HARRY POTTERS IN SILVER CITY

Transcription

1 January ; #1481 Library HARRY POTTERS IN SILVER CITY For the Word version click here The Public Library in Silver City, New Mexico, held a Harry Potter Celebration November 9, complete with a book discussion, costume contest, essay reading, jelly bean guessing game, trivia game, and refreshments. To decorate the top floor of the library, the large meeting room and adjoining activity room were aglow with colorful streamers, snitches, stars, balloons, and banners for the four Hogwarts houses. Long red cloths hung from the entrance to the children s room, with sign over it reading Platform 9 ¾ to welcome the 39 children who attended along with family members. The morning began with a discussion about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the movie of which was entering theatres across the country the following weekend. Children were generous with speaking their thoughts over their favorite parts of the book, thoughts on slavery (as house elves were slaves), and other serious and not-so-serious topics. The costume contest came next. Characters represented in costume were Harry Potter (about 9 of them), Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, a dementor, and others. Staff and volunteers dressed up as the above characters, with the addition of Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Madam Hooch, and other wizards. Essays written by children from around the country on how J.K. Rowling s books have changed their lives were read aloud (these can be viewed on the Scholastic website). Throughout the morning, children placed guesses on how many jelly beans were in a jar of Bertie Bott s Many Flavored Beans. The winner, who guessed 400, won the jar of candy. The final event was a trivia game over the four books. Contestants were sorted into four teams, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin by the sorting hat, (the children s librarian inconspicuously shouting out the team names for each player). All teams worked together very well in determining the answers. Following the trivia, Hogwarts-like refreshments were enjoyed by all, supplied by staff and volunteers. The event culminated at 12:30 p.m. Patrons who came for the event participated in all activities. The total number of attendees was 64.

2 Being a literacy-based event, most of the prizes were books and other items to read, and writing tools. Winners of the costume contest received a free book, a Harry Potter notebook, a folder, or Harry Potter stamps, and all received a pencil. Players on the winning trivia team, Slytherin, each received a Harry Potter book for the prize. All other contestants received a Harry Potter trading card for participating in the event. The children seemed genuinely happy with the prizes they earned. Donations for the event were given by Wal-Mart, Literacy Link- Leamos, the Food Co-op, Diana Bell, and Karen Valentine. Many volunteers helped make the event possible, including tutors and readers from Literacy Link, university and high school students, and other members of the public. The general report following the event was that It was great and kids and adults alike had a lot of fun. A few parents questioned if this will be an annual event. Perhaps! We ll see next year. POSTSCRIPT TO LIBRARIANS: If you are considering holding a similar event and would like more information, including a copy of the trivia questions created by staff and volunteers, please call the children s librarian, Sheri Anderson, at (505) BRIEFINGS Help with census questions. Those of us who work in libraries know how local government officials, grant writers, or anyone writing a position paper can come up with yet another stumping census question. Just when you think you are on top of the game, you can receive a request for data with several new permutations or unusual factors that leave you in a quandary about where to begin. The patron usually appears convinced that this should be a question with a thirty-second turn around time. After all, you are the expert. On the good side, there are many resources available to us now that were nowhere in sight for previous census releases. The census Bureau s American FactFinder is an impressive product that gives us the capability to make our own customized tables and maps. Using FactFinder we can provide our patron with the specific information requested in a customized format. We can construct thematic maps to help individuals locate areas in the community with the highest need for services for groups such as low income children, non English speaking elderly living alone or those who have not completed high school. We can also help the small businessperson who wants to be certain that their upscale furniture shop will be placed to best advantage. We have the tools to show percentages and relationships and to help build arguments for social programs and services. We also have local expertise available to us through UNM s BBER (Bureau of Business and Economic Research) web site. BBER continues to build a powerful and user-friendly web site that provides easy access to census data for New Mexico at all levels of geography. The BBER web site is updated

