Happy Birthday Sweetwater County Library!

July 4, 2007

A salute to the founders of the Carnegie Library in Green River and the enduring value of public libraries takes place July 4th at Centennial Park in Green River. The theme is ?A River of Change? to reflect the many changes that have taken place in libraries over the past 100 years. The Sweetwater County Library in partnership with the Library Foundation invites the public to the celebration from 3-6 p.m. A street dance follows from 6-7:30. The Library?s Centennial committee has been organizing the event for a year and says support from numerous local donors is what has made the event possible.

The Carnegie Library in Green River opened to the public July 4, 1907, and served as the library for 73 years until 1980 when the Sweetwater County Library opened Sept. 21st at 300 North 1st East. To commemorate the Centennial, librarians have planned a variety of activities for the public.

In a tandem celebration American Libraries, an outstanding journal for libraries is also celebrating its 100 year anniversary. The ALA Focus video shows where libraries have been: Everywhere!

“The unfortunate part is that I was never seriously educated about the fact that postpartum depression might occur. It is very real and has quietly devastated the lives of many people. If I had been better informed, I might not have considered my self a candidate but at least I would have been armed with some important information. I am incredibly thankful to have recognized early on that something was wrong and that I was able to find help. I hate to think about the women who endure this type of depression for long periods of time without knowing that there is assistance available.” Excerpt from “Down Came The Rain” by Brooke Shields.

All mothers, mothers to be, and those that care for them, should take time to read this book. It is a tender story of love and motherhood postponed; tales of the frustration of infertility and the possible link to post partum depression and how it robs mothers, babies and families of the connections they all deserve. You may recognize yourself in Brook Shield’s words.

The Library Fix
When politics gets mean and dumb, you can cheer yourself up by walking into a public library.
By Garrison Keillor

“When politics gets mean and dumb, you can cheer yourself up by walking into a public library, one of the nobler expressions of democracy. Candidates don’t mention libraries — they’re more likely to talk about putting people behind bars and no coddling or shilly-shallying with appeals and that judicial nonsense, just throw them in the dungeon and stick their heads in the toilet and do what you gotta do — and yet when I walk into the library near my house and see a couple hundred teenagers studying, most of them Hmong or Vietnamese, I see the old cheerful America that Washington has lost touch with, the land of opportunity.
The library is the temple of freedom. Growing up, we kids were aware of how much of our lives was a performance for adults. In school, at church, in Scouts, adults were watching, cueing you, coaching, encouraging, commenting; but in the library, you didn’t have to perform for the librarian. She simply presided over an orderly world in which you had the freedom of your own imagination. The silence was not repressive but liberating: to allow your imagination to play, uninhibited by others.”

Read the entire article at Salon.com.

What role does the library serve for you?

Wyoming is one of more than 100 communities to take part this fall in The Big Read, a project of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Big Read encourages an entire community to read and discuss the same book. Read what the NEA has to say about it at http://www.arts.gov/news/news07/bigreadCycle2.html.

Wyoming’s The Big Read will be on My Antonia by Willa Cather. Thirteen counties are participating: Albany, Campbell, Converse, Fremont, Johnson, Laramie, Lincoln, Niobrara, Park, Sheridan, Sweetwater, Uinta and Weston.

The Big Read will kick off at our first Wyoming Book Festival on September 15, 2007 in Cheyenne with a keynote speech by past Wyoming poet laureate Robert Roripaugh, a living history presentation of Willa Cather and free copies of My Antonia for readers to “Catch, Read and Release!”

A Wyoming The Big Read website is in the works — look for the address in upcoming updates. Look also for great programs, book discussions and book giveaways at local libraries in participating counties in the coming months.

-Susan Vittitow
Wyoming Center for the Book Coordinator
Wyoming State Library

For more on The Big Read:By Porter Anderson CNN
(CNN) — An all-night reading at a local Krispy Kreme of American author John Steinbeck’s 1939 classic “The Grapes of Wrath” — literature amid chocolate iced glazed crullers — may not rival an afternoon at your local library for quiet.
But even as Dana Gioia, the National Endowment for the Arts’ chairman, announces 117 new cities chosen to participate in the agency’s “Big Read” program this year, that’s what you hear: Quiet.

For the rest of this article, click here.

Anonymous said…
I would like to recommend another excellent book “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah. If anyone is interested in learning more about what has happened in Sierra Leone over the past couple of decades, or would like to gain a broader perspective of the plight of child soldiers please read this book. Never before have words on a page made my stomach recoil in horror at what is happening in our world. It was only days ago, that three individuals were convicted of the war crimes described in this book. This is the first time an international court has convicted someone of conscripting children for military service. This small victory does nothing to change what has happened in Sierra Leone, but June 2007 should be remembered for this. Ishmael Beah is now attending graduate school and works for the Human Rights Watch Children?s Division Advisory Committee, and has spoken at the United Nations numerous times. It will only take an afternoon, read it.

