Library Closed for Labor Day

All three Davenport Public Library branches will be closed Monday, September 4th in observance of Labor Day. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, September 5th.

Even though the physical libraries are closed on September 4th, you can still access our digital content and online resources with your Davenport Public Library card. You can use your card to access FREE digital materials, including eBooks, digital audiobooks, magazines, movies, and music online 24/7.

Whether you are looking for digital media materials for adults, teens, or children, Davenport Public Library has you covered. You can easily download an app to your mobile device or access these services online.

If you don’t have a Library card, you can register for a Digital Access Card that will give you immediate access to all Davenport Public Library online resources. Once you register, you will receive a temporary barcode number. Your account will be confirmed by the Library within two business days, and your permanent barcode number will be emailed to you. Be sure to choose “Digital Access Card” when you register online.

Curious what resources we have available?

Digital Content:

  • Libby – All you need to access eBooks, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines is your Davenport Public Library card. We recommend downloading the Libby app for best performance.
  • Freegal Music – Freegal Music gives you access to millions of songs from over 40,000 labels. Stream 24-hours a day. Download up to 5 songs per week.
  • TumbleBooks – Both children and their parents will enjoy this online collection of animated, talking picture books that teach kids the joys of reading in an exciting, new format they are sure to love.
  • QC Beats – Built in partnership with Bettendorf Public Library, St. Ambrose University Library, and River Music Experience, QC Beats is an online streaming audio collection of original music featuring Quad Cities musicians and artists.
  • Kanopy – Kanopy provides a variety of popular and classic movies, documentaries, and foreign films to stream. Kanopy Kids includes parental controls. The Great Courses present a wealth of learning.

In addition to our digital content, we also have a wide variety of online resources and tools available for you to use. Whether you are interested in starting a business, purchasing a new car, looking for a place to move in retirement, or helping an elderly parent get the services they need, we’ve got resources and to assist you.

Have fun exploring and we will see you back in person on Tuesday, September 5th!

Online Reading Challenge – September

Welcome Readers!

This month the Online Reading Challenge travels to New York City. Our Main title for September is The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis. (This book takes place partly in the New York Public Library!) Here’s a quick summary from the publisher.

In New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis’s latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.

It’s 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn’t ask for more out of life—her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she is drawn to Greenwich Village’s new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club—a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control, and women’s rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. And when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she’s forced to confront her shifting priorities head on . . . and may just lose everything in the process.

Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she’s wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books for the exhibit Sadie’s running begin disappearing from the library’s famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-averse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage—truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library’s history.

This title is also available in large print and as a Libby eBook.

As always, check each of our locations for displays with lots more titles to choose from!

YWCA Iowa Empowerment Center is on a Mission!

YWCA is on a Mission!

We are starting a new segment on the blog: a monthly social work spotlight submitted by the library’s very own social worker, Quinn! This month our resource spotlight will focus on families as August marks the back-to-school period for families within the Davenport Community School District. As the new school year begins, many families encounter challenges in ensuring a seamless transition while also securing the well-being of their loved ones. Statistics reveal that 33% of families in the Quad Cities struggle to meet their fundamental needs.

YWCA Quad Cities Empowerment Center, part of  YWCA Quad Cities, is a place dedicated to providing essential resources that support families in overcoming challenges and ensuring their well-being as they work towards their goals. The center is designed to help families and individuals stay out of poverty long term. Its mission is to uplift women and their families by offering various resources and opportunities designed to be easily accessible.

Serving as a pivotal resource hub, YWCA Quad Cities Empowerment Center is a sanctuary for women and families seeking support and individualized assistance plans. These plans help identify impactful solutions that resonate for each individual fostering confidence, independence, and self-worth regardless of age, gender, race, or geographic location and promoting a more inclusive and equitable society.

