So long, 2014-15! It’s been a great year!

On Tuesday, everyone piled into the cafeteria to celebrate our eighth graders’ milestone as they move on to high school next year.  Even though it’s what they should be doing, it’s always sad to say goodbye!  We here in the library will really miss our eighth grade students, and wish them the greatest of success in the future!

Although the library is closed all summer, we’ve got some great resources in our virtual collection that students and staff can continue to access.  See the ebook page for details, and visit www.mackinvia.com to log in!   Many of next year’s Black-Eyed Susan Award nominees are available as ebooks.  Speaking of which, if you want to get a head start on preparing for next year’s voting, here’s the list of next year’s nominees – also available from your public library!

2015-2016 nominees

Meanwhile, if you’re curious about what’s been going on in the library all year, here’s a nifty infographic with some figures for your perusal:

Last but not least, if you still need to return books, the AMS office will be open Monday through Thursday all summer.  We have a bin in there and will be accepting returned books whenever you can get them to us!  Our fantastic financial secretary will also be on hand, armed and ready with a list of students and the books they owe, so if you need to pay for something she’s the lady to see.

In my last post I mentioned a big announcement I had hoped to make this spring.  Due to some unanticipated facility issues, I’m postponing that until the fall, but stay tuned.  We have big news coming!

Until then, keep reading, and thank you all for an amazing, educational adventure of a school year.  I’ll leave you with a quote from the wonderful poet Pablo Neruda:

“The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty.”

2015-2016 Black-Eyed Susan Nominees Announced!!

There’s a fantastic group of titles nominated for the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award this year.  For those unfamiliar with the award, it’s the only kids’ book award that’s awarded by, well, kids.  Students across Maryland have the opportunity to vote for their favorite if they have read at least 3 of the 10 nominees at the level they’ve chosen.  Nominees must be books published in the past 3 years, and are chosen by Maryland school librarians who are also avid readers.  Recent winners include Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, Wonder by R. J. Palacio, and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia – just to name a few!

This year’s list includes some familiar authors like Kenneth Oppel, Jacqueline Woodson, Doug TenNapel, and Jennifer Holm, but there are also some exciting first novels like The Crossover by Kwame Alexander and Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography, I am Malala.  It looks like a great set of books at all 3 levels for which AMS students can choose to vote – that’s Grades 4-6, Grades 6-9, or Graphic Novels Grades 4-6.  You can download the PDF with all the levels right here!

2015-2016 nominees