Get your Sammy fix with poets laureate and Indiana children’s authors

Sammy the Interviewing Toucan, who works out of the Indiana Young Readers Center, is back with a whole load of content for all the Sammy fans out there patiently waiting for more of this sassy bird. Sammy was hard at work this summer catching up with all kinds of literary types. The corduroy puppet has put together two series of videos. The first features five of Indiana’s poets laureate, including current Poet Laureate Matthew Graham and the second showcases five Indiana authors who write for children.

First to hit the airwaves will be five interviews with the poets laureate available on the Indiana State Library’s YouTube channel the morning of Sept. 5. When asked what it was like to talk to poets, Sammy said, “Of course I was delighted. I especially liked the fact that so many of them talked about birds. Except Matthew. He talked about James Dean, but that was cool too. James Dean is about as famous as I am, so there’s that.”

Then on Sept. 11, five more videos will be released featuring Indiana authors who write for children including an interview with award-winning Margaret Peterson Haddix. “That was just a dream come true,” Sammy said. “I mean, MPH is legendary in children’s literature. And it was great getting to talk to so many authors about how reading books – all kinds of books – is great for kids!”

When asked what’s next for this busy bird, Sammy said, “Oh, I’m going to be the star of some Escape Rooms that my staff is working on. They’ll be available for Indiana librarians to check out starting sometime in 2024. There’s always something keeping me flying!” Mark your calendars and tune in to catch up with Sammy, authors and the poets laureate of Indiana.

This blog post was submitted by Indiana Young Readers Center librarian Suzanne Walker.

Toucan interview with Keiko Kasza

You might have seen Sammy the Interviewing Toucan talk to some Indiana authors recently. Sammy is releasing a new video every Tuesday at 2 p.m Eastern Time via the Indiana State Library’s Facebook account. You can see past interviews on YouTube.

Indiana author Keiko Kasza preferred to do her interview via email and Sammy was more than happy to accommodate her. What follows is their interview.

Sammy: We always start our interviews by talking about Indiana. Can you share with us, what is your connection to Indiana? It’s very exciting to me that you were born in Japan, but you are now a Hoosier!
Keiko: We moved to Bloomington in 1985, when my husband got a teaching job at Indiana University. I’m happy to announce that we have witnessed the IU men’s basketball team winning the national championship. We screamed for joy in our little apartment in Bloomington.

Sammy: Do you consider yourself to be a Hoosier?
Keiko: After living here for more than 30 years, I think I have won Hoosier citizenship.

Sammy: Let’s talk about your work. All of your books feature animals. What made you choose animals to star in your books?

Keiko: I think there are four reasons why I use animals. For starters, animals are perfect characters when you write universal stories. Not specifying a race or a nationality of the human book characters really helps me create universal stories and focus on the theme itself. Therefore, I believe that my books have been translated into 15 languages, not because of the quality – though I’d like to believe that’s true, too – but mostly because it’s easier to translate universal stories into different languages.

Secondly, I have more freedom if I use animals. I can make a bad wolf look really bad, or make a hippo really fat, which might offend some people if I used humans.Thirdly, if I have to write a human story, I would need to do tons of research. What era is it? What is the social code like, and what kind of clothes or hairstyles are people wearing, etc. Although I read scientific information on the habitats of animals, their food and their enemies, the background information is minimal compared to writing human stories.

And lastly, I can’t draw humans too well.

Sammy: What is your favorite animal to draw?
Keiko: I don’t have a favorite animal to draw but I do have animals that I don’t want to draw. Horses, camels, zebras, etc.; those who have long legs. I often make animals stand up and walk on two legs like humans, so animals with long limbs look awkward.

Sammy: One of my favorite books of yours is “A Mother for Choco.” This is probably because I myself am a bird. This seems like a great book to share with children who are adopted. Did you have that in mind when you wrote the book?

Keiko: Not at all. The story came from my experience when I first landed in the U.S. I landed in LAX. I have never forgotten my shock at seeing so many different races of people walking around in the airport. Japan – especially back then – was a more homogeneous country; all you saw in Japan were Japanese people. I wanted to write multicultural stories. But since it was published, the “Choco” book has been well-received by adoption and foster families. And I’m glad!