These, amongst others, are the services provided by the YWCA Cities Empowerment Center:

  • A Clothing Closet, which contains all types of clothing for women, men, and children.
  • An Immediate Needs Pantry, which includes a variety of shelf-stable food items, cleaning and laundry supplies, feminine products, hygiene products, and baby items like food, formula, diapers, and wipes.
  • A Learning Center, which offers access to computers, printers, free Wi-Fi, and various continuing education programs, all provided free of charge. Additionally, the center offers resume and job search assistance.
  • Crisis funding is available for those in immediate need when resources permit.
  • ThePlace2B, a drop-in center located at the Rock Island YWCA facility, which offers resources to at-risk and homeless youth.

YWCA Quad Cities’ Empowerment Center is currently located at 1225 E River Dr., Ste 140, Davenport, IA 52803; a move to a much larger facility is in the near future – you’ll definitely want to stay tuned for more information on this. To learn more about YWCA Quad Cities and its programs and services, please visit their website at www.ywcaqc.org  or call 563-340-0310 for more information or to seek assistance.

New Resource: Special Collections Indexes

Welcome to the Special Collections Indexes

The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center is pleased to announce a new index search website, Special Collections Indexes, which will replace our “Local Database Search”. It features over 35 indexes to historical and genealogical resources held in Special Collections. Users will be able to search across the indexes using Search All Indexes page or search individual indexes depending on the information need.

We encourage you all to explore this new resource for accessing historical and genealogical materials.

Special Collections Indexes was created by the Davenport Public Library’s Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center and Information Technology Department to provide greater access to local historical and genealogical resources by publishing indexes to these materials. Indexes were compiled by the Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society volunteers, library volunteers, and the Special Collections staff. Through this dedicated work, over 35 indexes are available for research use. Resource categories include cemetery records, religious institutions’ records, military records, Scott County records, local newspaper articles, local history publications, additional resources, and Iowa patents and inventors.

Search Tips

General Search Techniques

While searching this site, use spelling variations for names, places, and subjects. List these out before the search and cross them off as each one is searched.

If a specific search is not returning results, try expanding the search by removing search conditions. Search with as little data as possible to return all possible results, including misspelled words, abbreviations, etc.

When searching for a person omit entering a first name to see all possible first name variations in records results.

Search All Indexes

Enter a last name, a first name, a single keyword, and/or year in the appropriate search box. Click on the blue “Search” button at the bottom of the form. The results will displayed in a separate sections organized by its resource categories. Each index is listed separately. If an index has returned results, it will display “Search has __ matches” on the left side of the column. Click on the “Click to view results” button on the right side to view the index’s results. Scroll the entire page to see all resource categories.

Results may be printed using the browsers’ print options.

Search All Indexes does not include the Iowa Patents & Inventors index.

Search Individual Indexes

Use the Search Builder to create your search. Select the “Add Condition” button under Search Builder. Select the “Data” drop down-menu to choose an options to search (“Data” options vary by index). Then select the “Condition” drop-down menu and always select “Contains.” Enter a “Value” term corresponding to the “Data” selected, such as last name, first name, corporate name, year, or keyword. Press Enter on the keyboard to return results.

Example search: “Last Name” was selected for “Data”; “Contains” was selected for “Condition”; “Donahue” was entered for the “Value.”

Search results will be listed in a table of entries pointing to a resource to find more information.

Results may be downloaded as a PDF document or printed by using these icons.

Advanced searches are created by clicking on “Add Condition” button to add additional rows of “Data,” “Condition,” and “Value.”

Little Free Libraries

Did you know that the library hosts three Little Free Libraries (LFL) around the city?  Well, we do!

Thanks to the generous donations of our community and the hard work of our FRIENDS organization, materials are made available to distribute through these weather-proof boxes.

I take care of the Duck Creek LFL.  I normally stock it weekly, usually on Monday nights.  I collect a mix of children’s, teen, and adult items from the library and drive to Duck Creek to fill up the box.

