It's that time of year again folks, National Library Week! This year's theme "Libraries Transform" could not be any more accurate of what libraries do. Looking to improve your health? Libraries have tons of books about healthy eating, diets and exercise. Want to make your daily commute more productive (and fun)? Check out an audiobook and listen to it on your way to work! Searching for technology classes to better your computer skills? Libraries offer many *FREE* programs (both technology-based and otherwise) for patrons of all ages. Not only libraries transform their patrons, they also transform their communities!

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. This year's celebration is April 10-16. The week designates a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and advocacy. All types of libraries – be it school, public, academic or special – are recognized and participate in this honorary week of recognition.

Celebrations during this year's National Library Week include the following:
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• Monday, April 11: State of America's Libraries Report released, including Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2015.
• Tuesday, April 12: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
• Wednesday, April 13: National Bookmobile Day, a day to recognize the contributions of our nation's bookmobiles and the dedicated professionals who make quality bookmobile outreach possible in their communities.

I designed the class so it could be beneficial for anyone who attended – from someone who doesn't even know what a blog is, to someone looking to launch a professional blog for a small business. I had five patrons register for the six available spots in the class, and ended up with having four of them attend – not too bad of a turn out for a small rural library on a beautiful Friday afternoon!

One woman in attendance was looking seriously into creating her own blog to curate self-produced content, whereas another was thinking about starting a travel blog to write about her vacations. Another woman in the class wanted to document stories of her experience being a nurse, and the fourth patron was exploring the idea of starting a photo blog for Schlitz beer memorabilia. There was a good variety of topics people were interested in blogging about, and a nice age range of program participants as well, which is always great to see.

I recently watched a recorded webinar from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) that featured tips for librarians to get reluctant teenagers reading more. Today's teens spend much of their free time plugged into technology, but reading a book can be just as much fun (if not more) than playing the newest video game or scrolling endlessly through your social media feeds.

Young Adult librarian, book reviewer and ReadingRants.org founder Jennifer Hubert Swan led the webinar and reminded the audience that just because many teenagers aren't choosing to read for fun doesn't mean they have poor literacy skills. They just likely haven't found a book – that book – that really speaks to them yet. It is your job as a librarian to make that happen.

Jennifer broke her tips down into three different categories: booktalks, programs and contests, and library displays. Because I found her tips so useful as an aspiring youth services librarian, I would like to share them with you. Keep in mind that these are tips for librarians, but could really benefit any parent, teacher, etc. who is looking to motivate teens to read.

Booktalks: A booktalk is basically a verbal advertisement for a book, like a movie trailer is a video advertisement for a film. Booktalks are frequently given by librarians visiting high school classrooms and are meant to encourage a particular book or books to an audience.

1. DIY Booktalk: Instead of having the librarian give a booktalk, flip the script and ask a student to tell the group about a book they recently read and enjoyed. Use prompting questions like, "Did anyone read a book about a vampire this summer?" or "Did anyone read a book that a summer movie was based off of?" to start get the conversation started.
2. Genre-blenders: Try suggesting books that blend two genres together, like a supernatural mystery or a paranormal romance. Teens might discover a new kind of book that they didn't know existed!
3. Gross-outs: Your mother probably told you there was never a place for poop jokes and fart noises – well a booktalk is an exception to that rule. Teenagers love to be grossed out by stuff, and many might be unaware that basically anything goes in today's YA literature. Why not find a scene from a book about booger eating or projectile vomiting? It sounds a bit crazy, but it will captivate your kids.
4. Multimedia: Mix up booktalks with websites, book trailers and other videos. This will help spice things up and reach your more visual listeners.
5. Pairings: Like fine wine and cheese there is an art to finding two complimentary objects. Try booktalking a fiction and non-fiction book together. You can also try pairing a book with a video, or even a video game with an audiobook. Mixing media is  great way to attract to reluctant readers to the written word.
6. Playlists: Some books are just meant to have a soundtrack. Have your group of teens come up with a playlist for a particular book's character and explain why they chose the songs they did.
7. Reality TV Tie-in: Think of any crappy MTV or reality show you can come up with and find a book with a related theme. Ask the group if they watched a show like Teen Mom recently and then suggest a book where the main character experiences teen pregnancy, or get those viewers of The Bachelor reading a new story about a budding romance.
8. Show and Tell: Grab a couple books with big pictures of high interest, like books about tattoos, travel or even Awkward Family Photos. It will get your audience picking up (and talking about) new books!
9. Twitter: Trying having a Twitter booktalk challenge by making teens "sell" a book, movie or video game using 140 characters or less!
10. Variety: Don't be afraid to switch up your booktalking formats. Choose a mix of graphic novels, audiobooks, films, popular paperbacks and more!

