Making Turkeys Day 2 Storytime

At today's storytime in honor of
Thanksgiving the children listened to stories about turkey and Thanksgiving. Today's craft was to make a turkey from pine cones.

The children selected their own pine cone and then used colored material to make the feathers and then had a feather pipe cleaner to make the neck and head.

Look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary

Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Making Turkeys Storytime

At today's storytime in honor of Thanksgiving the children listened to stories about turkey and Thanksgiving.

Today's craft was to make a turkey from pine cones. The children selected their own pine cone and then used colored material to make the feathers and then had a feather pipe cleaner to make the neck and head.

Finished turkeys!

Look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary
Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Keeping Your Battery Charged

With holidays fast approaching I thought this would be a great time to share this article. Happy Thanksgiving!

If you're like me... being tired = becoming cranky and low energy = low ideas.

Paul William of Seattle, WA wrote an article September 2006 that still works today. I know most of us know this information but it never hurts to hear it again and try to incorporate it into our every day life. sandbox.com/blog

Before Going to Work
Wake to Music: Replace your jolting beep-style alarm clock with a radio alarm clock. Tune to a station with morning programming that gets you going. Or be your own DJ and get an alarm clock for your iPod or that plays CDs. Create your own list of music - starting softly at first and building in volume and pep. Try movie or TV soundtracks... waking up to "Gonna Fly Now (Rocky Theme)," "The 'A' Team," "Mission: Impossible," or "The Magnificent Seven (Main Theme)" will make you feel you can take on the world.

Breakfast: We know 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' but we still don't have time to make/eat something. Protein and fiber are the secret to morning energy... (not a coffee and donut). If your mornings are rushed, have a protein shake or smoothie. Worse case, make it the night before and shake it up in the morning!

At the Office
Rearrange Your Space: Recharge your senses by rearranging your space. Seeing the stuff at your desk arranged in new spots will awaken the brain - and your creativity. If possible, change the orientation of how you sit at your computer... if it's to the one side of your desk, move it to the other. Change your computer's desktop pattern/wallpaper. Decorate your desk with the color amber. Color therapists say amber beats fatigue. Our bodies get a charge out of newness.

Arrive Early for Meetings: Instead of checking that last e-mail or adding a few more bullets to your presentation, arrive at your next meeting three to five minutes early. Use the time to gather yourself, relax, make or review notes. These few minutes will reduce the pace and stress of your day.

Schedule Buffer Time: Leave room in your daily calendar for the unexpected... schedule "buffer time." When unexpected personal or work emergencies arise you'll have the time and energy to deal with them. As an added bonus, on days when you don't need that buffer time, you'll have personal time to be more productive.

In The Afternoon
Brush Your Teeth: Get that morning-fresh feel by brushing your teeth in the afternoon. Ahhhh... clean teeth. Your dentist recommends it. Your meeting-mates will thank you (especially after that spicy lunch). Use minty toothpaste. As an added bonus - brush your tongue to wake your taste buds and acupressure meridians.

10 Minute Recess: When your energy sinks in the afternoon, instead of taking a candy bar break, take a walk. Research has found that a brisk 10-minute walk relieves fatigue for up to two-hours. The activity increases the flow of oxygen in your bloodstream and causes the brain to release invigorating chemicals such as norepinephrine. You will be more perky AND will be burning calories!

Energy Snacks
Keep healthy snacks handy when you start feeling that afternoon lull. Avoid snacks with refined sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and high fat - they are bad for your waistline as well as your energy levels. Good choices include: dried fruit, beef and turkey jerky. Low-fat yogurt and dried soy nuts also provide tyrosine that converts into the feel-good chemicals dopamine and adrenaline and can energize as quickly as a cup of coffee.

Go Bananas - The natural fruit sugar from a ripe banana last up to two-hours. Additional bonus: the banana peel may be used for the classic slip-and-fall gag!

Pumpkin Seeds - Our bodies use magnesium to create ATP - the molecule that provides energy to our cells. While found in vegetables and whole-grains, pumpkin seeds are one of the best sources of magnesium. Research has reported that 2.5 oz. or 71 grams a day of pumpkin seeds will give you a much more energy.

Drink Water: The more water in your system, the more oxygen circulates in your bloodstream. Dehydration can make you feel tired. Be sure to get plenty of water. (There is a debate going on whether eight glasses a day is enough or too much. Additionally, there is debate whether or not the water in soda, tea and coffee count toward fulfilling your water needs).

