying to understand conquer Google+. What have I learned? Not a whole lot, but I am still trying. I spend time today actually doing some research on Google+ from those who have been able to put some key points together.

What I like:

• The Video Chat
• The different circles
• you can see how certain people view your profile
• its not overwhelming
• Its exclusive

Cons?

• Like any new fad, it takes a minute to figure out.
• Not a lot of people have joined so I haven't seen a lot of new information yet.

I did find a need little slideshow that gives you several highlights of Google+, 10 Google+ Tips

Random fact? over 80% of Google+ users, as of right now, are male....

Also, I have noticed that some websites allow for a +1 feature when wanting to share an article. I have added this feature to this blog. Any thoughts on Google+ ?

Boooo Boards

Well in my last post I announced that I would be going from 19 to 29 hours with the new budget. Turns out the board decided not to increase any positions. Definitely bummed, but I am still thankful that my supervisor likes my work and work ethic.

General Updates

Hi Blog World!
  I hope all is well with everyone. Things have been very hectic here lately. I started my new awesome job two months ago. Its a PT position in adult nonfiction at a really big and super awesome library. I love it! Going from a Children's department to Adult was definitely interesting.

So what do I do on a day to day basis? Processing. Just call me a processing fool. Once the Library Specialist (FT ppl) decide where a book goes (ie, Dewey Number, if it belongs in a particular collection) they send the book to me where I
1. Create a spine label
2. Kapco, Spine Tape, or Wrap...if need be.
3. Any other labels such as Reference, Includes Disc, No ILL, New, ....

I really enjoy this part because its easy for me to do and daydream.

I also help answer reference questions and anything else that needs to be done.

Currently I am at 19 hours, but I was just recently informed that starting with the new budget year I will be going to 29 hours and will have a retirement plan. Just after 2 months! Super excited!

Miss me?

Have you been wondering where I have been? Blogger and I have been at war....Today was the first time in over a month that Blogger has let me log in.

More posts to come from Libraryland :)

Things Library School Didn't Teach Me

Just a few things that Library School didn't prepare me for....

1.How to clean the cage of a tarantula

2. How to work a copier (seriously, can I just get a class on how to operate office equipment?)

3. How to change a roll of laminate on a laminator

4. How to deal with the public....particularly the angry public

5. Tornadoes (i.e. policy and how to handle the public)

6. Summer Reading (I don't think anything can really prepare you for this madness, but a little warning would have been nice)

This list will continue to grow over the years. Feel free to add your own!

P.S. Yes, I did have to clean the cage of a tarantula. Children's Departments have pets and their cages have to be cleaned....

New Job!

So I got a new job!

I am not a PT Library Assistant III in my holy grail of libraries.

If you are trying to remember which interview this one was from, it was the last one I post (remember with the really difficult reference questions?)

Anyways, here is how it went down. I got home from the interview....blogged...and took a nap. Well I received a phone call about an hour or so after I got home. I recognized the number as from the library. I thought "I must have left something".

They were calling to let me know that they realized that I was the only applicant that they wanted to hire. They weren't even going to bother with second round interviews ********EEEEEEEKKKKKKK*********

So why are you only hearing about this now? Because it was a conditional hire...meaning I had to pass a drug test (which they sent me to immediately), then a physical (which I took a week later and consisted of the doctor telling me I was alive)....then they had to wait on the results. This all took about two weeks. When the department head called to offer me the job, she asked that I wait another day or two before announcing it so they could inform the other applicants. Then I had to wait another two days because my current boss was out of town and I wanted to give her my notice before anything. I thought for a split second about working both jobs because they are part time, but scheduling was going to be a big problem. I decided to keep my job as a hostess at a local restaurant til a FT opens up in my holy grail of libraries.

Once I was finally able to tell people, I got lots of questions, which I am going to answer now.

Why leave one part-time job for another?

The library I was currently working in had no foreseeable full time positions. Zero. Also, this new library is my holy grail people! I cannot explain how much I have wanted to work here. Why? They only hire within, so starting out as a Library Assistant III is the perfect way to move up. They pay more than most. It is .5 miles from my apt so I'll be walking. And its just an overall awesome library.

What do I know about nonfiction and reference?

Not a clue. I am still shocked that they hired me because my main experience is in Children's but I plan to dive right in!

Am I still going to apply for other FT positions at different libraries?

Probably not. I am exactly where I want to be in 20 years. Ok, not PT, but I am at the library I want to be it. If I apply for any other library gigs it is because I want to gain more interview experience.

I have already started there as of this past Friday. I will update more because I had an interesting first day (think tornadoes) but now I'm slightly tired.


Before I go, I wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped. Whether it was making my apply, advising me, references, encouragement, or just listening to me ramble. I appreciate your support and you!

Shameful Confession.....

I have never read To Kill A Mockingbird

There. It's off my chest. I can handle whatever you throw at me. I deserve it.

Adult Content....

I happen to overhear this conversation the other day and it made me giggle...a lot.

Setup: A librarian was recommending a book to a teenage girl, maybe around 15. The book in question had some adult content, so the librarian simply told the young girl that this book had some material in there that was pretty adult.

Girl: Oh, its okay. I have read Twilight.

Librarian (who was trying to keep from grinning): Well, this might be a little stronger than Twilight.

