@EHHSLibrary - EHHS Library Blog

Top 10 Reasons Why Library Nerds Are The Best

4/21/2016

I am the librarian in a High School Media Center. Each day I get to interact with all types of teenagers. Some of them love sports, some of them love math, some of them love SnapChat...but the ones that have a special place in my heart are (obviously) the ones who love the library.

Here are my top 10 reasons why Library Nerds are the best kinds of teenagers:

10. They get my literary jokes.
9. They get just as offended as I do when someone says they "don't read."
8. We can freak out together on book-to-big-screen premiere days.
7. They can empathize with real people because of their "relationships" with fictional ones.
6. They think widely, always exploring new worlds and ideas.
5. They are passionate.
4. They have excellent problem-solving skills developed from figuring out how to carry five or more books home on the bus each weekend.
3. They know how to find information...like fandoms, blogs, twitter feeds, conferences, release dates...
2. They can hold a real, adult conversation while eloquently defending their stance on why Harry Potter is far superior to any other magical series ever written (or whatever their literary soapbox is for the day).
1. They teach me.

There you have it. The top 10 reasons why teens who hang out in the library are the best kinds of teenagers who will make the best kinds of adults. Much library love to you all!

Happy reading!

Parents: Are you in the know about the apps your teen is using?

5/19/2015

I was at a meeting with other Media Specialists from around our county today and a guest speaker showed us a demo of a fairly new app by which users can live stream from their location and viewers can comment in real time. The app is Twitter's new acquisition, Periscope. While there may be many ways to use this app for good there are also many ways this app can expose teenagers to live stream video that you might not consider appropriate. The following is a list of apps, like Periscope, that parents should be aware of and links to their Common Sense Media reviews or other information. Time to be in the know!

Each Common Sense Media review includes discussion questions for families. I hope this post helps you start some meaningful conversations with your children about online safety and digital footprints. For more information on emerging teen apps check out this article, or visit the Common Sense Media Blog.

To Parents: Do you know what your teen is reading?

5/19/2015

In our over-worked, over-stressed, over-scheduled, information free-for-all of a culture, it may be difficult for parents to keep in tune to what their teenagers are reading; but it is more important now, than ever, for parents to engage in open dialogue with their children about the books they are reading, as well as other forms of entertainment in their child's life.

Parents, ask yourselves these questions:
1. Do you know the title of the book your teen is currently reading? Do you know the basic storyline of the book?
2. Do you know what movie your teen last watched?
3. Do you know the lyrics of your teen's favorite song?
4. Have you sat with your child while he played his favorite video game and tried to understand the basic premise of the game?

These are important questions to know the answer to because they allow you to open a stream of dialogue with your child that meets him or her in an area of interest, as well as allowing you to broach thoughtful topics of conversation. Questions you can ask include: What do you like about that book? What do you think of the characters' choices? Do you think the love story is realistic? How does this book intersect with our family's beliefs or worldview?

It is very important to remember to listen to your child's answer and not dive into a lecture if their opinion differs from your own. This is a good time to let your teen process out loud. Ask them leading questions. You may be surprised when they change their own mind about a topic as they hear themselves discuss it.

One website that can greatly help you as you begin this journey with your teen is www.commonsensemedia.org. The Common Sense Media team reviews books, movies, TV shows, video games, apps, websites, and music. Each review answers the questions: "What's the story?"; "Is it any good?"; "What can families talk about?". Reviews also include a "What Parents Need to Know" section listing language content, sexual content, violence, etc. Each review also includes an age appropriateness rating.

We are living in a book-to-film explosion so it is also important to consider how a movie will differ from a book in terms of age appropriateness. Here are a few popular examples:

One hot topic many parents may not be aware of is the interest we have seen from our high school students about the adult romance series, Fifty Shades of Grey. We DO NOT have copies of this series in our library because our collection is geared to a young adult patron base, but we are frequently asked by students (grades 9-12) if we have the books. We have also heard of several instances where students have recommended the series to teachers as "so good" and "you have to read this." If this information is alarming to you, you may find the following reviews helpful in broaching a conversation with your teenager about the books and 2015 film adaptation.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/fifty-shades-of-grey
http://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/fifty-shades-of-grey

Each family will have a different barometer of content age appropriateness and hopefully this blog post will help you find an open stream of dialogue with your child about their choices for entertainment and bring you closer as a family.

