The Librarian At Large

    Every year I'm asked the same question,  what is a really good children's book about Christmas? What most are really asking for are books that help with teaching the real reason for Christmas.   My answer is always, do you want the long list or the short list?  It is so hard to discern the best because frankly there are so much to choose from and so many talented writers.  What makes it ever harder is that every year a new crop of books come out and lo and behold another "favorite" is added to the list.  It's kind of maddening and fun at the same time.   Should anyone scan my bookshelves at home, they would find that I have a ton of children's Christmas books.  Quite possible one book for each day of the year.   To start off the list, I have chosen one book for each day for the Advent Season up until Christmas  Day.   The books I am sharing here are not in any particular order, and they can be used at anytime during De...

 After presenting MLK programs this week to elementary age students,   a thought came to my mind that has been nagging me on and off for a year or so.    As I spoke about the different works that have been inspired by Martin Luther King's life, and read a few children's books to my audiences,  it hit me profoundly that. Dr. King did more than just educate a generation about humanity and the struggle for civil rights for all.  He broke down barriers in almost every area of our society.  Even in the libraries.   When you consider that at one. point African Americans had their won "section" in the library and were not allowed browse the shelves designated for  whites. It is probably no surprise that newer books were placed in the "white" sections while African American patrons were treated to the "hand" downs or as librarians like to call them, the gently used books. Dr. King helped bring an end to segregation and he also left a lifetime of work...

Librarians are always asked for recommendations on what to read next.  The questions most often asked at any given reference desk on any given day,  is this a good book?  Usually the book is held up by a  patron sincerely wanting to know whether to invest her or his valuable time into reading a particular book.  This goes along with the assumption that the librarian knows every book in the library and has read each one from cover to cover. Insider secret: Librarians do not read every single book published.  It just a tale  that someone in Hollywood made up years ago.   The reality is that librarians rely on book reviews to help decide which books should be added into the library's  collection.  Reading every single book ordered and held by a particular library is quite a daunting task.  However, it is a worthwhile goal to try to achieve in retirement. (No, I'm not kidding.  I fully expect to read until the day I die.) The secon...

      It's been awhile since I've blogged.  My apologies to readers who thought that Librarian At Large must have dropped off the face of the earth or just buried in books that getting to a laptop was nearly impossible. Neither of the two scenarios happened but what has transpired was a new job, going back to school and a thing called life.  Nevertheless, suffice it to say the new year has brought on a new resolve.  To the naysayers who have tried to make me feel better about being MIA and informing me, with the best intentions, that blogging was so 1990's.   It has been replaced by podcasts and YouTube channels.  While their advice almost convinced me, my mind kept thinking, "Oh, yes.  Just as TV shows, movies have replaced books and reading in  general."     I've since rediscovered the one key piece of advice that has served me well over the years.  It's as simple as this.  As long as there ...

    Today's blog subject can be filed under the category of "Who Knew Math Could Be Fun?"  For many young minds math is tedious, boring and hard.  Tedious for their  bland story problems that pop up  in homework assignments and tests.  Never are these stories  interesting, have a plot or have characters that make a reader care about the eighty cantaloupes they are buying.  It is totally boring.  Which equals to a hard to solve problem.   Today is Pie Day or more actually known as Pi day also known as 3.14.   Having started this long introduction for  a simple topic, please accept this heartfelt apology for all the math puns to come.      Looking for entertaining books on math is difficult because the first place one might look,  are the math books. Let's face it,  they have enough problems of their own to help with this  search. A quick look into the children's fiction sect...

      Following the news of the day,  censorship seems to be the "cool" thing to do in social media, book publishing and movies.    To a librarian's  soul this is distressing.   Frankly, it. should upset everyone in libraries, education, publishing and film industries.   Who is next to be labeled as “ban” worthy?  It almost seems like there is a self-deprecating game going on between corporate monopolies on who is the most sorry for racism.    Look no further than America’s favorite  family movie industry.  Disney has decided to throw in a few beloved titles  and label them as racist,  harmful and not appropriate fo children.   According to Disney, Peter Pan,   The Aristocrats and Dumbo are just as offensive as Dr. Suess.  Apparently banning Dr.Suess is not enough.  It's time to go through all of Chidlren's Literature and toss out everything.         F...