Typically, about one to one-and-a-half feet of books need to be restocked.  But on one recent visit, I found that the shelves of the LFL had been decimated.  There were less than a dozen books left!  Fortunately, I had just enough books in my supply box to fill the library back up.

Upon arrival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After re-stocking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a steward, I’ve stocked “my” LFL mostly with popular reading choices:  Grisham, Connelly, Blume, and various other kids’ authors.  But, included among these titles there are some personal favorites that stand out in my mind:

  • vintage Little Golden Books.  They go like hot cakes!
  • a 1960’s version of Amelia Bedelia.  Oh, Amelia Bedelia, who drew a picture of the drapes when she was asked to close (draw) them.
  • a pristine board book about colors.
  • a hardback Richard Bachman title.  “Bachman” is the name Stephen King wrote under in the late 70s and early 80s.
  • dictionaries.   I simply LOVE giving away reference books!

Tragically, some books that catch my eye are simply too unwieldy to be stocked.  For example, atlases.  They are just too large for the shelves.

I encourage you to visit one of our LFLs and browse the current items.  You might just find an interesting title.   If you do, take it.  Visit again to see what is on offer the next time.

Our Little Free Library locations:

  • Duck Creek Park (across from the Stampe Lilac Garden)
  • Sunderbruch Park (at the Telegraph St. entrance)
  • Fairmount Street Bus Stop (across from the Fairmount Library)

Not near one of those?  Visit the Little Free Library World Map to discover what Little Free Libraries are near you.

You never know what you’ll find in a Little Free Library!

 

Graphic Novel Series: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

“You can’t tell whether people are gay by what they look like. And gay or straight aren’t the only two options.”
― Alice Oseman, Heartstopper: Volume One

It’s been a long time since a book has hit me hard in the feelings, leaving me gasping for air. Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper: Volume One left me wrecked and immediately grabbing for the other published volumes. Oseman has written an incredibly cute story that deals with heavy topics respectfully while being simultaneously gorgeously written and drawn. The romance is a slow burn, but so relatable. This LGBTQ+ series is a must read as it represents people of all genders and sexualities in an adorable, wholesome, and sweet way, while still presenting tough issues that teens and adults go through on a daily basis. If I could make this required reading, I would!

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. He is a highly-strung overthinker who was accidentally outed as gay last year. Last year was incredibly hard for him, but thank goodness for the older boys who stepped in and stopped the worst of the bullying. People still say unkind things to him, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was the year before.

Nick Nelson is in Year 11 at the same school. He is a soft-hearted rugby lad, not afraid to fight for the underdog, while simultaneously being cheerful and affable. He doesn’t know Charlie very well, except as the kid who was outed last year and was bullied for a couple months. They haven’t even talked to each other.

When a chance meeting pushes the two boys together, Nick and Charlie quickly become friends. They discover things that they have in common, even more compounded when Charlie joins the school rugby team on Nick’s behest. It doesn’t take long for Charlie to start falling for Nick. Charlie thinks he doesn’t have a chance since Nick is straight and he’s heard rumors of a girl he has a crush on. As time goes on, love works its magic on the boys, showing them that good things come to those who wait.

So far, there are four published volumes in the Heartstopper series with the fifth volume set to be published in November 2023 and a sixth volume is in the works as announced by the author.

Want to talk about Heartstopper: Volume One with others? Join See YA! See YA is our adult book club with a teen book twist. See why so many teen books are being turned into movies and are taking over the best seller lists. Registration is not required. Books are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Eastern Avenue library. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at Eastern at 6:30pm.  Our next four months of books are listed below:

August 2nd – Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman​​​​​​​

September 6th –  How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Gilliland Vasquez​​​​​​​

October 4th – Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey​​​​​​​

November 1st – Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Library Closed for Juneteenth

All three Davenport Public Library locations are closed today in observance of Juneteenth. June 19th is Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, but it wasn’t until June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas that the last enslaved African Americans were declared free by General Order No. 3. Soldiers entered the state of Texas to force the liberation of enslaved people. They came two months after the end of the Civil War and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth National Freedom Day became a recoginzed holiday in Iowa on April 11, 2002. Iowa was the 7th state to recognize Junettenth as a state holiday and roughly the 10th state to formally commemorate/observe Juneteenth. On June 17th, 2021, President Biden signed into law a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday, a law called the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Below we have gathered Juneteenth resources. Descriptions provide by the publisher or authors.

