Blog Every Day in June Day 18 : I hate reading, NO you can't make me do it! Leave me alone !!!

As a child, I hated to read. It was a battle of wills every night before bed time - we all knew bedtime stories were coming. No matter how I cried and yelled (sorry Mum and Dad) that I didn't want to participate, both parents still sat with me night after night, reading fairy tails to me. Fast forward 25 years later you can't get my head out of a monograph, journal, ebook, blog, news feed, email.....you get the idea. 

I can't really pin-point when this hatred occurred. I can only speculate it was a combination of English not being my first language, and that at the time there were no applicable services that resulted in not having any confidence in my own reading capabilities.

With both my parents and grandparents speaking only Macedonian at home, it was only when we ventured outside the home that English was spoken. My brother (thank you my amazing big brother) felt the brunt of this when he had to venture into kindergarten. It was difficult and frustrating from him, even though my big brother was an intelligent child. And with the language barrier, he was unable to communicate effectively, which caused him a lot of frustration. No one understand that he knew the answers to the teacher’s question, but just couldn't get anyone else to understand him. The Non-English Speaking programs of more than 30 years ago were not as evolutionary as today's services, programs and support. From the childhood memories my brother and those that I possess, it was a long and difficult process of learning to read and write. My own bed time reading became a battle of wills - the more they tried to get me to read, the more I wanted to stop. 

My family had no idea where to go to get help. My brother's teacher mentioned the possibility of the local public library. It was there that my family found the endless children's reference collection, story books, picture books and it was all free. As long as it was within the opening hours, we could get all the information that was needed, and more. Learning was no longer limited to 8am-3pm - it could be undertaken whenever it was necessary.

By high school my reading had improved, but there was no love lost between myself and the written word. I read what was required, nothing more. Home work was completed, but there was no thirst for knowledge. My education was flat, not exciting. It was just enough to get by, nothing more. It continued on this way until high school. That was when I really found the library, and Mrs Bowden.

She was my high school librarian, and she changed it all. The library became a comfortable place to read, relax and learn. Free periods were spent here, homework was completed here, research was initiated here. And it was here that my love of reading flourished. Recommending books to read was only the beginning. It simply amazed me how she always overrode the LIMS for my borrowing limit. It seemed Mrs Bowden had magical powers, and I was spellbound.

I came to libraries later in my career. It was during a life-changing event that made me reevaluate my life and where I wanted to be. The combination of my IT and teaching background allowed me to almost flow seamlessly into the library industry. It is a perfect fit.

I currently volunteer my time at a primary school library, in an area that has a high non-English speaking background. It has amazed me the types of early literacy tools that are available to these teachers, library staff and students. These technologies span tablet applications, YouTube clips to Reading Eggs, websites in general, electronic flash cards to the implementation of the Premier's Reading Challenge. All of these services allow for the promotion of reading through an enjoyable learning environment. I can only look-on in amazement at how these children will have a very different start to reading English than I did. 

It still astounds my family how I evolved from that defiant child, to an adult where all my local libraries know me by name and reading preferences. It was a long and hard road, hours of practice and support from my parents, big brother, teachers, schools and other reading services and programs. And I thank you for the time and efforts of you all. 

-Kathy Kumcevski
TAFE NSW Library Practice Teacher

Blog Every Day in June Day 14: The Next Generation of Library Goers

I haven’t worked in a library for about 6 months now and I thought to myself: “Honestly, what have I got to blog about?!” I left work at the Gilbert Wright Library at Morling College towards the end of last year to have my baby boy, Atticus. As he gets older I introduce him to different books (at the moment we are reading our way through the ‘Mr Men’ collection) and he enjoys sitting on my lap, trying to turn the pages for himself, as much as I relish reading to him. 

I realised that what I want to blog about are the little library goers of the future. I can’t wait until Atticus is old enough to appreciate libraries and all that they have to offer.

My local library is Hornsby library, part of the Hornsby Shire Library and Information Service, and not only do they have an excellent selection of kiddie books, they also have all manner of exciting events. They have everything from art exhibitions, craft time and story time to a visiting circus and a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex (yes, you did read that correctly)! Libraries are so much more than the items they hold.

