Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Lynn Denison
October 28, 2007
The dynamics of the relationship between the baby boomer generation of parents and their adult children is an intriguing topic to delve into, especially if you, like me, are a “boomer” with grown children. According to an article in the November/December 2006 AARP magazine, today’s young adults are confronting higher hurdles on the path to independence than previous generations. A University of Michigan study based on Census Bureau data reports that since 1970 the number of adults ages 25 to 34 living in a parent’s home has ballooned by more than 50 percent, to 39 million. Parents, on average, are spending an inflation-adjusted 13 percent more on their grown offspring.
One of the books available at Rowan Public Library that addresses this situation is Mom, Can I Move Back In With You? by Linda Perlman Gordon and Susan Morris Shaffer. Ms. Perlman refers to the phenomenon of parental involvement in grown children’s lives as a “cultural sea change.” She and Shaffer use the term “adultescence” to describe the prolonged period today’s young people often spend as no-longer-adolescents and not-quite-adults.
For a look at the situation from the young adult perspective, check out Boomerang Nation: How to Survive Living with Your Parents . . . the Second Time Around. In this insightful book written in a lighthearted style Elina Furman offers sensible suggestions to help everyone in the family deal with redefined relationships.
Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship between Adult Children and Their Parents is a warm, witty book that both parents and their grown offspring can enjoy. Author Jane Isay relates that many baby boomer parents have been involved in every aspect of their children’s lives. As these children become adults who no longer need or welcome parental advice, learning to relate in a new, healthy way can be difficult. Ms. Isay discusses many case histories of families she has interviewed, describing problems and discussing workable solutions that build strong, abiding adult relationships.
Generation Debt: Why Now Is a Terrible Time to Be Young by Anya Karenetz, looks at the financial problems that this current generation of young adults face. Another title that might be read in tandem with Ms. Karenetz’s book is Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before, by Jean M. Tweenge. Her book is a result of 14 years of research comparing the results of personality tests given to boomers when they were under 30 and those given the GenMe-ers (Gen-X & Y combined) today. Pick up this book soon to read her fascinating findings, enlivened by analysis of films, magazines, TV shows, and anecdotal stories from her life and others.
One last book that I’ve found very helpful is an old standby – Parenting Your Adult Child: How You Can Help Them Achieve Their Full Potential by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell. This book is an invaluable resource for parents that deals with issues ranging from helping your child find success, dealing with anger, when adult children return with their children, religious choices, and positive parental love. The library has numerous other resources available on these topics. Make it a point to stop by to visit us soon.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Rowan Public Library and NC LIVE
Edward Hirst
Rowan Public Library
NC LIVE offers the citizens of Rowan County access to a diverse collection of electronic resources including complete articles from over 16,000 newspapers, journals, magazines, and encyclopedias, indexing for over 25,000 periodical titles, and access to over 25,000 online print and audio books. NC LIVE is available free of charge to members of Rowan Public Library. The NC LIVE website http://www.nclive.org/ can be accessed from within the library or remotely. Access from home is restricted by password which can be requested from any Rowan Public Library location. The citizens of Rowan County can receive help using NC LIVE from the library’s helpful staff.
NC LIVE is supported by the General Assembly and the citizens of North Carolina as well as the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities. Generous support for some of the independent college and university libraries has also been received from The Duke Endowment and The Cannon Foundation. The role of state funding is to "level the playing field" so that rural isolation, community or institutional financial constraints, and limited local library resources are not barriers to accessing information.
NC LIVE provides equal access for all people of North Carolina to an essential and powerful array of online resources and related services to enhance education, economic development, and quality of life throughout the state. The libraries of North Carolina share a vision of each library in the state serving as a gateway to the total library and information resources in the state and to a rich array of electronic information.
The goals of NC LIVE are to provide citizens: Universal access to core group of reference and research materials online in the form of full-text electronic information and indexes; Unlimited access to digital versions of important historical documents and state government information; Information to assist users in gaining access to print materials available in libraries statewide; Assistance from library staff with the skills to help people of all ages use these exciting resources.
If you would like to learn more about accessing some of these resources, there will be a class held at the Headquarters location of Rowan Public Library on Thursday, November 1st at 9:15 a.m.
Edward Hirst
Rowan Public Library
NC LIVE offers the citizens of Rowan County access to a diverse collection of electronic resources including complete articles from over 16,000 newspapers, journals, magazines, and encyclopedias, indexing for over 25,000 periodical titles, and access to over 25,000 online print and audio books. NC LIVE is available free of charge to members of Rowan Public Library. The NC LIVE website http://www.nclive.org/ can be accessed from within the library or remotely. Access from home is restricted by password which can be requested from any Rowan Public Library location. The citizens of Rowan County can receive help using NC LIVE from the library’s helpful staff.
NC LIVE is supported by the General Assembly and the citizens of North Carolina as well as the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities. Generous support for some of the independent college and university libraries has also been received from The Duke Endowment and The Cannon Foundation. The role of state funding is to "level the playing field" so that rural isolation, community or institutional financial constraints, and limited local library resources are not barriers to accessing information.