Programs and contests: Libraries are known for their programming and it's a great way to get teens in the doors of the physical library. Once you have them inside, you have their attention.

1. Anything But Reading: Use non-reading-related programs to get reluctant readers inside the library like a Battle of the Bands or a cook-off. Be sure to have a display of related books (in this case, popular musicians' biographies or cookbooks) available for teens to check out on their way out.
2. Book Buddies: What teenager doesn't want to feel looked up to or appreciated? Pair a reluctant reader with a younger kid and inspire them both to read. With many high schools requiring a certain amount of community service before graduation, having a teen read to the elderly is also a great opportunity. Matching a teenager with a senior citizen who enjoys books but maybe can't read on their own anymore is a great opportunity for all parties involved!
3. Book Spine Poetry: Have teens wander through the stacks picking out books based on the titles printed on the spine. Then have them turn those words into poetry by stacking the books on top of each other. This activity will get teens looking at and picking out books based on their titles, but it will also make them more likely to take a peek inside.
4. Book Trailer Workshops: Have teens put their multimedia and technology skills to use and ask them to make a book trailer for particular titles. If your community has a local cable access channel, this is a great outlet to show off your area's local teens' skills!
5. Brown Bag Books: Have teenagers look through the library for the most boring book covers they can find. Cover those books with brown paper bags and have the teens reimagine the covers. This is an excellent way to attract the artists and designers out there.
6. Goodreads Accounts: Have kids sign up for a Goodreads account – an awesome social networking site for book lovers. Once signed up, the teens can connect with their friends, tag or rate some of their favorite books, and get suggestions on what to read next.
7. Famous Last Lines: Inspired by John Green's book Looking for Alaska, challenge your teens to match famous people with their last lines said before death. You could also do a similar activity pairing the last line of books with their titles.
8. Stump the Librarian: Challenge your teens by saying you can find each of them a book they want to read by the end of the year. This will give you a chance to interact with your readers on an individual reader and make reading more of a contest.
9. Stupid Weird Book Hunt: Does your library's collection have weird books about stranded shopping carts or crazy flea market finds? Encourage your teenagers to find some of the strangest books your shelves have to offer and give the winner an even kookier prize.
10. Teen Read Week: Visit the YALSA website fore more teen program inspiration.

Library displays: Book displays are a great excuse to pull some books off  the shelves and give them some more face-time with your teenaged patrons. Don't be afraid to get creative!

1. As Good as Games: Pair circulating video games with tech heavy books like Artemis Fowl or Maximum Ride titles to reach those technology whizzes.
2. ARC Shelves: Many librarians and reviewers are privy to Advanced Reader Copies of books. Pick up as many ARCs as possible at places like professional development conferences and create a unique section for them on your shelves. Signs like "Read it here first" or "Read it before it comes out" is a great way to make a reluctant teen reader feel like they have exclusive access to certain books.
3. Banned Book Week: A lot of teens would be shocked to see some of their favorites on the Banned Book List – Harry Potter anyone? This activity is a great conversation starter for teens.
4. Teens Top 10: Use a display to highlight some of the most popular books for teens, chosen by teens!
5. Don't Shelve: A lot of patrons are interested in reading books that they know others have enjoyed. Make a "recently returned" shelf to attract reluctant readers to titles their peers have just read.
6. Evil Geniuses: Make a display mixing fiction and non-fiction titles, video games and movies about evil geniuses trying to take over the world.
7. Recommended by Magazines: Make a special display for books that have been recommended in popular magazines like People or U.S. Weekly, showing that reading can be popular and "in."
8. Roaming Bookmarks: Have a group of teens make "Read-alike Bookmarks" to slip into some of the books in the stacks. Try pairing old classics with contemporary titles! 
9. Sob-o-Meter: Who doesn't like a good cry now and then? Make a display featuring all the the tear-jerkers you can think of a put plenty of Kleenex boxes nearby! 
10. YALSA Popular Paperbacks: Running low on ideas? Check out some of YALSA's themed booklists to help encourage reluctant readers to pick up more books!

A December report on British public libraries recommends that for public libraries to survive today, they must begin taking cues from coffee shops.

"The wi-fi connection should be delivered in a comfortable, retail-standard environment, with the usual amenities of coffee, sofas and toilets," the report states.

While I would argue the majority of U.S. public libraries already offer most of these services (albeit the coffee) they also must expand their digital services like e-lending if they are to continue to be viable, or so NPR explains. I think an online presence for individual libraries is also a must to ensure their survival. For example, just look at all the good social media has done for the Ferguson Municipal Public Library!

