tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post6171746459828406840..comments2024-02-27T07:56:17.122-06:00Comments on Jean Little Library: Finding books for boys at the libraryJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05096787155616041727noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-81976278911104617932011-07-21T08:01:36.486-05:002011-07-21T08:01:36.486-05:00Thanks for the suggestions - I'm familiar with...Thanks for the suggestions - I'm familiar with Lubar and Anderson; Pinkwater really doesn't circ in our library and I'll have to look into the last two.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096787155616041727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-76833671923572709422011-07-13T22:52:09.240-05:002011-07-13T22:52:09.240-05:00This is so tough. As an author, a former teacher, ...This is so tough. As an author, a former teacher, and a mother of two boys, I hate the idea of boy books, but I know, too, there are titles that appeal more to boys than girls.<br /><br />I'd say anything by M. T. Anderson, David Lubar, Daniel Pinkwater, Andrew Auseon, or debut author Geoff Herbach would draw boys to the shelves.Caroline Starr Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04597510685273079757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-88233394461041022022011-07-10T19:57:17.609-05:002011-07-10T19:57:17.609-05:00You absolutely have to put the money where it will...You absolutely have to put the money where it will be most used. In a school setting, my job is to make sure that all of my students get books. A public library has to feed demand. One thing you could do that might help is to make the books for boys that you do have very visible. Boys are visual, and less likely, in general, to look at the spines of books. If they do wander in, chances are better that they will find a book. Can't find the title of the paint by number book, but there is a cool web site: http://americanhistory.si.edu/paint/index.html<br /><br />Glad that this got everyone thinking!Ms. Yinglinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-75701958848385907802011-07-10T18:00:51.450-05:002011-07-10T18:00:51.450-05:00Hmmm, a grant might be a good idea. I have an inte...Hmmm, a grant might be a good idea. I have an intern right now, maybe I can get her to try for something! Although I'll still be the person implementing it...I have done some "guys read" type displays and I have a list of possible ideas for future ones - but there again, time crunch!<br /><br />I think you're right that more moms ask for suggestions for their boys - although I get that mainly for younger boys up to about age 12, which is an additional reason that our juvenile fiction is more balanced. Maybe if we did some kind of facebook promotion asking moms what their teen sons want to read...Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096787155616041727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-913114282355554472011-07-10T17:25:57.561-05:002011-07-10T17:25:57.561-05:00It's a hard situation to be in, having such a ...It's a hard situation to be in, having such a limited budget, and I know you have to set your priorities. But I think that we, as librarians, have a responsibility to build a balanced collection. <br /><br />Maybe there's another way to reach boys without individually doing extensive reader's advisory. Maybe you could make shelf-talkers or bookmarks that feature great guy books. Maybe there's someone in your community that you could partner with to offer some kind of Guys Read program. <br /><br />Also, it sounds like a perfect opportunity for a grant... combine building a collection for guys with some kind of teen outreach targeted at guys... sounds like it would really fill a need. (Although, I know, who has time to write grants...)Abbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09618668989233112126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-78626818197174791662011-07-10T13:44:59.141-05:002011-07-10T13:44:59.141-05:00This is interesting to me, because it is different...This is interesting to me, because it is different from my experiences. I do agree that girls are more social and do read a lot of books from the library. But I'm more likely to get teen boys or rather their moms asking for suggestions. Girls seem to know what they want, while boys read all the popular series and then cast about to find something to read. My problem is that it is hard to translate the dozen or so avidly reading boys to library programs, many are SO busy they never come to the library in person. They place holds and we do reader's advisory via their mothers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com