Win a Copy of the Book Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie

Picture of book from the Barnes & Noble website
Accessed 12/26/11

Start the new year with a new book! library Things is hosting it's first book giveaway! One lucky reader will win a copy of the book Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie. How to enter: Simply make one comment on this post from December 28, 2011-January 11, 2012 (before 11:59 p.m. on 1/11/12). We will hold a drawing on January 12, 2012. The winner will be announced  by January 13, 2012. Look for my review of the book in the coming weeks.

Here is the fine print: How to Enter: make one comment on the library Things post entitled Win a Copy of the Book Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie. Dates to enter the drawing: December 28, 2011-January 11, 2012. ( prior to 11:59 p.m on January 11, 2012). The drawing will take place on January 12, 2012.  Winner will be announced in a post on the library Things blog by January 13, 2012. The winner will be instructed to send their name, mailing address, and email address to library Things, and must respond within 24 hours of the winner announcement blog post or the prize will be forfeited and another drawing will take place. Library Things will send the book Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie to the winner of the drawing by U. S. Mail.  library Things is not responsible for lost or damaged mail.  Drawing is open to U.S. residents 18 years of age or older.  Void where prohibited. Federal State and Local Laws Apply. All taxes, if applicable, are sole responsibility of the winner. library Things is not responsible for any technical problems, malfunctions of any telephone lines, computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. If, in the opinion of library Things  there is any suspected or actual evidence of tampering with any portion of the sweepstakes, or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the sweepstakes, library Things reserves the right to modify the sweepstakes in a manner deemed appropriate by library Things, in its sole discretion. By participating in this promotion, entrants agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of the Judging Agency.JUDGING AGENCY: library Things (”Judging Agency”) will choose a winner based on a random drawing of all qualifying comments.   Agency reserves the right to disqualify any entry that, in the sole opinion of the judges, refers, depicts or in any way reflects negatively upon the sponsor, the promotion or any other person or entity. SPONSOR: library Things

The Hallelujah Flight

The Hallelujah Flight

My first book trailer...

Book Trailers

Today I attended a session at the Region 10 service center called Book Trailers for All: Creating Digital Book Trailers. It was awesome! If you are a teacher, and would like to introduce a book to your class, or if you are a librarian who is looking for innovative ways to promote titles in your library collection, then you have to have book trailers in your life! The presenter at the workshop was Teresa Schauer. If you are a librarian who subscribes to LM _Net or TLC you may recognize her name from posts to those library listservs. She is a school librarian and site owner/creator of the website Book Trailers for All or BTFA. Check out the BTFA Facebook page too. The website has book trailers for titles on just about every grade level. There is also a wealth of information on how to create trailers, and how to teach your students to create them as well.
In the session, Teresa told us how she started Book Trailers for All. Then we learned how to create a book trailer of our own using images, text, and music on Animoto. Educators can sign up for a free account with Animoto that comes with a promo code to create 50 student accounts. I ran into a glitch with adding music to my book trailer this afternoon. However, when I complete it I plan to upload it onto the blog. I'm looking forward to teaching students how to create book trailers.

ABC-CLIO

If you are a middle school or high school librarian or teacher, then you've got to have the ABC-CLIO databases in your life! When I was a middle school librarian, the American History and World History ABC-CLIO databases were my go to resources when assisting students in finding information for a history project or assignment. ABC-CLIO has 14 online databases available, and most of them center on topics in American History and World History. I was disappointed when the school district I worked for did not renew access to ABC-CLIO and the AP Multimedia Archive. Both databases were a great source of photos and/or portraits. Unfortunately, they were not renewed because of funding cuts.

However, there is good news on the horizon. ABC-CLIO is offering a free 60-day trial to their newest database called World Religions: Belief, Culture and Controversy. Check it out and spread the word to teachers on your campus. If they use the resource, then perhaps you can take advantage of the buy one get one offer. A special buy one database and receive the second for free offer is also available until October 31, 2011. For more information on the special offer visit, the ABC-CLIO website or visit the Mackin Educational Resources website. Mackin's web page features descriptions of all the ABC-CLIO Databases, link to a demo page, free trial request, and pricing information.