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.

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!

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.

Library Out Loud

On October 9th we will be hosting our next Library Out Loud! This time we will be focusing on how to find and cite images for presentations. Come join us at 1:30 in the Rotary Center for Global Studies!

In the event you are wondering what happened to my planned Banned Books Week posts, well, illness derails the best of plans.  However, I can leave you with this photo of our display.

Another day, another ridiculous book challenge

Today's installment concerns The Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. CBS News reports that it was challenged at one school because it "encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them." Further, it was outright banned in 1986 at another elementary school because the poems "glorified Satan, suicide and cannibalism, and also encouraged children to be disobedient." (cbsnews.com). What was going on with parents in the 1980s?

On banning books and other absurdities

Next week is the American Library Association's banned books week; an event that is designed to highlight just how often books are still challenged or outright banned in this country as well as to celebrate our right to read.  In the next few days I will share with you some of the absurd reasons books have been challenged or banned in this country.

First up is The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.  "In 1983, four members of the Alabama Textbook Commission wanted to reject the title for use in the schools because it was 'a real downer.'" (Karolides, Bald & Sova, 2005). Another reason the book has been challenged have been because a parent objected "to the discussion of 'the mistreatment of the Jewish people.'" (Karolides, Bald & Sova, 2005). Yes, that's right, someone objected to a Jewish girl recording the mistreatment she and others endured before perishing in the Holocaust simply because they were Jewish. Finally, in 1982 parents in Wise County, Virginia, challenged the book because Anne's criticism on her mother "undermines adult authority." (Karolides, Bald & Sova, 2005). A teen aged girl complained about her mother in her private diary. Oh no. What a shocking and terrible thing! (Where is a sarcasm font when you need one?)

Now, both of the dates of these challenges were quite a long time ago. This does not mean challenges have stopped. On the contrary, while Banned Books Week was started in 1982 due to an uptick in challenges at libraries, schools and bookstores, (www.bannedbooksweek.org) banners are still hard at work, getting offended over the slightest provocation.  Interestingly enough books with diverse characters have been the most recent target of challenges with nine of the top ten most challenged books for 2015-2016 having diverse content and eight six of the top one hundred also having diverse content.  (www.ala.org) What do we mean by diverse content? Written and/or about people of color, LGBT people, people with disabilities or a combination of these. 

Stay tuned for some more interesting facts about banned books and check out the ALA's webpage on banned books for more information and what you can do to prevent book challenges turning into bans (the removal of the challenged item). ALA Banned Books

Welcome Faculty!

Yesterday, August 10th was our open house for full and part time faculty. We'd like to share some of the photos of our displays. This is just a small sampling of the resources we have at your disposal!

Author! Author!

Today is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death. Although her life was short (she died at the age of 41) and her literary output comparatively small by today's standards (she published six novels) her work was, and remains, both significant and timeless.

Many people dismiss her works as being old fashioned romances, to which I say "balderdash." It is true that Austen's novels do tend to focus on romantic relationships, but getting married was essentially the only respectable choice for a young woman of any standing to make during the Georgian and Regency eras when Austen lived. Frankly, this was the only option available to women of standing well into the 20th century, but that is neither here no there.  The point is, you cannot fault her novels for focusing on the primary concern of women during her lifetime.  Austen's novels are filled with fabulous wit and iconic characters, and she makes cutting observation about the social standards and mores of her time.

Moreover, the plot and characters of her novels as provided inspiration for countless authors and film makers over the years.  They have adapted her works, modernized them (remember Clueless? That's Emma. How about Bridget Jones' Diary? That's Pride and Prejudice), used her characters for stories of their own, and have even used Austen herself as a character in movies and books.

Are her books wordy when compared the plot heavy novels of today? Yes, but nothing like Dickens. Would it behoove you to know something about society and the way of life during the time when the books take place? It will certainly enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the books, but it isn't necessary. I do recommend you try them if you haven't. You may not enjoy them (I don't pretend that every reader will enjoy every book equally), but who knows, you may just find yourself enthralled. (Someone else needs to read Longbourn by Jo Baker which focuses on the lives of the servants during the events of Pride and Prejudice so I can share all my feels!)

If you would like to learn more about Jane Austen we can recommend www.janeusten.org and www.janeausten.co.uk

Viva la France!

In honor of Bastille Day we bring you are salute to France and Paris in particular.  Everything is available for checkout (except the croissants, those are mine!).

One cart, two carts,

grey cart, new cart!Okay, so the carts aren't actually new, but everything on them is!

Box carnage.

It should come as no surprise that I love to read.  I am a librarian after all.  But libraries are so much more than just books these days.   We have ebook collections, databases, CDS, and a rather robust DVD collection (current holdings: 3757).  Libraries (and librarians) exist to help people with their information needs, whatever they might be, and we will use any and all resources at our disposal to get you the information you seek, as well as some information you need but didn't know to look for.

But let's talk about reading books just a bit more. As you can see from the picture below, I have received a huge quantity of books in the last week. The box carnage was even worse than the picture. I only photographed half of it. Now, even though I love reading, I realize that not everyone feels the same way, and that some people just don't have time.  Would I love it if everyone who came into the library checked out a book to read? Oh yes! But I recognize the causes of resistance to reading, and why someone might be reluctant to read for fun.  I can assure you though that if you come to this library looking for something good to read that I will work with you to find you a book you will enjoy.  We do not judge what a person chooses to read, so if you are fifty years old and want to read a young adult novel you can! Want a graphic novel? We've got those too! Short stories, novels in verse, memoirs, biographies, narrative nonfiction, personal philosophies, cookbooks, picture books, romance, horror, science fiction, fantasy, true crime? We have all this and more, and would love it if you would check out a book on something you enjoy or find fascinating. No one will give you flack about anything you choose to read. (Although, if all you check out is books on serial killers we might get a little nervous).

I'm off to wrangle with the contents of these empty boxes. A librarian's work is never truly done.

Let's Get Started!

Hello and welcome to the Jim and Patsy Rose Library's new blog! We will be sharing information here on our collections, our services and our events in the days to come. It is the start of a brand new fiscal year and for me that means new books! (I've ordered 250 so far this month. Yes, I realize it is only the 6th). My colleagues and I have a lot planned for the upcoming fall semester and we hope you will take advantage of all that we have to offer you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to open these boxes.