Tag: Learning Collection

Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast May Episode Breakdown

- Brittany Leave a comment

Each month, we release a new episode of Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast. In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our episode!

AAPI Heritage Month Reads

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Below are some of our favorite titles written by AAPI authors!  

Learning and Literacy Collection

All three Davenport Public Library branches have a Learning & Literacy Collection. These collections contain materials that are not easily confined in either the adult, young adult, or juvenile collections. Patrons can find guidance on many topics that can be difficult to talk about such as abuse, death, mental health, sex education, as well as books about homeschooling, engaging reluctant readers, job searching, and so much more! Because the Learning & Literacy Collection covers such a rich array of topics, we have a helpful LibGuide to help those interested to better navigate the collection.

Mystery Reads with Merideth

Stephanie and Michelle met with Merideth, Technical Services Supervisor to discuss some of her favorite mysteries that she has read recently. Below are the titles if you would like to place a hold!

Tourist Appreciation Month

May 7th is National Tourism Day. Did you know that with your Davenport Public Library card, you can tour local institutions for free? Davenport Public Library as well as other RiverShare Libraries have community experience passes for various local sites available for checkout. Visit the Figge, Putnam, Quad City Botanical Center, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, German American Heritage Center, and Common Chord by checking out one of our passes! To learn more about what is available for checkout, click here!

If you are looking for something fun finding hidden gems throughout the Quad Cities, we recommend checking out 100 Things to do in the Quad Cities Before You Die by Jonathan Turner. Be sure to place a hold today and create the perfect QC bucket list!  

Older Americans Month Reads

To celebrate Older Americans Month, Brittany and Stephanie discussed some of their favorite reads showcasing characters belonging to the aging population. Below are a few of the titles discussed during our segment.

Brittany’s Titles:
The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean
A Man Called Ove by Frederick Bachman

Stephanie’s Titles:
Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman 
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Turste 

Catch Us OWLT and About This Summer!

It is officially OWL season! For those of you unfamiliar with the Outreach Wheeled Library (OWL), it is a sprinter van equipped with carts full of books! The Community Outreach Team visits, parks, community events, and so much more throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall! If you see the OWL, be sure to stop by and say hello, check out items, get a Library Card, and leave with some Library swag and information!

To catch us OWLT and About, visit our calendar of events!

What Our Hosts Read In April

Michelle’s Reads:
Hot and Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien
Misfortune Cookie by Vivien Chien

Stephanie’s Reads:

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
She Kills Me: The True Stories of History’s Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright, illustrations by Eva Bee
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn (First in the Mrs. Plansky series)
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
Parachute Kids by Betty Tang
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano (Fourth in the Finlay Donovan series)
Murder Before Evensong by the Revered Richard Coles (First in the Canon Clement series)
Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal
Transitions: A Mother’s Journey by Elodie Durand
Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline (Second in the Marrow Thieves series) 

Brittany’s Reads:
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña (First in the Vega Family Love Stories Series)
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Long Game by Elena Armas (First in The Long Game Series)

 

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum edited by Rebecca Ollerton

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum: An Autistic Comics Anthology edited by Rebecca Ollerton was organized for autism acceptance month in 2021. It started as a Kickstarter campaign and was eventually traditionally published with Andrews McMeel and circulated around the world. Now that we’ve talked the nitty-gritty, let’s get into how/why this title caught my eye.

First off, I am a sucker for comics anthologies. I love being introduced to new writers’ styles and seeing what they choose to focus on. Thirty autistic creators contributed to this anthology, talking about a wide variety of topics related to autism and their own journeys, such as self-diagnosis, masking, and autistic joy. This isn’t a graphic novel talking JUST about the happy though. Many of the autistic people in this book do share how they love their life or how they have come to accept that autism is an inherent part of who they are. However, there are also stories from artists sharing their discomfort (or at times, their hatred) of being autistic. I appreciated that this story shared stories from a wide variety of experiences. I also loved how there were multiple different autistic perspectives shared and how they didn’t agree on the ‘correct’ autistic terminology. The different experiences, perspectives, and emotions made this book more realistic and authentic to me versus if it had been exclusively positive or negative.

Second, I found this title in our Literacy Collection when I was looking for resources on autism from autistic people. I specifically was looking for input on identity first language(autistic person) vs people first language(person with autism). I had found a resource from the Autistic Not Weird Autism Survey 2022 that talked about how the majority of autistic people prefer identity first language. It’s been an interesting research journey and I wanted to see where this book would take me.

Third, I wanted to see how perspectives were highlighted in the neurodivergent world versus how they perceive the allistic(people not on the autism spectrum) world. Emotions ran high in some of the stories, which is necessary as those emotions can be healing and start new conversations. I also wanted to check my privileges and perceptions as an allistic person and see how I can adjust my actions to be more inclusive. This book was an interesting read as it had something for every different neurotype. Definite recommend if you want to expand your thinking and inclusiveness.

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum can be found in the Literacy Collection at our Main and Fairmount Street locations.

Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights by Lawrence Goldstone

- Brenda Leave a comment

“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.”              -Thomas Jefferson

An election year is an exciting time to be in Iowa. It is also a good time to take the opportunity to raise your awareness of the history of voting in our country.

Does it seem like a tall order to go out on a cold, dark night and spend several hours at a caucus when there is work to be done or family to look after at home?  Does it feel like a chore to remember to diverge from the usual daily route to go cast a vote on election day? I am reluctant to admit to you that it has, at times, been so for me.

We would do well to remember that so many before us have suffered mightily to secure such rights and bring us to where we are today. Let us pause this February -Black History Month- during this election year to reflect on the historical significance of African American voting rights in particular.

In his book Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights, Lawrence Goldstone chronicles the struggles encountered and overcome by black Americans whose voting rights have been suppressed. Goldstone shows us many of the ways voter suppression and oppression has happened through violence, misinformation and even through the manipulation of laws.

Have you heard about the widely respected mid-19th century Harvard University professor by the name of Louis Agassiz who promoted a science called polygenism?  Polygenism purported that blacks and whites developed from different ancestors and that blacks were not even human. Agassiz and others like him imposed this idea as so-called proof that blacks were inferior and unsuited for anything but menial labor.  Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life was published in 1859 and changed that theory.  According to Goldstone, “Agassiz furiously condemned natural selection as ‘a crude and insolent challenge to the eternal verities, objectionable as science and abominable for is religious blasphemies.'” Though polygenism eventually died, racial inequity did not.

Learn more by checking this book out from the Learning Collection at The Library at Main.