Moving PA Forward | Pennsylvania Libraries

On Monday February 13, Pennsylvania's libraries launched PA Forward before a crowd of state legislators, business leaders, statewide association executives, state agency delegates and library supporters at the State Capitol.

Part revolution and part evolution, PA Forward is a dynamic, new movement that redefines Pennsylvania's libraries as a central hub for promoting the five literacies essential to our citizens' success:

     - Basic literacy 
     - Information literacy
     - Civic and social literacy
     - Health literacy
     - Financial literacy

Visit paforward.org to learn more about what makes your local library uniquely qualified to be your community's leader of information, technology, and learning — places that fuel educational and economic opportunity for all.

Pulitzer Prize Winner: A Visit from the Goon Squad

The 2011 Pulitzer Prizes were announced today. And, the fiction winner, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, is a book that I've actually read. That rarely happens!

And, unlike the last Pulitzer Prize winner, Tinkers by Paul Harding, it is a book that I can actually recommend reading.

A Visit from the Goon Squad is, without a doubt, one of the most imaginative books that I've ever read.

A collection of short, but linked, stories, it shares the stories of about 13 or so characters over a period of 40 years. It bounces around those years, entirely out of order, so that you see little pieces of the overarching narrative as it is revealed through the eyes of a different character in each chapter.

For a great review of the book, check out The New York Times.

And, let me know what you think!

Library Kids are Better Students!

As our summer reading program winds down and we begin to take stock of how many kids benefited, we already know one thing for sure:

• Kids who participated in the program and read over the summer are going to be far better off when they return to school this fall.

Librarians have long known this to be true, and 2 more independent studies provide further confirmation of just how much an advantage library kids have over others.

University of Tennessee researchers will be publishing the results of a 3-year study this fall in Reading Psychology that shows kids have a significantly higher level of reading achievement than those who did not have access to books over the summer at home.

Also a study from Dominican University shows that students who participate in public library summer reading programs score higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than students who did not participate.

Typically, the Cumberland County Library System has about 6000 to 7000 kids participate in the summer reading program each year, covering 8 different public school districts.

10 Most Overrated Novels

How many times have you read a book review and can't wait to read the book. But, when you finally get it, the book just isn't as good as the reviewer said it was?

It's happened to me, and I'm sure it has happened to you.

As I get older, I think it happens a little less, but occasionally, I'm caught up in the media's manufactured book frenzy. The most recent one that comes to mind was The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. It was reviewed as the great American novel and even won a prize, The National Book Award. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why everyone enjoyed it...I finally concluded it must be a New York City thing.

Well, on Thursday, I came across a list of The 10 Most Overrated Novels:

1. Lord of the Rings trilogy (Read it in high school and loved it.)
   
2. Passage to India (I love E.M. Forster)
   
3. White Noise and Underworld (Tried both of these, and couldn't read them)
   
4. Atlas Shrugged (Tried this and found it dull.)
   
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Tried this, and couldn't make my way through it.)
6. The DaVinci Code (Read it, thought it was a real page turner, but I don't think anyone thinks it's great fiction...so why is it on this list?)
   
7. The Confederacy of Dunces (Tried this too, and couldn't make my way through it.)
8. The Great Gatsby (Read it in high school and loved it.)
9. Wuthering Heights (Read it in high school and loved it.)
10. Emma (Like it, but doesn't match Pride and Prejudice by a long shot)
    

What do YOU think? The list certainly is a conversation starter....And, let me know if you liked The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen!

Good News about Kids and Reading!

A new study, The Kids & Family Reading Report ™, finds that 75% of kids age 5-17 say that “No matter what I can do online, I’ll always want to read books printed on paper.”

One in four kids age 5-17 say they read books for fun every day and more than half of kids say they read books for fun at least two to three times a week.

That's pretty exciting news for book-lovers everywhere!

Looking to the future, two in three children believe that within the next 10 years, most books which are read for fun will be read digitally – either on a computer or on another kind of electronic device.

89% of kids say that their "favorite books are the ones I picked out myself.” One of the key reasons kids say they don’t read more often is that they have trouble finding books they like. Kids who struggle to find books they like, are far less likely to read for fun daily or even twice a week.

Are YOU a Productive Reader?

That's the question posed by Dustin Wax on Stepcase Lifehack's Productivity blog a few days ago.

He offers some interesting thoughts, including a few that are targeted to reading business books.

Here are a few of his tips that are my favorites:

1. Use an index card as your bookmark. That way you always have something to write on while you’re reading. Go ahead and stick a few post-its to the back for marking significant passages, too.
2. Keep a reading journal. When you finish a book, write down a quick summary of the book, any quotes you highlighted or flagged, and what you learned from it. Or keep a collection of chapter-by-chapter notes — maybe on a blog or wiki...
3. Take a moment. People want to read fast, to get it done...The reality is, reading takes time, and learning takes even more. If you only have 20 minutes to read, read for 15 and spend 5 minutes thinking on what you’ve read. If you’re not pressed for time, take long breaks between chapters, even between sections, to reflect.
4. Make a list. Always carry a list of books you want to read or topics you want to read up on. You never know when the opportunity might arise...

I've already been doing some of these, but I plan to start using an index card as my bookmark right away. Great idea!

How Much Do You Read?

An April 7, 2008 Harris Poll® finds that over one-third of Americans read more than 10 books a year.

That's pretty encouraging news for those of us who are concerned about the effects of television, popular culture and the Internet on reading.

Interestingly, the survey found that of the types of books people read, non-fiction and fiction are about even (82% and 80% respectively).

The survey also reports that the "largest single genre is mystery, thriller and crime (48% read) followed by history (35%), biographies (31%), religious and spirituality (28%) and literature (27%)."

Where do you fit in on the reading spectrum? Do you read more or less than 10 books a year?

Reading is for Freaks?

A friend shared an article with me today from The Onion about a 27-year-old man, Philip Meyer, who was found reading a book - and not just a few pages, the whole book - in Greenwood, Indiana.

His photo is featured in the article, apparently taken outside the local public library. The book in question was Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird -- one of my personal, all-time favorites.

Meyer is quoted as saying "the whole thing was really engrossing...there were days when I had a hard time putting it down."

The article further reports that "according to behavioral psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Schulz, Meyer's reading of entire books is abnormal and may be indicative of a more serious obsession with reading."

Well, I say, what better obsession can one have?