Posted on

More proof that librarians are angels on earth

The American Library Association’s annual conference is going on in New Orleans right now. (No, I’m not there. But I wish that I were.)

This is the first major convention to be held in New Orleans since hurricane Katrina devastated the city. I am not exactly what you call an insider, but from what I’ve heard the last few months, the leadership of ALA has been firm and committed about holding the convention there as a way to help the people of the region get back on there feet.

But that’s not all.

Librarians are volunteering their time and energy while in New Orleans to help with the reconstruction. More info.

Librarians have demanding, underpaid jobs. They provide access to information, education, and opportunities for enlightenment for all Americans. And they catch a lot of flack for it from people who do not understand the principles of the Constitution. But you know what? Most of them see that as an opportunity to educate people and encourage more discussion. Librarians make this country a great place.

Is anyone blogging from the conference besides professornana andhornbookfeed, and this guy ?

EDITED TO ADD – thanks for the feedback – here is what you told me:
Sara Ryan thisisnotanlj
Nielsen Hayden
Sarah Dessen writergrl
The YALSA blog!
Librarian.Net

In other librarian news, would somebody who has a myspace account, please send a note to this wonderful librarian and tell her I say thanks for doing a great job with her book club? Thanks.

Let’s say it all together: librarians rock!

Posted on

Wolf whistle

Does anybody know what that means? A wolf whistle is the obnoxious tweet-tweeeee whistle that some men make to show appreciation of/interest in a passing woman. Note to guys: girls do NOT like this. Ever. In fact, it pretty much guarantees that in her head she is condemning you to the lowest level of hell. Running after her screaming “shake it, mami, shake it hard” is also a Bad Thing. If you want to let a girl know you think she’s hot, then a polite, restrained nod of the head is the way to go.

Anyway, in my daughter’s China journal today, she points out that construction guys in China do it, too. Kind of makes you want to sing “It’s a Small World,” doesn’t it?

(The reason it is funny that she would be mistaken for a Latina, is that she has blazing white skin and red hair. Mostly, she gets mistaken for a tourist from Dublin.)

Congrats to Sarah Dessen writergrl (and my in-laws Darice, Gregg, Eric, and Anna) on the win of the Caroline Hurricanes, and to Alex Flinn on the Miami Heat.

Back to the doc today for more tests about the stupid infection. Bah.

And more fact-checking and obsessing about words in the picture book.

Posted on

fact checking

One of the things I love most about the world of children’s publishing is that the people involved are (generally) very serious about keeping their facts straight. If you write historical fiction for grown-ups, I am told you have lots of latitude to make stuff up. Not in my world. There are legions of librarians and teachers out there who trust us to present accurate information, even in a fictional setting.

You can imagine how tight the rules are when it comes to non-fiction!

I am taking some time off from the new WIP to go back to my historical (non-fiction) picture book, due out next summer. I received the manuscript back from the very nice Expert Historian, and I have the sketches from the artist. At my meeting with my editor last week, we discussed a couple of design changes that should make the information flow more easily. So I have a lot to do this week!

Right now I’m combing through my notes looking for the sources of information about those points that the Expert questioned. Once she and I agree about a couple of interpretations, I’ll work on fixing the text to accommodate the design changes.

This might sound tedious, but really, it is very exciting.

Trust me.