Meet MLC Monday: Lacy Ellinwood

Meet Lacy Ellinwood, Senior Library Consultant at the Mississippi Library Commission. Lacy aids in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of statewide programs that assist public libraries, as well as researching and analyzing trends for library services. She also assists local library personnel in project development, planning, and proposal development. In addition to all of this, Ellinwood also works with Friends of the Library groups, which serve to support libraries through community outreach, advocacy, and funding from outside sources. Lacy has been at MLC since October of 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a Master of Library and Information Science, both from the University of Buffalo. She is also a graduate of the 2014 Mississippi Public Library Leadership Institute.

Ellinwood says that she loves helping Mississippi's small and rural libraries from every corner of the state have interesting things to offer and achieve the best service possible for their communities. Working at the state level with her job at MLC makes her feel like she's making a real difference for our public libraries. She also loves the Library Commission building, which she says is beautiful to walk into every day! When asked why she thinks public libraries are crucial to Mississippi and its citizens, Lacy replies, "Public libraries really embody the heart of the community and are meant to be enjoyed by everyone. This is why libraries are important, because I promise you, there is something there for everyone. Just walk in the door or check out your local library website!"

Many people think that all librarians have always loved to read, but that just isn't true. Lacy says she didn't find a love for reading until she was in her early 20s. "I wasn't a reader growing up, which is blasphemy to say as a library professional. I needed to find a love for reading without the rules of reading lists or school tests." She names Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree as one of the books that has stuck with her over the years. "It's one of my favorite life changing book moments. I remember having it read to me at summer camp as a kid and having an emotional reaction which has obviously stayed with me. #bookfeelings" Ellinwood recently revisited Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and says it's a fabulous example of how great literature is timeless. "I love how anyone can relate its themes to today's current events and feelings."

When she isn't working to promote libraries, Lacy says she enjoys knitting, but rates her skills as "poor". "I can make a warm infinity scarf, though!" She also likes trying new recipes, which are always successful the first time, but never quite as good the second time around. She also has a secret addiction for purchasing discarded library cookbooks from the 1950s and 1960s.

Until next time, happy reading!

My Mississippiversary: C.A. Pierson

2017 is Mississippi's bicentennial! To celebrate, the Mississippi Library Commission has created the Bicentennial Bingo project. Throughout the year, fill in the squares in our bingo card to get the full Mississippi experience and learn more about our state. One of our favorite squares is "Tell us about your Mississippiversary," the responses from which we'll be sharing here and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. We're so pleased to share our next Mississippiversary submission below.

"I was born in Gulfport in 1981, so I suppose that's when I officially became a Mississippian, but I moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 2001. I lived there for a couple years expecting to be there at least a decade before moving further north... but when Hurricane Katrina hit, I was out of contact with family for far too long.

 

It was frightening not knowing what was going on and looking for familiar faces in news footage, hearing that "due to inclement weather in the area you are trying to reach, your call cannot be completed as dialed" a hundred times, and eventually learning that family members had been injured and I wasn't here to help. It was too much, so, by November 2005, I'd moved back. So, that was the first time I chose to live in Mississippi." -C.A. Pierson

15 Picture Books that Celebrate Black History Month

February is Black History Month. It is an excellent time to reflect on United States history and the amazing contributions African-Americans have made to our collective culture, identity, and experience. I personally love picture books that inform as well as entertain. I think they're a great way for even the youngest readers to learn about history and those who came before us. The following fifteen books cover various time periods in African American history, from the pre-Civil War days of slavery, through Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era, and the Civil Rights Movement, to the present day. Most of these books are available to check out at the Mississippi Library Commission or your local public library.

Smoky Night
Eve Bunting and David Díaz
1994
Set during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, California, a young boy and his mother flee their apartment for the sanctuary of a nearby shelter and unexpectedly make new bonds with their neighbors.

Granddaddy's Gift
Margaree King Mitchell and Larry Johnson
1997
Set in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, a grandfather shows his little granddaughter the importance of education and the power of standing up for what you believe in.

Freedom School, Yes!
Amy Littlesugar and Floyd Cooper
2001
Set during the 1964 Mississippi Freedom School Summer Project, a young girl and her family host a visiting teacher.

Freedom Summer
Deborah Wiles and Jerome Lagarrigue
2001
Set during 1964's Freedom Summer in the South, two little boys, one black and one white, have a special friendship that they hope will be allowed to grow even more when segregation is gone.

The Other Side
Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis
2001
Set in the segregated South, two young girls, one black and one white, push at the boundaries of their divided town.

Show Way
Jacqueline Woodson and Hudson Talbott
2005
This multi-generational story starts when slavery still exists in the South and runs through Civil Rights Movement to the present. Covers the topic of quilt making, especially in regards to using quilts as a way to pass secret messages.

