I’m gonna be published!!!!!!!

I wrote an article, and it is actually going to be published in a library journal! I am so excited!!!!! I’ll write more when I know more…

Happy Reading!

MySpace safety…

If you or a teen you know is on MySpace (or just using the internet in general), there are a few safety measures you should know about. Check out the following articles for some good/practical advice:

http://familyinternet.about.com/od/computingsafetyprivacy/a/TeenMySpace.htm
http://familyinternet.about.com/od/computingsafetyprivacy/a/myspaceparent.htm
http://familyinternet.about.com/od/computingsafetyprivacy/a/parentsafetyg.htm

Happy Reading!

MySpace

Do you ever use MySpace to discuss homework assignments? According to an article in School Library Journal, “almost 60 percent of students who use social networking sites such as Friendster, Facebook, and even Webkins and Nick.com… say they talk about educational topics… more than 50 percent specifically talk about schoolwork…” I would love to receive comments from any of my Tweens and Teens who want to weigh in on this topic. I am a long-time supporter of Tweens & Teens having access to MySpace, and this article makes me feel even better about the fact that our library’s Teens have a MySpace of their own! Check it out here: http://www.myspace.com/eglibraryteens.

Happy Reading!

Graphic Novel Study Guides?!?

This is a really neat way to study for the SAT and ACT. A lot of people spend a lot of time stressing about how to study, but I think simply reading a lot of books is a good way to work on vocabulary skills — and I don’t mean the dictionary! Now that there are graphic novels to help you study SAT and ACT vocabulary, you really don’t have any excuses. I will definitely have to look into ordering some of these for our library.

Happy Reading!

Survey for Teens

Below is a message I received via the PUBYAC listserv:

Hello, All,

Long story short, I’m writing an article about magazines for teens for a
library publication, and I want to get as much direct feedback from
teens as possible, and to get responses that represent different
geographic areas in the U.S.

I would be very grateful if some of you Teen Services Librarians would
be willing to let your teens know about my Magazines for Teens survey
(using Survey Monkey), whether by word of mouth, posting a link on your
blog, sending notice via your email list, etc. Anything you could do
would be greatly appreciated. Here’s the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nmdlT0O3RcwiMu2fLSarvQ%3d%3d

Thanks so much for your kind consideration. I will gladly share results.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Peace,
Marsha

Marsha K. Rakestraw
Teen Services Librarian
Beaverton City Library
12375 SW 5th Street
Beaverton, OR 97005
503.350.4001
mrakestraw@ci.beaverton.or.us
www.beavertonlibrary.org/teens/
http://bclyaknow.blogspot.com

If you are a Teen, please take the time to fill out the survey. Thanks!

Happy Reading!

DOPA

If you don’t yet know about the Deleting Online Predators Act, please read this article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/01/scitech/pcanswer/main1853357.shtml. If DOPA is actually passed by the senate, you won’t be allowed to access this blog from a school or public library — and that would just be horrible. Contact your senators — tell them that they need to vote NO!

Happy Reading!

Teen People

Ok… I have a major gripe with the “Back to School” issue of Teen People. On one side, they have a headling telling readers “30 ways to get your best body ever,” and on the other side, a headline about American Idol’s Katharine and “Her secret weight struggle.” Does this make sense? Not to me, it doesn’t. Why do popular magazines, television shows, and movies have to keep pushing this “ideal body” propaganda when we know so much about how girls feel pressured to fit into this unrealistic (for many/most) body type? If you are a tween/teen girl, please just love yourself for who you are and how you are! As long as your doctor thinks you are at a healthy weight, please trust her (or him). Real women have curves! (That’s the name of a good movie, too, by the way.) Alright. I am done complaining. Back to the books!

Happy Reading!

Reading Lists…

I found this article through one of my librarian listservs. I thought the lists were quite interesting, so I decided to post them here.
(You can find the full article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1698548,00.html)

From Beatrix Potter to Ulysses … what the top writers say every child should read

JK Rowling
Author of the Harry Potter series

Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
David Copperfield Charles Dickens
Hamlet William Shakespeare
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
Animal Farm George Orwell
The Tale of Two Bad Mice Beatrix Potter
The Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger
Catch-22 Joseph Heller

Philip Pullman
Author of the His Dark Materials trilogy

Finn Family Moomintroll Tove Jansson
Emil and the Detectives Erich Kästner
The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsay
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak
The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens (or other good anonymous ballads)
First Book of Samuel, Chapter 17 (the story of David and Goliath)
Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare
A good collection of myths and legends
A good collection of fairytales

Andrew Motion
Poet laureate (UK)

The Odyssey Homer Charles Dickens
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Hamlet William Shakespeare
Paradise Lost John Milton
Lyrical Ballads Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth
Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
Great Expectations Charles Dickens
Portrait of a Lady Henry James
Ulysses James Joyce
The Waste Land TS Eliot

Happy Reading!