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Author Archives: Tessa Timperley
Celebrate Nebraska’s 2018 Book Award Winners at December 1st Celebration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 10, 2018
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tessa Terry
402-471-3434
800-307-2665
Celebrate Nebraska’s 2018 Book Award Winners at December 1st Celebration
Celebrate Nebraska’s 2018 Book Award winners with author readings and an awards presentation ceremony at the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Celebration of Nebraska Books on December 1 at the History Nebraska’s Nebraska History Museum, 131 Centennial Mall North, in downtown Lincoln. Winners of the 2018 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored and the celebration will include readings by some of the winning authors, designers and illustrators of books with a Nebraska connection published in 2017. And the winners are:
Children’s Picture Book: Simpson’s Sheep Just Want to Sleep by Bruce Arant. Publisher: Peter Pauper Press, Inc.
Chapter Book: George and the Stolen Sunny Spot by Kristin Bauer Ganoung. Publisher: Prairieland Press
Young Adult: The November Girl by Lydia Kang. Publisher: Entangled Teen
Cover/Design/Illustration: Nebraska’s First College: Shaping the Future Since 1867 by Dan Sullivan. Design by Christine Zueck-Watkins. Publisher: Peru State College Foundation
Fiction: World, Chase Me Down: A Novel by Andrew Hilleman. Publisher: Penguin Books
Fiction Honor: Kings of Broken Things by Theodore Wheeler. Publisher: Little A
Fiction Short Story Honor: One With Bird: And Other Stories by Douglas K. German. Publisher: iUniverse
Nonfiction Biography: The Weight of the Weather: Regarding the poetry of Ted Kooser edited by Mark Sanders. Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press
Nonfiction Culture: The Sex Effect: Baring Our Complicated Relationship with Sex by Ross Benes. Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Nonfiction History: Homesteading the Plains: Toward a New History by Richard Edwards, Jacob K. Friefeld, and Rebecca S. Wingo. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Immigration Story: Short Hair Detention: Memoir of a Thirteen-Year-Old Girl Surviving the Cambodian Genocide by Channy Chhi Laux. Publisher: Archway Publishing
Nonfiction Memoir: What is Gone by Amy Knox Brown. Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Nonfiction Reference: Atlas of Nebraska by J. Clark Archer, Richard Edwards, Leslie M. Howard, Fred M. Shelley, Donald A. Wilhite, and David J. Wishart. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Sesquicentennial: 150@150: Nebraska’s Landmark Buildings at the State’s Sesquicentennial by Jeff Barnes. Publisher: The Donning Company Publishers
Poetry: Rock Tree Bird by Twyla M. Hansen. Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Poetry Honor: Blind Girl Grunt: The Selected Blues Lyrics and Other Poems by Constance Merritt. Publisher: Headmistress Press
Poetry Anthology: Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology 1867-2017 edited by Daniel Simon. Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press
The Celebration of Nebraska Books, free and open to the public, will also honor winners of the 2018 Jane Geske and Mildred Bennett awards. The Mildred Bennett Award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to fostering the literary tradition in Nebraska, reminding us of the literary and intellectual heritage that enriches our lives and molds our world. The Jane Geske Award is presented to a Nebraska organization for exceptional contribution to literacy, books, reading, libraries, or literature in Nebraska. It commemorates Geske’s passion for books, and was established in recognition of her contributions to the well-being of the libraries of Nebraska.
The 2018 One Book One Nebraska selection, Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry (The Backwaters Press) edited by Greg Kosmicki and Mary K. Stillwell will be featured in a keynote presentation at 2:45 p.m.
The Nebraska Center for the Book Annual Meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m.—just prior to the 2:30-6:30 p.m. Celebration. An awards reception honoring the winning authors, book signings, and introduction of the 2019 One Book One Nebraska/All Iowa Reads book choice will conclude the festivities.
The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book and Nebraska Library Commission, with support from History Nebraska’s Nebraska History Museum. Humanities Nebraska provides support for One Book One Nebraska. 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 national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and 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.
#BookFaceFriday “Promoting Great Reads”
You don’t want to miss this #BookFaceFriday!
