Summer Selfie Scavenger Hunt!
Posted by Trixie on 07.07.15
Join our summer selfie scavenger hunt!
 
 
Selfie instructions will be posted to our Instagram every Tuesday in July. Post your selfies to Instagram using #hubselfiehunt. Participate and get a chance to win a pool prize pack (which includes two pool passes & more!). We’ll post the winner the first week of August! Good luck!
 

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social media contest



Make a Vinyl Record Notebook!
Posted by Trixie on 07.06.15
 
This month in the HUB we’re repurposing vinyl records into small notebooks. Stop by, make your notebook and complete a challenge for the teen summer Read to the Rhythm program!
 
Too busy? Don’t fret – here are the instructions for you to tackle this project at home!
 
 
SAFETY FIRST – use protective eyewear while scoring and breaking your record to the perfect size!
 
1.       Cut record to the size for notebook cover.
· Use ruler and utility knife to score* vinyl.
*Run blade along ruler to cut shallow channel on surface of record.
· Use the edge of a table to break record along scored line.
2.       Prepare pages of your notebook.
· Cut pages to size – about the length of the cover laid flat.
· Fold in half to form a book.
· Use stapler or thread to bind pages.
3.       Construct your notebook.
·  Align cover and pages of notebook.
· Use duct tape to form cover. Tape along flat edges leaving room for the thickness of your notebook pages.
· Attach first and last page to the front and back cover to form the notebook.
 
 
Adapted from Gem & Em.
 

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DIY, read to the rhythm, summer reading



New Face in the Hub
Posted by kdevitt on 07.02.15

 

Hi, I’m Kerry, the new Tween Librarian!  A few summers ago, you may have seen me around Kid’s World helping out with Summer Reading. Now, I’m lucky enough to get to hang out in Kid’s World AND the Hub. Best. job. ever. You might even see me visiting your school this fall.

A few random facts about me:

I am a wannabe foodie and love trying (and usually messing up) new recipes.

I have been a runner since jr. high, and I can’t go more than a few days without going for a run.

I have a cat named Izzy who is currently rocking a sweet lion haircut.

I love to travel, but when I can’t, I read about it instead. I am a sucker for a good love story, but I equally love action-packed dystopian novels. I’m always looking for my next favorite book, so let me know what you’re reading!

Stop by the Hub and say hi!

 

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introduction



DIY: Customize Your Earbuds!
Posted by emather. on 07.01.15
Have you ever gotten your earbuds tangled in your bag or pocket? It's literally the worst thing ever. Well, we've got you covered! During the month of June, we made DIY No-Tangle Earbuds in the HUB. All you need is some thin thread called embroidery floss, a pair of scissors, a piece or two of tape, and some earbuds that always get tangled. (We provided some earbuds to everyone who made the kit in June, but feel free to bring in your own and use our embroidery floss to make them No-Tangle. We have almost every color ever.)
 
Completing a DIY craft is also one of the four challenges for our Read to the Rhythm teen summer challenge, where you can win awesome prizes like iTunes gift cards, instruments from GuitarCenter, and even a pair of wireless Beats headphones! (If those get tangled on you, then I don't know what to tell you. You're on your own there.)
 
In addition to not tangling and driving you totally, personalizing your earbuds makes sure you never mix them up with someone else's and get their earwax in your ears, which may be the only thing worse than tangled earbuds. After following the really simple instructions below, you'll end up with something looking a bit like this:
 
 
Here are the basic steps you'll need to follow:
 
  1. Secure one end of your earbuds down with a piece of tape. Take a long piece of embroidery floss and tie it to one end of your earbuds with a double or triple knot.
  2. Wind the other end of the floss up loosely. (This way, you won't need to pull the entire length through for every loop you make.)
  3. Loop the floss over and around the earbud cable, and pull it up through the loop you just made. (Look at it like a single knot.)
  4. Pull the loop tight around the cable and push it up against the rest of the thread.
  5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until you've covered your earbuds. If you want to move on to a different colored floss, just tie the new color on to the end of the old and keep it going.
 
Check out the video below to see how it works in action.
 
