hello out there...

Hi. I'm Liz, a.k.a. Mrs. D. I am a Youth Services librarian in Northern Illinois and I really love what I do.

I am still relatively new to the profession, having graduated from the Graduate School of Library & Information Science at the University of Illinois in August 2011 (I-L-L...). I participated in the LEEP program (14.1) and can't say enough good things about my experience there.

Before becoming a YS librarian, I worked part-time for several years at another area library as a YS assistant. I gained invaluable experience and confidence in this position and even though I love my current library, I miss that job like crazy. I was also a classroom teacher for five years, teaching fifth through eighth grade in a variety of subjects.

I think I was destined to be a YS librarian... but it took me quite a while to figure that out. I got my first library card when I was five from the Garfield Ridge branch of the Chicago Public Library. My mom had us there all the time. When we moved to the suburbs, we got library cards right away and were, again, frequent visitors. Mom actually accepted a job at the circulation desk there when I was in high school and both my sister and I did summer stints there as desk help and pages.

In second grade, I asked if I could organize the classroom library. In seventh grade, I started a book review "magazine" with the help of an English teacher. In college, I worked summers as a day camp counselor... right next door to the library. When I was on-campus, I was a student assistant (SA) in the Commerce Library at UIUC. After I decided teaching wasn't for me (and had my first adorable baby), I found a part-time gig in a local public library.

See? Libraries, kids, me... we were always meant to be.

When I first started my job here, I knew that one of my responsiblilities would be to plan and present storytimes for kids from 2-5 years old. I scoured the internet for ideas for themes, songs, rhymes, crafts, and interactive games and was so fortunate to have found librarian blogs like storytime katie, mel's desk, and many others. this is blog is my attempt to pay it forward.

but why 'putting smiles on faces'? well, i thought 'storytime liz' was just a rip-off of katie ;) ... and the kids don't call me that anyway. putting smiles on faces is what my husband often says 'it's all about'. i think that is very true in this profession. smiles on faces mean that connections have been made, people feel good about what they are seeing or doing, and they are making positive associations with other people and activities. so, the goal of my career is the title of my blog - 'putting smiles on faces'.

And away we go...