Judith Paul was in need of a system to encourage her children to read more and “better” books, so she created Accelerated Reader (AR) at her kitchen table in 1984. Twenty-four years after its birth, an average of 1.8 million AR Quizzes are passed each school day. Whether or not Mrs. Paul intended the accelerated […]
Library Columns
400 years of Shakespeare
This day I breathed first: time is come round, And where I did begin there shall I end; My life is run his compass. –Julius Caesar (5.3.23) attributed to John Taylor, oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1610 , so you probably quote him without even realizing it. He is considered the greatest writer and […]
Celebrate National Library Week!
This week, your local library joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities across the country in celebrating the dynamic changes that are happening in today’s libraries. Established in 1958 by the American Library Association (ALA), April 10-16 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the changing role of libraries, librarians and library workers. The […]
National Volunteer Week: Thank You, Volunteers
Volunteers: You Rock! The first definition of a volunteer, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service.” The simple definition is “a person who does work without getting paid to do it.” And while both definitions will do, it vastly underestimates the value of a […]
April Is National Poetry Month
Did you know that National Poetry Month is about to begin? It’s one of the largest literary events in the world, celebrated by millions of readers. National Poetry Month was created in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, a month-long festival to highlight the importance of poetry in our culture. Poetry is one of […]
Do You Care?
By strict definition, a caregiver or carer “is an unpaid or paid person who helps another individual with an impairment with his or her activities of daily living. Caregiving is most commonly used to address impairments related to old age, disability, a disease or a mental disorder.” Statistics show that the amount of caregiving that […]
The Little Folk of Ireland — Fairies of Emerald Isle
Ireland is chock-full of picturesque landscapes and ancient ruins, but it is also steeped in myths and legends passed down from generation to generation. Every year on March 17 we commemorate the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. He drove out all the snakes from the island and transformed himself and a […]
Women’s History Month: Anonymous Female Writers
In her notable work “A Room of One’s Own,” 20th century modernist writer Virginia Woolf discussed the relationship between women and writing, both as writers and characters. One particular quote from this work caught my attention: “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.” […]
Get Your High School Diploma for Free!
I come with wonderful news for those older students looking to earn a high school diploma. Career Online High School (COHS) is an accredited online private high school diploma and career certification available through some libraries in Florida, and the DeSoto County branch of your library cooperative is one of them. They received a limited […]
The Caldecott and Newbery Medal Winners
A boy and his grandmother take the bus. A live bear inspires a classic honey-loving character. A girl learns roller derby but her best friend wants to learn ballet. These are just a few of the plots of new award-winning titles in children’s literature. The Association for most prestigious awards given are the John Newbery […]