Coming in to the home stretch

It's been on everyone's lips today: having just returned from Thanksgiving, we have two weeks left till the exam period and just three weeks overall till it's winter vacation. Where did the time go?


But don't panic! Instead, start revieweing your semester notes now, eat a nutritious dinner every night, follow it with a solid eight hours of peaceful slumber, and wash those hands. You don't want to sacrifice 16 weeks of work to a germ or two, and it would be tragic to have studied carefully all term just to go off-course at the last minute. So be sensible this year, although it just wouldn' t be exam time without injecting a little last-minute drama into the proceedings, would it? So say it with me now: "HOLY COW. I AM TOTALLY GONNA FAIL THIS TEST. I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT AND ATE PURE COFFEE GROUNDS RIGHT OUT OF THE JAR AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE KNIGHT'S TALE IN CHAUCER MEANS."

There. That's done. Now breathe deeply, return to your textbooks and grab that highlighter. And let me know if I can help with those final essays or paper revisions, OK?

WHAT TIME IS IT?

Well, most of you would probably say that it's about 3:45, or early fall, or time for a snack.

But it's not.

It's hammer time.

That's right, it's Homecoming. I have to write this rather quickly, because it's also time for me to go home, change into something durable, pick up Mister Miss Mandel and our small son, and head to the family picnic before the big game. We are playing the Panthers of Bradenton Christian at Twin Lakes Park at 7 p.m., and it promises to be an action-packed night. At the pep rally today Coach Timmons, whom I believe has a touch of the poet in him, pointed out that in just four years we've gone from starting the football program from the very ground up to being a real force to contend with in a district championship.

We are Thunder Nation! And it is Hammer Time! It's also time for me to go - see you at the big game, OK?

Explore the forbidden - read a banned book!

It's Banned Book Week! For most librarians, this is the equivalent of the first day of spring, or Fourth of July fireworks. You know the image we all have of shushing librarians in tweed skirts telling us what to do? Here's their secret: within those cardigan-wearing chests beat some very rebellious hearts. I haven't met a librarian yet who really believes censorship is a good idea. If you seriously ask a librarian point-blank for a piece of information, no matter how "dangerous" society deems it to be, I bet nine times out of ten she (or he) will drop everything to get it for you. And that goes double for something "dangerous" to read - watch those sensible shoes make tracks into the stacks to retrieve Huck Finn or Invisible Man at top speed.

Here in the Savidge Bowers Library, I'm proud to say that of the top 100 most frequently banned and challenged books of the last century, we own 83. And I'm working on getting the remaining 17. As I said, that doesn't make me unusual - it makes me part of a whole universe of librarians who care about helping people preserve their intellectual freedom. Today I had one of those singular moments that really makes a librarian feel like this is her calling, not just her job: Mrs. Dozier brought in a class of eighth-graders to look through the banned book display for some free-reading selections. Several inquisitive students asked who has the right to tell anyone else what they're allowed to read. "Nobody!" said Ryan F. That's exactly right - nobody. It's a short hop from banning books to banning speech to banning thought.

So, celebrate your personal freedom and pick a banned book for yourself this week. I can make recommendations based on taste, but only you get to decide which one you take home.

Autumn arrives

Equinox: from the Latin for "equal night," meaning that the length of daylight and evening hours are just about equal at this time, the vernal or autumnal equinox.

Today, officially, is the first day of fall - my favorite time of year. Here in Sarasota it doesn't feel much like fall in the traditional sense; it is, after all, in the 90s or close every day. Still, there's the feeling that we're all settling in and getting down to business. School clothes, book buying, tests, Homecoming, Winter Break, spring finals . . . scholars often claim that contemporary humans have lost the cyclical sense of time our ancient forebears used to have, that because most of us no longer reckon our existence based on the planting cycle we forget there are seasons. But for those of us in academia, the years go by in a continuous spiral of beginning, middle, end and back to beginning. I've said this before, but I'll say it again - many people do not welcome fall with the same sense of pleasure I do, because if winter is the metaphorical death of the year, then autumn is its slow decline. For me, though, autumn will always be the finest season, a time of new beginnings and fresh possibilities.