Of course I want Atticus to appreciate libraries for the world of stories that he will be opened up to: going through the wardrobe with Lucy, adventuring through Middle Earth with Frodo, and overthrowing the Trunchbull with Matilda… but I also want him to be able to experience culture and events such as: art, history, craft, agriculture, the performing arts, genealogy, community and everything that his local library has to offer. Now I just need to wait for him to be old enough!

- Erin Sessions

Blog Every Day in June Day 13 : Confessions of a terrible reader

I am a terrible reader, terrible. I can devour a book in just a couple of days / sleepless nights, or just as easily go months and months without so much as cracking open the front cover. I will abandon a perfectly good novel to start another one for no particular reason, and leave them both unfinished to fight it out against the impressively tall and dusty Jenga-like tower of books next to my bed.

Once people find out you are a librarian, they also assume you know a lot about current novels and have read most of the titles in top book lists, asking you for recommendations, even if you happen to be working in a specialist accounting library at the time. True story.

I occasionally miss the obsessive ‘reading as important as breathing’ mindset that served me so well all through primary and high school. I can however pinpoint the approximate timeframe where I lost that fire well over a decade ago during The Years I Spent Studying English Literature at University.

I am no good at enforced reading, I can’t do bookclubs, I can’t do ‘reading challenges’. Conversations about books and writing that last longer than a few minutes make me shudder at memories of sitting in English tutorials dissecting stories, writers, themes and writing styles. How could studying the one thing that has always given me such great joy lead to such great misery?

In a panic and looking for redemption (or perhaps vindication) I once wrote to Super Librarian Nancy Pearl years ago and she (surprisingly) wrote back, advising me that life is too short to read something when your heart isn’t really in it. Phew, thanks Nancy. I do feel less and less guilty about this non-habit of reading as I get older.

So I embrace the haphazard reader that I have become. I read a lot more essays now, longer critical pieces in magazines or via Longreads. I still love poems and short stories the most. I am always amazed at how hilariously judgmental people can be towards others about reading styles, genres, favourite authors, even reading formats (the e-book vs. print debate never fails to make me roll my eyes and scream silently on the inside). Surely, reading is the thing that counts? Read, read anything, just read.

The book that currently has my attention (it’s short, non fiction, and fascinating, so I am optimistic about my chances of seeing this through to the last page) is actually about a reading challenge of sorts. The author has set herself the task of reading a random shelf of books in a NYC library, from LEQ to LES to be exact. Yes, me the terrible reader, is reading a real life account about extreme reading, how very meta.

I would love to hear about your own reading habits, or interesting challenges you’ve set yourself, and especially…how you regularly carve out reading time for yourself.

Here are some reading challenges that I like the idea of, but will never attempt:

-The 2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge (self explanatory really) #AWW2014

-The Miles of Reading Challenge (read all of the shortlisted Miles Franklin award titles)

-The Shakespeare Challenge (all the plays, all the poems and sonnets)

-The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge (just a small list of almost 350 books that this young woman either mentioned or was seen reading during the 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls)

Find out what classification of reader you are using this infograph by Laura E. Kelly.

You can read an excerpt of The Shelf: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose here 

-Maria Savvidis @m_savvidis

Social Media Officer, ALIA Sydney

In the interest of full disclosure, all my books are organised strictly by the colour spectrum (eg. my 'orange' shelf) which makes it very beautiful and impossible to find anything. Yes, I am actually a librarian.  

Blog Every Day in June Day 7: YA Literature and the Media

This post originally appeared recently on the fantastic blog and resource Teen Librarian Toolbox . Many thanks to Karen Jensen for letting us include it here for #blogjune, and for writing such a candid post as a passionate YA librarian in the US addressing the misconceptions about Young Adult literature. You can follow Karen on twitter @TLT16 .

Dear Media, Let me help you write that article on YA literature

Recently, there have been a voluminous number of articles written about YA literature. And they are mostly wrong. So if you are a member of the press and given this assignment, I thought I would help you out a little. But first, let me start by telling you why I am, in fact, qualified to help you out. Credentials are important, something these articles always seem to lack.