#BookFace is all about Teen Reads this week with. “Promoting Great Reads to Improve Teen Reading: Core Connections with Booktalks and More” by Lucy Schall (Libraries Unlimited, 2015). This title is part of our Library Science Collection, it provides professional and reference materials for Nebraska librarians and library science programs! You can check this out yourself by searching the Online Catalog,
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Sally Snyder, our Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services! Sally will be presenting ‘Popular Teen Novels: New Books They Need to Read’ at #neblib2018, Saturday, Oct 6th at 9:00 am. Don’t miss it! #2018books4teens (Sponsored by the School, Children, and Young People’s Section) Learn about qualities to look for in books teens are reading, and the titles Nebraska teens are seeking at their libraries. The presenters will discuss new books that are popular with teens in their communities and describe the qualities these titles possess that make them good choices for many libraries. #BookFaceFriday #TeenBooks #Read
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Book Art, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Childrens Books, neblib2018, Reading, Sally Snyder, Teen Books
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#BookFaceFriday “Fahrenheit 451”
This #BookFaceFriday is burning down the house!
This week’s #BookFace was an easy choice because it’s #BannedBooksWeek, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury (Random House, 1953), set in a future where printed books are banned and actively destroyed, it’s become a hallmark for Banned Books Week. Ironically, it’s also been banned and challenged itself, as recently as 2006. This classic novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, reserve it for your book club to read and discuss today!
“Brilliant . . . Startling and ingenious . . . Mr. Bradbury’s account of this insane world, which bears many alarming resemblances to our own, is fascinating.” —Orville Prescott, The New York Times
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Gabe Kramer, our Talking Book & Braille Service Audio Production Studio Manager! 
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
NLC Staff: Meet Tan Ngo
The Nebraska Library Commission welcomed Tan Ngo (pronounced Go) in June of 2015 as an accountant. Tan was born in Binh Dinh, Vietnam and immigrated to the United States with her husband sixteen years ago. Even though she had completed three years of teacher education classwork in Vietnam, it wasn’t recognized in the United States so she began again. First she completed a yearlong ESL class and then completed a degree from Southeast Community College in Accounting. She graduated from UNL with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance and just last year, achieved her Master’s Degree from UNL in Professional Accountancy. Tan credits her parents for instilling a value of education in her. In addition, her mother-in-law helped and supported Tan through the years of working, raising a family, attending classes, and completing coursework.
Before working for the Library Commission, and while attending school, Tan held many part time jobs including working as: a banquet server at the Cornhusker Hotel, a waitress at Eastmont Towers, a cafeteria worker at Lincoln Public Schools, an assembly line worker at Molex, and as a cashier at Russ’s Market. These experiences helped propel Tan to complete her education. Tan also worked full time for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services (now State Accounting.) When I asked Tan what she thinks about working at the Library Commission, she says it is a very friendly and a supportive place to work.
As a young girl growing up in Vietnam, libraries were not free and required both membership and borrower fees which were prohibitive to her family. One way she read books was borrowing them from her friends. As an adult committed to spending time with her children, she reads the same books with her daughter and son.
Tan shares her home with her husband Duc, her daughter Vi, her son Khang, and her mother-in-law Tung Le. Duc is the oldest of 12 children and the gathering place for all of the family is Tan’s home, so a full house often totals upwards of 45 people. Husker football is often the focus of family events. Tan is also a Husker Volleyball fan and is fortunate to have a friend with season tickets so she can attend games in person. Life in Nebraska could be warmer but Tan says she likes the lack of traffic and ability to get around easily. Tan and her family returned home for her brother’s wedding this summer, closing a 5 year gap since her last visit. If Tan could have dinner with anyone famous, she easily answered, “I would want to have dinner with my Aunt who is 70 years old and lives in Vietnam. Family is the most important thing to me.”
If Tan didn’t have to work, travel would be her priority. First on her list of destinations would be Alaska to see the aurora borealis. As a young girl, Tan considered being a flight attendant most importantly for the travel benefits. The perfect day for Tan would include staying home with family, sleeping, and watching Vietnamese dubbed movies from Hong Kong. Tan’s exercise of choice is running and currently she and her son are completing a 9 week cardio program together.
