Parenthetical.net

Book reviews, snark, and adventures in locovoration

Parenthetical.net bookshelf

Summer reading!

May 24th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Remember when I asked you for summer reading list suggestions? I finished the list a long time ago, of course, but it’s finally on our website. (That link will open a PDF.)
The middle school section at the beginning is the part you helped with. (And those yellow highlighted books, by the way? Are links to [...]

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Tags: Book lists · Libraries · Links

Operation Teen Book Drop

April 13th, 2010 · No Comments

More apocalypsey goodness tonight, I promise. But in the meantime, Guys Lit Wire is running a fantastic book drive for Native American reservation school libraries. These schools don’t have much budget for new books, so their collections are looking a little sad. Help get some shiny new reading material into the hands of these kids!
In [...]

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Tags: Libraries · Links

More on books in libraries

February 16th, 2010 · No Comments

Following up on last week’s post about books in libraries… the NYTimes Room for Debate blog posted some of the comments from students. Most didn’t say much new, but here are a couple of thoughts I liked:
One signed just “a thought”:

Also, books (or any other printed material) cannot be changed by any means without [...]

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Tags: Libraries · Links

Do libraries need books?

February 11th, 2010 · 5 Comments

Note: Even more than usual, note the disclaimer. I am speaking my own mind, not that of my Library Director (quoted in this article) or my school.
Today’s New York Times includes an online Room for Debate feature: Do School Libraries Need Books? The debaters include James Tracy, Head of the now infamous in [...]

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Tags: Libraries · Links

From the weeding shelf…

November 19th, 2009 · 8 Comments

The kids are always horrified by this, but sometimes we get rid of books. Usually there’s a good reason. Sometimes there’s a very, very good reason. I want to share with you some of the best that cross my desk on their way to the “free books” cart…

Crosbie, John S. Crosbie’s Dictionary [...]

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Tags: Libraries

Wading into the Cushing Controversy

September 22nd, 2009 · 4 Comments

ETA: This seems to be confusing people, so I’ll make it extra-clear: this is not my school! Just another independent school in MA.
Our li’l MA independent school library world is national news: the headmaster of Cushing Academy was interviewed on Here and Now today (listen to “Technology in the Classroom”).
What’s the deal? [...]

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Tags: Libraries · Links

Peep this

April 1st, 2009 · 1 Comment

Given their “rather fluffy skeletal structure,” Peeps have some special difficulties using the library… but in their research and printing practices, it turns out that they are much like college students.
Comment here

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Tags: Libraries · Links

Rent-a-cake?

March 18th, 2009 · No Comments

Or at least, a cake pan:
Check out a cake pan from your library
Apparently they have Spiderman and enchanted castles!
Because I’m a librarian, my first thoughts were: a) that must be expensive to send through interlibrary loan, and b) which low-level employee gets stuck with scrubbing the poorly cleaned cake pans? I know, I’m such [...]

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Tags: Libraries · Links

When 3.5 in. floppies looked futuristic

January 14th, 2009 · No Comments

My friend, a public librarian, found this in her library’s attic:
Behold, fabulously 80s library poster!
Comment here

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Tags: Uncategorized