Library Happenings

 

Hello my fellow bookworms!

I hope you had a relaxing weekend and Thanksgiving holiday (for those who celebrated)! 

I was able to finally make a trip out to a library that is currently hosting a pirate exhibit, in conjunction with the local children's museum! It was so cool! There were pirate maps for children to use to explore the different hands on exhibits, areas to play, climb, and dress up like a pirate, hidden treasure, pirate books, and more. It was a very interactive experience that eventually led to a prize once the map was completed! For teens, there was a separate map used to interact with the different areas of the library, so teens would know who to talk to for different reasons in the future (e.g., reference, teen librarian, etc.). The whole experience is free, so families can come and play, learn, and enjoy themselves at their local (or not) library. Mixed into the fun are true facts about pirates and local history, as well, and the whole set is decorated for the holidays, too! Check out  some of my photos below:

Photo by A.P., (c) 2023 Once Upon A Book Blog(ger)

While the exhibit is only hosted until early next year, I cannot wait to see what this library will do in the future, as well as what other libraries are doing for programming. I will definitely keep an eye out going forward!

~*~

Here are some fun things to do this December:

• Simon Teen's Riveted Lit has a promotion for December, one where you can read a new Young Adult book per day! Check it out tomorrow here.
  

• Are you looking for a fun and free activity that will get you outdoors this month? The website Geocaching is hosting a challenge this month to race to find as many geocaches as you can! But hurry - the event ends on December 5th!
  

• If you know anyone who is legally blind and can read braille, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (part of the Library of Congress) is giving out a free braille book per month as part of their Braille on Demand program. Participants must be registered as part of the National Library Service, but other than that, they can join this fun program that helps spread the joy of reading. 
  

• If you cannot find time to read, but enjoy listening to podcasts, there is a podcast called Overdue that will summarize books for you! Think of it as the audiobook version of Cliff Notes. (Or you can always listen to the actual book - that is always fun to do while cleaning or baking during the holidays!)

~*~

I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday season ahead, filled with much reading! Let me know what you are reading - I have a list of books I cannot wait to get to after I finish my last homework assignments for the semester. :) 

Until next time! Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

Escape with me!

Hello my fellow bookworms!

I've been trying to catch up on reading, but it is proving harder to do once confined. So, in order to boost my mood, I am trying other distractions in my time off from working from home. Here are a  few escapist links to try that I think are fun and engaging!

Photo by Gabriela Palai from Pexels

The Escape Game is hosting an online Field Trip escape the museum with the Smithsonian! I found this to be a fun adventure, and it is suitable for children. You are at the Smithsonian museum on a field trip and have lost your class! Navigate through the exhibits, find answers to clues, and figure out where your class is, so you can go back home on the bus!

The Peters Township Library, located in McMurray, Pennsylvania, created a digital Harry Potter escape room! Thank you to Sydney Krawiec, the creator of this fun online experience! :) 

If you are into the reboot of Carmen Sandiego, or are a fan from the old cartoon / game show / computer games, you will probably get a kick out of the Google (partnered with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) game Where on Google Earth is Carmen Sandiego? If you are playing by computer, you must play in Google Chrome, as the game platform is in Google Earth. You can also play via Android or iOS. After following a series of clues, traveling around the world, and learning some history, you can help ACME find Carmen and save the day!

Photo by Element5 Digital from Pexels

Woodwind & Brasswind are hosting daily live streams for musicians. You can take a look at their schedule here, but note that the times posted are EST. You can brush up on your music education or listen in for online concerts!

Photo by Felix Mittermeier from Pexels

Take a look at the night sky with Google and the National Park Service, which has a beautiful view of Bryce Canyon in Utah. See if you can find constellations, learn a bit about the heavens, and when you are done, you can continue exploring four other national parks.

If you are looking for more options for live streams of the Northern Lights, the beach, or wild animals, take a look at Explore.org's live cameras. With contributions from all over the world, you can see the Northern Lights in Canada, wildlife in Africa, bears in Alaska, eagles in Iowa, to puppies, kitties, aquariums, and more!

Photo by Element5 Digital from Pexels

The Young Adult Scavenger Hunt will begin on Tuesday! From Tuesday, March 31st through Sunday, April 5th, you can participate on one or multiple teams of young adult authors, read through their blogs, find out about new books, and enter in to win prizes! This year, all the prizes are digital, so if you win, there is no wait time to read your reward!

Happy escaping, happy reading, and stay healthy! :)

Stay Healthy & Safe Bookworms!

Hello my fellow bookworms,

I am sure you are sick of reading these posts by now, and are feeling overwhelmed and anxious, but I want to share some happier news with you. Read on for more information...

We are in turbulent times and it is imperative to know the most recent updates on the status of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in your community. Many businesses are working remotely, so you can still obtain food and other necessities of daily life. Be sure to take a walk and stretch out! It is necessary to take care of yourself during these hard times, and be sure to lend a hand to a neighbor if they need it--especially those who cannot leave their home.

