The librarian jigsaw puzzle effect

We were fortunate to have three fantastic student librarians this year and they made us this very special goodbye card. It spells out librarians and is like a jigsaw puzzle. We can all take our piece and if we're ever together again it will fit back together. Thank you Ton Aor, Nicki and Nano!

Unless I get all nostalgic tomorrow this is most likely my last blog post here at Harrow International School Bangkok.

Thailand is an amazing country and I've loved being here.

We have a saying in New Zealand and it goes like this:

He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!

What is the most important thing in the world?

The people, the people, the people!

(Maori proverb)

And that's how I feel. Thailand has been wonderful and it's all because of you.

Best wishes to students, staff and everyone in the Harrow family.

May you always have everything you could wish for and more.

The new revolution is here

Sometimes it's hard not to be tempted by all the interesting things you can find on the internet.
And it can be a lot of fun playing with them, but it can also seem like a big time wasting vortex.
One minute you're innocently looking at some kind of avatar maker, next thing you know twenty minutes have gone by. Is it any better than other (sitting down) things you could do, like watching movies, tv or even reading?
The librarian part of me wants to say that reading a book is the best possible thing you could be doing - and it is if that's the skill you want to practice.
When you're reading, you have to actively concentrate, use your imagination constantly, read between the lines to get the underlying meaning and analyse the text to a level which you may not even know you're doing. You also have the tactile things - holding a physical book, turning the pages, knowing where to look - skills which are second nature after years of doing them. Watch a small child with books and you'll really appreciate how much care you unknowingly put into the act of reading.

But, equally - when you're making an avatar or something creative on the internet, you have to concentrate, use your imagination and think about what you want to convey - within the limits of the site or whatever you're using. Unless you are a hacker or programmer. You've got to type, or use a mouse, or a track pad or touch screen, so you're still using your body.

And, more importantly, if you're looking (even passively) at websites, like it or not, you still have to read. Most websites have at least some words. Even though their language can be a little bit strange and may involve highly abbreviated and hybridised English, it's still reading.
This language seems to have started spilling over into real life - but needs to be used with care.
There seems to be an age when using internet language stops being adorable and starts being slightly out of place. Whatevs, LOL, hilare... they all sound a bit bizarre coming out of my mouth. But it could be just that I'm failing to adapt to the coming linguistic revolution.

Maybe looking at Lolcats or Icanhazcheezburger now is a little bit like how people thought about reading Enid Blyton books in the past. Lots of adults will tell you how their parents, teachers, librarians and plenty of other people were horrified with the prospect of them reading such junky books. In time we might have sort of 'internet classics' - websites and programmes that everyone will want to at least know about.

And what about the books? Will they still exist? Yes, of course. Well, at least I hope so.
I haven't read a lot of great fiction that is solely available as a webpage. And certainly nothing I'd call literature. Not to say that it isn't around.

See, here's my secret - I just can't bring myself to read on a Kindle or Ipad. Yeah, I know all the arguments. The convenience! The portability! But it's still not a physical book in the sense that I'm used to. And for some reason I just don't get it. I love that those things exist, and using them for other stuff (internet/dictionaries/YouTube...) but for some reason, they haven't found their way into my heart. Yet.

Kings and Queens of England

Today Early Years will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 60th Jubilee.
They're doing all kinds of fun things like making crowns and multi-layered English flag coloured jellies.
Later on there will be a garden party complete with cupcakes.

This video popped up when I was looking for some kind of fun King or Queen related song.
It's more useful for Prep and Secondary students than it is for Early Years, but it is kind of catchy.

The Magic 8 Ball cataloguing technique

When I was cataloguing books earlier I started thinking - where was the perfect place to put this book?
It needs to be somewhere that the book will be used, but it also needs to be the place where it should be if a teacher or student looking for that subject happened to browse the shelves. And it happened to fit into two (or possibly three) Dewey Decimal numbers. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide. Sometimes, cataloguing is an art.

Have you ever watched The Big Bang Theory? There's an episode where Sheldon decides that he will make decisions solely with a pair of dice. The dice tell him what items to choose from a menu (even though they are really weird and don't go together at all!), what kind of clothes to buy and even whether he can go to the toilet ... or not.

Depending on your point of view, this kind of decision making is pure genius, super crazy or maybe somewhere in the middle.

