Reader's Advisory

Today was a busy day for me. I had meetings and appointments throughout the course of the day, and between the abrupt and ongoing (yes, simultaneously abrupt and ongoing) grind of budgeting and planning, I tried to cram in the usual emails, messages and phone calls.

Yet the highlight of my day was a student request to help locate a book. I was moving from one thing to another, and moving quick as I could go, when I saw a student wandering from stack to stack with a certain look I've come to recognize on sight: vaguely confused curiosity united with awkward, constructed casualness. The "I'm lost, but I don't want it to be too obvious" look. (Don't laugh. Adults wear it too.)

I re-ordered my priorities on the spot and was able to help him find what he was looking for: The Portrait of Dorian Gray. (Not even an assigned text! Be still, my librarian heart.)

Oscar Wilde is one of my favorite literary personalities, and I find his work rich with meaning and humor. His Portrait is grim and dark, all the wry observations of Victorian wealth layered like soot in musing, intent turn of phrase. I always read that particular work hearing the voice of Dorian Gray, and it's possible to find the pieces of the country mouse starving into selfish ruthlessness in that prose. It makes you confront immortality, vanity, and the social responsibility of wealth.

"Like the gods of the Greeks, he would be strong, and fleet, and joyous. What did it matter what happened to the coloured image on the canvas? He would be safe. That was everything."

The Johnson Family Library Blog

This semester the Director of Library is joining a number of faculty and staff who are participating in the Dean of Academic Technology's MADE course, a professional development course that dives down deep into the opportunities and features of our Learning Management System, Canvas by Instructure. Introductory modules go over using threaded discussion posts and blogs, and both features can be utilized as assignments for grades in Canvas.

We are utilizing this blog in the hope that it will be a more robust feature to promote our "libraryatsage," and all the things we're doing there. In the future we hope to expand to more diverse and media-focused platforms like Tumblr, and maybe even video, as there are exciting advancements in that field. Stay tuned while we plan for better and more engaging information literacy lesson plans and designs.

This summer we also welcome our new Library Coordinator, Miss Wahl, who joins us from Nashville Public Library system, and Michigan public libraries before that. She loves engaging programming and we are lucky to have her. Visit the lower library to say hello to Miss Wahl welcome her to the community!

End of 2014

It's been wild few months in the library!

Research
So far this year, we have seen implementation and launch of a one-search tool for all of our databases (new ground and impressive!), a brief training for employees during a faculty/staff meeting, and new faculty and student collection requests. Student requests included the Maze Runner series, Gillian Flynn novels, and the new Mortal Instruments book.

Technology in the Library
Technology equipment is flying off the shelves; we saw over 660 laptop checkouts over the course of October alone, all of them reused faculty notebooks. The overwhelming need for laptops on a daily basis is something the school as a whole is looking at from the perspective of technology. Over the course of October and November over 200 library materials circulated, including non-fiction and fiction, but not including textbooks, which are day-use only reserve materials.

The Johnson Family Library now has its own Instagram! Check out pictures here.

Additions to the Collection
We've received two great donations: 20 fundamental financial books from a generous alum and at least 100 of wonderful art books featuring detailed high-quality illustrations.

Utilizing a wonderful article in November's issue of School Library Journal, "Books That Help" by Erin E. Moulton, we have added a long list of realistic teen fiction and mental health books. Highlights include Ellen Hopkins' Perfect, George Harrar's Not as Crazy as I Seem and Amy McNamara's Lovely, Dark and Deep.

Recent additions can be seen on our LibraryThing by clicking here.

On the Move
We are very sorry to see our Library Coordinator move on to education administration at the university level, and we're searching for our next Library Coordinator. Information on the position can be found at www.sagehillschool.org/jobs.

State of the Library: April Edition

Welcome to the home stretch! As we leave behind April and approach the end of the year, the library is looking for ways to support the community as a whole.



Jacquelyn Martin for Kansas City Star



Breaking News

Many of our students were only five or six years old during the 9/11 attacks and continue to learn the historical significance of the political decisions of today. One of our publishers is offering free resources in light of current events, and I thought many of you may find the short articles of interest:

• George W. Bush’s Address to the Nation on September 11, 2001: The Full Text & Analysis
  Milestone Documents in American History
• Osama bin Laden’s Declaration of Jihad against Americans: The Full Text & Analysis
  Milestone Documents in World History
• Osama bin Laden Biography
  Great Lives from History: The Twentieth Century: 1971-2000
• The War on Terror
  Weapons & Warfare

In the Library
In a quick look forward, the library is going to be hosting many exams in the month of May, and various AP examinations are being held in MMLH and upstairs. We are being especially sensitive to group work and noise level where possible to respect students taking and studying for exams. If you would like a class to come in for research or study, please contact me in advance! The space may not be available. We appreciate your support in this busy time!

Spring at Sage Resources
There are so many unique topics being addressed at Spring at Sage! As you begin your prep work for your seminars, please don't hesitate to contact me with the resources you plan on using, or that you think your newly-inspired students may find of interest. I would also be happy to see if the already collection has something that may support you. I hope to have a display of spring topics to reflect the exciting places and ideas our students will experience this year.

Future Databases

I've been in contact with several companies that provide databases and resources. At the end of May I'll be asking the Research Committee to look at one or two databases, particularly with an eye to science and math. I will be sending out details as classes and finals complete, and even if you are not on the committee, I hope you may let me borrow your two cents on the resources the library is considering offering our community!