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom
Tim Tingle and Jeanne Rorex Bridges
2006
Set in Mississippi before the Civil War, a young Choctaw girl and her village help an enslaved family escape to freedom.

Ruth and the Green Book
Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Floyd Cooper
2010
Set in the South during the Jim Crow Era, Ruth and her family travel from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother and rely on the Green Book to show them safe places to shop and stay.

These Hands
Margaret Mason and Floyd Cooper
2011
Set in the present, a grandfather recalls the prejudice and discrimination he faced in the 1960s.

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom
Shane W. Evans
2011
Set before the Civil War, this nearly wordless picture book gives a good introduction of the Underground Railroad.

Ellen's Broom
Kelly Starling Lyons and Daniel Minter
2012
Set during Reconstruction, a young girl's parents are officially married. Covers the topic of jumping the broom.

I, Too, Am America
Langston Hughes and Bryan Collier
2012
From the poem first published by Langston Hughes in 1926, this book introduces the poem that details the oppression of African-Americans.

A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream
Kristy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper
2014
Set in Harlem in the 1950s, a young girl dreams of being a dancer like the first African-American prima ballerina, Janet Collins.

Juneteenth for Mazie
Floyd Cooper
2015
Set in the present, a young girl learns about Juneteenth.

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
Pat Zietlow Miller and Frank Morrison
2016

Set in Clarksville, Tennessee, several little girls idolize Wilma Rudolph, who is being honored in a hometown parade.










Join us later this month for more book lists that celebrate Black History Month. Until next time, happy reading!

Meet MLC Monday: Stephon Swilley

Meet Stephon Swilley, System Administrator I at the Mississippi Library Commission! Stephon troubleshoots problems with desktops, laptops, printers, servers, email, hardware, and software for both MLC and public libraries across the state. He also assists with keeping these up to date. If you've ever called the NSB Help Desk, you may recognize Swilley's friendly voice, as he spends a lot of his time there fielding calls. Although he just started at MLC last September, he has quickly become an integral member of our staff. Swilley holds an Associate of Science in Computer Network Technology from Hinds Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Mississippi State University. He attended the Mississippi Library Commission's Tech Academy in January.

When asked what he enjoys about his job at MLC, Swilley says, "I like making sure people are happy. I like being able to solve their problems and make their day better. It's great that I can take my passion for working with computers and turn a frustrating day for someone into a day where they can be productive and get things done." Stephon says that, "Libraries are a learning place. People go there to read books and relax in the peaceful atmosphere. Plus, they're the best place to get accurate information. You can learn so much!" It's a definite win for libraries in Mississippi having him on our team.

Swilley likes reading and spends a lot of time beefing up his knowledge about computers by reading technology related books and articles. "I like keeping up with what's going on so that I can apply it to my job. It's very important to me to stay current so that I can help keep us up to date." Stephon is a huge sports fan, and loves to root on his favorite teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Minnesota Vikings, and, of course, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He also spends a lot of his free time fixing--you guessed it--computers!

My Mississippiversary: D.S. Payne

2017 is Mississippi's bicentennial! To celebrate, the Mississippi Library Commission has created the Bicentennial Bingo project. Throughout the year, fill in the squares in our bingo card to get the full Mississippi experience and learn more about our state. One of our favorite squares is "Tell us about your Mississippiversary," the responses from which we'll be sharing here and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. We're so pleased to share our first Mississippiversary submission below.

"My Mississippiversary is the date of my birth. The blessed event happened in Vicksburg, in the hospital, in the full heat of summer, before central air. I was educated in the Catholic school system of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson (now the Diocese of Jackson). That was also a blessing because education was separated by race/skin color (and the Catholic system followed the laws of the day), but the nuns who taught in Black schools educated students for college, not fields and factories. That sound foundation readied me to be able to leave Mississippi and enjoy a fullness of life not possible in the state because of legalized racial and social segregation and oppression. In the years I was away, some change occurred. The generations-old underlining systems did not support many of those changes however, and the state remains an oppressive place for many. If you only consider the beauty of the hills, forests, and waterways you ignore the social problems and reasons for poverty, crime, inadequate funding of public schools, and continued exodus of Mississippians who want to live free in a free society.

