#SaveIMLS

Recently, I attended my first National Library Legislative Day to learn how to advocate for our libraries.  We started the day listening to Hina Shamsi, the Director of the National Security Project for ACLU.  She spoke of her own experience with the Muslim ban. She has lived and worked here legally for over a  decade, however, after the first ban was enacted she was returning to the country after interviewing a person in relation to a case she was working on. She was detained and interrogated at the airport simply because she had a Pakistanie passport.  This story led to the main topic of her speech. To impress upon the importance of libraries in the fight for intelluctual freedom and the importance of real privacy and surveillance law reform. There are several acts that are being reviewed  in the legislature at this time. 

With all of the political unrest and threats to the future of libraries I felt the need to become more actively involved. To start, I decided to attend National Library Legislative Day in Washington D.C.
What a great learning experience.
There I was in a room full of more than 500 librarians all with the same goal. To visit with our federal Representatives and ask them to save the funding for libraries. Funding that provides the statewide MeLCat interloan service along with over 4 million in grants to libraries in Michigan. These funds help us provide many of the programs that we offer to the public for free.

The Email Privacy Act: This act fully protects your right to privacy in communictions via emails, text tweets, and cloud-stored files under the fourth admendment act. Currently such forms of communitcation can be accessed without a warrent or probable cause if they are older than six month. It has passed in the house but is still sitting on the senate floor.
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: This act is in need of being reformed.  Under this Act, the NSA was able to collect all communitcations and store them for later use. This includes but is not limited to  phone messages and conversations, texts and tweets, and social media comments. The reforms would stop or limit the collection of these communications without a warrent or probable cause.
Why is this important for libraries you ask? Well, as a philosohpy of the library we believe in the freedom of privacy for our patrons. The Email Privacy Act helps to protect your freedom and privacy.
While the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act erodes your freedom and privacy.

Book Review: A Man Called Ove

It is always exciting when a book that has been praised by both readers and critics actually lives up to the hype. I probably should not say this as a librarian, but books can sometimes be a lot like movies, and the ones that get rave reviews and win oodles of awards can be exceptionally boring. No, A Man Called Ove is not some action-packed thriller by James Patterson. However, this deceptively simple story will make you laugh, cry, and, most importantly, fill you with hope about the goodness of people.

For those of you have not have heard of A Man Called Ove it hails from Sweden, hence Ove's vehement opinion that  a Saab is the only vehicle anyone should own or drive. Also, I have included this video to answer your biggest question: How do you pronounce Ove? I must confess that I pronounced it "Oh-Vay" the whole time I was reading it.

At first glance Ove is the quintessential crotchety old man: bitter, stingy, gruff, and a wee bit scary. Gradually the reader discovers that Ove is also hardworking, loyal, honest, gentle, and kindhearted (though he would never concur with those last two). With seamlessly incorporated flashbacks Backman reveals the people and circumstances that have shaped Ove into the man that he is. Have the tissue box handy for some of these flashbacks because Ove's life has been fraught with tragedy. In fact, I encouraged my 15 year old daughter to read A Man Called Ove and she came home from school very upset with me. I asked her what I did and she told me: "You made me read that book and I started crying right in class and everyone kept asking me what was wrong!" Personally, I see nothing wrong with crying over fictional characters; I do it all the time.

I promise that the book is not all a downer, though. Ultimately, A Man Called Ove is about love and the remarkable connections a man who has given up on life makes with neighbors, strangers, friends, and even a bedraggled cat. Poignant and remarkably honest, A Man Called Ove is a book that you will be thinking about weeks after you read the last page.

Now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of A Man Called Ove because it is the 2017 selection for  On the Same Page in Ionia County. What that means is that libraries throughout Ionia County will be hosting book clubs and special events revolving around the novel. Portland District Library will be showing the movie, A Man Called Ove, on May 18th at 6pm in our community room and there will be a book discussion May 25th that will include special treats from an Iranian bakery.

New Year, New Series...Nora Roberts not just Romance

     

                                              Vampires, witches, sorcerers, werewolves!!! 

     You name it Roberts does it.  When you think Nora Roberts you think romance, maybe you think J.D. Robb so you think Sci Fiction mysteries, but Roberts delves into all worlds.  She is a wonderful author, who pulls you in and paints the perfect picture in your mind.  I'm not going to tell you there is no romance in these books because there is, but it is hardly the main plot.  I am a huge fan of fantasy.  I needed something to read and was given a Nora Roberts book, I was hooked.  The way she can pull you into a story is simply magic.  



   One of the first books I read, was from the Key Trilogy. The Key of Light, was amazing, delving into a world of demigods and mystery.  

 Malory Price’s life plan has hit a snag. She’s in danger of losing her job managing an art gallery in Pleasant Valley, Pennsylvania. A welcome distraction comes in the form of an invitation to a cocktail party at Warrior’s Peak, an infamous estate overlooking the town. But no one else she knows has been invited…

There are only two other guests: Dana Steele, a librarian, and Zoe McCourt, a single mother. On the surface, it seems the women have nothing in common, until their mysterious hosts tell them a story—and offer them a challenge.

Legend has it that the souls of three demigoddesses—one an artist, one a bard, and one a warrior—have been locked in a box that has three keys. Now it’s up to Malory and the others to find the keys. Their reward: a million dollars each.

It all seems too bizarre to be true. But none of them can ignore the financial windfall they stand to gain. And now Malory—with her soul of an artist and eye for beauty—must find her key first. She soon discovers that whatever locked the souls away is dark, powerful, and greedy…and it doesn’t want the women to win.

   The Circle trilogy was a captivating read as a group of strangers struggle to overcome Lilith.

In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea…        

Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family’s embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it…

Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan’s charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six: himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one he’s lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how strong his spirit—and his heart—have become…

   The Three sister's Island trilogy brings a riveting tale of three witches trying to break a curse that occurred long ago.

 When Nell Channing arrives on charming Three Sisters Island, she believes that she’s finally found refuge from her abusive husband—and from the terrifying life she fled so desperately eight months ago…

Careful to conceal her true identity, she takes a job as a cook at the local bookstore café—and begins to explore her feelings for the island sheriff, Zack Todd. But there is a part of herself she can never reveal to him. One careless word, one misplaced confidence, and the new life she’s so carefully created could shatter completely.

Just as Nell starts to wonder if she’ll ever be able to break free of her fear, she realizes that the island suffers under a terrible curse—one that can only be broken by the descendants of the Three Sisters, the witches who settled the island back in 1692. And now, with the help of two other strong, gifted women—and the nightmares of the past haunting her every step—she must find the power to save her home, her love…and herself.

    Last but not least I would like to invite you to experience the magic of the Donovan Legacy.

 Their family shares the Donovan Gift. Each cousin has special powers that set them apart from ordinary mortals. But while their gifts bring great responsibilities, they bring even greater rewards...

It’s purely business between skeptic screenwriter Nash Kirkland and Morgana Donovan. When he visits the self-proclaimed witch's shop in Monterey, California, Nash only intends to ask for her help in researching his new screenplay. But before long, he finds himself falling under Morgana's spell....

   These are all series, because I love being able to spend more time with characters who touch my life.  Though, these are only a few of Roberts books, these are some of my favorite stories.  So if you want a new series you can't put down Nora Roberts is the number 1 choice!