EEOC must aggressively pursue autism discrimination

Cartoon image created with Bitstrips and added April 4, 2015

In the “Aspergers Management” group on LinkedIn, a member posted news of a May 2012 settlement between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Randstad US, LP concerning a disability bias suit on behalf of a job candidate who is on the autism spectrum.

Teens’ summer reading: Felted wool and book talk

For the Ashland library teen department, Jackson County Library Services, Janis Mohr-Tipton led an entertaining hands-on activity on Tuesday, part of the Jackson County Library Services teen summer reading program.

Personal development: Recommended books

The Personal Growth and Business Development Book Club that Jonathan and I are involved in, will meet in early July to decide what book the group ought to read next. With one exception, all of the selections on my recommendation list are available through our Jackson County libraries. I’ve listed them in the order they are shelved according to the Dewey classification system and have also noted their availability through Overdrive/Library2Go.

Even librarians can read more

An essay posted this week at Personal Branding Blog has direct relevance to a recent online chat that addressed advice for people who are new to working in a library. Nance Rosen argues that the most successful business people read, way beyond their business field.

Teen summer reading: Fun with felted wool

Image credit: Jackson County Library Services

I’m volunteering this Tuesday for “Spark a Reaction,” the teen summer reading program available through Jackson County Library Services.

Bear Creek Greenway: Ashland to Phoenix trip

Bridge along the Bear Creek Greenway north of Ashland

Jonathan and I rode our bikes up the Bear Creek Greenway on Saturday, from Ashland to Phoenix, Oregon. The trip represented enormous progress in our efforts to free ourselves from dependence upon driving a car.

Steve Buttry to teach at LSU

Steve Buttry

Steve Buttry, my mentor in social media, fact checking and media ethics, announced this week that he will teach full-time at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication.

Earlier this year, Buttry became a free agent, following layoffs by Digital First Media (DFM).

Buttry’s announcement this week was welcome, awesome, news to this former DFM journalist. His full-time role of educator seems like a really good fit.

Newsboy hat in solid and patterned green

Check out the varigated solid and patterned greens in this crown for a “newsboy” hat. Floral, thick and thin striping and solid green corduroy. I sewed several  of these varigated crowns for Hat People in southern Oregon. Each is subtly different and unique through the arrangement of panels.

#LibChat: Advice for ‘n00brarians’

During weekly #LibChat, library professionals share advice for “n00brarians” — that is, people who are new to the library profession.

‘Cloud Atlas’ by David Mitchell

The best way to describe Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is with the words of one of its narrators describing a musical composition, a “sextet for overlapping soloists.”

“In the first set, each solo is interrupted by its successor: in the second, each interruption is recontinued, in order.”

The novel tells six stories set at various eras of history, ranging from pre-abolition of slavery to a distant future where society has collapsed. Each narrator leaves behind a relic — letters, a composition, a holographic recording — that touches or has an influence upon someone who comes afterward.

Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act

The Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2014, introduced today by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), would prohibit paid prioritization over the Internet.

In a statement, the American Library Association expressed its steadfast commitment to an open Internet. “It is critical for all to have equitable access to the Internet to support our nation’s social, cultural, educational and economic well-being.”

Summer reading: display at Medford library

Check out the children’s summer reading display that I recently assembled at Jackson County Library Services’ Medford library.

Summer reading beats ‘Summer Slide’

Image source: First Book. Used with permission

With school out for the summer, Jackson County Library Services is gearing up for summer reading. With an infographic, it touts summer reading as an antidote to “Summer Slide,” that drop in children’s reading skills when they don’t engage in educational activities.

‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich, the classic book about personal achievement, is available through Jackson County libraries.

This reader found immediate benefit in its descriptions of good and bad leadership.

A good leader, according to author Napoleon Hill, possesses unwavering courage based upon knowledge of his- or herself and of his or her occupation, self-control, a keen sense of justice, definiteness of decision, definiteness of plans, the habit of doing more than paid for, a pleasing personality, sympathy and understanding, mastery of detail, willingness to accept full responsibility and cooperation.

UU ‘Welcoming Congregations’ to include abilities

“It’s time to take a new look” at what welcoming, inclusion and hospitality mean in Unitarian Universalist congregations, according to the Pacific Northwest District.

