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In Praise of Public Libraries

…from the New York Review of Books, an opinion piece by Sue Halpern..

A public library is predicated on an ethos of sharing and egalitarianism. It is nonjudgmental. It stands in stark opposition to the materialism and individualism that otherwise define our culture. It is defiantly, proudly, communal. Even our little book-lined room, with its mismatched furniture and worn carpet, was, as the sociologist Eric Klinenberg reminds us libraries were once called, a palace for the people.
Read it here: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/04/18/in-praise-of-public-libraries/

April 2, 2019 by Uncategorized 0

What Do You Think of Reading Books as a Punishment?

From an article in The New York Times, a judge imposes juveniles to read from a list of books and report on their reactions.

  • A Virginia judge handed down an unusual sentence last year after five teenagers defaced a historic black schoolhouse with swastikas and the words “white power” and “black power.”

    Instead of spending time in community service, Judge Avelina Jacob decided, the youths should read a book.

    But not just any book. They had to choose from a list of ones covering some of history’s most divisive and tragic periods.

    The horrors of the Holocaust awaited them in “Night,” by Elie Wiesel. The racism of the Jim Crow South was there in Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The brutal hysteria of persecution could be explored in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.

    • April 6, 2018 by Uncategorized 1

    From Overdue Books to Overdosed Patrons

    Story from the NYT .

    The opioid epidemic is reshaping life in America, including at the local public library, where librarians are considering whether to carry naloxone to battle overdoses. At a time when the public is debating arming teachers, it is another example of an unlikely group being enlisted to fight a national crisis.

    March 1, 2018 by Uncategorized 0

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