About This Blog

This blog started out back in 2015 as a challenge from my then 12-year old son, who was a self-proclaimed computer genius. He seems to be under the impression that computers and the internet didn't exist until his generation for some reason; he thinks he knows everything about computers and I know nothing. Anyway, one night he was scoffing at my computer skills and said I didn't even know how to blog. Now, I'd never had a reason to blog, but I'm not one to back down from a challenge :)

So, I thought for a minute about what I could blog about, and decided since I found other storytime blogs to be very helpful I would start one of my own, from the unique perspective of someone who is just starting out, and was not yet a librarian. I popped over to Blogger, and voila, in a few minutes I had the bare bones of a blog, and by the next day I had written my bio and several posts to be published over the next few days. I showed it to a few people who thought it was good, and encouraged me to continue, and I have.  

I hope others who are interested in children's literature, storytime, or youth services in general find it useful. I try to not just show what books and activities I use, but WHY I chose them, and how they worked, and I include some commentary about various things related to youth services. Over time the scope has evolved along with my career to include school-aged programs, family programs, various bibliographies, and whatever else I had going on at work or in my now-completed MLIS program. So now this block is a hodge-podge of storytimes, various other programs, collection development, and research and commentary on various issues in youth services. 

While I do enjoy doing storytime and programming in general, it is not my only professional interest or ability. As the solo children's librarian for a smaller, single library I do (or at least oversee) it all: customer service, programming for birth through 11 years old, summer reading, collection development, community outreach, reader's advisory, reference, etc., plus continuing professional development and service. I love variety and interacting with patrons of all ages, and I am committed to reducing barriers and promoting diversity.

Visit my Facebook Page "Adventures In Storytime" and "Like" it for another way to follow my posts and join in the discussion. I really would like to hear from some of you! You can also contact me by email at AdventuresInStorytime@gmail.com.

If you would like to see my book reviews and ratings for middle-grade, YA, and adult books, please visit my Goodreads profile, though I have only been actively using it since 2017.

For archived posts related to other types of programming, older book reviews of middle-grade and YA literature, and commentary on other library topics prior to July 1, 2017, please visit my short-lived and now retired second blog, Jen's Library Tales.

*The thoughts and opinions presented on this blog are mine alone, and do not represent any current or past employer. In addition, the issues discussed in commentary and research articles address challenges in the library youth services field as a whole, and do not necessarily represent my specific position or employers, past or present.*

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