Library Advocacy with Cycling for Libraries

by Edward Hirst  Rowan Public Library

This past September I was in Oslo, Norway getting ready for the start of the 2015 edition of Cycling for Libraries when it started to rain. The rain would accompany our group of librarians for most of the first 24 hours of our journey. At 9:00 pm when we arrived at our overnight stop we had visited three libraries, had our first of three ferry crossings and it was still raining. We were hopeful that it wouldn’t get any worse for the next day. Of course, the next morning we woke to wind and heavy rain. 

I first heard about Cycling for Libraries in 2012 after the first tour was held in 2011 on a trip that went from Copenhagen to Berlin. Cycling for Libraries was started by a group of Finnish librarians as an international library unconference for librarians and library lovers with a twist, it is held entirely on bicycles! Some of the goals of this unconference are to advocate for libraries, raise awareness of the valuable services libraries provide to their communities, and provide networking opportunities for the participants.

For 2015, "The New Nordic Cycling for Libraries unconference" was held September 1st to the 10^th and went from Oslo, Norway to Aarhus, Denmark. There were eighty attendees from twenty countries that included Belgium, USA, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Romania, France, England, Germany, Russia, Croatia, Finland, Latvia, Iceland, and Australia. Our journey covered about 450 miles, three ferry crossings, and visits to over thirty libraries. We traveled with a chef who prepared our breakfast and lunch, and most of the evening meals were sponsored by different organizations. The sleeping arrangements varied from hostels to small cabins to gym floors. We even slept in a library one night!

The sun eventually came out and Denmark welcomed us with warm, sunny days that were kept busy visiting libraries and chatting with fellow librarians. We even found a few lakes for swimming.

We ended our journey at the recently opened DOKK1 library in Aarhus, the largest library in Scandinavia. It has a dedicated light rail station and the largest fully automated robotic underground car park in Europe.

I brought back a lot of memories but, it was great to get back home to Rowan Public Library.

The Perfect Gift?

by Dr. Betty Middleton Rowan Public Library

  

          This time of the year we begin thinking about the various people on our gift giving list.  What would they like?  What do they need?

          I think about the activities they are involved in.  Do they like sports?  Do they travel?  Do they have children and or grandchildren?     I then think of the processes I go through when I am planning any of these activities and that usually brings me to my favorite thing…BOOKS!

          There are books for everything.   One place to begin might be the New York Time Best Seller List.  They review both fiction and nonfiction books as well as e-books.  Currently the best selling Fiction Book is Cross Justice by James Patterson – a long standing favorite author.  For nonfiction, Killing Reagan, by Bill O’Reilly takes the top spot.

          Hobbies and Sports can be narrowed down by the specific topic and age.  Grandchildren today are involved in Hockey, Lacrosse, Football and twenty more activities to choose from.  Giving a book that would help them enhance their skills would be well received. 

          Adult sports enthusiast usually have a specific team or person they are interested in.  That helps narrow down the choices for them.

          Books can be selected by age groups and gender types.  Computer searches provide a great selection when typing in specific information such as  ”The best books for 8 year old boys”.  This will provide you with many choices that show the books and give a brief annotation for each.

          If you need a gift in a hurry,  please  remember the wonderful gift baskets made by the Friends of the Library and the on-going book sale on the second floor.  You will be sure to find something that will make that special person smile.

Veterans Stories

by Paul Birkhead  Rowan Public Library

     
    This is the time of year when veterans are given the attention they rightfully deserve.  One way to honor veterans is by listening to them and reading their stories.  Rowan Public Library is a good place to visit if you are looking for those stories.

    The War Came Home with Him is a recently published book that the library just put on its shelves.  Written by Catherine Madison, it tells her experience growing up with a father who was a career army surgeon.  Her father, known as ‘Doc’, served in the Korean War and survived three years in captivity as a prisoner of war.  The brutal marches he endured, the deplorable camps he lived in, and the suffering he witnessed and withstood changed him as a person and he came home a different father.  In the years that followed his return, Catherine lived in a turbulent household where she never knew when her father might explode in a fit of rage.  What she did know were the values he held dear and roughly taught her over time: character is the most important thing a person has, food wasn’t to be wasted, and weakness wouldn’t be tolerated.  After leaving home as an adult, Catherine still feared her father’s moods and yet somehow wished she could feel closer to him.  It was only when she found documents about his prisoner of war experience that she began to understand the reasons behind his shattered psyche.  Throughout the book, Catherine’s tale of growing up is interwoven with her father’s horrific experiences as a POW and will be sure to keep you turning the pages.

    Breaking the Code: A Father’s Secret, a Daughter’s Journey, and the Question that Changed Everything is another book about a daughter discovering things about her WWII veteran father.  When author Karen Fisher-Alaniz’s father, Murray Fisher, was 81 he started suffering from nightmares related to his time in the service.  Why he would be having such intense flashbacks was a mystery to Karen who had been told her father had only performed clerical duties for the Navy.  When she is given two thick books containing hundreds of letters Murray wrote home during the war, she slowly began to decipher his true role in the conflict.  With time running out, father and daughter get to know each other on a deeper level and secrets are revealed that otherwise would have been taken to the grave.

     Yet another book written about growing up in the shadow of World War II vets is Our Fathers’ War by Tom Mathews.  Mathews, like many others in his generation, had a tumultuous relationship with his father.  He discovered this was a common trait between WWII veterans and their sons when he interviewed nine other families.  The stories in the book are compelling and it is interesting to see the father and son dynamic play out in each relationship.  The last chapter of the book features Mathews and his father visiting Italy and retracing the steps of his unit during the last year of the war.  Some of the discussions father and son have are very emotional and truly heartwarming as walls between them begin to break down.

    Whether you are a veteran or a child of one, service in wartime quite possibly has had lingering effects on you.  Since wartime experiences can be so traumatic, veterans and their families can be affected for years on end.  On a positive note, research has shown that sharing painful experiences can minimize its hold on the mind.  Take time this month to thank a veteran and come to Rowan Public Library and honor them by reading some of their stories.