Tag: pandemic life

Posted in Librarianing

2021: It was the… okayest of times?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

A lot of bloggers in LibraryLand have been blogging about the highs and lows for the year, and since I’ve been struggling, I feel like I should jump in and see if that jogs my creativity again. 2021 was not the light at the end of the tunnel that I’d hoped for, but it was better, because I got back to my library and my community. So there’s that. So without further ado, I present:

The Good

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I got back to my library and my community! It’s been such a relief to be back at my library home.

The return of in-person programming! It’s been slow but steady, but families are coming back for programming. We’ve been doing pop-up and grab-and-go programming, and families are staying in the library for a little longer each time.

Collection development! I got to buy books again, and it is wonderful!

I got to develop and innovate with my colleagues during our shutdown and staggered reopening.

 

The Meh

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Patrons who think it’s cool to verbally abuse front line staff. I’ve experienced a renaissance in patrons yelling, cursing, and attempting to throw things at me, and I know I am not alone here. I know we’re largely all stressed out these days, but folx, we’re here to help you.

Depression, anxiety, the blues, call it what you will, I’ve been getting pummeled with it harder than usual and it’s affecting my blogging schedule. For that, I apologize, and I’m hoping to find my smile on a more regular basis as we move into 2022.

Continued uncertainty: budgets, variants, political climates, social upheaval, it all makes for worrisome times.

 

So what’s next?

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So what’s next? For me, it’s getting back to writing things down to give my brain a break. It’s rediscovering my love of blogging and kidlit, and giving myself breaks, whether it’s actually using my time off or doing programming I enjoy. And continuing to keep a spark of hope for 2022.

Posted in programs

Make and Take Quickie: Dawn from The Nocturnals

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’ve finally dipped my toe into the world of Make and Takes, and have had a good response! My first one was a colorful rendering of Dawn the Fox from The Nocturnals series. I started with the Heart Craft templates from The Nocturnals Book Club Kit (Halloween Edition), which I’ve linked to here. There are a bunch of great craft ideas in this kit, including heart crafts for Bismark and Tobin, in addition to Dawn. I printed out copies on different color paper, and mixed and matched to give some fun contrast. Cute, right?

 

I cut out all the pieces, so no one would have to worry about cutting small pieces at home. Things get lost, scissors slip, paper gets torn, you know the drill. I printed extra copies of the Dawn the Fix step-by-step instruction sheet that you see above (it’s in the Book Club Kit), and folded it in half, putting the pieces to assemble the Dawn craft in each one. Then, I made my flyer, with a little pizzazz: since we are only providing to-go service at the moment, I created a QR code that would link anyone interested in two of the Easy Readers (The Slithery Shakedown and The Chestnut Challenge) to the book detail page on our library’s website. We have the books available in eBook or in hard copy, so folks can borrow the ebooks right there on the spot or request them, no muss, no fuss. I also included links to The Nocturnals YouTube page, where author Tracey Hecht reads The Slithery Shakedown and The Chestnut Challenge. Voila! A make-and-take project, readaloud, and readers advisory all in one!

Nocturnals World, the website for The Nocturnals, has a lot of fun craft projects and helpful educational resources, so make sure to visit them. If you have any great make and takes you’ve worked on, please weigh in! Let’s share info.