Kate DiCamillo Interview

In celebration of Because of Winn Dixie author Kate DiCamillo’s visit to Johnson County Library on Saturday, September 16, we thought it would be fun to ask Kate some questions for the Library’s blog. Kate was kind enough to indulge our request and we are grateful, not only for her upcoming visit, but for the time she spent answering our questions. Kate’s presentation at the Library will be broadcast online. For more information on Kate’s visit look here and for information on how to listen to her online presentation look here.

So here it goes:

Do you have any memories of libraries that you would like to share? Feel free to share your thoughts about libraries in general.

Do I have any memories of libraries to share? Are you kidding? Some of my happiest memories involve libraries. But, okay, here is one of my favorite library memories: when I was a kid, I frequented the Cooper Memorial Library in Clermont, Florida (which was a little house crammed full of books) and I had special dispensation from the librarian there (Miss Alice) to check out As Many Books as I Wanted. No four book limit for me. Can you imagine how that made me feel? Libraries have been safe havens, worlds of wonder and places of amazing grace for me.

What other writers do you enjoy reading and what writers do you feel have had an influence on your work? And what about movies, do movies ever play a role in influencing your writing?

There are so many writers whom I admire. Every good book is an inspiration for me. Katherine Paterson, Christopher Paul Curtis and Karen Hesse all influenced my desire to write for children. I have also been influenced by Russell Hoban, Isak Dinesen, Anne Tyler, Charles Dickens. As far as movies influencing my writing . . . absolutely. I feel like all forms of art influence me. They spark ideas in me.

When you’re not working what do you like to do for fun?

Fun. Let's see. I like to eat. I love to read. I love to play Scrabble.

If you didn’t write children’s books, what other career would you be interested in pursuing?

I really, truly can't imagine doing any thing else. I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world to get to write books for kids.

And lastly, what projects are you working on now? Can we expect any new characters and animals in your future books?

My good friend Alison McGhee (who is very tall) and I (who am very short) just finished writing three books about two friends (a short one and a tall one). Their names are Bink and Gollie. Also, I'm working on another Mercy Watson story.

Thanks Kate!

We Have our MP3 Player Contest Winners

We have the winners for the MP3 Player contest. Recently, in order to promote the Library’s new service for downloadable audiobooks, we offered patrons a chance to win a free MP3 Player from a random drawing. We had over 1,300 patrons enter into the contest. Since then, many of you have been asking us about who the winners are. Well, the results are in and in the last few days all our winners have come to the Library to pick up their MP3 player. Here’s your chance to see who won and check out a sample of some of the comments we received from you about this new service.

Elizabeth Willer

Mark Just

Jeffrey Nelson

Partha Pal

Benjamin Hettrick

Patrons' Remarks About the New Service

“The downloadable audiobook service is a great way to easily gain access to the very helpful and enjoyable audiobooks. The service cannot be changed to better fit tmy needs. It is already great! I really like that it is so easy to get books of all different measures, and it would e just as easy to put them on an MP3 player, so that people have them everywhere they go. Which is a very good thing for today's society, on the go.”

“i really like it. I read as much as I can, but my busy lifestyle leaves little time to just curl up with a book. The new audiobooks feature gives me the oportunity to read when I am doing household chores and such. Thank you for this pleasure!”

“I have never used an audiobooks service before, but am very open to this. I love that the library is innovative, up to date and continually creating new services. I truly feel that the Library is a treasure in our community.”

“I think the downloadable audiobooks service is great. I travel a lot and this service allows me to download books to my computer and listen to same while I'm away without worrying about losing a library book.”

“Yes, I love the ability to download a book for my son to listen to on a trip, much better than watching television.”

“I have downloaded three audiobooks, and havd enjoyed them. I would like to be able to have the book three weeks and to be able to renew the book. I like the convenience of downloadable books.”

“Awesome service! I prefer the curling up with a good book to READ, but there are times when audio books better fit my schedule...i.e. driving, walking the dog, mowing, etc. Audiobooks.com can get extremely expensive over time with monthly fees plus the book or periodical prices, the library is a wonderful alternative.”

“Yes, there is nothing that I would change. Everything has been thought out very well. Thank you for adding this service.”

“I just found out but I am so pumped!”

“i think that this service is excelent to help me in my english learning. i can learn about the accent and any other facts. More selections, could improve our needs.”

“I have not had the opportunity to use the downloadable audiobooks service but I certainly think it's a great idea -- so glad my daughters will be able to have this option. If I had an MP3 player, I would make use of this new service you are providing. Thanks for offering this wonderful new service. I think Johnson County libraries do an outstanding job of keeping up-to-date!”

“This service is a great addition to an excellent library system.”

“I've ordered two downloadable audiobooks and rec'd and read one so far. It is a very convenient way to listen to books. I have been listening to books while driving, doing housework, or working on the computer for years. It is a logical next step to have the book on my computer while working. I'm looking forward to downloading the next title. What's even more exciting is to get titles I aready have on a HOLDS list. Thanks for the added service.”

“I think that this service is a great idea. I have a few friends that swear by audiobooks, and push me to try them all the time. With this service, there's really no excuse not too anymore.”

“THIS SERVICE IS SUPER, ANOTHER GREAT ADITION TO THE WONDERFULL LIBRARY SERVICES.”

“I like the service. It allows you to save gas money!”

