UNITED URBAN LIBRARIANS OFFER AWESOME MINI-LIBRARIES

This summer I finally visited the Socrates Sculpture Park.  As an outdoor sculpture enthusiast it's been on my bucket list for years.

In addition to seeing the fantastic sculptures (thank you founder and sculptor extraordinaire Mark di Suvero), I noticed this interesting mini-library at the park created by Urban Librarians Unite.

I had hear of other mini-libraries popping up nationally -- such as Little Free Library -- but didn't know about these.  So hats off to the Urban Librarians Unite organization for their work creating and maintaining these super in-communities outreach libraries, and for all the other outstanding advocacy work they do!

To learn more about their mini-libraries and the organization check out their website www.urbanlibrariansunite.org

LIBRARIAN HELPS STUDENTS RAISE AND RELEASE SALMON

Every year the students at Sakai Intermediate School on Bainbridge Island in Washington State receive over 1,000 chum salmon eggs from the Suquamish fish hatchery, raise them in a tank in front of their library, and then release them into the stream behind the school. This annual salmon release event is a big highlight of the school year. Librarian Kathy Ellison (pictured, left) is instrumental to the success of this school-wide program.

Ellison facilitates excitement and learning as the 5^th and 6^th grade students in the school eggs in the tank and there is a black cloth draped over the tank to keep it dark, but kids can peek under the fabric.  Students help to load additional salmon eggs into in-stream salmon incubators that they call the "egg condos."  The salmon then return each fall swimming upstream to various areas surrounding Bainbridge Island.

For the past five years, teacher librarian Kathy Ellison has also run an annual "All School" program dubbed “Sakai Reads,” which is based on the "One Book, One Community" model. Since the students have varied interests in book selections, she developed a thematic approach to their All School read. In the 2013 – 2014 school year,  students read novels and non-fiction accounts with the theme of courage.  Throughout the Sakai Reads day, parent volunteers facilitate book discussion groups.