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This recent entry in the AL Inside Scoop, the blog for American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association, relates the interesting fact that President-elect Obama got his first job as a community organizer in Chicago --- thanks to a librarian!
For those of you who thrilled to the performances of both the UW-Madison SLIS Madtown Truckers and the Baraboo Public Library Baraboo Bookers at the WLA 1st Annual Book Cart Drill Team Competition in Middleton on November 7th, here's the latest info on the team that managed to pull ahead of their tough competition that day at the Marriott.
In a recent phone conversation, Penny Johnson, BPL Youth Services staff and drill cart team member, confirmed that a producer from the Ellen DeGeneres TV show DID contact her in November, shortly after the team's victory. When the producer admitted he had never heard of book cart drill teams, Penny filled him in on the details, answering questions such as how long it took to put the team together, the demographics of team members, ages, photos, etc. She also mentioned he was VERY interested in the national drill cart competition scheduled during the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer. (The Fifth Annual Bookcart Drill Team World Championship event will be featured at the Conference on Sunday, July 12, from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.)
So ... although no official date has yet been set for an upcoming appearance by the Baraboo Bookers on the Ellen show ... could national coverage be in their future during the ALA competition in July? To keep their skills sharp, Penny and fellow team members (Meg Allen, Mary Jo Burri, Anne Horjus, and Gretchen Roltgen) were excited to participate in Baraboo's annual Holly Jolly Light Parade held this year on November 22nd. Regardless of whether or not national fame comes their way, Penny declared that putting together the book cart drill team "was a bonding experience" for everyone involved at the Baraboo Public Library.
This page contains all entries posted to Wisconsin Library Stories in December 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.
September 2008 is the previous archive.
January 2009 is the next archive.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.