One of the most challenging things Tan has achieved is learning English. Tan and her family speak Vietnamese at home and English at work and at school. At work, one of Tan’s accomplishments has been cheerfully teaching Commission employees to use the online payroll system. We are very proud of Tan and are grateful she has chosen to work at the Library Commission.
#BookFaceFriday “Night Road”
This #BookFace is a long and winding road!
This week’s #BookFaceFriday is “Night Road” by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press, 2011). Hannah is a New York Times bestselling author, who is known for her beautifully written stories. This novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and would be the perfect next read for your book club!
“Night Road is one special book that can transform the lives of readers by influencing how they think about certain important life issues. The reader becomes a first-hand witness to the pitfalls of parenthood, mortality, heartbreak, guilt, life choices, grief, forgiveness, and much more. In short, the entire range of human emotions are explored in this…hopeful book about the triumphant power of the human spirit in the process of forgiveness.” ―New York Journal of Books
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Hollin Attendola, our new Talking Book & Braille Service Library Readers Advisor! Hollin is originally from the East Coast (New Jersey) but they’ve spent the majority of their life here in Lincoln. They earned their Bachelor’s degree in Literature out in Chadron, NE – a place they dearly misses. Hollin is a writer at heart, who hopes to have a book of their own on a library shelf someday (fingers crossed). And, to connect to the book title – a fun fact is you’ll never see them driving along a night road, as they absolutely cannot see in the dark! Welcome Hollin!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged "Night Road", Book Art, Book Club Kits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Kristin Hannah, Reading
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#BookFaceFriday “The Last Farmer: An American Memoir”
Old McDonald has nothing on this week’s #BookFaceFriday!
“The Last Farmer: An American Memoir” by Howard Kohn (Bison Books, 2004) is a great read, even if you’re just a farm kid at heart. This memoir is based on Howard Kohn’s father, his last few seasons working the farm that they both were raised on. Kohn, a former editor at Rolling Stone, digs into the gritty details of his father’s story and the only way of life he ever knew. As part of our permanent collection it’s available for check out to anyone. Just ask our amazing Information Services staff! This title is published by the Bison Books, and imprint of University of Nebraska Press, which we collect from for our state document program.
“A stunning portrait. . . . Kohn went looking for one story—his father’s—only to find his own.”—Chicago Tribune
This week’s #BookFace model is Three Rivers Library System Director, Eric Jones!!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Big Stone Gap”
This #BookFace is going to leave a gap in our hearts!
Any book with the opening line, “This will be a good weekend for reading.” sounds good to me. This week’s #BookFaceFriday is “Big Stone Gap” by Adriana Trigiani (Ballantine Books, 2001). It’s reviewer’s use words like quirky, charming, spunky, sardonic and delightfully entertaining to describe this opening novel in a four book series. This novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and can be reserved for your book club to read today!
“Delightfully quirky . . . chock-full of engaging, oddball characters and unexpected plot twists, this Gap is meant to be crossed.” — People (Book of the Week)
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is our Communications Coordinator, Mary Jo Ryan! After 32 years at the Nebraska Library Commission, Mary Jo is retiring and starting a whole new set of adventures. I could say many things about Mary Jo, about how much we love her here and how much we will miss her, but I think I’ll just let her say goodbye herself:
“Thank you for the opportunity to do work that makes a difference. Some of it has been hard. Thank goodness for comfortable shoes. Some of it has been ridiculous. Thank you for sharing a laugh when that’s just the only thing left to do. But it has been my pleasure to contribute to all of it. The richness of the landscape of Nebraska literature is beyond anything I ever imagined. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to be a small conduit for sharing this bounty with others. Thanks for the memories…mjr”
Read the rest of Mary Jo’s goodbye as she signs off as editor in the most recent edition on the NCB News.
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged "Big Stone Gap", Adriana Trigiani, Book Art, Book Club Kits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Mary Jo Ryan, Reading
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#BookFaceFriday “A Lincoln Dialogue”
This week’s #BookFace is monumental!
