Teen Tech Week: Librarian YouTube Videos!

In honor of Teen Tech Week, we spent untold hours scouring YouTube for the very best in library and librarian related videos! Here are five of our favorites:

Conan The Librarian (Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF):

Gorilla Librarian (Monty Python’s Flying Circus):

Library Dominos (We’ve always wanted to do this…):

Mr. Bookman – Library Investigator (Seinfeld):

Cookie Monster at the Library (Sesame Street):

Got more? Post links in the comments section!

Learn how to create and upload your own YouTube videos with these great books, available through your local library:

How to do everything with YouTube

YouTube for Dummies

-John T., Library Assistant @ Mason Library

Teen Tech Week: TV 2.0

Do you know the name of that one actor? You know, the one  on Supernatural? He was in a movie a little while back, but I’m not sure exactly what it was called.

If you ever have trouble thinking of the name of a movie, TV show, actor, or even the best boy, you don’t have to go crazy trying to figure it out. Check out the Internet Movie Database. It has movies from all around the world, old and new.

Flickr User: meaning_absence

You can search many different ways:

• Movie title
• Actors’ names
• The people who worked on the crew
• The basic plot-line
• The production company
• Characters’ names
• Even some quotes

Since I know the actor is in Supernatural, I search for that show. From the list of actors given, I find his picture and see that his name is Jensen Ackles. By clicking on his name, I can search his filmography, where I find that his most recent movie was My Bloody Valentine.

From there, I can go to CADL’s online catalog, sign in, and put a hold on it. The library will send an email when the DVD is ready for pick up.

The Internet Movie Database also has some shows that you can watch online. Another site that does this is hulu.com. What’s cool about Hulu is that you can sign up, and subscribe to shows that you like. You don’t have to search for them every time you go on the site, when a new episode is posted, it will show up on your account. Hulu also has movies; some classics, some B movies, and some that are downright weird.

If your favorite show isn’t on Hulu, then try the TV network’s website. You can watch shows on usanetwork.com, cbs.com, nbc.com, cwtv.com, and several others.

Have fun, but make sure to enjoy this weather while it lasts!

-Abby B., Library Assistant @ South Lansing Library

Teen Tech Week @ CADL

It’s Teen Tech Week, and our libraries are celebrating with a variety of events just for teens. Come check these out!

After School Game Time (Ages 11-18)
Wednesday, March 10, 24
3-4:30 pm
Have fun playing Wii, Guitar Hero and other videogames, or relax with board games and cards. Snacks provided.
Webberville Library

Tween Night (Ages 10-13)
Thursday, March 11
6-7:30 pm
Join us for fun for ages 10-13.
South Lansing Library

Wii Game Night
Friday, March 12
4:30 pm
Visit the library to play Wii, have some pizza and hang out with friends on a Friday afternoon. Registration required by calling (517) 694-9351 ext. 3.
Holt-Delhi Library

Teen Gaming Day
Saturday, March 13
10 am–2 pm
It’s Teen Tech Week! Come in to the library for Wii and Guitar Hero games.
Dansville Library

Teen Tech Week: Reading 2.0

This Teen Tech Week, celebrate the fact that reading has evolved along with technology.  One of the major changes in reading is the content of books themselves.  Lots of great teen books have technology in one form or another as a main component of the plot.  If you’d like to read a tech-centric book, try one of these great titles:

Feed by M.T. Anderson: In a futuristic United States, everyone is constantly linked to television and advertising media by way of a chip implanted in their brains.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohen and David Levithan: If you can’t live without your iPod, this story of teen romance and a crazy night in NYC will resonate.

Little Brother by Cory Doctrow: Wrongly accused of terrorism in a near-future San Francisco, Marcus must fight the overbearing Department of Homeland Security using whatever technology he and his friends can devise.

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks: Cadel Piggott is an evil genius in training.  As he attends evil genius school, he must decide whether to use his vast intelligence and love of technology for good or for evil.

Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohen: Very is a self-professed tech addict, and must spend time at a tech-free retreat for the sake of her sanity.

Technology has also made those old reader’s journals obsolete.  Now, using sites such as LibraryThing, goodreads, and Facebook applications like Visual Bookshelf, you can keep track of what you’re reading and share it with friends.

If you’re too busy to check out a great tech related read, never fear.  CADL had eAudiobooks which you can download to your computer or MP3 device and listen to on the go!

So to celebrate this week, crack open a tech themed read and make sure to check out all the great tools on the internet and available through CADL to take your reading to 2.0.

