Dye Disaster

It's been a while since I've posted. First I went on vacation and then the DAY that I was supposed to return I got a jury summons and out of 40 people they summoned they were to pick 8 for the jury and lo and behold they picked me. So finally, today I returned my normal schedule.

This afternoon I had a "Be Creative with Food" activity. I love food crafts and think as many crafts as possible should be edible. So I pulled four of them together for a giant craft feast. First, were marshmallow sculptures, very simple, just different sorts of marshmallows and toothpicks. Then I bought red licorice strings online and gave the kids cheerios, fruit loops, and life savers to make their own candy necklaces. Another station was corn syrup mixed with food coloring that makes an excellent paint that you can lick. Finally, the most complicated project was a "make your own" gum kit.

The "make your own" gum kit had food dye gel in it to color the gum. I had never seen food dye gel and did not know its potency. Apparently cake decorators use it in icing and they only put a tiny drop in to color a whole lot of icing. Well, the kids used a lot more than drops to color their gum. We had four small vials of it and one child dumped a whole vial of blue gel in her gum and then chewed it getting blue all over her hands, lips, hands and the table. Of course there were spills and blue and red streaks were over the table that I (stupidly) forgot to cover with a tablecloth. Blue and red were streaked on children's hands, lips and it got on my skirt which I still haven't gotten out.

Of course the children didn't care that they were messy, they were having a ball. But I'm sure some mothers will be mad at me as they struggle to get blue dye out of their children's clothes tonight. When the children left I was faced with a blue and red streaked table only armed with chlorox wipes. I wiped and wiped until my arm was sore but there is still a blueish tint to it. Oh well, perhaps with all the other stains from all the other projects I've done on that table not many people will notice. But next time, definitely a tablecloth.

Publicity is Publicity

I had a simple summer activity this week: provide the children with chalk and popsicles and let them decorate our library sidewalks. This was the easiest and most UN-elaborate activity I had this summer yet the local paper called and asked if they could come to the activity and photograph it. I told them it was basically an "open house" of kids coming to draw and eat popsicles and suggested a more involved and exciting activity coming up soon they could attend yet I suspect there was a deadline involved.




So they came late AFTER most of the kids had left and after I had left for a meeting. Thus they had to gather the kids who drew the art back from inside the building to pose in front of their art. They later called me for a quote which I had to give them while a patron stood in front of the desk, staring at me, waiting for help. Oh well, publicity is publicity.

I Can See Into Your Future

To celebrate Harry Potter and the Half-blood prince movie coming out, our library had a Harry Potter party last week. We divided the activity into several classes based on the books: "Care of Magical Creatures", "Defense against the Dark Arts", "Potions", and "Charms and Divination."

I was to be Professor Trelawney over Charms and Divination. I took three pie pans and filled them up with a mixture of laundry detergent and milk. Then I had the children put a few drops of food coloring in and spin the mixture with their hand. It makes a cool, dreamy, effect in the pan. Next I would peer into the mixture and pretend to think deeply. Then I would come up with the most outrageous fortune I could think off the top of my head: "you will take a trip to Paris...Paris, Idaho", "You have a long lost twin sister in Australia," "You will have three visitors, young men, The Jonas brothers will visit your home," "You will get a new pet, a pet that likes water, a very big pet, You will get a pet hippo." And on it went.

The children really enjoyed the fortunes. They kept clamoring "me next! me next!" Although there was one boy who didn't like his fortune. I decided to have a little fun with this 7-8 year old boy and said he was going to meet...a girl...who would like him. This, of course, disgusted him and he went stomping off. Maybe if he was just a few years older he would be asking me: "Now what does she look like?"

Goodbye Charlotte

After more than a year of having our library pet tarantula Charlotte, next week we are bidding a fond farewell to her. Or should I say I am bidding a fond farewell to her, the others are not too sad she is leaving. She was my pet more than anyone else, I fed her, changed her bedding, gave her water and took her out on presentations. I have to admit I will miss the big creepy gal.

