If you are new to us or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And, please; tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

Quotable

Library Laughs

What She Said

Another Great Idea!

Quotable

"Librarians are very special people.  They are the caregivers of the world of the mind, the nurturers of dreams and the defenders of truth.  Perhaps no other profession is so marked by the singular generosity of its practitioners." -- Denver Post editorial, March 25, 2000.

“The richest person in the world, in fact, all the riches in the world couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library.” -- Malcolm Forbes

Library Laughs

What She Said

“Your show was very refreshing. Everyone loved the rat and hippo (The rat and hippo are puppets). The teachers and I appreciated the warm, encouraging atmosphere that you conveyed to the children about reading and the library. We hope to see you soon.” -- Mary Underwood, Leighton ES

That’s a Great Idea!

“We recognize the students and teachers who have public library cards. We take pictures of each one holding their card and make a display in the hallway. We invite speakers from the public library to come and talk to the students about what they offer. This can increase the number of books in the home and encourage reading.” -- Jane Hardy, Lane Elementary

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am

Tommy Johns

Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – I’d love to hear your ideas about promoting the library and media center services! Hit REPLY and let me know what you do to get kids excited about reading!

PPS – Remember to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com  

tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com  

Call 770-315-3339 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ

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Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.

Scariest Pumpkin Carving of All Time!

In this issue:

Quotable

This Made Me Laugh!

That’s a Great Idea!

GAETC – Stop by and see me!

Quotable

"What the world of tomorrow will be like is greatly dependent on the power of imagination in those who are learning to read today." -- Astrid Lindgren

"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better." -- Barack Obama

This Made Me Laugh!

That’s a Great Idea!

Another terrific idea from our contest earlier this year! If you’d like to submit an idea to share with your colleagues, hit return and share!

“To promote reading: I do a video of all the new books when they come in. I lay them out on the floor by like genres and might talk about really popular titles. I show these to the students during checkout times.”

Christina Badowski, New Mountain Hill Elementary, Fortson, GA

GAETC – Stop by and see me!

I will be in the Bound to Stay Bound booth with the inimitable Ryan Jett during the Georgia Educational Technology Conference, November 5-7. Stop by and say hello and enter to win an Amazon Kindle Fire 7!

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – I’d love to hear your ideas about promoting the library and media center services! Hit REPLY and let me know what you do to get kids excited about reading!

PPS – Remember to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com  
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com  
Call 770-315-3339 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
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Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.

Pumpkin Spice and Gary Paulsen

October 19, 2017

Every Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, and an occasional shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy!

If you are new to us or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And, please; tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

Quotable

Pumpkin Spice

That’s a Great Idea!

Quotable

“I owe everything I am and everything I will ever be to books.”

Gary Paulsen, Newberry Award Winning Author

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”

Confucius

Pumpkin Spice (It IS that time of year!)

Q: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter? A: Pumpkin pi.

Q: What do you use to mend a jack-o-lantern?

A: A pumpkin patch.

Q: Why did the elephant paint her toenails orange?

A: So she could hide in the pumpkin patch!

Q: Have you ever seen an elephant in a pumpkin patch? No? See how good it works?

That’s a Great Idea!

Another terrific idea from our contest earlier this year! If you’d like to submit an idea to share with your colleagues, hit return and share!

“I moved a desk into the middle of the library with my nameplate and title. Instead of working in my office, I am on the floor to be more accessible to students.”

Emily B. Wolfe, West Madison Elementary

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns

National Freethought Day! And RAK Bookmarks!

In this issue:

Happy National FreeThought Day

Library Laugh

That’s a Great Idea!

It’s not too early…

NATIONAL FREETHOUGHT DAY

This is a great day to celebrate in the library!

National Freethought Day is observed annually on October 12. The purpose of National Freethought Day is to encourage people to be free thinkers and to base opinions on facts, science, logic and reason.

This day occurs on the anniversary of the effective end of the Salem Witch trials on October 12, 1692. On this day, Massachusetts Governor William Phips wrote a letter condemning the use of spectral evidence against the accused.

At some point, the trials did resume and “spectral evidence” was allowed but largely discounted and those convicted were swiftly pardoned by Phips.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Think rationally and use #FreethoughtDay to post on social media.

from www. nationaldaycalendar.com

Library Laughs

That’s a Great Idea!

I know I’m not supposed to pick favorites, but I think this idea is my favorite of all the great ideas submitted for the contest earlier this year.

Karen Johnson from Auburn, AL submitted:

We are a 7^th grade only campus and we have students who are creating random acts of kindness bookmarks and placing them in our library books.  Students don’t know which books they are in, but they are very excited once they do find one.  It brightens their day and it is getting more students in here to check out books.  Word of mouth spreads fast! 

