Mail Carrier of the Year Nominations

Shellie Ziegler, Talking Book Services, MLC (l)
Micki Clifton, Mail Carrier of the Year, 2014, Ocean Springs (r)

Show your postal carrier some love and nominate them for the Talking Book Services 2015 Mail Carrier of the Year! Has your mail carrier gone out of their way to make sure you get your books? Have they gone above and beyond when you least expect it? Tell us about it!

We just need to know your name, your mail carrier's name, and the reason you think they should win. If your mail carrier does win, we will contact the mail carrier, their supervisor, and you. Then we'll coordinate a date and time when we all can come out to their post office. We'll present them with a plaque and enjoy some cake together. Let your mail carrier know how much you appreciate them! Give us a call at 601-432-4116 or 1-800-446-0892 or mail your nomination to the address above. Deadline for nominations is 5/15/16.

On the Road

I've always loved the road. Word has it that the only time I didn't cry as a baby was when my dad put me on a pillow in the backseat of his Ford Falcon and hit the back roads.

I still love the road.  Something about being on a Mississippi two-lane is such a freeing experience. I guess that's one reason I love being here at MLC: not only do I get to be on the road, but I get to see some of the most awesome libraries, visit with some of the nicest folks, and experience some of the best local fare you can get. Wow... I get paid for this? What could be better?!

Recently, I traveled to the Hub City for a conference with our fearless leader. We had an extra guest with us who is quite the interesting fellow; Stuart Rockoff, Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, made the journey with us. He and Susan C. were great road buddies. After the meeting, we decided to stop off at the Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County. The Director, Pamela Pridgen, showed us around their beautiful space and shared with us all of the exciting things going on at this fantastic community treasure. It was a great day on the road.

The Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County

Pamela Pridgen, Stuart Rockoff and Susan Cassagne

Yesterday I hit the road again; this time heading in the opposite direction. The Mississippi Delta is one of my favorite road trips. There's something about the flatness and the cultivation of the soil this time of year that makes my spirit happy! When Joy and Mac invited me to go along on a consultation, I was waiting at the car. Jennifer Wann, the Director of the Bolivar County Library System is making some exciting changes to the library in Cleveland. Having already established a wonderful children's library, she has moved on to the teen section and has some really great changes in store. It will be fun to see the future of this wonderful space.

Children's library at the Robinson-Carpenter Memorial Library in Cleveland

Left to right:  Bobbie Matheney, Youth Services; Joy Garretson, MLC;
Megan Fleming, Circulation; Jennifer Wann, Director; Mac Buntin, MLC

Tomorrow I'm off again. Hitting the road with my colleagues on another adventure. You'll have to check back in to see where the road leads us this time!  Stay tuned.....

Meet MLC Monday: Jennifer Todd

Meet Jennifer Todd, Digital Services Library Consultant at the Mississippi Library Commission. Lovingly called "Nabz" by many in the library community, she works in the Technology Services Division assisting libraries and their staff with implementing and using current and emerging technologies in their libraries. Mrs. Todd assists with staff training, like helping them learn how to use Microsoft Office Suite, eBooks, and the Cloud. She has also helped develop many of the new library websites across the state. (Did you know that most of them are now mobile-friendly?) Nabz maintains a close relationship with Mississippi State University Extension Service and their Intelligent Community Institute. She is also the chair of the MLC Celebration Committee which plans events for staff at the Commission. She additionally serves as the web committee co-chair for the Mississippi Library Association and is on the web committee for the Asian Pacific American Library Association. Jennifer began as an intern at MLC in August 2010 and was officially hired April 2012. She obtained her MLIS in 2012 from the University of Southern Mississippi.

"I love working with the most important asset in libraries--the staff. It's a joy and honor to meet all the wonderful, diverse personalities who serve the public in libraries across the state." Nabz thinks that even though many services and a lot of information are being placed online, there is still a disconnect between the general public. "Libraries and library staff are important because they not only provide a computer and the internet, where people might need assistance with online job applications or school assignments, they also function as digital literacy skills teachers. We help people evaluate the information available to them."

Jennifer is a newlywed; she and her husband were married last September. She loves trying out new recipes and plans to start online classes this summer to pursue an associate's degree in computer networking. She enjoys historical fiction. Number the Stars and Copper Sun are two of her favorite novels.