Sammy: Several themes emerge in your books. Animals try to escape being eaten and I also notice stories about friendship and fairness. Why are you drawn to stories like these?
Keiko: When I write, I often think about what it was like when I was 5 years old. What kind of things would you remember from that long ago? Those incidents that gave you strong emotional reactions, such as happy, sad, frustrated and angry. My book, “The Rat and the Tiger,” is based on the frustration I felt dealing with a bossy friend from the time I was 5 until 7 years old. So, if there is a pattern in the themes I write, I would say it has to be my own childhood memories that have never left me.

Sammy: Do you have any advice to people who want to be authors someday?
Keiko: Just like real estate people say, “Location, location, location”, I want to say, “Read, read, read.”

Sammy: How are you doing in regards to the pandemic? I’m assuming this has made travel to Japan nearly impossible.
Keiko: Yes, I cancelled a trip to Japan this spring. Not only to see my family, but I was going to give two talks there. Other talks in the U.S. also have been cancelled.

Sammy: I’m so sorry to hear that. So much has changed due to the pandemic. Are you working on any new books at the moment? Can you tell us about them?
Keiko: I have been working on new stories. So far, I have four stories all dummied out. One is about the relationship between a grandmother and grandchild in Japan. Hopefully it will take my work into a new direction.

Sammy: Thank you so much, Keiko! This is your favorite Hoosier Toucan encouraging you to read local. So long!

This blog post was submitted by Sammy the Interviewing Toucan. 

The struggle is real: Reaching teens

One of the most common questions I get from library staff is “How do I get teens into the library?” For many libraries, it may seem as if it’s feast or famine – either they are swamped by after school crowds or they never see any teens step foot in the door. The crowds can be dealt with, but how do you get teens into the your library?

My go-to answer for the above question is, “Don’t expect them to,” meaning don’t expect them to come into the library, with expect being the key word here. Why would they come into the library? There’s a lot working against it – whether or not they can get a ride, what their friends are doing, how many after school commitments they have – the list goes on.  Going to the library has to be a conscious decision they make and then they must have the transportation and support to actually get there.

 Photo by Nicole Berro from PexelsSome better questions to ask might be, “Why aren’t the teens in my library?,” “What are the barriers to service?,” “What is structurally in place that stops them from coming in?,” and most importantly, “What can we do to overcome those barriers?”

The answer to these questions will be unique to each system and branch. Start by taking a close look at the culture and atmosphere of your library. Do teens feel welcome there? If no, what is causing them to feel unwelcome? Do your co-workers or administration understand why it’s good to have teen patrons, rather than becoming frustrated by them? I do staff day trainings on this topic and am working with the Young Adult Library Services Association to offer more workshops on teen services. The short version of the message I share in these trainings is that we can help teens gain important life skills through our programs. Well-rounded teens make for well-rounded citizens, and teens with positive library experiences make lifelong library users.

If transportation or busy schedules is a major issue, consider going to them. Where are they gathering? Is school the best place to reach them in a non-pandemic year? Could you reach them during lunch or after school at an extracurricular? Of course, COVID-19 has created an even bigger barrier. The answer to “where are the teens” right now is hopefully “home.” Even schools that are opening this fall will likely limit who can enter their buildings and public library staff may not make the cut. So, what can you do?

Look for other community groups that might help you reach teens. Connect with organizations in your area, such as social justice organizations, church youth groups, YMCAs or Boys & Girls Clubs, to arrange for on-site book pick-up and drop-off services, kit lending or even virtual programming. They may also be able to put you in touch with teens who are interested in particular topics – like gaming or STEM – or those who would make great teen advisory board members.

Figuring out who to partner with in your community is your first step. Take a look around. Drive through your streets and make note of organizations and businesses you might contact. Ask co-workers with teens what their kids do after school. Does your library have teen shelvers or pages? What do they suggest?

If you are from a community so tiny that you don’t have any groups or organizations to work with, might delivery be an option? Come up with a project that will benefit a charity, like making blankets to donate to your county’s Humane Society. Then offer to drop blanket making kits off at the homes of your teens. If that’s not feasible, reach out to your school librarian, or any other teacher with whom you have a relationship, and ask them to recommend teens for the aforementioned teen advisory board. Make it an honor that requires a teacher recommendation and will look good on their college applications! The board can meet via Zoom.

