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
------------------------------------
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.

September 14, 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:

Reading is the Basis for ALL other Learning

Library Laughs

We have a winner!

Reading is the Basis for ALL other Learning

I ran across an article recently that describes how a group of schools within a school district in Colorado turned around the downward trend of test scores by focusing on improving reading as the number one priority. To be fair, the story is anecdotal, but it highlights what we all know. Raising good readers improves student outcomes. The library and the services you provide are a key component in improving the love of reading at your school! Keep up the good work!

Library Laughs

We have a winner!

The winner of the “Submit Your Ideas for Promoting Reading and Win a Kindle Fire 7!” contest has been selected. I listed all the submissions (dozens of great ideas were sent in!) and I used a really cool online tool to choose the winner. www.random.org has a free Online True Random Number Generator (OTRNG) on their site and all you have to do is plug in your lowest and highest numbers, and it will choose a random number in that range.

The OTRNG chose idea number 17! That idea was submitted by Christina Badowski, Media Specialist at New Mountain Hill Elementary School in Fortson, GA in Harris County. Christina wins an Amazon Fire 7 in her choice of colors. Congratulations Christina!

See you next week!

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

PS – 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

September 7, 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:

Remember. What You Do Matters!

Library Laughs

Last Call for YOUR ideas!

Remember. What You Do Matters!

My wife’s school, like many others, has had some personnel shuffling this year, including her getting and losing a couple of part time media clerks. Every time a new person comes in to be trained, they always say, “Wow! I had no idea that there was so much going on in here! This is a BIG job!” One of the clerks who was transferred to the office, told her that she was going to tell EVERYBODY that the Media Center was about way more than just checking out books! Always nice to have a cheerleader!

I tell you that to tell you this. There IS a lot going on in your media center! You are in a unique position to affect everyone on the building with what you do! It’s a big job! Fortunately, you are up for the task. Your school is lucky to have YOU in that spot! Keep up the good work!

Library Laughs

Last Call for YOUR Ideas!

This is the last week to submit YOUR great ideas for promoting reading and the media center services. Someone will win a Kindle Fire 7! It could be YOU! Just send me your best idea (or ideas!) and I will draw a name out of the magic hat for one lucky winner. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing the ideas that were submitted. Fame AND prizes! Wow!

See you next week!

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

PS – 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
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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.

August 31, 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:

Remember. What you do Matters!

Library Laughs

Best Literacy Night Ever!

What She Said

Remember. What you do Matters!

Just read a fascinating (and long) article about motivation students to read. Lots worth sharing, but I’ll only quote this:

“There are two sides to reading. On one side are the skills which include phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, and simple comprehension. On the other side is the will to read. A good reader has both skill and will.”

The classroom teacher has primary responsibility for teaching the skill of reading. The media specialist can have a lot to do with the WILL to read! And having both skill AND will are indicators of how successful that student will be! What you do REALLY matters!

You can read the full article here.

Library Laughs

Best Literacy Night Ever!

Want to have record attendance and enthusiastic participation at you school’s Literacy Night Event? I can help! Just hit reply and say, “Tell Me More!”

What She Said

“You were so easy to work with. You did exactly what you said you would do. You were prepared and on time!  Awesome!”

Betsy Simmons, St. Simon’s Island, GA

Time is Running Out

Just a few more days remain to submit YOUR great ideas for promoting reading and the media center services. Someone will win a Kindle Fire 7! It could be YOU!

See you next week!

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

PS – 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.

August 24, 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:

A Couple of Library Quotes!

Library Laughs

Promoting the Media Center

A Couple of Library Quotes!

“I still love books. Nothing a computer can do can compare to a book. You can’t really put a book on the Internet. Three companies have offered to put books by me on the Net, and I said, ‘If you can make something that has a nice jacket, nice paper with that nice smell, then we’ll talk.’ All the computer can give you is a manuscript. People don’t want to read manuscripts. They want to read books. Books smell good. They look good. You can press it to your bosom. You can carry it in your pocket.” 

Ray Bradbury

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”

Oscar Wilde

Library Laughs

Promoting the Media Center

Several great ideas have been submitted and about a third of them involve using food as a theme to promote reading! But, I still need YOUR ideas! For the rest of August and until my birthday on September 12, I will be collecting YOUR best ideas for promoting reading and the services of the media center. I will give away a brand new Kindle Fire 7 in the color of your choice to one of you who submits an idea. (I’ll do a drawing, since I know they will all be amazing!) Hit reply and send me an idea! Or several! Every idea submitted goes in the drawing as a separate entry.

And thanks to those of you who have already responded. Wow! What great ideas!

See you next week!

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

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

August 17, 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:

No WONDER Everyone Loves This Book!!

Library Laughs

Promoting the Media Center

No WONDER Everyone Loves This Book!!

I just finished reading the amazing book Wonder by RJ Palcio. Wow! If you have not read it, you should. There are so many things I could say, but the thing that most stands out to me is how reading teaches empathy in a way that few other things can! I was reminded of this quote by James Baldwin:

 “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” — James Baldwin

Just one more reason that what you do MATTERS!

Library Laughs

Promoting the Media Center

Several of you have responded, but I still need YOUR ideas! For the rest of August and until my birthday on September 12, I will be collecting YOUR best ideas for promoting reading and the services of the media center. I will give away a brand new Kindle Fire 7 in the color of your choice to one of you who submits an idea. (I’ll do a drawing, since I know they will all be amazing!) Hit reply and send me an idea! Or several! Every idea submitted goes in the drawing as a separate entry.

See you next week!

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

PS – 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
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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.

16 Minutes of Your Spring Break Well Spent

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 a shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy!

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

It's Spring Break for a lot of you, so I'll make this brief. Children's author Mac Barnett has an absolutely wonderful and inspiring TedTalk that I promise you is worth the 16 minutes it will take for you to watch it. You don't have to thank me. But you probably will!

Watch it here.

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

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com 
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com 
Call (770) 640-6509 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.