Ms. Nancy's Library & Technology Blog

“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the human heart can hold.” — Zelda Fitzgerald, novelist (1900-1948)

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

Roar!

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(The free store will run through end of February, 2012. Wonderful idea; I hope others follow suit. — Ms. Nancy)

Bridgeport Village Book Store – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Friends of the Children is proud to lead a new collaborative called the Million Books for Kids Project in the Portland Metropolitan area. Although the books will be made available to anyone, the focus of the effort is to get books into the homes of lower-income children. In most middle- to upper-class households in the United States, every child has an average of 15 books in their home. In low-income families there is one book for every 300 children. The gap is glaringly large, so Friends of the Children in collaboration with other nonprofits in the area are on a campaign to get one million books into the hands of the children who need them the most.

One avenue to raise funds is through a book store that will be housed through the end of February, 2012, at Bridgeport Village (in the former Borders Book Store). The store will be open 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, offering books to the public. The books will be free to anyone who wants them, but there will be a donation recommended for each book. Additionally shoppers will be able to make a donation to Friends of the Children to provide books to children in need.

Customer Service Floor Engagement

* Responsible for greeting shoppers in a courteous and respectful manner and for providing them with assistance in shopping for books.
* Responsible for keeping the books stacked neatly on the shelves and for keeping the retail space clean, and nicely arranged.
* Responsible for communicating the mission of Friends of the Children with any shoppers who are interested in the organization.
* Responsible for mentioning the donation opportunities to shoppers when it is appropriate
* Responsible for handling financial transactions regarding the donations for the books, or for direct donations to the organization.
* Responsible for providing shoppers with appropriate receipts for their donations.
* Responsible for ensuring that shoppers are given the proper books they when the depart the store

For more information on this opportunity please contact Iman Al-Baqsami iman.albaqsami@gmail.com or phone 503-881-8137.

Walter Dean Myers is the new ambassador for children’s literature. Right on.

— ms. nancy

here she is, age 95, Mrs. Beverly Cleary.

my friend, you bow to no one.

— ms. nancy

“Henry Huggins was in the third grade.”

Photo by flickr friend Louis, who writes:

The Literary Cart. As a young man Martin sold sodas and water in the streets of Cartagena. He was a voracious reader though and began to carry books as well for exchange and to encourage other readers. Now he has a full time mobile bookstore with sponsorships.

One of the great stories about Martin is that he does readings for young children from an elaborately bound book – filled with blank pages. He makes the stories up as he goes along.

“My stories run up and bite me in the leg — I respond by writing them down — everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off.”
— Ray Bradbury, science-fiction writer (b. 1920)

RIP to the man who brought us Frances the Badger. Russell Hoban, illustrator, dies at age 86.