Whether you are working from home, or have to go into work and can only quarantine yourself before/after work, try to not be glued to a screen! It is easy to be stuck on your computer or television set. If you can, try to step out to the library and stock up on some reading materials. Listen to an audio book, paint, do a puzzle, play an instrument - anything to keep your mind going and the boredom (and craziness) away. 

What if you're stuck inside already? Well, that's okay, I have some links for you:

Fun Links:

• Metropolitan Opera (The Met Opera is hosting "Nightly Met Opera Streams" to provide opera to audience members, best seat in the house you can get!)
• Wattpad (You can write or you can read - or you can do both! Check out some fun stories here, some of which ended up being published!) 
• Swoon Reads (You can preview and vote on books to be published! Be sure to create a free account.)
• Webtoon (My latest comic addiction.)
• Hoopla (Be sure to create an account if your library has a subscription! You can take out up to 6 "items" a month, whether it be a comic book, audio book, movie, television show, or ebook.)
• RB Digital (Another library subscription app/website - be sure to check out whether or not your library has a subscription.) 
• Youtube - the best free video service to help keep you sane! Try these channels for a good workout that you can do at home:
• BeFit
• POPSUGAR Fitness
• Yoga With Adriene
• The Fitness Marshall
• PsycheTruth
• Vudu (They have a section of free movies that you can watch with ads.)
• Radio Links:
• iHeartRADIO (I tend to channel jump based on what I feel, oldies or Top 40.)
• Movin 92.5 (Brooke and Jubal in the Morning - funniest talk show you'll hear!)
• 101.1 WKQX (Alternative music, but the morning show is fun to listen to.)
• Pandora (You can create your own playlist, but with ads.)

 

Information and Podcasts for COVID-19 Updates:

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Center for Disease Control
• Don't Touch Your Face by Foreign Policy's James Palmer and Amy Mackinnon (Podcast that explains how the virus is affecting everyday life)
• Coronavirus: Fact Versus Fiction with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta (Podcast)
• EPIDEMIC with Dr. Celine Gounder and Ronald Klain (Podcast where you hear from leading infectious disease and public health experts on the latest information)
• Everything You Need to Know If You're Traveling During the Coronavirus Outbreak by Cailey Rizzo and Christine Burroni of Travel + Leisure

Be sure to also check out your local news channel, news website, and radio for listings on closures and alternate ways to purchase items. Some pharmacies are allowing free delivery of medicine, many restaurants have delivery of food items that they will leave by your doorstep, and some delivery services are finding ways to provide you with your online orders without your physical signature. If you are out driving, be careful of the tollways, since they are operating by pass or online purchase only.

Please practice social distancing, safe hygiene, and be sure to drink lots of water - at least one sip every 15 minutes. You can also practice a quick breathing exercise that can help determine whether or not you should visit or contact a doctor: Take a deep breath and hold it for 10 seconds. If you can hold it without coughing, discomfort, stiffness, or tightness, that is a good indication that you do not have an infection.

I know with the spread of the virus, many events that make us happy (including book fairs, sports, movies, and conventions), have been cancelled or postponed. But, you can still Skype, Face Chat, call, email, online chat - reach out to those you love and care for. We will all be together again soon. Before you know it, warmer weather will be here. I hope that we can all overcome this together and that you read many new good books while we wait for this to calm down. 

Happy reading - I hope to post again soon. If you have a favorite app or website that you have to read books or watch movies, let me know in the comments. I love to learn about new things!

Misty May Morn by John Henry Twachtman (Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1899)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Leap Year Day!

Hello fellow bookworms!

What is new with you? (Seriously, let me know in the comments!)  Here is some book news that I thought was interesting, just for you:

• The Smithsonian just released 2.8 million images for the public to use as they please. So many high resolution photos from their many collections that you could post, print, put on a t-shirt - be as creative as you want! The best part? More are coming, so stay tuned. Visit the open archive here.  Share with me the best book related images you can find via #currentlyreadingblog.

#SmithsonianOpenAccess - Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 1897

