Awesome! Love to know that there are still people who care about education. (California's having a bit of a problem with that right now...)
Congratulations, AJ! -Sera ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lisa Arsineau" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 6:42 AM Subject: [Spacedock] OOC: One of Our GMs > Helllo, everyone, > > I wanted to let you know a little something about AJ. He has sort of of > become a bit of a celebrity in Rhode Island and the library community. He > was selected as a Mover & Shaker by Library Journal, which is one of the big > professional journals for librarians. Each year the journal highlights 50 > librarians from across the United States to keep an eye on for the future. > This is what they had to say about him: > > "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" > If you want to turn teens into library users, it helps to have a young, > cool librarain lik Aaron Coutu. It also helps id the librarian is willing > to undego various personal humiliations, like shaving his head if they read > 150 books (they read 196) or dying his hair green if they read 250 (they > read 312). Gimmicks work. > But so does respect. Coutu gives their "boundless energy and ideas" an > outlet through the Teen Advisory Library Council, which recommends new > titles for the collection. He encourages teesn to write reviews of their > favorite books for other teens, because it makes them feel like they're part > of the library. > Though, his current space makes room for comic books, computers, and > chess as well as books, his ideal YA space would also include a pool table, > a foosball table, and an area where they could play on a game cube. The > trick, he says, is to get them in the door, then point out the great books > you have for them. He tries to read at least 80 percent of the books he > buys to tailor his reading recommendations to each teen. > "Professionalis" may not be your first word association for a man with a > piercing, a tattoo, and the email name Lunar Hunk, but it applies. Coutu is > involved with a dozen professional organizations and chairs the Rhode Island > Teen Book Award Committee. What better way to serve teens, he asks, than > getting ideas, assistance, and advice through networking with your > colleagues? > Coutu believes teens get a raw deal from communities that don't spend > money on them but "complain when kids get in trouble because they have no > place to go and nothing to do." He serves on the Juvenile Justice Board in > his hometown because he believes his job is to advocate for all teens, > including those who never come to the library. > Green hair works well, but Coutu's most effective gimmick is that he > genuinely likes teens. "I know when I go to work I am going to have fun." > > I just thought I would congratulate him and spread the news to everyone. > > Sorry, AJ ... I couldn't not tell. > > }}};) Lisa > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get reliable access on MSN 9 Dial-up. 3 months for the price of 1! > (Limited-time offer) http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/ > > > _______________________________________________ > Spacedock mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scifi-rpgs.com/mailman/listinfo/spacedock_scifi-rpgs.com > _______________________________________________ Spacedock mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scifi-rpgs.com/mailman/listinfo/spacedock_scifi-rpgs.com