 
 
Depending on the length of your earbuds, it can take a while, so you may need to finish it up at home after leaving the HUB. If you want to give it a try, swing by the HUB desk with your tangled earbuds and we'll get you the supplies!
 
 

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craft, DIY, earbuds, embroidery floss, read to the rhythm



School Summer Reading Lists 2015
Posted by alice on 05.27.15
Summer is upon us, people!
 
That means that your schools have unleashed their lists of books they'd like you to read over the summer. We've got some good news for you...the books you seek are available here at the library in The Hub!
 
 
We've compiled all the books you may need to read in these handy dandy links. Click on them to see which books are available to check out right now, and put a hold on books that you'd like to read soon! On top of that, you'll find on the lists that you can even get some of these reads as an eBook!
 
Here they are:
 
 
 
 
Happy reading! Happy summer!
 

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books, summer reading



How to make a ZomCom!
Posted by tspicer on 05.12.15
Gush.
Gurgle.
Glop.
Crunch.
 
Did you hear that? Be alarmed. That's the sound of zombies eating flesh in the Hub! Well, not really but we've already had a bunch of teens come in and make hilarious and creepy stopmotion movies with little zombies as the undead stars of the film! You can do it too. Just bring a partner and get moviemaking. If you want to try this at home, we won't be responsible for any lives claimed by Zombies.
 
Supplies:
A whole bunch of mini figurines (These will be your 'actors'. We got our Zombies at the one of a kind extremely odd store American Science and Surplus, which isn't too far away.) Or just raid your old toy chest.
 
Little ornaments, dollhouse furniture or other toys. This is how you build your set for the movie.
 
A camera (or an ipad or iphone! We're using the super simple Stop Motion Studio app, which automatically creates super-fast transitions between photos, which is what you need to create the effect of stop motion)
 
A tri-pod! This is important as one key element to stop motion is that you want your characters to move just a little bit between the taking of photos. A tri-pod will keep your viewer oriented to the action. TIP: You need to be judicious when you move the camera!
 
Background for your set. We used a cheap tri-fold posterboard. Feel free to add art and create a vivid scene!
 
A partner. You need a partner for stop motion. One person to take pics, the other to move the figurines just a little bit closer ... to the rotting flesh!
 
 
 
http://hub500.tumblr.com/post/118820635753/check-out-how-to-make-a-zomcom-zombie-comedy

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DIY



Choose Your Own Inklings Adventure!
Posted by emather. on 05.04.15
 
Inklings is the HUB's creative writing club, where once a month, teens get together and explore some facet of writing and storytelling. (We meet the first Tuesday of every month, from 4-6. You should join us!)
 
At our March meeting, we talked about Choose Your Own Adventure stories, where the reader can choose different paths for the story to take. It's almost like playing a video game, in that your character will inevitably die over and over and over and over... There was a series of incredibly popular Choose Your Own Adventure books in the 1980s and 90s, with hilaroiusly cheesy and dated covers. Just recently, one popped up online to see if you could survive The Battle of Hogwarts!
 
 
Inklings decided to write their own Choose Your Own Adventure stories, and you can all read/play along! We used a free online software called Twine. (You can write your own stories there, too!) For each story, Inklingers paired up and chose an opening passage, setting up a scenario and a few choices. (One is a pirate adventure, the other a murder mystery.) Teams would then venture off of one of those choices, creating their own crazy branches for the story to go into. Most end in hilarious death, but a few lead your character to victory! Try them both out, and see how well you can survive!
 
A Pirate's Life for You! by Anna, Daniella, Izzy, Katja, and Tyler
 
 
Murder at the Library by Alice, Claire, Emma, Evan, Grace, and Jack

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choose your own adventure, creative writing, inklings, stories, Programs



Library Learning: Armenian Genocide
Posted by Trixie on 04.26.15

Friday, April 24th, marked the 100 year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Not as well-known as the genocide that spurred World War II, more than 1 million Armenians were slaughtered or deported by the Ottoman Turks beginning in 1915. Some historians consider this to the primer used by Nazi Germany for the Holocaust.

