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Category Archives: General
The Data Dude on Makerspace Survey (pt. 2)
Last week, we took a brief look at some of the survey data from a recent (2016) NLC survey on makerspaces (part 1). Specifically, we looked at the most common items that are available in existing Nebraska library makerspaces. Today, we will look at those libraries that expressed interest in having a makerspace in their library, but do not currently have a space. Many of these libraries are in the planning stages. There are a few similarities and a few differences with the items already in Nebraska library makerspaces and those that have only thus far expressed interest. Namely, at the top of both lists are arts and crafts items and Legos. Hands down, these are the most common. In fact, 4 out of the 37 respondents who reported having an existing space call the space Lego something or other. This makes a lot of sense, as Legos and arts and craft items are low cost, simple items to have and might not require a great deal of physical space. The differences, however, lie in the fact that among survey respondents who have existing makerspaces, the top items lack a great deal of technology (it should be noted that 3D printers were at least prevalent enough to make the chart). Conversely, among those interested or planning spaces, technology related items (computer app creation, computer programming, and robotics) were noted as higher, in addition to 3D printers.
Finally, a couple of maker plugs. The Three Rivers Library System is sponsoring a makerspace workshop with NLC Technology and Innovation librarian, Craig Lefteroff next week on April 12, 2016. Secondly, the upcoming April 27, 2016 NCompass Live, titled Lessons Learned Establishing a Technology Makerspace – Online may be of interest. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Programming, Technology, Uncategorized
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Young Nebraskans Win Writing Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
April 1, 2016
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Mary Jo Ryan
402-471-3434
800-307-2665
Young Nebraskans Win Writing Competition
Young Nebraska writers will receive Letters about Literature award certificates from Gov. Pete Ricketts on April 6, 2016 at a proclamation-signing ceremony celebrating National Library Week, April 10-16, 2016. Letters about Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program. Nearly 50,000 adolescent and young readers nationwide in grades four through twelve participated in this year’s Letters about Literature program, hundreds of them from Nebraska. The competition encourages young people to read, be inspired, and write back to the author (living or dead) who had an impact on their lives.
This annual contest is sponsored nationally by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, with funding from Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The Center for the Book was established in 1977 as a public-private partnership to use the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books and reading. The Nebraska competition is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, and Houchen Bindery Ltd.
Young Nebraska writers to be honored are:
Winners
Conleigh Hemmer, Lincoln, for a letter to Patricia McKissack
Madeline Walker, Lincoln, for a letter to Ray Bradbury
Colette Mahr, Chadron, for a letter to Laurie Halse Anderson
Alternate Winners
Carson Bredemeier, Falls City, for a letter to Laura Hillenbrand
Janna Marley, Lincoln, for a letter to Kate DiCamillo
Julia Briones, Lexington, for a letter to Khaled Hosseini
The students wrote personal letters to authors explaining how his or her work changed their view of themselves or the world. They selected authors from any genre, fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. Winners were chosen from three competition levels: upper elementary, middle, and secondary school.
The Nebraska winners will be honored at a luncheon and receive cash prizes and gift certificates. Their winning letters will be placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. They will advance to the national competition, with a chance to win a trip to Washington, D.C. for themselves and their parents. For more information see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.
The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission. As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, bringing together people and information.
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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission Website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.
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Friday Reads: Tell the Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
I think my colleagues will be glad that I’m finished with this book, as I’ve been an emotional wreck every afternoon after listening to another installment over my lunch hour. The story is set in 1987, in and around New York City, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Several chapters in, 14-year-old June Elbus’s beloved uncle and godfather, Finn, dies of the disease. Fractures between June and her 16-year-old sister, Greta, which began prior to Finn’s death, open further, leaving each alone with her unique pain. And June’s mother, Finn’s sister, is so caught up in her own grief and resentment that she doesn’t see how her personal issues have contributed to her daughters’ crises.
A major catalyst for the emotional drama of the story is the secret June’s mother forced Finn to keep from June as a condition of him being allowed to be a part of her life: the very existence of his beloved partner Toby, with whom he shared his apartment and life. June learns of Toby’s existence at Finn’s funeral, when her mother spots him outside the funeral parlor, and her father tells June and Greta to alert him if “that man” tries to enter the building.
