From the desk of State Librarian Rand Simmons Graphic from the National Weather Service It isn’t unusual to have rain, even constant rain, in Western Washington this time of year. But the current predictions are a bit more extreme. We are expecting one to three inches of rain in South Puget Sound area and Mason County may have flooding. So, I pondered this morning as I drove in to work, what I would do if I had the time off…
Airway Heights Correction Center Library is starting its 6th Library Reads Program. We started this program one year ago with John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row”. After that we read “Sky Fisherman” by Craig Lesley, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “Little Bee” by Chris Cleave and “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford. This program has been very exciting and I am amazed at the way the guys get into the books,…
According to a recent Reuters news item, the country of Brazil is offering a novel way for prisoners to shorten their sentences: read a book! Inmates in 4 federal prisons can read up to 12 works of literature, classics, science, or philosophy, and shorten their incarceration by 4 days per book, up to a maximum of 48 days off their sentences. The program, which is called “Redemption through Reading,” requires the inmates to read the book within 4 weeks, and…
Today, August 9, is said to be Book Lovers Day. I can’t find out much about the origins or history of this “holiday,” but it’s all over the web, so it must be true, right?! ☺ Also, I heard it on my local NPR station this morning. I thought I’d celebrate the occasion by posting this picture I took in the Ft. Vancouver High School Library Media Center a while back. The picture features one of my favorite book quotes,…
Congratulations to Pat Bliquez! Pat is the teacher-librarian at Roxhill Elementary, a small elementary school in a West Seattle neighborhood of modest means. For her exemplary work promoting books and reading, she just won Seattle public-television station KCTS’ coveted Golden Apple Award for making a difference in children’s lives. For more, read the Seattle Times story, and visit the West Seattle blog which includes a video tribute presentation honoring Pat, or check out the KCTS9 citation, as well as the…
Volume 6, August 19, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) JAN’S FINAL WASHINGTON READS 2) APPLY FOR A POSITION ON THE LIBRARY COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON 3) HISTORICAL PORT TOWNSEND PAPER GOES ONLINE 4) BOOKS FOR BABIES MATCHING GRANTS 5) ARE YOU READY? COMES TO SPOKANE 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK 7) LSSC OFFERS COURSE SUBSIDIES
Eastern Washington University was recently awarded $17,025 to support “The Big Read,” a national program that brings communities together to read and discuss books. EWU was the only Washington organization to receive a Big Read grant in this, the fifth year of the program. Eastern selected The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, for its Big Read program. Events will take place throughout March and April of 2011, as part of the upcoming year’s Get Lit! festival. In a July…
Ocoee Middle School in Florida put together an amazing video tribute to reading, based on the Black Eyed Peas / Oprah flash mob event in Chicago. Something inspiring for your Friday morning!
eBooks (and eReaders) have been getting a ton of press over the past couple months, and I have a feeling that they will continue to do so throughout the year. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is happening in Vegas right now, and a lot of the buzz coming out is about ebooks and readers. In case you haven’t been paying attention, though, I’d like to highlight some of my favorite articles and thoughts on ebooks to date and for the…
I’ll avoid any cliches about gifts that keep on giving. Instead, I’ll jump straight in and admit that I, like many librarians, am an NPR nerd. I adore NPR for a number of reasons (though I will say that it was Ira Glass who first got me hooked). I also particularly enjoy their segments with librarian Nancy Pearl on book recommendations. Nancy Pearl was once-upon-a-time the Director of Library Programming at the Seattle Public Library. These days she reads and…