LIBRARY DISPLAY of OZ-RELATED BOOKS, ETC (Tommy's private collection)

Everything in this glass display case belongs to my "private collection." And yes, that makes me, like, super, SUPER gay. What I'm bummed about is that I can't seem to find my original 14 books by Baum! I had the entire series in paperback editions from the '80s, with really cool covers. I know they're in the garage somewhere, but for now, this is definitely enough Oz stuff to fill the display. Most people don't even know there were more stories beyond just The Wizard of Oz. They're totally missing out on things like the Patchwork Girl, and Santa Claus making an appearance, and a town of bunnies and a town of pastries, and so many other really bizarre and fun creations.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Ladies & Bunnies

     This is what I did in March, between our Read Across America Alice In Wonderland extravaganza, and April's Poetry Month stuff.


     The quote and illustrations above are from the Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Du Bose Heyward and Marjorie Hack. I thought it perfectly represented Easter/Spring AND Women's History Month because that is one sassy, forward-thinking little bunny.
     "Wait and see!"



READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK 2016


     I'm just going to dump these pictures here, and assume they're mostly self-explanatory. Basically, I'm so over Dr. Seuss as a theme for Read Across America Week, so I'm doing Alice In Wonderland, and using the Cheshire Cat wearing the Mad Hatter's Hat as a "different cat in a different hat."

(All artwork by yours truly)





     The Nonfiction section is now the Tulgey Wood...


     And look what's lurking at the back...


     The Jabberwock! (The lighting in this photo makes it a little hard to see, but in person the drawing is more visible)


     On Friday our Alumni Association is hosting an Author Forum of Alumni Authors, and we're inviting everyone back to the library afterward for a Mad Tea Party Reception. Hence, the paper lanterns.


     All week long we have daily activities and/or contests. I'll post more pictures and details later. I even have prizes to give out. :)


     This easel is positioned just outside the library door, with these fancy "ultra-shape" balloons that cost $6.00 each and are supposed to last all week but dammit if some turd didn't steal one, poke a hole in another, and leave only the blue one intact. And this is just the FIRST DAY.
     But it's a learning experience. Next year I will fill the balloons with napalm.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Rainy Day Reading


     My mom (Library Volunteer Extraordinaire) found the slogan, "It Starts Raining, I Start Reading," so we created this bulletin board in the hallway just outside the library. We had to work fast, because soon we'll have to focus on preparing for Read Across America Week, and some big plans for that.
     It was overcast when I took the above photo, and it made the color look super weird.
   

     Above is a nice little alcove the students pass on their way out the door of the library, so it seemed like a good place to remind them to keep their books dry. Those purple things are supposed to be storm clouds. Do they read as storm clouds? I was in a hurry.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Book Thief Rain Quote

"She gathered books like clouds and words poured down like rain."

     Working on January displays a little late, and my awesome volunteer Mom went online and found the slogan "It Starts Raining, I Start Reading." So we were working with that, and then I found this great reading- and rain-related quote from The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, and did some cut and paste to create this display on one of the stack ends.
     But wait, there's more cleverness...
     In the close-up, look what I used for the streaks of "rain."


BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Women's History Month 2015


     Waaaay back in March, I did some displays for Women's History Month. Why didn't I post this back then? I dunno.
     I drew that fancy lady. She was originally for a NaNoWriMo display, but I realized she'd also be great for Women's History. But now I can't use her for NaNoWriMo. Because that would be cheating. Creatively speaking.




Mr. Kovac's favorite feminist: Kathleen Hanna


BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : November 2015 (cont.)

NaNoWriMo
 
    Above is the interior bulletin board version of the NaNoWriMo display I did in the glass case outside the library. I made those big typewriter letters a few years ago, using a silver Sharpie to outline them. I think I just did a Google image search for old-fashioned typewriter letter keys, and copied and pasted into a Word doc, then cropped and enlarged, etc. Really pretty easy.

