Reference World

Summer Reading

Not sure if this belongs here or my blog Books to Curl Up With. This is the time of summer reading programs at libraries across the country and assigned summer reading from schools. So I thought I'd collect some sites on reading and children

Jim Trelease - the father of the read aloud movement
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/

Children's Literature Website
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/

Choice Awards - what do students and teachers vote for?
http://www.reading.org/
http://www.reading.org/resources/tools/choices.html

Philip Nel is a rising star in the study of Children's literature. It is a boring looking page, but great links.
http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/weblinks/literary/childrens.html

So check out your library's summer reading program!!!!

A view of politics

These are just some interesting web pages looking at politics and political figures

Smithsonians' exhibit of Fred Maroon's pictures of the Nixon adminstration -
http://americanhistory.si.edu/maroon/

Spanning the time from Herbert Hoover to the Millenium, Herblock is a noted politcal cartoonist
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/

The Library of Congress' page on legislation
http://thomas.loc.gov/

Your Congress.com looks at the Congress with a sense of humour
http://www.yourcongress.com/

Congress for Kids (opening page is boooooring, the website is fun.)
http://www.congressforkids.net/

C-Span brings you American Presidents: Life Portraits - lots of handy facts
http://www.americanpresidents.org/

I do solemnly swear - a web page on inagurals
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/

Embarrassment neutralizer

I know some of my Reference World readers are library staffers. I wanted to mention a technique I used again this afternoon. The embarassment neutralizer. No drugs are involved or animals hurt in this technique.

Today a patron came up and mumbled out his question. He needed books on marital problems. I responded by saying how long does your paper have to be. You can also use when is your paper due, how many books do you need for your paper etc. Instantly it is not something they are having a problem with, but research. Some patrons will admit they need it for themselves, but it makes it so much easier for some patrons when the difficult question has nothing to do with them.

Hope this can help you with some of your questions.