One of the reasons I love that librarians blog so much: I can find a kind, virtual colleague who has done some reconnaissance, which prevents me from re-creating the wheel from scratch. Whether it be blog software, Camtasia tips, or program ideas, I have found so many helpful ideas and advice from fellow librarian bloggers.
A simple case in point: One of our staff members is out on long-term disability. One of her responsibilities is to periodically create a display of books showcasing a segment of our collection. I’ve taken on the task ’til she can return to work.
In the spirit of Halloween, I made a book display of horror books — “Bone Chillin’ Horror Books: In Case the Weather Outside Isn’t Chilly Enough for You!“ Now…it can be daunting coming up with an innovative book display…and I don’t really read horror books. I like vampire stories, but horror really encompasses more than my night stalking friends. I have to thank The Lair of the Undead Rat for his blog post that contained a list of horror books from last year. His list gave me a great head start in creating my booklist for the display….and kept me from having to scrounge from scratch.
So to all my librarian blogger friends out there — thank you! I hope that some day I can reciprocate by something (e.g., a program, a service, etc.) I’ve posted on first conclusions.
2008/11/19 at 12:24 am
Anna,
I am so happy you were able to use the list of horror books. Librarians who had to make a Halloween book list or book display were exactly the audience I was imagining when I created last year’s list (and this year’s list as well), although I also hoped people would find other uses for it.
There is no copyright on these lists so any librarian can use then to create bookmarks, print them up for horror loving patrons or use them as part of their own project.
By the way there is a nice vampire book list on The Lair’s sister site …With Intent to Commit Horror which might give you a new title or two to check out.
Most of all, thank you for letting me know it helped.
–Greg “The Undead Rat” Fisher