The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Tuesday July 4th in observance of Independence Day. All three locations will reopen on Wednesday, July 5th with regular business hours, Main and Fairmount 9am to 5:30pm and Eastern noon to 8pm.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
We’re going to interrupt our regular blogging for a moment and wish our good friend Lynn a fond farewell.
After 33 years with the Davenport Public Library, Lynn is retiring and moving on to new adventures. Lynn has filled many different roles here at the library. She started as the “Sunday Librarian” (a position that no longer exists), worked with the Southeast Regional Library system, at various times in Customer Service, Special Collections, Technical Services and lastly, as a Reference Librarian after earning her Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Iowa. These past few years she’s worked in Reference selecting fiction and magazines and newspapers for the library as well as working on many other projects including writing for the Info Cafe blog since its beginning.
Many of you may remember Lynn from the old Annie Wittenmyer branch library (which predates Fairmount) That’s where I started and where I first met Lynn. We were jacks-of-all trades there, doing check-in and check-out, emptying the bookdrop, coaxing bats and birds out of the ancient building, providing reader’s advisory and reference, calling reserves and helping out on the bookmobile. Lynn also did story times for preschoolers. We went from hand stamping the due date in each book to computer checkout and watched the children of our patrons grow up to adults. It was the kind of neighborhood library that doesn’t really exist anymore and, while the current branches offer so much more (and with a happy lack of bats!), those were good times too. You forge a bond with someone working in a small setting like that and you really get to know the other person, good and bad.
I’m happy to report that Lynn is good through and through, not just as a reference librarian (at which she is excellent) but as a friend. She doesn’t flinch when things go bad and will laugh with you through thick and thin. It is bittersweet to say good-bye – sad to see her go, but so happy for her well-earned retirement! Here’s to getting lots more sleep, lots more time to read and lots of traveling!
Happy Trails.
The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day. All of our locations will reopen on Tuesday, May 30 with regular business hours – Main and Eastern 9:00am to 5:30pm and Fairmount noon to 8:00pm.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Friday April 14 in observance of the city holiday. All of our locations will reopen on Saturday April 8 with their regular business hours of 9:00am to 5:30pm.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
The staff here at the Davenport Public Library have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes lately, frantically getting ready for some super exciting news! It’s coming together beautifully – better than we imagined! We are so excited and just can’t wait any longer for the big announcement, so today is the day:
The Davenport Library at Main is now a registered Airbnb host!
We will be welcoming guests from all over the world, helping them enjoy a unique and unforgettable experience in beautiful downtown Davenport! And you don’t have to be a traveler to book with us – locals can enjoy a staycation right here with us as well! As you might imagine, the Main library can accommodate quite a few people – think of the family reunions and wedding receptions you can host here!
Of course, it’s not a free-for-all – while we want you to enjoy your visit, there are some rules that need to followed, rules such as – no food in the library – only covered drinks – no alcohol – no sleeping – two hour limit on the computers – and, of course – please keep your voices down.
This gem is sure to book up fast – call the library today to reserve your stay with us!
Happy April Fool’s Day!
The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Thursday, March 16th for In-Service. The library does this once a year in order to train staff on new technology and policies, all with the purpose of providing the best possible service for the community.
Remember, our website is open 24 hours a day with access to the library catalog, your account information and a wealth of online databases to help meet your immediate information questions.
All three of our locations will reopen on Friday March 17th with their regular business hours of 9:00am to 5:30pm.
The Davenport Library will be closed on Monday February 20th in observance of President’s Day. All three buildings will reopen on Tuesday with their regular hours – 9am to 5:30pm at Main and Eastern, noon to 8pm at Fairmount.
Be sure to enjoy some cherry pie (for George Washington who could not lie about chopping down the cherry tree) or Lincoln Log Cake (for Abraham Lincoln, who grew up in a log cabin) and have a fun, safe holiday!
Don’t know what a Lincoln Log Cake is? Check out this recipe from Taste of Home. They’re delicious!
There is a lot of talk in the U.S. and around the world right now about fake news. What, exactly, is fake news? Generally, fake news is information that is wholly or partially made up, but designed to look like an authentic news report and to attract lots of attention – often resulting in advertising revenue. It often appeals to the strong emotions of its targeted audience.
Oxford Dictionary acknowledged its influence by announcing the 2016 word of the year: post-truth, an adjective, defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
I think we should all exercise caution especially when dealing with those stories that do cause an emotional reaction. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is fake news (just because you don’t like the message doesn’t mean it is fake news) but it can be a red flag that the story merits double-checking with additional sources. Seek those not related to the first source where you encountered it.
