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This past week, I was honored to be included in Teen Librarian Toolbox's 12 Blogs of 2014!

They say some lovely things about me and my blog, starting with "Liz Burns’ blog is one that I can always count on for it’s insight, pointed opinions balanced with diplomacy, and palpable love for her subject matter."

What a lovely holiday present!

So, hello to those readers who found their way from Teen Librarian Toolbox; and Tea Cozy readers, please add Teen Librarian Toolbox to your blog reading!

One thing I like about the New Jersey library community:

They know how to throw a good conference!

The New Jersey Library Association is having their annual conference June 2 to 4 in Atlantic City.



I'll be involved in the following sessions:

The Who/What/When/Where/How of Successful Online Book Discussion: a Panel Discussion Tues, 9:00-9:50

Best of the Best Fiction for Young Adults Tues, 11:30-12:20

Book Buzz for Young Adults and Children Tues, 2:00-2:50

I.D. Required - Books Beyond the Drinking Age Wed, 11:30-12:20

Apps, Audiobooks, and Libraries – Oh, my! Wed, 2:30-3:20

Yes, that sounds like a lot -- and, well, it is five -- but all are panels, so it's not five solo programs. They are all group efforts.

I will have time for actually attending programs!

Top of my list are What Is This? Middle Grade? YA? New Adult? Top Authors Address Category Crossover Confusion and the Garden State Book Awards Luncheon with Daniel Kirk.

Hope to see some of you there!



Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Why, what is that over at Scrub-A-Dub-Tub, the blog for The Reading Tub website?

An interview with me!

While there is some bits about blogging, it is mostly about Braille literacy and my "day job." (Which has nothing to do with this blog, my opinions are my own and not my employers, you all know the drill.)

Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

The cover controversy about the School Library Journal November issue continues!

Very short version: a bunch of bloggers (including me) posed on the cover of SLJ (November issue).

A bunch of people wrote into SLJ (December issue) saying "drinking is wrong! showing librarians drinking is wrong! showing librarians who work with children drinking is wrong! doesn't anyone think of the children?"

See my recap at my post, God Grant Me the Serenity.

Many people (thank you all!) commented at the SLJ website in support of the cover, as well as in support of the idea that drinking is a legal activity and all the people on the cover are of legal drinking age and this publication is for adults, so what is the big deal?

Others commented that drinking is legal but just as wrong as smoking, having guns, or posing for Playboy.

Some of you wonderful people actually put pen to paper and wrote to SLJ (January issue), so now we have Letters to SLJ: Electric Boogaloo, with people both defending the cover and wondering at the original letter writers.

I especially like Patricia Verrett who says "perhaps giving the impression that alcohol and blogging are connected is erroneous, but aren’t we all adults?" Because yes, drinking while blogging usually does not end well. Ms. Verrett of Texas goes on to say, "The rest of us live in the real world, where a gathering of peers or connection by blog, with or without adult beverages of choice, are key factors that keep us motivated to serve students to the best of our ability."

If Ms. Verrett is at ALA Midwinter, I hope to be able to have a drink with her (whether it be wine, soda or water!), because she hits the nail on the head when it comes to blogs and librarians who serve children and teens: they keep us connected, which motivates us to be better librarians.* Though I'm afraid to let her know that in real life, my usual shoe of choice is either Dansko or Doc Martens.


*I also think that book blogging makes us better readers. But that's a whole other issue!

Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Are you going to the Internet Librarian 2009 Conference?

Then you have two chances to meet me, you lucky person, you!

First, on Monday, October 26? I'll be at a Meet the Authors program.

Second, I'll be giving a presentation on Wednesday October 28 with Sarah Houghton-Jan, Digital Futures Manager, San Jose Public Library author of LibrarianInBlack.net, called Technology: The Engine Driving Pop Culture-Savvy Libraries or Source of Overload?

