Libraries

The Great Library Tour: Mitchelton Library Refurbishment

June 17, 2013Libraries, Library Tourbooks, Exploring South East Queensland, libraries, library toursubversivereader View all 9 comments

Earlier this year I visited the Mitchelton Library. It was a warm and friendly library, but it was a little bit boring. What I didn’t know was that they were about to undergo a massive refurbishment, the first of a series planned for Brisbane City Libraries.

So I was delighted to be invited to the official opening of the refurbished library. It was a stunning day for it, though cold, and Mr Pilot, Squirm and I were looking forward to seeing the changes. I have to say, however, I didn’t expect the changes to be as big as they were!

The first big change is a gorgeous, wheel chair accessible (accessibility was built in throughout the library) organic garden at the front of the library. This garden, which will be maintained by a local gardening group, is big on the citrus, and this created the theme which was repeated throughout the library.

Mitchelton Library Refurbished: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

The inside was as impressive as the outside, with new seating areas, an updated meeting area and new flourishes throughout. The citrus tree theme was repeated throughout – in wall decorations, in the signs at the ends of shelves, even in the addition of green stripes to the glass doors.

A large deck is also a new addition, opening the library out to the park. There are work areas, chairs and tables and deck chairs – perfect for snuggling up with a book. I really love that this is becoming a feature of the ‘park libraries’ integrating them better with their environments. The aim is to get a coffee van style cafe set up there, which will be brilliant.

Then there was the kids and young adult areas . . .

The kids area is quite simply amazing. It has adopted a cafe theme while continuing the citrus theme through the colours used and the wooden tree shapes around the edges. The area draws you in with plenty of comfy couches, and the books set up in low and wall shelves. I loved how a window shaped shelf was used to hold some of the series! There was a small pretend play area for cafe, an awesome Duplo board (which Squirm and Mr Pilot both adored) and one of those downward projectors which we’ve loved at some of the bigger libraries. There’s a chalk board for drawing, and a curtain which can be pulled across to separate the kids area from the young adults.

Squirm had a great time chasing things around the projection!

The young adults area continues the cafe theme, with cafe booth style tables (perfect for studying). But the biggest draw there is sure to be the interactive table – it was great to see people of all ages checking it out while we were there.

While the actual library is amazing, so was the event which was put on to open it. The local radio station was broadcasting, there were activities for the kids, music being played and displays from a few community groups. We were fortunate enough to enjoy one of the story times, though Squirm did go unusually shy throughout! The theme was even replicated here, with the whole story time based around trees! (I also noted that the tea provided fit the theme – peppermint, orange pekoe and lemon scented – those are the kind of details which really please me!)

Not so sure about this story time . . .

Hmm, ok. Maybe I’ll take a peek

The Lord Mayor of Brisbane came to officially open the library and I was very impressed by his speech. Along with talking about other refurbishments, he spoke about how libraries should be accessible to the community, and that they need to be places where the community comes together. This was evident in the refurbishment of the Mitchelton Library, which I think will be embraced by the local community and those who travel to it. I know I’m looking forward to taking Squirm again.

If you get a chance, go and check this library out. I’m sure you’ll be as impressed as we were!

Checking out the seating 🙂

Important Information about Mitchelton Library

37 Heliopolis Parade, Mitchelton

Website

Open Tuesday to Saturday

Parking is available at the side of the library and on the street.

Library Activities for All Ages – Shelving Books

April 4, 2013Books and Reading, Librariesbooks, librariessubversivereader Leave a comment

Library shelving has always been slightly magical to me. When I was in Year 9, I was given the honour of being a ‘library helper’ in my school library, and among other things, I was allowed to shelf books. Later on, when I was in university, I was bedazzled by the different shelving system. Then, as a teacher, I got a contract in a school library, with shelving again one of my favourite things. I suppose I just love the fact that every book can be catagorised and organised, using nothing but letters and numbers.

The other cool thing about shelving, is that there’s plenty of ways to learn about it (and from it) suitable for lots of different ages. Shelving can be magical anf fun for everyone!

Library Shelving Activities for All Ages: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Babies and Toddlers

As infants are learning about books when you read to them, they also learn about putting things away by watching you. Once they get a little bigger, they can even help you put things away, especially board books which tend to be kept in special lower shelves or baskets (and aren’t as strict on the alphabetical shelving)

Toddlers and Pre-Kindy

With slightly older children you can start the practice matching. Children can look at the letter on the book and see if they can find the matching letter on the shelves. (This works best in libraries which clearly label their shelves). They can also look at a small group of books and see if they can find any matching letters.