Yes, we have it

The Lost Symbol is here. That's right, we have it. Well, sort of. We had it, and then we lent it out. Most people think of the school library as the place to check email, do homework, and use the occasional Civil War reference book, but guess what? We are also a hotbed of the latest and greatest. When you wanted Twilight, I had that, and now that you want The Lost Symbol, I've got that for you too. Or, at least, I will have it for you when it comes back on the 25th, then the next one in line gets it. So, that's my point: put a hold on it in the library system, and you can claim your prize with just a few keystrokes.

While we're on the subject, I have New Moon, too. Ask at the desk. In the meantime, over the summer we received several hundred other new books, all of which are just dying to be checked out and taken home, so why not give another book a chance while you're waiting? You might just discover the next Great American Novel back there in the stacks before anybody else does.

Everyone's a critic

This week I visited the 10th graders in Mrs. Giraud's English classes to show off one of my favorite features of the new library software system. The new system allows readers to write and post book reviews of books we have in the library - readers can give up to five stars for "awesome," and can include a written review of up to 1,000 characters. After they get approved by me (of course), they get posted to the catalog for everyone's edification - bang, we're just like Amazon.

In fact, I want and need these reviews and so do other students. When I go to purchase something for the library, I read reviews on Amazon and in Booklist and other trade publications - if the reviews are uniformly bad, I don't buy it. On the other hand, if all reviews about this author or that one are glowing, sometimes I buy everything he or she has written.

So if you've got a favorite author, now is the time for your voice to be heard! Want help finding the "reviews" tab in the library interface? Ask at the desk. You knew that already, right?

A childhood wish fulfilled at last!

And you were all there to witness it. Yesterday I had the honor of representing the faculty against the students in the Thunder Cup Spelling Bee, ably assisted by Mr. Woods. As a child, I was an excellent speller - so much so that by sixth grade my English teacher excused me from spelling tests and sent me to the library instead. (Maybe that's where it all started?) For whatever reason, my town did not have spelling bees, so I never had the chance to put my skills to the test on local-access TV or compete for scholarships or any other spelling-related glamorous prize.

I will confess that I did not feel good about having to wrest the glory from Nick C., but a game's a game, I suppose, and Nick was very sportsmanlike indeed, as is his habit. The final word was "kaleidoscope," and although it was a major struggle at the time, I have never been more grateful I took Greek in grad school. Well, I might have been more grateful that day I got stuck in an elevator in Athens, but this was a close second.

Now all we have to do is get Arno Weller to ask me to my junior prom and we will pretty much have fixed up any lingering girlhood dreams from my past. Let me know if you find him, OK?

Welcome back!

Let's see . . . I'm cataloging new books, making sure all my library patrons are updated in the system, had the chairs re-covered, there's a new photocopier - yup, the new school year is just around the corner!

There are some exciting changes to behold in the 09-10 season, including a brand-new library system with all kinds of great features. I can't wait to show it off to everyone. Plus, I've got scads of wonderful new books on all kinds of subject and tons of new DVDs, too. Stop by and see me and get the latest on what's new!

Vegas, baby!

Well, you've heard the rumors. It's true: the librarians are converging on Las Vegas. That's right, we're going to kick up our heels in our sensible shoes. Do rhinestones go with brown tweed? Oh, stop. I've spent at least a portion of every day here proving that librarians are not at all the stodgy, puritanical, bun-wearing student-shushing harpies that popular culture would have us believe. At least, I hope so.

This week, the Association of Independent School Librarians is having its annual conference, and this year it so happens it's in Sin City. It's just the luck of the draw - it could have been Indianapolis or Pittsburgh. I"ll be spending the majority of my days learning about how other independent schools operate their libraries, what they have in common with us, how we might improve or be an example for others - very important, useful things. But, when in Rome . . . so perhaps in the interest of empirical research I might finally learn what "double down" actually means.