Girl: Have you read the 4th book? Its extremely graphic.

Most popular books (picked by teens)

You really didn't think I was gonna post that list without revealing the number 1 pick?

No. 1 (in a landslide) is.................... The Harry Potter Series!

No. 2 Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

No. 3 Hunger Games Series

Other popular picks - Crank by Ellen Hopkins, Twilight,

Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn

Book Recommendations - By students for students

So after polling over 1,000 kids and going through lots of answers, I have compiled the list! I'm super proud of the kids because the results were totally varied! Infact I decided to read every book on this list just for fun!

So how did we decide to format this list? We toyed around with grouping them in genres, but decided that some students might cast aside certain books because they don't like that genre. A lot of the students listed their favorite classic books, mostly which they have read in class, so we decided to create a catagory just for the classics. Check them out!

Here's the list:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Women by Charles Bukowski

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By A Restless God by Francis Chan

Papillon by Henri Charrière

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Beach Music by Pat Conroy

Timeline by Michael Crichton

Spartan Gold by Clive Cussler

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly

Thr3e by Ted Dekker

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick

Drama High series by L. Divine

The Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Sandman series by Neil Gaiman

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Be True To Your School by Bob Greene

Rachel and Darcy series by Emily Griffin

Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Crank series by Ellen Hopkins

Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz

 Redwall series by Brian Jacques

Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis

Alabama Moon by Watt Key

It by Stephen King

Take One by Karen Kingsbury

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

14,000 Things To Be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt

Dramarama by E. Lockhart

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl by Barry Lyga

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx

Wake by Lisa McMann

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers

Wilderness: The Lost Writings Of Jim Morrison by Jim Morrison

Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull

The Watchmen by Alan Moore

Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Song Of The Lioness series by Tamora Pierce

The Chosen by Chaim Potak

Anthem by Ayn Rand

Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Rainbow High Trilogy by Alex Sanchez

A Non-Blonde Cheerleader series by Kieran Scott

The Alchemyst series by Michael Scott

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard

A Series Of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket 

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater

Deadly Little Secrets series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Give A Boy A Gun by Todd Strasser

Lord Of The Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien

Slaughtehouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegurt

Night Angel series by Brent Weeks

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Uglies series by Scott Westerfield

Night by Elie Wiesel

The Extraordinary Adventure of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancy

Favorite Authors

Laurie Halse Anderson

Jane Austen

Dan Brown

Charles Bukowski

Orson Scott Card

Agatha Christie

Cassandra Clare

Suzanne Collins

Pat Conroy

Michael Crichton

Sarah Dessen

Philip K. Dick

Alex Flinn

Neil Gaiman

John Green

Robin Jones Gunn

Ellen Hopkins

Stephen King

Karen Kingsberry

Bernard Henri Levy

E. Lockhart

Alan Moore

Stephanie Meyers

George Orwell

James Patterson

Jodi Picoult

Tamora Pierce

Ayn Rand

Rick Riordan

Francine Rivers

J.K. Rowling

Nicholas Sparks

Laurie Faria Stolarz

J.R.R. Tolkien

Mark Twain

Scott Westerfield

Students’ Favorite Classics

The Divine Comedy by  Dante Alighieri

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

                                        

Job Interviewing Continues ... (With Interview Questions)

On Thursday, I went on another job interview. I am applying for everything I can, just to build my interview experience. This interview, in my opinion, was a little more difficult than the one I had in the previous week. The questions were more about my interaction with the patrons, not necessarily work relationship with supervisors.

Here are some sample questions from the interview:

What was the last nonfiction book you read?

Will you be able to hold up the library’s policy of a censorship free environment?

If a patron asks for controversial material that you are not comfortable with or disagree with, will you be able to help them?

How many times in the last year have you had to call out for work?

Will you be able to work around these ____ days and hours?

What sets you apart from other applicants that we might interview?

If a patron has a research paper on a certain topic that they are not excited about, how would you go about helping them?

How would you help a patron research the tea party movement?

I had to rate my skills on several software programs on a scale of 1 – 10 and explain why.

I know a lot of my peers are going out on interviews and several people have mentioned what are some key things I do that sets me apart from others.

1. Laughter. I am a firm believe that getting people to laugh with you will leave them with an overall positive impression of you.
2. Smile. Another key factor is having a warm smile. This aspect is important, not just for interviews, but for every day life.
3. Sell yourself! I try to be modest, but when I interview, I know that I have to be a salesperson and the product I am selling is me.
4. Be honest. If you lie in an interview and they end up hiring you, they are going to find out that you initially lied about your experience/knowledge.
5. Before hand I prepare a set of questions that I want to ask my interviewers if given the opportunity.
6. I also try to think about what questions they might ask me. If I know what department I am interviewing for, I will research all the books that I have read in this genre, along with the popular choices at this moment.

I hope this helps anyone who is applying for a job. I know that this time, especially with graduation looming, can be very frightful and scary, but the important things to remember are to keep applying and keep putting yourself out there! Also, network! Your colleagues have been in this position before. Talk with them about it. I have asked several of my co-workers, friends, and really anyone I can find about their job searching experience. Another key factor is to decide what you want! Think about the things that are a requirement for you to have in a job. Salary? Benefits? Location? Hours? It is important to know what you want.