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Coral Gables,FL-Venetian Pool-Linen

About a month away before Lux Mentis ventures to Coral Gables, FL for Rare Books and Manuscripts Section/ACRL Conference 2016! Lux Mentis is sponsoring a seminar:

“Common Sense, Charm, and a Glass of Wine: Successfully Navigating Donor Relations in Special Collections”

Stay tuned for exciting catalogs furthering our manifesto of vice and debauchery and if you are lucky, a print version (while supplies last!).

Follow the marauders on Instagram: instagram.com/luxmentis/

The 100 Day Project begins today. I’m wary of committing (even in a vague personal challenge kind of way) to any non-work or -family task that lasts a hundred days, but I love following this project on Instagram and found a way I can make it work for myself. As a way to help keep my daily sketchbook practice going strong, my ‘project’ will be to put color down on paper every day for a hundred days. Paint, colored pencil, fountain pen ink, collage…whatever medium I feel like on a given day will count.

To participate in the project, you share your daily efforts on Instagram with the hashtag (#the100dayproject). Now, will I manage to keep up with that part for a hundred days in a row? Not likely. I generally only feel like sharing a tiny fraction of what goes into my sketchbook. But that’s okay. The rules are malleable in voluntary internet challenges, right?

So today is Day 1. This morning I was showing Huck the delights of wet-on-wet watercolors and this little fish turned up of its own accord. At least, I see a fish. My IG friends see a man’s profile.

Don’t worry about diving into this late, if you’re of a mind to participate. Follow elleluna on Instagram for more info, or visit this post for particulars.

A creatively vital use of an emerging medium

I had the hugely fun experience today of receiving a present in The Creative Exchange, an Instagram present swap organized by Sam Dunne of Dunne With Style. When you sign up for this exchange, you are assigned a person to secretly stalk on Instagram for a couple of weeks, and then you put together an assortment of small goodies for her and send it off. Meanwhile, someone else is doing the same thing for you. I had boatloads of fun getting to know my recipient via her feed and picking out treasures to send her—the package is due to arrive tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see how she likes her presents.

Well, today I received my package from a lovely woman named Karla, and I’m just blown away by the abundance and gorgeousness of her presents. She did a great job sussing me out via Instagram, because every single item made me squeal with delight. I mean, it’s all just perfect.

I just had to run to Periscope and do a show-and-tell video because the whole experience was so much fun. I was watching the replay just now and heard myself say something completely stupid. Like, so stupid I gasped. (This is not uncommon. I routinely wince at the memory of idiotic remarks I’ve made, but it’s eighty times worse watching it on video.)

I was describing how this experience—opening these presents that are so exactly what I would pick out for myself—reminded me of the time I visited my online friend Lisa and her family for the first time. We knew each other through my blog, and in fact years earlier, Lisa’s daughter, a very young girl named Annie (age eleven, I think), had left a comment that solved a sewing machine problem I was having. Such a gem. Well, years later, I was driving cross-country with the kids, and Lisa knew we’d be passing her town and invited us for dinner. And Annie, who was a teenager by then, surprised me with an amazing homemade dinner that was all my favorite foods. She had gleaned this information by reading my blog over the years and so thoughtfully put together a delicious feast for me of things she knew I would love! Amazing. I was blown away.

So, okay, in the Periscope I’m talking about how today’s experience—having Karla pick out such PERFECT presents for me based only on the hints about my tastes and hobbies she picked up from my Instagram—reminded me of Annie’s feast: this one other time I can think of that someone I hadn’t met in person gave me a wonderfully on point treat based on things I’d written.

Telling it like this, I think you get how I meant it. But what I SAID was: “I’ve only once in my life had an experience quite like this, where somebody gave me something that showed such thoughtfulness and such a grasp of what I love…”

Um, NOT WHAT I MEANT.