Here are some websites that you can use to evaluate news sources:
The Media Bias/Fact Check news website has a search bar on its main page where you can type in the name of a news source and retrieve a scale that attempts to qualify how far to the left or right that news source typically leans. They maintain a list of questionable sources. The website also has a list of what is generally accepted to be the least biased news sources, which you can find here. MBFC explains their methodology and acknowledges that no evaluation is 100% without bias. Check out the list – you may learn about a new source that you will want to make a habit of checking on a regular basis. I’ll admit the ads are bothersome, but it is how they pay to keep the site running.
FactCheck.org is one source you can use to double-check information. Facebook recently announced that it is partnering with this source to help identify and flag fake news circulated on its platform. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. According to their website, their mission is “to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics…Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.” This site is primarily focused on U.S. politics. During election years, they will report on the accuracy of what is aired on political TV ads and in debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.
Another source to verify political information is Politifact.com, self-described as “an independent, nonpartisan news organization… not beholden to any government, political party or corporate interest.” They have a long history, which you can read about here. The system of evaluation they use is called the Truth-o-meter, which ranges from “Truth” on one end to “Pants on Fire” on the other. They have a newsletter to which you can subscribe if you wish to receive information updates on the latest fact-checks. They are also partnering with Facebook to help flag fake news when it is shared.
For information that covers a broader array than politics, Snopes.com can be helpful. I like the search option at the top of the page where you can easily type in any keywords and retrieve information on rumors and urban legends. It began in 1995 and has become a well-known online source for debunking falsehoods or verifying facts with evidence.
As an information professional, I encourage people to take some time to verify information sources before accepting them as completely true. When presented with information in any form, take care to ask yourself these questions:
We at the library want to help you build awareness about information and what it is designed to do. Not all information is presented to simply inform. Much of the information we are deluged with on a daily basis is designed to influence. That is not necessarily bad, but we all need to be aware of how information influences us. Likewise, we need to acknowledge our own personal biases and be honest and gracious with ourselves and others that they exist.
I invite you to learn more about this topic by attending a panel discussion about fake news, hosted at the Eastern Avenue branch library on Monday, Feb. 6th at 6:30 pm. The event is free of charge and refreshments will be provided. Please come with questions for our panelists, which include representatives from local television, print and radio news sources as well as writers and educators in the field of journalism. Visit our webpage for more details.
Davenport Public Library, Saint Ambrose University, and the Davenport Civil Rights Commission Celebrate Opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture with Smithsonian Poster Exhibition and Russell Lovell’s “Iowa: Bright Radical Star”
On Sept. 24, 2016 the Smithsonian Institution opened its newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The celebration will reach beyond Washington, D.C. to Davenport as the Davenport Public Library, in partnership with Saint Ambrose University and the Davenport Civil Rights Commission presents “A Place for All People: Introducing the National Museum of African American History and Culture.” The commemorative poster exhibition will be on view January 18, 2017 through March 4th, 2017 at the Davenport Public Library – Main Library, located at 321 Main Street.
Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “A Place for All People” highlights key artifacts that tell the rich and diverse story of the African American experience.
The Davenport Public Library will be hosting a series of events at the library centering around this display on January 18th, February 4th, February 16th, and May 4th. Please stay tuned for more information about times and locations for the other events!
The opening celebration will be held on Wednesday, January 18th at 6:30 pm at the Davenport Public Library – Main Library. This event will feature Professor Emeritus Russell Lovell from Drake Law School presenting “Iowa: Bright Radical Star”, an exploration of Iowa’s trailblazing role in expanding and protecting civil rights beginning in 1893 with Iowa’s rejection of the Fugitive Slave Act. There will be light refreshments and a drawing for 3 books.
Also on display at the Main Library will be the Putnam Museum’s exhibit “Davenport’s Civil Rights Movement: 1945-1974”. The exhibit explores the people and events of those tumultuous years by putting local efforts in the national context. Following World War II, local residents, such as Charles and Ann Toney and the Catholic Interracial Council, worked several fronts to bring equality and fair treatment to all Quad Citians. This display incorporates photographs, documents and biographies about local Civil Rights leaders.
We’ll be giving away three books at each event: “How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture”, “National Museum of African American History and Culture: A Souvenir Book”, and “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race”.
The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Saturday December 31st through Monday January 2nd in observance of the New Year’s holiday. All buildings will reopen on Tuesday January 3rd with their regular business hours – Main and Eastern will be open 9am to 5:30pm and Fairmount will be open noon to 8pm.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
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