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In early October, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear was the state’s first signer of the Declaration for the Right to Libraries. This declaration asserts America’s right to all libraries – public, school, academic, and special. He was joined by First Lady Jane Beshear, Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson, and Madeline Abramson. Kentucky residents are encouraged to sign … Read more
Increasingly, school materials are online, and low-income students are heading to public libraries to complete their homework assignments. EveryoneOn.org, a nonprofit group that aims to improve accessibility to technology, estimates that 35 percent of households in Florida’s Miami-Dade County lack an Internet connection. The Miami-Dade library system has an extra $4 million to spend this … Read more
Nearly one in eight adults 25 and older in New Jersey does not have a high school diploma. Career Online High School, a new program sponsored by the New Jersey State Library, aims to change that. Using grants from the state and the Clinton Global Initiative, six libraries—Camden, Elizabeth, Long Branch, Scotch Plains, Somerset County, … Read more
The Cincinnati Public Library has launched the “Making Dreams Come True” program. Built on the Career Online High School platform, this innovative program enables adult learners (21 or older) in Ohio’s Hamilton County, to realize their dreams of a high school diploma and a more rewarding work life. The program takes about 18 months. The … Read more
By Diana T.
In October 2005, I re-entered the work force after 15 years of being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. I started as a shelver at Northfield Public Library in Northfield, MN, then very quickly morphed over to Outreach Coordinator there, driving the bookmobile to low income neighborhoods, county towns without a library, and day cares.
Read moreWhy Being a Librarian Gives me Plenty of Reasons to Smile
By Kathy D. Growing up, I cannot remember a time when I didn’t go to the library once a week with my dad. As the youngest of 5, this was our special time. I would load up the maximum number of books I could have, and start reading before we even pulled into the driveway. … Read more
By Kate M. Last year, I wrote about the opening of school and the inherent craziness of textbooks and class schedules, but this year I decided to write about high school football. Now, you may ask what prompted such an odd choice for a library blog? In truth, there are two or more reasons, but … Read more
By Sara T.
I was five when I got my first library card. It was green and beige and I got to “sign” the back – clear evidence of my terrible kindergarten handwriting. My mom and I would take weekly trips there, a bag load of books hanging from her shoulder and an eager kid with a gap-toothed smile pulling on her arm to get inside.
I grew up in the pages of “Corduroy” and “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” “Junie B. Jones” and “Little Critter.” And when I got tired of imagined classrooms and lost buttons, I found “Harry Potter,” “Nancy Drew” and “Charlie Bone.” Books were the one thing my mom would always splurge on when I was young. Who needed more clothes or toys when you could have books – a quasi-toy that I would play with for much longer than my Barbies.
By Margot H.
My 5th-grader loves her school librarian, Miss S., who is quirky in the best possible ways. We often see her around town, walking while reading a book. Her newly hatched chicks are always a big draw at Back-to-School-Night. And Miss S. has a special knack for helping each student find the perfect book.
Last week, my daughter came home from school excited to share a story involving the librarian and our beloved Monterey Bay Aquarium.
By Carol S.
This is my father’s story: He was a high school dropout. Although he loved to read, he didn’t like school, so he would frequently ditch class and hide out at the Detroit Public Library, devouring books until the truant officer found him and dragged him back to school. Eventually he dropped out of school altogether in order to work. (This was during the Great Depression, and his family necessarily valued employment over education.)
Read moreHigh School Dropout to Lawyer: A Library Success Story