MLC's First National Library Week Program

The Mississippi Library Commission hosted its first National Library Week program April 12-16, 1999. The theme was Read! Learn! Connect! @ the Library. More than 300 K-3 students from Jackson Public Schools attended the week long event. The students were greeted by Mickey Mouse and enjoyed story times with local new anchors like Howard Ballou, WLBT TV 3, Steven Jefferson and Stephanie Strickland of WJTV News Channel 12, and WOAD radio talk show host/station manager Othor Cain. The week concluded with "Staff Participation Day." This day was designed to get staff involved in the celebration of National Library Week. 

To learn more about the first National Library Week Program hosted by MLC visit volume 28, issue 3 of The Packet.

Library Volunteers, Y'all!

Shellie Zeigler

Talking Book Services Director

Mississippi Library Commission

We've been celebrating National Library Week all week, but did you know that it's National Volunteer Week as well? We thought this was the perfect time to honor our Mississippi Library Commission volunteers. Today, the Talking Book Services Department held our Annual Volunteer Recognition event. We celebrated our volunteers and the many hours they have contributed to MLC.

Krista Estes, Volunteer Network Officer at the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services, was guest speaker. Since last April, our volunteers have donated a grand total of 2,858 hours of their time!

All the volunteers received a certificate signed by Deborah Bryant, First Lady of Mississippi, as well as a letter of appreciation for their service. Of special note is our volunteer Melvin Smitherman, who received an honorable mention for the Governor's Initiative for Volunteer Excellence Award. Thank you for all you do!

If you or someone you know is unable to read standard print due to a visual, physical, or organic reading disability, or if you are an institution which serves such individuals, please contact us at 1-800-446-0892 or talkingbooks@mlc.lib.ms.us to learn more about Talking Book Services at the Mississippi Library Commission.

2016 Magnolia Children's Choice Award Winners

The Magnolia Children's Choice Award winners were announced Wednesday at the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival in Hattiesburg. The mission of the awards is "to introduce the children of Mississippi to current children's literature and to instill a love of reading." If your child attends kindergarten-12th grade, check out the book in their grade level chosen as this year's favorites by Mississippi schoolchildren:

The Princes and the Presents

written by Caryl Hart 

illustrated by Sarah Warburton

Magnolia Children's Choice Award, K-2 grade winner 

A spoiled little princess wants tons of presents on her birthday,

but ends up discovering what is really important.

 

Wolf

written by Valerie Hobbs 

Magnolia Children's Choice Award, 3-5 grade winner 

An older sheepdog helps his beloved master protect their livestock from a wolf.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

written by Chris Grabenstein

Magnolia Children's Choice Award, 6-8 grade winner

A treasure hunt at a lock-in in a library proves to be too much fun.

We Were Liars

written by E. Lockhart

Magnolia Children's Choice Award, 9-12 grade winner

A twisty, turny, suspense-filled novel that teens will love!

You can read more about the awards and past winners on the Magnolia Award website. Be sure to follow the awards on Facebook and Twitter to keep up on their latest news! Until next time, happy reading!

Meet MLC Monday: Joy Garretson

Meet Joy Garretson, Library Development Director at the Mississippi Library Commission. Joy supervises MLC's library consultants and provides assistance to public libraries when needed. She is the State Data Coordinator: she collects, proofs, and analyzes public library statistics for the state. When this information is needed--for example, to underscore the need for computers and broadband when presenting bills in the legislature--she provides the relative data. Ms. Garretson travels the state giving presentations to public libraries on topics like MAGNOLIA and customer service. She also oversees the continuing education program and helps teach workshops like Librarianship 101. Ms. Garretson will celebrate her three-year anniversary at the end of June. She holds a Master of English from the Mississippi State University and a Master of Library Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Joy says, "I love to create and implement new programs that impact libraries and librarians statewide." She mentions the Librarianship 101 program as a prime example. She also enjoys the fact that she gets to try new things that few, if any, librarians in the state are trying. "We're early adopters. We research new teaching methods and innovative programs and implement new projects. It's pretty exciting!"

Ms. Garretson likes to read mysteries and literary fiction. Kudos to her for soldiering through Anna Karenina. She also enjoys reading children's books with her four-year-old. Joy also loves a good cookbook. The Jerusalem Cookbook and Around My French Table are two that she's recently read (and tried!) from cover to cover. A renaissance woman, Joy is also heavily involved with music. She sings with several bands, including The Delicate Cycle, and plays the guitar and keyboards.