Several weeks after the funeral, Toby contacts June with a gift from Finn and a request to meet secretly, as she is, according to his note, “perhaps the only person who misses Finn as much as I do…” Thus begins a tentative and covert friendship, orchestrated in part, we find out, by Finn, which brings both comfort and additional pain to June.
What totally guts me about this book is the degree to which pain begets pain, especially between people who love each other. Greta’s pain, an outgrowth of her growing estrangement from June, along with pressure from her mother to not pass up any opportunities, even those she’s not ready for, leads her to cruelly and repeatedly lash out at June – behavior that, counterproductively, just causes more pain and further estrangement.
Similarly, the pain June and Greta’s mother holds on to from her own past – the abandonment she felt when Finn left home at seventeen; her jealousy and regret over the fact that he became the famous artist in New York City, while she wound up an accountant in the suburbs – leads to her irrational ultimatum about Toby, and its cascade of consequences. Her goal may have been to hurt Toby and teach Finn he “couldn’t have everything,” but her daughter June suffers significant collateral damage. Disoriented upon learning how much she didn’t know about Finn, June questions the very foundation of their relationship – essentially losing him twice. And even though she gets some of Finn back through Toby, she struggles with feelings of humiliation at having thought herself the most important person in Finn’s life at a time when everyone else knew he had Toby.
While this book doesn’t come with a “happily ever after” ending, it does suggest that, moving forward, there is hope for redemption and reconciliation for June, Greta, and their mother. Perhaps more significantly, it serves as a powerful reminder to those of us muddling through the mess of our own lives to resist acting out of pain and instead choose love.
Brunt, Carol Rifka. Tell the Wolves I’m Home. New York: Dial Press, 2012.
Throwback Thursday: Scottsbluff Carnegie Library
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The Data Dude on the Makerspace Survey (pt. 1)
Earlier this year, we launched a survey to gather data on library makerspaces. Today’s post, and this might have the capability to be milked, er, I mean stretched out — over the course of a few weeks, will provide a brief overview of the data collected. First off, there were 150 responses, which is splendid news. A number of the surveys were completed in the first few days after launch. Out of those 150 respondents, only 37 reported currently having a makerspace of some sort in their library (25%), and of that 37, only 14 reported having a permanent space set aside specifically for these activities (9%). The remaining 23 have spaces that are temporary (e.g. they function as meeting or conference rooms but sometimes have makerspace programs, presumably storing the equipment and supplies between events). Today, we will provide a brief synopsis of some of the items in those existing spaces, as illustrated by the bar chart at the right. Specifically, Legos and arts and crafts items make up more than 70% of all items in the spaces. That is a rather large percentage, and goes to show that you can do meaningful or relevant things on the cheap. When we think of big ticket items, we generally think about things like CNC routers, 3D printers, laser cutters, and other techy things; arts and crafts don’t typically come to mind. The point being that it doesn’t take a huge amount of investment to provide programs, and to reap the benefits of community collaboration.
The Dude recently read an article entitled “How to Start a Makerspace When You’re Broke”, which might be good reading for you naysayers that report limited or no funds to provide these sorts of activities. For those of you who have limited space, keep in mind that many libraries (as noted above) have dedicated spaces in those dual purpose areas (or temporary) that might function as a meeting room for some of the time, and maker events for the other. Load the stuff on a cart and wheel it in there, then wheel it back. With warm weather around the corner, head outside on nice days. These might be pragmatic solutions to get you in the game. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Programming, Technology, Uncategorized
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The Data Dude’s Reminder to Check Your Map Marker
Are you aware that the Library Commission has a number of public library maps available on its website? In addition to a number of other maps, this page includes the basic public library maps (both by population and library system), a map of libraries and legislative districts, and the Pioneer Consortium participating libraries map. Now for today, the Dude asks that you check your library marker on these public library maps to make sure it displays accurate information. The markers have some of the generic information but also links to the library’s website and social media pages. If you have not updated that information via our supplemental survey, your information on the map may not be up to date. So today is a short little reminder to check those things and let the Dude know if you notice any errors, or log in to your supplemental survey and review the information there. Shaka.
