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Friday, May 31, 2019

Jump Back on the LearningExpress!

You already know that your library is an excellent place to explore and learn new things. We are thrilled to announce that we're bringing even more learning to your local Mississippi public library as we welcome back LearningExpress! LearningExpress is a collection of practice tests, tutorials, eBooks, articles, and flashcards, all geared toward helping people learn. The main areas are:
  • Career Preparation
    Allied Health, ASVAB, CDL, EMT, Nursing, Real Estate, and more!
  • High School Equivalency
    GED, GED en Español, and HiSET
  • College Admissions Test Preparation
    ACT, SAT, PSAT, and more!
  • School Center
    Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and more for school-age children!
  • College Students
    Skills reviews, CLEP, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and more for college students!
  • Adult Core Skills
    Math, Reading, Writing, Citizenship Exam, Examen de Ciudadanía, and more!
  • Recursos Para Hispanohablantes
    Lectura, Vocabulario, Ortografía, y Matematicas!
Ask your library how to register so that you can access this great resource from the library or home today!

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

A Visit to Sharkey-Issaquena County Library

Library Consultant

Several months ago, I visited the Sharkey-Issaquena County Library, the only public library serving these two Delta counties. Director Elissa Tucker has done a great job at cultivating devoted donors and community partners who bring art, landscaping, and other donations to the patrons of Sharkey-Issaquena Library. For example, Elissa designed the blue "Rolling in the Delta" t-shirts and the Friends group ran a fundraiser for an Entergy grant cash match that brought modern, efficient, and bright LED lighting to the library.

A smiling woman holds up a blue t-shirt that says Rolling in the Delta. It has an old truck and cotton bolls. She is standing in a library and there are many shelves of books.
Library Director Elissa Tucker shows off the library's fundraising t-shirt.

As other libraries have done, the Friends group periodically sponsors a Memorial Bricks Fundraiser to raise funds. These courtyard bricks are engraved in honor/memory of someone. It has proven to be an easy way to raise funds for the library and provides a lasting tribute to those honored. The local garden club maintains the courtyards and other locals use their personal equipment to power wash the memorial bricks when needed.

Red bricks are flat in a courtyard. Some have inscriptions, like "In Memory of Linda Goodwin, 1940-2013"
Memorial courtyard bricks
The library's patrons are generous in other ways, too. If someone see something that needs to be done, they offer to do it. Once, a regular patron popped in to say that her husband was outside spraying WD-40 on the door of the library's drop box. The couple had noticed it sticking before the library staff, so they went ahead and took care of the problem.

a large bear statue carved from a log. Bear is reading a book and an owl perches on its shoulder
Reading bear statue outside library
The Sharkey-Issaquena Library staff work exceptionally hard to make the library a welcoming resource and their patrons love the library, going the extra mile to make it a place they want to visit. This library is a vital part of the community!

Friday, May 24, 2019

CMRLS—So Many Amazing Branches!

Shellie Zeigler
Library Consultant

Over a period of several days, I recently visited all of Central Regional Mississippi Library System’s (CMRLS) branches in Rankin and Scott counties. (I missed the Puckett branch due to a timing issue, but I’ll catch them next month). Director of CMRLS, Mara Polk, accompanied me to each branch: Pearl, Flowood, Brandon, Lake, Sebastopol, Forest, Morton, Florence, Richland, Sandhill, Pisgah, Pelahatchie, and Northwest Point Reservoir. Amazingly, that's not even all of CMRLS's branches. Mara oversees a twenty library system!

Our first stop was the Pearl Library, one of the “Big Three” at CMRLS (Pearl, Brandon and Flowood). Branch Manager Morgan Lee was there to show us around and introduce me to their two new full-time staff. Pearl Library has a large children’s area and an inviting teen area. They also have a garden that is maintained by community members and often decorated with children’s crafts. They have many inviting and informative displays and showcase an area with staff book recommendations. This branch recently hosted their own Comic Con event with nearly 1,600 people coming through their doors in one day. This library is bustling!

Our next stop was Flowood Library, the CMRLS 2019 Large Library of the Year and another Big Three branch. I was disappointed to find I had just missed a children’s program when I arrived. Their children’s programs are always very well attended. The circulation staff were dealing with a large patron donation. This branch receives a lot of donations and they have an ongoing book sale of items they don’t use for their collection. Flowood Library is beautifully designed with unique features, like flooring that resembles the flow of a river. The library sits next to a gorgeous park and tennis courts. 


