Blog

Brenda's blog about the Youth Media Awards from a couple weeks ago got me thinking about the best books for teens that I read in 2016.

​I use the Youth Media Awards to help me gage how I am doing with my reading....and by that standard, I did not do very well this year.

True confession: I read ONLY ONE book for teens that appeared on the list of winners chosen by my fellow librarians and literature experts.

Continue Reading "Read it! Loved it! Teen Titles For Everyone." →

His name is the most popular place name in the United States by a wide margin.

His image is on two items of our currency, and he is one of the first American historical figures children learn about in school.

If I said Father of His Country, who comes to mind?

You got it - George Washington.

Continue Reading "Meet Him Again, for the First Time" →

Our motto here at Des Plaines Public Library is "Work. Learn. Play." The new class lineup is here to help you do all those things.

Continue Reading "Learning Outside the Box" →

I like to joke that I'm not a librarian, but I play one on TV.

(But seriously, being a librarian is no joke. Librarians have master’s degrees and are some of the smartest, kindest, hardest-working professionals I know. And they are not in it for the money either, folks). 

But over my past nine years as the "non-librarian" head of marketing and communication at DPPL, I HAVE picked up all sorts of library tricks and tips I thought I’d share with you today. 

Continue Reading "10 Fab Things You Can Get at DPPL (That I Didn’t Know Until I Worked Here)" →

At the end of each year I become an amateur pollster.

I survey people to help me predict the winner of an election for which I am not even a registered voter.

Continue Reading "The Results Are In: The ALA Youth Media Awards" →