Today's Word is Moi

Indiana librarians keep up with the latest developments in the Hoosier library world by reading the Indiana State Library's digital newsletter, Wednesday Word.  Guess who's featured in today's edition?

Moi

It's a very nice article celebrating our over half a million blog views.  Click here, then scroll down, to read it.

It's not commonly known, but the Lady With the Red Hair, one of my minions, wrote for Wednesday Word back in the late 1990s and early 2000s when she was head of the Indiana State Library Catalog Division.

There are many fine spokescritters (several felines, but also bunnies, birds, fish, and other friendly faces) in Hoosier libraries across the state.  We are highly effective public relations officers who can really draw in the crowds.  Here are just a few famous friends:

• Chance (and the late Tober), boss cat at Thorntown (Indiana) Public Library;
• Morgan the Library Bunny at Morgan County (Indiana) Public Library;
• Oliver the Library Cat at Clinton (Indiana) Public Library;
• Carnegie the Library Cat at Brazil (Indiana) Public Library;
• Westfield Washington Public Library (Indiana) has fish (I call them swimming dinners) as its spokescritters (following my suggestion blogged in 2011).

To find further library spokescritters around the country, take a peek at this blog post.

If your library doesn't have a spokescritter, we highly recommend adopting one.  Somebody's got to keep all those humans in line.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Beyond Books

Lady RaDA has created a cool "beyond books" display featuring lots of fun items you may checkout with your Evergreen Indiana library card.  The display is across from the library circulation desk, next to the Paul Hadley paintings.

Minions, make with the photos (click them to bigify):

The only item missing that would make the perfect display would be some canned tuna-in-oil.  I'd check that out, pronto.  Well, I'd have my minions check it out for moi.  I'm not sure how I'd return it to the library, however.

If you have any questions about checking out these items, just ask our circulation staff or Lady RaDA herself.  I'd explain it all, but my department is cuteness, which actually explains itself.  Just look at my photos, and it's self-explanatory.

Yep.  Pretty Much.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

A Big Red Slobberdog, For Sure

The library's float in the 2018 Old Settlers Parade featured everybody's favorite big red slobberdog.  Not my first choice, as it should have been a famous feline (such as moi?), but I guess Garfield was busy.

I see Clifford had his Evergreen Indiana library card at the ready.  That's one smart slobberdog!  You can't checkout all our books, movies, audiobooks, playaways, music CDs, and other great stuff without one.  (Well, technically, you can, if you have a statewide PLAC [Public Library Access Card] or a blue Evergreen Indiana card, but that's hair-splitting details I'll let our circulation staff explain.)

As always, click the photos to bigify.

BizMeister said that Clifford's tail was designed to wag in the wind, but there wasn't much breeze on this really hot, humid day, so we didn't get a chance to see it.

Teen Titan came up with a brilliant idea to use library bookcarts to showcase reading (with cute slobberdog puns) while having a central serving location for sweet treats.  It's a long-standing tradition for parade participants to toss candy or other goodies to the crowd, and, in the past, the tossing was primarily done from the float or the vehicle towing it.  The bookcarts made it much easier for Teen Titan and Lady RaDA to get the goodies out to the youngster folks watching along the parade route.

Float design was once again orchestrated by the Decorinator and BizMeister, whose ingenuity matched all previous outstanding library parade floats (the library has a well-earned reputation for excellent float design and execution).

The library float design and construction team once again outdid themselves with a terrific display.  We're including two photos, in case anyone blinked.

I'm still a tad bit peeved that no felines were featured with our float.

Hold On!

Nice save, Teen Titan and Lady RaDA!

Although they weren't part of the library float, there were some really big dudes standing nearby.

Hey, horseys!  Don't forget the poo-bags.  Just saying.

Minions, run down and take some photos of the library float in the parade.  I'll just curl-up beneath a nicely shaded tree in front of Paul Hadley Middle School.

Don't forget to visit the library to get your paws on a book (or other items).  And don't miss the Old Settlers Festival at Pioneer Park in Mooresville (today through Tuesday).  That's August 5-6-7, 2018 for those without calendars.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Reflect on This

In 1886 Mrs. T. H. James translated into English a Japanese folktale called The Matsuyama Mirror, which she published along with illustrations by Eitaku (1843-1890) [Tokyo : Kobunsha (Nihonbashi-ku)].  We found a free digital copy on Archive.org, but it's more fun to follow along with Scowl-Face as he reads the book aloud in the following video.

The Matsuyama Mirror, told by Mrs. T. H. James

(MPL Readaloud)

Okay, maybe listening to Scowl-Face read aloud isn't more fun, but you (or your young readers in your family) may read the text on the screen as Ol' Scowlly drones on and on.  It will definitely improve young reading skills, as well as enhance one's endurance to boredom.

What interested Scowl-Face in making this video was the music soundtrack composed specifically about this folk story by the library's composer, whom I call the Music Man.  His composition is called "The Mirror of Matsuyama," included in a series of compositions called Solo Koto.  You can listen (and see sheet music) here.

The story itself is a tribute to love and family remembrance.  The mirror reflects more than the person (or feline) looking into it.  That's something to reflect on, in and of itself.

My library has other readaloud videos available to watch.  They're well worth a look.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

An Angel Kitty Flies

My library has recently completed a book trailer featuring a wonderful children's picture book called Angel in Beijing, by Belle Yang (Sommerville, MA :  Candlewick Press, 2018).

Angel in Beijing, by Belle Yang

(MPL Book Trailer #447)

Through most of the book, the white cat is named "Kitty," but by the end, her name is Angel, because, as it turns out, she can actually fly (with the help of a huge kite).  I became quite distressed when the little girl couldn't find Kitty after she disappeared over some trees holding onto the kite's tail (Kitty, not the little girl).  But all ends well.  This book showcases the beauty of Beijing in delightful drawings, and the story shows how love and kindness are best when shared.

Checkout the book from our Evergreen Indiana catalog to read to your young human(s).  If you don't have a library card, you could always buy a copy from your favorite bookseller.  We felines (and slobberdogs) will enjoy the readaloud, too.  But don't read to kittens--they're too scatterbrained to pay proper attention.  If you know Harley Quinn, my "cub" kitty reporter, you'll know what I mean.

The Lady With the Red Hair Tries to Read to Harley Quinn

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat