Library Mentors had a fun field trip to CSU’s Morgan Library last week. We traveled on the city bus, transferred and rode the Max to campus.

Mentors were surprised to hear that Morgan library has 2 million books and a full staff of dozens of working students working the circulation desk, serving 30,000 students; in comparison to our library of 12,000 books,17 mentors, and 150 students.

We tried on Google Glass, and saw an Oculus Rift set-up, and talked about how a 3D printer works. We flew around and above the globe with Google Liquid Galaxy, and manipulated giant movable bookshelves.

The archives were particularly fascinating, where we handled a plexiglass-protected cuneiform receipt for cattle and sheep dating to 2350 BC; viewed a papyrus sheet from Egypt that was a letter between two monks complaining about carpentry work; held a pocket sermon book from 1740 which was published by Ben Franklin; passed around an Olympic gold medal won by CSU alumnus Glenn Morris; and were awed by a rare Fore-edge painted book, revealing hidden artwork on it’s gold edges when it’s pages are fanned.

It was a fun day of using public transportation, learning new things, realizing the comparative size of libraries, and seeing the relation of technology to the library! Special thanks to our middle school Library Mentors alumnae for accompanying us on our field trip.

Younger Kids Monthly Author Studies

Last Month Younger Kids Studied….

Jan Brett

Jan Brett is an American children’s book author and illustrator best known for the titles The Mitten, The Hat and Gingerbread Baby. Brett decided she wanted to be an illustrator in Kindergarten and spend many hours writing and drawing as a child. She is recognized for her colorful depictions of animals and detailed page borders. She has said that she wants to create pictures that readers feel like they “could almost step into”. In addition to her original works, Brett has adapted several traditional Scandinavian and African folktales. She has also retold classics such as The Owl and the Pussycat and Goldilocks. She travels all over the world to research her stories and often draws inspiration for her illustrations from architecture and costumes.

If you’d like to read some of Jan Brett’s books, check out the following titles and more in Rivendell’s picture book collection under “BRE”:

Berlioz the Bear

The Hat

Trouble with Trolls

Town Mouse, Country Mouse

The Mitten

Three Snow Bears

Hedgie’s Surprise

The Umbrella

I’m Carol Fix. Both of my children attended Rivendell, during which time I spent 10 years helping in classrooms, contributing to fund-raising and event committees, and working in the library. Even though my children have moved on to attend middle and high schools, I still consider myself a part of the Rivendell library.

Because I’m self-employed, I have the freedom to spend time at school getting good books into the hands of enthusiastic readers! And, because I enjoy organizing people and promoting events; it’s in the library programs, including the planning and promotion of book fairs, that I put my degree in Public Relations to use.

My name is Sarah Maharry. It is at Rivendell that I discovered my love for teaching children. Both of my kids attended Rivendell where I became involved with the reading program, field trips, fundraising, and the steering committee. For seven years I acted as the volunteer librarian for Rivendell. I enjoy reading children’s books and I enjoy encouraging kids to find books that kindle their excitement for reading.

My name is Audrey Imhoff. I’m a Rivendell parent with a son in Younger Kids, and I have a younger son who is eagerly awaiting his chance to attend Rivendell next fall. As a former 7th grade English teacher and middle and high school librarian, it is a natural fit for me to volunteer in Rivendell’s  library. When I entered Rivendell for the first time, I was so excited to see the well-stocked and welcoming library at the heart of the school!

I’m Kara Straumanis. I’m a Rivendell parent with a son in Middle Kids and a daughter in Younger Kids. My graduate degree is in library and information science and I managed university art and physics libraries before moving to Fort Collins. I love being able to help connect people to books and information. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to be a part of that process at Rivendell.