I can think of MANY, MANY times in my life when someone gave me something that showed immense thoughtfulness and a grasp of what I love. Like my parents, for starters, who do that on a regular basis. Or how about my husband? The guy who once socked away a stack of my favorite Ritter Sport bars because we had to be separated for several months and he knew a day would come when I’d be in desperate need of a chocolate remedy. Or my kids, routinely. My sisters, my cousins, my in-laws. And a stream of friends come rushing to mind…Sarah H. giving me that Karl Larsson book as a going-away present because she knew I loved him. Erica and my other local friends, all the abundance of goodies in birthday baskets over the years. Alice, all the way back to the basket she brought to the hospital when Jane was sick, crammed full of the exact things it turned out we would desperately need. Lesley’s beautiful Small Meadow gifts over the years. Krissy, the Midori!!! I mean, the list goes on and on. I could keep this up for hours. Meals, presents, endless kindnesses. Thoughtfulness and a grasp of what I love. Over and over and over: all these cherished friends.

So, yeah, the key words missing from that sentence were “where somebody I’D NEVER MET IN PERSON gave me…”

Of course even as I write that, I’m thinking how inaccurate it too is, even with the addendum…we got a lot of thoughtful presents from strangers when Jane was ill. So maybe I should also add “such a grasp of what I love, picked up by things I posted on the internet.” LOL. I’m howling at myself now. Probably that’s not accurate either. The second I hit publish on this I’m going to think of ten times a kind reader sent me something sweet. Actually, I’m recalling instances already.

So basically I’m just a nitwit with the good fortune to be on the receiving end of a lot of thoughtful gestures. Despite what I may babble while live-streaming, I appreciate each and every one.

(But Karla, seriously, you nailed it.)

Anyway, here’s my show-and-tell scope…if you’ll just kind insert the appropriate mental edits to my boneheaded remarks!

Can Instagram really sell wine? The answer is, yes, though perhaps indirectly. In recent years the advent of social media, considered to be the second stage of the Internet’s evolution – the Web 2.0, has not only created an explosion of user-generated content but also the decline of expert run media. It’s a change that has led to the near demise of print media.

The post Wine and social media appeared first on OUPblog.

It’s been such a busy year for all three of us–as you’ve probably noticed, we haven’t been around as much lately, but I’m literally thinking about you guys every single day. I thought it’d be fun to start posting occasional photos that we put on Instagram, since it seems like a nice way to stay connected even when we’re absent. I’ve been listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks, since they’re among the few things I seem to be able to concentrate on lately. Here’s the potions set from the Chamber of Secrets press junket from my old job, plus some Harry-inspired liquid lipsticks that both Layla and I love. These are also some of the books that arrived last month, plus a great mug I received as a present when I went to the GoodReads headquarters in San Francisco. I’ll be writing about that more in depth down the road,... Read more »

The post Our Month on Instagram: October appeared first on The Midnight Garden.

Unsurprisingly, this month's searches of #yalibrarian, #schoollibrarian, and #teenlit turn up two main themes: Teen Read Week and Halloween. I sought a sub-theme that could neatly demonstrate passive programming, but it felt forced. Instead of fabricating a unifying theme of the week, I decided to zoom out and identify some October trends.

• Displays are easy and plentiful in October

Between Teen Read Week and Halloween, teen services librarians and library workers easily come up with some of the most creative displays of the year. Fall is also a prevalant theme. Additionally, book awards begin announcing finalists (hello National Book Awards) that can be incorporated into displays.

• Book talks - also easy

"Easy" meaning "lots of bookish ideas to work with". (If you are like me and get stage fright, book talks are always a *gulp* moment and never "easy".) Summer blockbusters are finished and we are approaching the season of franchise and Oscar-bait films. Considering how many book-to-film adaptations just left theaters, are in theaters, or coming-soon, librarians and library workers are more likely to find a common ground with teens. I tried pushing The Martian several times in the past, with marginal success. Now, it can't stay on the shelf.

• Passive and active programming - plenty of options for both

The school I work for does not allow for tons of "active" programming time. There are challenging months that don't mesh well with passive programs. However, the features of October mentioned above allow for creative passive programming ideas. If you are a school librarian with little time for active programming, or October is too busy for involved programs, peruse the Instagram posts below for excellent passive program ideas.

I hope your October was busy and fun. Please share your programs and book displays/talks below!

