We heard on the local news that some students from Lincoln will be attending some Inaugural events. If you are in that group we would like to hear from you! Give us all the details!

If you are not going to the Presidential Inauguration, tell us what you are thinking about this history-making event. If you could go, which aspects of this event would be of most interest to you?

--Kay

Now I know that the holidays are supposed to be about giving and doing good and stuff.  And I won't argue about that.  But just for today, I want to know, what was the best gift you got??

Hey, Everybody! 

What are you going to do on your winter break?  If we get some snow there’s sledding or snowboarding.  How about taking your pet to visit Santa - maybe even get a photo taken!  Skate Zone should be busy.  Movies, anyone?  Don’t forget the cookie decorating party at Anderson Branch on the 18th.  Of course you can always curl up with a good book - and maybe some hot chocolate, mmmm!  What DO teens do in Lincoln when they’re on vacation?  Let everyone know your good ideas!

--Mary

Is there anyone out there that's not too busy with school and the upcoming holidays and spending time with family and friends that might need something fun to do at your local library?  At the Anderson Brach, on Thursday, December 18th at 6:30pm, we are having a cookie decorating program.  All teens are welcome to come and decorate sugar cookies.  We'll have all the supplies you'll need; all you have to bring is some creativitiy.  You'll leave with an edible masterpiece.  But space is limited, so you have to sign up.   Call the Anderson library at 441-8540 or stop in and see us.  If you don't sign up ahead of time we won't have enough cookies for you. 

But all this talk of cookies leads me to a question... what is your favorite kind of holiday treat?  I really love Peanut Butter Balls..  You can't go wrong with Peanut Butter and Chocolate.  And do you have any special Holiday cookie making memories?  I always get together with my mom and some friends and make lots of cookies in December.  Anyone else like to bake?  We usually watch the movie It's a Wonderful Life while we are cooking.  I want to know your holiday traditions!

The public has not been able to do any First Kid-watching for quite some time.

Are you excited to see kids at the White House again? Do you think it would be exciting to live in the White House, or do you feel bad for the kids since they didn't choose to be in the spot light?

And how 'bout the potential First Dog? What kind do you think they should get?

--Kay

Who is going to see Twilight???? Are you going to the midnight screening? (I'm going Saturday!)

Once you've seen it - we'd love to see your thoughts/reviews here - was it worth the hype?

And most crucially...are you Team Jacob? or Team Edward?

-- Sarah

Tomorrow (Saturday the November 15th) at three of the city libraries in Lincoln, we are helping the American Library Association set a world record.  The goal is to get the most people across America playing the same game on the same day.  Some libraries are doing electonic gaming (video games) and others are playing board games.  Call your closest library if you want more infomation!  Come be part of history!

Eiseley Library (441-4250) is holding their event from 10:30-12:30

Anderson Library (441-8540) is holding their event from 2:00-4:00

Walt Library (441-4460) is hold their event from 2:00-4:00

I have been really irresponsible with this blog lately.  First a week passes without updating, and then a month, and now look.  It's been way too long!  So I am turning over a new leaf.  And this time around I am going to have some help from my friends, my fellow teen librarians: Mary, Susan, Sarah and Kay are going to help me keep this blog fresh.  So make sure to check back weekly for updates.  And don't forget to make comments.  That's the only way we know you're reading!

Have you seen any good movies this summer?  Any bad ones?  What are your favorites?

So summer is officially here now.  School is out, the weather will be warming up, and summer reading has now started.  What are you going to do with your summer?  Any big vacations planned?  How many days a week will you spend at the pool?  What will you be reading?  Lot's of cool stuff going on here this summer... rock concerts, chess, anime, gaming, soda taste-off, friendship bracelets, photography, etc... Has anyone been to a cool event at your local library?  Or elsewhere in town? Tell us about it!

Hey, in case you don't read the webpage about fun teen programs coming up I want to point out a few.

If you're interested in making Goth Sock Puppets (Gock Socks) or any Sock Puppets for that matter, you'll want to get to Eiseley Library on April 30th from 4:00-5:30pm. You have to bring your own sock, but you don't have to pre-register. Sounds like fun to me!

If you're a fan of American Idol, then you'll want to head over to Anderson library for Karaoke Night.  On May 1st from 7:00-8:00pm, we'll have the Karaoke machine ready to go. Come to sing, or just to support your friends! Again, you don't need to pre-register, but you can stop by the library to find out what songs are available. See you there!

Hey middle-schoolers:

If you are going into grades 6-8 next fall, and you're interested in helping out at the library during the summer, then the library needs you.

We're looking for Summer Reading Volunteers.  You know: the teens who help hand out the stickers to the little kids.  The ones who listen to them tell jokes, and help sign everyone up for the program in the first place.  Sometimes there are other tasks the librarians have you do, but it's all about helping with the Summer Reading Program.

To sign up you'll want to go to the branch at which you want to volunteer to sign up for a time slot.  You'll have to fill out an application (and get your parents to sign it).  You will also need to attend a training session, but they'll explain all that when you sign up. 

Ask if you have any questions, and if you've been a volunteer in the past and want to say what a cool experience it was: post it here!!

Hey Teens!  If you are 16 and above you might be interested in this great opportunity.  Lincoln City Libraries is in need of seven Summer Interns.  You would work about 120 hours this summer; and you would even get paid for it!!!

