This is why I will not stop talking about books and reading

Here are 11 Facts about Literacy in America from Do Something.  This happens to an organization that fund raises for different "campaigns" to bring about positive change.  I linked it simply because of the alarming facts they share.

Here is another article that analyzes the statistics on Americans who do not read, this time from the Pew Research Center. 24% percent of adult Americans "say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic or audio form."  Who Doesn't Read Books in America?  

And finally, here are some Facts About Children's Literacy from the National Education Association.

Of books and other things

Libraries have so much more to offer besides books these days which is great.  I love using databases for up to date information on current issues (and the ease at which they can be searched now).  It beats flipping through print journals or magazines by a landslide.  I also really like having access to online encyclopedias so I can quickly find background information on a topic or so that I can double check something I am having trouble remembering.  And of course, there is the amazing dvd collection we have that's filled with films, documentaries and live performances of artistic works that we simply don't have access to at our local cinema or theater.  But, and I realize that this makes me sound old fashioned, but books are still the best thing that a library has to offer.

Now, I'm biased of course.  I love to read.  Always have.  I can't remember learning to read per se; although I do remember not being able to read.  It just sort of happened.  One day I couldn't and the next day I could, or at least that's how it felt and how I remember it.  Libraries offer everyone access to all sorts of books that they would never be able to purchase (or store) on their own.  (Well, maybe if you are uber rich and have a library like in the Beast's castle. If so, can we be friends?) But it is more than just access to them that libraries provide.  You have trained professionals there who enjoy reading and finding information and they want to help you find what you are looking for and to discuss those books with you. (Gentle reminder that if you enjoy that to read our last post about Booked for Lunch).

For some time now pundits have been crowing about how print is dead and that the new digital age will usurp print books.  Sorry, but no.  Print is not going away anytime soon, not, at least, for books people read as opposed to peruse.  And it's a good thing too because studies have found that people retain more information when reading it in print versus online.  Check out this article from the New Republic on the subject.  Why Digital Reading is No Substitute for Print

I encourage everyone to visit their local library or libraries.  We are an academic library so we don't have the same types of programming that public libraries do, and our fiction collection, while nothing to sneer at, isn't as big as many public libraries can offer.  Our nonfiction collection on the other hand, is out of this world (not to brag or anything).  Libraries exist to serve their patrons and in turn, we need our patrons to support us all in order for us to continue to receive funding.  Even if you aren't much of a reader, there is so much that a library can offer you.  Check on out today.  You'll be pleasantly surprised. 

Booked for Lunch

Readers tend to like to talk about the books they've enjoyed and to always be looking for recommendations of other great books to try.  How do you find these recommendations though? Obviously you can ask a librarian, but even though we try to be widely read we do have our own reading preferences and tastes, so it can be challenging to recommend something that isn't in our wheelhouse so to speak.  (For instance, I don't read horror, so I wouldn't be a good person to ask for recommendations for that genre off the top of my head.) Goodreads is another great resource, but to get the most out of it you need to invest a lot of time building your bookshelves and reviewing books; time that busy readers would rather devote to actually reading.  Of course, there are also book clubs, but those can be hard to find and join.   Also, just because you are friends with someone doesn't mean you will have the same taste in books.  Many readers also don't want to be forced to read anything, they just want a good mystery by golly! What's a frustrated book worm to do?

Introducing Booked for Lunch!!! Beginning in September the Jim and Patsy Rose Library will be hosting Booked for Lunch twice a month (on different days to help accommodate people's schedules) where we get together over lunch (you have to provide your own) and discuss what we are reading based on the selected genre and get recommendations of other books in that same genre.  For example, in October the genre will be mysteries.  Hate mysteries?  You don't have to come to that meeting! Another genre will be fantasy. Loathe those? Don't come!  You only need to come to the meetings where the topic interests you.  If that means you only come to one a year so be it.  We aren't taking attendance. We just want to give our patrons (this is open to faculty, staff and students) an opportunity to simply discuss books and socialize.  And don't worry if you can't make it to the meeting itself.  All of the books mentioned will be posted here after the second meeting has taken place.

We are all very excited about Booked for Lunch and hope you will be too!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Well, no, it isn't fun, but it is important, and you can work up a sweat doing it. The summer semester is when we conduct our yearly inventory.  This is not simply a matter of checking off what we have, like looking through your pantry before going shopping. We need to check what is on our shelves with what our catalog says is supposed to be there and make sure it is in the correct order so that we can find things when we need them. We do this every year to make sure our collection is in tip top shape and that the finding aid (catalog) accurately reflects what we have in our possession.

