To Tell or Not to Tell

Ever wonder how librarians spend their Saturday nights?  Well, I'll tell you one thing we sometimes do: particpate in or attend storytelling festivals! 

It's one thing to tell a story around a table to a group of friends or family members.  It is quite another thing to tell a story to a group of strangers.  I got to do the latter this past weekend, as I was asked to participate in the annual Storytelling Festival put on by the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library & Information Science.

 The amazing chalk art mural students from Uni completed for the Storytelling Festival!

It was quite an honor to be a part of the storytellers on Saturday, April 4, 2015.   I feel like the others did a much better job than me: they were steady, professional, extremely well practiced.  I got up there to just have a little fun and tell a personal story about an NSYNC concert I dragged my husband to (my boyfriend at the time).

 The portion of the mural dedicated to my story.  A pretty good chalk rendition of Justin Timberlake with his head set if I do say so myself!

I believe you are never too old to hear a story, and I believe storytelling should be present in every library--public and school.  Not storyTIME...storyTELLING.  We have a master storyteller at the Champaign Public Library, and she is calm, centered, focused, and intense (in the best way) when telling her stories.  Her tongue never trips (as mine often does), and she is as steady as a river when unfolding her tales to the audience.  She is a magnificent site to behold when telling. 

Telling stories might seem like an easy task, but it can actually be quite daunting.  Here is my super fast list of things to think about when setting out to tell a story: 

• You have to consider your audience.  Will they be of a serious nature?  Will they be ready for a good time and some laughs?   Are they an unknown entity that is causing you to stress out even more?
• Then you need to pick a story to tell.  Maybe a folk tale or fairy tale...maybe a personal story...maybe a story you've adapted from a favorite book, TV show, or movie.  
• You'll also need to think about your tone.  Do you want to be lighthearted and whimsical or serious and dramatic? 
• Let's not forget about practicing/rehearsing.  What if your schedule is jam-packed with activities, but you still want to tell a story?  When will you find time to rehearse?
• What if, after all of this thought and consideration, you did not choose wisely, and your effort falls flat on its face during the performance!?!  Wait, don't think about this.  It won't happen!  You'll be great!
• Above all, you should be telling a story because you enjoy it!  The audience should be able to see or feel how much you want to tell a story.  They should be excited as they listen to you unfold your tale of woe or happiness or magic or mystery.

I have found over the past year or so of practicing my storytelling technique that I have a definite style: it's one of laid back comfort.  I want to put you at ease and tell you a story that will usually make you laugh or chuckle...or at least smile a bit.  There are so many dark, serious things going on in the world that I take storytelling opportunities to lighten the mood and transport you to a good time, a fun event, or a warm, inviting place that will let you forget your cares for a moment or two.  As I said earlier, it was an honor to tell a story at this annual festival, and I can only hope to have the opportunity to do so again.

The Lost Art of Typing

We have typewriters here.

We.  Have.  Typewriters.  HERE!

I think it should be a requirement for all students to take keyboarding.  I also think they should have to take it on a typewriter, because gosh darnit, TYPEWRITERS RULE.  I wish I had one at home.  One student came in today to use one/mess around with one.  He said his mom wrote her thesis on a PC, but his dad wrote his thesis on a typewriter. 

I used to love watching my mom and dad type.  My mom was a no-sight kinda gal.  My dad was a hunter and pecker.  It didn't matter, because I could watch them for hours.  I loved listening to the clackety-clack.  My dad used to school me on how to line up the margins, when to press ENTER, how to thread the tape, and the other fine minutia of the lost art of typewriting.  My mom, well, I just used to hand her my papers to type, because she could type super fast (and edit along the way).

There's something so calming, surreal, therapeutic, and peaceful about a typewriter...even though they're loud.  They represent great writing and great writers.  Can you imagine Papa Hemingway behind a PC!?!  No, I didn't think so.

My new goal: find a typewriter--bring it home--USE IT.   (I guess that's THREE goals, but whatever, you get my point.)  I want my kids to know what a typewriter is.  I want their fingers to be able to glide across the keys, and I want their ears to HEAR their progress, as well as their eyes SEEING it.  I want this to be. 

So, this post, although not entirely focused on Library Land, gets back to the point that libraries should buck the trend of only attaining the latest technologies and help up keep and preserve the greatest technologies, too.  We want to give credit to old and new technologies alike, uphold them, savor them, and appreciate them BOTH--old and new--for what they have to offer.  That's what I want MY Library Land to do anyway.

 

Need Laser Disc?

Yeah, we got that...Or, at least we got access to that.

That's right.  Yet ANOTHER perk of being part of the second largest library in the country (second only to those Hah-vud Bunnies): We have access to glorious laser discs.

(And, it's the CRITERION COLLECTION, y'all!!!!)

A student group is doing a project on 2001: A Space Odyssey.  They are reading the book by Arthur C. Clarke, and they want to view Kubrick's movie as well.  The student in charge of getting the movie accidentally requested the LASER DISC instead of the DVD.  Well, that meant I got to do a little joyous happy dance this morning when I got in.

I instantly had flashbacks to watching films on laser disc at my friend's house when I was in high school...and having to wait while her dad flipped the disc over to the other side.  Her dad is somewhat of an amateur movie nut, and he also belonged to the Columbia VHS/Record/CD club.  She would always have the latest and greatest movies at her house before anyone else.  (And, her CD collection was outta this world thanks to those Buy 7, Get One for a Penny deals). 

Anyway...I digress.  The point is: Libraries are awesome.  We are curators of artifacts both timely and historical.  I know not many people use VHS or laser disc anymore, but it's cool to think if one really  needs either of these items they can turn to their library for help in gaining access to them.  This is why I fear libraries becoming totally virtual.  Until it can be proven everyone is out of their VCR's or laser disc players or cassette players, maybe, juuuuuuuuuuust maybe, libraries should still be responsible for helping out the members of their community who still want access to these seemingly outdated technologies.