Already?

Here in the land of academia, we divide our time into semesters, then quarters, then weeks . . . the short version is that having returned from Spring Break, we've got six weeks left! Didn't I just get here a few minutes ago? And yet here I am, six weeks away from the end of my first year as a librarian.

As some journeys end, others are just beginning: the seniors go off for their internships for the month of May and return for commencement before they fly the nest for good, off to college and the great beyond. "Commencement" is an interesting term to use: it literally means that something begins - we picture it as the end of a long journey, but it's also where the path starts, doesn't it?

If I seem more philosophical than usual today it's because I'm contemplating my own journey. Several weeks ago I was hunting through some stored clothes, looking for my cap and gown to wear to commencement. The more degrees you have, the more elaborate the gowns get and so my ensemble includes a red velvet hood, along with assorted tassels. I found it, hung it up to shed its wrinkles and went on my way that day. And then suddenly I realized I'd be wearing it twice this year. My own graduation is mere months away, the culmination of years of work, and so in that regard I think I feel a little bit of what our seniors are experiencing - the relief at least, if not that delicious sensation of what the future might hold; that's already been fulfilled for me (see above!)

I have been working towards a master of arts in library science since 2003 and this summer I can finally enjoy some more letters after my name, finishing the last two classes required of me and taking that short but meaningful walk across the stage. And after that, a well-deserved celebration! The beauty of graduating as an adult is that one can plan one's own party; I suppose the downside is that I also get to pay for it, but hey, won't I be doing so with funds I earned because of the job I have due to the degree I'm getting?

So happy graduation, everyone. May your journey take you wherever you wish to go.

Toga party!

The ninth grade English classes are doing research papers on aspect of Greek and Roman life - what kinds of jobs people had, what they did for fun, what they ate, how they fought, what their music sounded like - all my favorite stuff. In graduate school (art history school, not library school!) I wrote my thesis about Greek jewelry, because I think that people's everyday personal objects tell us what we really want to know. Their literature and marble buildings tell us some very fine things about them, truly, but how a lady wore her hair or whether she liked long necklaces or short gives us a more evocative peek into her mindset, I think. Certainly what they ate makes us grateful to be in the 21st century - you were picturing a nice Greek salad and some baklava? Sorry. Not in 450 BC - try coarse bread and olives, some fish if you were wealthy.

So I got to host the ninth graders here in the library all week and point out where the best books are for their subjects, introduce them to the mysteries of double-sided copying, and offer to be of service for search terms and suggestions. I'm pleased to say they took me seriously, and I've been fielding requests ever since. In many cases I've copied articles from some of the larger books to preserve their bindings (but you have to do the bibliography work yourself - there's no free lunch!) So you out there, if you're looking for that article on how to fold your peplos or what silphium tasted like . . . see me at the desk!

Incidentally, for you sharp-eyed folk who looked at the picture: the Greeks didn't wear togas. They wore all kinds of other big folded and pinned pieces of cloth, but not togas. Go ahead, ask me about it. I'm here weekdays until 4:30.

Not quite infinity, but definitely the future

Last night was the 100 Days, excuse me, 86 Days Dinner. It was well-attended by two Belles, one Cruella, three Minnie Mouses (Minnie Mice?) two Jack Sparrows, three or four toy soldiers, Winnie the Pooh, Ursula, Tigger, Pocahontas, the whole Cool Runnings bobsled team, Tinkerbell, Hades, Hercules and his muse, and Jiminy Cricket, just to name a few. But the real showdown was between the two Woodys. Dan B. looked great, but Mr. Newhams looked even greater. (Sorry Dan.) And in a beautiful bit of symmetry, Dan's tribute to Mr. Newhams left many of us a little moist around the eyes.