2006 Battle of the Bands

On Friday, July 28 Johnson County Library had their annual Battle of the Bands teen event at Antioch Library. This year’s five bands competed for the honor of being the top band. The bands were chosen from a popular vote by their peers. This year’s winner was The Stars Couldn’t Stop Us. They were followed by Fill of Krill, Mr. Fish, Captain Salt and the Liverpool Friascoes and Josephine.

Here are some photos from the event as well as a photo slideshow.

For more information on the event look here.

KC Zoo Tales

The Kansas City Zoo visited Shawnee Library in July to help support the library’s summer reading program—Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales. If you missed the visit, here are a few pictures of the friends the zoo brought along to show off, which included a snake, chinchilla, and parrot.

Creature Feature Competition

It’s not Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon nor, for that matter, even Dracula, but they're still pretty scary. Check out some of the costume results from the recent Creature Creation Competition held at the Lackman Library.

Even More Summer Reading Displays

Check out some more summer reading displays from the Central Resource Library.

Crafty Activities for Summer Reading

So what do kitties, puppies, and duct tape have to do with summer reading?

Actually, a lot! Some of the successful crafty activities this summer were Puppy Projects, Kitty Crafts, and DuctTape DooDads.

Here is Sean at Oak Park Library working intensively on his craft.

These two girls at Oak Park Library are working on their Kitty crafts.

Here at Shawnee Library the kids are finding even more ways to use duct tape.

More Summer Reading Displays

To celebrate the end of summer reading here are some more pictures of summer reading displays from Lackman Library.

Clean Up at the New Orleans Public Library's Nora Navra Branch

Lynn Wild, Senior Services Librarian, had the opportunity while in New Orleans this summer to do some clean up work and participate in an event promoting cultural diversity. Lynn joined Hands on New Orleans Volunteers in a clean up effort at the New Orleans Public Library’s Nora Navra Branch in the 7th Ward. The clean up effort required wearing white plastic suits and masks to protect the users from the mold. The clean up effort was part of Diversions Tour sponsored by the American Library Association's Office of Diversity.

Here are a few pictures from the clean up effort. The last picture shows the former branch manager of New Orleans Public Library’s 9th Ward. After Katrina the branch manager relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. He came back to help with the service project and gain a sense of closure.

ALA in New Orleans 2006

This summer the American Library Association’s conference was held in New Orleans. Some of the staff from the Library had the opportunity to hear presentations and learn about new products and services for the Library. In addition a few even gave their own presentations. Of course there was time to enjoy some good food and take in some of the sites. Here are some remarks from the staff attending the event on what struck them about post-Katrina devastated New Orleans. Also enjoy some pictures from the city and conference.

*** Note: Hold your mouse over the pictures to get a description. ***


Whitney: Sorry, this isn’t a very deep thought, but the most memorable thing was a couple of absolutely hilarious t-shirts with Katrina-related slogans (which are unfortunately not reproducible for polite company).




Bradley: Seeing the houses with the spray painted numbers on the front. Each house has the ID of the search team, the date the search took place, and how many people were rescued or recovered. It's a very eerie sight that makes you imagine what it must have been like at the moment those numbers were painted.



David: The number of people who weren't there. Been to NO before.



Erin: Driving through Metairie to get back to the airport, I was so sad to see the white FEMA trailers outside nearly every house. People live there, and work on their houses in their spare time. It is going to take lots of eager tourists to help revitalize the city, so tell a friend—NOLA is back in business!



Jennifer: Talking to a woman at the ACME Oyster Bar about her story, her experience, her loss, and her take on Katrina. The absence of shops. The abandoned cars under the interstates. The superdome and all the memories it conjured.



Andrew: I didn’t get to see any of the devastated areas. I did meet many NO residents who had a tremendously upbeat attitude and referred to that “storm we had awhile ago.”



Debbie: Lack of people (except for policemen, the national guard, and of course, those at the convention). Businesses that were still closed (Mr. B's!!!), as well as the almost desertion of the RiverWalk



Kasey: Anderson Cooper who addressed what it was like in the Convention Center after Katrina and told us to remember Ethel Freeman (the woman who died in a wheelchair outside the Convention Center and was left there for days).



Tricia: The library I volunteered @ on Friday – we saw a couple of different neighborhoods that were damaged- also saw Highsmith being a very dedicated vendor & putting many resources into a branch.



Carolyn: I had a heart-breaking conversation with the owner of the William Faulkner Bookstore in the French Quarter. Neither he nor his bookstore was harmed, but business had been bad and it was difficult to hang on financially. He was very grateful for the librarians in town, and business since the convention started had been steady. He was saddened by the isolation of New Orleans now and felt that in many ways the rest of the country had deserted the city.



Lynn: I had the opportunity to volunteer in a community service project as part of the Diversions Hearts and Hands for New Orleans tour that was sponsored by the Office of Diversity on 6/26. It was very meaningful to be able to help clean up the New Orleans Public Branch Library in the 7th ward of that was untouched by FEMA since Hurricane Katrina. It was the first step in a restoration project that will probably take 2 years. I worked shoulder to shoulder with library colleagues of different ethnic backgrounds and with volunteers from Hands On and Americorps. We wore plastic suits and masks to protect us against the mold covered books, furniture, and computer equipment. Everything had to be taken out in wheelbarrows and trashed in a dumpster and along the curb. I was also saddened by the devastation that we saw on our tour of the 9th ward of New Orleans. It was a wonderful opportunity to do outreach in New Orleans!