GaETC Recap

11/7/2014

I spent the last two days at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference, or more affectionately known as GaETC. I'm not sure if the quality of sessions has gotten better or just my ability to pick good sessions, but this was the most successful GaETC experience I have had in the four years I have attended. I am feeling refreshed and energized and so full of great new ideas I just can't wait to share with teachers and other media specialists.

To start, here is the list of top sessions I attended (and a few that were recommended to me by people that attended them). Each is linked to the presenter's resources from each session, or has a download accompanying it.

Untangling the Web: 20 Tools to Power Up Your Teaching
Beyond Walls: Connecting Classrooms with the World
Kids Can Code (see file below)

kids_can_code.pdf
File Size:	116 kb
File Type:	pdf

Changing the One Right Answer Mentality: 10 Ways to Encourage Creativity in Your Library
Georgia Exemplary Library Media Programs
Digital Tools for Reading and Writing
Successful Photo and Video on Your Mobile Device
Make it Your Own: Creating a Makerspace for ALL (see file below)

make_it_your_own_presentation_gaetc_20142.pdf
File Size:	223 kb
File Type:	pdf

You can see the full session list here with all of the linked resources. Even if you weren't able to attend, you can pick the sessions that sound interesting and take a look at their slides and handouts to get some great new ideas!

I plan to post about specific awesome ideas I gleaned from my time at GaETC over the next few days, but for now this should give you a jumping off point for your own personal inspiration.

Happy reading,
Becca Hamby

Hamby's Favorite Reads

11/4/2014

I love reading. That's kind of obvious since I'm a Media Specialist. But really, I LOVE READING. I love discovering a new book, especially one I wasn't expecting to like, but ended up loving. There have been a few books through the years that have become my favorites. They have some quality - be it beauty of writing, depth of characters, remarkable storytelling - that brings them to the forefront of my mind when people ask me, "What should I read?"

Here are a few of my favorites:

Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
This book literally changed my life. A friend told me to read it and (because of the cover and size, I'll admit) I put it on my to-be-read-pile and forgot about it. But eventually I picked it back up and lost myself in the story. It is the most beautiful love story I have ever read. And for that reason I have read it over and over and over again. I know that I will read it many more times in my life. And you should to.
*Disclaimer: The prologue can be slow. Get to Chapter 1 and you won't be able to put it down. And watch out when you get to the 20's. Gut-wrenching.

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
This book is beautiful. I can't really describe why I loved it so much. Just that it is beautiful, and magical, and mysterious. This is another title that I put off reading for about a year, but when I finally picked it up from the first page I was hooked. I wouldn't say it was a book I couldn't put down, but it was a book I wanted to come back to. I needed to digest it in the in-between times and it made me want to be a better writer.

Here are a few more on my list:

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver

Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Harry Potter, by JK Rowling
Shatter Me, by Tereh Mafi
Matched, by Allie Condie
The Clockwork Scarab, by Colleen Gleason
Pivot Point, by Kasie West
Thousand Words, by Jennifer Brown
13 Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
The Selection, by Kiera Cass
City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
Graceling, by Kristin Cashore
Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Divergent, by Veronica Roth
Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

This is only the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure I'm forgetting some very important titles, but it should give you a starting place if you are looking for your next great read.

As always, if you need a recommendation, stop by the library and ask: "Mrs. Hamby, what should I read?"

Happy Reading!