There are a bird feeder and a bird directly outside a large window. Trees and an open lawn spread in the distance. A raised area and seat are directly in front of the window.
Brandon Library bird watching stand

We traveled to the last Big Three branch, Brandon Library, at the end of this first day. Brandon Library is also located next to a park and tennis courts. It boasts a large genealogy room and offers a vast amount of programming for adults, teens, tweens, and children. As is true in all CMRLS branches, everyone is getting ready for upcoming Summer Reading events. The theme “A Universe of Stories” is evident in the space themed decorations seen everywhere. There is also a cute bird watching stand in the children’s area that is very well-loved. Brandon Library is a busy branch that is well-used by its community.

Three women, one wearing glasses, take a selfie in front of shelves of library books.
Lake Library Branch Manager Selena Swink, MLC Library
Consultant Shellie Zeigler, and CMRLS Director Mara Polk

A woman wearing sunglasses smiles at the camera. She is posed in front of a building bearing the sign Lake Public Library.
MLC Library Consultant at Lake Public Library

On our second day, Mara and I traveled to the Lake branch. Selena Swink, the branch manager, had coffee ready for us. This is charming branch that is the perfect size for the Lake community. They host programs down the hall in a community meeting room. The library is right down the road from the school and is well maintained by the branch manager.

An empty chair is pushed up to a table. The table holds a plate of salt, a folded flag on a plate, an open Bible, a flag in a vase, and Missing Man table guidelines.
Missing Man table at Sebastopol Library


Three smiling women, one of them wearing glasses, take a selfie in front of shelves of library books.
Sebastopol Library Branch Manager Megan Sanders, MLC Library
Consultant Shellie Zeigler, and CMRLS Director Mara Polk

When we arrived at Sebastopol Library, the branch manager was working on a huge, cardboard rocket ship for the Summer Reading program. I have to say, I was pretty impressed! There was also a Missing Man Table to honor fallen, missing, and imprisoned members of our military. While a small branch, it is a very clean, inviting library with a well-maintained collection, just part of the reason it won the CMRLS 2019 Small Library of the Year.

The outside of Forest Library, with large columns, metal handrails, and large glass doors
Forest Library

I managed to catch a children’s program at the Forest branch and was completely charmed. The Forest Library’s building almost 10 years old and in pristine shape; it is a gorgeous library. In February, they held a book drive for recent non-fiction books. They had a goal of 100 new non-fiction books and were able to meet and exceed that goal. I think this is such an innovative idea to boost a collection!

Our last stop on this day was the Morton Library. Like all the CMRLS branches, the collections were well maintained with enough room on their shelves for growth. They have an novel way of persuading patrons to pay fines; the names of any patrons who pay their fines in full (no matter the amount) are added to a drawing to win a goodie basket. And what nice baskets they are!!

Parking space is painted purple with a sign at the end.
Combat Wounded parking space at Richland Library

Sign says Reserved Combat Wounded Wounded Warriors Family Support. There is a picture of George Washington surrounded by a purple heart, and then by gold.
Combat Wounded parking sign at Richland Library

Our last day of traveling to branches started with Richland Library. It boasts a perk that I have never seen at a library before, a Combat Wounded parking sign. The space itself is painted purple and recognizes and honors our veterans who were wounded during service to our country.

A smiling woman wearing sunglasses poses next to an outdoor sign that says Pelahatchie The Place To Prosper Public Library 718 Second Street CMRLS
MLC Library Consultant Shellie Zeigler

A gravel walk is surrounded by grass and a few trees. In the near distance is a zip line.
Zipline behind Pelahatchie Library

The Pelahatchie Library has a large ongoing book sale, as well as a permanent zipline behind the library. Pretty cool!! The Sandhill Pisgah Library was charming and already in Summer Reading mode with a Star Wars display. Our last stop, Reservoir Library, is situated right next to a walking trail. It is nestled next to Mill Creek, where one can spy alligators from time to time.