Watching this episode made me think of my friend's Magic 8 Ball. It was this round plastic toy which could supposedly tell you the best thing to do in any situation. You were supposed to ask a question, shake it, and then look at the little plastic window to get your reply. The answers were usually corny, things like "Signs point to yes" and "Decidedly so". Who says stuff like that? Oh yeah, Magic 8 Ball...
Everyone wanted a Magic 8 Ball - you couldn't buy them easily, only if you went overseas.
So of course, we all had to have turns using it.

Now they've made an online version. (There are lots to choose from if you'd prefer another one!)
You'll never have to think too hard about a decision again.

So, maybe I'll ask the Magic 8 Ball where to put my book. That could work, right?

Old is new again

Vintage and retro seems to have taken off on a whole new level lately. Anything old is charming.
Which is perfectly reasonable. Heaps of that stuff is awesome.

Do you remember library catalogue cards? Probably not, if you're one of our students.
But if you're older than 25, chances are you've come across them sometime in your life.

For those of you who are asking - "What is a library catalogue card?"
It used to be the way you found a book in a library. Yes, before computers.
There would be drawers full of cards, arranged in order. It took a lot more time than searching on a computer because sometimes the way that you thought of a book was not the way that the librarian thought of the book. So it would be classified by a random word that meant nothing to you. These days, that can still happen - but the computer will help by suggesting similar subjects or titles so it's so much easier. And if you spell a word wrong then hopefully the computer can correct it for you.

Now that most libraries have computerised library catalogues, the dusty old card cabinets have been replaced with shiny new computers.
People have done all kinds of interesting things with old library catalogue cards, like making books and jewellery, and using the actual card storage boxes as wine cabinets and all kinds of other things.

But the coolest library catalogue card related thing I've seen lately has to be the library catalogue card generator. You simply go online, write a bunch of things and it comes out looking... like a library catalogue card.

Make one. You know you want to.

“Know where to find the information and how to use it - That's the secret of success”

Today, one of our year 4 students asked me a very good question. "What's the point of doing this? Is this really library work?"

They were practicing taking notes. One of the things that a researcher might find themselves needing to do.

So what was my answer?
"Yes, great question! If you were doing some research on something, you'd make notes right? And where can you find information?"
His answer?
"Oh, ok, the library."
Sometimes younger students don't make the connection with the library and finding (and processing) information. When they are older, the ability to come to the library, find information and take notes will be very useful. Yes, there are photocopiers and printers. But still, they'll need to know how to highlight and choose appropriate facts for whatever they're studying.

Even if students don't actually come in to the physical library and stay at home instead to use online resources, the ability to strip out and digest knowledge will stand them in good stead.
Many libraries have now developed extensive online collections - especially universities.
This means potentially less students in the physical library, so they really will need to know how to do things for themselves. (Although luckily, in most of these libraries, an online librarian is only a chat window away). When today's students find themselves in the workforce, they will discover that having good research skills will give them the competitve edge.

Having worked with university students and new graduates, it's clear that many of them have not acquired sufficient information skills, and may not do so until they find themselves in the workforce and are mentored by competent researchers.
So here's hoping that some of the information finding skills we're sharing here in the library, and in the school as a whole, are enabling a whole future generation of Harrow kids to arrive at the university library (and the world) with a distinct information finding advantage.

p.s. Wondering where the title quote comes from? Hint: it's someone who was very successful.

What's in a name?

Last week there was suddenly a run of small children asking me for books with their names in them. Books where one of the characters has the same name that they do, or better still, books which have their name in the title. Finding books for children named Sophie, Olivia and Jack is easy. But it's more difficult looking for stories to suit the multitude of Thai nicknames. You can find a book which is about the subject of the nickname, but it's just not the same.

In English language children's books there are names which come up over and over. And the name of a character is important, an essential part of them which could make or break the story. Think back to a book like Where the Wild Things are. The escapades of the daring and difficult Max come to mind. What about The Tiger who came to tea? Straight away it's got me thinking about Sophie and the Tiger who drank all the water out of the taps. There's also the more recent stories of Oliver who travelled far and wide and Olivia. Lily is a name shared by two of my absolute favourites in the children's book world - the Blue Kangaroo series and Lily's plastic purple purse. When it comes to more unusual names you can find books like You'll soon grow into them, Titch.

Disney has had a lot of influence on names. Sleeping Beauty is no longer Sleeping Beauty - she's Aurora, of course! Now I know what to look for when one of the girls asks for Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Ariel (The Little Mermaid) and Tiana (The Frog Prince). They've even put out lists of baby names inspired by Disney. It will be interesting to see if authors pick up on these names too. Guess it will take a while for them to filter through though.
Baby names for girls.
Baby names for boys.

