I’m writing this post to share some of my favorite library-related blogs.  I continue to stumble upon blogs with delightful writing and priceless nuggets of information on a regular basis.  For this reason, I’m certain this list represents a small portion of what’s “out there”.  All the same, I hope this whets your appetite and you are inspired to create a similar list of your own.

Techno Tuesday (Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts…) – a blog about integrating technology into classrooms and libraries.  Cathy Nelson has been a school library media specialist for more than 20 years and is well respected in the blogging community.

Dorman High School Blog – Cathy Nelson’s high school library blog.  A wonderful example of a school library blog.

A Library By Any Other Name – a varied collection of timely resources by Vaughn Branom, a public school librarian and a self-described “digital immigrant”.  I especially like that each post is assigned its appropriate Dewey Decimal number.  Fun!

Hey Jude – Judy O’Connell is an educator and library professional interested in the latest technology and how it can be used to advance our students’ education.  Great perspective.

The Shifted Librarian – is written by Jenny Levine, the Internet Development Specialist and Strategy Guide at the American Library Association.  This blog focuses on the “shift” of libraries to meet a new generation’s information expectations.  This is heady stuff.

Likely Stories and Bookends (both are Booklist blogs) – great resources for information about books and publishing.

Please comment and let me know your favorites!

Keep reading and keep learning… …and keep sharing.

I’ve spent a good deal of the last several weeks waiting…  waiting in the car for my daughter to get through with her driving school,… waiting at the DMV for my daughter to get her license,… waiting at home for my daughter to text me that she’s gotten wherever it is that she absolutely HAD to drive…  The upside of all this waiting is that I’ve been able to finish a few good books!

How We Decide by Jonas Lehrer

I try not to buy books on impulse (unless I’m on vacation).  I first heard about this book on NPR and thought it sounded really interesting but talked myself out of it.  (We really can’t read EVERYTHING, now can we?)  But then I picked the book up when my daughter had to read another Jonas Lehrer book, Proust Was a Neuroscientist.  I can resist one book purchase impulse but not two.

Mr. Lehrer manages to make the inner workings of the human brain as it analyzes data and makes decisions quite relevant and humorous.  He uses examples from sports, television production, world series poker, and more mundane daily tasks to show how we use rational analyses and emotional instincts to make decisions.  When should you gather and study data to make a decision and when should you “trust your gut”?  The results of Mr. Lehrer’s research may surprise you!

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

As you might guess, I read this book because the movie is coming out in a couple of weeks.  I might have skipped it but a good friend mentioned that she wanted to name her son “Henry” after the main character.  She didn’t, but it’s awfully hard to pass up a book that would inspire that level of affection.

I did enjoy the book.  Here’s the problem, though… I’m fairly certain that I will be disappointed in the movie because I liked the book so much.  This raises a question that has plagued those of us who love both books AND movies.  Is it better to read a book before seeing the corresponding movie or see the movie first, then read the book?  Please comment and let me know your thoughts.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

This was a vacation impulse book purchase.  It was recommended by the book store staff and has won a number of awards in France.  I guess I should mention that I didn’t read it in its original French but an English translation.  (Ha!  I’m not sure why I felt I needed to mention that.)  I also should probably mention that I didn’t understand half of it… even in English.  It’s full of philosophical references that went right over my head.  I tried to use context clues so I wouldn’t have to stop reading to look things up and, for the most part, that worked.  It was worth the effort.  The story is written, alternately, by a fifty-something concierge and a twelve-year-old troubled genius who lives in her building.  Both feel isolated and nearly invisible to others in the building but each tells her story with wit and a keen sense of the beauty and irony around her.  I just finished it tonight and I feel smarter…

Keep reading and keep learning!

Click HERE

to listen to a podcast created during the 2009 Teacher Tech Camp.

or

Click on the picture below…

Check out the following Animoto video for highlights of our Teacher Tech Camp!

Here’s a picture from my library…

One good source to learn how to use hyperlinks is Sue Water’s blog, The Edublogger.

Here we are at Teacher Tech Camp 2009!  We have teachers from all over our district here at the Technology Training Center for 4 fun-filled days to learn a ton about using technology in their classrooms/libraries/schools.  What a great resource!

I’m teaching a lesson on Blogging!  More later….