Heroes in a Half Shell: What the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Taught Me About Being a Librarian

I grew up in the 90's, which means that I was born in the 80's. Thus my peers and I were the target audience for the opus that is The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles empire. When I began my first stab at weeding the juvenile* fiction section at my library, I was thrilled to discover a set of TMNT picture books in pristine condition. Yet no one had ever checked them out. As the turtles would say, "BUMMER, DUDE."

Maybe the Turtles were past their prime? I decided there was no harm in trying to get them more attention. If in the next year, they were still on the non-circulating report, they were goners. But I suspected that even if actual kids were unfamiliar with the Turtles, there had to be some nostalgic parents out there excited to relieve their childhoods. 

The first thing I did was change the books' cataloging from J fiction to Easy**. Then I gave them their very own spotlight in the picture book section. And they have combined for more than 80 checkouts in the time since being re-cataloged. That's pretty solid for books that were shelf-sitters before.

Ranganathan was right. Let's go through his Five Laws of Library Science: 

1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader his [or her] book.
3. Every book its reader. 
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.

And maybe we can re-write them to be the Five Laws of Ninja Turtle Library Science: 

1. Ninja turtle books are to be read. 
2. Every reader might enjoy a ninja turtle book. 
3. Ninja turtle books have readers. 
4. Save the time of the reader by putting the ninja turtle books where someone might find them. 
5. Ninja turtle books are growing organisms. They need to be cultivated: acquired when there is demand and (sniff) weeded when there is not. 

So what did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles teach me about being a librarian? 

• If your patrons can't find a book, you might as well not have it. Market them! 
• Keep series books together even if they have separate authors. ESPECIALLY if they have seperate authors. 
• Never underestimate Turtle Power's appeal to multiple generations. 
• "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza." --Michelangelo 

*Libraries should not be calling kids juveniles anymore. It only encourages them to be delinquents. 

**I don't think we should be calling picture books Easy either. Kids learning to read struggle and labeling something as Easy is destructive to their efforts. I would prefer Picture Books or Beginning Readers as appropriate. And even that isn't perfect because I frequently pull books for adults learning to read as well. 

So You Want to Flannel Your Fridays?

I thought it would be helpful if I compiled some of the things that have worked well for me in contributing to Flannel Friday posts over the past year. If any of my fellow bloggers have a tip I neglected to mention, please leave it in the comments!

1) Schedule your posts. I like to have 4-5 posts all prepared and ready to go for Flannel Friday. I find it much easier to spend a few hours writing and photographing at once rather than finding time to do it each week I want to participate. I will often have posts scheduled for 2-3 months out, particularly as I am preparing my own storytimes each session at a time. This is also helpful at forcing me to look for which upcoming holidays I might want to prep a flannel story or storytime. 

2) Take good photographs and edit them. I use my iPhone to shoot my flannel stories. The key is to find somewhere in your library or house that has good lighting and to hold the camera as still as possible. To edit photos, I first upload them into my (free) Picasa web album. Then I have the option to Edit in Creative Kit (also free, look under the Actions heading in the menu). 

Creative Kit gives the option to crop, rotate, adjust exposure, sharpen or resize your images. Often I will just select the autofix button and maybe crop the image as well. You can also add text, if you'd like to use a watermark or just give the title of the story. 

3. Cite your sources like a good librarian. If you used patterns from a professional resource book, please include a link to the author's Web page or a online store that sells the book. If your post was inspired by  another Flannel Friday participant, definitely link to the idea. Don't be embarrassed that something wasn't your original idea. The whole point of Flannel Friday is to share our ideas and see other people's. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

4. Related to #3, be mindful of copyright implications. It's fine to say that you used clipart from Microsoft Office, but if you're sharing a printable pattern online it should be your own artwork or artwork you have permission to use and/or modify. I love Openclipart.org for this.

5. Follow the procedures for submitting your Flannel Friday posts to the roundup. You can find out who is hosting this week by checking the This Week @ Flannel Friday page. You can even have that information delivered to you every week when it is updated by subscribing via email (check the right column near the bottom for the option to do this) or through RSS (center bottom). 

My #1 Job Hunting Tip for Public Librarians

It's graduation time for many library school students and while I am not sure how many of them read my blog, I thought I would pass on my #1 tip for getting a job in a public library. Are you ready? Here it is: Before you apply for a job at any public library, read the Board minutes. Go back at least a year and more if the library still has them online.

