Be grateful.  Be respectful.  

Be responsible.  

Be kind. 

 

Ed Gerety's inspiring talk yesterday seemed so timely as we are heading into the third week of school. Before you know it, we will be saying those cliche, but true things like "Wow, has this semester flown by!" which got me to really thinking about the perspective of time and how it can get so easily skewed as a young adult. As faculty and staff, we know that one of the best ways that we can prepare you for the real world is to help you better understand and implement time management. This seems like a ridiculous and oversimplified statement, but no matter which way you slice it, there are 24 hours in the day! And now that we realize we need to be allotting way more time for calling our moms and dear ones, we have a bit less of the precious commodity to focus on the day in and day outs of managing our studies. Which in a school like Governor's, is one of the key components of success. Today is September 25, which is exactly 35 days (840 hours) away from the end of the first quarter and 62 days (1,488 hours) away from the deadline for rough drafts of junior thesis!

I truly am not trying to load more stress onto the daily lives of our students, but I guess what I really am trying to get at is, "Juniors, get your respectable selves to the library and sign up for your thesis interviews!" (That is both an exclamatory and imperative sentence by the way.) We are now booking appointments for you that will help you refine your proposal and get an idea on what types of resources are available on the topic. We have set up a lib guide which will walk you through the early steps of the research process. By the end of the meeting you will have a better understanding of how and where to access the resources you will need and I guarantee, just by putting this appointment on the top of your agenda, you will be much better off in managing the rest of your time in this project. Not to mention the stress relief you will feel, just by having a clearer direction for your thesis and approach. Think of this as an essential appointment in the success of your junior year as well as a cathartic, yogic experience with one of our friendly librarians. :)

And speaking of tackling your studies with gusto and a new perspective of gratitude and time management, check out this amazing infographic from mashable. Do you remember how your math teacher in fifth grade taught you those critical math rules like "a number is divisible by 3 if the sum of its digits is divisible by 3"? Well, in the information below you will learn the Google rules you should have also learned in fifth grade! Take note and consider this a librarian act of kindness!

The Freedom to Read

This week is the 32^nd annual Banned Books Week, celebrating our freedom to read!!!

 

 

Here in the Pesky Library, we are highlighting a few graphic novels from our collection that narrowly escaped censorship.

 

 "There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running around with lit matches." — Ray Bradbury, "Fahrenheit 451"

Sometimes, it seems hard to believe that censorship is not a thing of the past, but, oh no, far from it! Some of these repeat offender authors could swap notes with a good deal of those Salem witches! Take Judy Blume for instance, she is one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.  Her books have drawn fire from parents ever since the 80s for their frank depiction of puberty and sexuality.

Comic books are often targeted for censorship because of the visual nature of the genre and the stereotyped notion that comics are only for young children. They are generally marked for "adult content" and "language". It would seem as though one would be hard pressed to find many young adult books that don"t push the envelope in those categories.

So, who do we have to thank for one of the great American privileges of being able to read what we see fit?

The American Civil Liberties Union

Founded in 1920, the ACLU has opposed censorship in all its forms. From books and radio to film, television, and the Internet, the group has consistently fought to make sure Americans have the right to say, think, read, and write whatever they want, without fear of government retaliation .

Here is a list of some of the major victories in regards to censorship:

• In 1926, the ACLU defended H.L. Mencken when he was charged with distributing copies of his banned magazine, American Mercury. 
• In 1952, in Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson,  the Supreme Court  struck down film censorship laws for good. 
• In 1978, the union challenged the government's power to suppress radio broadcasts of George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television." 
• And in 1997, in Reno v. ACLU, the court held that Internet speech is entitled to full First Amendment protection.

                                               

The ACLU is passionately committed to the First Amendment values that keep our society open.

 

What do YOU think about censorship?

 

                    Fall into a Good Book...

Autumn in New England is hard to beat. The air is crisp, the sky is blue, leaves are falling all around. Time to don a sweatshirt and watch a football game or cozy up with a good book. Do you sometimes wish that the perfect book would just appear before your eyes? Well, wish no more! There is no shortage of great reading suggestions here in our library. We have quite a few fall displays to help you get "under the spell" of a good read.

 

 

This month  you can see the return of some classic "Pesky Stall Street Journal" entries which are  monthly bathroom newsletters (hey, why not? It's a captive audience!) that highlight some fun fiction for young adults.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Butter by Erin Jade Lang





Lastly, our end caps display will captivate you with sleuths, espionage and conspiracy!
We call it :

                                                          Here are a few snapshots :

                                                          

If none of these titles speak to you personally, just ask us for advice on another topic!


In closing, we leave you with a great inspiration that someone posted on one of our new idea walls.

Twitter and Help

Good evening Pesky Library students!

We have a couple of cool things to blog and brag about today.

First we brag...we are now on twitter!

We - your super cool, hipster, always helpful librarian friends, are moving into the 21st century social media age. Why is this important to you? Well, first off, there is candy involved. Second, you will have the most up to date access of what is happening in the library and did we mention CANDY!?

Hashtag Chocolate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every Monday and Friday we will post a trivia question and if you come into the library with the right answer and the right attitude, you will receive a piece of candy!

Start following the library on twitter!

I also wanted to repost a partial blog that I lost to the ether last week. It was inspired by Dr. Quimby's chapel talk that challenged us to ask, "How can I help?"
The blog was also in remembrance of 9/11 and it seemed apropos for us to ask how we can help each other out. Here in the library, we are always willing to help you out in any manner we can. Just ask! We are a friendly bunch and now you know we have candy...