Falling in to autumn

 We have wrapped up September and jumping into October. This year is going by amazingly fast and extremely slow at the same time. What is important is that our library is here for our community and we love seeing our patrons.

For the month of September, we have had 199 people visit our library. We have welcomed 16 new patrons. This makes us excited! We love to share our resources here at the Jennie Woodworth Library.

Our circulation in September was good:

• 181 Books
• 3 Audio Books
  
• 18 DVDs
• And the computers were used 38 times.

We are moving along! BTW! If you need to update your existing library card information, you can check out the link in the side bar under Patron Information (Or click here)

October is read a book month!

Now that you have your library card (if you haven't, come on in and we will get you hooked up), it's time to read! Especially with fall break upon us.

COVID-19 

As part of the Town of White Bluff, we are abiding by the requirements that have been declared. You can see the full disclosure at COVID-19 effective immediately. Face coverings are required. Materials are in quarantine for 72 hours once they are returned.

Fall Activities

We have several things coming up. Coming up on Thursday is our October Take and Make for the kids. The juvenile has to be present and a library card holder. ALSO during the month of October we are holding a costume contest for the kids, birth - 18. 

The information for the Costume Contest can be found HERE

The Kid's Make and Take 

On Thursday, October 8th from 11-5, we will have a limited supply of our October Kids Craft. These are first come, first serve. Your child must be present and have their library card to receive one. 

The Rules:

1. Must be a card holding member in good standing.
2. Only one craft per person. The child must be present with their library card.
3. Understand that we have a limited supply and once they are gone, they are gone.

The Opportunity:

• We would love for businesses or individuals to sponsor a month.
• Or hope is to have a teen craft and a kids craft available monthly.
• These craft kits are take and make. They are simple crafts.
• We would love to include crafts for our older population as well. 

This opportunity is available because the community has always supported our library through volunteerism and donations. 

Costume Contest!

Submissions accepted until October 24, 2020.

Submissions can be sent to us via Facebook Messenger or dropped off at the library. Child’s name and age is to be included.
Submissions are a photo of a juvenile patron in their Halloween costume. Juvenile must be a patron of the Jennie Woodworth Library in good standing. Costumes are to be modest, nothing racy.

Event page - https://www.facebook.com/events/784472279068242/ 

Age groups for the contest are:

•        Birth thru 4 years of age
•        5 / 6
•        7 / 8
•        9 / 10
  
•        11 thru 13
•        14 thru 18

Our prizes will be:

•        Pull Along Book Caddy w/ 4 board books and small stuffed toy (b-4)
•        Funko Pop – Squirtle (5/6)
•        Baseball Collectors Kit (7/8)
•        Pokémon Card Game Kit (9/10)
•        Skittermander Gamer Pouch (11-13)
•        $10 Gift Card to Sweet T’s (14-18)

Eligibility:

Participant must be a patron of the Jennie Woodworth Library in good standing. Good standing means no overdue books and no outstanding fines. Please note that it is free to get a library card at JWL and $2 to replace a lost library card.
By entering our contest, you are giving us permission to use your photos in online promotion and in the contest.

Voting:

Photos will be posted on the Jennie Woodworth Library Facebook page in albums. Each album will be labeled with the age group on it. Albums will be posted October 25, 2020. The image with the most likes in the album at noon on October 31, 2020 is the winner. Announcement will be made at 1 pm October 31.

 

 * This contest is being run on our Jennie Woodworth Library Facebook Page. All entries will be submitted in person or by way of Facebook Messenger. Winners will be decided by people "liking" the photos.

From the Director… Banned Books Week

I have been thinking about banned books week for a while. Should we have a display? Should we feature the books we have that have been banned? What exactly should we do about banned books week? Should we do anything?

The premise of banned books week comes from the idea that libraries are information hubs and they are not censored. Thus, the attention to banned books at a library is to bring attention to the censorship of these books.

Why is it these books are banned though?

Most if not all the books that find themselves on the banned/challenged list are books that cover in some way controversial subjects. Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer was banned because of racism. Harriet the Spy was banned because she wore boy clothes(sexuality?). The themes that find themselves on the list vary every year. This year 8 of the top ten are related to LGBTQIA+. The other two that are listed are Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood because of profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones” and then the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling for referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use “nefarious means” to attain goals.

It is my belief that books are written not just for entertainment but also to challenge us with our ideals.

Who is it that banned them?

Books are banned or challenged by review boards, individuals, administrators, etc. People that feel they need to protect others. There are individuals and organizations that believe it is their place to ban books to protect children. In reality, this is the job of the parent(s) or guardian(s), not anybody else.

You might ask, why is it bad to ban books?

It is bad to ban books because it is censorship. Censorship goes against the First Amendment. Authors in the United States have the freedom of speech. This includes the written word. This points to who is it that is wanting to ban books.

All of this said. Libraries have books that cover many themes and subjects. The Jennie Woodworth Library strives to meet the reading needs of the community in White Bluff and the surrounding area. We do have books that cover controversial topics. Yet, we also do not promote these topics. We encourage you to research. To help with this, we have a search computer in the library that allows you to search a book (or DVD) and read the summary and subjects. We also have the online catalog that has the same information available.

My thoughts as the library director and understanding that the premise of a library is encouraging the freedom of information, banned books week is every week. In a library, our focus is equal access to information. The intent is to give everyone in the community access to information and literacy. This is despite any barriers that may exist. Because of this, libraries are unable to censor books just because somebody does not like them.

Pick up a book and read.