The idea of libraries mirroring coffee shops sounds nice. I can just imaging sipping a hot Chai Tea Latte while pursuing a book in the back of the stacks – but there's one flaw. Many public libraries ask that their patrons do not eat or drink inside the building to avoid messes, especially food and beverage stains inside books. But if there's one thing I've learn from working at a circulation desk – and believe me – those stains (and others) have already found a way into most books. Maybe we can pass a mandatory sippy cup rule?

Since launching this website more than two months ago, I've run into a bit of a problem. I've been seeing so many great book-related images that I want to share with the internet, but these images didn't necessarily warrant a blog post. That's where Tumblr comes in.

I first started using Tumblr at the end of high school, but never really got serious about it until 2012 when I became the Wisconsin representative of The Washington Post project, The 12. The 12 used Tumblr as an online platform to share and discuss local and national elections in 2012, using 12 college representatives from swing states across the country.

After the election ended, I let Tumblr sort of fall off my online activity radar – that is, until now.

I've recently made a Tessa Fox Reads Tumblr account which will allow me to curate and share endless images of bookshelves and libraries, inspirational quotes from authors and much more. If you have a Tumblr account, be sure to follow my blog. Not a Tumblr user? Don't worry. My posts will show up in my Twitter feed.

Thanks for checking it out! Happy Tumbling! 

During the past week since the grand jury ruling in the Michael Brown case, the Ferguson Public Library has seen overwhelming support for staying open to serve the community while area schools closed down. 

The small library has just one full-time staff member.

Almost immediately after the above status was posted on the library's Facebook page, social media erupted with praise for the local library and its important decision to stay open when its community needed it most. Tweets were sent from local patrons, international supporters and published authors themselves. The donations came rolling in from there!

Even the Reading Rainbow account tweeted its support!

So far the library has received more than $200,000 in donations.

'"It means we can do a whole lot more programming that's focused on the community, [and] long overdue updates to the library. We have infrastructure needs that should have been taken care of 10 years ago. But what I really hope I can do is to get a full-time children's or programming librarian,"' Ferguson Public Library Director Scott Bonner said during his interview with NPR.

But the donations have not just been financial. The tiny library has also seen an influx of book donations from authors, including John Green, who announced Saturday that he would be sending signed copies of his hit book, The Fault In Our Stars, to the Missouri library.

But to me, sending money or books to Ferguson isn't really a donation – it's more than that. It's an investment. This money and these books will never be able to change the grand jury's verdict, but they will be able to restore hope and offer healing to a community that desperately needs it.

Books change lives, people! Please join me in showing your support by visiting the Ferguson Public Library website and clicking the donate button. Any amount you can spare will benefit a valiant cause.

Last week, the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler – better known as Lemony Snicket – issued an apology after being blasted for making a racially insensitive comment about about a black author at the National Book Awards.

I have purposely omitted the racist remark in this blog post (you can click the above link for more details), but I think it's important to talk about how Handler handled the issue. Here's part of his public apology:

Handler did more than issue a rote apology on Twitter. He went on to pledge $10,000 of his own money to an online fund to diversify children’s literature (#WeNeedDiverseBooks), and offered to match contributors’ money for 24 hours up to $100,000. The campaign on Indiegogo, which has been running since October 23, has raised a total of $170,574 as of today.

I have seen more race-related hate broadcast on social and professional media than ever before in the wake of yesterday's grand jury ruling in the Michael Brown case. And in efforts of sending some much needed positivity into the world, I think it's important to highlight the proactive actions taken by Handler and to celebrate what makes us difference instead of allowing it to further divide us. 

According to The Guardian, "of the 3,200 children’s books published in 2013, only 93 were about black people, 34 about Native Americans, 69 about Asians and 57 about Latinos." 

Talk about misrepresentative. 

The British newspaper put out a list of the 50 best culturally diverse children's books earlier in October, and I think it's extremely important to share that list with you. 

So much of what individuals think today is shaped by what they see and learn as children. When you share diverse books with kids from a young age, you are helping foster a better childhood understanding of what the world is like for other groups of people in other parts of the world. Besides reading, I can think of few things that have that sort of power. 

So without any further ado, here are some of my favorites from The Guardian's list that I hope you share with the children in your life. Books can make all sorts of differences for kids, but their ability to help create more understanding when it comes to diversity is possibly one of their most important capabilities.

To view The Guardian's full list of the top 50 diverse children's books, click here. To show your support for diversity in literature, please use #WeNeedDiverseBooks on social media or donate to the Indiegogo page.