New books for new school year

Such a great feeling to find new books awaiting me in Bellview Elementary School library. The new school year began with a summer bounty of Junior Library Guild monthly selections and a shipment of books ordered through Follett Learning.

Processing these books is technically “work” but feels to me like a joy as so many titles pique my own interest. Here’s hoping that each new book finds an appreciative reader, and each student finds the perfect book that will spark a lifelong reading adventure.

His and her newsboy hats

His and her newsboy hats are assembled from scraps of Guatemalan cotton, interspersed with panels of black cutwork embroidery (repurposed from a skirt) and solid black linen or wool.

NPR dropping comments from website

Effective Aug. 23, National Public Radio (NPR) is removing the “Comment” function from stories on its website.

Digital archives: Free or subscription-based?

Digitized newspaper delivery and archiving. Image created with BitStrips

“Google News Archive” provided free digital access to more than a century’s worth of newspapers in the Milwaukee area. At “Urban Milwaukee,” Michail Takach asks why listings for local newspapers suddenly disappeared. The answer concerns privatized digitization through a subscription-model database, and should make compelling reading for anyone interested in how the shift from print to digital publishing impacts historical archiving.

TIME author equates Asperger’s with trolling

As a survivor of bullying who has personally experienced cowardly attacks on the Internet, I share with TIME magazine author Joel Stein a concern that anonymity is a breeding ground for abuses. That said, I wish to express my concern with Stein’s portrayal of “the web” as “a sociopath with Asperger’s.”

Hand-crafted ‘Pokémon’ hidden at ‘Pokéstops’

Source of image: Nichole’s Nerdy Knots on Facebook

Via the MarySue: “[F]inding digital Pokémon in our surroundings wasn’t enough for Nichole’s Nerdy Knots. The nerdy knitter has been stitching up some Pokémon and hiding them around Pokéstops (and other appropriate areas) in the real world for random people to find.” Libraries are often designated Pokéstops and Gyms in this augmented-reality game. If any crafters would like to tag their local library, Nichole’s patterns are free for download on Ravelry.

Posted to Yarn Bombing at Your Library

‘Serving Library Users on the Autism Spectrum,’ course completed

Serving Library Users on the Autism Spectrum,
certificate of completion earned by Cynthia M. Parkhill

On Aug. 2, 2016, I completed a four-module course and was awarded a certificate in “Serving Library Users on the Autism Spectrum (Project PALS).”

Yarn-bombing project at Beaconsfield Public Library

As reported Aug. 9 by the Montreal Gazette: In Beaconsfield Public Library, Beaconsfield, Quebec, chief librarian Elizabeth Lemyre has organized a summer yarn-bombing project that welcomes both youngsters and adults. The knitting circle will create squares to cover a "nondescript public bench." On a recent afternoon, three young ballplayers used knitting looms to create pieces.

Posted to Yarn Bombing at Your Library on Facebook

Calistoga schools: Student writing confronts bullying

My ‘No Bully’ mugshot

As a survivor of bullying, I try to monitor campus culture to verify that bullying is being acknowledged and dealt with at my former schools.

Most recently, my research led me to “Taking Action on Bullying,” student writing produced for “The Paw” journalism project at Calistoga Junior/Senior High School.

I want to thank Paw staff for their willingness to address bullying in the Calistoga schools. I was physically attacked, verbally abused and socially ostracized throughout my tenure at Calistoga Elementary and Calistoga Junior/Senior High School.

UUA announces 2016-2017 ‘Common Read’

My earliest opportunity in library collection development was as volunteer administrator of a small lending library for a Unitarian Universalist (UU) church.

An important addition to the library’s collection was the Unitarian Universalist Association’s annual Common Read.

I have long appreciated the shared experience of reading a book in common and, since the program’s inception, I’ve closely followed — and publicized — each year’s announcement of the latest Common Read.

The program continues to resonate with me in my professional capacity as Religious Explorations administrative coordinator for a local UU church.

Via congregation blog, post to social media and MailChimp email campaign, I had occasion this week to publicize the 2016-2017 Common Read: The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement, by The Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.

The Common Read selection committee believes this is a moment for UUs to answer a call by Rev. Barber, to build and sustain a movement for justice for all people. A discussion guide for the book will be available by Oct. 1.

Body Support Systems: Debut blog post

My debut blog post for Body Support Systems, Inc. went live on its website today. The post highlights an appearance by owner/founder Tom Owens at the World Massage Festival this coming week.

Body Support Systems produces the bodyCushion™, an orthopedic positioning system that therapeutic practitioners, including massage therapists, use when treating their clients. I have worked part-time with the company for a little more than one year.

Editing and blogging are activities I enjoy, so I appreciate having this outlet as part of my professional responsibilities. I have a few more posts incubating and look forward to posting them soon.

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’: Recommendations for reading play

The Barnes & Noble blog cites sales figures to project “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” may “be among the most widely read plays of all time.”

But because reading a play is “a little different from reading a novel,” B&N has compiled tips for getting the most out of reading “Cursed Child.”

I love the idea of people assigning parts and reading aloud together; my family and I have read aloud to each other for years.

With a professional repertory theater company only two miles from our home, it’s especially easy to “Add to the experience” by going to see a play. “An evening at the theater will familiarize you with the tropes and rhythms of plays, which will help inform the experience the next time you read a play.”

‘Intrusive’ vs. ‘inbound’ contact

Via my social newsfeed this morning, a declaration by Andy Mort that telephone calls are, quite possibly, the most intrusive form of contact.