Check out all these cool things you could be involved in:

Participate as a member of the library staff team

Provide general customer service in the library

Provide circulation services, such as checking in and checking out materials

Assist at children’s and teen programming events

Provide computer assistance for customers

Prepare displays or bulletin boards

Assist with special projects

Assist with programming at assigned city outreach sites (Outreach Department)

Present preschool storytime (Anderson Library)

Assist with library electronic resources (Gere Library)

Work with teen advisory board (Eiseley Library)

Assist on the Bookmobile (Eiseley Library)

There's more information at this link: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/info/Intern-ad-summer08.pdf.  If you have any questions feel free to post them.  Otherwise, you can call the branch at which you are interested in working and ask to talk to the Supervisor.  If this sounds like something you'd love to do, apply online at: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/info/intern_application.htm

So now that your Spring Break is almost over... what did you do?  Did anyone go out of town?  Take a nice vacation to Florida?  Visit relatives?  Hang out at home?  Clean your room?  Catch up on any good reading?  I wanna know!

I know most of you have read the Twilight Saga ("Twilight", "New Moon", "Eclipse") from Stephanie Meyer.  If you haven't, I would suggest that you start reading now.  Even I enjoyed it, and I'm not really into vampires all that much.  I think that the series was originally going to be a triology (only three books).  But, Stephanie has decided to add more books to the saga.  SO the fourth book: "Breaking Dawn" will be coming out on August 2nd.  I can't even put a picture of the cover on here -- it's a secret and won't be released until this summer!  Get to the library catalog right away to get your name on the hold list.  And use the comments section of this blog to tell others how great the Twilight Saga is!

 

I missed the Oscars last night!  I completely forgot that they were on until I read it in the newspaper this morning.  Not that I was rooting for anyone in particular -- in fact, of the movies up for Best Picture, I had only seen Juno.  And even though No Country for Old Men won, I don't think I really want to go watch it.  Have you guys seen any good movies this year?  The movie Jumper is based on a teen book -- has anyone read it?  Seen it?  Same goes for The Spiderwick Chronicles, anybody seen that one yet?  If you were on the Academy and got to pick the Best Picture of 2007, what would it have been?

It appears that the writer's strike is finally over.  How long has that gone on?  Wow am I happy -- and I don't even watch that much television.  But I am so tired of reruns and reality TV (although, I will admit, I like several reality television shows).  But I can't wait 'till television returns to normal.  What shows have you been missing?  I can't wait until Grey's Anatomy is back on.  What will you be tuning into?  Or have you found something better to do? 

Hey!  We have some great things going on at the Anderson Library the next four weeks, just for teens.  All events are on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 (that should be easy to remember, huh?).  Here's a list of what's happening:

Thursday, Feb. 14th -- An Anime Movie! 

Thursday, Feb. 21st -- Get a Manga hair-do!

Thursday, Feb. 28th -- Learn to Draw Manga!

Thursday, March 6th -- Watch Martial Arts!

Sounds fun!  Hope to see you all there.  If you can't make it to these events, or Anderson is too far away for you to drive, stay tuned... Anime events will come to your library soon!

The Grammys are coming!  They'll be on CBS (channel 10/11 in Lincoln) at 7:00 on Sunday evening.  You know how I get really excited for musical award shows.  So it leads me to this question:  what are your favorite songs right now?  What were your favorite songs of the last year?  I really liked that "Hey there Delilah" song by the Plain White Ts.  And right now I really like the Taylor Swift song about "Tear Drops on my Guitar".  How about you guys?

(photo courtesey of www.journalstar.com)

Well last night was the night!  American Idol finally aired their visit to Omaha.  Did you watch it?  What did you think?  Were we portrayed fairly?  And was there anyone your recognized?

 

Tomorrow I am leaving on vacation.  I am flying out to California for a week.  I will be spending time in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  It's gonna be at least 55 degrees the whole time I am there!

Where's the best vacation you have ever taken?  Let's all think about warm places we could be, while it's only 10 degrees here!

Winter Chess @ GERE

Wednesdays in February & March

All ages welcome!

Free chess lessons will be offered for beginning and intermediate players from 4:00-4:30 p.m.

4:30-5:30 p.m. family-friendly community playing time will be offered for all.

Boards and sets provided.
Pre-registration encouraged (call 441-8561) but sign-up will be available on-site.

Special Dates:
Fischer Random Chess - Feb 27th
Fischer Random Bughouse - March 26th
Chess classes taught by James Walla, NE State Chess Assoc. Treas.

 Happy New Year

January 1st is the perfect time to start fresh.  It's not just a new month, but also a whole new year.  Many people make New Year's Resolutions to celebrate this day.  When I was a teenager, I used to make lots of resolutions.  One year I resolved to paint my fingernails a different color every week.  Once I wanted to take a picture to commemorate every (daily) event in my life.  Sometimes I would tell myself that I was going to call my Grandma every week.  One year a friend and I committed to doing a 'random act of kindness' every day.  I'm not saying I failed, but generally by the middle of February my resolutions were long forgotten.

As I got older I stopped making such grand resolutions and started being more realistic in my ideas.  This year my goal is to run a 5k at the end of March (better than I ran one in October).  That gives me about 12 weeks to work on my running skills.  Do you guys make New Year's Resolutions?  What are they?  How good will you be at carrying them out?  If you need ideas I am sure there are other teens willing to share.  And I recommend that you all call your grandmas!

Winter Break might just be the best time of year!!!  You probably all get at least a week off of school, some of you might get two whole weeks off.  There is snow on the ground if you want to go sledding, the lakes are frozen over if you're the ice-skating type.  And the weather is going to be pretty swell the next week (swell for Nebraska in winter I mean).  How lucky are you?!?  How are you going to spend your winter break?

This weekend is the Star City Parade! (Pre-parade activities begin at 10:00; the actual parade begins at 11:00.)  What are your favorite entries?  Have you ever been in the parade yourself?  Do you just love standing in freezing downtown Lincoln watching from the street?  Or do you prefer to watch from the comfort of your living room?  Tell me your favorite parade stories.