Ideas from the YALSA blog

How can librarians act to embrace the idea that of the school library as a destination place – where it’s OK for teens go to hang out and spend time? What makes a library more than a supermarket where students grab things they need and run? Could these ideas shared on the YALSA blog work?

* Hours that go beyond the traditional 9 to 5 or 9 to 9 model? Do successful hangout places for teens open early and stay open late?
* Staff across library departments that is welcoming, interested, and willing to build relationships?
* Flexible furniture that is easy to move around and that promotes sitting and talking with friends and peers?
* Space that actually has space for moving around, standing and talking, and even sitting on the floor?
* More than a collection of books and what’s in the collection (books, media, technology, etc.) is of interest to teens 2009/2010 and not just favorites of current or past librarians, staff, parents, etc.?
* A place where teens know their ideas are welcome, supported, and even acted upon?

How Everything Changed

Watch the video promotion of a new book ordered at the New Trier Library.

From Kirkus:
"An enormously entertaining cultural and social history...Without preaching, Collins shows the sexism that women (and men) once accepted as the norm, and she backs up her often eye-opening stories with hard facts and solid statistics.... Collins can be deadly serious and great fun to read at the same time. A revelatory book for readers of both sexes, and sure to become required reading for any American women's-studies course."

Examining Christianity from a Buddhist Perspective

Now available in paperback, Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian by Paul F. Knitter intrigues me since I believe no single dogma/belief system can explain the human condition or reason for human existence.

A professor at Harvard Divinity School says this book:
"Radiates wisdom and warmth. Is it possible to become more fully Christian by taking most seriously the Buddhist path -- becoming Buddhist in order to live more fully the Christian life? Agree or not with Paul's answer, we can be most grateful to him for pressing the question and making so very clear the possibilities and risks along the way." Francis X. Clooney

Two what extent will online piracy impact the ebook industry?

In 1999, when the music industry was "Napsterized" by free file sharing, music CD sales dramatically declined; a three year study in 16 countries shows that 95% of music downloads are unauthorized. The free service RapidShare appears to account for most of the current piracy in ebooks. Read Randall Stross' article "Will Books be Napsterized?" in today's NY Times Business Section.

The Power of Books and Librarians. . .

An inspiring story from the NPR series "Story Corp" about a young man whose life was changed by books and his local librarian. Enjoy!

Recent Reads...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Set in 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi, The Help is told through the perspective of a white woman, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, and two black maids, Aibileen and Minny. Having just graduated from Ole Miss, Skeeter is determined, much to her mother’s dismay, to become a writer. She goes against her family and friends’ beliefs, and with the help of primarily Aibileen and Minny, she anonymously authors a book to represent the treatment of black help in the 1960’s. Although she is ostracized by those around her, she remains relentless.
Personally, I was shocked by the irony of this time; black help was entrusted to raise white children, but in all other regards they were oppressed and given limited rights. I also found Stockett’s afterword especially poignant. She tells of her own experience growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, during this same time period, in a family with hired help. I highly recommended this book to all! Check out Amazon’s review.