-Liz V., Youth Services Librarian @ Holt-Delhi Library

March is Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month.  Celebrate by reading some great teen fiction and nonfiction about women who changed history!  Try these titles from CADL’s collection:

Your Own, Sylvia: A Portrait in Verse of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill

A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson by Barbara Dana

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Flygirl by Sherri Smith

- Liz V., Youth Services Librarian @ Holt-Delhi Library

Who Would You Be?

Other than Bella, Edward, and Jacob, if you could be a character in a novel, who would you be?

A good choice would be Jacky Faber; ship’s girl, pirate, spy, and mermaid. In a series of books by L.A. Meyer, Jacky is a teen girl who has done a little bit of everything. After growing up as an orphan on the streets of London, Jacky’s misadventures eventually end her up working for the British government as an unwilling spy.

In her latest adventure, Rapture of the Deep, Jacky’s up to her usual trouble. After being recaptured by Britain’s spy network, they set her to work off the Key West shore searching for sunken treasure. The problem? It’s 1802 and she has to dive over a hundred feet into the Atlantic Ocean wearing a canvas bathing suit while using a large diving bell. As if that wasn’t hard enough, she runs afoul of a Spanish lieutenant in waters controlled by the Armada AND runs into some old pirate friends who want their own share of the loot.

Other titles in the Bloody Jack series:

Check out Bloody Jack in our catalog.

Check out Curse of the Blue Tattoo in our catalog.

Check out Under the Jolly Roger in our catalog.

Check out In the Belly of the Bloodhound in our catalog.

Check out Mississippi Jack in our catalog.

Check out My Bonny Light Horseman in our catalog.

Check out Rapture of the Deep in our catalog.

-Abby B.,  Library Assistant @ South Lansing Library

Percy Jackson hits the big screen!

To all you Percy Jackson and the Olympians fans out there, don’t forget to check out “The Lightning Thief” on the big screen.  The movie, from the director of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone“, follows the adventures of Percy Jackson as he discovers he is the son of a god.  He must then set out on a trip to stop a war between the gods which could destroy the world.  Find out more about the movie at www.percyjacksonthemovie.com. If you haven’t read the book yet, be sure to find “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan in our catalog!

-Liz V., CADL Youth Services Librarian

After-hours Interactive Mystery Night @ The Okemos Library

The Okemos Library will be having an after-hours interactive mystery night on Friday, February 12. You’re invited to help solve the case of “The Disappearance of Angela Day.” Through evidence, crime scenes, interviews, and problem-solving,  be a detective for the night and solve the case!

Snacks and prizes will be provided.

For grades 5 and up.

Registration is required; please call (517) 347-2023.

Fri. 2/12, 7:00pm – 8:30pm

-Melissa C. Library Assistant @ Okemos Library

A Few Blog Changes

For those of you who read our blogs regularly, or even subscribe to our blogs via RSS, you might have noticed a couple of changes to them in the past week. First of all, we have a couple of new links to information about us, our teen blog, and our tech blog at the top of the page (circled in the picture below). Also, our main, teen, and tech blogs have all been merged into a single CADL blog. Don’t worry – all of our old content is still here. To access it, just select the type of information you want to see from the drop-down menu in the upper right part of your screen:

As you can see, we’ve also given you the option to separate out information about your favorite branch, using the same drop-down menu. Let us know what you think in the comments section or by filling out a comment card at your local CADL branch.

Boarding School Books

Have you ever noticed how many great teen books are set in boarding schools?  What is it about this setting that makes for such compelling reading?  Let us know your opinion!  And if you’ve never read a book with this setting, try these titles to get you started:

Headlong by Kathe Koja: Lily Noble feels she no longer fits in at the elite school she has attended since preschool, so she convinces her parents to let her board there.  Meeting new people and trying new things leads her to think that maybe belonging isn’t the best thing to do.

Breathless by Jessica Warman: Katie Kitrell is sent away to boarding school after her brother’s mental illness gets worse.  Katie likes her new surroundings, but after telling a lie that betrays her brother, can she manage to keep her head above water?

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson: Destiny Faraday and three companions escape from boarding school and go on a road trip in search of a perfectly fair day, where everything goes right and the good guys win.

Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani: While her parents are making a documentary film in Afghanistan, Viola is sent to boarding school in Indiana.  She spends her time there filing everything she sees, but slowly starts to realize that in order to really live her life, she may need to step out from behind the camera.

– Liz