Carey Hagan's Schools

• Catholic University of America , Class of 2004 MS Library and Information Science

Carey Hagan's Publications

• The Library of Congress, Carey Hagan December, 2010 by Carey Hagan Over the past decade, Carey Hagan has held several Reference Librarian positions at facilities in the Washington, D.C. area. Currently, Carey Hagan works at the Fairfax County Public Library in Virginia. Carey Hagan has also served at the Library of Congress’ Technical Processing and Automation Instruction Office. Created in 1800, the Library of Congress serves as the research library of the U.S. Congress. The Library of Congress holds the distinction of serving as the oldest government cultural institution in the country, as well as the largest library in the world. Established by President John Adams, The Library of Congress owes much of its development to the efforts of President Thomas Jefferson. In addition to creating the formal structure of the institution, President Jefferson also provided his personal collection of books to the library after the original collection was destroyed in the War of 1812. Throughout the 19th century, the Library of Congress faced various challenges and obstacles, only gradually growing into the respected institution that exists today. In the last decade of the 1800s and the first few in the 1900s, several individuals undertook efforts to expand the Library of Congress’s collection, purchasing many foreign books and acquiring important documents from American history. Any individual over the age of 16 who can produce government-issued photo identification receives access The Library of Congress. Only members of Congress and high-level judges may remove items from the buildings of the library. Currently, the Library of Congress maintains three buildings on Capitol Hill, in addition to a conservation facility in Virginia. All of the buildings of the Library of Congress are interconnected. The oldest building at the Library of Congress, the Thomas Jefferson Building, opened in 1897. The other two buildings opened in 1938 and 1980, respectively. The conservation center opened in 2007. Find more information about the Library of Congress can online at www.loc.gov.

• Beginner's Guide to Booktalks, Part 2, Carey Hagan January, 2011 by Carey Hagan Beginner’s Guide to Booktalks, Part 1 here Now that you have chosen your book and decided on a method of delivering your booktalk, we walk you through the final stages of preparing to give the presentation. Ending the Booktalk Your booktalk should not conclude in a way that leaves the audience feeling as if you trailed off or stopped abruptly. The introduction is important because it launches your presentation, but the ending is equally critical. Craft your conclusion so that the audience knows you have finished, leaving them thinking about what you said and eager to read your book. Using Props Dressing up and presenting as a character is one method of sharing your booktalk, but there are several others. Visual aids are effective means of conveying an idea or emotion. If you have access to a computer and projection screen, consider using visual software such as Microsoft PowerPoint to illustrate your main points or playing music that complements the mood of your book. Helping the Audience Follow Along If you are presenting to a large group, you should print out copies of your presentation or provide bulleted lists that target the highlights of your discussion, passing out copies to everyone in attendance. Not only will those materials help your listeners follow along as you give your booktalk, but they will allow others to refer back to the material after the presentation in order to remind them of points they found fascinating.

• Carey Hagan on the Virginia Readers’ Choice Program, Carey Hagan June, 2011 by Carey Hagan As a Librarian with the Fairfax County Public Library system and the founder and administrator of the blog BooktalkThree (booktalkthree.blogspot.com), I closely follow literary awards programs for children’s and young adult books nationwide. In these capacities, I read and recommend books to children and teenagers, writing booktalks to interest and motivate young people to read. Additionally, I help encourage them to learn and share the ideas and messages in the books they have read. On my blog, I recently posted booktalks for several award winners from Virginia Readers’ Choice, a program founded in the early 1980s to identify quality young adult and children’s books. Part of the Virginia State Reading Association, the Virginia Readers’ Choice awards were founded to recognize popular books and their authors; identify contemporary books with strong learning and literary appeal; and encourage reading among young adults and children. First awarding prizes during the 1981-1982 school year, the program began recognizing book winners at each of the elementary, middle, and high-school levels in 1987. Each year, the Virginia Readers’ Choice honors 10 winners at each of the 3 levels, along with 10 at the primary-school level. The Virginia Readers’ Choice program encourages students to partake in the voting process, as well; in order to qualify to vote, youngsters must read—or have read to them—four nominated books from each of the four grade levels. Students then select their favorite titles, voting at either participating schools or public libraries. In the spring, the winning books are identified, ranked by most votes to least. The unique Virginia Readers’ Choice program not only encourages students to read, but also to share their thoughts on books and recommend their favorite titles. As a result, children and adolescents grow even more excited about reading. For more on Virginia Readers’ Choice, visit my blog or log onto www.vsra.org.

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