Change is in the air... in more ways than one

A few years ago I wrote a post on my old blog called "An Ode to March." I really do love this month (and not only because it's my birthday month). I used to think that fall was my favorite season (changing leaves, cider, etc), but now I'm sure my favorite season is actually spring.

Change is something many people are afraid of, whether they admit it or not. We like stability, we like consistency, we like to avoid the stress that often comes with change.

But often we NEED change. Change can be good and healthy. Sometimes trading one type of stress for another is a good thing.

And that's what's happening in my life right now.

I've put in my letter of resignation to my library. My last day of work will be April 1. I'm going to stay home with my kids more.

Over the last... probably six months or so, life has gotten stressful for me/us. I work 22 hours a week at the library and 8 hours a week at my church. I do some other volunteer things too. I'd come home and need to hold my 2-year-old's hand while she fell asleep at night because "I need you... I don't want you to leave."

It's such a bittersweet decision. I love the things I do at the library - storytime is always fun, and I've gotten to know some great families in the last two years. But I've also felt pretty overwhelmed. Trying to accomplish programming for all ages 0-18 years, update displays, shelve books, etc. is difficult to do in 22 hours a week. And there have been some interpersonal stresses that I won't get into here.

My decision has come down to one overall thought: I could come back to a library or similar job someday; I can never come back to my kids' childhood.

I'm excited to be able to go on my preschooler's field trips, and do crafts with my 2 year old. I'm looking forward to a little more down time each week to just read during naptime. And I'll still be getting out of the house away from my kids a couple times a week to work at my church. I'm hoping to find ways to still be involved in the early literacy scene.

I'm not sure what will become of this blog. I definitely won't shut it down, I want my storytime plans accessible for anyone. I'd like to still keep it book-focused. And I still love to write. So I hope you'll continue to follow me as I figure out where The Lion is a Bookworm will go from here (any suggestions??).

Thanks for sticking with me. Have any of you ever had to make a tough, bittersweet decision?

QR Code Quest: A library scavenger hunt

All of the 6th-12th grade students at my local public middle and high school receive a school-issued iPad for use during the school year. I see a lot of these students after school, when they walk to the library and hang out playing on their iPads - sometimes together, sometimes alone.

I honestly don't remember where I got the very first idea to create a scavenger hunt with QR codes. Pinterest maybe? My Great Book Character Hunt last winter went over well with this age group (even though it was geared toward elementary-age kids). QR codes are becoming more and more common, and I thought it would be a neat way to give students information about the library in a tech-y way. I learned a lot from The Daring Librarian. 

Here's an overview of how I created my scavenger hunt:

1. I wrote out 10 questions I wanted the students to answer. Each question would take the student to a different part of the library, they would write their answer on an answer sheet, and the next QR code would be in that place for them to scan and find the next place. For example: The library currently has over 600 movies that can be checked out. How much does a movie rental cost, and how long can you keep it for? 
2. *I took a photo of each location, and used PicMonkey to fade it and overlay it with text. I saved each image in my Dropbox (other photo sharing sites like Flickr can also be used - you just need the file to be saved somewhere "public" that will allow you to "copy public link").
3. *Copy the public link of the image file. Go to bit.ly and paste the link and shorten it. Copy the new, shorter link (see the Daring Librarian's post for why you want a shorter link). 
4. I used this really simple QR code generator to make QR codes for my images. Just click on the URL tab and paste the image link, then save the QR code it creates to your computer.  
5. Then it's just simply choosing Word, Publisher, or any other simple document editor and inserting the QR code images (along with any descriptive text), printing it out, and sticking them around. 

*Numbers 2 & 3 above were extra steps I chose to take, because I wanted to use photos. It is also possible to simply take the text of the questions I created, go directly to the QR code generator, and paste the text to create a QR code. When this kind of QR code is scanned, it will bring up only the text. I'd probably go this route if I make another quest sometime.

Then I created a display with instructions, and hoped the students would come...

If you scan this code:

 It will reveal this picture:

So far not many students have participated. I'm offering a prize drawing as an incentive for completing it, and even though it was advertised as a spring break event, I'm extending it to the end of the month. I also was in touch with one of our local newspaper reporters, and he wrote a nice article about it. 

This is the most tech-y our library has ever been! I might make use of QR codes in other ways in the future.

Display Case: Happy 95th Birthday ANBL!

In May our library celebrated the 95th anniversary of when it was dedicated, so I thought it would be appropriate to display some of the old pictures and items from that era in my glass case downstairs.

Sorry they're not the greatest photos -- it's hard to take pictures down into a display case with a phone! :-P

There are a handful of photos from dedication day, two actual programs from the "Dedicatory Exercises", ribbons given to people in attendance, an original inkwell and stamps, an old library card, and a photo of the first head librarian.

I can't wait for five years from now when the Alvah N. Belding Library turns 100!!!