Class is in Session

I'm back in class -- well, sort of. I've decided to audit a class this semester taught by Dr. Jim Gulledge here in the library. The class is The Works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. I'm really excited about this class after the first meeting yesterday. The class is small, about 18 students, and the setting is intimate, which is a pleasant way of saying that we're crammed into a tiny room on the third floor of the library. After reviewing the syllabus, I can honestly say that I'm glad that I'm auditing the class. I'm not sure I'd be able to keep up and work full-time and take care of everything else in my crazy life. As you might expect with these two prolific authors, the course is extremely reading-intensive, which suits me just fine. In fact, I just returned from the bookstore where I picked up several of the books that are required for the course. The Essential C. S. Lewis, edited by Lyle W. Dorsett, The Tolkien Reader by J. R. R. Tolkien and Beowulf: A Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney and edited by Daniel Donoghue. In addition to these, we'll be reading The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien and three of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series by Lewis -- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle. I know I may be the last person on the face of the planet who has not read The Lord of the Rings. The closest I've come is watching the movie, which I did enjoy. So, I'm looking forward to finally reading this book.

I know I'm weird when it comes to things like this (my children remind me of this fact quite often!), but I'm like a kid in a candy store when I go to pick up books for a class. I love school. I always have. I think that's part of the reason I ended up as an academic librarian. This is as close as it comes to getting paid to go to school, which happens to be my ultimate dream. I graduated with my MLIS in 2005 and haven't taken any classes since, which is the longest that I've been out of school since 1998. I was beginning to have withdrawals. Luckily one of the benefits of being an employee in most colleges and universities is the opportunity to take classes free. So, until someone hires me to be a full-time student, I will probably continue to take classes that pique my interest in order to stave off those pesky withdrawal symptoms. So, you'll probably be hearing updates about the reading for this class periodically throughout this semester.

I should finish my latest Early Reviewers book from LibraryThing, Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris, this weekend. I also hope to make some progress on Great Expectations, which I'm supposed to have read by the end of the month for the Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge. My face to face book club meets on February 7, and we'll be discussing The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. So that will be next on the reading list. Of course, that is after I do the reading for my class.

Have a great weekend!

Congratulations!

There are numerous literary prizes that get doled out yearly -- Pulitzer, Man Booker, Orange, etc. However, in the world of academic libraries there is -- Choice Outstanding Academic Titles. For those of you unfamiliar with Choice, this is a book review publication, which reviews only academic titles. At the beginning of each year, they publish a list of the best from the previous year. As an acquisition librarian, I use this tool quite a bit. In fact, I think the majority of academic librarians rely on Choice for much of their title selection. So, you will understand why we are so excited here in the G. A. Pfeiffer Library to discover that one of our own, Laura Stivers, Associate Professor of Philosophy, has had her book chosen as one of the Choice Outstanding Academic Titles of 2007! Justice in a Global Economy. Congratulations, Laura!

(edited to include link to faculty profile)

Book Clubs

I know I promised a review of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, but I have been putting it off. Here's why:

The Pfeiffer Student Book Club met for the first time back in September. I was a little apprehensive about it because I wondered just how many college students would be interested in a book club. So, of course I used bribery and offered free pizza! To my surprise, we had 12 people in attendance and about five more who indicated that they wanted to come but had class or other obligations. During that first meeting, there was a great deal of energy. The students chose a great book for the first read -- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Everything went great!

Our second meeting was October 24 (the students decided to keep the meetings on the 4th Wednesday at noon), and one student showed up! I couldn't believe it. After waiting about 10 minutes for stragglers who never came, Cindy (a library staff member), the student and I ended up having a really good discussion about the book. The student had read the book in one sitting and loved it. After the initial disappointment, I decided that as long as one person showed up, I would keep doing it. Over the course of the next few days, several students came by or e-mailed to tell me that they hadn't come for one reason or another but that they read the book and was still interested in the book club. So, I have quit pouting, and here is a brief review.