Technology often drives pop culture trends like iPhone mania and texting addictions, and it can also be used to improve all kinds of library services when we embrace the idea that information technology is everyone’s job. By establishing a tech-friendly atmosphere, libraries can harness the latest real-world and web-based techno tools to engage customers in an ongoing discussion to identify and meet the pop cultural & life-learning needs of their communities. Find out how to use trendspotting, experimentation, and continuous training to create a technological sandbox at your library and hear about creative strategies and practical, imaginative solutions from the field for you to use in your community. Then hear how to deal with information load through ten principles including organizational techniques, how to filter your input, time and stress management, managing overload in different media: email, RSS, interruptive technologies, the telephone, print media, multimedia, and social networks. Come away with a plan for tackling your own mound (physical or virtual) of overload!

Stop by, say "hi." Tell me I sent you.


Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

The book I co-wrote, Pop Goes the Library, is available from the publisher, Information Today, at a special sale rate!

As you can see on the advertisement to the left, the book usually costs $39.50.

The special sale rate is ...

drumroll, please!

$23.70!

That is a 40 percent savings. See Information Today to find out more titles that are part of this "Holiday Blowout Sale."

Follow the Pop The Book tag on this blog to see some of the reviews that have come in about this must-own item!

The YALSA blog has a number of podcasts up from the YA Lit Symposium.

I'll highlight a few.

Part I by the kidlitosphere's own Lindsey Dunn (whose Libba Bray Tea Party was highlighted in the Fandom program Carlie and I did), where you can hear me speak. Lindsey does a great job! Stay on for the whole podcast, and you'll hear Tea Cozy's Melissa Rabey speak about the Fandom program.

Part II: Beth Saxton talks to Carlie about the presentation we did.

Part III: Tea Cozy's latest contributor, Melissa Rabey, speaks with a number of people about the Symposium.

Do you see a common theme? Yes, at Tea Cozy, it's all about Tea Cozy.

Library Journal's review of Pop Goes the Library: the Book is in the November 15 issue of the magazine; and it is also available online.

I'm pleased as punch with it: "This entertaining book by the creators of the "Pop Goes the Library" blog is a breath of fresh air for those progressive librarians wanting to secure their library's future by making patron interests the focus of library services" and "an exciting and essential book."

Some online mentions of the Book.

Brad Ward at the Blah Blah Blah Blog from NEFLIN (Northeast Florida Library Information Network:) "Really, really good stuff. . . . The authors were nice enough to also put up a wiki that provides links to the resources listed in their book."

Andrew at Librarian Idol says, "it's got some brilliant ideas in it - I highly recommend!" (Librarian Idol also goes on to say some very great stuff about being cool and books and libraries.)

Crossposted at the Pop Goes the Library Book Blog.

Reference & Research Book News is a quarterly publication that "focuses on reference and scholarly works in the social sciences and the humanities." The November 2008 issue includes my book, Pop Goes the Library. You can check out entry about PGTL at the online version; or, go to the PDF of the full publication. I'm a big nerd -- I love seeing the book's Library of Congress subject classification code!

Do you want to not only hear me talk about the Fandom, Fan Life and Participatory Culture presentation that Carlie & I did at the YALSA YA Literature Symposium -- but also see me? Then check out this video at the YALSA Blog.

Book Review: Pop Goes the Library at OPL Plus by Judith A. Siess, editor and publisher of The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management.

My favorite part? That Sophie and I "have created a wonderful guide to creating a library that will please and inspire your younger users."

Over at LongShots, the podcast portion of Library Beat, you can hear Sophie & I talk about the book we wrote, Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect to Your Whole Community.

We talk about writing the book and what the book is all about.

Another review of Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect with Your Whole Community,* this time from Ch-Ch-Changing Librarian. In her post Using Pop Culture to Connect With Your Audience, Amy mentions how the book, while of primary interest to public and school libraries, has information of use for academic libraries and librarians.