Some of the things you might learn from the Board minutes: 

• What the library's financial situation is. Some libraries will have their entire budgets online and others you will have to read through the lines more. Look for key words like furlough days, health insurance costs, and other indicators that the library is struggling. You definitely don't want to start a new job only to get laid off! I like surprises, but only ones like cupcakes. Do your research. 
• How the position came to be available. I always ask this in interviews, even when I think I already know the answer. You might get a different response than what the minutes reflect. But it can make an impact on your decision process if the previous librarian was fired/moved/promoted etc. I'm not sure how I would feel about taking a job where my predecessor was fired, unless it was for complete malfeasance, such as embezzling. 
• What direction the library administration and Board are heading. Months before our patrons learn of a service we may be adding through our publicity, references to proposed changes can be found in the Board minutes. Especially with large expenses, often the Board will need to be educated on the service's background one month, see a demonstration another month, debate it in the third, and vote to adopt it in the fourth. Maybe you will learn that the library in question is totally polar to your own philosophy on public libraries or is a pretty good match to your interests or abilities. In the former case, you can decide not to bother filling out an application and sending your resume/cover letter. In the latter, those are things you can address in your packet to tailor it to the position. How much better is that than regurgitating the contents of your resume in your cover letter?

I would worry more about what the Board minutes say than what the actual job description says. Many times they are out of date or written by a department that does not actually know what librarians do for 40 hours per week. If you see something that strikes you as odd, you can always bring it up in an interview and find out what the story is.

On the other hand, I've decided not to apply for jobs because the Board minutes revealed that the health insurance plan covered only employees and not their spouses or children. That is a dealbreaker for me and I would imagine many others as well.

*I haven't been actively looking for a job since my own library school graduation (accepted my current job 4 months after getting my MLS after applying for 3 total jobs).

The Little Red Bird (a Japanese Nursery Rhyme)

Have you seen the beautiful book Japanese Nursery Rhymes: Carp Streamers, Falling Rain and Other Traditional Favorites yet? It is definitely worth flipping through and listening to the accompanying CD. I snagged it out of the new books pile because I thought several rhymes would make wonderful flannel boards. 
The first one to catch my eye was page 15's The Little Red Bird (Akai tori kotori). The book translates the words as: 

Little bird, red bird
Why oh why so red? 

Because it ate a red fruit. 

Little bird, white bird

Why oh why so white? 

Because it ate a white fruit. 

Little bird, blue bird
Why oh why so blue? 

Because it ate a blue fruit. 

I did a little Google search, and you can download a karaoke version of this song from Amazon or iTunes if you'd just like the instrumental version. Also because this is a full-service blog, here is a video of an adorable little girl singing part of this song. What we do without YouTube? 

I picked this rhyme because you can easily add different colored birds and fruit. For my version, I just did the three colors mentioned in the song. As it is a simple song, I didn't want to invest tons of time in making pieces from felt. Instead I downloaded a bird from Open Clip Art and used Microsoft Publisher to recolor it to blue and Microsoft Paint to recolor it to white. You could use this technique to make birds in as many colors as you'd like. Once I printed the artwork, I used a black Sharpie to go over the lines on the white bird so it wouldn't have an orange outline. It was much faster to trace by hand rather than do it pixel by pixel in Paint. 

I also used Open Clip Art to find the cherry, blueberry, and onion. You will have to give me artistic license on onions being considered a fruit. If anyone thinks of a white fruit, let me know! Since Open Clirt Art content is free for all uses, I can share my file. Download the PDF here. I will say that clip art hardly does justice to Helen Acraman's artwork. 

The book is wonderful because it has three lines for each actual line of the rhyme. First you are given the Japanese script in black, then romanized Japanese in white, and then the English translation in black. On the CD, you are given the song in Japanese (track 11) and then in English (track 12). 

Introducing the Flannel Friday website!

Exciting new, everyone! As you probably know, I have been keeping the archive and schedule for Flannel Friday information for the past year. I will be stepping away from FF and this blog for the next few months while I am on maternity leave. To keep Flannel Friday going while I'm gone (and after I get back), a small group of old and new Flannel Friday-ers worked to create a new web home for Flannel Friday.  You may see this announcement on a lot of blogs today as all previous hosts of FF have been asked to post the same information in the hopes of reaching as many people associated with Flannel Friday as possible. Please bear with us as everyone adjusts to the "new" Flannel Friday. 


Here's the link! http://flannelfridaystorytime.blogspot.com

The new site will be the home of the Round Up Schedule, the archives, FAQs about Flannel Friday, information about how to get involved with Flannel Friday, and links to help new members get started with social networking and blogging. There will also be a link to the week's Round Up, but the Round Up will continue to be hosted on individual blogs. We'll just point to each Round Up from the site. 

Refining the Round Up Procedure

The Flannel Friday community has grown continuously over the year, with new bloggers, new Round Up Hosts, and new members every week on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. We are building an amazing community and are grateful to each and every one of you for your participation and enthusiasm. As the group has grown, you've probably noticed that so have the Round Ups! We've seen an inevitable increase in missed links and general confusion as the Round Ups are compiled. We thought that the launch of the new site was a great opportunity to take a page from other round ups in the blogosphere and establish one single method for building the Round Up each week. 

This information will be in the FAQs on the new site, but here's our new strategy in a nutshell:

• Every week the Round Up Host will publish a "placeholder" post for the Round Up on the host blog at 10pm EST on Thursday.
• Each blogger who wants to participate in the Round Up will make a comment to the Round Up post with the link back to their Flannel Friday post by 10pm EST on Friday. 
• This will be the only place to post links for the Round Up! This way the Host won't have to worry about checking Facebook or Twitter as well. 
• If a blogger can't make the 10pm EST deadline on Friday, we'll ask that the post be held for the next week's Round Up. 
• The Round Up Host will gather links from the Round Up post comments throughout the day, and publish the Round Up at the end of the day. 

We hope this will make the Round Ups easier to create and easier to contribute to! We'll look forward to your feedback over the next few weeks. Sharon / @ReadingChick at Rain Makes Applesauce has the Round Up this week, 5/11, so she's going to try out the new procedure with us and see how it goes!

If you have questions or comments, don't hesitate to share them via the new Flannel Friday email: flannelboardfriday [at] gmail.com. 

Thanks for all you do to to make Flannel Friday more than a blog event--but a great community too. Here's to the next great year of Flannel Friday!

Squire McGuire

I recieved a Flannel Friday submission via email from Josh, a librarian at Berkeley Public Library in Berkeley CA,  so I am posting my first ever guest Flannel Friday post. I am happy to do this for anyone who has an idea to share but not a blog of their own (although I encourage you to start a blog if you are interested). You can also contact the host of an upcoming roundup to see if he or she would post your idea as a guest contribution. Here's what Josh has to say:

 

Here is a flannel board I recently made. The art and rhyme come from the book It's Raining said John Twaining: Danish Nursery Rhymes by N.M. Bodecker. Here are the words:

 Squire McGuireHow much is your lyre? A dollar McDooSince the strings are quite new. If you want it more lavish,Go to McTavish If you want it just plain,You must go to McLain. 

The patterns are based directly on the illustrations and are a bit too detailed, but it is great for vocabulary, as words like "lyre" aren't used every day.



Thanks for sharing, Josh! I love the idea of using nursery rhymes from other cultures that American kids are unlikely to be familiar with.

#flannelfriday: Retro Edition

The library building I work in is nearly 100 years old. You can trace the beginnings of our library system back a little bit further than that, but the building itself is a Carnegie building dedicated in 1914. So we have lots of history floating around in our file cabinets and storage areas. One of my predecessors in the children's department kept a journal for about 30 years of children's programming, mostly puppet shows. It is truly fascinating reading. 

You Look Ridiculous... by Bernard Waber

I might write more later about how some things have changed (and others haven't!) in our children's programming based on what I've read, but I thought it would be fun to share some of the stories that my predecessor and her co-workers shared during their storytimes. 


Sadly, the only surviving felt story from that era is You Look Ridiculous, Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus (1973) by Bernard Waber, the same version that I have put in previous storytimes of my own. If you're familiar with the name Bernard Waber, it's most likely because of Lyle the Crocodile or Ira, two of my childhood favorites.

You Look Ridiculous... is very similar in plot to stories like Monkey Face and The Mixed-Up Chameleon, where the main character imagines himself with physical characteristics of other animals and winds up...err.... looking ridiculous.

Some of the other stories told and/or performed with puppets through my predecessor's career included The Carrot Seed, Claude the Dog: A Christmas Story, William's Doll, Humbug Witch, The Witch's Christmas, Claude and Pepper, One Fine Day, The Wind Blew, Mole and Troll Trim the Tree, Monkey Face, Harry and the Terrible Whatzit, The Cat in the Hat, Belinda's New Spring Hat, Don't Think About a White Bear, Where the Wild Things Are, and Mrs. Mopple's Washing Line.

Do you recognize any of your own childhood favorites? I certainly do in The Witch's Christmas, Where the Wild Things Are,  and The Cat in the Hat. I've used The Carrot Seed and Monkey Face in storytimes of my own. I'd love to hear memories of any of the above mentioned titles. What wonders have you found from "back in the day" floating around your department's files? What will you leave for the future?

Little Moon

Today Flannel Friday is celebrating the 2012 Summer Reading Program theme of "Dream Big--READ!" Appropriately, my flannel board today was inspired by a page (#144, actually) in the manual which has a "Moon and Clouds Game" that you can print and send home with the kids after storytime. I thought it would be fun to make it a felt board. The manual suggests numbering a bunch of white clouds and having the kids call out a number, but I used colors instead.


Little moon, little moon, 

Are you behind the cloud of __________?  

This is very similar to felt boards from the past like Little Mouse, Worm Hide and Seek, and Snowball, Snowball. Kids love these guessing games and I include one in each storytime. I started with Little Mouse and have been trying to create one new game for each storytime session we start.

I used 2 images I found on a Google Image search for "cloud coloring page" and "crescent moon coloring page" as my basis for the shapes. The cloud is from here and the moon from here. I copied them into Microsoft Publisher and then adjusted the sizes to the dimensions I wanted. The clouds are about 8 inches wide and the moon fits just under the tallest "bump". This wound up cutting really nicely from a craft felt sheet as there was very little waste on the sides.

Another great cloud flannelboard I posted previously is It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw. This book is a wonderful, wonderful storytime gem and if you don't know it, you are missing out!

Blog Suggestions from Spring Institute

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Travis from 100 Scope Notes and I would be speaking at the Michigan Library Association's Spring Institute for youth services librarians. Well, today was the big day! As promised to the attendees, here is the list of our favorite blogs that we discussed this morning. 


Travis's Top  5 10
A Fuse 8 Production
Waking Brain Cells
Watch. Connect. Read.
Book-a-Day Almanac
Bookends
Abby (the) Librarian
Collecting Children's Books
Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
Jen Robinson's Book Page
Good Show Sir

Anne's Top 5

Beyond the Book Storytimes Incredible ideas for extending kids' books with puppets and other props

Hi Miss Julie! Always interesting, often provocative commentary on the state of our field. 

Mel's Desk A wonderful mentor to me and the storytime presenter I aspire to be one day. 

 Storytime Katie When I have to plan storytime in a crunch, I turn to Miss Katie

 Tiny Tips for Library Fun Another seasoned pro still passionate about creating the best possible  youth library.
We each talked about some of our projects.  Here are some of the ones covered: 
On Hold @ the Library (#holdshelf)
Covering the Newbery 
Flannel Friday (Archives and Pinterest)


Contact
Travis 
Blog: 100 Scope Notes
Email: scopenotes@gmail.com
Twitter: @100scopenotes


Anne
Blog: so tomorrow 
Email: anne@sotomorrowblog.com
Twitter: @sotomorrrow

It's a Flannaversiary!

Today is my 1 year anniversary of participating in Flannel Friday! I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite posts from the year.
Flannel Friday Stats and Superlatives# of my Flannel Friday posts so far:  49? (I missed some weeks, others I posted twice because I am a crazy person. Also I am not good at math.)Most popular Flannel Friday post by # of hits:  Moose in Love
Most pinned Flannel Friday post: Little Worm Hide and SeekCoolest opportunity from Flannel Friday: Speaking at Spring Institute
My most used Flannel Fridays: Moose in Love, Little Mouse
My personal favorites: Little Worm and the upcoming Little Moon (look for that on March 30) Mostly because I wrote them both and while they're hardly earth-shattering, I'm proud of myself for stretching my skills.
Most paper: This is Big, Big, Big
Best Flannels for Newbie LibrariansI know that a lot of veteran children's librarians have been doing storytime since before I could read, but I think the following flannels are great for library students, beginning librarians/storytellers, or anyone who just wants something simple but effective (always the way to go, if you ask me): It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Moose in Love by Diane Briggs
Little Mouse, Little Mouse by Unknown
Little Worm Hide and Seek by Anne Clark
Alice the Camel by Traditional
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill MartinI Have a Little Pocket by Unknown 

Thanks to everyone who reads my ramblings for an amazing year!