We begin by shelf reading, which is a long, tedious process of checking that the call numbers are in the correct order.  We also have to check that items are shelved in the correct location. Juvenile and Young Adult titles frequently get shelved in each other's section by mistake for example. Then we have to prepare the catalog and finally begin scanning.  There are a multitude of reports that get run after each section is scanned and then any issues that are discovered have to be resolved. You also run into damaged items that had been overlooked, faded spine labels that need to be replaced, and every once in a while something alarming such as a broken shelf, or a large spider with an egg sac (this was years ago and I had the exterminator come immediately).

The library is still open for business during this time.  You can use the computers and check items out. However, you will more than likely hear the persistent beep beep beep from the inventory scanner, or the mutterings of the Collection Development librarian as she hunts for items that should be on the shelf but didn't get scanned over the next few weeks.

The Summer Slide is not a Fun Ride

Hello everyone! Some of you may be familiar with the term "summer slide." For those of you who are not it is not referring to a fun summer activity.  Rather, it refers to the substantial loss of academic skills, specifically in reading, that occurs over the summer when children do not have access to books to read. Over time this loss becomes cumulative, until the students are reading below grade level. In her article, Slowing the Summer Slide, Lorna Smith quotes the findings of researchers from Johns Hopkins on this issue as follows:

"Although low-income children in the study made as much progress in reading during the academic year as middle-income children did, the poorer children's reading skills slipped away during the summer months. The researchers concluded that two-thirds of the 9th grade reading achievement gap can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during elementary school."

Why do I bring this up on a college library's blog? There are a number of reasons.  First of all, literacy is important to everyone, not just for young children.  Furthermore, it is an amazingly complex skill to learn and master.  (For more information on why that is check out Learning to Read is Hard.) We all need to continually practice reading throughout our lifetimes in order to keep the comprehension and analytical skills required sharp.  Secondly, modeling the behavior we want our children to emulate is also necessary.  Why should a child take the time to read if their parents never do? Thirdly, reading out loud to your child past the age when they can already read for themselves has been proven to have long term benefits.  (See a previous posting on this blog about that).  Your child will get to hear words pronounced that he or she has never heard before and thus will not grow up thinking that the word Potpourri, for example, is pronounce Pot-poury. Finally, we have a large collection of children's materials for multiple reading levels available.  These collections exist to support our Early Childhood Education program and the Early College High School.  These items are not restricted to students enrolled in these programs.

We encourage you to make use of these collections for the reasons listed above. We could encourage you to use the public library, and you should.  However, there may be reasons you would prefer to use our library instead. We may be closer to your home than one of the public library branches. (Incidentally, if you live in Cleveland County and are not a student at CCC then you may apply for a community user card which will enable you to check out three books at a time.) You may already be coming here for summer classes and it will save you a trip.  You may find our hours work better for your schedule. Whatever reason you chose, if you chose to come to our library looking for recreational reading for yourself or your child we will welcome you with open arms and help you find a book that fits.

Happy Birthday John James Audubon!

John James Audubon was born today in 1785 in what is now Haiti.  A lifelong aficionado of birds, Audubon is best known for his seminal watercolor collection Birds of America.  Published between 1827 and 1838 it consists of 435 life sized prints of the birds native to this country.  Each print was made from a hand engraved plate.  Many libraries, including ours, have facsimiles of this work, renamed American Birds, but much of the detail is lost by reducing the size of the images for the sake of affordability (and storage). Fortunately, the Audubon Society, which was named in his honor and is the preeminent conservation and educational organization on birds, has the entire collection in digital format for our viewing.

For more information visit The National Audubon Society and marvel at the glorious work of a passionate man, whose name is now synonymous with birds.  If you would like to learn more about Audubon we also have two biographies on him, as well as numerous birding guides that bear his name.  

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!

Today is Beverly Cleary's 102nd birthday!!! In addition to all of the wonderful children's books she has written she also wrote a two part autobiography that is fantastic. The first part is A Girl from Yamhill and the second is My Own Two Feet. If you enjoyed her books you owe it to yourself to read these.

What was your favorite Cleary book? Ramona the Brave? Runaway Ralph? Henry and Ribsy? Ellen Tebbits? Mine was Ramona Quimby, Age 8. My all time favorite teacher, Mrs. Primoli, read this to us in first grade and I could not wait to be able to read it for myself.