• More Americans went to the library than the movies in 2019! Good for us, libraries are a great source of free information, education, and fun. See CNN's report here. 
• My favorite detective Nancy Drew is turning 90 this year! To celebrate, the Hardy Boys are investigating...her death?? What? I'm not exactly pleased to hear this new story line, but I will give it a read to see what really happened. Read the New York Times article here.
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is going to have a television adaptation! 
• Penguin Random House has an email list that you can sign up for to receive tips on how to better read yourself to sleep (not that you guys need help with this, but the tips are fun to read!)
• For those of you with kids of your own, here are some tips from NBC on how to encourage your child to read more.
• BBC has created a list of the 100 Novels That Shaped Our World. How many have you read? (While I have heard of many of the novels listed, I myself have only read 6, including a few series.)
• Are you a Young Adult author who would like the chance to be published? Swoon Reads is a great opportunity for that! Check out the submission requirements here. Also, if you are a reader who likes to read books before they become the next big thing, you can also vote on your favorite books for publishing (read your share of new books here)!
• Looking for a quick read during your commute or break? The Short Story Project has stories for you! 
• More libraries are exploring in renting out items that help shape our curiosity and help us learn, fix things, etc. The San Mateo County libraries in California are letting visitors now rent out bikes! Additional accessories available to rent out include a GoPro mount, bike lock, bike basket, bike light, and first aid kit. What a good way to go from reading books to taking in the scenery. Sounds like a great day to me!
• Speaking of other services libraries now offer, certain libraries in the states now offer mental health and social work resources. Libraries in New York offer mental health screenings, invite social work agencies to visit to help provide assistance, and of course, offer relevant books. Libraries in San Fransisco hired a psychiatric social work to help with their homeless visitors. The Pima County Public Library in Arizona was the first library to hire and offer a public health nurse to patrons. It is nice to see and hear that libraries can be such a great resource for the public. Go visit your library today! (Well, tomorrow, it's probably closed by the time this posts.)

Happy end of February! I will leave you with this beautiful book slip case from the Smithsonian archives. Until next time!

#SmithsonianOpenAccess - Transferred from Cooper Union Library, 19th Century

End of Summer

"I got that summertime, summertime sadness..." Yes, it is that time of the year again - end of summer, beginning of fall, school time, new book time! I have a few books to review and hope to do some reviewing this weekend. :)

Did anyone visit any neat places, maybe with a cool library or bookstore - or two? If you didn't, here are some fun facts that may influence your next travel plans:

• According to Travel and Leisure magazine, the Key West (Florida) is home to two hotels that provide waterproof books for guests to read poolside. The Gates Hotel and 24° North Hotel both have a library filled with classic novels that you can read to your hearts content, whether it be lounging in the sun or splashing around in the pool!
• A library of a different kind, Chicago, Illinois can now boast that it is home to The Chicago Tool Library, a volunteer-run space where area residents can rent out items that are not used all the time, but you may find yourself needing or wanting (i.e. pasta maker, screwdrivers, sewing machine, camera, etc.). The concept is not a novel one, but a good idea that is now spreading. Areas such as Ann Arbor, Michigan and Sacramento, California have such a system integrated into their public library system. We need all libraries to integrate this!
• Indianapolis, Indiana has a new way to promote reading: the Book Bike. The bookshelf on a bike is set up in places where residents (or anyone, really - no library card is needed!) can pick up a free book and get into a good story. Be quick, though, the Book Bike makes visits to events, such as farmers markets, and tends to run out of every book on hand! 
• The Free Library of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has book carts in parks called Libraries in the Park, so that children can read while enjoying the fresh air. I wish my library had something like this when I was little!

Philadelphia Library in the Park (c) Once Upon A Book Blog(ger)

If you cannot get out and about, but still want to be part of something, you should look into helping out the Library of Congress. According to the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress currently has a project where they are transcribing suffragist papers and need your help! How do you go about transcribing? Check out the By the People campaign, where you can read and help type what you can make out in the writings, tag writings (think Facebook), and even help review final transcriptions. You can create an account to always come back to where you last left off. You can be a part of history by helping to promote it!

So what have you bookworms been up to? Tell me something fun you did this summer in the comments! :)

B_nn_d B__ks?

It is that period of time between September 24 and September 30. Have you guessed it? 

It is Banned Books Week! 

Image from American Library Association Press Kit

The display at one of my local libraries to celebrate the awareness this week!

It is the time of the year that we can reflect and celebrate our access to information, why it is important, and to challenge those who challenge the right to read certain titles! Censorship is harmful to everyone, and books (and other media) continue to be banned and challenged even to today. Thanks to those who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read and enjoy such works, we have Banned Books week, an event that celebrates our freedom to read!

So why have certain books been challenged in the past? Some of the reasons have been due to gender roles, violence, religious viewpoints, racism, drugs, political viewpoints, LGBT, and inaccuracy. Who challenges the books? The two largest groups have been the people who buy and read them and also the parents of those who the books may influence (31% and 42%, respectively). 

The breakdown: 

Statistics and information per the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Here is a short list of books that are a) controversial, b) banned, or c) have been banned (you may have read a few of these in the past!):

• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God: Further Confessions by Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Carrie by Stephen King
• The Fighting Ground by Avi
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
• The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Are any of them surprising? Even if something is offensive/bad/insensitive, it is good to read and see another viewpoint. You may not agree with it, but you can see why and how others think the way they do. Others may not agree with your viewpoint, either! It is an avenue for all of us to come together and learn from each other. 

The American Library Association has a lovely description of intellectual freedom that I would like to share with you (to the left), and also ask you:

"Why is the freedom to read important to YOU?" 

Be sure to celebrate your freedom and right to read with a good book this week! (I'll be reading Edgar Allan Poe!)