Physical Resources

Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrations by Keturah A. Bobo

Every year, Opal looked forward to the Juneteenth picnic—a drumming, dancing, delicious party. She knew from Granddaddy Zak’s stories that Juneteenth celebrated the day the freedom news of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation finally sailed into Texas in 1865—over two years after the president had declared it! But Opal didn’t always see freedom in her Texas town. Then one Juneteenth day when Opal was twelve years old, an angry crowd burned down her brand-new home. This wasn’t freedom at all. She had to do something! But could one person’s voice make a difference? Could Opal bring about national recognition of Juneteenth? Follow Opal Lee as she fights to improve the future by honoring the past.

Through the story of Opal Lee’s determination and persistence, children ages 4 to 8 will learn:

  • all people are created equal
  • the power of bravery and using your voice for change
  • the history of Juneteenth, or Freedom Day, and what it means today
  • no one is free unless everyone is free
  • fighting for a dream is worth the difficulty experienced along the way

Featuring the illustrations of New York Times bestselling illustrator Keturah A. Bobo (I am Enough), Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free by Alice Faye Duncan celebrates the life and legacy of a modern-day Black leader while sharing a message of hope, unity, joy, and strength.

__________________________________

Juneteenth by Van G. Garrett

A lyrical picture book about our newest national holiday, Juneteenth follows the annual celebration in Galveston, Texas—birthplace of Juneteenth—through the eyes of a boy coming to understand his place in Black American history in a story from three Texan creators.

A young Black child experiences the magic of the Juneteenth parade for the first time with their family as they come to understand the purpose of the party that happens every year—and why they celebrate their African American history!

The poetic text includes selected lyrics from “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the unofficial Black National Anthem, and the vibrant art illuminates the beauty of this moment of Black joy, celebrated across the nation. This vibrant adventure through the city streets invites young readers to make a joyful noise about freedom for all.

__________________________________

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed’s On Juneteenth provides a historian’s view of the country’s long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African-Americans have endured in the century since, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond. All too aware of the stories of cowboys, ranchers, and oilmen that have long dominated the lore of the Lone Star State, Gordon-Reed—herself a Texas native and the descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas as early as the 1820s—forges a new and profoundly truthful narrative of her home state, with implications for us all.

Combining personal anecdotes with poignant facts gleaned from the annals of American history, Gordon-Reed shows how, from the earliest presence of Black people in Texas to the day in Galveston on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of legalized slavery in the state, African-Americans played an integral role in the Texas story.

Reworking the traditional “Alamo” framework, she powerfully demonstrates, among other things, that the slave- and race-based economy not only defined the fractious era of Texas independence but precipitated the Mexican-American War and, indeed, the Civil War itself.

In its concision, eloquence, and clear presentation of history, On Juneteenth vitally revises conventional renderings of Texas and national history. As our nation verges on recognizing June 19 as a national holiday, On Juneteenth is both an essential account and a stark reminder that the fight for equality is exigent and ongoing.

__________________________________

Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison

In Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, Adam Sunraider, a race-baiting senator from New England, is mortally wounded by an assassin’s bullet while making a speech on the Senate floor. To the shock of all who think they know him, Sunraider calls out from his deathbed for Alonzo Hickman, an old black minister, to be brought to his side. The reverend is summoned; the two are left alone. “Tell me what happened while there’s still time,” demands the dying Sunraider.

