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!"

BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : April is Poetry Month

     April is National Poetry Month! So what? Well, I'm just saying.
     Here's what we did in my library:

I stole the slogan from the Art of Manliness website. Hence the mustache.

We have quite a good collection of novels in verse.

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 : Curl Up With a Good Book

"How do YOU curl up with a good book?"

     So this was the last of the January bulletin board displays to go up. My Mom, Super Library Volunteer, put this together, and the slogan was her idea, and I totally love it.
     That pug is the BEST.

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: