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53 Ready-to-Use Kawaii Craft Projects
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2020

In her new book Kroski, bestselling enthusiast of makerspaces, cosplay, and geek culture in libraries, has gathered creative and crafty librarians to share their most popular Kawaii programs. Running the gamut in terms of cost and difficulty, this book’s 53 programs are sure to include many that will fit your budget, space, and skills. Just scan the estimated budget, age range, materials, equipment needs, and learning outcomes in each listing. Projects include

  • keychains with felt or 3D printing;
  • slime squishies;
  • 3D printed animal earrings;
  • hosting a stuffed animal fashion show;
  • monster emoji paper bookmarks;
  • origami fortune cookies;
  • buttons with anime or comic book art;
  • crocheted coffee cozy or puppy nose warmer;
  • tiny top hats with laser-cut felt cameos; and
  • how to Kawaii-ify a planner.

What’s more, the plentiful suggestions for “next projects” scattered throughout the book will help you keep the super-cute fun going!

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60 Ready-to-Use Coding Projects
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2020

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63 Ready-to-Use Maker Projects
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2017
This new compilation from editor and maker Kroski spotlights a multitude of creative projects that you can tailor for your own library. Librarians and makers from across the country present projects as fun as an upcycled fashion show, as practical as Bluetooth speakers, and as mischievous as a catapult. Included are projects for artists, sewers, videographers, coders, and engineers. The handy reference format will help you quickly identify the estimated costs, materials, and equipment; and because several projects don’t even require a dedicated makerspace, every library can join in. Inside you’ll find how-to guidance for projects like
  • a foam rocket launcher;
  • stop-motion animation with 3D print characters;
  • found-object robots;
  • glowing ghost marionettes;
  • Arduino eTextiles;
  • magnetic slime;
  • yarn painting;
  • fidget flannels;
  • an LED brooch; and
  • cardboard sculpture.

With takeaways like origami tea lights or a t-shirt tote bag, your patrons will be sure to remember how much fun your library can be.

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The Big Sourcebook of Free and Low-Cost Library Programming
300+ Resources, Ideas, and Tools
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2024

There’s no need to spend hours trying to come up with creative programming ideas—bestselling library activity guru Kroski has already done all the hard work for you! Largely drawn from contributions by library workers across the country, this e-book is a cornucopia of ready-to-go activities, easily accessible resources, and adaptable tools for inspiring countless fun and engaging programs at your library. Best of all, these exciting low cost/no-cost library programs can be implemented using only free resources. Offering a broad selection of ideas for adults, tweens, and younger children that can be tailored to a variety of contexts, inside this sourcebook you’ll discover

  • seniors and older adult programming resources on such topics as genealogy, financial literacy, lifelong learning, gardening, and health and wellness;
  • career, ESL/literacy, and "just for fun" programs and book clubs perfect for adults;
  • young adult programming resources such as the Book to Action toolkit, YALSA’s Teen Programming Guidelines, literacy and educational resources, computers and coding activities, live action roleplaying games (LARPS), and many more;
  • free resources to teach financial responsibility to toddlers, lesson plans from NASA, resources to host an Earth Day event incorporating a “free trees for kids” program, StoryWalks and more ideas for children;
  • makerspace, STEM, and art programming resources;
  • Pinterest boards, idea lists, writing prompts, coloring pages, free books, and passive programming downloadables and printables;
  • information about more than two dozen grant opportunities for funding programs; and
  • planning templates, marketing tips, assessment resources, and tools for brainstorming and productivity.
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Escape Rooms and Other Immersive Experiences in the Library
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2018

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Law Librarianship in the Age of AI
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2019
Winner of the 2020 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)

Futurists predict that in the next ten years the profession of “lawyer” will splinter into job titles like “legal process analyst” or “legal knowledge engineer.” And some in the field are already taking a proactive approach ⁠— in fact, more than two dozen law schools have developed innovation centers to explore artificial intelligence (AI) and the law. In a competitive marketplace, both firms and individuals need to familiarize themselves with the dazzling array of new products and enhanced features capable of improving efficiency. Written by leading practitioners and visionaries like Robert Ambrogi, this groundbreaking survey of current practices and future trends offers an incisive examination of the evolving roles for law librarians. Readers will learn how AI technology is changing law school curricula, lawyer practice, marketing, and other key aspects of the field through coverage of such topics as

  • the benefits of AI to law librarianship, including areas like legal research, contract review, compliance, and administration, and their associated risks;
  • four professional ethics rules that apply to the use or (non-use) of AI;
  • how lawyers and staff work side by side with AI, utilizing intelligence like RAVN ACE or FastCase to attack the drudgery of due diligence and document review;
  • surprising machine-learning insights from tokenizing, stemming, and lemmatizing the text of Shakespeare’s plays;
  • the potential for chatbots and new natural language processing products to improve access to justice; and
  • ways to develop sought-after skills through new technology departments, practice management groups, and legal innovation labs.

Reading this collection will give you a firm grasp of the innovations, tools, benefits, and risks of AI in law librarianship.

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The Makerspace Librarian's Sourcebook
Ellyssa Kroski
American Library Association, 2017


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