National Picture Book Month

     Our new District Librarian, Regina, who is awesome, reminded us all that November is National Picture Book Month, and if any of our libraries have cool picture books, now is the time to promote them. My high school actually has a lot of great picture books, which rarely get used because it's a high school, and because they're located in a far corner, facing the wall. I think the previous library staff purchased them for all the kids who are struggling at very low reading levels, but most of the time those kids are too embarrassed to check out Goodnight Moon or Bread & Jam For Frances.
     I used three end-of-stacks display shelves that face out to showcase some of the better picture books I thought would interest our students. Funny ones, and classics, and ones that are geared toward older readers and are more "all ages."
     For more info: nationalpicturebookmonth.com

Staff Favorites
     One of my library technician friends in the same district shared that she was putting up leaves that she was having staff write their favorite book titles on. I appropriated that idea, and created a quick template, printed it on variously sort of autumn leaf-colored papers, and had my trusty library volunteer (Mom) distribute one to every staff mailbox.

Staff Favorites Leaf Template
(That's my hulking shadow looming across the page...)

     We immediately started receiving filled-out leaves back, and started cutting them out and posting them on the end of a shelf, with a sign on top to explain what they are. Mom and I both did one, of course.
     One of our library regulars already asked for the title I put on mine (The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey) and checked it out. :)
     So... that's November so far!

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : October & Halloween

     I do love this season, and all things Halloween. Here are some pics of how I've decorated the library:

Main bulletin board, including quote by Edgar Allan Poe
Skelton and tarantula are original things I drew, the rest is vintage Halloween decor, clip art, and a library poster.
For the light green and brown "grass," I just cut up some construction paper all crazy-like.
 
"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality."
-Edgar Allan Poe

The cylindrical display cabinet, which I keep unlocked so I can encourage kids to grab books out of it.
The raven on top has a tag around its neck that says, "Nevermore."



The "Coming Soon" whiteboard, festooned with glowing skulls.
(And yes, we DO now have "Blood of Olympus.")

Vintage 3D Halloween decorations

The green skulls are just clip art printed on colored paper, with orange paper flames, mounted against black paper.

I like this poster. It always makes me think of Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes."

These are the windows of my horrible little cave of an office.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : March Book Fair & Easter

This was my idea, with books on the Ferris Wheel, and books as roller coaster train. I just found a good simple carnival silhouette online, and replicated it with banner paper, prefab "books," copy paper, and a big black pen.

     We're having a Scholastic Book Fair the last week of March, so this month's bulletin board decor is a nauseating mix of carnival-y book fair imagery, Women's History (see previous post), and Easter & spring bunnies, etc.


     I did a Google image search for "carnival," and "fair," and found some nice & simple ideas. Primary colors, that circus-type font in Word, etc. We printed big fair ticket images on colored paper and cut them out, printed lettering on yellow paper, etc. SIMPLE. Because this is a busy month and shit's gotta get DONE.

This was my idea, too. Isn't it nice? Doesn't it tie the "fair" theme in nicely?


     And here's the circular glass display cabinet that some of my fellow library techs are jealous of. It is pretty cool. I don't know where it came from.

Countdown: "11 more days 'til the book fair!" (I update the number each morning)

     We got a cheap little round blackboard for less than $2 at Michael's for the countdown.

Various little bunny figurines and eggs donated by the previous Librarian who is still my friend, and by my mom. Who is also still my friend.

Tough to find rabbit or bunny books in a junior high/high school library. So we have the emotionally scarring Watership Down lurking at the bottom of the display, beneath cheerier titles like Peter Rabbit and Bunnicula.