Are you waiting for a copy from Sophie and me? Check out this post at the Book Blog where all is explained, and yes, they are on their way.

*This links to Amazon, where it is currently out of stock, and fifty cents higher than buying it directly from the publisher. See sidebar for publisher info.

Pop culture is . . . well, you know.

It's pop culture.

When Sophie Brookover and I began our book, Pop Goes the Library, one of the first questions we asked, and tried to answer, was "what is pop culture." Check out an excerpt from the book here and let us know if you agree or disagree; and let us know how you define "pop culture."

The New Jersey Libraries Newsletter Summer 2007 has an article about book blogs: Don't Know What to Read Next? Try A Blog!, written by Pop Goes the Library's Carlie Webber.

And, what do you know? Tea Cozy gets mentioned! Cool. I'm in good company: Read Roger, the Cybils, and Neil Gaiman.

Thank you, Carlie, and "hello" to all NJLA readers.

Click here for a PDF of the newsletter.

A bit of blatant self promotion:

Over at my book/movie/TV blog, A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy, I'm participating in a multiblog extravaganza: Under the Radar Recommendations, in which a number of us lit bloggers write about old and new books and authors who have fallen "under the radar" and who we think deserve attention. It was organized by Colleen Mondor of Chasing Ray.

So if you're looking for a book to read, check it out.

Hi, all -- I'll be teaching this course for Infopeople, California's big continuing education cooperative for the library community. If the course description sounds like it's up your alley, I'd love to have you in the class!

Title: The Savvy IT Consumer (online learning course)

Date: September 25, 2007 - October 22, 2007

To register for this workshop: Use the online registration form at
http://infopeople.org/workshop/346

Fee: $75 for those in the California library
community and $150 for those out-of-state.


Description: It's 11 AM, and a frustrated five-year-old asks you to reboot game computer number three for the eighth time today. Every Internet-equipped terminal, including those for staff, is moving at a snail's pace and you don't know why. You've just received a heartrending email plea for assistance from a very nice-sounding gentleman in Nigeria and are unsure how to respond. You don't know the difference between RAM and hard drive space, but your manager expects you to keep an eye on available memory on all of the publi computers. You wish you could get help, but you don't know where to look, and the thought of calling your software and hardware vendors induces a panic attack.

Welcome to being an IT person by default! This is a beginner-level course for library staff working as Jacks & Jills of all trades.

Workshop Description: This four-week online learning course will provide you with the basic technological know-how to understand and use computer jargon, free your library's computers from malicious software, fend off phishing attacks, and develop and maintain good
relationships with vendors. The instructor will provide a comprehensive webliography,
foundational readings, and exercises designed to assess and hone your ability to handle a variety of computer issues.

During the course, you will be doing exercises, taking quizzes, and building your own IT caretaker's toolkit. You will also participate in convivial online discussion forums as part of the online learning process.

Librarians Who Love Pop Culture appeared in today's School Library Journal Extra Helping.

While I was unavailable to be interviewed (a little thing called work, particularly a not so little event called the End of Summer Ice Cream Party), Sophie Brookover did an awesome job. And my name was spelled right, with a link here; so what more can a girl want?

Now I'm off to read InStyle, watch Roar on DVD, and eat ice cream while wearing my Uggs. Yes, the life of a pop culture librarian IS all you think it is. Except, sadly, Rufus Sewell still won't return my phone calls.

You may have noticed not as much posting, or not as much substantial posting. Well, here's the thing. Sophie Brookover and I are in the midst of writing a book. It's called Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect With Your Whole Community, and the good folks at ITI are going to publish it, sometime in 2008.

So while we're researching, writing, revising, etc., we have a request for those of you readers who work in libraries.

We have this survey, you see, and it would help us out tremendously if you'd be willing to answer our questions. It's one thing for us to write about what we think makes a great marriage between pop culture & libraries; it's quite another, more powerful thing to quote our experienced colleagues on this topic. So, if you're willing, our survey is right here.