Quick Display Idea: Titanic Anniversary!

I hadn't been working in a public library for long when I learned that many kids are totally obsessed with the Titanic, in the way that I was obsessed with fine music (cough) when I was their age. Since we are nearing the 100th anniversary of its sinking, I thought I'd throw together a quick little display of our many Titanic books. I had enough material from the children's collection but you could include items from your adult section as well.

I used an image from OpenClipArt.org, a librarian's lifesaver, so feel free to use my sign. 

Also, if you are itching to put together a program to commemorate this occasion, Abby has a great post on hers from a few years ago. 

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Speaking Announcement

I am so excited to announce that Travis from 100 Scope Notes and I will be speaking at this year's Spring Institute! SI is an annual conference for youth librarians put on by our very own Michigan Library Association. This year it's in Ann Arbor, so I am looking forward to exploring Michigan's eastern side more.

Thursday, March 22, 2012
11:40 a.m.-12:40 p.m.  Blogs, Blogs, Blogs: Think it, Write it, Use it
Blogs are everywhere and they can do a lot more than just tell you what John Smith had for lunch on his day off. Find out how you can use blogs to help you plan programs, keep up with reading trends, collect marketing ideas, and more. Plus, learn how, you too, can enter the Blogosphere and start a blog of your own and why you may want to.

 I will be at S.I. both days, so I hope to meet some new friends and see some old ones. If you are going to be there, please say Hi. I promise to out-awkward you. I will try to remain somewhat dignified.
If you can't make it, just know that Eric Litwin will be there. Jealous, right? I plan to be really obnoxious and geek out all over the place about Pete the Cat. Maybe I can get my stuffed Pete signed? It's probably better if you won't be there to see me embarass myself.

We are still working on our presentation so if you have an idea for something we should make sure to cover, please leave a comment.

Crowdsourcing Storytime: Dream Big, READ!

Last year I had such a blast "crowd-sourcing" my summer reading storytimes (and especially appreciated the help thinking of fun crafts to go with them) that I wanted to try it again this year too. Sadly, I will be on maternity leave during our summer reading program, so I won't be around to enjoy some of the fun stuff I'm planning, but I still want the kids to enjoy their storytimes. 

The majority of our storytimes in the summer are outside and off-site, so that is a consideration as we don't want to have to lug too much stuff out to cars and back. All the same, I couldn't resist sneaking The Game of Light in for the sky storytime (would also work for camping or PJ themes) even though we can only do that one indoors. 

Another consideration is the huge age range and number of attendees vary constantly. Some weeks we will have 10 people at storytime, others 60 or more. The only way to manage is to plan way more than you think you will need and be flexible about your choices once you see who has come for storytime that day. 



Below are the lists I've brainstormed so far. Some of them need more ideas and some have way too many. I've decided to over-plan them and let the staff members who will doing storytime in my present pick the stories they are most comfortable with sharing. This is just to give them an outline of guidance. 

Beachy Keen
Books:
What If by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies
A Beach Tail by Karen Williams
Ladybug Girl at the Beach by David Soman
All You Need for a Beach by Alice Schertle
Craft: ???




CampingBooks: 
Duck Tents by Lynne Berry
Into the Outdoors by Susan Gal
Scare a Bear by Kathy-Jo Wargin
"Mosquito Song" (p. 21) and "Two Voices in a Tent at Night" (p. 24) from Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems by Kristine O'Connell George.Craft: ??
Thanks to Mollie for the idea for this storytime! 
Owls