Nebraska #BookFace goes national! We decided to take advantage of our location this week while we represent Nebraska at the National Book Festival. We just couldn’t pass up the opportunity “A Lincoln Dialogue” by James A, Rawley (University of Nebraska Press, 2014) offered us up this week’s #BookFaceFriday! Described as a “wider conversation about Lincoln’s words,” this title is published by the University of Nebraska Press, which we collect from for our state document program. As part of our permanent collection it’s available for check out to anyone. Just ask our amazing Information Services staff!
“[A Lincoln Dialogue] is a unique look at Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.”—James E. Potter, Nebraska History
James A. Rawley (1916–2005) was the Carol Adolph Happold Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His many books include The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History, revised edition (Nebraska, 2009), and Abraham Lincoln and a Nation Worth Fighting For (Nebraska, 2003). William G. Thomas is the John and Catherine Angle Chair in the Humanities and a professor of history at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of several books, including The Iron Way: Railroads, the Civil War, and the Making of Modern America.
If you happen to be in D.C. tomorrow come visit us at the Nebraska table in the Parade of the States! Learn about each state’s literary heritage with the “Discover Great Places Through Reading” map for kids. The map encourages children to visit all 52 state tables to get a unique sticker or stamp. Nebraska Book Award winning author and illustrator, Paula Wallace, will be signing her book “Choose Your Days” at our table through out the day! The National Book Festival also boasts amazing authors, illustrators and poets with presentations dedicated to kids, fiction, history, biography, poetry, graphic novels, and more. #NatBookFest
#BookFaceFriday “Dream Like a Champion”
This week’s #BookFace is definitely a winner!
We’ve got “Dream Like a Champion: Wins, Losses, and Leadership the Nebraska Volleyball Way” by Brandon Vogel and John Cook (University of Nebraska Press, 2017) as this week’s #BookFaceFriday! Even better, you can catch Brandon Vogel’s session at the Nebraska Book Festival tomorrow and get your book signed! He’s speaking from 12:30-1:15 p.m. about his book “Dream Like a Champion”, co-authored with Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook. Vogel will be looking back at the Huskers run to the 2017 national championship, revealing how many of the ideas and strategies outlined in the book emerged again during Cook’s fourth national-title season. He will also examine how some of those theories were adapted for a new team, share an inside look at the writing process for the book, and provide a sportswriter’s view of just what makes Nebraska volleyball so successful.
“For all coaches and people who bleed Husker red, this a great read. . . . Cook admires the special qualities that can come from a small-town Nebraska athlete; other coaches across the state have taken notice, too. These athletes are generally family oriented, hardworking, and possess good qualities that help lead to championship cultures. That’s the Nebraska way, and John Cook reveals how he understands the value these athletes can bring to his program.”—Nicole Venditte, Great Plains Quarterly
Check out everything happening at the 2018 Nebraska Book Festival! Free & open to the public, don’t miss out on all the fun, including: author presentations, book signings, exhibitors & booksellers, poetry readings, and family activities! #NEBookFest
#BookFaceFriday “Wired”
This week’s #BookFace is practically electric!
“Wired” by Julie Garwood (Berkley, 2017) is this week’s #BookFaceFriday and seemed like the perfect way to kick off the next round of our Nebraska Library Innovation Studios (LIS) project! NLC staff members will be traveling around Nebraska over the next few months, maybe even visiting your library. They will be installing makerspaces, training librarians/community members in the different types of technology, and showing them how to share it with their communities. This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Max Wheeler, Instructional Designer on the LIS project! He may not be an FBI agent or a model/hacker but he sure knows a lot about all of the different machines in our makerspaces.
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God”
This week’s #BookFace had us at “seriocomic love story,” and yes, seriocomic is a real word.
“The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God” by Timothy Schaffert (Unbridled Books, 2005) is this week’s #BookFaceFriday selection. Written by a Nebraska author, and set in our very own state, this novel is all about the twisting turns of the “Good Life.” This novel a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and it’s the perfect choice for your next book club read!