We apologize in advance if you see e-mail survey-related e-mails on various list-servs. We're trying to gather as many responses as the library community is willing to provide. Thank you so much for taking the time to participate. We know our book will be that much better for your contributions!

Adapted from Sophie's post at Pop.

Welcome to a joint post from Carlie, Liz, and Melissa! We've all recently seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and we're dying to write about it.

• Luna Lovegood. Evanna Lynch's portrayal was sensitive but also pretty "out there," the epitome of all things Luna. I confess to being one of a few people who would much rather have seen Harry fall in love with Luna than with Ginny in HBP. I think Luna knows things about Harry, spiritually speaking, than he knows about himself.
  
• Imelda Staunton should have paid them to play Dolores Umbridge. That woman (Umbridge, not Staunton, who I'm sure is a perfectly lovely person) is pure evil. The viewer can see her spiral out of control both personally and professionally.
• The fight in the Ministry atrium between Voldemort and Dumbledore, done entirely in earth, air, water, and fire. We haven't seen magical battle this spectacular yet, which makes sense considering these are two of the most powerful wizards in the world.
• Helena Bonham Carter. Helena Bonham Carter. And also? Helena Bonham Carter. After seeing GoF I figured, "Eh, I'll see OotP eventually, maybe a few weeks after it comes out, no rush." Then I heard that Helena Bonham Carter would be playing everyone's favorite insane Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, and said, "I MUST see this movie on opening weekend." They could not have cast anyone more perfect for the role. I'm upset that they deleted the exchange in the book between Bellatrix and Harry regarding what it takes to cast an Unforgivable Curse, but that's more because I personally have a fascination with the Unforgivable Curses and that part of the book was really earth-shattering for me.
• Cutting out the sound so there was silence in the scene where Remus is holding Harry back from going after Sirius when he falls through the arch. The silence, rather than Harry's screams, was extremely powerful and really made the viewer concentrate on what was on the screen. It reminded me of the scene where Boromir is killed in The Fellowship of the Ring. (Or was that when Gandalf fell? Or both?) During the fight in the atrium I think there was a second of silence where Voldemort is gathering his power to cast the fire spell, which then explodes from him, and that reminded me of what happens as Minas Morgul comes to life in The Return of the King.
  
• Finally, Ron gets his due as a friend rather than the comic relief. Harry, Hermione, and Ron function respectively as body, mind, and soul, and while we've had plenty of body and mind in the past four movies we've never seen so much of Ron doing what he does best, which is being their comforter and their heart (despite the teaspoon jab from Hermione).
  

• I stood up and cheered when Neville fought alongside his friends in the Department of Mysteries at the end of the book. It was so great to see him stand up for his friends, his parents, and most importantly, himself. Too much of that was missing from the movie.
• Percy's break from the Weasley family, one of my favorite moments in OotP because I saw it coming eight miles away, wasn't there. Again, this is probably a personal prejudice. Although I don't necessarily like Percy I do feel very strong sympathy as well as empathy for him. His break from the Weasleys was one of the first moments of the books where we got dimension from a Gryffindor. But maybe that works better in the book.
• The way Harry saw Snape's memory of being tormented by James. In the book, Harry steals his view of Snape's memory by falling into Snape's Pensieve. In the book, Snape makes an outright effort to hide that memory for Harry. My brilliant friend Andrea had this to say (paraphrased), about Snape's removing of the memory and putting it in a Pensieve prior to the Occlumency traning sessions: My theater teacher always told me that when in doubt, go for the heart. Snape could have two reasons for hiding that memory. 1: He really didn't want Harry to see his underwear. 2: He really, really didn't want Harry to see what a prat James was. The first answer is the obvious one, but doesn't the second give Snape more dimension, thereby going for the heart?