NC LIVE provides equal access for all people of North Carolina to an essential and powerful array of online resources and related services to enhance education, economic development, and quality of life throughout the state. The libraries of North Carolina share a vision of each library in the state serving as a gateway to the total library and information resources in the state and to a rich array of electronic information.
The goals of NC LIVE are to provide citizens: Universal access to core group of reference and research materials online in the form of full-text electronic information and indexes; Unlimited access to digital versions of important historical documents and state government information; Information to assist users in gaining access to print materials available in libraries statewide; Assistance from library staff with the skills to help people of all ages use these exciting resources.
If you would like to learn more about accessing some of these resources, there will be a class held at the Headquarters location of Rowan Public Library on Thursday, November 1st at 9:15 a.m.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Teen Read Week
Marissa Creamer
October 14, 2007
The third week of October each year is designated Teen Read Week by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association. Although teens have much required reading for school assignments, this annual event encourages teens to read just for the fun of it, and this year's theme is "LOL @ Your Library."
It is encouraging to note that many teens are reading for pleasure. They are buying books at the fastest rate in decades, with sales up by a quarter between 1999 and 2005, according to one industry analysis. Booklist journal critic Michael Cart, a leading authority on young adult literature declares, "We are right smack-dab in the new golden age of young adult literature." In the Harry Potter afterglow, publishers are courting teens with new fantasy titles, but graphic novels, adventure, romance, and humor are popular as well. There is a growing sophistication in young adult literature, with many books depicting older protagonists and more complex plotting and content in books that straddle the teen and adult markets.
YALSA is joining with Readergirlz, an online book community founded by four YA authors, to present a month-long celebration of Teen Read Week. The readergirlz divas will be hosting 31 authors for 31 days. Readergirlz members are invited to chat with a different YA author each evening during the month of October at 8:00 pm EST. Authors participating in the "31 Flavorite Authors for Teens" include:
Lauren Myracle, whose "Internet Girls" series is comprised of "ttyl," "ttfn," and "l8r, g8r." These books follow the lives of three high school girls, with the entire narrative composed of their instant messages.
John Green, author of the Michael L. Printz award-winning novel "Looking for Alaska." His latest novel, "An Abundance of Katherines," tells the story of Colin, a recent high school graduate and former child prodigy who has just been dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine. Colin subsequently sets off on a road trip to find some new direction in his life, and along the way tries to create a mathematical formula to predict the duration of romantic relationships.
Janet Lee Carey, whose latest book is "Dragon's Keep", an action-packed fantasy about a twelfth-century princess with a great destiny to fulfill. She must, however, prevent others from finding out her deep secret-she was born with a finger that looks exactly like a dragon's claw.
Other authors participating in the readergirlz chats include Deb Caletti, Holly Black, and Stephenie Meyer, author of "Twilight", "New Moon", and "Eclipse," the bestselling fantasy tales of star-crossed love and vampires. A complete list of the scheduled authors can be found at the Readergirlz website: www.readergirlz.com.
Visit Rowan Public Library to check out any of these books, or take a look at our New Fiction shelves for the latest from even more YA authors.
Marissa Creamer
October 14, 2007
The third week of October each year is designated Teen Read Week by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association. Although teens have much required reading for school assignments, this annual event encourages teens to read just for the fun of it, and this year's theme is "LOL @ Your Library."
It is encouraging to note that many teens are reading for pleasure. They are buying books at the fastest rate in decades, with sales up by a quarter between 1999 and 2005, according to one industry analysis. Booklist journal critic Michael Cart, a leading authority on young adult literature declares, "We are right smack-dab in the new golden age of young adult literature." In the Harry Potter afterglow, publishers are courting teens with new fantasy titles, but graphic novels, adventure, romance, and humor are popular as well. There is a growing sophistication in young adult literature, with many books depicting older protagonists and more complex plotting and content in books that straddle the teen and adult markets.
YALSA is joining with Readergirlz, an online book community founded by four YA authors, to present a month-long celebration of Teen Read Week. The readergirlz divas will be hosting 31 authors for 31 days. Readergirlz members are invited to chat with a different YA author each evening during the month of October at 8:00 pm EST. Authors participating in the "31 Flavorite Authors for Teens" include:
Lauren Myracle, whose "Internet Girls" series is comprised of "ttyl," "ttfn," and "l8r, g8r." These books follow the lives of three high school girls, with the entire narrative composed of their instant messages.
John Green, author of the Michael L. Printz award-winning novel "Looking for Alaska." His latest novel, "An Abundance of Katherines," tells the story of Colin, a recent high school graduate and former child prodigy who has just been dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine. Colin subsequently sets off on a road trip to find some new direction in his life, and along the way tries to create a mathematical formula to predict the duration of romantic relationships.
