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Notes & Quotes
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News,Announcements,and Hours |
A New Book and Kudos to the Library Staff!
Longtime professor of history at the College, Dr. Joseph M. Speakman, has just published a fascinating book, At Work in Penn’s Woods: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Pennsylvania. Written in memory of the author’s father, who worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at Wolf Rock, near Philipsburg, the book explores this New Deal program, initiated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, as it was instituted in the state of Pennsylvania.
The program gave work and relief assistance to young men in the Depression era to plant trees, fight forest fires, and construct recreational facilities in state and national parks. In Pennsylvania, alone, CCC men planted more than 60 million trees. Joe’s book, “the first comprehensive study of Pennsylvania’s CCC program, combines administrative history with portraits of many of the men who worked in the camps.”
We, in the Library, appreciate Joe’s kind words in the acknowledgments section of the book. He says: “Historians have a love affair with librarians, perhaps unrequited because of the one-sided benefits to the relationship. My first valentines must be sent to the librarians at my college’s Brendlinger Library. They were all interested and helpful on this project, but I particularly would like to single out Janet Perry and Barbara Howard, who speedily obtained every single one of my numberless interlibrary loan requests.” We wish to thank Joe, who has just retired from the College, for his appreciative comments. And we congratulate him on the publication of his interesting new work, which is published by Pennsylvania State University Press, and is available in the Library at the call number: S 932 .P4 S64 2006.
Quotes
“Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their
responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.”
American Library Association Library Bill of Rights.
“We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all
efforts to censor library resources.”
American Library Association Code of Ethics.
“Banned” Books Week – September 23 – 30
Every year, the last week of September is designated “Banned Books Week” during which the freedom to read is celebrated. Sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), this annual event, first marked in 1982, reminds us not to take this precious right for granted.
According to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, they received a total of 405 challenges to books in 2005. A challenge is a “formal, written complaint filed with a library requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.” It is generally assumed that for each incident reported, there are five challenges that go unreported.
For 2005, the most challenged books were:
It’s Perfectly Normal – for homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, and abortion;
Forever – by Judy Blume – for sexual content and offensive language;
The Catcher in the Rye – by J.D. Salinger for sexual content and offensive language;
The Chocolate War – by Robert Cormier for sexual content and offensive language;
Whale Talk – by Chris Crutcher for racism and offensive language;
Detour for Emmy – by Marilyn Reynolds for sexual content;
What my Mother Doesn’t Know – by Sonya Sones for sexual content;
Captain Underpants – by Dav Pilkey for anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence;
Crazy Lady! – by Jane Leslie Conly for offensive language;
It’s So Amazing! - by Robie H. Harris for sex education and sexual content.
While the above are the books most frequently challenged this past year, the classic titles below are on the list of most frequently challenged books of 1990 - 2000:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
So, please celebrate your freedom to read during September! Consider reading a challenged book!! For more information, go to: http://www.ala.org/bbooks
Central Campus Library Hours
For Fall 2006 Semester
Monday – Thursday |
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
Friday |
7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
Saturday |
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
Sunday |
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
During Thanksgiving Break (November 22-26), the Libraries will close at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 22. They will not be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 23 – 26. For Christmas Break, the Libraries will be closed from December 23 through January 2.