Egg wheel from my mom. That ties Easter in with the fair theme! It's all cohesive. And before you say, "No, it's not! What about that Birding book?" let me interject that birds fit the spring part of our theme. COHESIVE.
Per reader request, here is the carnival ticket image, which I think I found online searching for free carnival/fair clip art:

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : March is Women's History Month


     Did you know March is Women's History Month? Well, it is. So give it up for the lay-deees!
     I'd had a hard time finding a visually pleasing poster for it, so I was happy to obtain the one above from the "Diversity Store," HERE.


     The World War II woman above is from a free set of historical encyclopedia posters I picked up at some library conference. I cut the commercial stuff off and then my library volunteer aunt created that lovely lady-border around it using flowery stationery. Clever, yes?


     We used the nicest pictures from an old calendar of "Women Reading." "The Reading Woman?" Something like that. Then we added appropriate books to the display. Alcott's Little Women, A Break With Charity (Salem Witch Trials) by Ann Rinaldi, Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo, and Beyond the Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky.
     Women's History ain't always pretty, you guys. Shit happens.

     And here's the image I use for a bibliographic bookmark I call "Sugar & Spikes," which features edgier books for edgy girls.
Here's the list of books, all of which are available in our school library:

 FICTION

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Watcha Gonna Do? by Cynthia Voigt
Blister by Susan Shreve
Blue Is For Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Born Blue by Han Nolan
Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn
Cut by Patricia McCormick
Dark Secrets: Legacy of Lies by Elizabeth Chandler
Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Goat Girls by Francesca Lia Block
Green Angel by Alice Hoffman
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
Haters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert
Lucy the Giant by Sherri L. Smith
Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Poison by Chris Wooding
Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge
Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Threshold by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Tithe: a Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black

NON-FICTION

33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History… edited by Tonya Bolden
Girls: a History of Growing Up Female In America by Penny Colman
Gutsy Girls: Young Women Who Dare by Tina Schwager
Patently Female: Stories of Women Inventors and Their Breakthrough Ideas by Vare and Ptacek
Picture the Girl: Young Women Speak Their Minds by Audrey Shehyn

 (added after original post:)
     There's also this, which we put on the smaller bulletin board behind the counter--

      Years ago the Librarian and I made these "framed" pics of famous women, just by printing nice pictures out in black & white, and putting a backing frame of black construction paper, then creating labels that say who the women are, and what they're famous for. So we have Jane Goodall, Rosa Parks, and Abigail Adams. It's probably time I added some more ladies to this little gallery.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : January

"Fight the CHILL with some steeeamy ROMANCE!"

     January is always tricky when it comes to decorating in the 'brary. You come back from Winter Break and there's that damn Christmas tree and all the garland and snowmen and elves and shit, staring you in the face like an un-flushed toilet.
     Luckily I can leave anything that is just wintery and not necessarily Christmasy. So I left up the snowy background paper on the big bulletin board, and the Narnia poster, and just had to figure out something to go on the left side to replace Santa.
     I finally came up with the slogan, "Fight the CHILL with some steeeamy ROMANCE!" which is very unlike me because that's my least-favorite genre. But it's been FREEZING in the library the last couple of days, so I've been thinking about COLD and CHILLS.
     I printed out some romance book covers, including David Levithan's Two Boys Kissing, plus a gay girl book by Julie Ann Peters, and several hetero romances. I always try to represent everyone.
     I cut the flames out of big sheets of red construction paper. Simple.
   

     But every time I look at it, in my head I change it to, "Fight the chill with some stiiiiinky romance!" and then I get the crazy giggles.

Display cabinet dedicated to "Year of the Horse"
     January 31st is Chinese New Year, and 2014 is the Year of the Horse. So my mom (trusty library volunteer) and I put together a display of horse books in the circular display cabinet. She half-jokingly said I could bring in some ponies from my personal collection, and I was like, "I will TOTALLY do that!!!" I have a shitload of My Little Ponies, but also other types. The crazier the better. (She has asked me in the past if I can ever have too many ponies, and I have said no.)

Close-up of top shelf of Year of the Horse cabinet.