Out of their conversation, and the inner rhythms of memories whose weight has been borne in silence for many long years, a story emerges. Senator Sunraider, once known as Bliss, was raised by Reverend Hickman in a black community steeped in religion and music (not unlike Ralph Ellison’s own childhood home) and was brought up to be a preaching prodigy in a joyful black Baptist ministry that traveled throughout the South and the Southwest. Together one last time, the two men retrace the course of their shared life in an “anguished attempt,” Ellison once put it, “to arrive at the true shape and substance of a sundered past and its meaning.” In the end, the two men confront their most painful memories, memories that hold the key to understanding the mysteries of kinship and race that bind them, and to the senator’s confronting how deeply estranged he had become from his true identity.

In Juneteenth, Ralph Ellison evokes the rhythms of jazz and gospel and ordinary speech to tell a powerful tale of a prodigal son in the twentieth century. At the time of his death in 1994, Ellison was still expanding his novel in other directions, envisioning a grand, perhaps multivolume, story cycle. Always, in his mind, the character Hickman and the story of Sunraider’s life from birth to death were the dramatic heart of the narrative. And so, with the aid of Ellison’s widow, Fanny, his literary executor, John Callahan, has edited this magnificent novel at the center of Ralph Ellison’s forty-year work in progress—its author’s abiding testament to the country he so loved and to its many unfinished tasks.

__________________________________

A Flag for Juneteenth by Kim Taylor

Expert quilter Kim Taylor shares a unique and powerful story of the celebration of the first Juneteenth, from the perspective of a young girl.

On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, General Gordon Granger of the Union Army delivered the message that African Americans in Texas were free. Since then, Juneteenth, as the day has come to be known, has steadily gained recognition throughout the United States. ln 2020,a powerful wave of protests and demonstrations calling for racial justice and equality brought new awareness to the significance of the holiday.

A Flag for Juneteenth depicts a close-knit community of enslaved African Americans on a plantation in Texas, the day before the announcement is to be made that all enslaved people are free. Young Huldah, who is preparing to celebrate her tenth birthday, can’t possibly anticipate how much her life will change that Juneteenth morning. The story follows Huldah and her community as they process the news of their freedom and celebrate together by creating a community freedom flag.

Debut author and artist Kim Taylor sets this story apart by applying her skills as an expert quilter. Each of the illustrations has been lovingly hand sewn and quilted, giving the book a homespun, tactile quality that is altogether unique.

__________________________________

Juneteenth by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

June 19th, 1865, began as another hot day in Texas. Enslaved African Americans worked in fields, in barns, and in the homes of the white people who owned them. Then a message arrived. Freedom! Slavery had ended! The Civil War had actually ended in April. It took two months for word to reach Texas. Still the joy of that amazing day has never been forgotten. Every year, people all over the United States come together on June 19th to celebrate the end of slavery. Join in the celebration of Juneteenth, a day to remember and honor freedom for all people.

Encourage understanding of diverse cultures. Featuring full-page illustrations, these beautiful editions look at the history and customs associated with various holidays and present early readers with high-interest offerings.

__________________________________

The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story by Glenda Armand

This moving picture book tells the story of Juneteenth with all the care and reverence such a holiday deserves. The rhyming text and stunning illustrations will teach children about this historic day in history.

‘Twas the night before freedom, and all through the South,
long-whispered rumors had, spread word of mouth.
“It’s coming! It’s coming!” I heard people say.
“Emancipation is coming our way.”

Eight-year-old David and his family gather at Grandma’s house in Galveston, Texas, for a cherished family tradition: Grandma’s annual retelling of the story of Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln meant that all enslaved persons within the rebellious states would be free as of January 1, 1863. However, people in Texas did not receive the news of their emancipation until two and a half years later—on June 19, 1865.

