🥇 Library Champion: EXCLUSIVE library news, and a note on Dr. Seuss
Library Champion,
You are the first to hear the news: starting this Monday (March 8) we will begin offering public computer access and office services again. Here are the details:
- Public computer access: you can come in and use a desktop computer to browse the internet, print documents, and more. The amount of time you can use the computer will be limited and there will be protective sleeves on the keyboard and mouse that we will switch out between uses.
- Office services: we will start offering copies, faxes, scanning, and shredding again. Copies are $1/page for color and 25 cents/page for black and white. Faxes are $1.25/page and scanning is free. Finally, shredding is $1/pound or $20 per box.
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We have the ability to print wirelessly from a phone/tablet to our printer. See a library staff member for assistance.
We know that the community relies on these services. In the past year (!!!) we have struggled to repeatedly say no when asked if we offer these services. When asked if we know where else they can get these services, there are no close options available.
We have learned a lot in the past year about covid. The science is now showing that the spread primarily happens from in-person contact with no masks on. The likelihood of it spreading over a surface is slim.
We are taking all necessary precautions to protect you and our staff. Starting Monday, you can come into the library to our main desk and sign up to use a computer or get your copies/faxes/scans/etc. See you then!
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Book shots
Here is one book I am reading and a book that I just bought for the library’s collection.
One book I am reading: Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath
(Adult nonfiction, leadership)
I signed up for the Pennsylvania Library Association’s (PaLa) Leadership Academy and we are reading this book. As a leader within our library, I need to continue to learn about leadership. We have 9 library staff and my approach to working with each of them will vary from person to person. This opportunity will help me continue to point our library in a positive direction so that we can serve you better!
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One of the books I purchased that you should check out:
The initial insult by Mindy McGinnis
(Young adult fiction, suspense)
In small-town Amontillado, Tress Montor had a seemingly normal life until her parents disappeared. That was seven years ago. Now living with her negligent grandfather at his questionable exotic animal attraction, the high school senior has become a pariah among her classmates. The one person who may know what happened is Felicity Turnado, who not only used to be best friends with Tress, but was the last one to see her parents alive.
Told in alternating chapters from each girl’s perspective, this thriller starts off as a slow burn with longer chapters establishing their personalities; the nature of the closed-minded, predominantly White town; and the mysterious disappearance. When Tress, bent on truth and revenge, sets up an interrogation of Felicity reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” the story accelerates evenly with shorter, taut chapters delivering the final shocks.
The narrative’s changing timeline, as each girl remembers events from the past, answers questions and raises intrigue in equal measure; their experiences are gritty reflections of teen life. And in the true spirit of Poe, a black cat, in this case a panther from the zoo, adds another level of creepiness with intermittent free-verse poems told from its perspective.
Bottom line: A sudden, nail-biting ending leaves the door open for the next installment of this duology.
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Did you know? Lists of our new releases are available in-person at the library and online so that you never miss a new release. We have added over 200 new books to our collection so far this year!
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Your support ensures that a library card is valuable and free to all!
Doctor Who?
Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.
The other books affected are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”
Dr. Seuss’s legacy and work have been called to question over the last decade, in part due to work by scholar Phil Nel and his groundbreaking book Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books. Others have done similar work, showcasing the problematic, racist images throughout a number of Seuss’s beloved works.
This is not the first time that those working to maintain the Dr. Seuss estate and legacy have responded to criticism. In 2018, the Dr. Seuss Museum, located in Seuss’s hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts, removed a mural for its racist Asian stereotypes.
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While many readers struggle with finding the balance between the nostalgia of Seuss’s books and the reality of his harmful depictions of race in his work, other institutions like the National Education Association (NEA) have moved to distance themselves from the author’s legacy. Schools have shifted focus to highlight a wider array of diverse children’s books, particularly around Read Across America Day.
Many will point to censorship and or cancel culture with the move to cease publication of these six titles, but this is a step forward in acknowledging the hurt many feel toward these books and this author. In no way is Seuss’s work being disposed of completely; rather, the work of scholars and advocates is being heard and considered at the highest levels. This is a hopeful move to further conversations about the power of books and reading, as well as a move to better include a wide and diverse array of stories in teaching and sharing with young readers.
Seuss is hardly the first author whose work has been called into question as more researchers — and more tools for advocacy by scholars, impassioned readers, parents, educators, and other gatekeepers — have reexamined so-called classic books. The work being done doesn’t aim to remove the books completely but instead, to approach them with care, thoughtfulness, and in conjunction with books that showcase better, more conscious representation of a wide array of people and history. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series continues to engage readers and scholars in discussion over representation of Native peoples, with organizations like the American Library Association choosing to remove Wilder’s name from one of their most prestigious awards to better capture the spirit of the award. The award is now known as the Children’s Literature Legacy Award.
Despite the growing calls for better examination and discussion of Seuss’s work, he remains the second highest paid dead celebrity, bringing in over $33 million dollars in 2020. His work has been sold in over 100 countries.
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Thank you for being a library champion. You make a difference each day!
–Vince Giordano
Librarian and Director of the Juniata County Library.
P.S.- You don’t need to make an account or jump through any hoops to be a library champion. I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true. You can make this happen in less than a minute. Just click here.