“Laced with hope and an aching sweetness, it is as whimsical and smile-inducing as its title. Readers will fall for Hud, his family, and the one-off inhabitants of the quirky little town from page one owing to Schaffert’s homey yet elegant and precise prose. The only reason to put the book down is to make it last.” —Library Journal, starred
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is our Information Services Librarian, Aimee Owen!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Harry Potter” 20th Anniversary
You’re a #BookFaceFriday Harry!
I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I first started reading Harry Potter! We’re celebrating the iconic series with this week’s #BookFace! Featuring two of the series novels, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009) and “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix” (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2003). As an added bonus July 31st is both J. K. Rowling and Harry’s birthday! It also marks the day Harry found out he was a wizard. NLC has the entire series in our Book Club Kit collection, and they can all be reserved for your book club to read today!
This week’s #BookFaceFriday models are some very special magicians we’ve had at the Commission lately, NLC has been getting a bit of a facelift with new paint and carpeting! It’s like having our very own house elves. We asked a few of the Brown Brothers Construction crew to step in as this week’s models!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Book Art, Book Club, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Reading
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#BookFaceFriday “The Castaways”
This #BookFaceFriday we’re featuring the perfect summer beach read!
Calling all book clubs! “The Castaways” by Elin Hilderbrand (Back Bay Books, 2010) has something for everyone, full of complex relationships, intrigue, lies, and redemption. Sit back, relax, and dive into this book. This novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and can be reserved for your book club to read today!
“Hilderbrand provides the perfect summer read as she explores love, loss, and, ultimately, absolution.”
–Booklist
This week’s #BookFaceFriday models are Interlibrary Loan Staff Assistant, Lynda Clause, and TBBS Audio Production Studio Manager, Gabe Kramer!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged "The Castaways", Book Art, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Elin Hilderbrand, Reading
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#BookFaceFriday “A Lost Lady”
It’s the end of an era with this week’s #BookFace!
We chose, renowned Nebraska author, Willa Cather’s novel “A Lost Lady” (Virago UK, 2006) as this week’s #BookFaceFriday selection. Published in 1923 and set against the background of the west, it’s a third person account of a small town aristocrat’s social decline, and the symbolic end of the idealized pioneer and old west. The heroine, Marian Forrester, has been coined a “symbolic flower of the Old American West,” and is rumored to have been an inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Daisy Buchanan. This short novel is a quick and engaging read for any book club!
“Her finest novel… Unforgettable…This wonderful performance displays Cather’s narrative technique at its sharpest, as well as her understanding of the eloquence of the slightest gesture, the simplest statement … A masterpiece.” –Irish Times
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is our Cataloging Librarian, Allison Badger! If you get a chance, wish her a happy birthday, because it’s today!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Let Your Voice Be Heard”
Let the good times roll with this week’s #BookFaceFriday!
Summer Reading Programs are happening all across Nebraska right now. This week’s #BookFace selection, “Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger” by Anita Silvey (Clarion Books, 2016) is the perfect fit since the Summer 2018 Reading Program motto is “Libraries Rock!” and the theme is music. Almost all public libraries, and a few school libraries, offer summer reading programs in Nebraska. It’s offered to the children, teens, and sometimes adults, of various communities across the state. Every year, the Library Commission provides a manual to public libraries in Nebraska, as well as a booklist of titles that relate to the theme.
This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems.
“With the engaging, well-illustrated biography Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger, author Anita Silvey explains how this unlikely folk-music hero turned singalongs into social change.” –The Washington Post
This week’s #BookFace model is Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book & Braille Service Circulation Clerk, Nicholas Westra!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged "Let Your Voice Be Heard", Anita Silvey, Book Art, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, Pete Seeger, Reading, Summer Reading
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Nebraska State Poet Nominations Due August 1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 29, 2018
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tessa Terry
402-471-4002
800-307-2665
Nebraska State Poet Nominations Due August 1
The Nebraska Library Commission, the Nebraska Arts Council, and Humanities Nebraska are seeking nominations for the next Nebraska State Poet. This designation recognizes and honors a Nebraska poet of exceptional talent and accomplishment. Nominations must be submitted no later than midnight, CST, on August 1, 2018.