Minnesota Library Association Meeting

Today is the last day I just want to summarize the past few days.

As always it is great to talk with old friends and make new ones. It also creates a network that is invaluable when you have questions or concerns that you can call or e-mail and get answers or at least a place to start.

Friday sessions were confirmations of a trend we have been seeing for awhile with diminished budgets and hard choices. We must give the patrons what they want not what we think they want. Below is a summary of the final two sessions I attended.

The Eight Keys to Library Effectiveness: Consultant Sandra Nelson's message targeted what libraries will need to do to survive. While her message was not always what we wanted to hear (Phoenix Library sustained a 42% cut), it is what we needed to hear. Libraries will be making tough choices in the next few years on whether to cut costs or services. With touch economic times library use will increase while resources will decrease. Libraries need to take their focus away from what they think a library should be to focusing on user needs and wants. This means shifting resources to popular items instead of reference materials.

Libraries are becoming America's living room and we need to draw new patrons in by providing them with what they want, not what we think they need. We need to learn from the competition (Google, Netflix, Amazon). And we need to do this by providing excellent customer service--greeting people, anticipating their needs and not just sitting at the "desk" but having roaming librarians.

Lunch Speaker-Sandra Nelson
We were treated again to Sandra Nelson in her presentation Everyone is Getting Crabbier! In tough economic times everyone is stressed by working harder with less time and resources.
People mirror behavior. We can choose how we will interact. When you know tough times are coming, plan ahead. Then instead of cutting across the board, you can decide what services are most important and work to provide them. To accomplish this constructively you must plan ahead and simplify by getting rid of the clutter (such as vertical files) and the things we do that have high cost but are of little value.

Inspirational Fiction

WOW!! What a session. Sharon Hinck is just amazing and very informative on Inspirational or Christian fiction.

Her handout was very well received by the audience for its breakdown of different genres, award winning books, and a history of inspirational fiction. Sharon is a mid-seller Minnesota Author. You are probably wondering, “What is that!”
Well, she is not yet an award winning best selling author but is doing fairly well in the Christian fiction genre. She was also nominated for the Christy award this spring and was a runner-up for the award.

Most authors tend to stick to one genre for their success but what is different about Sharon is that she writes in at least 4 different genres. The first is fantasy/modern day/medieval in her Restorer series. Second is
a musical/mystery in Symphony of Secrets. Third is a Becky Miller series liken to Walter Mitty. Lastly a modern day post-traumatic stress novel called Stepping into the Sunlight.

What was interesting to me were the current and past trends in the inspirational genre: pirates, vampires, supernatural thriller are the upcoming, and the current or past are the amish, pioneer, world wars, and chick-lit.

Minnesota has many Christian and Inspirational authors that we probably do not know about and should support or at least check out their work. She gave us the break down according to social issues and youth and children books. I will make this list available to those who wish to check out similar or want to break out into new areas.

Creating a Wiki

Brian Lind of the Rochester Public Library presented a workshop Creating a Jimmy Choo Staff Wiki on a Shoestring Budget.

Wiki's were another thing I learned while doing the 23 Things on a Stick this year. I think this “Thing” has lots of great applications for anyone who needs to update phone lists, schedules calendars etc. Everyone is able to update the wiki and all of the information is located in one place.

This would be great for a family planning a wedding, trips etc. Everyone would have input on what to bring or who brings what and others could see and adjust accordingly.

For instance if you are planning a camping trip with three friends and someone starts a list of things to bring in a wiki format. The next person could list what they would bring and the others could add what they will bring so hopefully nothing is missed.

But caution should be used when deciding free vs stand alone.

Free wikis
Pro:use somene else’s server, easy to set up and sign into, troubleshooting advise
Con:server space constraints, potential charge, ads, and backup more difficult.

Stand-alone Wiki’s
Pro:you own then and service them, can backup system, no space limits
Con:hardest to set up and maintain, takes lots of staff time

Things to think about ahead of time:
Coding /WSYIWYG (what you see is what you get)
Paid /free
Ads /no ads

This is a great sharing tool and could have many personal and professional uses. Here are some wiki websites:
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki
http://pbwiki.com
http://www.wikispaces.com/

Minnesota Institute For Leadership Excellence (MILE)

Discover Your Inner Leader was designed by the Minnesota Library Association to develop skills necessary for leadership in your library, professional organization, city or state.