Janet Lee Carey, whose latest book is "Dragon's Keep", an action-packed fantasy about a twelfth-century princess with a great destiny to fulfill. She must, however, prevent others from finding out her deep secret-she was born with a finger that looks exactly like a dragon's claw.
Other authors participating in the readergirlz chats include Deb Caletti, Holly Black, and Stephenie Meyer, author of "Twilight", "New Moon", and "Eclipse," the bestselling fantasy tales of star-crossed love and vampires. A complete list of the scheduled authors can be found at the Readergirlz website: www.readergirlz.com.
Visit Rowan Public Library to check out any of these books, or take a look at our New Fiction shelves for the latest from even more YA authors.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
TAKE A HIKE
PAUL BIRKHEAD
OCTOBER 7, 2007
October is the perfect month to take a hike. Resplendent autumn landscapes seem to have the ability to beckon even the most sedentary people out of their cars and homes. Cool, crisp air invigorates the senses. And with temperatures dipping down to reasonable levels, you might not have to break a sweat.
Rowan Public Library encourages you to get outside and enjoy nature for awhile. Soon, freezing weather will be upon us and then you can sit inside and read to your heart’s content. In the meantime, if you just can’t quit turning pages, try these books.
Hiking North Carolina: A Guide to Nearly 500 of North Carolina’s Greatest Hiking Trails, by Randy Johnson is a book that’s sure to inspire you to get outdoors. Whether you’re looking for a backwoods adventure or a casual walk in a park, this guide will show you places that you might have never thought to go. Useful information, splendid photos and GPS-compatible maps make this a very valuable trip companion.
North Carolina Waterfalls: A Hiking and Photography Guide, by Kevin Adams is another good read. Who doesn’t like discovering a beautiful waterfall at the end of a trail, ready and waiting to be photographed? While no one knows just how many waterfalls North Carolina has, this book impressively describes over 600 of them. Photographic tips are given about each waterfall as well as important details like accessibility, elevation, and a ‘beauty rating.’
Reading Wilderness First Responder: How to Recognize, Treat and Prevent Emergencies in the Back Country, by Buck Tilton might actually save your life or someone else’s. How many books can you say that about? While somewhat disturbing (there’s a lot that can go wrong out there), there is some extremely valuable information inside. From cuts to cardiac arrest, Tilton’s book does a good job of teaching the reader how to assess and treat injuries outdoors.
If you enjoy hiking already or these book titles have whet your appetite, you should know the Frank T. Tadlock South Rowan Regional Library will be hosting ‘Take A Hike’ programs during the month of October. Sponsored by The Hillbilly Hikers and Rowan County Parks and Recreation, these programs are being offered to the public to celebrate the great outdoors. The schedule of events for the branch in China Grove (704-216-7727) include:
PAUL BIRKHEAD
OCTOBER 7, 2007
October is the perfect month to take a hike. Resplendent autumn landscapes seem to have the ability to beckon even the most sedentary people out of their cars and homes. Cool, crisp air invigorates the senses. And with temperatures dipping down to reasonable levels, you might not have to break a sweat.
Rowan Public Library encourages you to get outside and enjoy nature for awhile. Soon, freezing weather will be upon us and then you can sit inside and read to your heart’s content. In the meantime, if you just can’t quit turning pages, try these books.
Hiking North Carolina: A Guide to Nearly 500 of North Carolina’s Greatest Hiking Trails, by Randy Johnson is a book that’s sure to inspire you to get outdoors. Whether you’re looking for a backwoods adventure or a casual walk in a park, this guide will show you places that you might have never thought to go. Useful information, splendid photos and GPS-compatible maps make this a very valuable trip companion.
North Carolina Waterfalls: A Hiking and Photography Guide, by Kevin Adams is another good read. Who doesn’t like discovering a beautiful waterfall at the end of a trail, ready and waiting to be photographed? While no one knows just how many waterfalls North Carolina has, this book impressively describes over 600 of them. Photographic tips are given about each waterfall as well as important details like accessibility, elevation, and a ‘beauty rating.’
Reading Wilderness First Responder: How to Recognize, Treat and Prevent Emergencies in the Back Country, by Buck Tilton might actually save your life or someone else’s. How many books can you say that about? While somewhat disturbing (there’s a lot that can go wrong out there), there is some extremely valuable information inside. From cuts to cardiac arrest, Tilton’s book does a good job of teaching the reader how to assess and treat injuries outdoors.
If you enjoy hiking already or these book titles have whet your appetite, you should know the Frank T. Tadlock South Rowan Regional Library will be hosting ‘Take A Hike’ programs during the month of October. Sponsored by The Hillbilly Hikers and Rowan County Parks and Recreation, these programs are being offered to the public to celebrate the great outdoors. The schedule of events for the branch in China Grove (704-216-7727) include:
- Saturday, October 13 at 2:00 pm Wilderness First Aid Demonstration by Instructor Charles Seaford
- Monday, October 15 at 6:30 pm Movie Night - Continental Divide starring John Belushi
- Saturday, October 20 at 10:00 am Hiking Discussion with Bob Pendergrass
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