All the CMRLS branches I visited over these three days were not only well-maintained, clean, and inviting, but they were also all distinct to the community where they resided. I admire the administration for encouraging the branch managers and staff to make each branch “their own.” No cookie cutter libraries here! I am very much looking forward to seeing what the other CMRLS branches are like and what treasures I will find. Look for my post next month about their Smith and Simpson county branches!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

I've been living for 25 years and I've never heard of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, but I have never been so excited to learn a new historical fact. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter put in place a law announcing Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. On October 23, 1992, community pioneers from around the nation saw more progress in Asian Pacific American history when President George Bush signed legislation designating May of each year as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

A smiling man wearing glasses is holding three books about Chinese Americans in Mississippi.

I didn't know that Asian Americans had such a pivotal hand in developing southern American society. There is a hidden history on the effect that Asian Americans had on the development of communities in Mississippi, and the Mississippi Delta specifically. Chinese immigrants moved to the southern United States soon after the Civil War to work on cotton plantations and farms. Later, during the Segregation Era (1900-1939), Chinese American families in the Mississippi Delta ran segregated grocery stores for both black and white customers, sometimes from shops located across the street from each other. The Chinese Americans themselves were ostracized and denied their civil rights while providing this essential service to their non-integrated local communities. They lived in quarters adjacent to their grocery stores because they were denied property ownership. For decades these Americans learned, worshiped, and socialized separately from the Delta’s mainstream population. After the Civil Rights Movement, education and career opportunities opened for following generations. For further history on the impact of Asian-Americans in Mississippi, three books you can check out from the Mississippi Library Commission are: Water Tossing Boulders: How a Family of Chinese Immigrants Led the First Fight to Desegregate Schools in the Jim Crow South by Adrienne Berard, The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White by James W. Loewen, and Lotus Among the Magnolias: the Mississippi Chinese by Robert Seto Quan. You can also visit the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum at Delta State University in Cleveland.

Sources:

Monday, May 6, 2019

Let's Talk about Game of Thrones

Did you watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones last night? Yes? Great! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. As I've gotten older, and the number of ways I can access television shows has increased, I've become worse and worse about tuning in when I'm "supposed" to do so. Most of the time, it doesn't matter, but Game of Thrones has turned into one of the most watched/most talked about shows in recent history. I started watching during the first season and have been glued to the show ever since. (This is one of those times where I've watched before I've read. That will come after the end of this season.) Although I'll be avoiding the tangled web of spoilers that is the Internet all day long, let me share with you my tongue-in-cheek look at what some of my favorite characters would be reading if they stopped by MLC to check out a few books. You can view the entire list here.


One of the things I've enjoyed most about the series is the extremely large cast of well-developed characters. Watching people grow and change (and yes, sometimes die) over the past seven seasons has been a non-stop roller coaster. (I figure those breaks between seasons are akin to pausing at the top of a particularly tall drop.) If you have any GoT book suggestions, especially for characters I didn't mention, please feel free to leave them in the comments. Until next time, happy reading! (And watching!)

    Wednesday, May 1, 2019

    So That All May Read

    Take a moment to think about what it would be like not to being able to read. You could never lose yourself in a novel or read an autobiography on your favorite hero or heroine. Through the Mississippi Library Commission's Talking Book Services, reading for those with visual impairments or other disabilities can become a reality. MLC partners with the Library of Congress to provide Talking Book Services to Mississippians. With a wide range of popular fiction and nonfiction titles for adults, teens, and children, this free service is open for all eligible residents who are unable to read standard print due to a visual, physical, or organic reading disability.


    I recently traveled with Mary Rodgers Beal, Talking Book Services Director, to the Bolden Moore Library on Wiggins Road in Jackson. The library hosts the Westside Community Senior Organization in their meeting room Monday through Friday. The group gardens, makes quilts, and accesses computers and the internet at this library. They welcomed Mary Rodgers and me with open arms and were eager to hear about the service.

    Plants tended by participants of the Westside Community Senior Organization.

    Quilts created by participants of the Westside Community Senior Organization.

    A standing woman is talking to several people who are seated at long tables.
    Mary Rodgers explains Talking Book Services.

    It was a great morning; I enjoyed meeting these wonderful folks and being reminded of all the wonderful things Talking Book Services does. If there is someone in your life who has difficulty reading and you want to get them started with Talking Book Services, check out the information and applications on the eligibility page on our website or call us at 1-800-446-0892.

    A standing woman is talking to a seated woman with her back to the camera.
    Mary Rodgers explains Talking Book Services.
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