Giving a Fish a Bath

This workshop, presented 9/12/11 by Heather Higgins from the Upside Down Organization, was very engaging and informative. While I had attended a lecture on brain development several years ago, it was interesting to see how knowledge of brain developed has increased. I'm not really surprised that the length of Adolescence is increasing- starting earlier and lasting longer. Hopefully, I am better prepared to work with the teens in my community. Now, I just need to figure-out how to get them to the library!

Cyber-bullying

I attended the workshop on Cyber-bullying by Liz Sundermann, teen specialist at Enoch Pratt. I found the workshop very interesting. She gave links for both teens and librarians on several topics having to do with cyberbullying. We discussed quite a few scenarios involving teens and cyberbulling. I passed on to my teen the safety measures she mentioned. Such as NEVER share your password or post your phone number or address. I feel better able to discuss the topic with our teen patrons.

You Can Judge A Book By Its Cover

This is the second time I have attended this workshop. Back in the fall of 2007, when I was taking LATI, Mr. Gannon presented this workshop at a branch in Baltimore County. When I saw that he was going to present it again, I signed up immediately. I found it to be both
informative and entertaining. "Reading is fundamental" states Mr. Gannon. Key points to ask customers when doing reader's advisory are: What was the last good book you read? and What did you like about it? Mr. Gannon demonstrated how to look at a book cover and determine the type of genre. For example, he could tell whether the book is a cozy or hard-boiled mystery.
We divided into three groups and completed exercises to help reinforce the key points of his presentation. It was a great workshop!

Cyber-bullying

I attended the cyber-bullying workshop on 22September 2011 given by Liz Sundermann, Teen Specialist of Pratt and SLRC. A lot is heard in the media about the toll cyber-bullying is taking on many age groups in our population. There were instances discussed from pre-teens to adults. A town was referenced where gossip was rampant on a site for local concerns and information. This was taken from a NY Times article. On the Today Show this morning was a story how residents were impacted by malicious gossip posted on the site. It was interesting to have such timely connections.
The workshop is enhanced by the participants' own experiences.

You Can Judge a Book by its Cover

What a great workshop - Mr. Gannon was so funny and clever, the time seemed to pass too quickly. I learned several valuable tips in providing reader's advisory: 1. As a librarian, you must read and try different genres to provide good reader's advisory to your patrons, and you should use the reader's advisory resources you have on hand, mainly other staff members who are familiar with genres which you do not read. 2. Prepare yourself for reader's advisory by reading professional journals, like "Booklist", "Kirkus", "Library Journal", and "Publisher's Weekly". Mr. Gannon also recommended checking out "Entertainment Weekly" and "People Magazine", for their book reviews. Since they are popular magazines, many people read the reviews and request the books. 3. Always ask - what did you read last and most importantly, why did you like it? 4. Never believe the customer! Their information is not always accurate. Mr. Gannon also reviewed different genre book covers with us,so that we could look for clues about the content of the books to help us with our recommendations. In addition, he provided an article about Nonfiction Reader's Advisory which I think will be helpful. I would like to attend another workshop with Mr. Gannon as the trainer - maybe a nonfiction reader's advisory? He provided the information in such a delightful way in this workshop, it will be easy to remember.

You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover

I attended the workshop You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover presented by Michael Gannon and was rewarded with new skills and entertained to boot! He taught us some tips to help us help patrons find books to read. There is no way a librarian can read every book in the library (despite what some patrons may think). We learned how to advise patrons to find books when the genre is one we may not be familiar with.
The first question to ask a patron is 'What did you read lately that you liked, and what did you like about it?' From there the patron can be advised on other books that may have a similar theme, characters or settings. If we don't ask the right questions, it will be harder to assist a patron in finding a match. Of course, since we are a library and not a bookstore, patrons can take home many books for free! No risk to them!
Mr. Gannon showed us how to look at a book cover and determine what genre it might be. He went over romances, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, and general fiction. I learned the subtle differences that a genre may have to distinguish between cozy and graphic subjects.
I enjoyed the slide show that was presented. I wonder why our library doesn't carry the book that he talked about called 'The Nympho Librarian'! Mr Gannon used humor and let us interact with scenarios he constructed to help us learn how to help patrons find books to read. He is a great presenter and I was glad to have attended this workshop.

You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover

Yesterday afternoon, Michael Gannon from Prince Georges County Library, presented a fun and informative program called You can Judge a Book by Its Cover. Mr. Gannon began the program by saying something that I thought was really great: "If reference is the science of librarianship, reader's advisory is the art."

The workshop provided tips for helping library patrons to find a good book to read when we find ourselves out of our element. For instance, we might like to read science fiction, but Gannon pointed out that by using the cover art and clues on the jacket, we can recommend books that our customers will like.

Additionally, four key points were mentioned:
1. Reading is fundamental--read one of what you don't usually read for familiarity
2. Read professional reviews
3. Ask the customer, "What is the last good book you read and why did you like it?"
4. Realize that customers will get it wrong, so be prepared to read between the lines when details are provided.

Overall, what made the workshop delightful was Mr. Gannon himself, whose sense of humor peppered the presentation to leave us energized and informed.