The new READ poster...bloody good!

I'm so on this!



Get ready for the December release of the new Twilight movie, based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel, with this ALA celebrity READ poster that shows the Twilight stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. The story is about a teen who risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire (“I know what you are. You’re impossibly fast. And strong. Your skin is pale white and ice cold”). NEW! From ALA Graphics.

http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=2616

First Lines to draw you in……

There was a great post on a Young Adult Library List Serv about the best first lines of a book to draw the reader in. I'm posting it here because the YALSA group has come up with some good ones. Hopefully they'll make you want to read more!

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
“12th Day of September [1290]. I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say.”

Feed by M.T. Anderson
“We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.”

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
“My sister Cass ran away the morning of my sixteenth birthday. She left my present, wrapped and sitting outside my bedroom door, and stuck a note for my parents under the coffee-maker. None of us heard her leave.”

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
“They murdered him.”

When She Hollers by Cynthia Voigt
“She put the survival knife down on the table. It pointed across at him. She couldn’t breathe.”

Godless by Pete Hautman
“Getting punched in the face is a singular experience. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a little too cocky, obnoxious, or insensitive.”

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
“Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn’t realize it until the day we killed him.”

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan
“Henry got up early on the day that changed his life.”

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

Inside Out by Terry Trueman
“All I want is a maple bar, but I don’t think these kids with the guns care about what I want.”

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
“It was a wild, windy, southwestern spring when the idea of killing [him] occurred to them.”

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
“They say [he] was born in a dump. They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart a sofa spring.”

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
“It was a dark and stormy night.”

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
“Once upon a time there was a pair of pants.”

Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett
"Which would you rather be, fat or dead?"

Spy Goddess: Live & Let Shop by Michael P. Spradlin
“The car I rode in the night I got arrested was really clean. Spotless, almost.”

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles
"Things had been getting a little better until I got a letter from my dead sister. That more or less ruined my day."

Rules for Life by Darlene Ryan
"I knew my father had had sex the minute I walked into the kitchen."

The Earth, My Butt, & Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Macklin
"Froggy Welsh the Fourth is trying to get up my shirt."

The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan
"The afternoon Marnie came to Torcurra, the villagers were whipping the devils out of a mad boy."

Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
"What can be funny about having to stand up in front of everyone you know, in a ruffly dress the color of Pepto-Bismol, and proclaim your womanhood?"

It's Kind of Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
"It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself."

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
"It was a pleasure to burn."

Heroes by Robert Cormier
"My name is Francis Joseph Cassavant and I have just returned to Frenchtown in Monument and the war is over and I have no face."

Born to Rock by Gordan Korman
"The thing about a cavity search is this: it has nothing to do with the dentist."

Mercy on these Teenage Chimps by Gary Soto
"I, Ronaldo Gonzales, better known as Ronnie, was like any other boy until I turned thirteen and woke up as a chimpanzee."

Absolutely, Positively Not by David Larochelle
“Everybody has at least one ugly secret, and mine is as ugly as they come. I square dance. With my mother.”

The Standardized Test Debate (again!)

Schools Cancel GMAT Scores
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122109733923122015.html?mod=

From the article:
"The business-school council recently announced that it would require those taking the GMAT to undergo a "palm vein" scan, which takes an infrared picture of the blood coursing through their hands. Officials said it was designed to wipe out "proxy" test taking, in which applicants hire high-scoring imposters to take the exam for them. Previously, the administrator had used digital fingerprinting. Five years ago, federal authorities broke up a ring of six fraudsters who took more than 590 exams, including GMATs, for customers who paid at least $3,000."

I thought this was from The Onion. I half expected it to say, "students need to show their ID, give a vial of blood, and prepared to sit under infrared lights so that experts in another room can actually determine if the student is taking the test or if the student is a fake." Or maybe, "scientists in Germany have now determined they can create an official standarized test taking faux who can morph into your look a la something from "Alias" and take the test for you, all without detection. But U.S. officials deny the claim stating they are working on something similar, made from corn which is more ecologically safe." The craziness!

Ok people, how about we just get rid of these ridiculous tests which do not actually determine anything relevant to how a student will perform in graduate school, or college for that matter. Research has shown them to be not fair across gender and ethnic backgrounds. Plus what about for those who can't afford the help of someone like Michelle Hernandez ("For $40K, Consultant Gets Kids Ivy-League Ready" at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95034319). The stress on young people is mounting as family members continue to impress upon them how important it is to get into the right school so they can get the right job. This doesn't even begin to address the inequalities of those who can't afford the "right" school or any school for that matter. Besides, whose to say what's "right" anyway. Whatever happened to the higher power of learning, just for the sake of knowledge?

Oh the Irony

I was doing some research on somethign the other day and stumbled acorss this: The Best Places to Launch a Career from Business Week magazine. It looked like it was published around mid-September, but even then, it probably had been in the works for a while. The reason? At least seven were banks or financial services, five are insurance (AIG not being one of them), and several others came out with their quarterly reports indicating poor performance. So...I find it a bit ironic that the best place to launch your career is Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch or Wachovia.

Want to see the slide show, visit this link.
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0904_first_jobs/index.htm

This is the link for the full report.
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/career_launch_2008/index.asp

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

I always encourage you to read the book first, even though the movie has just come out...(to rave reviews I hear)!