If you already have a pre-COVID established group of teen patrons, this may all be *slightly* easier for you. Zoom meetings and book clubs, YouTube craft tutorials and using Discord for chatting or gaming with your teen crowd have all been common ways to reach out to existing teen patrons. One example of a library using Discord with teens come from the Pendleton Community Public Library. Their teen librarian, Matthew Stephenson, had an established group of teen patrons before the pandemic and has stayed in touch with them using Discord. See my interview with Matthew below and check out this Discord tutorial, recorded by Andrew Laverghetta, a librarian from Eckhart Public Library.

Ultimately, what you do will depend on your unique community and what it needs. What works at one library may not work at yours. This is a time to reevaluate our library services and determine what is essential, and to refocus on quality over quantity. If you can have an impact on the lives of even a few teens in the middle of the pandemic, that’s significant.

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Interview with teen librarian Matthew Stephenson, Pendleton Community Public Library:

How have you been reaching teens during this time?
As we moved our teen programs and services to Discord, the teens who were already using Discord embraced the “new normal.” However, we have a significant portion of teens who rely on places outside of their home for high speed internet that makes Discord, Zoom and other resources possible. Because of that, I think some teens who would enjoy and embrace our virtual services are unable to find a time or place to do so.

Did you already have a pretty solid group of teen patrons?
I had a very solid group of teens who would be in the library multiple times a week. Some have made a similar commitment online since March. Others I haven’t heard from since then.

Have you reached new ones?
A few teens have discovered our virtual programs and services through our summer reading program, which incentivized joining the library’s teen Discord server.

What other methods have you used, besides Discord?
I have used Netflix Party to watch and talk about anime as a group. I’ve had a few teens who want to watch a whole movie that way. I’ve tried to use Zoom, but most of the teens who have attended are leery of being on camera. Lastly, I recently used Kahoot! to make a quiz competition. A few of the teens really enjoyed it, but thought I made the quiz too difficult, which I am, admittedly, prone to do.

Examples of any virtual programs you’ve done?
I’ve converted our in-library video and tabletop game programs to virtual versions done through Discord. They can get five to ten participating teens on a regular basis, but can accommodate up to 50. Our Teen Quiz had several participants and was asynchronous, which seems to be more popular with teens since COVID-19 and our building project began in the spring.

Is the library open to teen patrons yet?
Most of the library is currently closed for renovations, but we are offering essential services, such as copying, faxing and circulation of materials in our community room. All computer sessions are limited to one hour and patrons are encouraged to not linger in the limited areas open to them. We hope to open the library to next phase of reopening, which we call ‘Grab and Go,’ in August.

Thoughts on how you have/might work with schools this fall, pending your area’s school reopening plans?
We are launching our “One Card One Student” initiative at the beginning of the school year, which will give every student in our school system a special library card to use our databases and check out e-books. I believe that will place the library as an even more important complementary element to improve e-learning for our community’s students. This is in addition to offering Tutor.com to our residents and placing our Student Portal front and center on our library’s homepage.

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This blog post was written by Beth Yates, children’s consultant for the Indiana State Library.

 

Meet the intern: Abby Currier

Meet Abby Currier, one of the Indiana State Library’s newest interns. Abby grew up in New Hampshire and went to school in Pennsylvania and this is her first time in the Midwest. She says she is “thoroughly enjoying it and am glad that I can now add Indy to places that I have lived.”

Which school are you currently attending?
I am currently at IUPUI, but I graduated from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with my bachelor’s in history and Spanish in May of 2017.

What is your major?
I am a dual degree student in both public history and library science.

What is your job here at the Indiana State Library?
I work as an intern in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division.

Favorite part of the library or favorite thing about working at the library?
I like having the opportunity to discover new things and learn about the past both here in Indy and across the world.

How will this internship further your career?
I am hoping to work in an archive someday, so this is a perfect experience for me to learn about the profession that I want to enter.

Favorite place to eat here in Indy?
I don’t eat out a lot, but when I do my favorite place to go is Bru Burger downtown.

Favorite TV show?
My favorite TV show normally depends on what I am binging on Netflix at the moment, but I really enjoy “Hogan’s Heroes” and “M*A*S*H.”