But now we are getting a new pet. After months of deliberations, and then a split second decision in the pet store, we decided on a water dragon. I am abdicating responsibility for this pet's care. I am done with taking care of library pets and worrying if they will be dead when I come back from the weekend. I am going to do hardly none of the work and take all of the glory talking about the water dragon to the children as if I'm some expert on lizardology. I really know nothing about water dragons now, I should bone up on information since children always ask SO many questions like: What does it eat? Is it a girl or a boy? How big will it get? Hey, that last one is a good question. Hmmm...

What troubles librarians most

I'm on this committee who's purpose is to draft policy to deal with extreme library behavior. We're going to individual libraries to talk to them about how to use library policy to handle patrons and circumstances that are "out of the ordinary."

What it seems that most of the libraries want to talk about, what is troubling them most, is unattended children. This is a problem that is striking every library, from the ones who serve the upper middle class to the branch in the poorer areas. At a staff meeting last week we did not get to finish everything we wanted to say because the library staff wanted to focus on the issue of unattended children.

How do you deal with an unattended child who's causing a ruckus? What happens when a parent does not handle their own children? What happens when a parent simply isn't there? Library policy DOES address these issues but a librarian has to ACT on the policy and that is never simple. Some librarians are simply content to sit behind the desk and have the problem sort itself out or ignore it entirely. You cannot ignore an unattended five year old roaming around the library, asking questions every five minutes and pulling books off the shelves. Yet it seems like some librarians are trying very hard to do so.

"Planting" Summer Flowers

Last week I had an activity where the children planted their own summer flowers. I bought these 80 cent flower pots at Walmart and had the kids decorate them with paint. Then they filled the pots up with potting soil and put seeds in them then watered them. I had marigolds, zinnias and sunflowers.

I learned quickly that children have no concept of planting things. They would put a few of each plant in the pot instead of just one plant in the small little pot. Or they would dump twenty seeds into one pot before they covered it up with dirt. Some kids would fill the pots up with dirt and then sprinkle the seeds on top of the dirt like mozzarella on a pizza. I ended up having to stand next to the seed station and instruct the kids on the proper planting techniques. I have a feeling that lots of kids are going to be disappointed when they get home and no flowers sprout from their pots.

The Power of Storytelling

During the end of May I visited the local elementary schools to talk up our Summer Reading program. I visited around 3800 students at various assemblies around the area. With me I took the very accomplished storyteller Rachel Hedman to get the children excited and then I gave the "boring" part of the assembly where I talked about the summer reading program and what they needed to do to sign up.

Where children are endlessly entertained by videogames and TV I was not sure that sitting still and listening to someone tell a story would go over well. But these children were entirely riveted to every word that Rachel spoke. When she gestured to the back of the room and spoke of a "glowing book" "far in the distance" half the children's heads turned to the back of the cafeteria to see this imaginary book. It was great to see the YouTube generation sitting so quietly, hands in their laps, eyes forward, listening to simple, well-told stories.

The Psychology of Meetings

I go to countless meetings. Some are small 3-4 person informal group meetings and others are formal 20 member board meetings. Despite the differences between the meetings you will always find the same types of people at them. I have put them in these categories:

1. The Tyrant: This person dominates the meeting. In every single topic they have to have their say no matter how irrelevent it is. Sometimes these people are "overtalkers" and will speak while other people are talking to get their words across.
2. The Name Dropper: This person is here at the meeting to make themselves look good. They will bring up in things they've done no matter how off topic it is to make themselves look accomplished. Anytime they can mention the name of someone they know (usually they've just shook this person's hand and said "hello") they will do so.
3. The Random Story Artist: This person cannot stay on topic. They will bring up random personal stories or events from years ago unrelating to the discussion that leaves the rest of the group scratching their head.
4. The Statue: This person sits in stony silence. They may have brilliant things to say but the aforementioned people do not allow them to say it.

We all lie in these categories at some time or another, sometimes all of them in one meeting. However, usually distinct individuals claim the category for their own and another roundabout, long meeting begins again.