One of the things I enjoyed most was hearing about all the accomplishments of my colleagues and what an impression they have left on our soon-to-be graduates. It's a good feeling to know I am among such a caring, skilled group of teachers and I am glad to be counted among them. I was also impressed by the public speaking abilities of our seniors; not everyone finishes high school with such a well-developed sense of calm behind a podium addressing a crowd and it's a more useful skill than you might think.

Eighty-five days left to go. Time flies, huh?

100 days to go

Happy March! Tonight is the 100 Days Dinner, an event at which senior students and their teachers enjoy an evening of togetherness over country-club food. But that's not all. Because I'm a newbie, I had no idea of the entertainment. Not only are all attendants required to come in costume, but each teacher is lauded by several students with original speeches about his or her fine qualities. This year's theme is Disney, and if I told you how much of my week I spent researching characters and their attributes for students and faculty, you'd be amazed. But do credit my professionalism: you want information, and I provide it, whatever it is.

The best term I can use to describe what I feel for the students . . . is pity. That's right, pity. Why? Because that's an impossible task. For those of you who have known your teachers since seventh grade, how do you encapsulate all you might feel for them in a minute or two? And in my case, nine of you have only had me as a teacher since January - how could you actually fill a minute or two? Furthermore, it's a tribute, not a roast, so you can't be funny, and report cards come out on the 26th, so you can't be honest either! You don't want to be sappy, because that's embarrassing and your fellows are watching. You don't want to be lame, because, well, that's lame.

So yeah, I pity you, you poor dears. On the other hand, I feel lucky as heck because I get to dress up in blue velvet pantaloons and eat some lovely chicken dinner while at least two or three of you tell me how great I am, and then of course I get to blog about it the next day. See you at 6:30!

Out-of-Door wins 114-108!

Yesterday's Academic Olympics match was a roller-coaster ride the whole way through: first we were up by 18, then we were down by 20, then Alex pulled us out of the fire with a 12-point music bonus question that saved the day. In the end it came down to the team question, and we earned 6 points to their 2. We even had spectators: Mr. Latta stopped by to witness the drama, and Ms. Kozak couldn't tear herself away. What's next for our heroes? Tune in next time and find out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

There's something about me you should know: I love candy. Shocking, isn't it? I'm always the one cracking down on the lollipops, the gum, the chocolate bars. You'd think I was hatin' on candy in general. Nope! I love candy, and I know I'm not alone - bugs love it too, so when you share it with them it causes icky problems for the books I also love . . . you see the problem. I'm torn between my two great loves, candy and literature.

And that brings me to my next point: whatever information your little heart desires, I can fix you up. Just this morning Miss Barlow asked about the origins of Valentine's Day and I said I though I had some research on that. I believe she may have thought I was kidding, but in three minutes I was back with the February 14 entry from Butler's Lives of the Saints, right here in our own reference section. See? She had a desire for information and I fulfilled it.

So eat some candy (far away from here!) and celebrate love, in all its glorious forms! Have a wonderful week off, and I'll see you all fresh and eager on the 23rd.

Alexander the Great, right here in the library

Today I had the pleasure of meeting most of the ninth grade. I had met many of you before in different circumstances, but today I got to be a professional about it: I came to Mr. Dougherty's World History classes to show students what the library can do for them. Specifically what it can do for them while they're working on presentations about Alexander the Great for later this semester. We talked about the library catalog and how to look for books we own, how to use Questia to find electronic books and articles, and the superstar favorite: how Questia will format its sources into an MLA-style bibliography, all ready for you to download and insert your other sources for attaching to a paper. I bet I have some new fans now!

Get smarter!

We're all humming along here, trying to stay warm - the library has big beautiful windows that let in lots of natural light, but it's fair to say it's a little on the brisk side in here with all the glass. It does foster a kind of measured, scholastic-type environment: glasses-wearing lasses with hair braided against the inevitable static, lips tucked in against the cold as they peck their calculator keys; bent-headed boys in sweaters rubbing their hands along their insulated coffee mugs while they pore over books for their research papers.