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Resources for Financial Literacy Month
April is Financial Literacy Month – a great time to think about money programs and displays. And, the last week of April is Money Smart Week, a national financial education recognition week. Here are some things you can consider as we head into this big money month:
Webinar: CFPB: Partnering with Libraries to Financially Empower Patrons
The CFPB has two webinars planned for later this month. The first will be hosted by the U.S. Government Printing Office’s Federal Depository Library Program. The CFPB will be providing an overview of our Community Financial Education Libraries Initiative. If you’re new to this program, or just want a refresher on what the program offers and how to access the free resources we provide, then register today.
The 60-minute webinar will begin at 2 p.m. (EDT) on March 23. The webinar is free, but you must register.
Webinar: Financial education resources for parents
The second webinar will focus on new resources we’ve developed just for parents and children. Parents and caregivers want to get their children off on the right financial footing, but many times don’t know where to start. So, we’re introducing the CFPB’s new Money as You Grow website, which provides the framework and resources to help.
This 60-minute webinar will start at 2 p.m. (EDT) on March 24. To join, access the webinar login page at the day and time of the event. For audio, dial 888-795-5920 and enter participant passcode 7173562.
Order free money books, brochures, worksheets and more
Now’s the time to place your orders for free money guides, worksheets and other materials from the CFPB and other government agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Social Security Administration, Department of Labor and others.
Plus, if you’re hosting a Money Smart Week event at your library, you can order free posters, bookmarks and more.
Need money related program ideas?
Stumped over what to do for Financial Literacy Month or Money Smart Week? Take a look at our list of program ideas for suggestions on topics, resources, partners and more.
Our webinar archive can also help you generate ideas. We have more than a dozen to choose from, including:
• Retirement planning tools and resources
• Helping patrons spot and avoid fraud
• New home-buyers (and owners) toolbox
• How to promote your financial education program
National my Social Security Week
One of our national partners, Social Security Administration (SSA) will hold National my Social Security Week April 4 – 13, 2016, during Financial Literacy Month.
To help raise awareness, SSA provides a toolkit that includes web graphics, social media posts, web banners, and other ready-to-use content to help us spread the word about the importance of opening a my Social Security account.
Creating a my Social Security account gives workers access to their personalized Social Security Statement. It’s free, fast, and secure. The Statement provides estimates of future benefits to help with financial planning. Workers can also use it to check their earnings information. This is important because we base benefit calculations on a worker’s earnings.
As an added feature this year, we are setting aside Thursday, April 7, 2016 as Check Your Statement Day, during which time we will encourage workers to access and review their Social Security Statement and join the millions who regularly check their Statement.
Digital resources
Promote financial education digitally with our free electronic graphics and marketing materials. Add financial screen savers to your computers or web banners to your website. Plus, access the CFPB’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages to share our posts, info-graphics and videos with your patrons, like this video from CFPB Director Richard Cordray.
The Data Dude on the Human Library
In order to meet the constraints of posting something at least weekly, sometimes these things need to venture out into the non-data world. Today is one of those days. Recently, the Dude was reading some news articles about human library projects. What a great idea for a library program. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with such an idea, as far as the Dude can tell, it originated as “Menneskebiblioteket”, the Danish word for Human Library, in Copenhagen in 2000. The idea is pretty simple. The “library” consists of various “books”, which aren’t books at all, but rather just different types of people, or people that have had different experiences and who are willing to share those experiences or knowledge with someone else. Some of these different people who are mentioned on the Human Library website include: naturist (no, that’s not naturalist, but maybe there’s one of those too), young single mother, solider (PTSD), Autism (ASD), Bipolar, Muslim, Unemployed, Refugee, and Homeless). Now if you are interested in such a program, you needn’t invest a lot of cash into purchasing or (in the spirit of the eBook model) leasing these “books”. Rather, it might be a fairly safe bet to say that these people already exist in your community. What a great program for kids. Perhaps you have WWII, Vietnam, or other veterans in your community? Check them out for an hour. Maybe the library could dedicate a space where the checker outer would have to buy the “book” a lunch or something. Make it worth their while. Although the Dude guesses that most of the “books” would definitely do this for free. It may take some coercion, though, as many of these people most likely have a degree of modesty (except for the guy who boasts that he was a big wave surfer, before he injured his knee of course). The most obvious byproduct of this is the connection that forms between the checker outer and the human book. Ideas are exchanged. Lives may be changed. The library is the facilitator. While perhaps listening to someone publically speak about their experiences may certainly be transformative, this type of a program is interactive because it’s a one on one conversation. And, let’s not fail to mention that you may be able to drum up more interest among those wanting to be “books” because they only have to do the one on one (no large crowds). Finally, the library involvement in this is merely the middle man, or the space provider, so let’s call it a low investment program. Shaka.
P.S. – The Criss Library at UNO is sponsoring a human library event on April 13, 2016
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It’s High School State Basketball Time
The Nebraska High School State Basketball tournaments are well under way in Lincoln. Last week the girl’s teams were in town for the championship games and this week the boy’s teams are here. Last night, as I watched the news coverage of the games, I wondered if there were any historical photos of high school basketball teams in Nebraska Memories. I was happy to find a few photos of basketball teams although I’m not sure they were all high school teams.
Two of the photos I located are of girls’ basketball teams. The first photo is of the 1909 Nebraska School for the Deaf (NSD) basketball team. Most the girls have a smile on their face and look happy to be having their picture taken. NSD was a school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It was located in Omaha from 1869 to 1998 when it closed.
The second photo is of the Sacramento basketball team. I must admit that the first time I saw this photo I had to consult a map. I had no idea there was a town named Sacramento in Nebraska.
Today I think Sacramento it what some folks may refer to as a wide spot in the road. It is located about six miles southeast of Holdrege. According to the Nebraska State Historical Society, the town was established sometime between 1876 and 1878 with a population of around 200. School District No. 8 was located there from 1876-1952. While there was a school in town at the time this photo was taken in 1913, we don’t know if it was a school team.
I do have to admire the caps that the girls have on. Can you imagine all of the girls who played in the games last week wearing caps like that?
In the Nebraska Memories collection, there are two photos of basketball teams from Loomis. One photo is from 1916 and the other is from 1918. According to the description of the photos Roland Bragg, Frank Johnston, and Gordon Linder appear in both photos. Again, I’m not sure if these are the high school basketball teams.
I thought some of the boys looked young so I did a quick search the 1910 US Federal Census for the boys. (Nebraskans can search this census and many other genealogy resources through the MyHeritage database, which is available through NebraskAccess.) I was easily able to locate Ronald and Reuben who were both 9 in 1910. I was also easily able to find Phil who was 10 and Gordon who was 11. That would make them 15, 16 and 17 in the 1916 photo.
The last photo I want to highlight is that of the 1924 Bertrand High School basketball team. Unlike the girls from NSD these guys aren’t smiling. As you can see, they all have their arms crossed and most of them are trying to look tough.
I was curious to see if this group of boys from Bertrand played in the Nebraska High School State Basketball tournament in 1924. I looked on the Nebraska School Activities Association’s (NSAA) website and found some historical information about the basketball championships. They have information for the boy’s teams going back to 1911 however; the information about the girl’s teams only goes back to 1977.
Here’s what I learned after reading the information on the NSAA’s site. In 1924 the boys state tourney was made up of 248 teams and they were divided into 16 classes. That year Bertand was in Class L. Assuming I’m reading the information correctly, Bertrand played in only one game against Papillion. They lost 11-12. Papillion then played Stockville and lost. Stockville then lost to Valley. In the last game Valley lost to Henderson. That made Henderson the 1924 Class L champions.
Do want to see more? Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.
Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, contact Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.
Friday Reads: Carsick by John Waters
“It wasn’t until I started reading and found books they wouldn’t let us read in school that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else.”
― John Waters
Let’s just say right off the top, if you’ve already heard of John Waters and have seen and didn’t care for his movies, you probably will not like this book. If you weren’t offended by his films (Ok, if you might have been just a bit moderately offended but not totally disgusted to the point that you could no longer watch), this book could be right up your alley. For me, it certainly was! I loved it, laughing harder than I have in months. Maybe even years! Crammed full of carnival oddities, raw direct adult language, filth (both general and specific), the grotesque, and other assorted deviances, this book is definitely not for the squeamish. Consisting of various explicit stories told in the most humorous of fashions, the basic premise is that Waters (often called the Pope of Trash or the People’s Pervert) hitchhikes from his home in Baltimore to his second home in San Francisco and then details his experience on the road. The first two parts of the book are fiction and are told in a fashion very Waters-esque, living up to his aforementioned unofficial titles. Part one is a chronicle of what his journey across the country would be like from a best case scenario perspective; part two from a worst case perspective. The final third of the book details what actually happened in his hitchhike across the country. We salute and thank you, John Waters (and my local library for including this book in the collection), for feeding the soul of the low brow reader.