  

Thanks Karen!

It’s not too early…

Arctic Express is an assembly program that teaches students about winter holidays all over the world. I’d love to come to your school and share this educational, fun and wonder-filled show for your kids. Go to www.tommyjohnspresents.com, click on programs and read all about it!

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to send me your stories to encourage!

PPS – Remember to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

October 5

October 5, 2017

Every Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, and an occasional shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy!

If you are new to us or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And, please; tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

Quotable

Library Laugh

That’s a Great Idea!

It’s not too early…

Quotable

“If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” -Chinese Proverb

“A good book is an education of the heart. It enlarges your sense of human possibility what human nature is of what happens in the world. It’s a creator of inwardness.” — Susan Sontag

Library Laughs

That’s a Great Idea!

Kelly Knoll shared this idea:

When we receive new books I hang pictures of the books and the book blurb up in the hallways for the students to see. They see that we are getting new titles and might see something that brings them into the media center.

Thanks Kelly!

It’s not too early…

Arctic Express is an assembly program that teaches students about winter holiday all over the world. I’d love to come to your school and share this educational, fun and wonder-filled show for your kids. Go to www.tommyjohnspresents.com, click on programs and read all about it!

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to send me your stories to encourage!

PPS – Remember to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com  
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com  
Call 770-315-3339 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
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Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.

September 28, 2017

Every Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, and an occasional shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy!

If you are new to us or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And, please; tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

See? It Really Does Matter!

Library Laugh

That’s a Great Idea!

What She Said

See? It Really Does Matter!

One of our colleagues (those of us who work to encourage reading!) shared the following story. She wanted the story to be told, but asked to leave her name out.

“Karen came by this week. She is an excited and motivated college junior this year, but was a struggling third grade reader when we first met. Her teacher was very strict about what books could be checked out (which was part of her struggle!), but as the librarian, I had access to fun, interesting paperbacks I kept in my office to loan to students like Karen. We followed the “rules” about books to check out, but the contraband books were our little secret. Karen credits those books with her love for reading and her academic success.”

What you do changes lives! Keep up the good work! (If you have a story you’d like to share to encourage almost 600 of your colleagues in this newsletter, hit reply and tell me about it. And don’t be anonymous!

Library Laughs

That’s a Great Idea!

Jane Hardy of Lane Elementary in Macon, GA shared this idea:

One fun thing I do, to get the students excited about coming to the media center, is to have estimating/guessing games. We did a huge jar of miniature marshmallows in January, conversation hearts in February, jelly beans around Easter and of course, candy corn for Halloween. We remind the students and show off the guessing jar on the morning news. The students (and teachers) look forward to coming to the media center to make their guess and of course they check out books while they are here!

Thanks Jane!

What She Said

“We just had Tommy Johns perform for the entire school and he was great. ‘Awesome’ was the comment of one of our 1st grade teachers! Tommy is very professional and entertaining. Another teacher commented that she really appreciated the fact that the assembly was so academically oriented.”

Karen Liebert, International Studies ECS, Albany, GA

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to send me your stories to encourage!

PPS – Remember to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com  
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com  
Call 770-315-3339 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
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Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.

September 21, 2017

Every Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, and an occasional shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy!

In this issue:

Quotable

Library Laugh

Your Ideas ROCK!

What She Said

Quotable

“You should never read just for ‘enjoyment.’ Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick ‘hard books.’ Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for goodness’ sake, don’t let me ever hear you say, “I can’t read fiction. I only have time for the truth.” Fiction is the truth! Ever hear of “literature”? That means fiction, too.”

John Waters, Film Director, Author

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” 

Ernest Hemingway

Library Laughs

This one made me LOL out loud!

Your Ideas ROCK!

Jennice Richardson of Cornerstone School in Birmingham shared this idea:

I promote the library and literacy in a variety of ways using the bulletin board in the hall. I have a power vocabulary word on the board related to a grade's current course of study. It has a brief explanation of the word and an invite to students to come explain it to me in their own words. If they can sufficiently explain the word and then tell me where I can find more about that subject in the library, I'll reward them with a Starburst.

Thanks Jennice!

What She Said

“You are awesome! Very professional – confirmed date and time, arrived ahead of the scheduled time, and the kids really loved it.”

Gwen Kellar, Dawsonville, GA

See you next week!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Even though the contest is over, we’d LOVE to hear your ideas! Hit reply and share your best practices!

PPS – Don’t forget to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com  
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com  
Call 770-315-3339 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
------------------------------------
Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.