If you have followed me on Instagram then you probably already know I try to post a tarot card of the day with its meaning. This past summer I got certified as a professional tarot and oracle card reader. It was something that always interested me and I figured--why not. It was awesome to learn more about the cards, their meaning, different spreads, and how to use my intuition to guide readings.
There are 78 cards in total (made up of the major and minor arcana--which I'll get to in a bit), but for this specific project I wanted to focus solely on the Major Arcana. What is the Major Arcana? Well--
From BiddyTarot.com "The Major Arcana Tarot cards represent the life lessons, karmic influences and the big archetypal themes that are influencing your life and your soul's journey to enlightenment. The Major Arcana card meanings are deep and complex – in beautiful ways! These Tarot cards truly represent the structure of human consciousness and hold the keys to life lessons passed down through the ages.Also known as the Trump Cards, the Major Arcana cards include 21 numbered cards and 1 unnumbered card (the Fool). The Fool is the main character of the Major Arcana and makes his journey through each of the cards, meeting new teachers and learning new life lessons along the way, and eventually reaching the completion of his journey with the World card. This is known as the Fool's Journey and is a helpful way of understanding the story line of the Major Arcana Tarot card meanings."

I love tarot's positive messages and how they help us reflect on our inner strengths even when life seems heavy. I was talking to a couple of friends of mine and I thought "Wouldn't it be cool if we could pair a book with each tarot card?". So--a few of us got together and we made "The Major Bookcana"! A set of books we felt paired best with each card from the Major Arcana based on its theme and message. A HUGE shoutout to Rachael Welsh (@rachaelreads), Amanda Hunt (@thenextgenlibrarian), and Deb Zeman (@debzemanlms) for helping with this project! I think it turned out pretty rad and we hope that you can take this template and make it your own based on the books you have available in your collection. Check out how it turned out by viewing the Canva design below! We included the card, its meaning, a book pairing, and its book trailer. Of course, each library is different so use this activity at your discretion and change as needed. There's another fun little project coming up soon so stay tuned for that! So excited to kick off October with some great books!

I took on a huge task during my work days. I didn't want to leave for summer break until I actually did what I said I was going to do MONTHS ago. You know how that goes. You create a to-do list...keep adding more...and then realize you never really accomplished much on that list. You do everything ELSE except what's on the list. Can you relate? I would think so. That librarian life amiright? Well, thanks to this AMAZING librarian on Twitter I was inspired to update the manga section signage. Jennifer Zimny (@jzimnycricket) first posted this on her Twitter and I fell in LOVE with how eye-catching the manga section looked with bold and colorful signage. Check it out--

Isn't it gorgeous?! Well, luckily -- and just in time too -- there was a storage room on my campus that was filled with 3-inch binders that no one was using so my assistant principal let me have them. I put them to good use and made these manga series separators. I created the spine labels on Canva, printed them on regular paper (I would have preferred cardstock, but I didn't have any), and voila! Check out how it turned out! If you want the template to the signage I created on Canva you can access it here. 

I can't wait for the students to see this when they come back from summer break. There are still some details I need to add like updating the call #s, but that can wait until the fall semester. I'll have my library ambassadors help with that! 
Are you updating your manga sections? I'd love to see yours! If there's anything you need during the process let me know. Until later manga fanatics!