Kindergarten/Preschool

By now, a lot of children are getting comfortable with the alphabet, so can start to organise books into the right shelves (particularly the low shelves in the children’s section) and even organise books in alphabetical order (by the first letter).

Early Primary School

Around this time children can start to make the connection between the author’s name and where it goes (for fiction books). This is where you can start reversing the process and ask children look for books by certain authors.

Middle Primary School

Here non-fiction comes into play. Learn about the Dewey system and where certain books can be found. Practice the decimal system by ordering books in the right order. Learn where books on your favourite subjects can be found.

Upper Primary School/High School

This is a great age to learn about different shelving systems and why one might work better than another. Some might be interested in learning about different searching systems, from our computer based ones today to the old card catalogues of the past.

Guest Post: Storytime Fun by Ann from Help! I’m Stuck!

March 7, 2013Books and Reading, Craft, Librariesbooks, children, Guest Postsubversivereader Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, I put out a call for guest posts to fill the gaps while I gallivanted away on holidays. Ann from Help! I’m Stuck! put her hand up and wrote this fabulous post about Storytime at her local library – if you’ve ever wondered what happens at Storytime, here’s one example!

For the last few months every second Wednesday has seen myself, the big one (nearly 4) and the baby (just turned 2) head to our local library for story time. It is 45 minutes of fun!! 30 minutes of stories and songs and then a fun craft to do with the theme of the day. This year it is just myself and the baby as the big one is at preschool on a Wednesday

Today’s theme was food and the wonderfully friendly and patient librarian read some really funny books including

Adventures of a Subversive Reader: Guest Post: Help! I'm Stuck

We sang some songs including 5 fat sausages and jelly on a plate!!

Then we did some craft

Not bad for a 2 year old!!

I love story time Not only is it a local, close by activity but it is free and the kids can go crazy with craft with no clean up afterwards!! Our library runs it once a fortnight and it is aimed at the 3-5 age group however they have no problem with younger ones being there. Bigger libraries in our area run different programs for the younger age groups however for me that involves travel and a short walk once a fortnight is perfect for us!! I love the fact we can read different books without the risky business of borrowing them.

I totally recommend giving this a go if your local library runs something similar. I would check your local council or library website. Plus did you know that libraries now have computers to use, DVDs, magazines and CDs to borrow? Also for those with older kids who do not need supervision it is a great opportunity to browse and peruse, something I am excited about!!

My name is Ann and I have a little blog Help!! I’m Stuck!!. I am the mumma to 2 boys and a jelly bean who is due at the end of July. I love reading although these days the only books I read are children’s ones!!

Thanks to Adventures of a Subversive Reader for having me over!!

Thank Goodness for Librarians

January 15, 2013Books and Reading, Librarieslibrariessubversivereader View all 7 comments

As you may have worked out, I kind of love libraries. And since Squirm was born, I’ve been trying to get to as many as possible so I can a) find awesome libraries, b) expose Squirm to lots of awesome libraries and c) tell everyone else about awesome libraries.

But more and more, I’ve become increasingly aware of the work librarians do. It’s not like I’ve been totally ignorant of the the work they do before this, but it’s almost like I was thinking ‘books first, librarians after that.’ The funny thing is, I even worked as a school librarian for a part of a school term, early in my teaching career.

There’s been a misconception about librarians for quite some time. I think there’s an idea that they just sit behind desks, checking out books and occasionally waft out to the shelves to restock. Of course, that’s not the case! Since we’ve been visiting libraries, here’s just some of the things I’ve noticed librarians doing:

checking out books
returning books
shelving books
repairing books
writing certificates
running rhyme times (which have been prepared earlier)
running story times (which have been prepared earlier)
cleaning – including the toys in the children’s section
greeting visitors to the library by name
setting up displays
recommending books
checking books to make sure they’ve all been returned properly (stocktaking, I assume)
setting up games and trouble shooting them
setting up movies and trouble shooting them
helping people with computer problems
organising special events
promoting special events

And that’s just the things I could think of off the top of my head. My guess is that we don’t even see half the stuff that goes on behind the scenes! And library staff do this on tighter and tighter budgets, under threats of job cuts.

As I’ve said, I was a teacher, a profession which is very good at pointing out that they aren’t particularly appreciated. But libraries and librarians play such a huge role in our community, and are even less appreciated! So, I propose that everyone who uses a library goes out of their way to thank the staff who work there.

