“While many of them share wonderful things about why they love books—memories of parents reading to them or of sneaking in a favorite novel after the lights were turned off—there is also usually one student brave enough to admit that, for him or her, reading is just not their thing.”
“Critics argue that the meteoric rise of MOOCs will eventually collapse under the weight of a few key weaknesses — namely, high attrition rates and a lack of participation from underprivileged students. These criticisms, however, ignore the market forces that led to the rise of MOOCs in the first place and will continue to support the movement going forward.”
 |
| Cartoon image created with Bitstrips and added April 4, 2015 |
 |
| Jay W. Hummel |
 |
| Image credit: Rogue Valley Transportation District |
 |
| Image credit: Ashland Teen Library Fans on Facebook |
“The resulting scarves and blankets feature rows of loops that are 2.5 [inches] to 4 [inches] wide, depending on the diameter of a given knitter’s arm. Owing to the large, holey rows, an entire project can be completed in less than 30 minutes—a fraction of the time needed to whip up a scarf using knitting needles.”
 |
| Don Hymel |
 |
| Image credit: Random House Library Marketing Team |
 |
| Photo credit: Suzanne Zapf |
 |
| Image credit: This is Autism |
Featured selections in the third- to fifth-grade division, Oregon Battle of the Books, dominate a list of Top 10 Titles, books most frequently checked out in the last 30 days from the Bellview library media center.
 |
| Screen capture: Jane Austen online roleplaying game. Image source: Buzzfeed.com |
A Jane Austen-themed massive online role-playing game, with its emphasis on status-jockeying and using gossip to destroy one’s rivals, is rather more like real life than I care for in my escapism.
Oregon Battle of the Books is inviting nominations of books for the 2014-15 school year list.
The expiration of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will leave Oregon Trail cardholders with 5 to 6 percent less each month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
 |
| Patron search by homeroom |
 |
| Bellview Elementary School Library Media Center |
 |
| Lisa Jo Rudy |
 |
| Mendocino County Library’s “Traveling Branch Library” http://www.facebook.com/Mendocino.County.Library |
Ryan Pfeil reported this week for the Medford Mail Tribune that Jackson County officials may put a countywide library district on the May 2014 ballot.
“The decision comes on the heels of a survey that polled 500 likely voters — those who have voted in at least two of the last four elections — in Jackson County. Of those surveyed, 52 percent supported creating a special district to fund libraries with a tax rate of 60 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, survey results show. That’s $120 for a $200,000 home.”
 |
| John Chrastka |
“To shake a person’s hand, look them in the eye, and introduce yourself as their librarian is powerful. The library is one part of civil society where people don’t laugh when you say ‘I am from the government and I am here to help.’ For staff, friends, trustees, and volunteers, this is a powerful opportunity to say to someone ‘I am here as your neighbor. Let me tell you about our library.’”
 |
| Image credit: Oregon Center for Public Policy |
“Companies like Neo and LendUp seized an opening in the market to provide low-income borrowers, who may lack bank accounts or have bad credit, an alternative to payday loans. Though credit-worthiness is typically based on factors like employment, finances, and whether you make your credit card payments on time, these companies argue that they are able to serve borrowers that traditional banks deem risky because they are able to evaluate credit risk based on more subtle social media-based indicators.
“The problem, consumer advocates say, is that because there are few regulations governing this new way of grading borrowers’ trustworthiness, applicants can be subject to unfair and discriminatory decisions by lenders.”
 |
| Artist’s rendering courtesy of Bexar County, Texas |
“On Friday’s CBS This Morning, reporter Sharyl Attkisson delivered a report that was fatally flawed on several levels, but I hesitate to even mention the reporting itself, because even if everything in the report was 100% above-board and true, it would not support the sick conclusion that permeates it: that Alex Spourdalakis’ mother had no choice but to murder him. This sounds like an exaggeration, surely, but it is not. This was the explicit message of CBS News’ report.”Christopher offers a lengthy analysis of omissions and distortions in the CBS report. I won’t duplicate his efforts. Suffice to say the choice of footage and commentary suggests a no-win, hopeless situation in which child murder was the only way out.
 |
| My bicycle gives me mobility (and it’s yarn-bombed too). |
“Folks don’t have the passes if they don’t need them, and as they go through an official process of applications and approvals to get that pass, your opinion is irrelevant -- even if you can’t tell what the person’s disability is.”The situation I encountered this week wasn’t entirely the same, but it involved a stranger’s unsolicited judgement about my supposed disability.
 |
| Image credit: Mr. Library Dude |
Just in time for back to school, the next Big Library Read selection is geared toward juvenile readers.
 |
| Starfire ‘helps’ me work |
 |
| Back view: The finished jacket |