What It Means to be a YA Librarian 

So, this is me: I have been a YA librarian for 20 years. Non stop. Dedicated. There are lots of people like me out there, you should talk to us before you write an article on YA. I started in 1993 as a paraprofessional while in college working on my undergraduate degree with a major in Christian Education/Youth Ministry and a minor in Adolescent Psychology and Development. After graduating I went on to get my Masters in Library Science with an area of specialization in Young Adult Services and Youth Services. I have worked in 4 different libraries as a YA librarian in 2 different states. And I have read well over 2,000 YA novels. In addition, I have read reviews and articles on the topic way more numerous than I could even begin to count or articulate. In fact, I have been professionally writing YA reviews for VOYA magazine for 13 years now. Sometimes I even turn those reviews in on time. There are many more qualified, knowledgeable, dedicated and passionate YA librarians out there. So the next time you have to write an article on YA, please take 30 minutes out of your day and pick up your phone to call your local public library and ask to speak to the YA librarian. In fact, call 3. It's called research.

So now that we've established that I am somewhat qualified to talk to you about YA lit, let me get a few basics out of the way for you.

YA Lit isn't so much a genre as it is an age designation

YA literature, or young adult literature, is also called teen fiction. That's because it is primarily written for teenaged people and it generally features teenaged characters. There is also middle grade fiction (MG lit), for middle grade readers approximately ages 8 to 12 or 13ish. And there is adult fiction. These aren't so much genres as they are age classifications to let readers know who the target audience is. But it's not a hard, steadfast rule because teens read MG and Adult fiction and that is a good thing. And adults read MG and YA fiction, and that is a good thing too. In fact, if you are the parent of a teenager, someone who works with teenagers or someone who cares about teenagers, well then I recommend that you occasionally read YA because then you can talk to them about books, or about life. Despite what a lot of people seem to think, the term YA is not a signifier of quality any more than saying a book is written for adults is a signifier of quality. It's really more of a target audience indicator that assists readers in book selection. Teens like to read about teens for the same reasons that married adults who have children like to read about married adults that have children or sports fans like to read about sports: they can relate to it, they are looking for validation, it interests them because it speaks to where they are at in that particular moment of their life, etc.

Under the umbrella of YA fiction, there is any and every genre

YA fiction is not any one thing. In part because YA readers are not any one thing. A YA novel can be contemporary fiction, it can be a mystery, it can be a romance, it can be a horror novel, it can be fantasy, it can be science fiction, it can be magical realism. It can be any of the many numerous genres out there. In fact, sometimes it is a cross between a couple of genres. For example, it can be a historical fiction novel with paranormal or supernatural elements. And I know this is hard to comprehend, but most people are complex beings who are capable of liking more than one genre at a time. Teens are no different, that is why YA is full of a wide variety of genres.

Read more...

Blog Every Day in June Day 1: National Simultaneous Storytime

Welcome to day one of our thirty day blog fest! We're starting today off with a bang and a review of ALIA's National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS).

This year's National Simultaneous Storytime book was 'Too Many Elephants in this House' by author Ursula Dubosarsky. While the author and illustrator (Andrew Joyner) was reading and drawing with children at Customs House Library, ALIA joined up with Manly Sea-Eagle Brenton Lawrence, NRL One Community, zookeepers, AND elephants at Taronga Zoo to read the book! 

The book was being read to eight schools via video conference and the students attending were able to hear the book read, and talk to both Brenton and elephant keeper Sheryl about books, elephants and footy. 


Seeing the enthusiasm of the children as they listened to the book and learnt all about elephants reminded me of the importance of this program and of reading to and with children in general.

Brenton Lawrence reading

Not being a rugby league fan, I hadn't known about the Rugby League Reads program that the NRL is currently running with Macmillan Publisher. This program encourages school children to further their literacy skills with a series of curriculum based texts and activities. Each of the NRL clubs has a 'Reading Captain' (Brenton Lawrence is the Reading Captain for Manly) who support the program by attending schools and events, which made teaming up with ALIA for NSS a perfect fit. In addition to having Manly's Reading Captain at Taronga Zoo, the Melbourne Storm Reading Captain read to school children at Melbourne Zoo and many other clubs had players attend schools and public libraries all over the country.

