"You Mean We're IN the Future??"

It's almost here, folks: the future.  October 21, 2015, is a day I've waited for since I was 9 years old and saw Back to the Future, Part II for the first time.  Tomorrow is the day.  The future of BTTF, the greatest film franchise of all time.  I wouldn't be a good librarian--or BTTF fan--if I didn't make a display to commemorate this momentous date in pop culture history. 

The Display

I've created a display with historical and popular fiction books from the 1950s and 1980s.  The middle section of the display are all books that have to do with time travel.  Let me just tell you all this: it was awesome fun going through our collection to find books for this display.  I only wish I could bring some of my own time traveling adventure books from home, like Audrey Niffeneger's The Time Traveler's Wife, Jack Finney's Time Again, or Richard Matheson's  Somewhere in Time. 

I also created some sings for the display, and I brought in my awesome Marty McFly art print that my even awesomer brother gave me for my birthday last year.  Like the Dude's rug does for his room, I feel that it really brings the display together.

The Trivia
I've created more Bulldog Buck Trivia (one question/day), and for the last two weeks of October all of the questions have to do with the Back to the Future trilogy--three questions for each film.  (We have no school this coming Friday, so I needed nine questions instead of ten for two weeks.)  By now the students should know that the trivia questions coincide with the big display in the library, but some were a bit confused why I was asking questions about Back to the Future.  I have been pleasantly surprised with the amounts of "I LOVE THAT MOVIE!" or "Man, I just watched that.  It's awesome!" and other variants of enthusiasm I've received.  

The Outfit???

Why haven't I been working on completing this outfit since I was 9?  I have NO idea.  :(

Well, I'm still bummed I don't have a size-adjusting fit jacket or power lace Nikes, but I do have a Marty McFly cap.  I'm going to ask my principal if I can wear it tomorrow.  She's pretty cool: I'm hopeful she'll say yes. 

10/21/2015
Tomorrow, I'll be way too excited.  I'll be playing the music in the library, gushing about the film to anyone who asks, and hopefully I'll get to go to a screening tomorrow night.  I love this movie so much, and I feel like if students see what I'm excited about and see me grinning and geeking out, they'll know that even though I'm a teacher they don't see that often, I'm still approachable and can have fun, too...even if I do spend most of my time in a big room filled with books. 

He Always Shall be Our Friend

Leonard Nimoy passed away today at the age of 83.  He will forever be known as Spock, but this librarian wanted to pause and remember his many contributions to libraries around the world.

Nimoy was:

a reader

an author of memoirs

(Talk about using writing to figure out who you are!)

a poet

an audio book performer

Click HERE to listen!

a photographer

 Click HERE for a link to buy The Full Body Project.

and a heckuva interesting interview

 Click HERE for a transcript of the interview!

Most importantly, though, he was just a cool, awesome, beautiful human.  This planet, and this librarian, will miss him.

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK.  It's really just old magazines we need to get rid of, but still...we made a pretty sign and a pretty fan out of them.  The holiday season means weeding out old magazines here at the Uni Library.  A few of them will go to the Undergrad Library Collection, but most will stay here for giveaway.

 If I was a student here, I'd be so excited!  You see, back in the day, I LOVED making collages of all my favorite heartthrobs.  I used to troll the teen magazine selection--Seventeen, Sassy, YM--at my middle school library for hotties of those magic years, 1991-1994. Here are just a few of the covers that I VIVIDLY remember swiping photos from:

If my middle school library had done this annual giveaway, I wouldn't have had to my besties, Sandi and Cori, surround me in the Edison Middle School library and cough really loud when I ripped out pictures of the likes of Antonio Sabato, Jr., Sean Astin, Eddie Furlong, Christian Slater, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonhard, and Leonardo DiCaprio.  Too bad the librarian didn't make it easier, and less guilt inducing, to get these pictures.  I still feel kind of guilty...but it was also kind of fun livin' on the edge!

Bye Bye Bye

(Oh, look!  I did another boyband reference!)

...to VHS.  That's right, folks.  They're leaving the Uni High Library.

After supervisor Amy emailed staff a couple of times asking them to come save their favorite VHS's, no one replied...no one responded...no one acted.  So, they're going, weeded out of the collection.  We might have typewriters, we might be able to get you a LaserDisc, but we won't have any VHS readily available for the Uni masses anymore.

I do love a good VHS.  To be honest, though, the collection wasn't great.

If there had been some unrequited gems on the shelves, like Hackers to teach computer literacy history or Toy Soldiers to help students learn how to survive a hostile high school takeover by Colombian drug lords, then I would be a bit more disappointed that the teachers didn't act.  This VHS "technology" is just too old school to be cool at this school.  Off to the archives they go.  Alas, I guess it's just another sign o' the times.

(Oh!  And ending with a Prince reference.  Nice one, McFarlane.  Nice one.)