Mississippiversaries are good to have. It is good to acknowledge milestones and footprints of the people who have made the state what it is. It is good to recognize the heroes and heroines of both the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement that sought to undo the damage of slavery and Jim Crow. It is good to, yet again, acknowledge Welty, Faulkner, Morris, and Grisham. It would be great if the Mississippi writers who are/were Black were also acknowledged beyond an occasional send-up of Walker and Wright. Celebrating Mississippiversaries still looks like the history of the state: separate and unequal, well-funded and unfunded." -D.S. Payne

Meet MLC Monday: Katie Gill

Meet Katie Gill, Digital Documents Coordinator at the Mississippi Library Commission! She processes and files all incoming state document periodicals, which are titles like the University of Southern Mississippi's Southern Quarterly. She's also currently working on a massive digitization project of Mississippi educational reports. Gill completed another large digitization project recently, making the Mississippi Library Commission's old newsletter The Packet available online. Both of those can be viewed online here. In addition to her documents duties, she also tracks down old images of Mississippi libraries for use on MLC's social media platforms and is a backup for the Reference Desk. She began at the Mississippi Library Commission in September, 2016.

Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Middlebury College and a Master of Arts in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi. She is a graduate of the Mississippi Library Commission's Librarianship 101 program. Gill previously interned at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael's, Maryland, and the University of Mississippi Museum at Rowan Oak.

Katie says she enjoys her work at MLC because it meshes with her love for history. "I love seeing primary documents in context. The realization that one event can affect multiple other things, even years down the line--it's fascinating!" Gill points to devastation caused by Katrina as a prime example. Records that were destroyed during the hurricane are obviously missing, leaving large gaps in the documentation process.

When talking about her love for libraries, Katie said she could go on forever. "I love libraries. I love reading. I love the services libraries provide. When I've lived and worked in small, rural towns, things I took for granted in a larger, more metropolitan cities weren't necessarily available. There's always a library, though, and that library always fills the hole. Go to the library and they'll get you whatever you need!"

Like we said earlier, Gill is a huge fan of reading. Unlike many readaholics, she knows exactly what her favorite book of all time is. Not only that, she owns three copies of The Picture of Dorian Gray: one on Kindle, one that she bought many years ago for a high school class, and a beloved edition with annotations and extra content. She says the book has stood up well to multiple rereads and that she's got about a billion books that are her "second favorites." Us, too, Katie! She's currently reading Kim Newman's The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, a reimagining of Sherlock Holmes's world. When she's not reading, Gill enjoys watching game shows on the Food Network and Project Runway. She writes for several music blogs, including that at the Jackson Free Press. Katie is also a newbie knitter and says she has successfully created both scarves and hats. (She's still working up to socks and gloves.)

Until next time, happy reading!

Ready, Set, Read 2017!

All right, readers! It's time to turn off the boob tube and turn on the reading lamp. Which reading challenge are you going to try this year?

• Mississippi Reads Online Bookclub
  While not a challenge per se, this book club on Facebook run by the Mississippi Center for the Book reads one book each month. Challenge yourself to read along with them and weigh in with your opinion for each book. January's book is Ever is a Long Time by W. Ralph Eubanks.
• World Tour Challenge
  We've seen several variations on this theme. There's a European Reading Challenge. There's a Women Writers of the World Reading Challenge. Read a book about each continent or written by authors from each continent--you decide!
• POPSUGAR's Moms Reading Challenge
  This list challenges busy moms to read 20 books in various categories, like "a book short enough to finish on secret trips to the bathroom to escape the kids" and "a book that highlights the humor in parenting."
• POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
  For those of us without little ones and for those supermoms among us, POPSUGAR has also created a "non-mom" reading challenge. These 40 books, plus 12 more for the advanced challenge, fall into categories like "a book recommended by a librarian" and "a book set in a hotel."
• The TBR Jar Challenge
  Basically, you put book titles you want to read into a jar and pull one out when you're ready to read a new book. A variation on this would be placing your book challenge categories on slips of paper and drawing them out of the jar.



• Goodreads
  This app simply asks that you challenge yourself. Pick a reading goal of 1-1,000,000 books (seriously, if you read a million books this year please let us know how you do it) and use Goodread's reading community to help you stick with it.
• YALSA Hub Challenge
  While this challenge has not yet begun for 2017, we have our eyes peeled for the start date. Participants will read 25 award winning YA books between the end of January and the end of June. Head to YALSA's contests and challenges page for more information.
• The Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge
  This is another book challenge where you choose your own books from given categories. These range from things like "a book in a genre you usually avoid" to "a book you were excited to buy or borrow but haven't read yet."
• Book Riot's Read Harder Reading Challenge
  Participants will read 24 books in a variety of categories like "a book about books" and "an all-ages comic." Bonus: six of the categories were suggested by some of today's popular authors.

Still want to read more books in 2017, but don't see the perfect challenge for you? We found two lists, one from Book Riot and one from Girl XOXO, that contain even more 2017 reading challenges.

Need help finding books to meet your reading challenge? Try our anonymous, personalized Bookmatch service!

Let us know your 2017 reading plans in the comments. Until next time, happy reading!