Texas and Poetry

Today was awesome at The Spilled Bean where we kicked off our 3rd year of Teen Poetry Happens @ The Bean. Ms. Duncan, Ms. Is, and I were pleased to see such a great turnout. I have to take some time to organize the incredible poetry that was churned out about our beloved creative group and get it posted.

But first, I want to tell you about the awesome Association of Rural and Small Libraries Conference I attended last week in Frisco, Texas just north of Dallas. If you can remember last fall, I went to my first ARSL conference in Denver, Colorado on a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the State Library of North Carolina. It was one of the most beneficial experiences I have ever had, so I was thrilled to be able to return this year.

This year’s conference was spot on! It is amazing how fulfilling it is to be among library professionals who are in the same boat- smaller populations, smaller budgets, and technologically challenged. It was refreshing to dive into this think tank and come up with solutions for issues that affect our library every day.

Marketing and program ideas are paramount to the success of the small library and the ARSL conference delivered many quality sessions to meet that need. Each session at ARSL was brimming with excellent tips for programs.

Four Texas teen librarians were thrilled to find Alexander County is a neighboring county to where some of movie, The Hunger Games, was filmed. (It’s down in the Mountain View section of Catawba County in case you weren’t aware of it. The author of BLUE, Joyce Hostetter, put some photos on her blog at http://joycemoyerhostetter.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-07-10T23%3A40%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=10 for her May 29, 2011 entry.)

The movie comes out in March and we are hoping to get one or more of the extras from the movie to come to our library for a teen Hunger Games party and lockin. Our teens will then Skype the Texas teens and have a question and answer period with the actors. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

There are so many amazing things to glean from the ARSL conference. Next year it will be in Raleigh and the State Library of NC will be the host. Cannot wait to be a part of it again! Since it will be in our state, I hope many more of my state colleagues and fellow staff at the library can be a part of it as well.

Don’t forget the fundraiser, Bags, Baubles and Beads, begins on Thursday evening for Friends of the Library and for those who donated items for the sale. It will be open to the public Friday and Saturday. Check my calendar at http://www.alexanderlibrary.org/pdf/currentCalendar.pdf for sale times.

Have a great day and check back for TPH poetry!
Mel