A Newsletter for New England Library Association Members
Vol. 3, No. 3: March/April, 2007
Counterparts – Back to the Basics
WHEN? July 20, 2007 – 9:00am to 4:00pm WHERE? Kennedy Hall
Assumption College
Worcester, MA
Join your "counterparts" throughout the New England States to hear Dee Kelsey of Great Meetings! Inc, and get a FREE copy of Great Meetings! Great Results! Learn how you can improve communication and results in your State Organization!!! After lunch, network with your
counterparts before returning back home with your ideas.
Rooms will be available for those wishing to stay the night before the meeting, Thursday, July 19, or the night after, Friday, July 20.
More details and registration will be available soon.
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ITS Conference Coming in June
Please join the ITS section of NELA for a program on Open Source Software. The beautiful Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Mass will be our surroundings as we listen to Elizabeth Thomsen from NOBLE as keynote speaker. Joining us also will be Randy Robert Shaw from Tyngsborough Public Library, Kristen Schumacher, the LINUX Librarian; Joshua Ferraro from LibLime and Wes Hamilton from the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System.
During lunch you will be able to join friends and colleagues as you wander the serene grounds of the Botanic Garden to mull over all that you have heard. After lunch the speakers will be assembled to answer any questions you have.
Please mark down the date...June 6, 2007 and the place...Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Mass. We look forward to seeing you there.
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A Laugh a Minute at NERTCL Program
by Judy Rabin
What's so funny? Kathleen Odean, Gail Gauthier, and Jarrett Krosoczka brought down the house last month at NERTCL's "Leave 'Em Laughing" program. As librarians, we're often asked for "funny books." Many of us include them in school book talks, and we know books in this genre will definitely circulate. But what makes us laugh? Why is the writing funny? What will kids find funny?
Kathleen Odean deconstructed some of our favorite titles and series books including Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging, Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants, and Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men. She read some of the more amusing excerpts, and I'm not sure which was funnier – the text, or her delivery of it! It's easy to laugh at the day-to-day hysteria of a fourteen-year-old when the writing captures the humor on both the adult and teen levels. After a bad day in elementary school, who wouldn't want to see the principal in his underwear? Kathleen helped us identify the writing styles and techniques used by these particular authors.
Gail Gauthier writes realistic fiction with a funny twist. Her characters don't fit in, they're usually on the brink of something they can't identify, and somehow they always find the funnier side of life. Gail classifies herself as a "born reader," in a family of less than avid readers. With reading as a hobby, a writing career followed soon enough. In A Year With Butch and Spike, two mischievous sixth graders try to make life "more enjoyable" for perfect student, Jasper. Saving the Planet and Stuff looks at life from a teenager's point of view, when he's out of summer options. What will life be like with aging hippies in an eco-friendly house?
Jarrett J. Krosoczka had two tough acts to follow! But his life in pictures (literally, his own childhood sketches) and his clever commentary had everyone laughing uncontrollably. From bad hair days to giant slugs to animal rock musicians, Jarrett's picture books entertain children of all ages. A Worcester native, he was right at home and clearly loving every minute.
Librarians love to hear authors speak, and this NERTCL program was clearly planned and thoughtfully organized to attract and entertain those of us in the business of promoting reading to children and teens. Thanks for a great meeting!
Judy Rabin is Head of Children's Services at Woodbridge Town Library, Woodbridge CT. She served as Children's Section Chair for the Connecticut Library Association, 2004-2006. Her favorite "funny" authors include Doreen Cronin, Janet Stevens, Debi Gliori and Kate Klise. She is currently reading Hatching Magic by New England author Ann Downer.