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

The week of Sunday, October 18 through Saturday, October 24 marked YALSA's 2015 Teen Read Week. With a "Get Away @ your library" theme, libraries were encouraged to showcase resources and activities to the teen community and support reading for fun. This year's theme was selected to "help teens escape from the day to day grind of school, homework, family responsibilities, part time jobs and so on by picking up something to read." Started in 1998, Teen Read Week is held every October to encourage teen reading and library use.

From author visits and in-house or social media contests to book giveaways and food, libraries spotlighted a number of creative ways to bring teens into the library. Maintaining connections with current teen library users and reaching out to new, potential users through both physical and digital library channels is important in light of comparisons provided in The Future of Library Services for and with Teens report. Whereas youth participation in libraries was previously a formal library-driven activity to gain feedback on collections or space, the envisioned future of youth participation is much more flexible and informal, with all teens in both the physical and digital library space receiving an opportunity to develop, implement, and evaluate programs and services. Encouraging teens to engage in the library events such as Teen Read Week may be the perfect way to gain insight from those hard to reach teens!

Did you celebrate Teen Read Week at your library? We want to hear from you! Share with us in the comments section below.

For more information on Teen Read Week, please visit the Teen Read Week website.

More information on the envisioned future of youth participation in libraries, please see The Future of Library Services for and with Teens report.

[View the story "Instagram of the Week - October 26" on Storify]

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via Instagram http://ift.tt/1OqZqq6

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

Banned Books Week kicked off yesterday, Sunday, September 27 and Instagram users are posting photos in celebration of their fREADom to read. Running from September 27 through Saturday, October 3, this year's Banned Books Week focuses on young adult books. It may be easy to call to mind cases of challenged books and censorship that made their way to media outlets, but both the YALSA wiki and the American Library Association's Challenges to Library Materials page remind us that a challenge can also include a patron expressing concern over an item or requesting that it be shelved in another collection. YALSA's The Future of Library Services for and with Teens report lists intellectual freedom as one of the core values librarians should hold as they protect the rights of teens to access information and educate the community about intellectual freedom.

Are you doing something to celebrate Banned Books Week? Book lists, displays, games, posters? We want to know! Share with us in the comments section below.

For more information on Banned Books week, please visit the Banned Books Week website and this year's ALA press release which discusses the focus on young adult books.

For more information on intellectual freedom, please visit the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom webpage.

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

As a school librarian, I cannot resist the opportunity to feature a "snapshot" of school libraries across the country in the midst of the opening weeks of the 2015/16 school year. I remain hopeful that this will be an exciting year for school libraries. This week's storify montage features makerspaces, exciting academic tech, and various types of literacies (research, reading, digital, media, etc.). Exploring what other school librarians are up to can help inform your own 2015/16 school year goals. Do you want to take your makerspace to the next level? Establish more collaborative relationships with teachers? Incorporate yourself into an oft elusive discipline? Up fiction reading? Amp up your book club? Revitalize research literacy instruction? Establish self-checkout? Create a lego wall?

Sometimes it's hard to see the opportunities available in the school library because of budget and staffing issues; however, I challenge all school librarians (including myself) to choose a small innovation that can be achieved regardless of available money, time, or man power. If you need ideas, check out some of these resources to get started: AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and Maker Ed Tools & Materials. Please leave your ideas, goals, and questions in the comments. And of course, good luck this year!

Guess what?

I love many more books than I have blog posts here, so join me over at Instagram for more books, snaps, and snippets.

And! It’s time for another round of Best Books Ever! It’s always an honor to be invited to Matthew Winner’s Let’s Get Busy podcast with Julie Falatko, and this conversation is a fun one.

Meet me back here on Thursday for a slightly scary and slightly silly book, one that will make you rethink the nooks and crannies of your home.

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

As libraries continue to evaluate the needs of their communities, the physical space of libraries may evolve in an effort to meet those needs. Space may be repurposed for a teen area, new tables and chairs might arrive so patrons can create their own collaborative spaces, and group study rooms may be constructed. For patrons that rely on digital devices, additional outlets or charging stations could be in demand, desktop stations may move to make room for laptop bars, and mounted televisions for gaming, video conferencing, and collaborative projects may be needed. Below are some examples of libraries that underwent renovations, purchased new furniture, or reorganized bookshelves to make room for more open spaces and meet the changing technology needs of their patrons. Has your library undergone a similar change? We want to hear from you! Share with us in the comments section below.

