This is a highly do-able art project that would work well at a kids library program AND you can work in some great collection tie-ins from your art and artist books.
Complete illustrated instructions for making paint and ink self portraits using common and recycled materials. Would be appropriate for elementary ages and appeals to both boys and girls.
Project by Jessica Wilson from the scrumdilly do blog.
(Photograph by Jessica Wilson)
As librarians we know that the internet is littered with time-wasting, badly constructed websites, but here are a few that are actually useful in everyday life:
StillTasty
http://www.stilltasty.com/
If you have patrons with questions about food storage, StillTasty is a good place to send them for some practical information. Let’s say I want to know if that opened bottle of taco sauce in my refrigerator is still good to use. Well, according to the site it is good for about a month after opening (of course, if it has been properly stored).
Users should be aware of the safety disclaimers on the website as well of the terms of use, but generally information is gathered from government sources, food manufacturers and university research. Links to specific internet sources are included in many articles.
Diplodocs (SafeManuals)
http://safemanuals.com/
Diplodocs is a repository of hundreds of thousands of user manuals and instruction guides for appliances, consumer electronics, furniture and sporting equipment. You can download the manuals to your computer or, if registered, store them online on the site. And it is free!
I made a test search for a manual for an old Sony cordless phone set and found it with no problem. Not all manuals have been uploaded (from users or manufacturers) so results are not guaranteed for all items. Links to manufacturers sites are usually included.
How to Clean Stuff
http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/
This website is organized and seems to have sensible information, although that is judging from my experience as a mom/housewife more than a librarian. I suppose this is because it is not always easy to tell where the advice is coming from but some articles mention book or internet sources.
Take a look at the article “How to Clean Books“ and see what you think; hopefully you do not need too much book deodorizing advice.
Did you know that Saturday, June 13 is World Wide Knit in Public Day? Ok, actually there are four days of official celebrations–go on over to the WWKiP website to check the story out. You can also find out about knitting in public events all over the world on the site, too.
Many yarn shops, knitting guilds and public agencies are holding events–even libraries. If you are in the Kenosha, WI area on June 13, the library system is hosting KIPs all day at their branches.
Need some free knitting patterns? Click over to Knitting Pattern Central for an extensive, up-to-date directory of links to free internet knitting patterns.
Now go knit something!
Looking for authors or poets on Twitter? Here are a few more lists:
Literary Tweets: 100+ of the Best Authors on Twitter by Cameron Chapman on Mashable.com. Each author is briefly introduced and a sample tweet is included. Chapman’s list emphasizes authors who do more than use Twitter to promote their work, ie. they interact with their followers or contribute other content. Writers of a variety of genres are covered.
Also, author/poet Collin Kelley covers tweeting poets in Poets on Twitter from his Modern Confessional blog. He says that he has only included poets who have recently updated their Twitter status.
Oh, and I would like to add Pseudonymous Bosch, who recently started tweeting, to the list of children’s authors. I’ve started to read The Name of This Book Is Secret and am enjoying it. To follow Pseudonymous Bosch on Twitter, click on over here! (http://twitter.com/therealPBosch)
Public voting has begun in the Doodle 4 Google competition in which students in grades K through 12 have entered Google doodles based on the theme “What I Wish for the World.” Voting runs through May 18; winners will be announced on May 20.
Vote for your favorite doodles today!
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html
Greetings to all the Reaching Forward conference goers who attended the Go, Go Gadgets presentation on Friday, May 1, 2009.
Below is a link to a document that gives an overview of many of the points included in the presentation. New material not included in the file was also added so you can contact me via e-mail (irene<AT>librarynation.com) if you have any questions; or, post your question in the comments area.
Thanks for being a gracious and engaged audience; hope you gained some useful information and enjoyed the conference.
From Readergirlz :
Do YA Authors Twitter? Why yes, they do!
A list of YA authors and their twitter usernames; connect with your favorites!
Need some buttons so that your readers can link to your social networking identities? Check out My Social Buttons where you can find dozens of styles of buttons that cover many popular sites including Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, LinkedIn and more. Some foreign language buttons available, too.
I like their tag line–the buttons you want people to push–very clever! The graphics are free; links to original sources are included.
Here is a sample–an origami style Twitter button:
Origami style Twitter button from MySocialButtons
From the University of Texas at Arlington Library:
Librarian vs. Stereotype videos a la the Mac/PC commercials.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://librarynation.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