In this eighteen month program you are paired with a mentor of similar type library and share an intense three day workshop getting to know the others involved in the program. Throughout the upcoming months you will take a strength finder test, do some mind mapping, actively develop personal and professional goals. Learn to network with the current class plus other graduates of this outstanding program.

Programs like this are greatly needed to provide a safe environment to grow, stretch your wings, learn to search for newer, better ways to run organizations and make a network of mentors that you can call on for help with possible solutions.

Now that being said, I have been in school libraries for about 31+ years and public libraries for almost 5 years. I was a graduate of the 2002 Rochester Chamber Leadership program and gained leadership knowledge, skills, and a great network of friends and mentors.

I now think I am in a position to take on this type of institute to gain further knowledge on how to be a better and more effective leader. I would like to try to be one of the 25 people selected for the 2009 MLA Institute for Leadership Excellence and be a more effective leader for the library industry.

Harnessing Google

Harnessing Google to Accomplish Daily Tasks was a great workshop with Kirsten Mastel as the presenter. She showed us some of iGoogle products.

Personal home page http://www.google.com/ig. This is great way to personalize your home page and feature what is important to you. For you it may be news, weather, calendar, dictionary, or driving direction. Very user friendly to set up and maintain.

Custom Search Engineshttp://www.google.com/coop/cse/ x
Create your own search boxes and place your own URL’s 1st in the search.
When creating this search engine some preparations are needed:
Purpose
Subject matter
Contributors
Possible URL’s
Template
How to publicize it

Google Documents- Great place for your documents if work and travel or use other computers. Easily accessed, good for collaboration, can be done offline and automatically uploads.Has a revision history so you can see what you or others have done, dictionary, and word count. http://www.google.com/coop/cse/

23 THINGS ON A STICK

23 Things:Better Than a Deep Fried Twinkie my second afternoon session was was a recap of the two 23 Things on a Stick(reference to Minnesota State Fair food on a stick) sessions held this year and how different types of libraries are using the knowledge gained for use at their libraries. List below are just some of the "things". http://23thingsonastick.blogspot.com/

PICASSA-During my 23 Things journey I visited Picassa and liked what I saw but didn’t use it to its full potential. I learned extra editing tools i.e. straightening tool, soft focus, focal b/w; creating posters from 8/12x11paper; collages; and mosaics. All comes in handy to liven up reports or flyers when publicizing your events.

MEEBO-Great Instant Messaging (IM) tool that combines all of your IM tools so you log onto one and the rest are instantly active. http://www.meebo.com/. This is easy to sign up for and manage.

GOOGLE CALENDAR-This is great internet sharing tool for your professional and private life. It can be interactive for changes in scheduling and events. http://picasa.google.com/

SLIDE SHARE-What a great idea when working with others on a project and to upload to other presentations.

The Multi-type librarians are currently working on bringing additional tools for the internet to all libraries and their staff to get familiar with and share with others. This will roll out in January of 2009.

Managing Negativity at Work

My afternoon session was called Managing Negativity at Work with Lauren Burnett as the speaker who owns her own business Center for Inner Quality.

This was an interactive session and helped us use the 6 second rule to control ourselves and manage others. She showed us the neutral position, space control, and how to control our breathing so we could manage ourselves, others and to take charge of situations.

We also talked about the four types of people in the workplace and patrons that come into our libraries and how to understand and what to do about them.

Stable- Passive-Aggressive people
Thorough-Precise, nit-pickers
Emotional-Drama queens
Pusher-Initiates action, want quick decisions

It is always good to have tools in your tool box of how to deal with difficult people and to diffuse situations. Make people more accountable for their actions and how to change them for a better work environment. As we all know these people drain all of the people around them and make for a difficult place to work and to visit.

Remember the calmest person is the most competent.

Library Things

Our keynote speaker at lunch was Tim Spalding developer and publisher of Library Thing (www.librarything.com)

Tim is responsible for one of the hottest social networks and the best thing about the site it’s about BOOKS!! He started this site as a personal project to catalog his and friends’ library collection and was surprised when it took off and became a great site for other to lock into books.

Library Thing was one of the featured sites on the Minnesota 23 Things on a Stick(reference to our state fair food on a stick) website. I finished the 23 Things on Round 2 and I will admit I did not given this enough of my time. But after hearing him speak today I am going to revisit the site and use it more often professionally and personally.

What a great site for those who want to know similar books to read or find out i.e. what George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Addams had in common for books. This site is definitely worth taking a look at for your own personal library collection or sharing someone else’s.

