The Carnegie Corporation and the New York Times have announced the 2008 I Love My Librarian! Award. You can nominate your favorite librarian here (hint hint).

How has the library, and the nominee, improved the quality of your life?

How does the nominee make the library a better place?

We as librarians want you to think of the library not as a place just to get books, but a place that can enhance your life. As the new school year begins, here are some ways that we can help students:

* We offer individual and group study space throughout the library. If you need a room for a group, feel free to email me ahead of time and I will make arrangements.

* Teen programming which ranges from video games to author visits to book clubs.

* A cafe which provides space to grab a drink and catch up with friends.

* Dozens of volunteer opportunities for students in middle school and up.

* Personalized reference service for students working on research papers. We are able to help you throughout the entire process, from creating a thesis to helping you find last-minute resources.

Also, I'm really nice and hilarious! Happy first week of school and have a great Labor Day!

The new book No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever should be seen by anybody thinking about getting ink. The book is the result of two friends spending a year visiting tattoo studios and conventions around the country in a quest to find the most obnoxious tattoos ever. I have pictured my two favorites above. Honestly, I would have no regrets about getting a Bob Barker tattoo, but then again, I'm a little bit weird (and have deep love for the man).

Not that I'm saying that nobody should ever get a tattoo, but this book will make you seriously think about what you're putting on your body forever.

Drum roll please... The results of the 2008 Westport Library Super Smash Bros Tournament are in!

1st Place: Griffen Gallagher
2nd Place: Liam Fratturo
3rd Place: Bryant Patterson
"Most Enthusiastic" Award: Gio Michaelangelo

Congratulations to everybody who participated and thanks for making our first ever gaming tournament so successful. Also, check out this wonderful article in the Stamford Advocate.

I know that summer vacation isn't over yet, but I wanted to blog about math. Math and I have never exactly gotten along... In fact, it will often take my friends and me longer to figure out the check at a restaurant than it took us to eat! The actress (from The Wonder Years) and mathematician Danica McKeller has written a couple books in the hopes of getting girls more comfortable with math. Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail came out last year. Given the book's success with teachers and students, she has just released a new one, called Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss. We just ordered it today for our collection! Have her books helped anybody out there? I'm feeling like I could use a brush-up myself...

Every Monday night in August, the Westport Youth Commission and Toquet Hall are presenting TeenFlix at the Levitt Pavilion. Showings start at 8:30PM. The schedule is as follows:

Monday, August 4th: Juno
Monday, August 11th: Across the Universe
Monday, August 18th: Cloverfield
Monday, August 25th: The Office marathon

I will be there tonight. Hope to see you there!