By Kim Martin
Meet Chris, the explorer. He’s passionate about adventure, travel and discovering the world. Ever since he can remember, he wanted to know as much about other countries—their people, cuisine, geography, whatever he could possibly take in. As someone who loves to immerse himself in other cultures, he needs the right resources and tools, for excursions near and far.
By Susan Fishburn
In Other News – Week of April 21
Have your friends and family been talking to you in what sounds like a different language? Maybe it’s because this week we celebrated “Talk Like William Shakespeare Day” on April 23rd. So it’s time to get in the groove, or as Bill would say “It’s timeth to starteth reading!”
By Ginny Raye
When I was given this topic, I thought, “Oh, please . . . piece of cake.” I started thinking about the types of books that I love, because, hey, I’m a mom! Then I realized that, even though I love a good steamy romance (probably more than I should), my 91-year-old mother would be less likely to sit down to “50 Shades of Grey” and probably leans more toward Nora Roberts. She absolutely loved the Boonsboro Trilogy that I got her for Christmas last year. And it was in large print. Even better. Oh, there is some steam there, but it’s toned down to a small kitchen fire, unlike the five alarm, burning inferno that is my usual choice. Hmm . . . this assignment suddenly became harder than I thought.
By Tracy Junker
April is National Car Care Month and since April showers bring May flowers, it might be a good time to prep your vehicle with some best practices for window and wiper care.
How to check and clean wiper blades
We’ve all been there. It is raining just enough to make a mess of the windshield, but not enough to really clean it. And the wiper blades just make the situation worse!
By Valerie Gross
Two years ago, when Howard County Library System (HCLS) began planning a 50 percent space increase for its Savage Branch, a team of HCLS visionaries proposed an opportunity: Why not design a cool, jazzy space to serve as headquarters for HiTech, HCLS’ cutting-edge STEM education initiative for teens?
This idea led to the HCLS Savage Branch & STEM Education Center, opening this summer. The venue will boast an Einstein Classroom, George Washington Carver Science Lab, Oscar Micheaux audio/video room, Curie Café, Leonoardo DaVinci Conference Room, and Gallileo Laptop Bar — all perfect for HiTech!
By Kim Martin
Today, we announced the winners of its “Libraries Are Beautiful – Inside and Out” photo contest. Launched in celebration of National Library Week, taking place this week – April 13-19, the contest showcases libraries who make their communities a more beautiful place—physically or metaphorically. The top five per category were selected by experts in art, architecture and design. From the 25 finalists, winners were chosen by popular vote – and include:
By Valerie Herman
Social media offers an opportunity that intersects beautifully with the librarian’s role; after all, curating information and disseminating it to the public is what we have always done, but now we can do it faster, better, and more extensively.
By Carrie Stefanski
Gotcha, noddies! That’s what they call those who are tricked on April 1, in England. Although the Thorndike bathroom ad was an actual (ingenious) idea, Gale will not be using it at the next trade show. Some good ideas are best left as ideas, or, when timed right, April Fool’s jokes.
By Bethany Dotson
At the end of January, I had the unique pleasure to travel to snowy and frigid Chicago to interview Valerie Gross, President and CEO of Howard County Public Library (MD). We were there to discuss Valerie’s ideas, laid out most prominently in her book, Transforming Our Image, Building Our Brand: The Education Advantage.
By Carrie Stefanski
My first week on the job back in December, I was told to save the date for the 2014 PLA Conference and plan to stay to see David Sedaris. At that moment, I knew I made the right career move. My conference experience was everything I hoped it’d be and the conference itself was a whole lot bigger than I imagined. I had a couple conferences under my belt, but neither matched up to the greatness of PLA.
Read moreOh, the places you will go, the things you will see at a PLA Conference!