Posts by Miranda J. McDermott

I have been curious about independent publishing since I have heard other panelists in the Children's Literary Salons talking about it, so I was thrilled to be able to experience a Kid Lit Salon solely on that topic on December 8, 2012 in the South Court Auditorium of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

Suze Orman describes this book perfectly when she says that "It is a lifestyle book that deals with the financial issues of retirement." However, this is definitely not solely a book for senior citizens. Having a successful, financially feasible retirement depends on good planning, which commences years before a person retires. Therefore, it is a great read for anyone who is curious about these issues and who wants to ensure that their later years are, in fact, golden.

Lia lives in a world highlighted by food. Never mind her parent's divorce, or her friend Cassie's death of a ruptured esophagus for binging too much. None of that is important if she can control her food intake; hopefully, she will not pass out again at the wheel of a moving vehicle. Only problem is... her parents keep hospitalizing her. When she does not have enough energy to get medication for her sister; her stepmother shoves a gigantic oatmeal cookie in her face and tells her to stop being so selfish.

The Silver Blades Scholarship lands unassuming skater Claire Boucher in Lake Placid. No longer is ice skating a winter activity in the neighborhood skate center that she affectionately refers to as "Cow Pond." No longer is skating an ancillary activity to the rest of her life. Four-hour long practices dominate Claire's life as she perfects jumps and attempts to please her new coach, Mr. Groshev. Claire is his "next big talent." Her best friend Natalie resents being "dumped" by Claire for ice and all of its glory.

I took figure skating lessons on roller skates when I was five years old, and for us, skating was a family affair. My sister, brother, mother and I skate. I knew when I moved to New York City that I would cave eventually and begin ice skating, since there is only one roller skating rink in New York City at the southern tip of Staten Island. It would take me three hours to get there... much too long.

Like always, I am horse crazy as ever, so I definitely wanted to see which professional associations and journals are out there to aid horse professionals. When I was a librarian at a corporate library, part of my job was to dig up medical professional journals. I found an association for recruiters in health care for my supervisor that she did not know about. I became aware that there is a professional association for everything, and I sometimes refer patrons to professional associations.

My sister just took some amazing photos of me on my aunt's horse, which reminds me just how awesome photography is. I visited the International Center of Photography library near Bryant Park, which has amazing photography books. I have always loved the composition design aspect of photographs, and I took well over 100 photos of my queen and her three orange kittens that I had this spring. Below are some photography libraries and museums that I found.

We were lucky to have Betsy Bird and NYPL host the Kid Lit Con on September 29, 2012. Kid Lit Con is an awesome experience, and I completely recommend it.

The afternoon session on Critical Book Reviewing was especially scintillating and enlightened me to realities inherent in the author-reviewer relationship that I was completely unaware of. I previously was unaware that authors contact reviewers and try to sway them into not being critical about their work. I think that is unethical.

I am a vegan, natural health food nut, and now I am on a gluten-free diet, so I was interested to see what food libraries are out there. I used to be a big fan of the Food Network Channel; I loved watching the Food Network Challenge show, which I believe has been discontinued. I cook natural grains and I made my own bread and apple pies as a teenager. I love vegetables, fruit, and health food stores. Below is a selection of the food libraries and museums that I found.

On Sunday, December 4, 2011, the annual Holiday Open House was held at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on an unseasonably warm day. Prior to 1 p.m., the start of the party, the line outside the 42nd Street entrance near the Children's Center at 42nd Street ran alongside the building to the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, then snaked back on 42nd Street to the entrance again.

I absolutely love animals. I have fostered many cats, including a queen and her three kittens this spring. I have been riding horses since I was nine years old. I volunteered in two zoo libraries, and I walked dogs for six years in various animal shelters. I used to be a big fan of Animal Planet and Steve Irwin and the Australia Zoo. Animals are cute, adorable, and they just make me happy.

I was extremely excited when I heard that Kid Lit Con was coming to NYC this year, and that it was to be held in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building ("the library with the lions"). I could not have been happier. I do not travel much for conferences, so I was very happy to be able to experience a conference just for bloggers about children's literature. Thanks to Betsy Bird and NYPL for hosting the conference on September 29, 2012. Betsy Bird gave the official welcome. She said that blogging used to be considered the ultimate self-indulgence, but now it is simply what we read. Publishers are interested in what bloggers have to say. Blogging has not replaced print 

I took a Theatre, Film and Dance class while I was studying abroad in Australia, and I also took an acting class at my undergraduate college in New York State. I loved attending the student theatre productions at the beloved Firehouse Theatre at my undergraduate college, and later at the new Performing Arts Center. Below are some theatre libraries and museums that I found.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, 2005

Miri finds herself, a mountain girl, in a class with the more elite "lowlanders," learning royal ways. The other girls clash with her when she gets them in trouble with tutor Olana, whose policy to keep the girls in line consists of palm lashings and locking them in closets. They band together and threaten to leave Olana with no students and tell the prince of her tactics.

I have been intrigued by why and how people commit crimes since I was young. This interest led to me devouring true crime stories as a child and true crime TV shows as an adult. I also got a master's degree in forensic psychology, and I have interned in several jails. Below are some criminal justice libraries and museums that I found.

My mother is a special education teacher, and I had the pleasure of giving presentations about public library services in some special education classrooms. Since gifted education used to be classified as special education, I was curious to see if I could find any libraries on that subject; I did not. I also wanted to know what topics special education libraries covered, and below are some that I found.

Shelter by Harlan Coben, 2011

Sniper by Theodore Taylor, 2007

Imagine lions and tigers in your backyard and a house cheetah to guard your family. Thanks to an endowment from a wealthy widow his parents met in Africa, this is Ben's home.

I have had an interest in people and mental health since I was young, and I ended up obtaining a master's degree in forensic psychology. Therefore, I was curious to see which mental health libraries and museums I could find in the United States and internationally.