Most of the people at the lunch if they are not already using Library Thing plan on giving it another look.

MLA Convention Day 1

Today is Wednesday, November 19th.

Library Security:Everyone's Responsibility

I went to a security workshop where speakers Ben Trapskin and Jeremy Johnson talked about security in libraries and how it has changed.

In the past it was important to secure the library and it's collection, now it is the staff and patrons. This is greatly because the libraries have changed from a center of information to a cultural center. It is still perceived to be a haven of safety and with that come problems for patrons and staff.

Expectations have also changed with being a cultural center. In the past it was a quiet place to read or study, now with it being a gathering place (book clubs, gaming, teens) it is much louder and busier. This is where the conflict starts as traditional library users expect quiet and the new library patrons have quite different expectations. The staff has to monitor the two factions and sometimes the authorities must be brought in to help.

We learned with consistency of staff, having policy in place and even certain programs can foster security. The people attending this workshop came away with helpful tools to either help the problem or get a conversation going with staff, patrons, and library boards.

Turkey Hands Storytime 11/19/08

Children's Librarian Ingvild read to the children and then they learned how to use their hands to create a turkey. The final project was hung in the library entry way.

For additional pictures of this and all the library events visit our daily library
blog http://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/
or look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary
Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Minnesota Library Association (MLA) Convention

I will be gone the next three days to our annual library convention in Minneapolis. I look forward to hearing speakers talk about the exciting trends for libraries. It is also a time to talk to friends at other libraries that sadly you get to see face to face once or twice a year, even thought you email or talk on the phone with them regularly.

I will let you know about the forums I attended each day and my thoughts.

Turkey Hand Storytime 11/18/08

Children's Librarian Ingvild read to the children and then they learned how to use their hands to create a turkey. The final project was hung in the library entry way.

Turkey Banner finished

Look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Minnesota Consumer Information

The library has many guides for the consumer published by the Attorney General. These guides maybe checkout for two weeks.

If you would like a copy for yourself you may visit the Attorney General Website and request a copy. http://www.ag.state.mn.us/ We have the following :
Veteran and Service Members
Home Buyers and Sellers Handbook
Senior's Legal Rights
Credit Handbook
Credit Reports
Credit Scoring
Landloards and Tenants:Right & Responsibilites
Probate and Planning
Guarding Your Privacy
Minnesota Car Laws
College Credit Card Offers
and many more.

How Much Is That in Minimum Wage Hours?

While looking for something to post I ran across this blog awhile ago and it really is so true. With credit cards, debit cards etc. so readily available it is sometimes hard to imagine how much money is going out the door and how long it really takes to acquire. WOW is real eye-opener.

Do you ever feel like you don’t have a good handle on how much money is worth? I mean really worth, in terms of sweat and blood, rather than how much stuff it can buy? With credit cards and electronic bank statements, the true cost of money is often difficult to truly comprehend because there are so many abstractions. Money is an abstraction of labor and effort.

You earn money through labor. Some labor is hard, like in a factory or a mine, while others are easier, shuffling papers in an air conditioned office; but both types require time and energy and both result in money. The point is, spending money, rather than bartering labor for goods and services, abstracts away the value of that money and it sometimes helps to put things back into focus. So, why don’t we?

Let’s put things back into perspective by listing popular and common products in terms of minimum wage labor hours. Using the federal minimum wage in the United States, at $6.55, we calculated how much stuff cost in minimum wage hours. Some of the more surprising figures? That $443k party AIG threw for their salespersons cost 67,634 minimum wage hours. Lehman CEO Fuld’s cash compensation from 2000 to 2008 was $500 million - or 76,335,878 minimum wage hours (26,142 minimum wage years, if 8 hours are in a day). Finally, that $700 billion bailout package will cost 36,599,394 minimum wage years. Yikes.

Item Price Hours Days
Public 4-Year College Tuition $24,740 3,777.14 72.14
Average Wedding $30,000 4,580.15 572.52
2008 Toyota Prius $21,500 3,282.44 410.3
Xbox 360 Console $259.99 39.7 4.96
One Million Dollars $1,000,000 152,671.76 19,083.97

Assumptions were made in compiling this list. One is that a day consists of eight hours. Another is that while the cost is in post-tax dollars, minimum wage is in pre-tax dollars (i.e. the employee still has to pay tax on the $6.55/hr wage), so things really cost more in terms of hours than what is listed.
To see the complete list go to:
http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/how-much-is-that-in-minimum-wage-hours.html

Beds, Beds, Beds Storytime 11/12/08

For additional pictures of this and all the library events visit our daily library

blog http://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/

or look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary

Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Take Your Inner Child to Work

Paul Williams from the Idea Sandbox idea-sandbox.com/blog has some great ideas to help refresh us in our everyday lives. I especially like this one and plan on doing this more often.