What’s Sally Reading?
School Library Journal’s “Battle of the Kids Books” and
28th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced
School Library Journal’s “Battle of the Kids Books” began on March 7th. Find out more here or go here to learn the results of Round 1, Match 1. I just have to say that the term “kids’ books” that School Library Journal is using is a bit misleading. The first match was between The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose and Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman… decidedly not kids’ books (depending on how you define “kids”). Otherwise, enjoy the contests!
The 28th annual Lambda Literary Awards, often call the “Lammys,” “celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing for books published in 2015.” A total of 321 publishers provided a record-breaking 933 submissions for the various categories this year. Scroll down the list on the web page and within the 25 categories of finalists you will find the LGBT Children’s/Young Adult category which lists eight finalists. Winners will be announced on June 6, 2016.
A Big Surprise for Little Card by Charise Mericle Harper is a picture book I predict many public libraries will add to their collections. Little Card was trained to be a birthday card, but learns there was a mix-up and now he is to be delivered to a library – where he runs in the door and shouts “Happy Birthday!” Little Card soon learns his new duties and becomes the library card for a girl. Imagine his glee when he learns that while birthdays only happen once a year a library card can be used almost every day! It is fun to see things from a different perspective, that of the new library card. Another good choice for preschool through grade 1.
(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services
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Throwback Thursday: Ponca Carnegie Library
Exterior photo of the Ponca, Nebraska Carnegie Library built in 1912.
Posted in General, Nebraska Memories
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The Data Dude – NLC Supplemental Survey
Today’s post is a friendly reminder to complete your NLC supplemental survey. If you have not completed yours, log in to the supplemental survey and knock it out. It won’t take much time. The supplemental survey provides information used in online web pages, public library maps, and other directories. The survey asks questions about public library staff, board members, friends groups, hours, website URL’s, and library social media accounts. It is important to keep this information up to date. The survey can be completed at any time the library information changes, but reminders are sent around the time of the annual public library survey (that’d be now). The ID and password for the supplemental survey are the same as your Bibliostat ID and password. If you don’t remember yours, contact me and I will send it to you. Shaka.
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New Nebraska State Agency Publications
New Nebraska State Agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for February 2016. Included are Annual and Audit reports, publications from the Department of Natural Resources, Local Emergency Operations Plans from various Nebraska counties, reports from the Nebraska Legislature, and new titles from the University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
$58,983 in Library Improvement Grants Awarded to Nebraska Public and Institutional Libraries
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 4, 2016
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Richard Miller
402 471 3175
800 307 2665
$58,983 in Library Improvement Grants Awarded to Nebraska Public and Institutional Libraries
The Nebraska Library Commission recently awarded Library Improvement Grants for 2016 totaling $58,983 to thirteen Nebraska public libraries, and a state-run institutional library. These competitive grants were funded with federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) monies from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). These Library Improvement Grants help to facilitate growth and development of library programs and services by supplementing local funding with federal funds designated for these purposes.
In order to be funded, projects had to meet one or more of the following LSTA Purposes listed in the Commission’s long-range plan:
• Facilitate access to resources . . . for the purpose of cultivating an educated and informed citizenry;
• Encourage resource sharing among . . . libraries for the purpose of achieving economical and efficient delivery of library services to the public;
• Promote literacy, education, and lifelong learning and to enhance and expand the services and resources provided by libraries, including those services and resources relating to workforce development, 21st century skills, and digital literacy skills;
• Ensure the preservation of knowledge and library collections in all formats and to enable libraries to serve their communities during disasters;
• Promote library services that provide users with access to information through national, state, local, regional, and international collaborations and networks.
Local libraries also had to provide at least a 25% match in order to receive the funds.