Grandma tells the story of anticipation, emancipation, and jubilation just as it was told to her many years before by her own grandmother, Mom Bess. As a six-year-old, Bess had experienced the very first Juneteenth. Before that day, she could only imagine what liberty would look like. But once freedom arrived, would it live up to a little girl’s dreams?

The story is written in the same meter as Clement C. Moore’s The Night Before Christmas, making it a perfect book for parents and kids to read together.

__________________________________

All Different Now: Juneteenth, the first day of freedom by Angela Johnson & E.B. Lewis

Experience the joy of Juneteenth in this celebration of freedom from the award-winning team of Angela Johnson and E.B. Lewis.

Through the eyes of one little girl, All Different Now tells the story of the first Juneteenth, the day freedom finally came to the last of the slaves in the South. Since then, the observance of June 19 as African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. This stunning picture book includes notes from the author and illustrator, a timeline of important dates, and a glossary of relevant terms.

Told in Angela Johnson’s signature melodic style and brought to life by E.B. Lewis’s striking paintings, All Different Now is a joyous portrait of the dawn breaking on the darkest time in our nation’s history.

__________________________________

Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens

African Americans were forcibly enslaved and brought to this land to build houses they were not allowed to live in, tend to families who were not their own, and sow the seeds that fed a nation – while being left with only scraps themselves. They were not expected to thrive. But they did.

In her picture book debut from Candlewick Press, MacArthur Fellowship recipient and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens depicts a family’s resilience in the face of violence and sorrow. They are determined not just to survive, but also to tell their own story.

Based on the song “Build A House,” composed for the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth and performed with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Giddens’s stirring text is paired with moving illustrations by Monica Mikai. Build a House confronts the history of slavery in America by telling the story of a courageous people who would not be moved and the music that sustained them through untold challenges. Steeped in sorrow and joy, resilience and resolve, turmoil and transcendence, this dramatic debut offers a proud view of history and a vital message for readers of all ages: honor your heritage, express your truth, and let your voice soar, even—or perhaps especially—when your heart is heaviest.

__________________________________

Hidden Black History: from Juneteenth to redlining by Amanda Jackson Green

Many important moments in history have not been taught in schools or explored in the mainstream media. These events often include people of color and involve Black history. This “whitewashing” of history, intentional or not, puts all Americans at a disadvantage. Learn about Black history moments that shaped America, from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia in 1619 to the Freedom Summer of 1964, and read about efforts to reshape how we teach Black history in schools in the 21st century.

__________________________________

Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Some call it Freedom Day; some call it Emancipation Day; some call it Juneteenth. Learn more about this important holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States in this Step 3 History Reader.

On June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered. Order Number 3 was read, proclaiming that they were no longer enslaved–they were free. People danced, wept tears of joy, and began to plan their new lives. Juneteenth became an annual celebration that is observed by more and more Americans with parades, picnics, family gatherings, and reflection on the words of historical figures, to mark the day when freedom truly rang for all.

__________________________________

How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves.

It is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the estate where Thomas Jefferson wrote letters espousing the urgent need for liberty while enslaving more than four hundred people. It is the story of the Whitney Plantation, one of the only former plantations devoted to preserving the experience of the enslaved people whose lives and work sustained it. It is the story of Angola, a former plantation-turned-maximum-security prison in Louisiana that is filled with Black men who work across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. And it is the story of Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.

A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view—whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted.

Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the story of people living today, Smith’s debut work of nonfiction is a landmark of reflection and insight that offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country and how it has come to be.

__________________________________

Online Resources

Library Closed

All three Davenport Public Library Branches are closed today, Monday, May 29th in observance of Memorial Day. Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday, May 30th.

Our physical locations may be closed, but you can still visit us virtually!

Your Davenport Public Library card gives you access to FREE digital materials such as e-books, digital audiobooks, magazines, movies, and music online 24/7.

Here are my top five favorite digital content resources! Check these out and we’ll see you again on Tuesday, May 30th when the library opens.

