Selections

The newsletter of the Sarasota County Library System

~ February 2009 ~ Volume 3, Issue 10

Read Selections online each month or sign up here to have it delivered to you by email.
If you have difficulty reading the newsletter in your email, read this issue here.

In this Issue:

• Community Connection
• Events
• Featured Internet Sites
• Featured Story
• National Library News
• Reference Question
  of the Month
• Staff Picks
• Featured Database
• Your Feedback

This month's issue is brought
to you
by the staff of the
North Sarasota Library.

All Sarasota County Libraries will be closed Monday, Feb. 16, for President's Day.

Events:

Elsie Quirk Library The seventh annual “Lemon Bay Fest: Englewood History with Zest!” starts Saturday, Feb. 7 and runs through Saturday, Feb. 14. It's a weeklong celebration of Englewood’s past, featuring boat tours and a series of informative Englewood history programs, concluding with a day-long Cracker Fair followed by Saturday Nite Live on Dearborn Street. Lemon Bay Fest preserves the history of the Englewood community for future generations and celebrates our rich heritage. For more information, visit lemonbayfest.com. Gulf Gate Library As part of the SCOPE 2009 Winter Forum on Aging, see a demonstration on using the popular Wii Sports computer gaming system. This program is free and open to all ages. Participate in playing the golf, tennis and bowling games. Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. or Thursday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. North Port Library 50th Anniversary "1959" - 2009 Film Series. Each month celebrate North Port's 50th anniversary by enjoying a film from 1959. February's film from 1959 is one of the first films in the French New Wave Movement, directed by Francois Truffaut. Friday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. Selby Library Law at the Library - Foreclosure and Alternatives for the Homeowner and the Real Estate Investor in a Troubled Market. Monday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. Presented in partnership with the Sarasota County Bar Association. All Sarasota County Libraries Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the movie "The Black Stallion" by participating in the Black Stallion All Ages Read-A-Thon. It runs from Feb. 1 through April 1, 2009. Ask for more information at your local Sarasota County Library location and visit sclibs.net/blackstallion.aspx. Find more events at all the Libraries on the library's online calendar or by contacting your library.

Community Connection:

Tutoring Program a Rewarding Experience for All Involved Saturday mornings for most libraries tend to be fairly quiet. Families like to sleep in or attend events elsewhere. The day starts out calm, picking up sometime later in the afternoon. The North Sarasota Library, on the other hand, is bursting with activity. Children come in with informational inquiries and requests for the hottest fiction titles. The noise level rises due to the abundance of youthful, enthusiastic voices discussing their latest homework requirements. The reason for this? An extremely successful tutoring program, headed by Alice Jones and Dee Webber, called "Brothers and Sisters Doing the Right Thing." This free program pairs tutors with children in second grade through high school to help them with their homework or prepare them for the panic-inducing FCAT. It takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to make this service available. Ms. Jones and Ms. Webber promote it in local schools by passing out flyers and talking about it to teachers, who then share this information with parents. Many parents welcome the opportunity to help their children improve their grades. To ensure the program’s survival, Ms. Webber and Ms. Jones also comb the community for tutors. Ms. Webber lists advertising in newspapers and speaking to churches, women’s groups and newcomers clubs as the most useful way to recruit people, who, in her words, “say, yes, I want to be part of this change.” Ms. Webber notes that this takes quite a bit of commitment on the part of the tutor.  How did this wonderful idea take effect? Ms. Webber shares its history. “I’ve been a volunteer at Emma Booker Elementary for thirteen years. I started with the first grade, just to help some children. I met Ms. Jones approximately nine years ago at a local park (the Newtown Community Center), where she was helping her children with their homework. I stopped to help her with the children’s homework. We found each other, enjoyed each other and we started tutoring in the summers at a card table outside the building, hoping it wasn’t going to rain.” Ms. Webber goes on to share that, later, when the North Sarasota Library was built four years ago, Ms. Jones went to the head librarian, Ms. Paula Ivory-Bishop, to ask if they could tutor here. Ms. Jones was granted permission to hold the program at the library, and it continues to stay strong to this day. Ms. Webber and Ms. Jones have to handle many pieces of this service, the most crucial of which is the parents. Ms. Alice has this to say,”If we can get them [the parents] to realize the importance of education and the importance of parental involvement, that will be the greatest reward. Because, you will find, academically, the scores will rise tremendously because the parents not only will be involved here [at the tutoring program], but I’m pretty sure they would be more involved at home. They’ll start making time for the kids at home, sitting down with them, studying with them, helping them with their homework, and understanding what it is that they’re going through and what they’re doing.” "Brothers and Sister Doing the Right Thing" offers help 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Saturday morning throughout the school year. Every Saturday, after the children are done with their tutoring, they receive a free lunch. If you have a child that needs tutoring, or you want to become a tutor, Ms. Alice can be reached at ajdorightthing@verizon.net. Ms. Dee can be reached at webber.dee@gmail.com. Ashton, a student, receives a big hug from Dee Webber. Students being served lunch after they've been tutored.

