GamesfortheBrain.com
In my continued efforts to help you slack at work… Games for the Brain!
China Builds a Better Internet
“Americans have been hogging Internet addresses for decades, leaving late-comers like China to divvy up the few remaining slivers. But China is fighting back by vaulting to an addressing standard that could rewrite the rules of the Internet–and business innovation–for decades to come.”
Worthen, Ben. China Builds a Better Internet. CIO. 15 July 2006. 42-48.
Read more at European Institute for Strategic Studies in Telecommunications
Anime Club Membership Rockets
Less than two months after holding my first anime club meeting, our membership has soared to over forty teens, with a regular weekly attendance at meetings of approximately twenty-five. Now, I love options. So that’s what the kids have. One TV for DDR and Playstation 2 gaming, a few feet off to the side, tables for fan art drawing (where the library provides heavy paper, pencils, big erasers, Sharpie markers [their favorite], rulers, and snacks), and a portable TV where kids recline and watch the free screeners we receive from ADVocates, Operation Anime, and Newtype.
Otakon Wraps Up
Otakon, the largest celebration of Japanese anime, manga, and J-pop in the US, wrapped up its annual gathering today in Baltimore, Maryland. Sadly I was not there but living a little over three hours from Inner Harbor, I think it’s in the cards for 2007.
Quick Picks: July 2006
Books I enjoyed reading this past month! One book I did not enjoy (and I stopped after the first several chapters) was James Patterson’s Maximum Ride. Ick! What a bore! And the writing! My god! It was awful!
The City of Ember and The People of Sparks (Duprau)
Winner of the Garden State Teen Book Award (2006), The City of Ember is the story of a city in perpetual dark, lit only by street lamps, and the two young people, Doon and Lina, who embark on a mission to save their dying city. With a slight sci-fi, futuristic tilt, this is a fun read for young teens. (Grades 4-7)
Duprau follows the exodus from Ember in The People of Sparks. As the Embrites explore their new and frightening surrounding, the people of Sparks struggle to accomodate an increased populous on a post Disaster Earth.
Zipped (Mcneal and Mcneal)
School Library Journal raves, “Well-realized, sympathetic teen and adult characters populate this novel packed with family problems, romance, and wry humor.” (Grades 9 and up)
Breaking Point (Flinn)
A rather disturbing read, this novel explores the reasons behind violent teen acts. When Paul enrolls in an exclusive Christian school, he is bullied and manipulated. Under the influence of Charlie, a spoiled only child, Paul’s frustrations mainfest in increasingly violent acts.
While some aspects of the story seemed contrived, the school administrators and students described by Flinn rang true for me, as I experienced first-hand the snobby, pampered child antics of ignorant teens at a Catholic High School in Bethlehem that shall remain namesless. (Ages 13 and up)
Big Mouth and Ugly Girl and Sexy (Oates)
In Sexy, Oates delivers “a compelling story line and a complex protagonist” in Darren Flynn, a good-looking but shy high school student on the diving team. School Library Journal continues, “Oates takes an ambiguous and uncomfortable incident with a male teacher and allows the story to unravel through rumor and innuendo into a horrible climax.” (Grades 9 and up)
Big Mouth and Ugly Girl, a Garden State Teen Book Award nominee, is another highly enjoyable read. I like the way Oates develops her characters and her varied writing style. (Grades 8 and up)
Jake, Reinvented (Korman)
Comical. Absurd. True. (Grades 7 to 10)
Garden State Teen Book Awards | Jeanne DuPrau | Alex Flinn | Joyce Carol Oates
Oprahs Angel Network: Great Stories Club
Five branches of the Ocean County Library are participating the Great Stories Club, a grant awarded to these branches through YALSA and made possible by Oprahs Angel Network. As one of the recipients, the Toms River branch is reaching out to the Alternative School located a block from our building. I recently reported on a visit to the school.
“Getting these kids to talk is an accomplishment,” remarked one Toms River Alternative School teacher, but when it came to discussing Terry Trueman’s Stuck in Neutral, students were opinionated and eager to share. Teachers claimed it was “one of the better lessons all year.”
Read the full article on the ALA’s Public Programs Office website.
Great Stories Club | Oprahs Angel Network | YALSA Article on Grant Award
OCL Teen Services Spotlighted on VOYA
At the Ocean County Library (OCL), WE EMPOWER TEENS! Check out Judy’s article on VOYA’s website. Her efforts have helped transform the way OCL serves teens and the way staff views young adult services, bringing us into the 20th century! We continue to support teen activity at the library today, through TAB meetings and abundant volunteer oppotunities. It’s a great organization to be a part of. 
Libraries Online
August 18, 2006 at 1:57 pm (Commentary, News)
The Ann Arbor District Library is awesomely patron connected (thanks to the addition of several programmers on staff). Take a look at their website – it’s actually a blog! And take
a look at this article, Library ‘Superpatron’ Outsmarts Google, to further prove how invested the community is in their library.
Heard about Google’s book scanning project? What about the International Children’s Digital Library?
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