No more ‘Combating’ autism

Lawmakers have renamed major U.S. autism legislation that is up for renewal.

#LibChat: Summer reading promotion at school

A4. I put out bookmarks promoting Summer Reading at @JCLS_tweets (my public library) and @alscblog's summer reading list brochures #libchat
— Cynthia M. Parkhill (@CynthiaParkhill) June 12, 2014

During #LibChat on Twitter, moderator Natalie Binder asked school librarians if they were doing anything new or fun for the Summer Reading Program at schools.

Before Bellview school library closed for the summer, this library assistant displayed bookmarks promoting the program taking place at our public libraries. I also printed out and displayed 2014 Summer Reading List brochures produced by the Association for Library Service to Children.

‘Free Advice (Literally) for New Librarians’

“Every single thing you seem to read about how LIS pros (librarians, staff, etc.) can advance their careers has a significant cost,” in dollars, time or both, according to Naomi House at I Need a Library Job.

‘Victorian Secrets’ by Sarah A. Chrisman

In Victorian Secrets, author Sarah A. Chrisman (Skyhorse Publishing, 2013) shares her experience as a full-time wearer of the Victorian-style corset.

Chrisman’s husband Gabriel gave her the corset as a birthday gift and she at first resented the attitudes of female suppression that she believed the corset represented.

She tried it on, reluctantly at first, and found it improved her posture and seemed to reduce the severity of her migraines.

The size of Chrisman’s waist went from 32 to 22 inches.

Steampunk proposes ‘fantastic alternative history’

Here’s an interesting take on the Steampunk genre by Matthew Crary writing for UU World: “The expansion of British rule and the rise of the Industrial Age brought with them glaring injustices, many of which [Charles] Dickens made the underpinning of his most famous and cherished narratives. ...

12 percent of households don’t have car

From the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (citing a 2009 National Household Travel Survey), come a variety of statistics about U.S. transportation that may startle and inspire. Among them, one in 12 U.S. households does not own a car and 11.9 percent of all trips in this country were done by walking or bicycling.

Banned Books Week to focus on graphic novels

Dav Pilky, author of the Captain Underpants series,
has created artwork for Banned Books Week

For the graphic novel aficionados, comes news this week from the American Library Association: This year’s Banned Books Week (Sept. 21 to 27) will focus on comics and graphic novels, which frequently show up on the ALA’s Top 10 list of frequently-challenged materials.

Oregon schools: One librarian for 4,000 students

The number of licensed school librarians in Oregon schools dropped by 82 percent, according to the Oregon Library Association, from 818 full-time equivalents in 1980 to 144 in 2013. In a statement issued Thursday, OLA states that in 1980 there was one librarian per 547 students, compared to almost 4,000 students per librarian in 2013.

UU World: Article about Oregon marriage equality

Lisa Chickadonz, left, and Chris Tanner, members of First Unitarian Church of Portland,
were plaintiffs in the challenge to Oregon’s marriage ban (Photo credit: John Rudoff, UU World).

With the ruling on May 19 by by U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane, Oregon became the 18th state to lift a ban on marriage between same-sex couples. For UU World, Elaine McArdle highlights weddings that offered more than 70 joyful couples an opportunity to be married on the day the ban was lifted.

Posted to the Facebook page of Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Battle of the Books: getting ready for new year

The 2014-2015 season for Oregon Battle of the Books is off to a great start. Volunteers were in the Bellview library this morning, placing barcodes and laminate on books. Watch for OBOB books to be available when school resumes in the fall. Until then, consult the list of titles on your bookmarks and get in early reading at the downtown public library.

Read-alikes: Students engage with journalism

Student journalism is a rich subject to explore for themes that include the ethics of reporting and the responsibility of a news publisher to the community it serves. This booklist features several books written for upper-elementary reading audiences. While the youthful protagonists come from varying backgrounds, they all engage with the power and responsibility of news media.

‘Let’s put this in our library,’ said no librarian, ever

I would nominate I Wish My Kids Had Cancer: A Family Surviving the Autism Epidemic for “Awful Library Books,” but thankfully, this book appears in ZERO library collections among OCLC “WorldCat” member libraries.

What went through the head of the person responsible for selecting this offensive title?

Who minimizes the agony for everyone concerned when a child succumbs to cancer? Was this person really saying that living children with autism are worse than a child who is dead?