Blogs and Blog Readers

Blogs, I love reading them, but find it difficult to update them myself.  I started off reading blogs that my friends created and then tried it myself.  When Facebook wasn't so popular, I even had a blog for our kindergarten team so that parents could see what was going on at school and be informed.  

To be honest, I did not know what a blog reader was before this week!  Hopefully I am not the only one that was in the dark.  Now that I have explored several, I am very excited to start using them!

I had a difficult time choosing between Bloglovin' and Feedly.  I ultimately chose Bloglovin because I liked the simplicity.  When making decisions, I always try to choose things that are extremely user-friendly.  My take is, if I can't figure it out pretty quickly, then how will my students or parents be able to.  Another reason I chose this reader is that you are able to click on a post and it will open a new tab with the entire blog.  This is huge for me, as I found many blogs have tabs with other helpful information, such as library centers, authors, etc.  Bloglovin' is appealing to the eyes and not overwhelming.  The format is easy to use and follow.  It does remind me of Facebook, but without all the adds on the sidebars.  In the settings, you can choose how often, if any, you want to receive email notification of updated blogs.  This has been a great new tool to use!

I chose these blogs to follow for different reasons:

1.  The Children's Book Review

This blog is fantastic for book reviews and so much more!  The reviews are broken down by extensive categories and age groups.  Individual book reviews include author, illustrator, age range, number of pages, publisher, ISBN, What to expect, a summary, and even links to purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Not only can you find reviews, but also Award Winners, Best Seller Lists and my favorite, Author Interviews.  How cool is it to hear from an author?!  This website is an ALSC Great Web Sites for Kids.  I chose to follow this blog because I love reading book reviews before I purchase books!

2.  Library Displays

This blog is managed by a librarian in New Zealand.  It is composed of library display ideas, specifically ones that promote uncirculated books.  The displays are easy to and cost effective to create on a budget.  One aspect that I liked is that other librarians may submit their displays to be featured on the blog.  A good tool for sharing and collaborating, even world-wide.  Professional reading material and useful websites are also included to help readers with their displays.  One of the posts featured edible-icing books to use as cake/cupcake toppers.  I thought that was a creative idea and want to try that out.  I chose this blog so that hopefully one day when I am a librarian I can create some interactive displays that are engaging for all patrons.

3.  Mighty Little Librarian

The Mighty Little Librarian is a Middle School librarian from Louisiana.  She updates her blog at least once a month with what is happening in her library.  From her post, you can tell that she loves her job and her students.  The blog is well organized and categorized to make it user friendly.  Some of the categories include:  library lessons, decorations and displays, library procedures, my ramblings, technology, and many more.  The posts are easy to read and relate to, which is always a positive!  I enjoyed the post about how she taught (or let the 8th graders teach) library procedures to the 6th and 7th graders.  What a fabulous idea!  I chose this blog because she seems to be a down to earth person, who also does crafting to make her library intriguing for middle school kids.

4.  Katy Elementary Library

I chose to follow this blog because of the school's location.  I live near this city and want to be able to see what others in the community are doing in their library.  This blog has some valuable links for suggested reading lists, ebooks, apps and author visits.  This is something that I admire about some libraries.  They try their best to get authors to come visit and that brings reading alive to students.  My current elementary doesn't have any author visits and that is something I miss.   A nice feature that the blog offers is a comment section, which of course has posted rules and stipulations to  follow.  The librarian does seem to post a few times a month with what is happening and new in the library.  One post I liked was that the students voted for best picture book and chapter book for the year.  What a great way to get the kids involved!

5.  Karin's Book Nook

Dr. Karin Perry is an assistant professor of Library Science at SHSU.  She loves children's and young adult books.  This is a great blog with book summaries, her personal reflections, and a star rating.  She keeps lists of what she has read, wants to read and is currently reading.  Great idea for people who love to read.  The list is further broken down into categories, such as bullies, humor, graphic novels and so much more.  She has been keeping her list of books she's read since 2008.  This blog inspires me to read more.  I only wish I could have a few more hours a day!  This is a wonderful blog to follow if you are looking for reviews and suggestions for new books.  Almost a one-stop shop!  I chose to follow and highlight this blog because I have been in a few  of Dr. Perry's classes and truly respect her and the passion she has for books and the profession.

I cannot wait to read about some of the other blogs that my colleagues may have chosen to highlight. There are so many wonderful blogs that it is impossible to find and read them all.

Another tool I learned about this week is Tumblr.  It seems to be the hippest way to get quick feeds and follow some trendy people.  Check out my Tumblr that I started a few days ago.  More to come...

Misty Carter's Tumblr