I put out a question to librarians – how would you like to be thanked? – and got some great responses. A box of chocolate or a cake is a time honoured and much appreciated gift by everyone, but how about writing a letter to your local newspaper or the local council (even better, since they are the employers) to share your appreciation. Write a letter or a card or a postcard to your local library, expressing thanks for their work, or telling them a story about your experiences in the library. Or, just go up to your librarian and say Thank You!

I’m going to try to put some of these into place over 2013, but I wanted to say thank you right now! Unfortunately, I’m shocking at names, and sometimes I didn’t get a chance to get them, so I’m identifying by libraries, mostly. But here are my first lot of thank yous for the marvellous librarians we’ve come across in our library travels.

Thank You to:

The lovely Karen at Strathpine who not only runs an awesome rhyme time, but actually remembers the little ones who regularly comes.
The other staff at Strathpine who are always friendly and helpful, even when I offer them two piles of books with two different library cards!
Librarians at Albany Creek who helped me use the photocopier, wrote Squirm his first reading certificate and smile at me, even when it’s just been a quick trip in and out
The lovely people at Redcliffe, who were willing to mend a book straight away if I wanted to borrow it, and didn’t laugh at me when I misplaced my car key
The wonderful staff at Caboolture who did such a good job in cleaning up the children’s area, plus went out of their way to make sure Squirm would have a beautiful second reading certificate
The librarians at Narangba and Bribie Island who created a lovely, cosy atmosphere in the library
The librarians at Mt Gravatt and Grange libraries that ran awesome story time and Babies, Books and Rhymes programs, respectively
The enthusiasm from the staff at New Farm – the children who were there when we arrived were brimming with excitement!
The friendly librarians at Sandgate who took time out of their day to chat
The library staff at Chermside who put on an amazing event for the Mem Fox and Judy Horacek visit and promoted it beautifully – they’re very present in their library and do a great job!
The awesome staff at Logan North who made me smile with their gorgeous displays

I’m sure I’ve missed people, but this is a good place to start.

Have you got a librarian you would like to thank? Feel free to thank them in the comments!

The Subversive Reader 2012 Library Awards

December 31, 2012Books and Reading, Libraries, Library Toursubversivereader View all 14 comments

Welcome to the Subversive Reader 2012 Library Awards. Pull up a chair, fill your glass, and help yourself to the complimentary chocolates.

These awards examine the libraries which Squirm and I have visited on our library tour and hands out awards to the best. It recognises all sorts of things, while acknowledging that all libraries do wonderful things – many of which we can’t see on a short visit. Since Squirm was born, we’ve visited and reviewed 14 libraries – and now it’s time to award the awards!

Best Selection of Children Books

This is the award for the library which makes me drool over their book selection and wonder just how many books I could take home, or wonder if I could get my own library card in a library far from home!

Adventures of a Subversive Reader: Albany Creek Library

Winner: Albany Creek. This library may not have the biggest range of books, but there were so many great ones to choose from
Runners Up: Logan North, with low shelf after low shelf that nearly made me move down to Logan. Caboolture with its gorgeous display of picture books.

Best Library Book Display

This award goes to the library with the best displays of books. Good displays of books attract readers, make them more likely to engage with the books – it also tells you a lot about the staff in the library!

Adventures of a Subversive Reader: Logan North Library

Winner: Logan North Library. Their little book hideaway, their ‘End of the World’ display and their Wall of Forgotten books won it hands down. This was definitely a staff with a sense of humour and a good understanding of displays.
Runner Up: Strathpine Library. They have a special display stand right in the middle of the library which is constantly displaying different books – arranged around different topics and events.

Best Library Decor

This is a pretty obvious award, awarded to the library with the best overall decoration.

Winner: It has to be Narangba Library – the whole library has a rustic train theme!
Runner Up: Caboolture is a gorgeous library. It doesn’t have one theme all the way through, but its local history and reference section, with their old style library theme, somehow fit perfectly with the modern, comfortable teen section and the green, airy children’s section.

Best Children’s Section Decor

This award is awarded to the library with the most awesome looking kids section.

Winner: Brisbane Square Library. It’s a children’s section designed around a book written for the children’s section. I’ve loved Home by Narrelle Oliver for a long time, so it was great to see the children’s section which is decorated so beautifully with images and ideas from the book.
Runners Up: This really is a competitive section! Chermside embraces a cool space theme, while Caboolture and Beerwah both embrace a nature viewpoint. And the string lights in Albany Creek, along with the etched poetry in the window are just gorgeous!

Best Rhyme Time/Story Time

There isn’t much competition with this award since we only made Rhyme Time or Story Time at a few libraries. It’s a bit of a place holder until next year where we hope to go to more.

