Author: marybeth

RCLS is hosting a Mock Printz Book Award program in January of 2023. This award is given in honor of Michael L. Printz, a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas, who had a passion for literature, and was a member of YALSA, or the Young Adult Library Services Association. Our former children’s consultant, Randy Enos, was fortunate enough to have known Mr. Printz. The award is given for literary merit in young adult literature, and the committee has chosen seven titles for discussion.
They are as follows:

1. Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

2. The Epic Story of Every Living Thing by Deb Caletti

3. An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan

4. Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds & Jason Griffin

5. Victory, Stand! by Tommie Smith

6. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

7. Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk

There are copies of all the titles except one on our shelves. Happy Reading!

According to an article in the September-October issue of American Libraries, some libraries are adding sensory spaces to their buildings. These are designed for users with autism, sensory processing disorders and other disabilities, giving them an area in which they can feel more comfortable. Louisville Public Library has added an Experia USA interactive game floor, which projects images that respond to play and movement. Other items added by additional libraries: an Alpha Egg chair, which muffles sound, and a Vibro-Acoustic Platform, which is a bench where listeners can feel the pulse of music. So much for libraries becoming “obsolete”, that nasty word. Take that, all you naysayers!

… and the players were totally confused. They couldn’t figure out what she was doing there. Jessica Fitzpatrick, a high school librarian in Houston decided to reach out to the football coach to try and increase literacy and encourage a love of reading among the players. So together, they organized a program where the 50 team members read several books together on “leadership, empowerment and sports.” Kudos to Ms. Fitzpatrick, since library visits and circulation increased, as well as many of the athletes grades. To date, both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams have participated as well, and there are plans for the softball, baseball, and girls’ soccer teams to engage in the upcoming school year. The power of librarianship is an amazing force to reckon with…

Ava Wong has always played by the rules. That is, until she reconnects with a old college friend, Winnie Fang, twenty years later. Winnie is managing a successful counterfeit handbag business, but she needs someone to help her out by running interference with her Chinese counterparts. Ava is dissatisfied with her former career as a lawyer, and is annoyed with her surgeon husband for leaving her to raise their behaviorally challenged toddler, Henri, most of the time. Winnie convinces Ava to work for her, and all is well for a while, until Winnie unwittingly hires a detective to work for her. Winnie disappears leaving Ava holding the bag; can Ava talk her way through the charges leveled at her? This was a bit of a departure from my usual choices, but it did hold my interest…