This blog post was written by John Wekluk, communications director, Indiana State Library. For more information, email the communications director.

Meet the intern: Julia Deros

Meet one of the newest Indiana State Library interns, Julia Deros. Julia is originally from Cockeysville, Maryland and went to Gettysburg College, where she graduated with a bachelor’s in environmental studies and history.

Which school are you currently attending?
IUPUI.

What is your major?
Dual degree in library and information science and public history.

What is your job here at the Indiana State Library?
I am an intern with the Rare Books & Manuscripts Division.

Favorite part of the library or favorite thing about working at the library?
I really enjoy getting to work with documents from different time periods and helping visitors access history for their research.

How will this internship further your career?
I hope to one day work as an archivist, so this internship is a great experience for learning new skills and ways of thinking I’ll need as I start my career.

What is your favorite band?
Panic at the Disco.

Favorite movie?
The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Finally, the best place to eat in Indy?
Nine Irish Brothers.

Thanks!

This blog post was written by John Wekluk, communications director, Indiana State Library. For more information, email the communications director.

Meet Cara Ringle, new director of the Benton County Public Library

Recently, Northwest Regional Coordinator Kimberly Brown-Harden visited the Benton County Public Library. While there, she had an opportunity to meet and talk to Cara Ringle.

Are you from the area? If not, where are you from originally?
Yes, Fowler is my hometown. I lived in other places for school, and I live in a different city now, but I travel to the BCPL in Fowler every day.

What inspired you to work in libraries?
I’ve always loved reading and just learning in general. I always came to the library as a child, so when I needed a summer job, I started working there. I learned how multi-faceted libraries actually are and made the decision to get my MLS in grad school. Along the way I’ve had wonderful mentors who taught me what being a great librarian is all about, and I want to follow in their footsteps.

What is your favorite thing about working for your library?
To put it simply, I love the people. We have wonderful community members who come in and I very much enjoy chatting with them and helping them find what they need. Sometimes they stop by for no reason other than to say hi. When kids call me “Ms. Cara” my heart swells. Everyone has been very kind and supportive of me, especially since I became the director.

What is your favorite book? I’m a librarian; there are too many to name! My favorite YA is “Looking For Alaska” by John Green (I have a line from the book tattooed on my shoulder), because it’s an honest, realistic depiction of teenagers. Another favorite is “This Side of Paradise” by F. Scott Fitzgerald because his life fascinates me and the Jazz Age is my favorite era to read about.

If you could have dinner with any three famous people in recorded history, who would they be and why?
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, so I could tell her she was a strong woman who deserved better than the life she was given. Mary Shelley, because she essentially invented the sci-fi genre when she was just a teenager and it would be fun to pick her brain. Gilda Radner, one of the original female members of Saturday Night Live, so I could thank her for fostering my love of comedy and for being fearless and hilarious in her performances

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
I have a writing degree, so I write quite a bit. I dabble in short stories and memoir-type essays and I’m also working on a novel. I’m big into theatre, so I drag my friends and family to see musicals with me. In terms of reading, I average about a book a day.

I’m also on the board of directors and the secretary for the Prairie Preservation Guild, which is a non-profit that helps run the historic Fowler Theatre. I volunteer my time and strengths in a collective effort to bring quality affordable arts and entertainment to our area.

This blog post was written by Kimberly Brown-Harden, northwest regional coordinator, Indiana State Library. For more information, email Kim at kbrown-harden@library.in.gov

 

Interview with April A. Bonomo, Librarian at Rockville Correctional Facility

Are you from the area?  If not, where are you from originally?

I’ve lived in Rockville since 1976, however I am originally from beautiful Brown County. As I like to say, specifically, the suburbs of Gnaw Bone.20150701_133240_resized (2)

What inspired you to work in libraries?

Between the order of a library and the multisensory experience books bring, a library is a very peaceful environment to me. When I learned of the available position at Rockville Correctional Facility (RCF) I knew that is where I wanted to be. Even though I had no previous experience in corrections, I knew I had found my vocational home. The ease of becoming acclimated to the position and the continued enthusiasm for it confirms my initial notion.

What is your favorite thing about working for your library? Continue reading