(FYI--Leviathan's Boy Meets Boy was pretty good too)

Synopsis
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

Publishers Weekly
This compulsively readable novel takes place in less than 24 hours. At a New York club one night, Nick convinces a stranger to pose as his girlfriend in order to fool Tris, the girl who broke his heart. He does not guess (though readers may) that kissing Norah will lead to a long, complicated evening, and a new chance for love. Levithan (Boy Meets Boy) and Cohn (Gingerbread) reveal the clever construction of the book in an authors' note: they sent chapters back and forth, he writing as Nick, she as Norah. The novel has that pumped-up feeling of a story passed among friends who each add a section, spontaneously incorporating unforeseen elements. Levithan again creates outrageous characters and witty wordplay (a "Playboygirl Bunny" bouncer asks Nick, "How long have the two of you been the two of you?"), and Cohn brings to life another rich punk rock girl. The two see a secret show on the Lower East Side, pig out in a Russian diner, and get caught making out in an ice room at the Times Square Marriott, all the time wondering if they can let go of their past loves and risk another heartbreak. Much of the novel's energy comes from the rapid-fire repartee between the two leads, plus perhaps the most vivid character, Tris-Nick's Id-driven ex and a classmate of Norah's, who ends up giving Nick advice and Norah kissing lessons. Readers will likely enjoy the ride, even if it is obvious where these two are headed.

Ages 14-up. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Public libraries are good for the community

This is an editorial that ran in an Oregon newspaper and can be found online at http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2007/0123/local/stories
/guest_library_column.htm.
If you aren't writing similar editorials, letters to your elected officials or voicing comments in support of local public libraries, you should be. Here's why...

Public libraries are good for the community
By Margaret Jakubcin

There are 10 reasons you need your public library (even if you've never set foot inside one).
If you are a reader and a book lover, you probably already use the library, love the library and cannot imagine life without a library. But even if you are not a library user, even if the extraordinary access libraries provide to books, movies, music, cultural programming, information, databases, and the world wide Web has never tempted you through the library door, you still need the library.

Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Public libraries are good for the economy. Studies have shown that public libraries have an economic impact that greatly exceeds their cost, returning somewhere between $4 to $6 to the local economy for every $1 invested. A healthy library system is indicative of a healthy community. A community without a library is unattractive to businesses and individuals looking to locate to a new area.

2. Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy. Free speech, intellectual freedom, and open access to information are essential to a free nation. Public libraries protect the right of every citizen, regardless of race, age, gender, or economic status, to have access to any information that is vital to his/her life. Without libraries, a significant number of Americans would not have access to books or the Internet.

3. Libraries play an important role in helping young children develop reading skills. Early childhood literacy and exposure to a book-rich environment are significant predictors of a child's success in school and in life. The Internet has yet to come anywhere near filling this need.

4. Public libraries provide support to schools and students. School libraries are currently endangered in Oregon, where there are now only 433 school librarians to serve 1,290 schools. As school budgets have continued to dwindle, public libraries have increasingly stepped in to fill the gap, recognizing that today's students are tomorrow's workers, leaders, and decision makers.

5. Libraries are forward- thinking, and play an important role at the cutting edge of information technology. Libraries provide Internet access to many who cannot afford it, or who live in areas where access is unavailable or slow. Librarians are trained to help Internet users winnow out irrelevant information, find specialized Internet resources, and determine the reliability, authority and safety of the information retrieved. In addition, American librarians are lobbying to maintain "net neutrality" to ensure that Internet resources remain available to everyone — not just to those who can afford to pay for them.

6. Libraries are repositories of the accumulated understanding of mankind. We live in a time when the information-of-the-moment is constantly at our fingertips, but it is important to remember that information is not knowledge. Libraries house, protect, and share materials which support a thoughtful and in-depth understanding of the world.

7. Public libraries are a bargain. The average annual cost to fund an Oregon library is only abut $42 per capita. That is less than the average cost of two hardcover books, a couple month's subscription to Netflix, or a year's subscription to only one or two magazines. It is, of course, a fraction of what it costs to obtain home access to the Internet.

8. Libraries provide a neutral community gathering place for the free exchange of ideas, culture, and entertainment. Libraries promote a sense of belonging and interpersonal connection in a society that is increasingly "virtual."

9. A vital and attractive library helps define a community, encourages civic pride, and invests residents with a sense of ownership.

10. Libraries are the heart and soul of a community and reflect the value residents place on literacy, education, culture, and freedom.

For more information on the value of public libraries, answers to frequently asked questions about the libraries, and information regarding the current Jackson County Library funding crisis, visit www.jcls.org/infoblog.

Margaret Jakubcin is west region manager for Jackson County Library Services

It's Wicked...Vote For Your Local Library!!

Great American theater started in a library.

Gregory Maguire is a born storyteller. He hails from a family of journalists, poets and professional writers. So it’s no surprise his parents sent him to a magical place where stories come to life every day: the local library.

There, he found the inspiration for his life’s work: writing fantasy, fairy tales and science fiction.
His 1995 bestseller, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West forms the basis of the award-winning Broadway musical, Wicked. His career started in the library.


Public libraries continue to help people of all ages discover their calling. The investment you make in your local library helps them develop their talents and realize their dreams. It also brings in additional tax dollars, raises property values and creates new jobs. In fact, studies have shown that: for every $1 spent on the library, a community sees an average of $4 in return.

Who knows what Wicked success story is at your library, right now?
(http://www.oclc.org/advocacy/pdfs/maguirewicked.pdf)

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD...VOTE FOR LIBRARIES!