NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK

National Library Week is a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwide.

Libraries are the heart of every community and our library helps our community thrive.  At our library, people of all backgrounds come together for community meetings, lectures and programs, to do research with the assistance of a trained professional, to get help finding a job or to find homework help.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.

National Library Week 2010 Proclamation

 WHEREAS, libraries everywhere play a vital role in supporting the quality of life in their communities;

WHEREAS, our nation’s school, academic, public and special libraries make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans, today, more than ever;

WHEREAS, librarians are trained professionals, helping people of all ages and backgrounds find and interpret the information they need to live, learn and work in a challenging economy;

WHEREAS, libraries serve as crucial technology hubs for people in need of free Web access, computer training, and assistance finding job resources;

WHEREAS, libraries are part of the American Dream – places for opportunity, education, self-help and lifelong learning;

WHEREAS, library use is up nationwide among all types of library users, continuing a decade-long trend;

WHEREAS, libraries, librarians, library workers and supporters across America are celebrating National Library Week.

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that we, the Spring Lake Branch Library, proclaim National Library Week, April 11-17, 2010.  We encourage all residents to visit the library this week to take advantage of the wonderful library resources available @ your library.  Communities thrive @ your library.

THE BIG READ: Read-alikes

Have you finished reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter?  Were you intrigued by the events of the Depression Era and are interested in learning more about this historical account or reading similar fiction titles?  Here are some suggestions:

The Quarry by Charles Chesnutt

Incognegro by Mat Johnson

Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan

Never Too Late by Michael Phillips

Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison

The Black and White Stories of Erskine Caldwell by Erkine Caldwell

Catherine Carmier by Ernest Gaines

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Right as Rain by Bev Marshall

Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson

Train From Marietta by Dorothy Garlock

Blue Orchard by Jackson Taylor

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers

Ava’s Man- Rick Bragg B Bundrum

The Great Depression 973.91B

The Great Depression Ahead: how to prosper in the crash following the greatest boom in history 330.973D

Riding the Rails: teenagers on the move during the Great Depression 973.916U

Hoping for Rain: the Dust Bowl Adventures of Patty & Earl Buckler J978.09C

Missing Grace: a Kit mystery J American Girl

THE BIG READ 2010: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

The Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center presents its fourth Big Read program in celebration of Carson McCuller’s novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, through April 30.

Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) is set in a small Georgia mill town in the late 1930s. At the center is John Singer, who rents a room in the Kelly house after his fellow deaf companion, Spiros, is sent away to an asylum. The amiable Singer is a confidant for four of the town’s misfits—Mick, a teenage girl who dreams of becoming a trained musician; Benedict, the town’s black doctor; Jake, an alcoholic socialist; and Biff, the owner of the local café. Over the course of a year, the characters encounter difficult challenges and find solace in Singer, but it’s not until the novel’s climax do any of these lonely souls fully appreciate Singer’s importance in their lives. Whether quiet or roaring, deliberate or reckless, the five voices of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter unite in a common cry of isolation and hope.

Cumberland County is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read 2010.  View the Programs link for a list of Spring Lake Branch’s programs for all ages with themes relating to the Depression Era 1930s and the author’s life, including her stay here in Fayetteville.

THE BIG READ: What is it?

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. 

The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The concerned citizen in search of good news about American literary culture would study the pages of this report in vain.

The Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature and an extensive Web site providing comprehensive information on authors and their works.

Each community event lasts approximately one month and includes a kick-off event to launch the program locally, ideally attended by the mayor and other local luminaries; major events devoted specifically to the book (panel discussions, author reading, and the like); events using the book as a point of departure (film screenings, theatrical readings, and so forth); and book discussions in diverse locations and aimed at a wide range of audiences.

The NEA inaugurated The Big Read as a pilot project in 2006 with ten communities featuring four books. The Big Read continues to expand to include more communities and additional books. By June 2010, more than 800 grants have been awarded to communities in the U.S. to host Big Reads since the program’s 2007 national launch.