Winner: Strathpine Library – such a friendly occasion! Love the egg rattles and Alice the Camel
Runner Up: Mt Gravatt Library. Well planned and executed in a very small space

Most Attractive Arrangements of Books in the Children’s Section

Adventures of a Subversive Reader - Beerwah Library

Organising the books attractively can make a big difference to how children approach books. Ideally it should be easy to see the covers of picture books and easily accessible by small children.

Winner: Beerwah Library. Love, love, love their low outward facing shelves. Easy to see available books, easy for children to pick them out (not too hard for adults, either)
Runners Up: Caboolture Library has special outward facing shelves which extend into the junior fiction as well. North Lakes had outward facing shelves, but employed the upper shelves of their display for parenting books.

Friendliest Staff

Another category which speaks for itself. I’m pleased to say that we’ve come across friendly library staff everywhere we’ve been, but special mention must be made of:

Winner: Sandgate Library – we had a lovely chat at this little library
Runners Up: Chermside, Narangba, Caboolture and Albany Creek

You can find all our library visits here.

Does your library do the best rhyme time or have the best displays? Have you come across the best range of books or the friendliest librarians? Tell everyone about it in the comments!

6 Ways to Get the Most Out of Baby Rhyme Time

December 11, 2012Books and Reading, Librariesbooks, libraries, Readingsubversivereader View all 10 comments

Adventures of a Subversive Reader - 6 Ways to Get the Most Our of Baby Rhyme Time

What is Baby Rhyme Time?

Baby Rhyme Time is called different things in different library systems – sometimes it’s just rhyme time, others call it Babies, Books and Rhymes. But the set up is usually pretty similar – parents and babies (and toddlers) sit together, often on the floor in a circle, and enjoy a series of nursery rhymes and songs together. There’s a lot you can get out of rhyme time – including major language development – especially if you follow a few simple steps to make sure rhyme time is enjoyable and valuable for everyone!

1. Choose the Rhyme Time that Suits You

Not all rhyme times are created the same. I’ve seen rhyme times where the same songs are repeated every week, and other rhyme times which constantly introduce new songs. I’ve heard of rhyme times where the leader maintains strict order and children are expected to sit at all times, and others where the leader accepts normal toddler behaviour (Oh! Rhymes! Oh! Toy over there! Must investigate! Oh! Music! Must come back!) I’ve seen small and huge rhyme times and even heard of a rhyme time where the leader plays guitar!

The trick, if possible, is to find a rhyme time which works best for you. If you have a quiet child, they might benefit from a different rhyme time than a more boistrous child. Try out different libraries, different times, different styles. (Of course, if you only have one library in a reasonable distance, this might not be possible. Check out nearby libraries when you’re travelling though – a different rhyme time every now and again can be a lot of fun)

2. Get Involved

Time for an example from a rhyme time we went to recently. Several mothers were sitting with their babies on the couches at the side of the rhyme time – definitely close enough to be part of the action. But instead of getting involved, they spent the whole rhyme time in conversation with each other. They were so oblivious to where they were, they didn’t even hear the leader talking to them. It was like they were just attending because it was on a list of things they ‘should’ be doing.

The best benefits for parents and babies come when you get more involved. Sit in the circle, participate in the rhymes and songs, do the movements and actions. The more people who participate, the more confident everyone gets and the better it is for the whole group. When people sit back and don’t join in, other parents feel like they’re performing for them – and not everyone is comfortable being a performer!

Rhyme time is about exposing children to simple melodies and rhythms, as well as the wide range of language used in rhymes. It really is an activity which is about the children, not a social activity for the adults. By getting involved, you ensure all the benefits are received by your child and others.

3. Sing Along

While you’re getting involved, make sure you sing along! It doesn’t matter how bad you think you sing, your baby thinks you’re amazing! Babies have a connection to our voices from before they are born when they hear us all the time. Squirm turned towards my voice before he was even a week old! By hearing us sing, they have a better connection to the words, rhymes and melodies we are sharing.

Also, this is the one time and place where no one’s going to look at you and glare if you completely mangle Incy Wincy Spider – they’ll just be thankful that there’s another voice there to encourage them to sing along!

4. Turn Your Baby Around to Face You

A lot of the time, babies spend their rhyme time facing in to the circle. While this is great for babies to see other babies, choose a rhyme or two to turn your baby around to face you. This lets them see how you are moving your mouth to make the sounds and lets them have a better connection with you. This works particularly well with songs and rhymes which involve body parts – Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes or This Little Piggy, for example.

