Teched Out! Teen Tech Week Rocked!
If you were there, you know it already - Teen Tech ’08 week was a blast! From Wii boxing contests to Guitar Hero tournies to author chats, there were a lot of reasons last week to get to the library – and to get online. Congratulations to the winners of all the gaming contests, and check out the latest work by all those creative geniuses out there!
Tell us all about your Teen Tech week!
15 comments:
Why I Love Volunteering at the New Albany Public Library
By Ben Zitsman
First, a confession: I didn't want to volunteer at the library. it wasn't my choice. I was forced. Don't misunderstand--I loved the library, you can't really argue with free books and music--it's just not somewhere I'd really go to hang out. I'd always associated libraries with that dull, flourescent-lighted, soul-crushing government office vibe. Sort of like a post office, but with uncomfortable chairs scattered everywhere. And the librarians: Old ladies in brown, orthopedic shoes, hissing "Be quiet!" at innocent bystanders and brandishing meter sticks, threatening corporal punishment for those unlucky few who couldn't hold their tongues.
So, when my mother informed me I'd be volunteering at my local library to fulfill my school's service hours requirement (Fifty hours spent out of school, serving the community. If students did not meet this requirement, they'd be sent to a monestary during the summer between their junior and senior year. The nuns, rumor had it, were very demanding,), I wasn't pleased in the slightest. I wanted to go teach homeless children to read or fight tuberculosis in Haiti or extinguish oil rig fires--something more heroic than reshelving books. This was not okay. I wouldn't go. I was putting my foot down.
When I arrived at the library, some twenty minutes after deciding to 'put my foot down', I was greeted by my volunteer coordinator, Erica. She was not, from what I could surmise, an old spinster. I wasn't about to let my guard down, though. Libraries were not, not, not, not cool. This seemingly 'hip' and 'with-it' young librarian wouldn't fool me.
"Do you come to the library
often?"
" No."
"Well, are you, like, aware
aware of the layout here?"
I was. Very much so. Another confession: Though, as I grew older and more self-conscious, I decided the library was too uncool for me, I had a secret past. When I was younger, I'd walk to the library every day. I loved to read. And, though I still loved reading, I would never admit to spending three hours reading every 'Arthur' book in my library. As cool as talking aardvarks were, they were not cool enough to justify thre hours spent in a dark corner of the library.
"Great!" Erica said. "Now, you're going to learn abou the Dewey-Decimal System!"
I did not want to learn about the Dewey-Decimal System. I wanted to leave. These would be the longest fifty hours of my life.
TO BE CONTINUED.
keep going your sutch a good writer. i love a good story. good stories always show the character suffering, it keeps the audience intrigued and they care about what happens to him or her.
Why I Love Volunteering at the New Albany Public Library, Continued
I spent two hours locating books people had reserved. They all seemed to have titles like "Finding Your Spirit Guide" or "How Unsuccessful People Can Succeed, Too!!" Most were impossible to distinguish from each other. How would Jesus diet? I didn't know, I didn't think he'd have to. Searching for self-help book after self-help book was exhausting, and I wasn't exactly making progress. There was a problem: Other books constantly distracted me. I'd often find myself leaning on a bookshelf, reading about Alexander Hamilton only to suddenly realize twenty minutes had passed.
Sorry this entry was so short, but I have to go. Next week: The event that made me love the library.
Great
Awesome Ben ;) I started visiting the library when I was three, and Ive practically lived there ever since. I am a volunteen and volunteer now at the Southeast Branch. I know EXACTLY what you mean about the self help books - they are annoying to look for, as they are all the same and all contain the same pointless information. I've watched a lot of close friends suddenly fall in love with the library when they start to volunteer (usually forced by parents), so I've witnessed what you are going through before. Keep writing your story is awesome :P
~Annamarie
Why I Love Volunteering at the New Albany Public Library, Part Three:
I helped a little kid find a book. It was in October at some point. Probably around Halloween, because I distinctly remember this girl, five or six maybe, wearing glittery cat ears. She could have just enjoyed that sort of thing, though. Either way: She wanted to check out 'Ferdinand the Bull' which was, and is, my favorite children's book. Of course, I knew exactly where it was: 'Ferdinand' rules, you just have to know where it is. So I found it for her. And she looked so, so very happy. Happier than anyone should about checking out a picture book from the library. Clearly, my whole 'Books matter--no, really, I swear, it's not just a cliche,' view on things was being proven right, but it was being proven right so much...more, I suppose, than I'd expected. Here was this little girl, looking totally radiant and ecstatic because of the long-dead author Munro Leaf. And she was wearing cat ears! She belonged on a Hallmark card or on a book about the joy of rearing children--self help section?--I was vindicated!
last spring i started really noticing the library down my street i mean it's been there all my life and i used to go a lot when i was 5 6 and 7 now i visit the library at least once a week most times more and plan to be a volunteen this summer like last summer.
i volunteer just to kill time and to help people
The tournaments sounds like fun, but I went to all the gamings. Now I can tell you story's about Guitar Hero, man-o-man.!
DDR was there too.., but I kept stepping on the back button...twice, causing it to shut off...MANY MANY TIMES!
They didn't have the Wii last summer when I was there.
I've volunteered at the library before and had a great time doing it. The thing that I don't like about it thought is that you can't volunteer more than five hours a day.
I love volunteering at the library and I have done it before. It really has you occupied except for the times when no one is there to help. That stinks!
I first didn't want to volunteer at the library because I thought it was pretty lame. I was already signed up so I had to do it. Once I realized how much fun I had I kept doing it. Now I recommend it to everyone! I hope this volunteering will be there forever. :)
Thanks for the teched out days, they were a blast and i enjoyed being a part of it!! :)
LOL LOL LOL! the shirt in the picture says GITAUR HERO II! i think i mispelled it, thought!
keep writing when you put enough detail in it it will possitively be a great! story keep up the good work on reading! and writing!!!!!
Post a Comment