When I think of the great books I’ve read, nearly all have come at the recommendation of a friend, teacher, or parent. My mom was way ahead of the game when she gave me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone the Christmas of 8th grade. Later, my dad would recommend The Agony and the Ectasy. Throughout school, teachers and librarians led me to read everything from excellent poetry to graphics novels and some astounding classics. Lately, it has been friends imparting their reading wisdom  with books like The Road and Pastoralia. Regardless of how you come to read the books you do, I think we all appreciate suggestions from trusted friends, librarians, and others.

And that’s, of course, where the READ CD can help! We typically discuss issues and ideas surrounding putting an image onto the poster backgrounds, but rarely do we mention that words can make a great poster, too!

Whether you want to make signage for the end of stacks, promote library events, or display staff/teacher picks, simply click off the “eye” button to make the placeholder invisible and then use the “Horizantal Text Tool”. In the example below I used the Posted Poster from disc 2 of the READ CD Box Set as the dropback for a list recommending great authors of the Western genre.

WANTED

There are myriad ways to use READ posters as signs around your library and school. Let us know some of the ways you are using them!

And if you’re thinking, hmm…wouldn’t it be great if there were more art files like this Western-themed one that so perfectly paired with reading genres and subjects,  you will be happy to know that just an item is coming to the ALA Store soon! Keep your eyes peeled for the next addition to the READ CD software…!

[Note: Authors compiled with help of Joyce Sarick's Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction.]

School is starting again in the next few weeks, and once again I’ll be heading back through the doors of an institution of learning. But this time it will be as an elementary school librarian instead of as a student.

I found out during my interview that the school I’ll be working at owns a number of those nifty Flip cameras, which means I’ve spent some time brainstorming how to use those. I decided that it’d be really fun to have the fifth graders make some movie trailers of the books the younger students are reading. I think it’ll be a fun way to foster a sense of a reading community and connect students of different ages over the same books.

I’m also planning, at the suggestion of my supervising librarian here in Texas, on doing a “One School, One Book” program, encouraging every teacher and student to read Ramona the Brave in the early part of the second semester since the movie will be coming out in the spring and the Ramona books tend to appeal to a large age group. In connection with that, I’m hoping to have every child make their own “Celebrity” READ poster with a copy of the book. How fun would that be?

I’m excited to use the READ software to do some really exciting and creative things in my new library. Any other good ideas?

I recently attended a dinner party and was introduced to a new food: quinoa [keen-wah]. This little chenopod is a complete protein and mixed with dried cranberries and a light basil-lemon dressing, it was much easier to eat than it is to spell! Many other delicious foods were present at the dinner, but the unfamiliar quinoa stood out and reminded me how lovely it is to try new things.

Recently, I received an email from a woman explaining that she would be teaching two sessions on the READ CD Box Set during an upcoming conference* called Branch Out. How appropriate that during this conference, whose tagline is Beyond Your Comfort Zone, this woman would be bringing together people from different library branches to share a great way to promote literacy and reach out to your community!

This “branch out” theme would work as a great mechanism to recognize students and patrons that have recently tried new things. Set up a Branch Out week or month where, at the start, people set a goal to explore something new with the help of their library. It could be as basic as delving into a new genre of book. Or more involved like reading up about a different culture’s food then using the library’s resources to find a delicious recipe to whip up at home (I suggest quinoa!). Toward the end of Branch Out, participants could have a show and tell where they report back on their findings and have their picture taken with the library resource that helped them Branch Out. Not only would those READ posters be sure to spark conversation but they would undoubtedly instill a sense of confidence and pride for those who had taken on something new!

*Knowing that the license agreement restricts software installation and use on more than one computer, she requested permission to download 1 poster file to each computer for use during the session only. This is a great solution for those wanting to instruct/workshop with the READ CD. If you have other permissions questions, please don’t hesitate to write an email.

As we all know, rainy weather is a great excuse to spend hours indoors reading. It’s also a great excuse to play around with the READ CD software! It had been a while since I’d had the time to sit down and look into the newly optimized version of the READ CD Box Set, so in homage to the old adage–which is holding painfully true here in Chicago–I opened up my Photoshop Elements. In doing so, I remembered a few things I thought I would share:

1. Don’t forget that you can add text in Photoshop. You can tailor the various READ backgrounds using props (as we’ve seen done in earlier posts), but you can also use words to expand and further customize the “READ” to fit your specific poster, school, or library.

2. In addition to using words, you can also use clip art to fill up empty space, further customize your poster, or just add more books! (Or add accessories. Waterwings, goggles, etc.)