Hey gang. Tomorrow (May 1) will see the publication of the anthology that I edited for Bantam Books. As you may know, the book is called Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories. Every story in the anthology is based on a spelling-bee winning word. Here is the full table of contents:

Hal Duncan - “The Chiaroscurist”
Liz Williams - “Lyceum”
David Prill - “Vivisepulture”
Clare Dudman - “Eczema”
Alex Irvine - “Semaphore”
Marly Youmans - “The Smaragdine Knot”
Michael Moorcock - “A Portrait in Ivory”
Daniel Abraham - “The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics”
Michelle Richmond - “Logorrhea”
Anna Tambour - “Pococurante”
Tim Pratt - “From Around Here”
Elizabeth Hand - “Vignette”
Alan DeNiro - “Plight of the Sycophant”
Matthew Cheney - “The Last Elegy”
Jay Caselberg - “Eudaemonic”
Paolo Bacigalupi - “Softer”
Jay Lake - “Crossing the Seven”
Leslie What - “Tsuris”
Neil Williamson - “The Euonymist”
Theodora Goss - “Singing of Mount Abora”
Jeff VanderMeer - “Appoggiatura”

I'm very excited about this book. It's been a lot of work in a short amount of time. I sold the book in January of 2006. There were only two out of 21 stories written at that time. To get more than 100,000 words written, edited, and pushed through the publishing process in just over a year took a great amount of effort. I've gotten the chance to work with a lot of authors that I admire.

Just as important, the Scripps National Spelling Bee takes place at the end of May. The finals are set to take place on May 31, with the semifinals live on ESPN from 10am to 1pm, and then the finals on ABC from 8pm to 10pm. (all times EST) Anyone doing any programming around the bee? Anyone got patrons asking for books about the bee, or that feature spelling bees, or that are inspired by the spelling bee? Well, in a bit of shameless self-promotion, this book would fit the bill.

And, if you're in the Quad Cities area of Iowa, I have events set up on May 19 in the Borders in Davenport and on May 20 at the Barnes & Noble in North Park Mall. Hope to see you there!

John Klima

Is it me, or is Pop Goes The Library totally dominating SLJ this month? First, we have Liz's excellent article on the kidlit-o-blogosphere, and now there's this fancypants Site of the Month thing we have going on. So thank you, thank you, School Library Journal, and a hearty welcome (once more) to your readers!

The February 2007 issue of School Library Journal is now available, in print and on-line. I'd like to welcome SLJ readers, who came here via my article in that issue of SLJ, Curl Up with a Cup of Tea and a Good Blog.

If you're not familiar with SLJ, please go check out my article. It has my thoughts on why the kidlitosphere (blogs about children's and teen lit) is such a happening place along with a list of must-read blogs.

For those who have only read it online, what you're missing: a photo of me blogging with my niece and nephew. Getting the photo taken was pretty exciting, and I'll be blogging about that at my book blog, A Chair, Fireplace, And A Tea Cozy, later this week. Also in the print version of SLJ: some of the graphics and photos from the highlighted blogs.

If you're looking for more must-read blogs about children's and teen lit, check out the blogroll at Tea Cozy (it's on the left). And I'm also highlighting a blog a day, under the handy title and label Blog of the Day.

The February 2007 issue of School Library Journal is now available, in print and on-line. I'd like to welcome SLJ readers, who came here via my article in that issue of SLJ, Curl Up with a Cup of Tea and a Good Blog.

And those of you who are my regular readers and may not be familiar with SLJ, please go check out my article. It has my thoughts on why the kidlitosphere is such a happening place along with a list of must-read blogs.

For those who have only read it online, what you're missing: a photo of me blogging with Cheetah and Peter Parker. Getting the photo taken was pretty exciting, and I'll be blogging about that later this week. Also in the print version: some of the graphics and photos from the highlighted blogs.

If you're looking for more must-read book blogs, check out the blogroll on the left. And I'm also highlighting a blog a day, under the handy title and label Blog of the Day.

Cross posted at Pop Goes the Library.