You can vote for your favorite teen books here. Show your support for your favorite authors and get ideas for other books to read.

Check out the table of information here.

It’s interesting to see who has a background in education. I’m glad AZCentral included that. Also, one candidate said that she would visit all schools. Arizona has a lot of schools. That’s an interesting promise. I wonder if she has a killer iPhone app that manages her responsibilities really well, freeing up lots of time. Or an app that makes her teleport – one or the other.

Check out the videos here and here or below:

I’ve added some social media buttons to the tops of the articles. I’m testing them out with this article. If you want the code for how to do this, message me on one of the social media sites.

Students, our district will have blocked the buttons but people who aren’t on our network can use the buttons.

The tables we’ll be sitting at don’t have power outlets. No live blog of the event. Check back later tonight for a summary.

This summer I watched part of E3 as well as game seven of the NBA Finals online. The broadcasters for both events used the same liveblogging software: Coverit Live.

Wednesday through Friday of this week I’m going to try and live blog using the software. It helps me stay focused and remember what was said (especially for a three day conference) and I’m always surprised about how many educators mention my blog to me in person. Students, it won’t be incredibly exciting, but teachers might benefit from it.

Today is the test run of the event. Below is the Internet equivalent of “Mic check…is this thing on?”

Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday. A lot of big decisions will be made.

Today marks the birth/death of Shakespeare on the Julian calendar and the death of Miguel Cervantes on the Gregorian calendar. Celebrate their work by giving a book away today. I’ve already given away tons this morning – and if they don’t come back in two weeks there’ll be a fine.

Cervantes is most known for writing Don Quixote. Shakespeare is known for writing everything else and having people copy his work. Click on their names to read a sample of their work.

It’s great to see authors like Marilyn Johnson delve into the world of what a modern library actually looks like. Here’s an excerpt from This Book is Overdue that summarizes it pretty well:

Somewhere between Jeanette Moodie’s frontiers and Lena Kjellar’s is the story of a profession in the midst of an occasionally mind-blowing transition. A library is a place to go for a reality check, a bracing dose of literature, or a “true reflection of our history,” whether it’s a brick-and-mortar building constructed a century ago or a fanciful arrangement of computer codes. The librarian is the organizer, the animating spirit behind it, and the navigator. Her job is to create order out of the confusion of the past, even as she enables us to blast into the future.

I also appreciate the acknowledgment that a librarian helps you find your information efficiently, as well as the nod to libraries as a community center. Our local public library is offering business and network classes and helping people with their job applications. In a time where the majority of our population is being hit hard economically, a hub with free access to information is crucial.
Here’s a link to the article from NPR.

Tonight is the Hoops for Haiti fundraiser. Our staff is taking on the GrJHS staff. All money raised goes towards UNICEF’s Haiti earthquake relief efforts. I’ll be playing as the tallest librarian on the court.