back up to "In this Issue"

Featured Internet Sites:

Websites Related to the Arctic The 1909-2009 Peary Centennial Expedition:  Homage to the Polar Inuit www.pearycentennial.com On Feb. 17, 2009, Polar explorer Lonnie Dupre, will begin a 1,600 mile expedition by dog sled through the high Arctic with a team of Arctic explorers and Inuit companions. They will follow the trails made by Peary and other polar explorers searching for the North Pole.   Follow the 2009 expedition to understand how global warming and pollution are destroying the culture of the Inuit. Suggested Reading: The Noose of Laurels by Wally Herbert Cook and Peary: The Polar Controversy, Resolved by Robert M. Bryce True North: Peary, Cook and the Race to the Pole by Bruce Henderson The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic by Melanie McGrath. Greenland Expedition: Where Ice is Born by Lonnie Dupre Matthew Henson news.nationalgeographic.com/ news/2003/01/ 0110_030113_henson.html Matthew Henson, an African-American Polar explorer, accompanied Peary on several arctic expeditions. On expedition in 1909, they reached the North Pole. Some historians believe that Henson and two Inuit were the first to reach the pole. Henson is now honored as co-discoverer of the North Pole. In 2002, he was posthumously awarded the National Geographic Society’s highest honor, the Hubbard Medal. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race www.iditarod.com  www.iditarodnational historictrail.org On March 7, 2009, mushers and their sled dog teams will begin the 1,150 mile Iditarod Race, following the National Historic Iditarod Trail north from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The trail was followed by mushers and their dog teams to bring mail and supplies to the isolated interior mining camps and coastal communities. In 1925, twenty mushers and their dog teams covered 674 miles of the trail in five and a half days, by relay, to bring diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, saving the citizens from an imminent epidemic. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is a commemoration of those intrepid dog mushers and their faithful dogs. Suggested Reading:  Iditarod Spirit by Kim Heacox Father of the Iditarod: The Joe Redington Story by Lew Freedman Yukon Alone: The World’s Toughest Adventure Race by John Balzar   Websites for Black History Month ALA Great Websites for Kids recommends the following for Black History Month African-American Mosaic. www.loc.gov/exhibits/ african/intro.html A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture. Includes reproductions of original documents, personal stories, and ex-slave narratives. Part of the Library of Congress online exhibitions collections. Black History    http://www.kn.pacbell.com/ wired/BHM/AfroAm.html This outstanding Black History site offers a full range of activities and was created to support students as they explore topic related to Black History and African American issues. Try the Black History treasure hunt. Martin Luther King Jr.  seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk Seattle Times’ online information about Martin Luther King Jr.  Slaves' Stories.   www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ nof/slavery Meet four Africans who were taken into slavery in the year 1780. Woodcuts, paintings, and photographs of period artifacts bring their struggles to life for today's youth.   The transition from Analog to Digital TV broadcasting has been extended from February 17, 2009, to June 12, 2009, allowing you more time to prepare for the change. Information on the transition can be found at www.dtv.gov.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."                --Cicero "Be a little careful about your library. Do you foresee what you will do with it? Very little to be sure. But the real question is, What it will do with you? You will come here and get books that will open your eyes, and your ears, and your curiosity, and turn you inside out or outside in."                --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Featured Story:

Author Clifton Taulbert Visited North Sarasota Library On Dec. 29, 2008, Clifton Taulbert, author of “Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored” was welcomed to the North Sarasota Library for a reception and book signing. Mr. Taulbert spoke of his experiences growing up in Glen Allan, Mississippi, during the 1940s and 1950s. He spoke of how his great-aunt made sure he made it to high school every day. He spoke of how the elderly men and women of his small segregated community made sure each child knew they had the potential to do anything and that all children were “marked for good.” He related how he distilled these front porch experiences into his book “Eight Habits of the Heart." Mr. Taulbert has taught these eight habits (Nurturing Attitude, Dependability, Responsibility, Friendship, Brotherhood, High Expectations, Courage and Hope) to a variety of organizations. For example, after Sandra Day O’Connor, former Justice of the Supreme Court read his book, she requested he present his lecture on the “Eight Habits” to the entire Supreme Court. When Nelson Mandela was finally released from prison, he had a list of books he wanted to read and Mr. Taulbert’s “Eight Habits of the Heart” was one Mr. Mandela requested. Mr. Taulbert speaks of building family and community, and all of his writings are highly recommended. Mr. Taulbert appeared at the North Sarasota Library through the generosity of Argosy University and the Friends of the North Sarasota Library.