When it comes to curiosity and creative problem solving, kids have the process down pat. They are expert problem solvers. (Only a kid can transform an oversized box into a lunar lander!) Having this imagination around the office can be pretty handy. But how can you make this happen without breaking child labor laws or getting into trouble with school truancy officers? Bring your Inner Child to work.

How are you supposed to find this kid? At the Idea Sandbox Institute we’ve discovered the process to reaching your Inner Child in three simple steps..


- Step 1: Determine the age of your Inner Child.

- Step 2: Behave like that Inner Child.

- Step 3: Don’t let Them out of your sight.


Step 1 - Determine the age of your Inner Child. First figure out how old your Inner Child is… The scientific method is to take the first and second digits of your calendar age and add them together… I’m 37, 3+7=10. My Inner Child is ten years old! How old is yours?


Step 2 - Behave like that Inner Child. Now that you know how old your Inner Child is… You need to begin thinking that age. Do you remember how free from responsibility you were? How bold you were? As adults, stress and self-consciousness quash creativity.


Recall the kinds of questions you asked at 5, 8, or 10 years old? You were filled with wonder, exploration, and curiosity! You constantly asked… What if? I don’t get it. I wonder why…? Why not? How come? Ask those questions again... today.


Play! Keep a stash of Play-Doh or Silly Putty in your purse or desktop drawer. (The scent of these alone will transport you instantly to childhood). Get away from your work for 15 minutes. Have recess. Play outside.


Step 3 - Don’t let Them out of your sight. Hang out with your Inner Child. Go to lunch together. Take them to your next meeting with wide-eyed curiosity. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Find the fun.


Your Inner Child plays well at home, too. Your significant other will be pleasantly surprised when you bring home finger painting supplies to create original works of art for the fridge instead of watching another episode of reality TV.


Get big ideas being little...

That’s all there is to it. Start now. This instant. You’re no longer 42, you’re now 6. Birth certificate says you’re 27? Naw, be 9 years old. Cut the crust off of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich and get big ideas being little!

Friends of the Library Board Meeting

There will be a Friends meeting Friday, November 14th at 10:30 am in the library. Plan on attending this meeting.

Veterans Day

The Kasson Library is closed on Tuesday, November 11 for Veterans Day.

Take time to thank a veteran for his dedication and service to our country.

I currently have a son-in-law stationed in Kuwait for the next year. He is a career soldier and served a year ago for 18 months in Iraq. My daughter also was in the Army for five years and served in Kosovo.

REMEMBER FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!!

GivingThanks Intergenerational Storytime

For this month intergenerational
storytime at Prairie Meadows
Giving Thanks was chosen as November's theme by Lisa and Tara.

Four Moms, nine children and fourteen residents enjoyed the two stories read by Tara. The children colored pictures of Thanksgving and gave each resident one of the pictures. For snacks residents received apples and the children through the generosity of the cooks received chocolate snacks.

The residents really enjoy the children and the colored pages.

For additional pictures of this and all the library events visit our daily library
blog http://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/
or look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary
Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Election Storytime Day 2

At the Election Day Storytime the children learned about voting

and even had election ballots just for them. They chose either a donkey of elephant, coloring or play dough and whether they wanted M& M's or tootie rolls for treats. You can see the election results below.

Tabulating the election results.

Play Dough won as the activity in the election. Many creations by the children.

I did not know Batman was present!

For additional pictures of this and all the library events visit our daily library bloghttp://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/or look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary
Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/

Closed For Veteran's Day No Storytime

The library will be closed on Tuesday, November 11th for Veteran's Day.

There will be no storytime on Veterans Day

but storytime will resume on Wednesday, November 12th.

Election Day Storytime

At the Election Day Storytime the children learned about voting and even had election ballots just for them. They chose either a donkey of elephant, coloring or play dough and whether they wanted M& M's or tootie rolls for treats.

You can see the election results below.

The results Tabulation

Working with play dough.

For additional pictures of this and all the library events visit our daily library bloghttp://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/or look at our picture site on Flikkr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary

Library website:http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/