     I grabbed a book on Chinese Astrology, and found a listing of traits attributed to people born in the Year of the Horse, and those are the words you see on the red-backed cards placed randomly on the glass shelves betwixt various horses & ponies. Calm, independent, cheerful, sociable, curious, popular, generous, confident, amusing, talented, etc.

That big horse is from the Bratz toy line. It has glittery hooves.
The purple pony in front is a special edition My Little Pony designed by artist Junko Mizuno.
     I ended up using an assortment of my more tasteful ponies, for the most part. For example, I refrained from including Strawberry Shortcake's scented horse, "Honey Pie." And I did not include She-Ra's transparent blue winged horse, "Crystal Moonbeam." 

Back of the Year of the Horse display cabinet.

This one is from the "Bratz Babyz Ponyz" line. It looks pretty snarky.


     We have these two big black frames I use as bulletin boards, one on each side of the library. It helps break up the monotony of blank white institutional walls. Anyway, we slapped a Chinese New Year poster up on one, which you see above. 
     Below is the one my mom assembled with online images she found, plus a great Year of the Horse quote. And some intricate Chinese paper cuts we found in a fancy book. It was donated years ago, and I never knew what to do with it because if I allowed students to borrow it, the delicate paper-cut things would have been ruined. So Mom carefully extracted them from the book, and now they can be enjoyed as decor!


     So that was January's decorating frenzy. Now it's back to shelving, mending, generating library and textbook fine notices, and doing inventory. GET BACK TO WORK!

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Banned Books Week 2013!

     This post is quite tardy. The library has been very busy. But better late than never, right? Banned Books Week 2013 was September 22-28. I had the library all decorated to support intellectual freedom, and I did presentations about censorship and intellectual freedom for 6 eighth grade English classes. They were all very attentive and polite, and had great questions and participation. Their teacher had them all check out books that had been either banned or challenged, which made for some interesting research coming up with about 200 titles that fit the bill and were currently available in our library.
     She gave them an assignment to read their challenged/banned book and take a stance on whether they agreed or not with the book being challenged or banned, and why. Of course she leaned heavily toward influencing them on the side of intellectual freedom.
     I really liked how the teacher made it very clear in her paperwork for the students that banning a book means removing it from an entire community so that NO ONE has access to it.
     I felt it was totally worth the effort on her part and my part. I loved that the teacher wanted to do such a thorough exploration of a subject that's near and dear to my heart. It gave me the opportunity to talk about my own personal experience with censorship. It's great to see teachers who recognize how important it is to teach kids about the issue, and make sure they understand all the complexities of it. It's not simple or easy.
     I ended up having some great conversations with students regarding the reasons (so-called and real) why some people try to ban certain books. Sometimes it was difficult to find the info, which was also a nice research challenge. ;)
     Here are some pics of what I put up in the library for Banned Books Week, 2013.
   

There's that comic I drew a billion years ago when I worked in the junior high library...
Detail of the "Library Key"



I like this poster.


I like this poster, too. Those robots are cute AND open-minded.
     "Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same" poster available from ALA HERE.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Halloween 2013

Vintage Halloween tablecloth used as bulletin board covering.

     My Aunt Wanda gave me this rad bag full of vintage Halloween decorations. We figure they're from the 1950s, or maybe even the '40s. Some of the stuff was never even opened! Anthony and I put some of it up at home, and the rest I took to the library. My mom helped me put everything up, which was totally fun. Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Aunt Wanda!

Vintage scarecrow as centerpiece of the big bulletin board. (I made the reading tarantula years ago when I worked in the Children's Room of the Santa Ana Public Library.)

     I'm actually ashamed of that half-hearted "WEAVE ME ALONE, I'M READING" slogan. I was in a hurry to come up with something reading-related and also spooky or whatever, and kids were due to come flooding into the library any minute.

Luckily for me there were TWO of these vintage flying saucer witches, so one is at home hovering over our dining table, and the other is coasting across the library whiteboard. She's bitchin'.