The libraries receiving grants are:
• Axtell Public Library
• Beaver City Public Library
• Blue Hill Public Library
• Brunswick Public Library
• Fairbury Public Library
• Franklin Public Library
• Fullerton Public Library
• Lincoln City Libraries
• McCook Public Library
• Norfolk Regional Center Patient Library
• North Bend Public Library
• Plainview Public Library
• Springfield Memorial Library
• Yutan Public Library
The projects and services planned include: outdoor movie nights, AWE work stations (the last year of funding allowed for this purpose), iPod Touches, mobile Maker Spaces, computer classes, author visits, digitizing of historical photos, iPads, as well as three libraries either joining the Pioneer Consortium or initiating processes in order to join the consortium in the future.
As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”
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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission Website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.
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The Data Dude – Wednesday Watch: Nurse Jackie
Emotionally, watching Nurse Jackie gives you a taste of what actually living with or having some sort of relationship (e.g. romantic, ex-spouse, work) with an addict might feel like. Albeit the Nurse Jackie TV experience may not be quite as dramatic as living it in real life, certainly the TV Nurse Jackie gets a lot of the typical behaviors of an addict right. And, let’s face the truth, it ain’t pretty. Nurse Jackie, played splendidly by Edie Falco, is a NYC nurse in an ER trauma center. At first, we feel empathy for Jackie because she is a really good nurse. She cuts through red tape to make things happen, is responsive to her patients, saves lives, gets things done when they need to be done, and has a good bedside manner. Rather quickly, however, we discover the sketchy moral ground Jackie walks on, and while we still feel some degree of empathy when it comes to her work relationships (e.g. between Jackie and the ER patients), in the other areas of her life things start to slowly erode. Yet still, as these things diminish, the affinity the Dude felt for those other people in Jackie’s life increased. In addition to Jackie’s sketchy interpretation of the code of nursing ethics, she often makes questionable life choices when it comes to the other areas of her life. Jackie’s drug of choice is prescription medication (mostly painkillers).
Just like real life, there is much comedy surrounding the tragedy, and this is mostly due to a strong cast of supporting characters. Notably, these include nurse Zoey (Merritt Wever), pharmacist Eddie (Paul Schulze), best friend of Jackie Dr. O’Hara (Eve Best), Dr. Cooper (Peter Facinelli), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith), and nurse colleague Thor (Stephen Wallem). The comedy is not always under the blanket of Jackie’s addiction, but rather the recurring oddball characters, strange ER situations, and typical daily life situations. And because this is Showtime, it probably lends itself to a bit more believability, as the normal network constraints are absent. Many times in the past, we’ve seen male lead characters unravel in front of us, often predictably so as they sink down a moral mudslide (e.g. Walter White, Don Draper, Dexter Morgan, Ray Donovan, Hank Moody, and Frank Underwood to name a few), but in rarer times do we see this in female leads. Arguably, Nancy Botwin (Weeds) and Carrie Mathison (Homeland), might fit the ticket, but that also might be a bit of a stretch. There is a parallel here (with the unraveling bit), and as Jackie wavers here and there she undoubtedly is headed down that same path.
According to FirstSearch and depending on the season, only 4 Nebraska public libraries have Nurse Jackie in their collection. If your library is looking for something that is half drama half comedy, Nurse Jackie would fit the bill. Thank you, Showtime, for permissions on the cover art. Shaka.
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Nourish Strong Partnerships to Foster Health Education
The Health Happens in Libraries team has posted a new article to support libraries as you Nourish Strong Partnerships to Foster Health Education. The article includes two key resources to amplify your efforts:
Supporting Healthy Communities through Health Information and Services is a free resource to guide library staff in identifying local community health priorities and finding the right partners to address those priorities. The guide emphasizes strategies to access community data, make contact with other community organizations, and serve children, families and your community at large with a focus on health. The PDF guide can be downloaded here.
In addition, the Developing Health Literacy through Health Information and Services guide provides further inspiration on promoting health literacy in your community. It highlights many freely available health literacy resources for you and your library’s patrons to access at any time. This PDF guide is available for download here.
Both guides include individual and team reflection questions to help you take action on the information in a local context.
Please-take a look! Print a copy, share with your colleagues and post your ideas for using these resources to social media with the hashtag #libs4health. (If this request looks familiar, it is! :-))
Thanks for all you do to contribute to the vitality of your communities.
(Reprinted from OCLC WebJunction, Thursday, February 25, 2016)
