November 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews: Best Teen Books 2011

The editors of Kirkus Reviews have released their Best Books of 2011 lists. Included in this group are their choices for Best Teen Books 2011. From the Kirkus Reviews editor, Vicky Smith:
"With shelves fairly groaning under the weight of paranormal love triangles, it may be easy to think that books for teens are all the same these days. Not so, we are delighted to report. In sifting through the piles of great books published for teens this year, I was happy to discover soulful romance of the utterly normal kind, deliciously frothy historical novels, piercingly intelligent nonfiction, thrillingly inventive fantasy and science fiction and some great kickass horror, as well as some books that may leave you weeping with laughter."

"We have gathered them here together for you, sorted into thematic lists to help you find exactly what you need, whatever your taste or mood. We are also pleased to offer author Q&A's and essays that look deeper into some of these books, both newly commissioned and brought up from our archive. Happy reading!"

AU Library's juvenile collection has several of the Kirkus Best Teen books. Titles link to the library catalog and reviews may be accessed by clicking on the book cover featured on each page (record). Kirkus Reviews are among the resources available to users.

November 28, 2011

AU Circulating: Education

The following books have been added to the library circulating collection. You will find them displayed in the new book area on the library main floor or in their regular locations.

AU Circulating: General

The following books have been added to the library circulating collection. You will find them initially displayed in the new book area on the library main floor, then in their regular location.

IRC Reference

The following book has been added to the IRC reference collection. You will find it shelved directly inside the Instructional Resource Center, library second floor, in the IRC reference section.

November 21, 2011

IRC Hours Update: Thanksgiving Break

IRC hours for Thanksgiving Break are:
  • Close 9 pm - Tuesday, November 22
  • Closed - Wednesday, November 23 through Saturday, November 26
  • Open 6 to 10 pm - Sunday, November 27
  • Open 9 to 11 am & 1 to 10 pm, Monday, November 28

Regular IRC hours resume on Tuesday, November 29.  Visit the IRC Hours and Updates page on the IRC web site for a complete list of  currently scheduled updates for Fall 2011.

November 17, 2011

Library & IRC: AU Homepage Offline

"In preparation for the AU homepage launch this weekend, the main AU webpage will be offline for several hours Friday evening (11/18/11). This outage will have no effect on other services (e.g. Student Email, Employee Email, ANGEL, Mediasite, etc.) however, your ability to access these systems via the main AU website will be temporarily unavailable. AU web services that are bookmarked will be available but there will be no access through the main www.ashland.edu website for a few hours what the site is prepared for cutover to the new homepage." -- AU Campus Communications, Information Technology

Many library resources will remain available during the scheduled AU web site down time;  please use the following links for direct access:

You may also use OhioLINK for access to databases:

Please feel free to call the library with questions regarding access to these resources. AU library will open at the regularly scheduled time for weekend services: Saturday (10 am to 5 pm) and Sunday (1 pm to midnight).  The IRC will open at it's regularly scheduled time for weekend hours: Saturday (1 pm to 5 pm) and Sunday (6 pm to 10 pm).

*Blog post was originally published on the AU Library News blog.

November 15, 2011

IRC Hours Update

The IRC will close this evening, Tuesday, November 15th, at 7:00 pm.  We will open Wednesday morning (11/16) at 8:00 am as scheduled. 

Thanksgiving Picture Books

Ready for the holidays? Here are a few children's picture books from the library's juvenile collection that celebrate Thanksgiving; new, old, and a few favorites along the way.



And ... a few old favorites


More juvenile holiday book resources are available on the Children's Literature Topics LibGuide, just choose the Holidays tab!

November 8, 2011

@IRCaulibrary

The IRC is now on Twitter @ IRCAULibrary.  Follow us for quick updates concerning the Instructional Resource Center, LibGuides, children's literature, curriculum textbooks, IRC collection items, educational technology, and anything else that is of interest to us!

November 3, 2011

Author Event: J. Patrick Lewis

Schar College of Education Hosts Children's Author and Poet

The Schar College of Education is sponsoring a guest author event this semester that will feature children's author and poet J. Patrick Lewis on Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. in the Ronk Lecture Hall in the College of Education. The event is free and open to the public.

Lewis is the current U.S. Children's Poet Laureate and winner of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) 2011 Excellence in Children's Poetry Award.

"This will be a lively, interactive experience for students, teachers and faculty," said Dr. Mary Rycik, chair of the Early Childhood Department. "Formerly a professor of economics, Mr. Lewis has published over 65 children's books and is known for his wicked sense of humor and his connection to non-fiction topics."

Lewis travels throughout the country holding events that are designed to get children excited about the wonders of poetry.

"Students and those in attendance can expect to hear a lot of poetry reading but not stuffy verse," Rycik said. "You will hear poems about animals, nature, people and holidays and that will include limericks, haiku, riddles, shape poems, narrative poems, song lyrics and nonsense verse."

More information about Lewis can be found at his website at: http://www.jpatricklewis.com/. Those wanting more information about the guest author event can contact Rycik at 419-289-5256 or email her at mrycik@ashland.edu.

Originally published in Campus Communications 10/18/11