     Then this crepe paper honeycomb spider happened!

"Kiss my fat black ass!"

     Rubberhead the Skeleton Man hangs out in the library every year. He's surrounded by potions, ravens, a vintage black cat crepe paper thingie, and horror stories.



Vintage crepe paper honeycomb bats, clip art collage stuff, and spoooooky books! Plus my extended bibliography of horror reading recommendations printed on orange paper.

There's that witch, some skull lights, and that sassy black spider...

Vintage Halloween tablecloth, vintage crepe paper spider, Maurice Sendak calendar, Chris Van Allsburg glowing pumpkin print from "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick," and Alice In Wonderland Halloween scrapbook paper.

I drew that lil' skeleton years ago, and he really needs some new material because he says "The horror… the horror…" every damn year.

    In the picture above, see those two vintage orange and black plastic Halloween decorations? My Librarian gave those to me before she retired. I love them. Thanks, Marilyn!

The End!

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Easter and Spring

"Read, Know, Grow," plus a sneak peek at the upcoming book fair
     Okay, after processing a bunch of new books we were able to order with profits from our Amazon Associates Account, I finally added wording to the Library Pinwheel Bunnies board. The Librarian suggested the old stand-by, "Read, Know, Grow..." Simple and springy.
     I just printed the letters out using the "Curlz" font on green paper.
     I also printed out some sneak preview pages from the Mrs. Nelson's Book Fair website. We're hosting one of their fairs the last week this month, right before we all go on spring break.
     By the way, the background on this bulletin board is striped because I didn't have enough of any one of these colors. Time to hit the school supply store, again.
     After spring break the only things I'll have to change right away are the Easter Eggs and book fair preview pages. That'll buy me some time.
     Our district is planning to lay off all the credentialed Teacher Librarians again this year. They threatened that last year, but this year the general consensus is that it will really happen. By law the district has to keep ONE Teacher Librarian, but how effective is that going to be, for 18 school sites? Please. Anyway, this will mean all of us Library technicians will have almost no support at all, and have to establish new parameters as far as what we're willing to do, and what we're NOT. Some services will have to go by the wayside. One person can only do so much.
     Anyway, that's one of the reasons I'm thinking bulletin board decorations may be low on the priorities list when we get back. There's already lots of angst and drama and resentments brewing. Easter Bunny better bring me some f*cking Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs.

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : Library Pinwheel Bunnies!


Yes I made these myself, out of discarded library book pages and construction paper.


Library Pinwheel Bunnies!
     Library Pinwheel Bunnies!
          Library Pinwheel Bunnies!
     Are you trying to figure out how to decorate your library for spring? Not sure what to do? Library Pinwheel Bunnies!
     There is no situation that can't be improved by Library Pinwheel Bunnies!!!

This photo is blurry because I was shaking slightly from being SO EXCITED about the BUNNIES!!!
     Never mind that I can't come up with a reading or library-related slogan, yet. I'm still thinking.

LIBRARY PINWHEEL BUNNIES!!!

HALLOWEEN IN THE 'BRARY: 2011!

Halloween's ON, witches!
           Banned Books Week is over, so I spent yesterday re-decorating the library for Halloween. Yay! The first thing I pulled out of the back room was my mom's awesome feathery witch hat, which I stuff over an artificial fern in a black urn, and set on top of an upturned black plastic witch's cauldron. Then I set that in the center of an artificial black wreath. (Well, it really is a wreath, but you know what I mean) 
          The color scheme is chartreuse green and purple. I recently discovered that CM School Supply, which has a nearby location, has these handy-dandy giant rolls of colored paper. Plus they have the wavy border stuff I love, in a panoply of fashionable colors.  ;)

"Dare To Be Scared" poster, and "Halloween in Wonderland" scrapbooking papers, plus vintage ghostie and pumpkins, and a simple hand-crafted black construction paper bat with White-Out eyes