back up to "In this Issue" 

National Library News:

Online Job-Seeking Focus of American Library Association New Issues Brief CHICAGO – In the second of a series of reports related to technology access in U.S. public libraries, the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Research & Statistics (ORS) is drawing attention to the increasingly important role public libraries are playing in supporting job seekers. The issues brief draws from national data published in the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (www.ala.org/plinternetfunding). “Job-seeking in U.S. Public Libraries” discusses the range of library resources available to job seekers and challenges to maintaining these services. Library staff and users in site visits in nine states report increased use of library computers for job-seeking and e-government services. Nearly 73 percent of libraries are their communities’ only source of free computer and Internet access. “More and more employers – from grocery stores to casinos to state governments – are requiring people to apply for jobs online,” said ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. “Americans are depending on libraries not only for free access to hardware and software, but also for the assistance and training library staff offer every day. Nearly three-quarters of public libraries report offering information technology training for library patrons.” One Indiana library director put it this way: “People come in every day to apply for unemployment. They could also go to the unemployment office, but the lines are long there, and there is no one to help them navigate.” The briefing reports are not intended to be comprehensive, but rather to share key findings from the largest and longest-running study of Internet connectivity in libraries. The Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ALA, continues work begun in 1994 by John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure. The study assesses public access to computers, the Internet and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, as well as the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment and sustainability. For more information on the study and to download a copy of the job-seeking report, please visit www.ala.org/plinternetfunding.

back up to "In this Issue"

YALSA Names 2009 Best Books for Young Adults DENVER —The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), recently announced its 2009 list of Best Books for Young Adults. The list of 86 books, drawn from 224 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The list comprises a wide range of genres and styles, including contemporary realistic fiction that reflects the diversity of the teen experience, nonfiction that brings to teens an awareness of the world they live in and its history and fantastical stories told in both narrative and graphic formats. “The committee is very proud of the final list,” said Rollie Welch, committee chair. “There was a tremendous level of professionalism and cooperation, as committee members discussed titles while deciding where they fit in the BBYA guidelines.” A teen session held on Sunday drew 70 teens to speak to the committee about their favorite books. A crowded audience of committee members, publishers, authors and librarians listened to these passionate teen readers who came in groups from Fort Collins, Eagle and Boulder, Colo. The committee was thrilled by the depth of literary knowledge the teens expressed. In addition, the Best Books for Young Adults Committee created a Top Ten list of titles from the final list that exemplify the quality and range of literature being published for teens: It's Complicated: The American Teenager by Robin Bowman Waiting for Normal by Leslie Conner Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher Baby by Joseph Monninger Nation by Terry Pratchett Skim by Mariko Tamaki The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees The complete list, with annotations, can be found at www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya. For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists.

back up to "In this Issue" 

Staff Picks:

Three of this month's picks are historical novels. Three are set in Vermont. All explore the intersection of races in a very interesting way. Click a cover to search for the item in the library catalog. The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian In the Fall by Jeffrey Lent A Stranger in the Kingdom by Howard Frank Mosher A Mercy by Toni Morrison

back up to "In this Issue" 

Your Feedback:

Would you like to suggest the library purchase a book, movie or CD for the collection? Suggestions are always welcome and much appreciated! Submit suggestions through the library website's "Suggestions and Comments" page: www.sclibs.net/comments.aspx.   ** Important Notice Regarding privacy and e-mail.SB 80 effective July 1, 2006: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead contact this office by phone or in writing.

Featured Database:

Health and Wellness Resource Center Looking for reliable health or medical information? Or maybe more information on alternative medical treatments or herbral remedies? Then this database is the one for you! Gale’s Health and Wellness Resource Center is an easy to use database that provides both traditional and alternative medical information. It delivers up-to-date reference material as well as full-text magazines, journals, and pamphlets from a wide variety of authoritative medical sources. In addition, searchers are provided with descriptions of and links to many websites, selected for their usefulness and appropriateness. A single search of Health and Wellness Resource Center brings together reference, periodical, pamphlets, news and multimedia content, organized into tabs that let you target the type of information you are seeking. Once you have linked to an article, pamphlet or multimedia resource, you will be able to print, e-mail and download the information. Find this and other databases on the library website's Electronic Information Resources page: sclibs.net/resources.aspx. A Sarasota County Library card is required to access databases from outside the library. Read database descriptions from previous issues of Selections here and in the newsletter archives.

back up to "In this Issue"

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.  ~Jorge Luis Borges