For more information about teen spaces and the envisioned future of library spaces, please see The Need for Teen Spaces in Public Libraries and The Future of Library Services for and with Teens report.

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

This week we're looking at ways to reach teens by venturing out into the community. Teens are a diverse population and their interests and circumstances may not always bring them into our library buildings. What can we do to reach out and meet them where they are around town? Which outreach programs should we offer? How can we establish ourselves as a partner in the community, bringing the materials and services to those that need it? Below are some examples of libraries that have partnered with local organizations and sports teams and, through book mobiles or book bikes, have brought library services out into the community.

Does your library have a book mobile or book bike? Have you partnered with local schools, organizations or sports teams? Set up a booth at a community market or sporting event? We want to hear from you! Share your outreach services with us in the comments section below.
For more information about serving diverse teens, please visit the Serving Diverse Teens @ Your Library wiki page.

By Nick Cross

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

During the summer months, some librarians and library workers experience a lull or even an entire "break" (I use the word loosely, fellow school librarians); however, many teen services librarians are in the middle of a whirlwind of programming. It would be appropriate to save the summer reading wrap-up for the end of the summer, but this is a great time to check-in with programs and other services. If you work with teens during the summer months, how do you maintain your enthusiasm for programming? How have teens responded to non-summer reading programs and events? Please share tales of your own programs - successes and failures, highlights and lowlights - in the comments below!

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a video worth? Instagram may be best known as a platform for sharing images that have been enhanced with just the right filters and photo editing tools, but it also comes in handy for sharing video content. The app may limit video to only fifteen seconds, but users can either shoot video live through Instagram or export content created through another app to Instagram of sharing. From book reviews and clips of programs in progress to behind the scenes looks and how to use library resources, the videos that can be shared with users are endless. Do you take so many photos at programs that you can't decide which ones to post without overloading your followers? Apps like SlideLab, Replay, and Flipagram allow you to select and organize your photographs to create a slideshow, add music, share the final product on Instagram, and not feel the pressure to pick only a few favorite pictures. Looking for something different to spice up your feed? With the Dubsmash app you can take video of yourself lip-synching well known bits from movies, tv shows, commercials, or songs for a post that's hilarious and shows a different side of the library staff. Turn up your volume and take a look at a sample of library Instagram videos that we've included below. Have you posted videos on your library's Instagram? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

I am not wanting to brag here, but when you live in New York you bump into amazing writers and artists all the time (and I am grateful for every day here), so to be honest I am not sure … Continue reading →

A brief look at 'grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

This week we're looking at two popular hashtags that you can use to connect with patrons and other libraries around the world. Started by the Bernardsville Public Library in Bernardsville, New Jersey, the #libraryinmyhand hashtag is a way to show patrons all of the library resources that can be accessed from mobile devices in the palm of their hands. Based on the #instainmyhand pictures that are popular in Japan, the PicsArt Photo Studio app is used to layer a transparent screenshot of the library's website, databases, or social media pages on top of a photo of a hand. Although only in use for two weeks, the #libraryinmyhand hashtag has already been used by public, school, and academic libraries worldwide.

A second popular hashtag is #librariesofinstagram which serves as a way for libraries using the social media platform to unite and showcase their institutions. This hashtag is used on everything from photos of the library building itself, programs, collections, displays, games and trivia, and fundraising campaigns.

One bibliophile named Jakub Pavlovský has launched an instagram account called “BOOK’S CALLING.” Through this social media channel, he displays photos of himself reading print books in different environments.

According to BoredPanda.com, Pavlovský aims to inspire people to value “the beauty of stories written on paper.” He has designated the following motto for this project: “Make Time For Reading. Anywhere, Anytime.”

Pavlovský typically features a different quote about reading for each post. Some of the books he has read include The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and Inferno by Dan Brown.