Wyoming Library Leadership Institute

Leadership was the focus at the 2018 Wyoming Library Leadership Institute.


Mandy Fable from "Kindness Wyoming" spoke of efforts to transform "anti-bullying" campaigns into proactive promotion of "kindness"--in other words, shifting focus from the undesired behaviour of bullying toward the positive conduct of spreading good will. 

Larry Yatch delivered an instructive seminar.  His experiences and perspectives, his ideas and applications, all serve to present a whole new paradigm for Leadership.

Jake Conilogue shared his expertise about safety protocols, applying them to libraries in their various roles and community settings. 

Valerie Maginnis led an exploration in communication awareness for improving efforts at understanding others and being understood by others.

Janette McMahon presented her thoughts on Readers' Advisory and shared magnificent strategies to improve patron service.

Coordinators Anna McDonnel Smedts and Tasha Reeves did extraordinarily well to highlight Lander's vitality, promoting local artists, activities, and establishments. They arranged seminars and events in order for us to see the Eagle Spirit Dancers and Singers our first evening and then to allow us to enjoy a fantastic vantage point for attending Lander Live Music the next. They also honoured us with the opportunity to have lunch and then to "Graduate" within the hallowed space of Lander's Carnegie Library, built over a century ago.

I look forward to applying the lessons in leadership that I learned at the Institute.

Thanks to all!



Wyoming State Library - Leadership Institute
https://library.wyo.gov/services/training/wll/


Mandy Fable (Executive Director of Kindness Wyoming)
http://www.kindnesswyoming.org/

Larry Yatch (Retired Navy SEAL, SEALed Mindset)
http://sealedmindset.com/

Jake Conilogue (Fremont County Resource Officer)
https://www.landerschools.org/schools/school-health-and-safety/school-resource-officer-information/

Valerie Maginnis (Teton County Library Director)
http://tclib.org/ 

Janette McMahon (Fremont County Library Director)
http://www.fclsonline.org/


My gratitude to my fellow attendees. Also, special  appreciation to Anna McDonnel Smedts and Tasha Reeves, as well as Chris Van Burgh, for coordinating this year’s Wyoming Library Leadership Institute!

There I am, the tall guy in the back, wearing the Wyoming shirt!

Summer Reading-2018

Here's my stack of summer reading.

A few are for work. A couple are for me.
A triad of Twain--both old and new!
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library kept popping up all through my first year in the library.
I figured I'd best check it out for myself.

I wish everyone happy reading this Summer!

Last Days of the First Year in the Library

My first year in the library is quickly coming to a close. 

I could go on practically all Summer about my many fantastic and frightful experiences this past year and all the lessons I learned. But what I'd like to relate above all is something wonderful that occurred during these last few days.


The Kindergarten teachers got together and had their students make me a "Thank You Book."
Pupils thanked me for reading to them, and each one wrote about their favorite book and drew an illustration.

All three classes presented the book, along with a song, at the library entrance.

I stood honoured and humbled and absolutely amazed.
And more determined than ever to do all I can to inspire students.

****

The drawings give such an interesting glimpse into how the children view me as their Librarian.

It's the hair that gets me. 

I put my mane in a ponytail, in what I've heard referred to as a biker-braid.

That explains the ringlets in the picture above, 

a style which shows up in many of the children's drawings.

However, I'm not bald, and I don't ever wear braided pigtails, as depicted below.

(I almost look like a grinning Steven Wright.)

Whatever my hairstyle, I'm happy everyone is smiling.

****

Young Authors

I won a Young Authors contest at school when I was ten years old. It made quite a profound impact on me. The feeling of accomplishment, the recognition of my work, the opportunity to share my imagination--the entire experience helped develop my early interest in writing, eventually leading me toward the path of becoming a writer.

My own kids--both Kindergartners--entered the Young Authors program this year. My daughter wrote a fiction piece entitled Friends about the adventures of a dinosaur and knight. My son composed a collection of poems entitled Superheroes, Aliens, and Ice Creams. 

Not only did they both win in their respective categories at their school, they also placed at the district level. The poems earned an honourable mention, and the fiction piece took first place.

I am astonished--and humbled--at their burgeoning skills as storytellers. If I were half the writer at their age, well...

...Well, I would not be at all surprised if their own paths lead them toward further explorations of writing and to adding more of their own original contributions to the "Commonwealth of Letters." 

Open Library

When I search the web, I do my best to stay focused on what I am seeking. I'm usually not one to let myself wander off and to get lost along the web's myriad tangled strands. Well, searching for an open source cataloguing system for my school's book room, I stumbled across a site that had nothing at all to do with my search. Nevertheless, it drew me away from my subject at hand, and I'm glad it did. The site is called "Open Library." 

Open Library is an archive that contains scanned copies of thousands upon thousands of books, along with links to catalogues such as WorldCat and vendors like Amazon.

I was familiar with Project Gutenberg, which offers free access to thousands of e-books, but I had never before heard of Open Library. Open Library allows traditional borrowing, and it also enables effective searches of numerous subject headings as well as genres, authors, titles, etc. Further, it offers various electronic formats, including standards for readers with print disabilities.

So far, I'm intrigued. I plan to explore Open Library further and see how I might be able incorporate the resource into my school library for the benefit of patrons.

It's true: every once in a while, a web search really can turn up something worth finding, even if unintentionally.



Full link:
https://openlibrary.org/

Read Across America: Seuss rhymes with...?

My daughter and son are Kindergartners. This week at school they're celebrating the birthday of the beloved children's literature author, Dr. Seuss.

It was but a handful of years past that I learned how Theodor Geisel, himself, pronounced his own pen-name. Well, a couple days ago, when the kids were telling me how their class was planning to celebrate "Read Across America" this week, I told them about the honest pronunciation of the name.

I expected them to scoff at me, as they so often do. On the contrary, they seem to revel in the knowledge, as if they were suddenly privy to some piece of mystical intelligence, forsaken by all those around them. And they mean to disseminate awareness.

All week they've been hopping around, and turning each other loose, correcting folks who so ignorantly rhyme "Dr. Seuss" with "Mother Goose."
In fact, they're telling anyone who will listen to watch his or her "voice."
To rhyme the name as would old Theo, himself, and know the real way to say, "Dr. Seuss."

Below is a link to the Dr. Seuss website, Seussville.com
Lots of fun resources.
Great for celebrating "Read Across America."

http://www.seussville.com/

Another Lunar Eclipse

I caught only a glimpse of last night's Lunar Eclipse. The Moon enshrouded in glowing shadow, hanging low over the cold horizon. The clouds then cast away all but darkness upon the Heavens. Still a wonder to witness.

The live stream from NASA was awesome, too.


Here's what the Lunar Eclipse looked like from a couple years ago--the last one for which I had a camera ready AND that wasn't clouded out where I live.