American Libraries editor: ‘Community engagement’ is library theme for 2013

Viking fans Brett Gardner and his mother, Tami Gardner, watch  a video
on the TC Rover TV with John Brewer and C.J. Sinner of TwinCities.com.
From Steve Buttry/The Buttry Diary

“If I were predicting a library theme for 2013, it would be community engagement,” American Libraries editor Laurie D. Borman writes in the January/February 2013 edition that arrived in my mailbox today.

2012 in Review: Cat overpopulation in Lake County

Lake County Animal Care and Control, veterinarians and concerned residents worked in 2012 to reduce Lake County's overpopulation of cats.

Original fiction: Monkey's Christmas Tree

The appearance of humans was not unusual as far as Monkey was concerned. Normally he shared his home with one mature human female, but today brought the arrival of one of his human's grown cubs and her mate.

Self-advocates and allies need to combat autism prejudice

Lydia Brown has posted a photo on Facebook of herself displaying a sign that reads: “I’m not afraid to say I’m autistic.” She explains:

“I posted this because of the unfortunately legitimate fears that many members of the Autistic community and parents of autistic children have about being visibly and openly Autistic in the wake of the tragic and baseless conflations of autism with violence. It isn't safe for everyone (particularly those who can pass) to be openly Autistic right now, but I'm doing so anyway because I'd rather not be afraid (even if I have every right to be).”

I think media coverage like that directed toward the shooting in Newtown, Conn. makes it more difficult -- and yet so much more essential -- for self-advocates and their allies to combat misinformation and prejudice.

League bowling: Season high score, women's handicap game

With the completion of bowling last night at Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce league will take a two-week break.

Shawn Garrison, Kevin N. Hume, Jonathan Donihue and I bowled for the Lake County Record-Bee. Latest stats, encompassing Dec. 11 bowling, showed me with a season high score, third place for women's handicap game.

My bowling average crept up by one to 79 pins. Last night I bowled 80, 83 and 70. Team scores (with handicaps) were 782, 781 and 749.

Why were unidentified sources permitted to ‘diagnose’ Newtown, Conn. shooter?

Why were unidentified sources permitted to “diagnose” Adam Lanza, identified as the gunman in Friday’s Connecticut school shooting?

Cuesta College LIBT program ‘substantially intact’

A message from Mark Stengel, director of library/learning resources for Cuesta College, indicates that its Library/Information Technology (LIBT) degree and certificate remain “substantially intact.”

School shootings: APA suggests ways to help children cope

The situation at work for me today, while producing my regular pages for the Lake County Record-Bee, is to post links to headlines as they become available about a school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The American Psychological Association shared tips for helping children make sense of shootings.

Link verified as of June 6, 2020

League bowling: Killer Bees vs. Ashley Steam

The Lake County Record-Bee "Killer Bees" bowled against "Ashley Steam" (Ashley Carpet Cleaning) last night at Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center.

Jeremy Walsh, Nathan DeHart, Shawn Garrison and I bowled for the Record-Bee. With our respective matching shirts, our opponents and we formed the two best-dressed teams in the Lake County Chamber of Commerce league.

I bowled 95, 69 and 80 last night with my average at 78.

Last week's standings showed "Killer Bees" taking third in handicap game and second in handicap series. I placed third in women's handicap game.

Women with autism: members on two fronts of ‘non-dominant group’

Infographic by Landon Bryce: 1 of 252 girls in U.S. has autism
http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/new-cdc-autism-numbers-looking-and-thinking

I enrolled last night for HEED 203, “Women’s Health Issues,” for Spring 2013. This course will satisfy general ed requirements to earn me an associate’s degree in Library and Information Technology.

Bully Report: Intervention best way to stop bullying

Community Matters: 11 Ways You Can Help to Stop Bullying

The best thing that other students can do to stop bullying is to intervene, according to 75 percent of teens, as cited in The Bully Report. The Do Something Organization compiled trends in bullying from students’ Facebook interactions.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I was accompanied on my bus commute in late November/early December by The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballantine Books, 2012).

The book grabbed my attention with a dramatic opening in which the story’s narrator is on the verge of emancipating from the foster care system. The story alternates between present-day and the narrator’s experience growing up through foster care.

