ABCs of DCGMS Library: Y is for YouTube

It's the penultimate post for the ABCs of the DCGMS Library, and today's post is brought to you by the letter Y for YouTube.

Source

While students use YouTube in class often to find book trailers, author interviews, or other related content for Literacy Studies projects related to books and reading, YouTube is also a great place to find clever or interesting or funny videos related to libraries and librarians in general.

For instance, several students have watched this video about book care:

And even more were perhaps reminded of their younger childhood days watching the Sesame Street martians made a discovery:


Librarians even get into the fun, including this clip from Phineas & Ferb from Disney:


Others have even noticed that librarians seem to have a secretly (?) excellent sense of humor, including the website Electric Lit. On their webpage "Librarians are Secretly the Funniest People Alive," you can find spoof magazine covers and several musical parodies posted to YouTube, including spoofs of songs by Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Queen. Which is *your* favorite?

ABCs of DCGMS Library: B is for Book Trailers

The ABCs of DCGMS Library brings to you the letter B today and features book trailers as a way to promote reading and pique students' interest in books and authors.

One of the regular components of the Literacy Studies class was showing book trailers to encourage students to try a new genre, new author, new series, or new book. Sometimes trailers featured newly published books recently added to the library; other times, the trailers highlighted titles that may have been in the collection for a while. While many trailers teased students with plot points and cliffhangers, some were author interviews.

Below are a few of students' favorite trailers--as determined by the holds and requests for the books!

New Books!

Even though we're at the end of the school year, it's good to think about to the coming year! Waiting for you will be hundreds of new books--not only state award books for the 2018 - 2019 school year, but also new titles from your favorite authors and those you have yet to discover.

Like our alien friends from Sesame Street, let your enthusiasm for books bring you into the library in August to check out new titles!

Teens' Top Ten Reads 2014

Every year, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) puts together a list of Top 10 books as determined by teens. Last year, the top three books included Insurgent by Veronica Roth and The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen.

 And the winner for 2013: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

So what books made the list for this year's nominees? Check out the video below:

You might recognize a few of them as books we already own in the library--some of your favorites like these:

Want to see book trailers for all of the nominees? You can access them all at YALSA's YouTube Channel. Take a look--you might see something you like!

Great Parody!

So by now we've all heard--and maybe sung along to!--"All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor. But, have you seen this great parody that the librarians from the Nashville Public Library put together? Check it out!

Harry Potter Hump Day--The Spells

Within the Harry Potter books are dozens of wizarding spells. Some are repeated throughout the books, which makes it easier to remember them. (Think "Expelliarmus!") Others? Not so much! (Remember "Fianto Duri?")

A list of the spells can be found on the Harry Potter Wiki, where you can search in broad spell categories or even alphabetically.

Don't feel like reading? :) Why not check out this YouTube video of all of the spells/wand use in all of the movies?

Feeling like you need more Harry Potter? Check out the entire Harry Potter Wikispace or grab one of the books!

Virtual Vacation to Universal Studios' Diagon Alley for Harry Potter Hump Day

Can't get to Orlando, FL, to visit Universal Studios' newest Harry Potter-themed attraction Diagon Alley? You can take a look around here!


According to Attractions Magazine, Diagon Alley will ". . . feature shops, dining experiences and the next generation thrill ride, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts."

These 4:20 not enough for you die-hard fans? Check out the full Diagon Alley Red Carpet Webcast broadcast in its entirety! Enjoy!

It's Hump Day! Are You Ready for Your Harry Potter Facts?

In this second Hump Day post, let's see how well you know your Harry Potter facts! Just like last week, the good folks at BuzzFeed.com have today's information on their website, and you can also access it on YouTube.

So. . . enough! How many of these Harry Potter facts do you REALLY know? (And be aware--spoilers ahead!)

Author Veronica Roth Talks All Things Divergent

Can't wait to see Divergent hit theaters in March? Trying to read all of the books and watch everything you can about the series and characters before you see the movie? Check out these recent videos from PopSugar Entertainment featuring the series author Veronica Roth.

In this video, Roth describes what she loves about Divergent fans:




Next, Roth discusses the people in her life who show divergence:




Finally, Roth shares some advice for those who fight for their identity:



Check out the official website for the movie at http://divergentthemovie.com.

Featured Graphic Novel: The Amulet Series

If you've been to the library recently, chances are good you either browsed the graphic novel selection and/or checked out a graphic novel. This part of our collection grows larger each semester and features both fiction and nonfiction topics.

One of the most popular graphic novel series is Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi. Here's what the blog Nerdy Book Club has to say about the series:

The Scholastic YouTube Channel recently added a video of Kibuishi reading from Amulet 5: Prince of the Elves:

Want more Amulet? The Stacks from Scholastic features an Amulet homepage with access to games, videos, blogs, and message boards:

Kazu Kibuishi also wrote the graphic novels Explorer: The Mystery Boxes and Cooper if you're looking for other works by this author. Recently he also drew the cover art for the re-release of the Harry Potter books (see earlier blog posts).