3. When adding text, clip art, or another image Photoshop will turn each added item into a “layer” that appears in the layer box in the lower right corner of the Photoshop window. To quickly manipulate the order of your layers, all you have to do is click, drag, and pull an item within that box. You will find that dragging a layer down in the layer box will cause that image to go behind any layer that is above it on your READ poster. In this way, you can quickly reorder images and help make your poster more visually appealing!

Wishing you more May flowers than April showers, and lots of beautiful READ posters regardless!

Last week, Marti Fritz at the Kalamazoo Public Library shared her library’s READ posters with me. Their Flickr pool showcases the great variety of not only kids and adults, but local patrons and celebrities, including Kalamazoo’s mayor, Kalamazoo Public Schools’ superintendent and dozens of principals, and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s maestro/musical director. 

This wonderful mix of smiling faces appears on some incredibly well-made posters! I love how the patron is typically posing with their favorite book and one other prop, and then featured against a corresponding READ background for an incredibly cohesive effect.

This Batman in particular brought a smile to my face and seemed to fit in quite well with the profusion of comic books and graphic novels that have been debuting on the big screen of late. In the past year, we’ve seen Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Persepolis and, as of last Friday, Watchmen. (And as someone who is admittedly fairly naive about the genre, there are probably many more I’ve left out!)  

Like the READ CD Box Set, the genre seems to be particularly adaptable– reading well both off the page and off the screen. This led me to wonder what a comic strip of READ posters might look like… I’m going to have to ponder this, play around, and come back with my results later, but I challenge you to give it a try as well! Who says a READ poster has to be contained to just one frame?!

Despite my lack of knowledge on the subject, one thing is clear– once a fan, always a fan. Whether you’re our masked friend above or my winged friends to the right, trying to decide what to make for dinner, there’s always room for your love of superheroes on a READ poster!

The celebration of this month provides many great ways to use your READ CD to build relationships between community members, community leaders and the library. Here are some of our favorites from when we were brainstorming earlier today.

1. Invite notable women community leaders from your local legislatures to come into the library and have their READ poster created. This not only gives them some visibility, but it provides a way for your patrons to know who is representing them in their local government.
2. Reach out to local female personalities like radio hosts, TV anchors and local sports figures. We’ve received many stories from libraries across the US who have been able to get publicity for their library due to having READ posters created with popular celebrities, both local and national.
3. Have your patrons create a READ poster with their favorite female author or character. This gives the patrons a chance to be featured on a READ poster showing their mentors and influencers while promoting your library’s collections.

Have you used your READ CDs for Women’s History Month celebrations or activities? We love to hear your stories, so share them with us in the comments!

The other day a few friends and I did a little “higher” math and decided that winter in Chicago is twice as long as summer. Based on our calculations, we figured that we endure six months of winter, 3 of summer, 1 of spring, and 2 of fall.

To get through the six relentless months of snow, sleet, and ice, I’ve observed that Chicagoans do a few key things. First, we discuss it. Be it predicting, complaining, hoping, surmising, or simply chatting, we talk about the weather. I think this gives a sense of community. Like, I may freeze to death, but at least I won’t be alone. Second, as soon as winter is over, we unanimously decide that that was the worst winter in years. No way it could be that bad again. Third, and most obvious, we dress for it. In coats that look like sleeping bags, in gloves that reduce us to just apposable thumbs, in hats that appear as if a small woodland creature has alighted on our head, in boots that look as if we’re wearing said woodland creatures as footwear, there is no end to the bundling and wrapping and layering and zipping and buttoning and donning that goes on. In fact, with the only skin exposed being the two-inch slit across the eye/upper nose area, you can easily walk down the street and not recognize your friend, roommate, or colleague.  

But weather isn’t the only way to disguise yourself! I recently got a peek at these fantastic READ posters made by Harry Coffill, Media Center Specialist, at East Grand Rapids Middle School. His 6th grade class did a reading project that incorporated the READ CD, and each student came dressed in the theme of his/her book. They then got to suggest backgrounds and themes for their individual READ poster, and I think the results are fabulous!

Do you have ways you’ve also disguised your students in a READ poster? Or other creative ways you’ve integrated READ posters into your curriculum or library programming? If so, drop us a line at graphicsmarketing@ala.org, we’d love to hear about them! 

Last week I returned from the Mile-High City, where ALA’s Midwinter Conference was held. Having never visited Denver before, I mistakenly assumed the city’s moniker was a result of its inhabitants navigating frigid, snow-covered streets nestled away in the mountains. As our plane touched down and the pilot greeted us with a cheery, “Welcome to Denver. Local time is 1:30p.m. and temperature is 63F,” I was proven quite wrong. Having just left the Windy City and temperatures of -20F wind chill, I’d never been happier to be wrong!

