NEW BOOKS!!
We received a big batch of NEW BOOKS! We love getting new titles as it freshens up the collection and for those who are big readers, it provides something to look forward to from the library. This time we selected a wide array of young adult and Adult titles. We quickly got them into the system for checkout.
We thought we might share a bit about how we decide what books we select for the library collection. It is no small task, but it is a fun part of our job. We typically look at specific school library lists to see what people are reading and saying. This is the easy one and keeps us connected to other librarians, from around the world.
At the same time, we follow different public lists, like Reece’s Book Club, Oprah’s Book Club, New York Times and many others. Finally, we are connected with vendors. Some books can be very difficult to get in Thailand so that has to be a consideration.
For the last couple years, a really fun program for adults is The Tournament of Books. The Morning News hosts a competition of more unique authors and their titles. It has typically helped us to broaden our horizons and book selections. We order some of these titles each year too. It is a pretty fun program, and we follow it closely as one book will be named the ROOSTER. Take a look and check this out.
Lastly, we listen to you. Often teachers, students, and administrators make suggestions of titles. With all of these resources, we take our budget and try to get as many books as we can. Generally, we add over 600 books a year. If you ever have a recommendation, please do not hesitate to contact myself (Christopher Bell) or Ms. Kehe.
Bell’s Recommendation
An exciting dive into how an African man became a lighthouse keeper. He reflects on his life and how it has changed. Early in his life country was colonized. With this came those who spoke of and pushed for revolution. The colonists coming into their country and changed things. He was part of the group that did not like this and pushed back. Unfortunately, he was an inmate for a long time and had done some things that ostracized him from others. His unique ability to be alone made the lighthouse work for him. However, when a still-living body of a refugee washes up on the shore, things change for him. This is a book most will enjoy, there is some rough language but it is manageable for students.
Technology Tools
There is a lot of buzz as many of you know, about the different AI options available. It’s definitely a lot to take in, and arguably who has time for something else? That said, I am going to recommend one that I have been using that is very easy to use yet super powerful. Bearly is an AI app that will run in your browser. As you land on any website page, you can click the extension, and it will give an ‘Executive Summary’ of the page, 3 Key Takeaways, and Counter Arguments. It will help save time by letting you know if the article or page is worth continuing to read. If you use all the features, it will help you write a more robust response and provide questions that could drive conversations. It is a powerful time-saving tool for researchers and readers of all types.
Digital Citizenship
How much are teens using Social Media? It is a good question. One can assume quite a bit, but how much is that really? The US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights recently published an article titled “What is Digital Citizenship and Why is it Important?” This article shares some Pew Center Research on the usage of social media. The biggest indicator (see image below) is the dramatic increase they found from 2012-2018. I believe it would be even bigger since COVID. This is an interesting read about trends and children’s use of social media. It is something that is here to stay, so we need to figure out ways to make sure our kids don’t lose sight of reality.
