The Not So Little Librarian

Ep12. Fictional Libraries: Elisabeth and Austermeer's Great Libraries

In Margaret Rogerson's Sorcery of Thorns, there are not one but six Great Libraries! Our main character - Elisabeth Scrivener - was raised in the Great Library of Summershill, where she trained to be a Warden of the libraries. In this episode, I go over quotes from Rogerson that detail Elisabeth, Grimoires, Maleficts, and the libraries themselves in this beautifully crafted Young Adult fantasy stand alone novel. "BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!" US ONLY. As I mention in the episode, I'm hosting a giveaway tied to this episode and Sorcery of Thorns. To enter for a chance to win a signed Owlcrate edition with an exclusive cover, I'll be accepting screenshots (DM on Twitter or Instagram @LitLibraryCast or email to thenotsolittlelibrarian@gmail.com) of either a follow on the podcast streaming platform of your choice or of a review/rating on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts. I'm trying to make it accessible to anyone who would like to enter, so if this doesn't work, reach out to me through one of the abovementioned options. Music Summit - by Jonny Easton Link: https://youtu.be/ZH5B_C8r9Dk

Ep11. Not Participating in Goodreads' Reading Challenge

"You read how many books?!" Goodreads - one of my favorite apps that I've ever downloaded - has an annual reading challenge. In the past, I've participated and enjoyed it. Last year, though, it was a bit tougher on me mentally as the months started getting colder and the number of books I'd read was still less than half of what I'd planned. While the Goodreads challenge is something that many people look forward to, I decided to explain in this episode why I'm not participating this year (2022). In addition, I talk about points brought forth by others before me and commentate on their opinions regarding Goodreads' annual reading challenge. If you want to challenge yourself but don't want to attach a total number, there are other options! In the last half of this episode, I talk about some other the alternatives to a numbered challenge for the year. Whether you're a solo reader or enjoy discussions with others, there are alternate options for everyone! References Beck, J. (2019, June 6). The adults who treat reading like homework: No one's making them try to read 100 books a year. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/06/do-people-finish-their-goodreads-reading-challenges/591184/ [https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/06/do-people-finish-their-goodreads-reading-challenges/591184/] Feathers, K. (2020, October 20). The ultimate problem with reading challenges: And how to make them healthy. Books Are Our Superpower. https://baos.pub/the-ultimate-problem-with-reading-challenges-1ed7663c029b [https://baos.pub/the-ultimate-problem-with-reading-challenges-1ed7663c029b] Kath. (2021, December 29). Why I'm setting a lower reading goal next year. Book(ish) Podcast. https://www.bookishpodcast.co.uk/blog/why-im-setting-a-lower-reading-goal-next-yearnbsp [https://www.bookishpodcast.co.uk/blog/why-im-setting-a-lower-reading-goal-next-yearnbsp] (Instagram: @wearebookishpod and @bookishkath) Packer, K. (2019, September 18). Why my Goodreads book challenge makes me sad. Book Riot. https://bookriot.com/why-my-goodreads-book-challenge-makes-me-sad/ [https://bookriot.com/why-my-goodreads-book-challenge-makes-me-sad/]

Ep10. Library School: Internships & Independent Study

After 2 months away from the microphone, The Not So Little Librarian podcast is back with another episode in the Library School series which covers my subjective experience completing both an online internship and an independent study student assistantship while in SJSU iSchool's MLIS program. The remote internship I completed for Chicago's Busy Beaver Button Museum [https://www.buttonmuseum.org/about] took place in Summer 2020 at the height of the pandemic lockdown. To be completely honest, my experience was positively influenced by stay-at-home orders; the internship was the only thing that I had planned for the Summer, so both my husband and I were able to shift our schedules so that I was working on the internship typically between midnight to 5 AM. That being said, I discuss the internship objectively, as well - how the course operated, the types of tasks that I was assigned, and how I went about completing work for the museum's website. As mentioned in the episode, I wrote one blog post for the museum - "New York's 'Women in Business' Week with Phyllis Yvonne Reed." [https://www.buttonmuseum.org/content/new-york%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cwomen-business%E2%80%9D-week-phyllis-yvonne-reed] Additionally, there are a couple buttons that I mentioned throughout that section of the episode, but I'd like to highlight a couple (whether mentioned or not) that I think you may find interesting: Women for Racial and Economic Equity [https://www.buttonmuseum.org/buttons/women-racial-and-economic-equality], Rutles Drums [https://www.buttonmuseum.org/buttons/rutles-drums], and Cocoon Movie [https://www.buttonmuseum.org/buttons/cocoon-movie]. Lastly, here is the link to the back-end assignment that I completed for credit through SJSU - Day in the Life | Busy Beaver Button Museum Virtual Internship [https://youtu.be/kVbvgBoNidQ]. The independent study course that I took in grad school was completing a student assistantship that focused on building upon and reviewing the content of a closed website designed by past students for a 1 unit elective course studying incunabula - books printed using moveable metal type on the Gutenberg printing press (1451-1501). While I try to avoid talking too much about the actual content of the course (as that's planned for a future episode!), I talk about how I went about researching the topic and what I took away from the experience. If you're interested in learning about incunables and Gutenberg, I definitely recommend watching Stephen Fry's documentary: The Machine That Made Us [https://youtu.be/uQ88yC35NjI]. If you have any questions about either details of either the internship or independent study, advice on filtering through options, or anything else you may want to reach about to me about, please email me at thenotsolittlelibrarian@gmail.com or find me on Instagram and Twitter at @LitLibraryCast!

Ep9. Literarily Scared to Death: Death Poems

Join me and my special guest, Cal, as we read some of my favorite poems about death. While this should be quite the somber episode, it's anything but! With California on fire and the air quality slowly killing my asthmatic self who is waiting on a replacement inhaler, the coughing and horrible jokes should make this an interesting one for any listener - even those scared by the concept of death and facing one's own mortality. Poems Read: "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson (1890) "Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne (1633) "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas (1951) "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley (1818) Sonnet 71 by William Shakespeare (1609) "Out, Out-" by Robert Frost (1916) "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen (1920) "Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1932) "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe (1849) "When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be" by John Keats (1848) "The Darkling Thrush" by Thomas Hardy (1900)

Ep8. In the Library: "Rainbow" Books

What's a "rainbow" book? Exactly what you'd think! Rainbow books are books that feature LGBTQ+ representation. In the junior high school library where I work, I've found that there is a need for a list of these books. While not all students may be comfortable asking for recommendations in this category, there are definitely those who are! I'm excited to continue working on the Rainbow Books list. If you know of any rainbow books that are middle grade interest level, please send me a message; I'm on Twitter (@LitLibraryCast), Instagram (@LitLibraryCast), and Gmail (TheNotSoLittleLibrarian@gmail.com). If you've done something similar in your library or have an idea that you'd like to share, I'd be more than happy to hear that, as well!