Weekly inspiration ~ 25-29 March

Happy Easter! Hope everyone has a relaxing break :) Here are the things that have been inspiring me this week and that I've been loving!

1: These two articles by Meredith Farkas: "Assuming resistance is a bad thing" & "Lets just try it and see what happens!" I pretty much love any article by Meredith!
http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2012/02/14/classic-blunder-2-assuming-resistance-is-a-bad-thing/

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2012/01/28/classic-blunder-1-lets-just-try-it-and-see-what-happens/

2: The third book in the Divergent series: I am so excited for the upcoming release of the as-yet-untitled book by Veronica Roth- probably my favourite YA series EVER!! Also if you're a fan, you may be interested to know a Downton Abbey minor character has been cast as Tobias 'Four' Eaton in the movie!!
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/03/15/divergent-four-theo-james/

3:  Better book displays: My boss fowarded this link to me about creating better book displays & I found it very useful :)
http://658point8.com/2013/03/15/better-book-displays/

4: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I thought you could only get these in the United States ( please tell me if I'm wrong!) but I found them in Akaroa this weekend! They are so deliciously salty/sweet and just in time for Easter :)

Weekly inspiration ~ 18- 22 March

Phew, another busy week gone by. Here's what has been inspiring me this week:

1: Managing your information flow. I found this useful as I can get quite addicted to Twitter and Facebook and not realise how much time I'm spending looking at these sites.
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/blogs/libraries-and-learning/13-03/infowhelm-strategies-managing-your-information-flow#.UTfWdjPX6oU.twitter

2: Teen Librarian Toolbox: Another cool blog to follow :)
http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/

3: This hilarious blog by Moara Tamaira
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/moatas-blog-idle/8429618/Kick-it-in-the-guts-Trev

4: Personal branding by Courtney Lambert
http://courtneylambert.co/a-personal-conversation-about-personal-brandi

5: Instaframe app for Twitter- so good! Here’s an example:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly inspiration ~ 11- 15 March

It's Friday! Here are the things that have inspired and motivated me this week:

1: Bridging the gap between the library and teenage boys via Sally Pewhairangi

http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/blogs/libraries-and-learning/13-03/bridging-gap-between-library-and-teenage-boys#.UTfdxWu6Gpc.twitter

2: An exciting new blog to read through:
http://hushlander.wordpress.com/

3: Loved reading this article by Karen Tay- Favourite Literary Villains
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/reading-is-bliss/8368773/Who-are-your-favourite-literary-villains

4: What do libraries mean to you? It's nice to know people outside libraries care about us too :)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/reading-is-bliss/8427612/What-do-libraries-mean-to-you

5: Having Kyle Mewburn taking our Toddler Time yesterday and talking to a couple of school groups. You can see more photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/WaitakiDistrictLibraries

Weekly inspiration ~ 4-8 March

1: Camel libraries improving literacy in Kenya
http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/11/07/feature-02

2: All the awesome events going on around the country for NZ Book Month but especially our library :)
http://www.library.waitaki.govt.nz/


3: New Zealand Book Month-so many books, not enough time!
http://www.nzbookmonth.co.nz/

4: The exciting new network for library professionals
http://newprofessionalsnz.wordpress.com/

5: The new TVNZ OnDemand app for iPads- finally!!
http://tvnz.co.nz/tvnz-ondemand-app/go-here-5354116

 

Weekly inspiration

Lately I've been lacking time and inspiraton to write 'proper' blog posts so, I thought I would do what I've seen on lots of other blogs and publish a post at the end of the week of things that have inspired/motivated me or that I find interesting. These things will mostly be library related but may include some random stuff :) :)
I'm looking foward to posting more regularly on my poor neglected blog!

Julia
Twitter: @JuliadeRuiter

Book Review: Solomon's Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson

This is an excellent novel by Jo-Ann Mapson. She is the author of eleven novels and a book of short stories. I don’t think any book review can do justice to Mapson’s writing. This book was exceptional. I was totally engrossed in this book from start to finish.

Solomon’s Oak follows widow Glory Solomon who is inwardly struggling with the loss of her husband. She holds weddings in the chapel built under the two-hundred-year-old white oak tree on their property to generate extra income for her struggling farm. Then, angry and homeless foster teenager Juniper McGuire turns up on Glory’s doorstep. Because of the disappearance of her older sister Casey several years ago, Juniper has a lot of trust and honesty issues. Glory doesn’t know if she can handle Juniper without her husband. Newcomer Joseph Vigil is a retired police officer who was shot while on duty and now lives in pain. He arrives in California to photograph the giant trees- something he has always wanted to do. The lives of these characters firstly intertwine in subtle ways, finally becoming a very close knit family.

This was my first foray into ‘grown up’ fiction for quite some time and I was pleasantly surprised. This book showed me that contemporary adult fiction can be uplifting and firmly rooted in reality, yet life affirming, rather than cynical and depressing. What really stood out for me was Mapson’s writing. She has a sense of wisdom while still writing with a refreshing take on everyday life. The world she created for her characters was full of life and special moments. I felt like Glory, Juniper and Joseph could be walking down the street, rather than just fictional people in the pages of this novel.

The book leaves you with some unanswered questions which I was very excited to discover are answered in her latest book, the (unofficial) sequel- Finding Casey.

I give this book five out of five stars.

Julia  

 

It's the small things that count

I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes good library service, great. Is it lots of staff? An excellent collection? The latest technology? A modern building?

To me, great library service happens when staff are committed to providing the very best service they can while working with the resources they have. This might mean spending a bit longer than usual with a non-english speaking patron, giving a mini tutorial on ereaders with an older patron or just trying your best to make a patron feel comfortable and respected in the library.

I saw an example of this yesterday. One of our staff members saw that the line for the APNK internet computers was getting rather crowded with a lot of school children. She ( sneakily) took them over to our comfy sitting area and got them started with a game of Guess Who. Problem solved! She could have growled or given them the 'librarian glare' but instead they became happily engaged in a board game. 

I think it is actions like these that give a library a great atmosphere and sense of vibrancy.  While its great to think about the big picture and not sweat the small stuff, its also important to me to put 100% effort into each enquiry every  time I'm on the desk. People appreciate stand out service. Just the other day, an elderly lady took the time to express her thanks for my help and friendliness while helping her with some technical difficulties- stand out service is noticed, even if patrons may not voice it out loud. The warm fuzzies are great though!

What are your thoughts on what makes great library service happen?

Julia

Twitter @JuliadeRuiter