In addition to the beautiful weather, I had a great time visiting with members and customers in the ALA Store. Over the weekend, I did two READ CD demos, and, as is usually the case when teaching, I think I learned more than I taught! The READ CD is being used in great and inventive ways in libraries and schools, and upcoming posts will relate those and other fabulous ideas from our very creative READ CD users! In the meantime, here’s a PDF of the READ CD handout I used during the demos. It details both a “quick” and more involved way to make a READ poster, two methods of extracting the background from your reader’s photo, and some quick tips.

And I feel I can’t mention the conference without also mentioning what I found to be a very amusing coincidence. Denver’s giant convention center was holding not only the ALA conference but also the Sportsmen’s conference. This led to quite a mix of interests wandering the large halls. One ALA attendee phrased it quite well when she said, “It’s the buns and guns show!”

One element I love about celebrity READ posters is how the celebrities pick their favorite book to hold. The only rule is that it can’t be a book the celebrity has authored. While I haven’t actually sat down to count, The Catcher in the Rye might hold the record for Most Celebrity READ Poster Appearances. I’m guessing George Orwell’s 1984 comes in a close second.

Coincidentally, both of these books have also made quite a few appearances on challenged books lists. In fact, Catcher in the Rye appeared 13th on the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 List. Depending on your views, this is perhaps logical, nonsensical, or ironic seeing as how both books deal with questions of standards, rules, laws and the consequences of choosing to abide and conform to them. Or not.

Both novels are also popular high school reads. While I read 1984 as a teenager, I skipped over The Catcher in the Rye. I think I was sick of hearing everyone from the aloof stoner to the class president marvel at how “life-changing” the book was. I found it strange that a book that had come to symbolize non-conformity was what everyone was reading. Still, I was curious, and this was probably what caused me to take the novel from a girl who, during locker clean out, said “Does anyone want this? I’m going to throw it out otherwise!”   –Gasp– “Not that! I’ll take the book. Just don’t throw it away!”

I have read the book since, and honestly, I’m just not a huge Salinger fan. I acknowledge his skill and gift as a writer, I understand why people love him, but he’s not my personal favorite. I do admire him and his books, though. The Catcher in the Rye had a power and allure strong enough to break though extracurricular activities, household incomes, and high school cliques. Almost everyone I knew had read it. Not many books can claim that staying power and appeal.

And that’s part of the magic of reading to me. There aren’t any rules. You can (regardless of what challenged or banned books lists say) read a book authored by anyone. Or, in the case of celebrity READ Poster rules, authored by you! You can read it slow or fast and even out of order. It doesn’t matter what grades you make, what sports you play, or where you live. As long as your read, you’re doing it right.

Banned Books Week takes place starting September 27th, and I can’t imagine students and patrons wouldn’t love to see fellow students, teachers, and/or librarians on a READ poster displaying their favorite banned or challenged book.

P.S. Can you guess the only celebrity that is holding his/her own book?

I have a hard time choosing favorites. This is partly because I have so many, and partly because I know that a favorite may change depending on mood, season, or time of day. I don’t know that it would be possible to pick a favorite book of all time- maybe I’m just too wishy-washy. I wonder: do celebrities feel the same kind of mental anguish I would when forced to choose a favorite book?

I wasn’t always unable to choose a favorite, though. There was a time in my childhood when I was obsessed with various books or series, some of which I am a little ashamed to mention now (Sweet Valley High, I’m looking at you.) Overall, it seems like children’s book options are improving. And children today, like me in the past, have no problem picking a favorite book. A short story on NPR from August 29 has children “Voting for a book.” These children argue passionately for their favorite books- whether they have read them or not. (As an aside, I think this idea – a “book election” would be a natural tie in to a school library READ poster campaign.)

What I love about the READ poster campaign is that it puts a face on the passion for books. This is important because books are a much more personal and private experience than, say, movies, TV shows and CDs, all of which can easily be experienced with other people. Books, for the most part, are experienced alone. Because of that, favorite books are sometimes less obvious than favorites of other mediums. READ posters give favorite books a time to shine. This is why I love the READ poster CD. It isn’t only celebrities that have a passion for books- just about everyone can identify at least one book that changed their life.

Incidentally, I do have a current favorite book. Let’s call it my favorite of the year. It is “Little Brother” by Cory Doctorow. Funny thing is, I didn’t read it on paper. I downloaded an electronic copy and read it on a screen. Perhaps if asked to pose for a READ poster, I should choose my laptop. (I have since bought the book, read it again, and had the book signed.) Ask me again next year and my favorite is likely to change.

Image credit: “My Favorite Book” by * Janice.