While growing up, Victoria Jones, the narrator, is introduced to the hidden meanings that are assigned to flowers. Her flower selections leave coded messages that are often known only to her.

Upon reaching adulthood, her ability with flowers provides her with the means to earn a livelihood. It also serves as the primary way in which she connects with people.

Online test for autism: ‘You are very likely an Aspie’

Graphed result: Rdos Aspie Quiz, taken Dec. 7

At lifeonthespectrum.net, Leigh Forbes has compiled several online tests for determining the likelihood that a person has Asperger’s syndrome.

“One of the first ways an undiagnosed aspie might try to determine his or her likeliness of having Asperger’s syndrome, is by taking one of the online tests.”

This statement was true for me five years ago when I was new to the possibility that I might have Asperger’s syndrome and was eager to learn more.

Filters on library computers

My studies this week for LIBT 117 concern filters that limit access to the Internet. Our class discussion board asked what policy libraries should follow about minors accessing materials and websites.

Gift bags for sale at Lakeport Library

From Jo Bennett: Friends of Lake County Library will have gift bags for sale at the Lakeport Library, 1425 High St. Selections include mysteries, fiction, historical novels, romance, health and animal nature books.

Gift bags can also be designed to a recipient's specific taste. Friends of Lake County Library will need one week to complete the order.

Each purchase will be gift wrapped in a book bag with clear cellophane and decorated. Each gift bag costs $25. Proceeds support the Lake County Library. For more information, contact the Lakeport Library at 263-8817.

League bowling: No opponent but ourselves

Shawn Garrison, Nathan DeHart, Jonathan Donihue and I bowled Tuesday for the Lake County Record-Bee "Killer Bees." We bowled unopposed but had to come within 40 pins of our average. We met the goal and had an enjoyable time. I beat my average of 78 pins during the first and third games.

T-shirt repurposing: ‘I am a librarian’

“I guard your right to privacy. I protect your freedom to read. I support intellectual freedom. I am a librarian.” To create this garment, I took the logo from a T-shirt, and highlighted it with a “frame” of floral fabric. The layered logo-within-frame was then applied to another shirt. Hand-painted leaves were done by the vendor who sold me the shirt.

DSM-5 absorbs autism mileposts into ‘autism spectrum disorder’

“Autism Awareness” puzzle-piece ribbon magnet on a car

The American Psychiatry Association Board of Trustees voted Dec. 1 to approve the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition (DSM-5).

Study guide available for The New Jim Crow

The Unitarian Universalist Association has released a study guide for its 2012 2013 UUA Common Read selection, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (The New Press, 2012):

“In this remarkable book, civil rights advocate and litigator Michelle Alexander asserts that crime-fighting policies and systems in the U.S., such as the ‘war on drugs’ and the incarceration system disproportionately and intentionally affect Americans of color. She describes multifaceted, lifelong discrimination and disenfranchisement that affect people who are branded ‘felon.’”

The UUA Common Read invites participants to read and discuss the same book in a given period of time. Its previous selections, Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel and The Death of Josseline by Margaret Regan, are both available in our UUCLC Lending Library. As stated by the UUA:

“A Common Read can build community in our congregations and our movement by giving diverse people a shared experience, shared language, and a basis for deep, meaningful conversations.”

The UUA Bookstore offers group discounts on The New Jim Crow. Study guides for UUA Common Read selections can be accessed from http://www.uua.org/re/multigenerational/read/index.shtml.

Cross-posted from the UUCLC Lending Library Wordpress blog

Hands-on exploration with ‘makerspace’

Image source: Lake County Library on Facebook

As reported on American Libraries magazine’s AL Focus, a Brighton, Colo. library is gearing up for its “makerspace” grand opening on Dec. 5:

“Makerspaces are creative community workspaces where patrons have the option to build and experiment with art, craft, and technology projects while sharing tools and ideas with other community members. The makerspace at Anythink Brighton will be geared toward teens, offering a space where they can get free access to state-of-the-art tools and materials for crafts, robotics, textile design, digital photography, and 3D printing. Also included is a ‘computer guts’ area where teens can take apart a computer to learn how its various parts work together.”

With my background of crafting and do-it-yourself, the “makerspace” strongly appeals to me in the field of library service.