New Blog Features Coming Monday, October 7

As many of you have heard here and on Twitter, today was my last day of work as a children's librarian for the foreseeable future. I have resigned from my position in order to be a stay at home mom to my own little one, who is due on or about November 30. Though I will no longer be performing weekly story times, I have every intention of keeping this blog going. In fact, as my work duties have been winding down, I have been very busy writing up and scheduling a whole backlog of posts. Beginning on Monday, October 7, you will see a series of brand-new features here at Story Time Secrets. Here is a sneak preview of what you can expect.

On Mondays, I'll be sharing various posts about my experiences as a children's librarian, in the hopes that some of the lessons I have learned will be useful to others, especially those just starting out in children's services. These posts will fall into a number of categories:

• Reflections on Library Service
  Each month, I'll provide hints and tips for serving a particular segment of the typical population that visits a public library's children's room.
• At the Children's Desk
  In these posts, I will share various questions I have heard at the reference desk, sometimes with advice on how I would respond to them.
• In the Story Room
  These posts will talk about how I approach story time and why and how I do things the way I do them. As summer approaches, these posts will focus on story time starters for the Fizz Boom Read summer reading theme.
•  Ten Things
  In "Ten Things" posts I will share lists of books, story time activities, and crafts for specific themes, occasions, and/or audiences. 

On the third Monday of each month, instead of posting here, I will be posting at a new collaborative blog, The Library Adventure, where I am a library resources writer. My posts will encompass a variety of topics from crafts, to playing the ukulele, to summer reading printables, and they will be aimed specifically at librarians.

Every Thursday, I will post a review of a picture book. These reviews will include brief summaries, comments on the illustrations, story time suggestions, and reader's advisory information.

As of right now, I have an uninterrupted schedule of posts running from October through early March, so even after the baby comes and I disappear into Mommyland for a bit, you'll still get to hear from me twice a week. I hope you will continue to read, comment, and email me feedback even as the content here changes, and that you'll enjoy all the new posts! Thanks!