Thank you, Disney.

This has me wishing that I could read Thai. I'd love to know what the most common Thai children's book character names are. Obviously they'd be Thai names. But what would they be? Something like Namtaan or Ploy for a girl? Or Nop or Ong for boys? The most common Thai nicknames at our school are English words like Proud. So would the characters have an English nickname? And if so, how do you write that in Thai? Since I can't read Thai (and am unlikely to be able to anytime soon!) I looked up the most popular names in English language children's books... which turned out to be a really interesting thing to do.

Especially since I haven't been able to find anything conclusive yet!

It does seem that the most common names in children's books are names such as Jack and Max for boys, and Rosie and Lily (hmm, both flower names) for girls. But I don't know for sure. The names would also vary by country the book was written in, the era and circumstances around the publishing of the story... plus a range of other factors.

Hmmm... I think I feel a research project coming on!

Elmer, the elephant ambassador

David McKee's Elmer books are popular with both staff and students.
If you're not familiar with Elmer, he's a patchwork coloured elephant who lives in the jungle. The Elmer stories are fun and well written.

We've just reordered some titles which were missing, and one of them seems especially relevant to us here in Thailand as it touches on the issue of elephant hunting. Even though it's something we might not think about a lot, it does happen here.

The story is called Elmer on stilts.
The elephant hunters are coming!
Elmer has an idea - they can hide on stilts. Nobody expects to see elephants above them.
When their plan goes wrong, the elephants land on the frightened hunters.
Scared by the falling elephants, the bad guys decide to run away.

It's a nice story, and funny in parts. It also provides a good starting point for everyone who reads it to think about animals and how they can be affected by problems like poaching.

There are some organisations working to help elephants. You can read more about why poaching happens on the eleaid website.

Goodnight moon, er... I mean Ipad

Goodnight moon is considered a classic picture book by many people.
So it's interesting to see it in a new form... that essential internet gem - the YouTube parody.

Goodnight Ipad pokes fun at our use and love of technology. It was released by Penguin and comes complete with plenty of sound effects and a soothing voice reading the story to us. Nice.

Hidden gems

Do you ever get excited about the random references you find in books?
Like when the main character mentions a song you like or eats a kind of chocolate you love? It's something which makes me very happy and somehow makes me feel more connected to the story.

It seems to be something which makes other people happy too, because now there's a site which is dedicated to mapping and tracking these references in books.

The site is called Small Demons (they call it a Story Verse!)
To become a member you just sign up (it's free!)

It's more than just a place to track references, though.
You can look at a book that you love and how it links with other books. You can use the references in linked books to find new music and movies. You can even use it to help you find new books you might be interested in reading. (In conjunction with Literature Map, you will be set for life!)

This concept really appeals to me. Once you've become a member you get to see all of the book covers, quotes and information about each book. You can search by category to find books which are related to something you're interested in too. For example, if you're going to a new country and would like to read books which might mention it. You can also look for references to your own country or city. I spent ages looking in the food section - it can even tell you which food is mentioned most in books!

In addition to all the information there are great pictures.
The site is attractive and easy to use, and even better there is so much great stuff that you could get lost on it for hours. Books are missing, but it is being added to. (It's only new!) It's going to be fun seeing how this one works out.

Book reviews from Primary Book Club

Looking for something new to read? Our Primary Book Club recommends these titles.

Basic
Y3E
Owly
Andy Runton
Owly book is very fun! Because it’s funny. It kind of doesn’t have any words.
I can teach you how to draw Owly.


Gigi Y5C
Title: Thea Stilton Big Trouble in the Big Apple
Author: Geronimo Stilton
I like this book because it’s fun and I like the mouse. They went to the Big Apple to help Pamela’s family, they had a really big problem. And Nicky had to practice running for the race. Her friends will take care of her anyway. I can’t tell you the story – why not read it for yourself!

Michael Y3M
Title: The Official Manchester United Annual 1999
It teaches us how to be good at football. It has good pictures.

Hill Y3E
Secret Agent Jack Stalwart – The search for the sunken treasure : Australia
Author: Elizabeth Singer-Hunt
You should read this because its very fun.
The book takes place in Australia, in the sea.

Tita Y5G
Diary of a Wimpy Kid the ugly truth
Jeff Kinney
I love this series!! What an amazing series. First was Wimpy Kid.
I started reading this book because I saw Pike read it and I thought it was very, very funny. I have read two books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series – Dog Days and The Ugly Truth.