3 on a continual basis, providing New Mexico community profiles, 1990 and 2000 census comparisons, data on income and poverty characteristics in New Mexico, and many other useful features. It is always a good strategy to consult the BBER site to see if the answer to your patron s question is there for you. Despite the availability of these comprehensive resources, the problem that we sometimes face is one of knowing where to turn first to help our patron with the more complex questions. Did the Census Bureau collect the data that the patron is requesting? How much time will it take to figure out how to construct a table or map, and how do you know that you are providing complete and accurate information? Is the data available for the geography requested? How about historical data? This is where the toll-free reference line at the New Mexico State Library can come in handy to help you come through in a timely fashion for your patron. The State Library staff is trained to help you work through the quagmire of information to get to the answers you need. They can supply you with the data to answer your question, or show you how to go about finding the data you need and talk you through the process of constructing your own custom tables for your patrons. The State Library also has a complete collection of Census Data for the United States from 1790 to the present to help you with your historical research. So this is a reminder that the toll-free reference is there for you to use if you want to talk to a librarian who has been there and can help you come out looking like an expert. Call the toll-free number at (since it is for use by librarians only, please do not give this number to your patrons for their personal use). Quality recognition. The Governor s office announced in December that Access Innovations, Inc., a New Mexico information services company located in Albuquerque, has been recognized by the Quality New Mexico program for its commitment to using quality concepts and principles. Quality New Mexico named Access Innovations the recipient of its Piñon Recognition award. After 24 years in a very competitive niche of the information industry, Access Innovations President Marjorie Hlava noted, our commitment to quality has never been in doubt. But the Quality New Mexico program has helped us focus on areas where we can improve, and we re proud to have earned Piñon Recognition as tangible appreciation of our efforts. Piñon Recognition is the first step in an awards program administered by Quality New Mexico, whose mission is to motivate, educate, and congratulate New Mexico s businesses and organizations for achievement in performance excellence. Access Innovations specializes in document analysis, technical markup, editorial workflow, and data conversion services. Through its Data Harmony division, Access also markets a suite of software products for content management, vocabulary control, and machine aided indexing. Applications for Piñon Recognition at Access Innovations involved the participation of management and senior staff, coordinated by Editorial Services Manager Christopher Kelly and Senior Editor Barbara Gilles.

4 We congratulate the recipients of the 2002 New Mexico Quality Awards, said Julia Gagaldon, President of Quality New Mexico. These businesses and organizations are striving for excellence and making a positive difference for their customers and employees. The New Mexico Quality Award panel of judges made the announcement following an evaluation process that has been under way since August. Access Innovations was one of a dozen enterprises in Albuquerque that earned Piñon Recognition, and one of 33 throughout New Mexico. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on March 13 at the annual Quality New Mexico Conference and Awards Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa. Quality New Mexico is a non-profit organization that promotes economic development in New Mexico business, education, government, and healthcare by recognizing commitment through its Piñon Recognition, progress through its Roadrunner Recognition, and achievements in quality through its Zia Award. All Quality New Mexico recognitions and awards are based on the Baldrige Criteria, benchmark for the Baldrige National Quality Program. For more information about Access Innovations or Data Harmony, visit their respective websites. ANNOUNCEMENTS Amigos Board announces call for fellowship proposals. The Amigos Library Services Board of Trustees announces a call for proposals for the 2003 Amigos Fellowship Program. Fellowship winners will be announced at the 2003 Amigos Member Conference, April 30-May 2 in Dallas. Each year, the Amigos Fellowship Program awards up to $7,500 to foster development of library and information professionals in Amigos member libraries through funding of individual research projects. Awards are based on the significance of a proposed project's contribution to library cooperation and/or technology. Since the program's founding in 1990, it has awarded over $38,000 to fund 30 projects. One fellowship award resulted in a nationally published article. Another award enabled a recipient to complete research on a Ph.D., and Fellowship-funded projects have been the basis for numerous training courses. Applications must be received by March 10, 2003, at 5 p.m. Central Time. Amigos urges interested persons to visit the Amigos Web site for complete application information, including guidelines and PDF application forms, or contact Linda Wimberley at Amigos toll-free , ext. 122, or wimberley@amigos.org. PEOPLE NOTES Judy Hooks has been appointed the librarian at SIPI (Southwest Indian

5 Polytecnic Institute). She has been with the Albuquerque Public School System as the librarian for three elementary schools: Griegos, Acoma, and Inez. Before that she spent five years with the Rio Grande Library System as a Youth Services Librarian at the Lomas/Tramway Branch Library. JOBS School librarian. Oñate High School in Las Cruces seeks applicants for a Secondary Librarian. Minimum qualifications include a Bachelor s degree from a regionally accredited college or university; valid certification as Library Media Specialist; library and audiovisual skills that are required for a library-media center. This position reports to the School Principal and supervises library-media aides and secretaries, students, and volunteer staff. The duties of the person holding this position are to provide instructional support for the school by housing, organizing, and circulating in a convenient manner the library materials and equipment needed by teachers, in classrooms, and by individuals; to provide the associated orientation, instruction, services, and guidance for the effective use of library resources. To apply, contact Martha Molguin, Human Resources Department, 505 S. Main Ste 249, Las Cruces, NM or FAX (505) New Mexico State Library Send Comments & Questions about this site to rupton@stlib.state.nm.us Hit Counter