Nominations may be made by any organization or individual in the state of Nebraska. To be considered, nominees must consent to the nomination. All nominations will be reviewed by the State Poet Selection Committee, which is made up of five individuals who are established members of Nebraska’s literary, cultural, and academic communities. After the committee selects finalists, the governor will make the final selection.
State Poet nominations will be collected and reviewed online only. The first step is to contact Humanities Nebraska at info@humanitiesnebraska.org to verify the poet in question has not been nominated already. The remainder of the application is completed using the Nebraska Arts Council’s SlideRoom online application site. The site includes complete instructions for submitting application materials.
The Nebraska State Poet will be chosen based on artistic excellence, exemplary professionalism demonstrated by significant publications and special honors, an established history of community service in the advancement of poetry in Nebraska, and the ability to present poetry and interact effectively with a public audience. In addition, the State Poet must be a legal, full-time resident for at least three years prior to the application deadline and must maintain Nebraska residence during his or her full term of office.
Once selected, the Nebraska State Poet will serve a five-year renewable term as an advocate for poetry, literacy, and literature in Nebraska. Duties include giving public presentations and readings, leading workshops and discussions, and providing other outreach in schools, libraries, literary festivals, and various venues in rural and urban communities throughout the state. To accomplish this, the State Poet will join the Nebraska Arts Council’s Nebraska Touring Program and the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau.
The position of Nebraska Poet Laureate was established in 1921 when John G. Neihardt was appointed by the Legislature. In 1982, William Kloefkorn was appointed Nebraska State Poet by Governor Charles Thone. Kloefkorn served as State Poet for more than 25 years, until his death in May 2011. In January 2013, Governor Dave Heineman installed Twyla M. Hansen as Nebraska State Poet. Her service to the state concludes at the end of 2018.
For more information about the Nebraska State Poet selection process, visit the Humanities Nebraska website at www.humanitiesnebraska.org and click on the rotating banner marked Nebraska State Poet.
As Nebraska’s 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.
Posted in General, Nebraska Center for the Book
Tagged Nebraska, Nebraska State Poet, Nomination, poetry
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#BookFaceFriday “The Life of Kit Carson”
This #BookFaceFriday might not be the king of the wild frontier… but it’s close.
“The Life of Kit Carson” by Alan E. Grey (Bison Books, 2014) is a great reference for young readers exploring the old west. As part of our permanent collection it’s available for check out to anyone. Just ask our amazing Information Services staff! This title is published by the Bison Books, and imprint of University of Nebraska Press, which we collect from for our state document program.
“Composed of stories discovered through years of research, this book is an exciting and easy-to-read, action-packed tale. Young readers and adults alike will find both education and entertainment in this masterfully presented life story.”
This week’s #BookFace model is Nebraska Library Commission’s Business Manager, Jerry Breazile!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Throwback Thursday: Queen of the College World Series
Check out this week’s #ThrowbackThursday from the Nebraska Memories Archive.
This black and white photograph shows Dorothy Gredstrom being crowned the School of Nursing Seniors Queen of the College World Series in June of 1959. From 1950 through 1991, the College World Series included CWS “Sweethearts.” Nine young women were selected to represent area service clubs, colleges, universities, etc. Omaha sports writers and sportscasters then picked one to be the CWS Queen. In this photo we see Edward F. Pettis, a man instrumental in the early development of the College World Series, crowning Dorothy with a crown of flowers. 1959 was the thirteenth year of the CWS, the tournament’s champion was Oklahoma State, coached by Toby Greene.
This photograph was provided and is owned by the Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center. An archive of thousands of photos, papers and items has been maintained for over 120 years, carefully stored and currently housed at the Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center campus. With the assistance of the Nebraska Library Commission, this sampling of items from the Immanuel collection has been made available through the efforts of the Fall 2008 and Fall 2010 Advanced Cataloging class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, under the guidance and direction of the instructor, Corinne Jacox, and Karen Hein of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!
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. The Nebraska Memories archive 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.
#BookFaceFriday “Unbridled Dreams”
This #BookFace isn’t our first rodeo!