Dallas
Y4J
K-Zone
Awesome comics! Cool info about cool stuff! Video games names and what they’re about!
Awesome games. Ninja who tells cheats! Info about movies. Puzzles, pranks!

Origami genius

Do you like Origami? Maybe you're one of the many students who comes into the library to borrow the books on this Japanese paper art phenomenon.

Today is very special for you, then! 14 March was the birthday of Akira Yoshizawa, the man credited with completely changing and reinvigorating the craft of Origami. He's the one who truly transformed it into the art form that it is today.

So whatever your favourite folded animal may be, make one today!

If you're not sure how to make Origami, and can't get to the library to borrow a book, here are some sites to help you out.
Origami fun
Folding for you

You Tube also has some great clips for making the most traditional pieces like Origami Cranes. Very handy if you like to see someone actually folding the paper.

School play props

One of our student librarians just bought in the most amazing stuffed toy dog that she has made for the school production. (She made the whole thing herself, and it looks real!)

Well done Ton Aor, and good luck for A midsummer night's dream!

Greatest library rapper who ever lived

Does Melvil Dewey sound familiar? That's because he was the creator of a system now used to organise the non-fiction sections of countless libraries.
And he's also a rapper.

Recently, I stumbled across an article entitled 'Greatest library rapper who ever lived'. It was all about a guy by the name of Scott Hayes (aka Melvil Dewey) making up songs and music about libraries. According to the newspaper one song (Super duper library dance party) has even made its way to becoming something of a You Tube hit.

And if we want libraries to exist in the future, it's important to think of alternative ways of promoting them. Libraries need to evolve in order to stay relevant.Maybe an irreverent, slightly wacky rapper from Illonois is exactly the person to keep libraries in the public eye.

You can read all about Melvil Dewey on his wonderfully named website www.storyyeller.com

Harrow's best books... the results

In honour of World Book Day we decided to ask people to tell us about their favourite books.
After a week of voting we had just over 300 votes!

At the end of the week, we made a list of the most popular books.

The top five were:

1. Geronimo Stilton
2. Harry Potter
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4. Dork Diaries
5. Garfield

Last Friday during our library book week, we shared the results at lunchtime.
We also held a lucky voter draw for everyone who took part.
Congratulations to Khow Poon (3H), Mac (3H) and Klara (5C), who won a prize pack made up of one book from each series, and two movie tickets.

Thank you to everyone who voted!

We also had two other competitions during library book week.
Congratulations to Kaopod (5C) who won our quiz and Melody (1S), winner of the book quote matching competition.

An early morning visitor

It's not just people who like reading! This is what one of our parents spotted in the book returns box this morning...

February 7th

What's more important? The Beatles first day in America, or Charles Dickens' birth? Who changed the world more? Who will still be important, or relevant in another 100 years - either of them, or neither of them?

The first untethered astronaut walked in space on this day in 1984. Swiss women got the vote on this day in 1971. Modern New Zealand was one day old on February 7th, 1840.

I read Dickens, occasionally. I sing Revolution in the shower. I don't vote, but love being able to; I don't walk in space, but I love the stars. When I visit New Zealand I stand on the beach at night and look up, and I swear there are satellites and meteors and shooting stars, bright Venus and dull, red Mars.

Meaning - celebrate Dickens' birthday by reading. Not Great Expectations, if it is too old fashioned for you; or Oliver Twist, if it reminds you cruelly of the third form. But Dickens if you want to. Or Austen, or the Alex Rider books, or Tintin, or Mr Gum or Mr Stink, or the Hemingway you haven't read for twenty years - if you want to.

Or like me, Bud, Not Buddy: a YA classic, celebrated, minor, new to me, but part of the fibre and weave that begins with Dickens and what came before him, and the amazing path that followed, a shared history of rock music and new frontiers, space and democracy, and millions of wonderful words.

Harrow's favourite books

What is your favourite book? We want to know!
We're making a list of Harrow Bangkok's most popular books.
Just like Santa Claus, we'll be checking it twice to make sure you can borrow them from the library.

You can vote for any kind of book you want - children's, Thai, adult... whatever you like.

Vote now for your favourite.
The results will be announced during Book week 2012.

If you don't have time to vote now, we will put up a QR code in the library so you can complete the survey on your mobile device.

Book Amnesty

The amnesty for books damaged or lost in the floods of late 2011 will expire at the end of this half term. Until then, anyone who has a damaged book can see a librarian and the book will be deleted from their record. There is no charge for these books.

However, anyone who still has long term overdue books at the beginning of the next half term will be sent a bill. So, please either return your books as soon as possible, or see a librarian today!