Classics with a Twist

8/14/2014

Tome Society 14-15 it List

2/10/2014

Tome Society released their 14-15 It List nominees today and here they are!
http://www.tomesociety.org/2014-2015-it-list-nominees.html

Spotlight on Tome Society

2/4/2014

New Student Literacy Society Combining Extra Curricular Book Club and Common Core Literacy Standards

By: Rebecca Hamby, Tome Society Co-founder and It List Chair

The Tome Society, a new student literacy society focusing on multiple literacies that allow students to read, write, and interact across a range of platforms, takes the local school Book Club to a new level including competitions and student creations; Tome Society activities directly support the Common Core Literacy Standards.

The Tome Society was created in 2012 in a grassroots effort by the leadership committee - Jennifer Parker, Rebecca Hamby, and Shelby Day - all media specialists in Georgia. Parker, Hamby, and Day saw a need for a more robust school Book Club and set out to develop activities and events that would support the current efforts of Book Club sponsors across the country through a formal organization with adviser support and an interactive student community.

The Tome Society serves grades six through twelve. Middle schools sponsor Junior Tome Society chapters, while high schools have Tome Society chapters. Eleventh and twelfth graders can be initiated into the Tau Omicron Mu Epsilon honor society if they meet certain chapter and academic requirements after at least one year of active membership in Tome Society.

Tome Society members participate in a wide variety of activities including conferences, rallies, competitions, and philanthropic efforts. Students have the opportunity to compete in such events as creative writing, video and website creation, Reading Bowl competition, and chapter service projects. Tome Society chapters can also choose to sponsor niche literacy groups within their chapters, such as Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), poetry, gaming, and anime groups. Each year Tome Society chapters can join in hosting Tome Literacy Week in their schools to celebrate all facets of literacy.

Many of the Tome Society activities, including Reading Bowl competitions, are centered on the Tome Society It List, a list of twenty books selected as excellent reads for teens. According to Rebecca Hamby, Tome Society It List Chair, the goal for the Tome Society It List is to provide teens with a list of recently published, well-written, engaging novels they and the adults in their lives can trust to be awesome reads without worrying about excessive strong language and other questionable content. The Tome Society believes in intellectual freedom and strives to protect it, but the leadership team recognized a need for a Young Adult Literature award list that promotes high quality, clean books; for this reason, the It List was developed. See more about the It List as well as current and past It List nominees at www.tomesociety.org/it-list.

The Tome Society will host their first annual State Conference at East Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia on April 1st from 9:00am to 2:00pm. Tome State Conference will wrap up the 2013-2014 year and kick-off the 2014-2015 activities. All interested middle and high school book clubs are invited to attend. This is a chance to check out Tome Society if you are interested in starting a chapter and get your students excited about Tome for 2014-2015! Additionally, all interested potential Tome Society advisers are welcome to attend individually to experience firsthand what Tome Society is about. Please email rebecca.hamby@hallco.org if you are interested in attending.

The Tome Society is also accepting applications from teachers and Media Specialists interested in serving on administrative committees such as: It List selection, competition judging, contest development, curriculum, and others. To apply to serve on a Tome Society committee or to charter a Junior Tome or Tome Society chapter at your school, please visit www.tomesociety.org. For more information on the Tome Society you may contact tomesociety@gmail.com. You can also follow the Tome Society on social media - @tomesociety.

Tome Week 2014

1/8/2014

Tome Week 2014 will take place January 13-17. We have lots of fun actives planned including our Tournament of It List Books all week. Come by the library each day to cast your vote for your favorite It List books and see who the winner is on Friday.

Also, cast your vote online at www.tomesociety.org/vote for the official statewide voting.

Nanowrimo 2013

10/28/2013

We are gearing up for another awesome NaNoWriMo @EHHSLibrary! Our kickoff event will take place Oct 31 at 3:45 in the library. Come out to get signed up online and meet everyone that will be writing along with us.

Did you know that these published books were written during a Nanowrimo? Read one today to get inspired!

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
Persistence of Memory, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
Crewel, by Gennifer Albin
Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell
Something Strange and Deadly, by Susan Dennard
Born of Illusion, by Teri Brown