Have you read something fabulous lately? Something you’d like to share with your friends, classmates, and teachers?

Nominate it for summer reading!

 Nominated books should:

• be appropriate for incoming 9th through 12th grades. 
• be well-written.
• have the possibility to spark discussion.
• stimulate personal reflection and be intellectually engaging.
• be a book that you love and want to share with others in the Bryn Mawr Community.

Submit your nomination with a brief “pitch” stating why your book should be selected for summer reading to Mrs. Rickert-Wilbur by Monday, April 15th.

What is "A Blind Date with a Book"?

Stephanie opens her "Blind Date with a Book" book.

Two weeks ago eleventh grader, Laura H., sent  me this excerpt  from  her friend's blog:

26th January 2013

“My local library branch started doing this “Blind Date with a Book” thing, thought you guys might like it. The shelf was full when we got there, but was like this as we were leaving. The books are wrapped in paper and have different designs on them, and then a few words vaguely describing the subject matter of the book. Things like “Drama”, “Plot Twists”, “espionage”, etc. The only thing exposed on the book is the barcode that you use to scan the book out. I thought it was a pretty cool idea.”

I  shared the idea with Middle School English teachers, Patti Wit and Beth McDonald, and they thought it would be a  perfect activity for their students. The girls have been coming to the library during lunchtime and TAP to decorate as well as to choose books from the display.  Here are some of their creations. 

The other day a senior checked one of the books out. She said that "it was so lovely she just had to have it". You may stop by the Library and decorate a book, or check one out through February 28th. Thank you Mrs. Wit, Mrs. McDonald and Middle School students for your effort and enthusiasm, and thank you, Laura and friend for the great idea!

January 28th marked the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Do you have a favorite book trailer?

I love book trailers almost as much as I love books. If done with just the right music, animation, acting and narration, a trailer can spark our imagination and inspire us to drop everything and read that book. Here's a great trailer about Meg Cabot's book, Abandon.

Doesn't it make you want to run straight to the EH library to find it? Do you have a favorite book and trailer? If so, I'd love to include them in the next library exhibit. Stop by the library or send them to me. Look for an exhibit of book trailers created by Bryn Mawr students later this spring. Mrs. Rickert-Wilbur

Nooks and iPads

Did you know that the Library now has Nooks and iPads? The Nooks are loaded with lots of great books of interest to both students and faculty. Normally they circulate for a three day period, but during winter break they may be checked out on December 19th and returned on January 3rd. The iPads must be used at school, but students and faculty are welcome to borrow them during the school day. Check them out, and let us know about your favorite apps. We would like to thank the Breakfast Club for the following promotional clip. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200258415930103&set=o.322020426261&type=2&theater

Emerging Tech Class

Today I visited Emily Letras’ Emerging Technology classes to discuss evaluating information and effective Internet searching. It’s one of my favorite classes to work with because her students are always up to something fun and interesting. When I got there, the girls were just about to sample some delicious Vegemite for the first time. It was sent to them by their Australian "tech pals” with whom they have been communicating through Edmodo this semester. Emily’s classes are just beginning work on a project which entails researching the history and future of a technology, and creating a web presence to convey what they’ve learned. They rely heavily on websites, blogs, wikis, videos and other information in “newer” research formats for this project, so it’s a great time to have a refresher lesson on searching for and using reliable information. Planning for Emerging Tech classes gives me the opportunity to reassess my knowledge, as well as the girls’, and to see what’s new that will help them with their research. In recent years, many new search engines and directories have emerged that are maintained by teachers, librarians and information specialists who are committed to helping students find reliable, quality information on the web. Here are a few that the students used today to practice searching. Sweetsearch is great for finding information in all academic disciplines, but it has proven to be particularly helpful for Emerging Tech as well as for the Seventh Grade SWI Project. InstaGrok has a visual interface that is useful for identifying keywords. It provides a concept map and links to key facts, websites, videos and images. Visual learners might find InstaGrok easier to work with than other search engines. Internet Public Library (IPL2) is a tried and true consortium of libraries and information professionals who have been gathering and indexing reliable, academic information on the web since 1995. IPL2 is great for locating information from the "deep" web which isn't always retrieved with a Google search. The next time you get into a search engine rut, try one of these resources. For those times when nothing but Google will do, find one of Emily’s students and ask her for some search tips! Patti Rickert-Wilbur

Get More Out of Google

From School Library Journal’s 2012 School Technology Survey

What Technologies Are We Using? "The Digital Shift", School Library Journal