Thanks to anonymous for this review.

A journey based on friendship; sharing tragedy, disappointments, betrayal, trauma, heart crushing loss, confusion, identity crisis, grief, mind numbing routines, expectations, responsibility and complacency. A change from knowing gentle heart sounds to hearing exploding voices from the soul; daring exploration, risk taking, acceptance found, a soft place to rest, offering and receiving support, leaving the past and making strong choices. One group of women finding each other and themselves, inspiring other women resulting in changes and clarified choices, garnering strength from each other and from within, finding each individual potential free from repercussion. Laughter, love, friendship and sharing from a female viewpoint.
I feel like a long walk with some friends.

Random House Children’s Books sponsored a contest where film makers and animators competed for the best book video for three of the top books of 2006.

The Book Thief is work that is interesting to both young adults and adult readers. Death is the narrator and as such explores the happenings in Liesle Meminger’s life from when she is left by her mother and taken into a foster home. World War II is the setting for Liesel’s life, her family, the torment and the trials she encounters. Her neighborhood is filled with memorable characters, struggling through the war and occupation. Leisel steals her first book, expressing herself the only way she can, secretively. Her foster mother’s cruelty, the father’s kindness, her best friend Rudy, an accidental refugee Max and the solitary wife of the mayor who provides access to her personal library and enables Leisel’s thievery, pepper the story and connect with the reader.

The Great and Terrible Beauty

The setting is a Victorian girls school that has a secret history. Gemma leaves her Indian home after the suicide of her mother. She is sent to a finishing school in London where she has to deal with the strange circumstances of her mother’s death and integrating into a new culture. Confused and intrigued by the death and the secret of the school, Gemma finds friends within a circle of girls. What happened twenty five years before the friends attended this school? What do the teachers know? What role does the cave on the school grounds play? How is it all connected?

How I Live Now

What would happen if ware broke out where you live? Daisy lives within frightening changes after her move from Manhattan into a relatives farmhouse in England. Daisy and her cousins live without adults to depend on while the farmhouse is taken by soldiers. Even her male cousins are taken from her as she struggles to keep herself and her youngest cousin, Piper, alive. Changes within Daisy are profound, taking her from a selfish teenager to a leader and survivor. She emerges shaken by her circumstances and experiences while maturing with compassion.

Take a look at the videos at Random House.

Scholastic who wisely chose to publish the American version of the Harry Potter series, has some fun downloads; screensavers, bookmarks and a desktop alert widget, on their site. It is now 25 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes and 10 seconds until the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For all things Harry visit Scholastic. The newest and last book in the series will be available July 21, 2007.

It has been reported that copies of Harry Potter are already available in China where copyright laws are shaky at best. A hacker who goes by the name of Gabriel claims he obtained a digital copy of the manuscript for J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ and has posted plot details online. Book Standard News also reports that “whether or not readers believe Gabriel, there is only one way to find out if he is right. And that won’t happen until July 21″.

Who are you going to believe muggles?

New Chapter In Convenience, Pre-Loaded PLAYAWAY® Digital Audio Books For Library Patrons.

Each Palm-Sized Unit is Permanently Loaded with an Audio Book to Make Listening as Simple as Pressing Play; Bestselling Titles Available

Half the size of a deck of cards, Playaway is the simplest way to listen to a book on the go and – with no tapes or CDs – can hold as little as two or as much as eighty hours of content on each unit. Using clearly marked buttons, Playaway gives listeners the ability to move back and forth within or between chapters and alter the speed of a narrator’s voice. It even has an automatic bookmark feature that remembers where you left off. Additionally, Playaway has a universal headphone jack that works with almost any type of headphone or mobility accessory.

“With Playaway, we set out to create a product that was portable, technologically simple and easy to use, and it’s been a perfect fit for libraries,” said Christopher Celeste, President, Findaway World. “In fact, 99% of our current library customers would recommend Playaway to another library. We are excited to have provided such a welcome audio format for this important channel.”

Playaway is the simplest way to listen to digital content on the go. It comes with the audio content already pre-loaded on it and a battery to make it play. Simply plug in earbuds and enjoy. Each Playaway weighs only two ounces and has a universal jack.

Playaway is Made Possible by Findaway WorldFindaway World, a privately held company based in Cleveland, Ohio, is dedicated to delivering simple and immediate access to content consumers want or need. Their latest product, Playaway, is the first digital audio player of its kind, coming pre-loaded with premier content from leading publishers, authors, record labels, and artists.

Book Sense

June 2007

#1 Pick:
“It is a feat to bring off a serious, historically-set novel where the
history doesn’t overwhelm the human story, nor does the human tale simply
use the history as furniture. This most impressive, captivating debut
– a novel of a young woman finding her way into life in 17th century
Iran — is one that does justice to both story and history.”
–Rick Simonson, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA

See more book choices at Book Sense (http://www.booksense.com/bspicks/index.jsp)