Raise your hand if you can’t remember the last time you sat down and read a book for four hours straight? Don’t worry, we won’t look. Well now is your chance to finally make #timetoread. The National Book Foundation, Goodreads, Mashable, and Penguin Random House have partnered together to create National Readathon Day. The event … Continue reading Make #timetoread at Reynolds on National Readathon Day!
Charles Dickens- 200th Birthday Celebration!
February 7, 2012 marks the bicentenary of Charles Dickens. According to a literary exhibit at Southern Methodist University, this Victorian author "was born February 7, 1812, and wrote more than 34 major novels until his death on June 9, 1870. Two hundred years after his birth, his literary legacy remains unparalleled. His 19,000 published editions … Continue reading Charles Dickens- 200th Birthday Celebration!
Oldest book in the world?
Flood Story Tablet from Epic of Gilgamesh, by Flickr user atonal In a previous post, we answered a student's question: "What is the oldest book in the library?" Then we promised to find an answer to a related question: "What is the oldest book in the world?" This was not so easy! Many people might … Continue reading Oldest book in the world?
Information on the Web…rumor or truth?
You want to be sure that what you've read online about the latest political issues and scandals is actually the truth. Here are some great ideas for fact-checking Internet information from a recent article in Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals. Included is a list of the best Fact Checker websites to help you hunt … Continue reading Information on the Web…rumor or truth?
What is the oldest book in the library??
Thanks, Jason for your great question! Our staff has been busy working on it and here is what we've found: First we have to come up with a working definition of "book" because in today's library a book can take many forms- print, digital, audio, and more. It is difficult to track the oldest print book … Continue reading What is the oldest book in the library??
“A Glimmer of Good News” about Reading!
According to this recent editorial by Francine Fialkoff, the Editor-in-Chief of Library Journal, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has provided a positive update to some gloomy reading-related news in their 2004 report, “Reading at Risk”. After decades of a steady reading decline, the latest NEA study, "Reading on the Rise", reports that “literary reading” … Continue reading “A Glimmer of Good News” about Reading!
Opposing Viewpoints: Young Americans Reading
Are young adult Americans still reading for pleasure? A recent report from the CQ Researcher database discusses this question in depth. On the other side of this issue, a recent public library survey describes young adults as the "heaviest users of public libraries". Using the Factiva database, type in "study and young adults and library users" … Continue reading Opposing Viewpoints: Young Americans Reading
Ursula K. Le Guin on the Alleged Decline of Reading
In "Staying Awake: Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading," Ursula K. Le Guin questions the assumption that books are on the way out. Historically, she points out, the majority of people have not been readers. But it is readers who, also historically, have had both economic and social power. "Literacy was not only the front … Continue reading Ursula K. Le Guin on the Alleged Decline of Reading
Technology to Blame for a Decline in Reading?
In a recent Wired Campus article from the Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeffrey R. Young comments on Doris Lessing's Nobel Lecture speech. Doris Lessing won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature. In her speech, Lessing blames the decline in reading on technology such as the Internet and television. Another recent library blog post, A Decline in Reading?, presents key … Continue reading Technology to Blame for a Decline in Reading?
A Decline in Reading?
The National Endowment for the Arts recently published the results of a literacy study, To Read or Not to Read. The study gathered and analyzed "statistics from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults. The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores . . ." Some … Continue reading A Decline in Reading?