Libby – All you need to access e-books, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines is your Davenport Public Library card. We recommend downloading the Libby app for best performance.

Freegal – Freegal Music gives you access to millions of songs from over 40,000 labels. Stream 24-hours a day. Download up to 5 songs per week.

TumbleBooks – Both children and their parents will enjoy this online collection of animated, talking picture books that teach kids the joys of reading in an exciting, new format they will love.

QC Beats – Built in partnership with Davenport Public Library, River Music Experience and St. Ambrose University, QC Beats is an online streaming audio collection of original music of Quad Cities musicians and artists.

Kanopy – Provides a variety of popular and classic movies, documentaries, and foreign films to stream. Kanopy Kids offers parental controls.
The Great Courses present a wealth of learning.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

We are so excited to announce that See YA is back! See YA is our adult book club with a teen book twist. See why so many teen books are being turned into movies and are taking over the best seller lists. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at Eastern at 6:30pm. Registration is not required. Books are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Eastern Avenue library.  Stop by the service desk for more information.

On June 7th, we will be discussing Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. This book is highly praised! It won the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature(it also was the Goodreads Choice Award for Best young Adult Fiction in 2021). This is also a Michael L. Printz honor book, a We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers honor book, and a Los Angeles Times book prize finalist. This book was also a New York Times bestseller. Now that I’ve hyped up the book, let’s get into what it’s about!

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is the story of a high school girl struggling to find her own identity amidst familial and cultural pressures. Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the Red Scare in the 1950s, seventeen-year-old Lily Hu feels the push and pull of love and duty every single day. After discovering a book that was about two women who fell in love with each other, Lily starts to examine her feelings more and more. The more she examines, the more Lily realizes that these aren’t new feelings, but she can’t exactly pinpoint when they started. When Lily meets fellow high school student Kathleen Miller, she finds a safe space to explore this different side of her life. As soon as the two set foot in a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club, Lily knew she had an answer to her question: there were women out there who fell in love and it wasn’t weird or abnormal. Outside of the Telegraph Club however, Lily finds resistance. 1954 in America isn’t a safe space for two girls to fall in love. Lily’s family complicates matters, given that they live in Chinatown, the Red Scare is running rampant, and deportation rumors abound. Chinese Americans are subject to more scrutiny, leaving Lily to wonder where she falls and whether love or duty will win.

I don’t want to give away too much, but highly encourage you to check out this title and then come to See YA to discuss it with us on Wednesday June 7th at 6:30pm at our Eastern Avenue Branch. (If you end up liking this title, I highly suggest you also try A Scatter of Light, which is the companion novel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club.)

This title is also available as a Libby eBook, Libby eAudiobook, in large print, and as single book club books.

Do You Need To Update To OverDrive’s Libby App?

Still using the old OverDrive app?  The time is upon you to switch to the newer Libby app.

The old OverDrive app will become inactive at the end of April.  Downloading the Libby app takes just a few minutes.  There is no impact to your account.  The items that you have checked out and on hold will be there in the Libby app.

To use on a mobile device, you may need to update your Smartphone software.  Ensure your device is running at least:

  • Android 4.4+ (you’ll also need Chrome, not the stock Android web browser)
  • iOS 10+
  • Fire OS 4.5.4+

To download Libby to a Smartphone:

  • Go to your App Store.
  • Search for the words “Libby” and “OverDrive.”
  • Download the app.
  • Enter your App Store password to install the app on your device.
  • The app will ask you to associate your account with a library. Search for “Davenport” or “RiverShare.”  (Be careful.  Be certain to select Davenport, IOWA.)
  • Enter your library card number into the app.

After that, you should be good-to-go!

 

If you use a laptop or desktop to access OverDrive, you may still use OverDrive Read in your favorite browser.  OverDrive Read is compatible with:  Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari.

 

The end of April is fast approaching.  Spend the time today to ensure you’ll be able to checkout in May!