Books:
Good Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins
Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton
Who Hoots by Katie Davis"Round-faced Owl" draw and tell story from the summer reading manual (p. 167)
I was also thinking of reading some of Odd Owls and Stout Pigs by Arnold Lobel (maybe a flannelboard?)Craft: Probably either the owl puppet (p. 191) or mask (p. 189) from the SRP manual
Jungle Safari
Books:
Elephants Can Paint, Too! by Katya Arnold
From Head to Toe by Eric CarleIf I Were a Jungle Animal by Amanda ElleryThe Lion's Share by Matthew McElligot
If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition by James WarholTiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen
Craft: ??
This one was inspired by Katie! 
Pajama-rama!Books: How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen and play "Dinosaur Doesn't" (p. 125 in manual, basically "Simon Says" for actions you shouldn't do!)
Otto Goes to Bed by Todd ParrBedtime Bunnies by Wendy Watson
Ten in the Bed by Jane Cabrera
Creak, Said the Bed by Phyllis Root
Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna DewdneyGoodnight, Sweet Pig by Linda BaileyDinosaur Vs. Bedtime by Bob SheaThere's An Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
I'm thinking of adapting the "Pretty Pillow" prop story (p. 130 in the SRP manual) into a flannelboard story, if I have time.
"Maybe I'll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight" poem (p. 13) from Maybe I'll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight and Other Funny Bedtime Poems by Debbie LevyCraft: ??
Sky, Stars, and MoonBooks: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (Scroll story or flannel) The Game of Light by Herve Tullet Don't forget the flashlight (and test it first)Craft: Man in the moon painting (pattern on p. 218, instructions on p. 205-206 of the SRP manual)
Have a suggestion for a great book, craft, game, or other activity not listed here? Leave it in the comments, so everyone can see it. 
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Alice the Camel

One of my favorite interactive songs to perform with kids is "Alice the Camel," also known as "Sally the Camel," but, Alice is the correct name. I like to check YouTube to see if songs I am unfamiliar with have a video there, so if you haven't heard this one before, give that a try.  I like to have everyone shake their hips on the last line of the verse.

Alice the Camel
Alice the camel has five humps.
Alice the camel has five humps.
Alice the camel has five humps.
So go, Alice, go!
Boom, boom, boom, boom! 

(Remove a hump. Repeat the song as you count 4, 3, 2, and 1 humps) and then:

Alice the camel has no humps.
Alice the camel has no humps.
Alice the camel has no humps.
Cause Alice is a horse!

You can make a felt/flannel board story out of these song by using these body and hump patterns, courtesy of the Texas State Library. Since the pieces don't overlap, a magnet board would work too. Originally I made this out of camel-colored felt, but that version appears to have gone on safari somewhere without telling me, so I remade it quickly by printing the patterns directly on milk filters.

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Milk Filters Source List

Looking for a unique and wonderful gift for the Children's Librarian in your life? Try tracking down some milk filters! Judging from some of the Google search results that bring visitors here, milk filters are harder to find than Sasquatch! Below I've compiled a source list for milk filters. Please note that I have not bought anything from the stores below and cannot vouch for them. I did not receive anything from the stores below for mentioning them. If you know of additional sources, please clue us in with a comment below! 
Wondering what on Earth children's librarians use milk filters for? Try reading Andrea's post and an old one of mine for some background. 
Online Sources: Blain's Farm and Fleet  sells a box of 100 15 inch milk filters (by KenAg) for $13.49 + shipping. You can input your zip code to get a shipping total. My zip code was $4.95 for economy shipping via the post office (within 5-10 business days). 
Shane's Tack also sells a 100 quantity of the same milk filters for $20.97 + $9.08 shipping to the continental U.S. However, they do offer a volume discount (2 or more @ $20.34, 5 or more @ $19.71, 10 or more @ $19.08) that could be useful for those of you who work in a multi-branch library system or know other people who might want to "go in on" a bunch of filters together.  For comparison shoppers, 10 boxes is a case of milk filters, sold for $204 at Giles Dairy Service. I was not able to get a shipping quote without creating an account. 
If you are looking for a smaller sized milk filter, try True Harvest. You can get 100 of the 6.5 inch filters for $11.29 + shipping. A box was quoted to me as shipping for $6.93 via the post office. 
StoresIf you live in Illinois, Wisconsin, or Iowa: there may be a Blain's Farm and Fleet near you. I believe the box I have came from the Woodstock, IL location (we have family in IL and my husband picked some up on a visit. Yes, he gets sent on weird errands sometimes). 
As I live in an area of Michigan with plenty of farmers, you would think there would be a store nearby that sells milk filters. There is not. Apparently the farms around here use some sort of polyester "sock" to filter the milk. You learn something new everyday. 
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