The Thirteenth Tale fits nicely into the Gothic tradition and was a perfect choice for October. Miss Vida Winter is a reclusive author who has given numerous interviews throughout her career. However, she is not very forthcoming with personal information. In fact, she has given nineteen different accounts of her life. Now, Ms. Winter is dying and wants to tell her story. She chooses Margaret Lea, a young biographer and the daughter of a rare book dealer. She summons Margaret to her estate and begins by asking her if she wants to hear a ghost story. Margaret is soon drawn into the strange world of the Angelfield family complete with ghosts, spooky estates, tragic fires, murder and suicide. Ms. Winter and Margaret have a few things in common -- they are both twins, which plays a huge part in the story, and they both live in a world of books. As Ms. Winter weaves her ghost story, Margaret must face her own ghosts. The mystery comes together in the end in a very unexpected way. This book was a joy to read. The language is absolutely beautiful. She evokes the settings so vividly that you really are drawn into this world. It's hard to believe that it's a first novel.

Pfeiffer Student Book Club

The newly-formed Pfeiffer Student Book Club (we're still trying to decide on a more original name) will meet tomorrow at noon in the Reading Room of the G. A. Pfeiffer Library. We'll be discussing The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Students at the first meeting back in September chose this book, and I think it's a perfect choice for the October meeting since it's so close to Halloween. The book definitely falls into the Gothic literature genre. Check back here for a review following the meeting. But for now, I just wanted to remind everyone about tomorrow's meeting. All students, faculty, and staff of Pfeiffer are welcome to attend! We'd love to have you. Come and enjoy great conversation and good food!

Banned Books Display

Since I've been talking about our display, I thought I would post a couple of pictures. It's simple, but we've gotten quite a few people stopping by to take a look. One of my colleagues also gave out snacks as part of a "Taste of Banned Books" the last couple of days. She included oreos for And Tango Makes Three, muffins for In the Night Kitchen, and Hershey's kisses for The Chocolate War. The students liked it. Thanks, Cindy!



Photos by Jonathan

Get Your Head Out of the Sand

"People want to stick their heads in the sand." I overheard this comment from one of the members of the Class of 1957 as they toured the library this past weekend as part of the homecoming festivities. This one comment was worth the effort of putting up the display. I'm a firm believer in every person's right to free access to information. However, I have to admit that I was a little worried about our display of banned books. I just wasn't sure how some of our older alumni would react. It turns out that they were very interested in the issue. One book in particular caught their eye -- And Tango Makes Three. As I described in an earlier post, this is a children's book based on a true story about two male penguins who take turns sitting on an orphaned egg. I told them that book happened to be the book most often challenged or banned this year. After a few more minutes, they continued on their tour. It was as they headed upstairs that I overheard the comment about people sticking their head in the sand. Later on their way out of the building, several of them picked up bookmarks and copies of the banned books list. One of the women told me she was going to take one to her daughter who is a high school English teacher.

I don't really know what I expect when I put up the banned books display each year. I guess I just want people to understand that censorship is dangerous. It may not seem like a big deal if one book is removed from a library shelf or a school reading list. But, that's the way all civil liberties are eroded -- one small step at a time. So, it's time we get our heads out of the sand!

Banned Books Week

It's that time of year once again. The American Library Association (ALA) sponsors Banned Books Week annually the last week of September. This year the celebration is September 29 to October 6. Since its inception in 1982, Banned Books Week has reminded us that "while not every book is right for every reader, each of us has the right to decide for ourselves what to read, listen to or view."

I have been involved with setting up displays and planning events for Banned Books Week for the last several years. During this time, I have not had a single complaint regarding the appropriateness of the books on display. The comment that I hear most often is something along the lines of "Why are you banning those books?" After thinking about it, it does sound like we are advocating banning books. Librarians and booksellers take it for granted that everyone knows that we're in favor of free access to information. However, that's not the case, at all. People don't always know where we stand because we fail to tell them. Of course, I can't speak for all librarians. This is how I see the matter.

For clarification, challenges are an attempt to remove material from public use, thereby restricting access for everyone. The last word is the key. Who gets to decide for me what I read? Think about it. Who gets to decide for you what you read? We take this right for granted, but we can't really afford to do that. Civil liberties are eroded a little at a time so that it isn't really noticeable. Then one day, it's too late to do anything about it. So, you don't think things like that happen anymore? What would the people in Afghanistan say? How about Cuba? O.K., I can hear what you're thinking. Not in the United States, right? Wrong! It happens all the time. It is usually on a small scale, but it happens.

