Honnold, RoseMary 1954-

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HONNOLD, RoseMary 1954-

PERSONAL: Born August 18, 1954, in Zanesville, OH; daughter of Wayne Wise (a masonry contractor) and Jean Carrol Dailey; married J. Michael Honnold (a water treatment operator), August 25, 1973; children: Julie Elaine Honnold Gibbs, Lori Anne Honnold Burton. Education: Attended Ohio University and Belmont Technical College. Hobbies and other interests: "Watercolor and acrylic painting."

ADDRESSES: Office—Coshocton Public Library, 655 Main St., Coshocton, OH 43812. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Librarian and author. Coshocton Public Library, Coshocton, OH, Young Adult Services coordinator, 1983—, bookmobile assistant manager, 1988-98. Creator and maintainer of See YA Around Web site, www.cplrmh.com, a library reference site for teenagers and young adults.

MEMBER: American Library Association, Ohio Library Council.

AWARDS, HONORS: Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults, Young Adult Library Services Association, American Library Association, 2003.

WRITINGS:

101+ Teen Programs That Work, Neal-Schuman Publishers (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Saralyn A. Mesaros) Serving Seniors: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, Neal-Schuman Publishers (New York, NY), 2004.

(Editor) More Teen Programs That Work, Neal-Schuman Publishers (New York, NY), 2005.

Also author of articles for Voice of Youth Advocates and Public Libraries.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Reader's Advisory for Teens, for Neal-Schuman, 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Librarian RoseMary Honnold had never considered writing a book until Patrick Jones, author of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, suggested in an e-mail that she write a book incorporating her experience working with teens at the Coshocton Public Library in Coshocton, Ohio. In an interview for TeenLibrarian.com, Honnold recalled, "I was flattered, but had to reply that I had no idea how to write a book!" Jones, however, was persistent and sent her a book proposal form from Neal-Schuman Publishers. As a result, Honnold wrote 101+ Teen Programs That Work, which provides detailed information on how to jump-start young adult (YA) library programs and services.

Honnold bases 101+ Teen Programs That Work on her own experience with programs that worked at Coshocton Public Library. She also uses her guide on the forty developmental assets for teens as identified by the Search Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting healthy children, youth, and communities. In the book, Honnold covers a wide range of activities, from summer reading programs and games to more ambitious endeavors, such as "open mike" nights, where youth can read from their own writings. She also discusses programs that will help youth and parents bond. The book includes sample surveys that librarians can use to help determine how they can better address teens' needs. Writing in School Library Journal, Jana R. Fine called the book a "useful volume" and found it "easily accessible."

Honnold coauthored her next book, Serving Seniors: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, with colleague Saralyn A. Mesaros. The publication serves as a handbook for planning and delivering library services to older adults. Serving Seniors discusses such issues as building a library collection for seniors, which may include large-print materials and audio books. She also tells librarians how to partner with other agencies to build a library that better serves seniors and how to implement senior-based Internet services, volunteer programs, and residential facilities programs. The book also includes a special section that lists print and online sources where librarians can gain more tips for reaching out to seniors. Sally Sartain Jane, writing in Booklist, commented that "this pragmatic manual should prove useful to any library needing to … plan new or expanded services." Library Journal contributor Rhea Joyce commented that the book could have had a broader focus to discuss a more diverse senior population, such as those who are raising grandchildren. Nevertheless, Joyce noted that the authors "have produced a solid introduction to traditional library services for seniors."

Honnold told CA: "Programming is the creative and fun part of working with teens, giving me an opportunity to help provide a setting where teens can build more of the developmental assets they need to engage in healthy behaviors and avoid unhealthy behaviors.

"I begin a book by writing a proposal that requires a table of contents and an outline. This provides a framework I can fill in with all the research I can find and my own thoughts and experiences. When writing about programs from other libraries, I rely on a carefully worded questionnaire that will give me the information I need to explain how to do a program."

Commenting about what she learned from being a writer, Honnold remarked that "the most surprising thing was finding out that I loved the writing process and that I could do it. I was ready to start on my next book before the first one was in print. I always like the book I am working on at the time, I think because it is the process that satisfies me. I hope my books spark the imagination. I also hope a librarian can look at their resources with a new eye and be inspired to create new programs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

American Libraries, May, 2004, review of Serving Seniors: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, p. 65

Booklist, March 1, 2003, Rochelle Glantz, review of 101+ Teen Programs That Work, p. 183; July, 2004, Sally Sartain Jane, review of Serving Seniors, p. 1859.

Library Journal, January, 2004, Rhea Joyce, review of Serving Seniors, p. 172.

School Library Journal, May, 2003, Jana R. Fine, review of 101+ Teen Programs That Work, p. 183.