5. Sing the Songs at Home

If you only attend rhyme time once a week, there’s a long time between songs! Try and sing the songs at home as well – repeating them makes the language and rhythm more common for the babies. Ask if your library has a copy of some of the songs, see if you can borrow a book with nursery rhymes in it or borrow or buy a CD with common nursery rhymes and songs on it. (We’re kind of in love with the ABC for Kids CDS. ABA also has a great CD and music book)

When can you sing? All the time! We sing when Squirm is being changed and when we dry him and dress him after a bath. We sing when we’re in the car and we even make up little nonsense rhymes when we’re doing chores around the house.

6. Monitor Your Child’s Behaviour

This is more for older babies and toddlers, but it has the potential to impact on everyone. Babies and toddlers do have a normal set of behaviours, particularly being distracted, which we may not accept in older children. They might get shy and not want to join in, or they might want to find out what the shoe of the person sitting next to them tastes like. These behaviours are absolutely fine, and if anyone does have a problem with them, they should probably realise they are at a baby rhyme time.

But make sure that your child isn’t the one continuously throwing puppets at the leader of the session or the one who is acting in an unsafe way to the younger babies in the group. Make sure that your child is behaving in a way that makes rhyme time safe and enjoyable for the whole group. If your child is going through a stage where that really isn’t possible, think of the greater group and keep them away from rhyme time for a little while – it’s not fair if one child makes the whole rhyme time uncomfortable, upsetting or unsafe for everyone.

5 Reasons You Should Take Your Baby to the Library

November 27, 2012Books and Reading, Librariesbooks, children, librariessubversivereader View all 12 comments

Squirm was just 5 weeks old when we first visited the library and we’ve visited at least one library a week ever since. However, some people aren’t sure if they should take their babies to the library, or what benefits there are in visiting. Here are my top five reasons you should take your baby to your local library.

1. It normalises the library

I joke that Squirm is always more comfortable if he wakes up in a bookshop or a library. It’s a joke about the places we frequent together, but like a lot of jokes, there’s more than a little bit of truth to it.

Libraries are free to visit and join, but so many times I’ve walked into libraries that are being under used. People aren’t comfortable with the idea of going to a library on a regular basis, or they find the library a bit intimidating. They might buy into the popular culture view of libraries as silent, forbidding places with stern, hushing librarians.

By taking your baby to the library regularly from an early age it makes the library a comfortable place to be. Hopefully that comfort will be with them through their childhood and into their adulthood.

2. Libraries are encouraging babies to join

Every single library I’ve been to on the library tour have been open to babies being there. On our first visit, the librarians were thrilled to sign Squirm up and give him his very own library card. The children’s program in the Moreton Bay Regional libraries start from birth – Squirm’s even won himself two certificates for his borrowing 🙂 There’s also lots of available information about reading to babies.

The best program for babies in libraries is Rhyme Time (or Baby Rhyme Time or Babies, Books and Rhymes). There is a growing concern about children ‘losing’ the old nursery rhymes, and the language benefits that come with learning them and reciting them. Rhyme times are always different depending on which library you go to and who presents it, but you usually find one or two rhymes you haven’t learned before, not to mention relearning the actions you might have forgotten.

3. There’s more in libraries than you might think

What’s in a library? Well, there’s books, of course. But there’s also audio books, CDs, DVDs and in some libraries you can even find toys to borrow. It’s a great way to try before you buy. We borrowed CDs from the library when we first started going. It was through these CDs we discovered a love of ABC Music, and have since bought a number of CDs for ourselves.

4. Free books! That you get to take back!

Books are expensive. And they take up a lot of room. We have tonnes of them here, and we’d love to buy tonnes more, but our storage space and our bank balance just won’t allow it.

By borrowing from the library, we have access to thousands of books for free. They’re all sitting there in their low shelves, waiting for us to borrow them. Then, when we finish reading them, we just take them back and have access to a new pile of books. This also means we’re not spending money on books that aren’t that good, while discovering new books, which we might not have found in the shops.

5. A good reason to get out of the house

It’s so easy to stay at home when your baby is small. You don’t need to pack a bag, you don’t need to wrestle with a carrier or a pram, you don’t need to worry about feeding or changing or what to do when the baby cries. You fall into a trap where you don’t get out, which in my case at least, is a great way to find myself getting blue.

When you go to a library, you’re in a place where there’s usually comfortable chairs for feeding, a change table in the toilets, and people who are actually pretty understanding about babies crying. Making an appointment to get out to borrow books or go to rhyme time, is important for looking after yourself, as well as looking after your baby.

When did you first take your child/ren to the library? Can you think of any other reasons to take babies to the library?