 

Globally, from Los Angeles to Yerevan, crowds gathered to pay tribute to those lost and bring awareness to this catastrophe that continues to affect Armenians worldwide. American rock band System of a Down performed in Yerevan's Republic Square to honor their Armenian heritage.

 

 

Want to learn more? Explore more with these resources!

 

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common core, genocide, history, library learning



Life, Loss & Love: Review of I’ll Give You the Sun
Posted by Trixie on 03.30.15
"I start to run, start to turn into air, the blue careening off the sky, careening after me, as I sink into green, shades and shades of it, blending and spinning into yellow, freaking yellow, then head-on colliding in the punk-hair purple of lupine: everywhere. I vacuum it in, all of it, in, in – (SELF-PORTRAIT: Boy Detonates Grenade of Awesome) – getting happy now, the gulpy, out-of-breath kind that makes you feel you have a thousand lives crammed inside your measly one…"
 
I'll Give You the Sun gif
 
I absolutely adored this book! It’s beautifully written and had me laughing, crying, and completely giddy. I raced through it like light speeding through the universe.
 
(SELF-PORTRAIT: Teen Librarian Squealing with Delight)
 
Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun is about twins Noah and Jude. Like most twins, they are incredibly close; they have an uncanny ability to know what the other is thinking and can finish each other’s sentences. Noah is an eccentric artist. He’s constantly drawing or painting, sometimes just in his head. Jude is a gregarious daredevil. She loves surfing and makes friends easily. The story begins when the twins are thirteen, a time when they’re experiencing change and exploring life. It continues through sixteen when they’ve seemingly switched roles. They’re coming to terms with the heartbreak they’ve felt due to tragedy and loss, tentatively living their lives and trying to rebuild.
 
The novel shifts between Noah’s and Jude’s perspectives alternating from early to later years. The voices and viewpoints juxtaposed plainly shows that neither character has the whole story. Throughout Noah’s narration, his artist mind is evident: he’s constantly imagining his surroundings in colors and relays how he’d describe the moment on canvas or paper and what he’d name it. Jude’s are filled with quirky wives’ tales and superstition.
 
Nelson’s writing is lyrical and expressive. The characters and imagery jump off the page. The characters’ confusion, heartache, and elation are felt through description. Nelson weaves a vivid tale of life, loss, and love intertwined with a message about self-identity and being true to yourself.
 
This is a must-read for romantics, artists, inspiration seekers, and lovers of words!
 

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award winners, book recommendation, realistic fiction, recommended



Anime Academy Anniversary
Posted by red_sonya on 03.23.15
We have many anime and manga lovers in the HUB, which is why we created Anime Academy. Originally, it started out as a monthly anime screening instead of our usual Friday night movie back on March 28th 2014. Now we are only a few days away from our one year anniversary!
 
                                           
 
The very first anime night we watched Fruits Basket and created shrinky-dinks of our favorite characters. Next we had a Black Butler tea party, which is where we created the name Anime Academy. We also had a program all about making ramen healthy.
                                       
 
The very first official Anime Academy meeting was on July 25th 2014 at the La Corda d’Oro program. Since then, we’ve watched Fairy Tail, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, Sailor Moon, and Angel Beats!. Each program has a craft that coincides with the anime we watch. Recently, we started implementing a drawing and language lesson into the meetings that relates to the anime we watch.
                                                
 
We’ve had some very special events, like our Cosplay night back in October. We are hoping to make it even bigger and better this upcoming year.
                     
 
Just a few days ago, March 21st 2015, we had artist Susan Sieber come host a manga drawing workshop.
Anime Academy has a very loyal following, and is a big part of the HUB. We are always trying to come up with new program ideas and ways to make Anime Academy even better.
 
      
 
In May I will be at ACEN (Anime Central) gathering as much information and new ideas as I can handle.
 
                            
 
Anime Academy is something that I love hosting and enjoy immensely. This is a thank you to everyone who has made Anime Academy what it is today. We are looking forward to another amazing year filled with even more anime than the last.
 

See you space cowboy. 
 

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anime, anime academy, manga