Google tips and search help

For an interesting take on how to search Google, check out Hack College's Get more out of Google post.

This entry also includes other helpful tips like keyboard shortcuts especially for Mac users. You can even find out how to use Google as a calculator.

Future Shock!

When I became a librarian, I wasn't particularly scared about the arrival of e-technologies: libraries would survive, they had a point of difference (paper, relaxation) and the exisiting digital competitors were cumbersome and the antithesis of what a library could offer.

But now everyone has an iPhone, iPad, Kindle or other portable device. Books can be downloaded in less than a minute, and you can carry hundereds (thousands!) of them away with you on holiday.

A whole generation is growing up portable and on the move. Downloading is the first step, not the last resort.

Is there a role for libraries in this new paradigm, which has altered terrifically since the release of the first iPad and the saturation achieved by Amazon and its Kindle?
Perhaps - as giant, one stop, legal store houses for e-books and other digital information. Libraries with authorized music downloads; libraries with legitimate access to streaming sports; libraries with huge e-book stocks; libraries as Flickr. Places you plug into, and pull information out of.

But places you go and sit quietly and read a paperback? Tick tick tick...

Kitty chan!

Ok, we don't actually have this book... yet!
But we are so going to get it for the library.

What is this amazing and wonderful book called?
Hello Kitty's guide to Japan in English and Japanese.

You can use it to practice your English!
You can use it to practice your Japanese!
You can learn all about Japanese culture in English or Japanese!
This book sounds like it would be a useful (and popular) addition to our collection. Especially given the addition of Sanrio's well known and loved Kitty-Chan!

The English does look a little clunky, but it's still technically correct. And although it's not super elegant, the text makes sense.
We have many students here whose first language is Japanese, and lots who are studying Japanese.
And as if we needed another reason to buy it, it's Hello Kitty.

This morning I was trying to decide whether or not my own love of cuteness was stopping me from being objective. Then I found this review.

My reaction to this book was interesting. It showed me how much advertising can suck us in.
Even when you think that it doesn't. My instant reaction was 'Let's buy it, we need it now!' It was really tricky to take a deep breath and look to see if it is actually a good book to add to our collection.

When I get a class where all the kids only want Princess books (of the sparkly, Disney variety) or dinosaur books, I think about how marketing may have had a role. Let's face it, beautiful, interesting and carefully packaged things are much more intersting than the generic version.
There has been much discussion of 'the cult of cute' - just do a quick google search, you'll find heaps of stuff.

One of the articles talked about a company in Japan which offered Miffy bank cards to their customers. For adults as well as kids. Sounds pretty good to me. And with a Miffy ATM card, you can feel like you have a link with literature... or something.

When the maximum level of cuteness has been reached it all gets a bit overwhelming. Like you've eaten far too much candy floss. And then it's time to go for the grown up options.

Has Sanrio managed to suck me in? Maybe. So far I've resisted the Hello Kitty toaster. It is awfully cute though...

Finding your way in the world

Today we've been doing atlases with the year three, four and five classes.
And it got me thinking. When I was a kid, I loved looking at atlases. They had all kinds of interesting places, with exotic names. Most of them I'd never heard of.
New Zealand is pretty far away, being situated at the bottom of the world as it is. Anything other than Australia, Samoa, Fiji or the Cook Islands sounded amazing to me.
That was my local area (not that I'd been to those places...)

Now we have so many options. There are still atlases, but Google maps have revolutionised the way we look at the world. Having such a fantastic tool makes everything that much more accessible. In some ways, it's a little creepy. We can see images and maps of the whole world with the click of a mouse. Satellites float above every city, continent and town on earth, constantly capturing images. Everything from a mountain range to someone hanging out their washing.
If it wasn't used properly it could be a bit creepy.
But since it's usually used for good and is so useful, I'm all for Google maps.
How many times has it saved me from getting lost? Especially now I have an android phone. That thing is a life saver.

There is also a whole lot of other digital mapping technology. TomToms and other navigation devices are really popular now, and you can get so many different electronic and online sources to help you find your way. An electronic map can be updated way faster and cheaper than a paper map can be.

I hope that atlases survive this digital revolution. There's something nice about holding a thick volume in your hand and flicking through the pages till you find a place you want to visit or a place name that you've never heard of but just love.

Even though the new technology is awesome, finding places in an atlas is a different kind of skill. It's useful to be able to use both kinds of resources, digital and paper. For now at least, Google maps and atlases happily exsist side by side.