There's no chance of a beach visit, pool swim, or even a Frisbee game tonight, so let me suggest this: how about the school play? Get Smart is on at the Lower School campus, totally free for faculty and students, $5 for lucky guests. It opened last night and early reviews are glowing. Catch it tonight at 7, and Saturday at a 2 p.m. matinee and again at 7 in the evening. Shoe phone's ringing - it's for you!

I have cooties!

There, I said it. Now you know my awful secret. Except it's not a secret, and I'm not alone. EVERYONE HAS COOTIES THIS WEEK. Every single substitute on the list has been pressed into service and teachers are begging each other to cover one another's study halls. I personally had to do a half-day yesterday because my son had the throwing-up cooties, and I dragged myself here today using sheer willpower alone because I have the coughing cooties.

I taught college for eight years before coming to Out-of-Door and I don't ever remember being sick this frequently, even when I lived in Ohio. I'm trying to view this as a chance to become immune to a wider array of bacteria, but it is growing difficult to remain cheerfully optimistic about it while I'm actually doing it. I suspect the vector of the disease at hand is my mega-stapler, Dewey. Dewey will easily slam through 25 pages or more at a time, so everyone wants to feel its awesome power. Evidently they're doing so with germy hands, see: You sneeze, then pick up stapler. You tell me stapler is out of staples. I go to refill stapler, touching sneeze-germs. AND THEN I GET THE COOTIES. And so does your girlfriend, because she touches it next, and then you hold her hand and you get them again. It's a vicious cycle, people! See than bottle of hand sanitizer? Use it. That can of disinfecting wipes? Help yourself.

Help keep American cootie-free!

Term paper season has begun!

Business is big - circulation numbers are way up, at the end of the day I can't remember if I ate lunch, mail goes unopened. It's term paper season! Every day I'm getting exciting requests for research help on a wide array of topics. And I love the chase: part of what drove me to librarianship is the thrill of the chase, the smug sensation of having found the perfect source no one else thought of, in a place no on thought to look. So bring it on! I love a challenge. Just try to come see me during your free period instead of expecting me to sort through every one of the 10,850 items we have in here off the top of my head in the three minutes you have before your C block class.

See you at the desk.

Yes, we have DVDs!

And yes, you can check them out! I guess I'm the only one who knows: we now have a collection of more than 100 DVDs, all of them ready and waiting to be checked out by students, faculty and staff. So that means you! And better than Blockbuster or Netflix: these are free. You do have to return them, but they're free. Totally free. Does it get any better than that? Nope.

So here's a random sampling (sort of) of what we've got: O Brother, Where Art Thou; the Leonardo diCaprio version of Romeo & Juliet; Billy Elliot; the whole Engineering an Empire series; L'Auberge Espagnol; 8 Women; Mayans & Aztecs, and so much more. And I'm not done buying yet, so come see me at the circ desk and tell me what you want. I'll see if I can get it.

Olympics season has begun!

Wow, what a start to 2009! Welcome back, everyone. The wrapping paper has been recycled, the New Year's resolutions have been made, and it's on to spring semester. We had hardly scuffed our spring term sneakers when it was time for our Academic Olympics team to face off against Booker High on Tuesday. In our very first match ever, the Thunder pulled ahead in Round 2 and then Round 3 was a nail-biter the whole time, right down to the final point that separated the two teams. In the end, we lost by only that single point. I don't call that a loss, actually. It was our first year playing, our first match ever, and we weren't even in school the day before. So hats off to Tim, Lauren, Trey and Anika - great job! We even had spectators. A few people were milling around the library or checking email on the iMacs and they too were gripped by the spectacle and couldn't bear to leave in the middle of the drama.

Join us for our next home games on Jan. 20 and Feb. 24th. If you want to, you know, bring pompoms or paint yourself blue and white or whatever, we would think that is cool. No, really.