Librarian Turns to Library Resources to Break Out of a Funk

by Stephanie Reister   Rowan Public Library

I’ve been in a funk. It’s not a good Kool and the Gang or Bruno Mars kind, so it has to go. I’ve turned to the library for help to get in a better groove.

 I read Brené Brown’s book Braving the Wilderness to learn about her idea of true belonging to yourself and the world. She says, “Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong.” That really got me thinking. Since moving miles away from the people and place I was most comfortable with, I’m still tentative in making connections.

I find myself worrying about how I fit in here. I’m an extrovert who has been holding back. Concerned that my sense of humor and experiences may not click with the people I meet. Brown has a response to that:

“True belonging is not passive. It's not the belonging that comes with just joining a group. It's not fitting in or pretending or selling out because it's safer. It's a practice that requires us to be vulnerable, get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without sacrificing who we are.”

Brown’s words remind me that you can’t make friends without some effort. You have to take a chance and reach out as your genuine self. After the initial awkwardness, strangers can usually find common ground to carry on a conversation.

 I want to also share more of my creativity, which includes writing. I’ve been using a mantra to get unstuck. “The best (perfect) is the enemy of the good.” Voltaire popularized this Italian proverb. It cautions us that the idea of perfection can stop us from doing a task at all.

Elizabeth Gilbert addresses using persistence to overcome the idea of perfection in her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. I like her conversational tone and honest advice on the creative process, specifically for writing.

At the beginning of the book Gilbert gives a long list of possible fears that prevent people from using their creativity. Seeing those excuses in print gave me a clear perspective on how we easily trick ourselves into procrastination.

Perfectionism is an ethereal obsession that holds many of us back from taking action. She uses a colorful analogy to discredit the idea, “I think perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when actually it’s just terrified.”

Another key point Gilbert shares is that the creative process is mostly tedious, unglamorous, and requires courage to be disciplined. She asks, “What are you passionate enough about that you can endure even the most disagreeable aspects of the work?” If you have a creative passion, you have to make the time to carry it out.

To push forward with my own writing, I’m taking a class through Gale Courses online. It’s free and easy to access through Rowan Public Library’s website with my library card number and PIN.

I really enjoy the class and am impressed by the instructor’s background. The homework and online discussion with fellow writers persuade me to write regularly.

Even though I’m out of my comfort zone, I will open up more to meeting people, sharing who I am, and using my creativity. I’m bound to find the light at the end of my funk. Right now, I need to get past perfectionism and a little insecurity to turn in this column.

Music & Literacy, Sittin’ in a Tree…

by Chelsea Rhae Childers  Rowan Public Library

Will you be my Valentine? The month of February inspires us to brood over the people and passions in life that we love, for example I love music, and I also love literacy. Few people realize that a love of music can help with early literacy, or that music and reading are directly connected because of the origin of books. Before printed text, people passed on information by telling stories. Every village had a storyteller who used melodic chants and songs intertwined with their spoken words. These stories, passed on through the generations, were part of the history of oral tradition, which led to written language and books.

Let’s think about what it takes to become a reader, from an early age. To become a successful reader, we must master alphabet recognition, understand how to assimilate printed material, use background knowledge of oral language to build vocabulary, and have phonological awareness. Which is the most important? Studies have shown, oral language development is the most important for children to later comprehend what they are reading. What should we do to emphasize this? Involve early readers in activities that expose them to oral language, including songs.

We’ve created a children’s music program, led by myself, here at the Rowan Public Library. It includes a variety of ways to develop children’s oral language using higher-level vocabulary, informative and challenging songs, thoughtful questions and discussions with rich explanations, and deeper dives into topics that are interesting. Although parents, caregivers, teachers, and guardians are the chief resources in language development, there is a high level of influence children have on one another. This music program encourages children to interact with each other as they come to understand written language. By learning rhymes, singing songs, and engaging in word play, language skills come alive.

Music with Miss Chelsea takes place at Rowan Public Library Headquarters on March 2, and April 27, at 11am in the children’s room. Beginning this Fall, our goal is to launch “Songbird Storytime,” a weekly music program incorporating a small-group reading experience for children to participate in dramatic play. This will include musical instruments, so be prepared to hear a bit of joyful noise as young literacy skills blossom at your library!

Consider African American Poetry Resources for Black History Month Presentations Available Online through NC Live

By: Amber Covington  Rowan Public Library

February is a month dedicated to celebrating African American History and is most notably known as Black History Month. As a child, I always enjoyed learning history. My mother is deeply involved in assisting youth to find a voice in this world and she always encouraged our youth group to participate in the annual Black History events in the community. Usually during the month of February, I would spend several days researching special people that made an impact on Earth and found some truly inspiring individuals that have made a huge impact on my life.

This was the beginning of me learning to use my local public library and home library to gather information to create a short presentation to share with others during our special Black History events in my hometown. One of my first experiences was reciting poetry written by the infamous leader of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes. “Dressed Up” by Langston Hughes is a poem that details the simple task of having clothes cleaned to go with a new hat and shoes. However, the mental state of the person in the poem did not change. Hughes is known for his published works sharing the story of the everyday life situations of African Americans that lived during his time period. This poem landed me in second place for our local 4H talent show and afforded me the opportunity to speak for the first time ever in front of a large crowd of people I did not know.

Consider sharing poetry with others by presenting a poem to an audience or reading for pleasure this February. My childhood recitation of “Dressed Up” will always remind me of my beginnings of learning about my culture through others that lived before me. Many other African American poems are available online through NC Live at no cost to library card holders.

For your research needs or pleasure reading, check out two databases called “African American Poetry” and “Twentieth-Century African American Poetry.” These resources provide descriptions and a direct link to the poetry of African American poets published from 1760 to present day.“African American Poetry” contains about 3,000 poems from writers that lived in the North and South, rural and urban backgrounds, and a wide-range of educational backgrounds. It includes the works of Phillis Wheatley, James Monroe Whitfield, Paul Laurence Dunbar, George Moses Horton, Jupiter Hammon, and many others. “Twentieth-Century African American Poetry” shares almost 9,000 poems by 62 notable poets including Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde, and Rita Dove. Check out these databases at NC Live by visiting www.nclive.org and search for “African American Poetry” and “Twentieth-Century African American Poetry.”

Free College Textbooks Now Available Through Open Education North Carolina

By: Amber Covington Rowan Public Library

Feeling the pressure of purchasing an expensive textbook for a class? Check out the free resources available to any patron of Rowan Public Library using Open Educational Resources available through NC Live. The library is a member of NC Live which is a library consortium that provides shared services among 200 public and academic libraries across the state. Take advantage of these free services to locate textbooks, scholarly articles, and research information for your class assignments.

Open Educational Resources Commons hosts vasts amounts of resources created by authors across the globe to be shared with others. This website shares not only textbooks, but also lesson plans, syllabi,  activities, and assessments for all educational grade levels. Subject areas include science, arts and humanities, business and communication, career and technical education, education, english language arts, history, law, and mathematics. From the beginning, Open Education North Carolina has aimed to provide open textbooks for the most frequently-taught courses across North Carolina’s two and four year colleges and universities. These classes are introductory levels of accounting, art, biology, communications, economics, english, history, math, psychology, and sociology.

Faculty, instructors, and library staff of North Carolina colleges are encouraged to apply for an adoption grant to receive funding for offering their textbook online through NC Live’s Open Education North Carolina. If interested, attend an upcoming workshop to learn how to adopt an open textbook. Anyone can take advantage of resources that are currently available online by searching the content published, free of charge, on Open Education North Carolina at www.oercommons.org/hubs/oenc.