          When I first put that "Dare To Be Scared" poster up (it's new this year), one of our library regulars told me it really freaks him out, and he'll be glad when Halloween's over and that creepy guy won't be staring at him anymore.
          I said, "Yeah, he IS pretty creepy. Can you imagine if you were walking home alone one day, and you turned around and HE WAS FOLLOWING YOU?!"
          The kid said, "I get a ride to school, Mr. Kovac."
          I said, "Well, what if you're sitting in class one day, and you turn around and HE'S SITTING IN THE DESK RIGHT BEHIND YOU?!"

Jinkies! There's even a RAVEN perched atop the sill! And are those GLOWING SKELETON HEADS?!! So chilling!

"The horror... the horror..."
          The big bulletin board has all my old handmade Halloween stuff. I made the spider way back in the early NINETIES, when I was working at the Santa Ana Public Library, in the Children's Room! I was basically their art whore, so I was given plenty of time to make arty things in the back work room. It was only recently that I thought to make clip art books for the spider to be reading. Now he represents people who read a bunch of books at one time. (I admit sometimes I do that)
          It's too bad you can't really see the details on the building there, but it's a spooky library, which I drew in black over dark grey paper. I think it looks really cool and subtle in person, but doesn't show up in pictures.
           At the back of the room over history and biographies is a long bulletin board that still had a summery display asking "What did you read over summer break?" so it was way past due (pun intended) for a change. Now it's Frankenstein's monster, and bats.  

Frankenstein's monster "Library Good!" poster, plus clip art stuff
 
Google image search for "bat clip art"

Google image search for "bat skeleton" and "fancy frame," and a few layers of colored paper
          Near the front half of the library is a long bulletin board that used to have a cheery smiling pencil and "Welcome!" in big letters. Now it's all skulls and weird scenes.

Clip art skulls, and posters from Chris Van Allsburg's Mysteries of Harris Burdick

          I've been using the posters from the "portfolio version" of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick for years. It comes in handy for creative writing workshops AND decorating! In case you haven't seen it, here's a link to it on Amazon (be patient for the widget/link to load, it may take a few moments):


          Recently I saw there is a new "Harris Burdick" book, which is an anthology of new tales by prominent children's and YA authors, who have used the tantalizing illustrations as inspiration. But the book is getting mostly bad reviews, because people seem to like Van Allsburg's pictures specifically for their unexplained eerieness. Despite the quality of the stories in the new anthology, the stories just aren't going to live up to what fans of the original have been imagining in their OWN heads for the past 27 years. (And yes, it really has been that long since the original book came out!)

Our cylindrical display case done up like a "cabinet of curiosities" 
           Our "cabinet of curiosities" has a rubber skeleton and various stuff from Michael's, or wherever, plus fake grass at the bottom with little "tombstones" I made out of construction paper and metal bookends. Plus some spooky-looking books. We're lucky to work with students who don't (often) steal things. We leave the case unlocked so they can get to the books inside.

Oh my gosh, the Reference Section is suddenly TERRIFYING!!!
          That raven on the pedestal is from Michael's, fairly cheap. I put a little "Nevermore" tag around its neck. The little orange plastic witch is a total vintage thing the Librarian brought in, from when she was cleaning out old decorations from storage. I love it.

I did a variation of this same Poe shrine last year
          The Librarian brought back some cool things from her visit to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. We now have parchment reproductions of some of Poe's poems in his own handwriting.
          The raven is just more Google image search clip art, and so is the little pic of Edgar in the clip art frame. I made the "curtains" last year out of construction paper.
         
SNEAKY TIP: when I'm printing clip art images and I don't have copy paper in exactly the color I want, I frequently find construction paper that's the right color and cut it to 8 1/2" x 11" and put that in the printer.

If you wanna see 2010's Halloween bulletin boards in our library, click HERE.