Jessica (NRL One Community), Cate (Zookeeper) and Brenton

It was great to see such an important event getting the attention it deserves and has made my first NSS experience one I'll remember for ever. National Simultaneous Storytime can only get bigger, and I can't wait to see what's lined up for next year! 

Cate and Sheryl (Elephant Keeper)

Kirsty Butler

ALIA Sydney Co-Convenor

Twitter: @Bo0k1sH

Dream and discovery

Three different tools: planning social media for ALIA Biennial
All rights reserved by ALIAbiennial

This is a month to #dream and for #discovery.  These themes are from two collaborations which I am involved in, which are also participating in #blogjune.. 

The #dream theme comes from the National Year of Reading twitter reading group which has a monthly reading theme based on the flowers in the logo.  This is the second year of a twitter reading group run by the New South Wales Readers Advisory Working Group.  This is a reading group which any library can promote to their readers, as if they had done all the work.  The themes are listed on the blog and each of the months has a description which libraries can link to, repurpose, or reuse on their own blog, facebook or other social media tool.  Libraries are using these themes for in library events and services such as face to face reading groups and story times.

Planning for the twitter reading group for 2013 will take place in Wagga on 19 June.  Ideas are being collected on the Readers Advisory wiki so you can add your suggestions for next year.  We plan early so that people can use the themes for their face to face reading groups. 

Your library can participate by promoting the reading group in whatever way works for your library clients.  You can participate by tweeting your reading during the month, or joining the end of month discussion which starts at 8.00pm on 26 June, come along for a few tweets, or many, and share reading which makes you #dream.

The #discovery theme is the conference theme for the ALIA Biennial conference. I am on the conference committee and am chairing the social media team.  Those of us on the social media team decided we would really go with the theme of discovery so we are trying different ways for people to interact via social media prior to the conference.  You can see the various tools we are experimenting with here.  You can read about the #discovery on the ALIA Biennial blog.  Join us in the discovery.

Ellen Forsyth

Reading Discoveries

One of my favourite poems is John Keats’ On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer.

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
   And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
   Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
   That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;
   Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
   When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
   He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
   Silent, upon a peak in Darien.


In his poem, John Keats has spent years reading Homer and though he knows that this old, epic tale is loved by many it isn’t until he reads a translation by George Chapman that he understands the beauty of The Odyssey and The Iliad and it feels to him much like an amazing new discovery.


This poem has always served as a reminder to me as a readers’ advisory librarian to keep an open mind about people’s reading preferences and to actively challenge myself not only to read beyond my own interests but to reread in areas that I have not previously enjoyed. It is about considering a new storyteller when all the other storytellers have not given you that feeling of magic that you hear other readers discussing. For example, I have read numerous science fiction novels over the last 30 years yet none have filled me with awe and compelled me to read more. But I continue to read a few science fiction novels a year for I am hoping to have my Chapman’s moment and eventually discover a whole new world to explore.


Last week, the Orange Prize for Fiction was awarded to Madeline Miller for The Song of Achilles. Here is yet another book of a story that is thousands of years old that is still inspiring retellings and rediscovery of Homer's popular and much loved tale. 


I think that it is apt then that the ALIA Biennial this year has the theme of Discovery. Our library and information profession is as old as Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad. And just as Homer’s original story has changed over the millennia so has our profession. From the original depositories of scrolls, to the codex, the printing press and now to digitisation, The Odyssey and The Iliad and librarians have been on an age old journey together as keepers, disseminators and storytellers. And as long as there are new readers in the world, Homer and librarians will continue towards discovery.

Looking across the Peloponnese from Mycenae, Greece: the location from which Helen was kidnapped by Paris, triggering the Trojan War. (Photograph is Vassiliki's own.)

Vassiliki Veros is the ALIA State Manager for NSW, and is on the steering committee for the NSW Readers' Advisory Working Group, which runs the Love2Read Reading Group celebrating the National Year of Reading 2012.