Often students need to share something they are experiencing whether it be music or video. Then we see them sharing headphones.....creative library behavior.......!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
10,000 and Counting
We have just achieved a milestone and, serendipitously, I snagged it! Our photostream on Flickr has been viewed 10,000 times. Flickr allows us to create a history of our library in snapshots and share it with the world. We hear from other librarians for whom our pictures have sparked ideas as their pictures have inspired us. Our international students have posted their impressions of the academy to share and we've taught them about Creative Commons liscensing. We look forward to taking the pictures which will bring our next 10,000 views.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Books on the Environment
Along one of our borders is the Parker River whose estuary is part of The Great Marsh. The largest salt marsh in New England covers 20,000 acres from Gloucester to Salisbury. Our history is tied to our location. The first Dummer arrived from England with cattle and settled here as the Parker and Mill Rivers made natural fences for his animals. Our science students research in the marsh and along the river. Students fish from Thurlow's Bridge which from 1654 to 1758 was the only bridge along the Bay Road from Boston north. And on my ways to and from home, I drive through the marsh and over the bridge. Each season has its own beauty although now is my favorite with the abundance of red-winged blackbirds.
Our interaction with the marsh is to become an even greater part of our curriculum. And to that end, we have started to enlarge our books on environmental writings and issues. One series is on Invasive Species by Suellen May. Of special interest to us is the section on purple loosestrife, a beautiful plant introduced for its purple flowers but of great threat to our wetlands. Another book to dip within is American Earth: Environmental Writing since Thoreau edited by Bill McKibben. Essays and short pieces are joined by artowork, maps, and historical photographs. Come by the library and look through the new books.
Our interaction with the marsh is to become an even greater part of our curriculum. And to that end, we have started to enlarge our books on environmental writings and issues. One series is on Invasive Species by Suellen May. Of special interest to us is the section on purple loosestrife, a beautiful plant introduced for its purple flowers but of great threat to our wetlands. Another book to dip within is American Earth: Environmental Writing since Thoreau edited by Bill McKibben. Essays and short pieces are joined by artowork, maps, and historical photographs. Come by the library and look through the new books.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Wonderful displays
Ever wonder who does the displays for Pesky Library? The lady's name is Louise Healey and she has been doing our wonderful displays for the past 10 years. Her creativity has gotten our library recognition from other libraries and librarians as we have posted the diplays on Flickr and shared her ideas with the entire library community. Her intended audience, our students, have picked up books they would not otherwise have tried, thanks to her clever displays. Well done, Mrs. Healey!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Senior Prank
'Tis that time of the year when giddiness goes hand-in-hand with the last minute rush to complete papers, AP exams, and finals.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Fishing on You Tube
Fishing inspiration can be found everywhere, even on You Tube. After you have taken a look at our fishing displays, check out the many instructional and entertaining videos you can find on the web, including the one we have posted today.
Monday, May 12, 2008
New Nonfiction
For the nonfiction lovers we have one last collection of new books before the end of the year. For a complete listing of the books pictured visit our new acquisitions page on Flickr.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Caption Update
There have been some very creative captions added to our Humor Me display. For the dog and kitty poster some of our captions include, "Cute", Ah-dorable", "The cat is eating the dog", "Aww Frenemies", and "Every Dog Has it's Day". We have also now found captions on other displays and posters around the library, so the comment idea is catching on.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Goodbye Seniors
It is the time of year to say good-bye to our Seniors. The remaining weeks of this school year are filled with the Prom, with exams, with yearbook pages to write and photos of the past 4 years to enjoy. There is laughter and there are tears as the realization sets in that their time together is fleeting. The students who come to the library every evening, our "regulars", will be missed by the staff who have gotten to know them well these past 3 years. We wish them the very best!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Fish will be biting
Fishing season has officially begun as the first striper was caught off Plum Island yesterday and was reported in The Daily News. This is exciting news for many here at The Governor's Academy. The number of students, staff, and faculty who love of the sport of fishing seems to be growing and as the weather continues to warm up, we are certain to hear more about the catches people are making. Pulled from the second floor stacks are dozens for fishing books which are making up one of our display cases. From fishing techniques to fish guides, there is a book suited for every fisherman.
Check it out!
Check it out!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
New Fiction
May brings along the end of our book purchasing for a bit, so we were happy to see one last box waiting for us. There are many new and intriguing fiction titles and you can find them listed on our Flickr page. Happy Reading!
White Board Doodling
We recently added white boards to the library floor in anticipation of group work for finals. One of our students has started an interactive board asking for people to draw their favorite things or people. Already the board is filling up and while it may not be information for finals (yet), the students are using them in interesting and entertaining ways!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Grandparents Day
It is Grandparents Day and students are showing their grandparents what their days are like here at the Academy. Grandparents attend classes and other activities throughout the day. The library always becomes a destination spot, a quiet place to rest, read the paper, and enjoy time with their grandchildren.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Clean books are happy books
At least twice a year each book in our collection is thoroughly cleaned and checked for loose pages or ripped covers. We want to make sure the books are in good shape and are where they should be on the shelves. This particular cleaning occurred while "shifting" was also taking place. The entire non-fiction collection has been weeded and moved this year. The library staff, although not thrilled with these tasks, realize the importance of this work.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The poetry comes to an end...for now
As poetry month comes to an end today, we wrap it up by posting a video of a poetry reading by Poet Laureate, Billy Collins. Enjoy!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Humor Me!
They say humor is the best medicine and as students prepare for the final weeks of classes (which can be a cause of great elation, yet great angst,) we were happy to put the display pictured to the left together. We have created a fun and interactive display titled “Humor Me”. We found some fantastic posters and have paired them up with a variety of humor books from our collection and together they make an engaging and entertaining display. Each poster is labeled with a “Caption Me” sign and we encourage people to create their own captions for the posters. We will see what the week brings and the responses we receive from the display. Stay tuned and hopefully next week we can report on the outcome!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Poetry in motion
Poetry month is the perfect time for us to highlight our magnetic poetry boards! They are constantly on the move in the library, we never know where they will end up. The surprise is always seeing what others have left behind; how have they put words together, what message have they left behind for others to read? This “community” poetry is in constant flow and motion and the fun of it is not knowing what will be on the boards the next time you find one about.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
New at the Circ Desk
As the Academy's trees burst into glorious color, so did we want to shed the winter look. To celebrate spring, we set out colorful clips, paperclips, post-its, and "Love my Library" bookmarks. The butterfly and dragonfly paperclips have been seen holding many a student paper together. We've already had to make a restocking run to Staples.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Happy Birthday, Will!
Thanks to my husband who always reads aloud the interesting bits and pieces of This Day in History from The Boston Globe, I was reminded that today is the day ascribed to Shakespeare's birth. Wandering through a Shakespeare search in the catalog, I was struck by the amount of fiction listed.The fiction is now on the table in the foyer. Stop by and have a browse or click on the display picture for the titles.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Earth Day with Gary Snyder
This is the first of a four part documentary on ecology and poetry. Celebrate Earth Day with poetry! Find his poetry at 811.54 SNY.
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