While a challenge is an attempt to remove a book from access, a ban is when that attempt is successful, and a book is removed from the shelves. Censorship denies our freedom as individuals to choose and think for ourselves. For children, decisions about what books to read should be made by the people who know them best -- parents. However, parents should only have the right to choose for their own children. They shouldn't be allowed to make decisions that affect everyone's children.

American libraries are the cornerstones of democracy. Libraries are for everyone, everywhere. Because libraries provide free access to a world of information, they bring opportunity to all people. We can't allow any individual or group to choose for a whole community what is or isn't appropriate. There are too many different cultures, values, and ways of life to pretend that this is possible. Now, more than ever, celebrate the freedom to read @ your library! Elect to read an old favorite or a new banned or challenged book. Come by the library on Thursday, September 27th to view a display featuring books that have been frequently challenged or banned, pick up free bookmarks and enter a drawing.

Pfeiffer Book Club

I'm an avid reader and can't really understand why everyone wouldn't want to be in a book club (or 2 or 3!). I belong to two face-to-face book clubs and one online discussion group. But, I know that everyone is not like me. In fact, my own children don't like to read, which is hard to admit. I get my love of reading from my Dad. So, I hold out hope that my boys will come back to reading. After all, they did read when they were young. My oldest devoured the Goosebumps books while my younger son loved historical fiction books, such as Across Five Aprils and My Brother Sam is Dead. Sadly, they are not the only ones who no longer read. An AP-Ipsos poll several weeks ago found that "one in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year." This is reminiscent of the 2004 National Endowment for the Arts report titled "Reading at Risk." It found that only 57 percent of American adults had read a book in 2002.

So, it's no wonder I was a little worried that there wouldn't be much interest in a book club on campus. However, my fears were laid to rest when we had our first meeting of the new Pfeiffer Book Club on Wednesday. We met at noon in the Reading Room and enjoyed pizza and cookies while we discussed how to set up our new club. There were eleven people in attendance! They didn't just come for the free food, either. While everyone took turns making suggestions for our first book selection, I recognized that kindred spirit evident in all book lovers. They were making their case for a book that they loved and wanted to share with others. Participating in a book discussion group can expose you to things you would have never discovered on your own. We all tend to gravitate to the same types of things, including books. So, when we read a book that we wouldn't have picked up outside a book group and discuss it with each other, we see the world through new eyes.

Despite what the polls and surveys say, there are those of us who still read and want to discuss what we read with others. For our first selection, we will be reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. If you can, please join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, October 24, at noon in the library. It looks like we have a really good mix of people, and I anticipate some really good discussions.

Because there were a few people who could not attend the noon meeting due to scheduling conflicts, we are going to have another meeting in the evening. Right now, it looks like Mondays around 7:00 or 8:00 will be a good time. I will be posting more information as soon as the date and time is set.

Finally, for students who can't attend either meeting or anyone else who is interested, I will be posting discussion questions for each of the books along with historical context, author biographies, etc.

Literary Events This Week at Pfeiffer

New Student Book Club

Please join us this Wednesday, September 19 at 12:00 noon in the Reading Room (second floor) of the G. A. Pfeiffer Library for the first meeting of the Pfeiffer student book club. Those in attendance at this first meeting will choose a name for the club, elect officers, determine future meeting dates and decide how books will be chosen. Following the first meeting, we will apply to be recognized as an official Pfeiffer club, which will make us eligible for funding.

As our service project, we will also support First Book, which is a literacy-based organization that provides free books for low-income children in our area.

Please join us for lunch (pizza, dessert and drinks provided!) on Wednesday and help launch your new club. If you are interested and can't make it Wednesday, please contact me and let me know what is the best time for you to meet. You may email me at lisa.shores@pfeiffer.edu or call ext. 3352 for more information.

Cultural Hour
Friday, September 21

Heather Ross Miller will be the speaker for the cultural hour this Friday at 10:00 AM in the Chapel. She has published numerous books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She retired from Washington and Lee University as the first Thomas Broadus Distinguished Professor of English and is currently teaching a poetry course at Pfeiffer. She lives in Badin. Please join us Friday for this special program.

Paperback shelf

On the first floor of the library, there is a small section that contains paperback books that you can take out on the honor system. Just browse the shelves, arranged alphabetically by author, and take what you want. There's no due date. Simply bring it back when you're finished. Let's face it -- sometimes you just want to read something that has absolutely nothing to do with school!