A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
Some amazing women did some amazing things this week. And sadly, some horrible things were said about and done to some amazing women this week as well.
This post is going to be a slightly different format than usual. Hopefully you’ll find the information just as useful.
Here are five titles that look at women from different perspectives:
By Linda H. Moving to Michigan in January made it pretty hard for a stay-at-home dad and a pre-schooler to meet new friends twenty years ago. My husband and son found that the children’s rooms in two different community libraries brightened that first lonely winter considerably. The librarians were so taken with my son’s enthusiasm … Read more
By Melissa U. When I was little, going to the library was the greatest adventure. I could choose any book I wanted, and often chose so many that I couldn’t carry them all to the front desk. As the librarian stamped each little blue card, the books became “mine” for a while. The librarian knew … Read more
By Kate P.
As a child, during the summer the book mobile from the Royal Oak Public Library would park two blocks from my house on a cool, shady street along the park. Climbing up those steps into the book mobile, I was full of anticipation of an adventure — I would get lost in the stories that awaited me! I still can remember the naturally lit space, and smell of the wooden, book-lined interior. I would haul a canvas bag down the hot sunny sidewalk back home, loaded with the maximum number of books bumping against my legs, on a regular basis. Special requests would be waiting for me the next week, thanks to Pam, the patient librarian.
By Jessica B. My family and I go to our library every Wednesday. We went last night. I got an audio book to listen in my car during my work commute. My children are 3 and 5 and love picking out the books that I read to them. Last night they picked out books about … Read more
By Tonya F.
I will always be a librarian at heart. Having been a public librarian for 8 years, every day brought with it the opportunity to make a great impact on every individual that walked through the door. While libraries are indeed evolving, the ambition is still the same; to engage and enrich the community.
It would be hard to surmise how libraries have changed my life with just one story. From my own experiences as a child struggling to overcome low reading skills, to a shy teenager that was given kindness by the school librarian to sit quietly in the library during lunch (a privilege she granted to no one else)…libraries were a respite from the world around me. It was with this in mind that I greeted every new day as a librarian. Whether it be the recommending of a book or movie to a patron, teaching free computer classes, helping a student go beyond Google for their schoolwork, or assisting a job seeker with their resume and job searching…the honor to impact the community in which I served was never far from my mind.
By Lauren W. My local public library has been a huge resource over the years, providing all different types of media and experiences. As a child, I checked out a book weekly to read with my parents and often participated in library-sponsored events on the weekends. While in school, I used the printer and scanner … Read more
By Mike K.
Our County Library has been extremely important to our entire family. Our now nine-year-old kids have been attending the library just about every weekend since they were babies. Books can be expensive. Our kids enjoy the classics that we own. But the library opens up a new world of topics and subjects for them. If they are not interested, we simply exchange and find something else. Additionally the library has assisted the kids with various homework and project assignments in school and scouts.
We benefit as well with computer access at our branch. They have specific computers setup for various age group learning games. Our kids would spend hours learning with those.
By Sue W.
After you move from the scholarly western suburbs of Boston to the coast of Southwest Florida, a few things may unsettle you at first.
There are, of course, the gap-toothed guys driving around in pickup trucks flying Confederate flags.
You realize that news reports about Florida Man or Florida Woman—a recent form of Homo sapiens—now come out of your own fair state. You know Florida Man, of course you do. “Florida man assaults wife with machete for buying toilet paper at Walmart.” Only in Florida, you think.
Groceries are surprisingly pricey here. The ice cream truck plays Christmas carols, year round. The sun sets into the ocean. Given the FCAT scores, you wonder if kids here ever go to college.
By Diana S.
As an adolescent, I moved and changed schools frequently. New schools presented so many challenges. Apart from the obvious social matters, there were almost always gaps and differences in curriculum that had me asking “am I ever going to catch up?” With each new move, I made sure that I quickly found the local library. It was the only place to find unbiased help that closed the gaps in learning spaces while providing all the tools that I needed to cope with school. The library also offered a wealth of local information and I relied on the library to have up-to-date tools, and knowledgeable people. Libraries drew me to a life-long love affair with reading (which facilitated learning in the most unfamiliar situations). With moving comes chaos – and plenty of it. But, as soon as I stepped through the doors of the library, the absence of chaos became the state of salvation. Beyond studying and academics, I came to the library to expand my interests and learn more about the things I loved in the serenity that only a library can provide.
Read moreThe Library: Reliable Friend, Faithful Tutor, Quiet Refuge