Set in Nebraska against the background of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Exhibition, and written by a Nebraska author “Unbridled Dreams” by Stephanie Grace Whitson (Bethany House, 2008) is one of our most popular book club kits. We’ve been wanting to use this book for a while now, but it is almost always checked out. Take a wild west adventure with seventeen year old Irma, as she pursues her dreams even if they go against her mother’s wishes. If I were you, I’d add this Nebraska title to your book club list today!
“Set against the backdrop of the Wild West Exhibition, Unbridled Dreams is an unusual novel whose characters stayed with me long after I closed the book.” –Historical Novel Society
This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is our Library Technology Specialist, Holly Woldt!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Nebraska Center for the Book
Tagged Book Art, Book Club, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Reading
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“The Great American Read” Books available to Talking Book and Braille Service readers
This reading list, curated by PBS, shows the diversity of America’s 100 most beloved fiction books. Voting for America’s greatest novel began May 22nd and will end in October 2018. Learn more about The Great American Read and how to vote at http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/about/show/
For library patrons who can’t use regular print, all but four of the Great American Read titles are available in the talking book format. If you know readers who would love to be involved, but their vision is making it hard to use regular print, they can’t hold a book, or turn pages, the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service is here to help! You can use the 5-digit numbers beside the book titles below to order these and many other wonderful books and magazines. Simply give us a call anywhere in Nebraska by dialing 1-800-742-7691, or visit our section of the NLC website.
| DB | Title and Author | |
| 73474 | 1984 by George Orwell | |
| 50482 | A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole | |
| 29012 | A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel by John Irving | |
| 24697 | A Separate Peace by John Knowles | |
| 44769 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith | |
| 53084 | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain | |
| 65599 | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | |
| Alex Cross Series by James Patterson | ||
| 50842 | Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll | |
| 77188 | Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | |
| 11077 | And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie | |
| (also within DB 53999) | ||
| 56114 | Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery | |
| (also within DB 50475) | ||
| 51074 | Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand | |
| 26026 | Beloved by Toni Morrison | |
| 62431 | The Book Thief by Markus Zusak | |
| 65402 | The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz | |
| 49486 | The Call of the Wild by Jack London | |
| 48063 | Catch-22 by Joseph Heller | |
| 47480 | Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger | |
| 74950 | Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White | |
| 50083 | Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis | |
| 52680 | Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel | |
| 57412 | Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah | |
| 58842 | The Color Purple by Alice Walker | |
| 56946 | Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas | |
| 50147 | Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky | |
| 56893 | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon | |
| 55735 | The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown | |
| 24290 | Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes | |
| 26423 | Doña Bárbára by Rómulo Gallegos | |
| 44126 | Dune by Frank Herbert | |
| 74504 | Fifty Shades of Grey series by E.L. James | |
| 36176 | Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews | |
| 80139 | Foundation series by Isaac Asimov | |
| book 1 10365, book 2 80139, book 3 10610 | ||
| 25835 | Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | |
| 45742 | Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin | |
| Prequel Companion 80183, Prequel Anthology 80183 | ||
| book 1 45742, book 2 49913, book 3 51406, | ||
| book 4 62348, book 5 73557 | ||
| 85921 | Ghost by Jason Reynolds | |
| 59561 | Gilead by Marilynne Robinson | |
| 37689 | The Giver by Lois Lowry | |
| 25677 | The Godfather by Mario Puzo | |
| 74888 | Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn | |
| 33082 | Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell | |
| 68308 | The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck | |
| 53991 | Great Expectations by Charles Dickens | |
| 16147 | The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald | |
| 23150 | Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift | |
| 24695 | The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood | |
| Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling | ||
| book 1 47260, book 2 48437, book 3 48772, book 4 50228, | ||
| book 5 56062, book 6 60262, book 7 64495 | ||
| 30535 | Hatchet by Gary Paulsen | |
| 12613 | Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad | |
| 68889 | The Help by Kathryn Stockett | |
| 18339 | Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams | |
| Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins | ||
| book 1 68384, book 2 69689, book 3, 71734 | ||
| 21513 | The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy | |
| 56346 | Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison | |
| 47868 | Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | |
| 29021 | The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan | |
| 32018 | Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton | |
| 47462 | Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins | |
| 44071 | The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | |
| 18128 | Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | |
| Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry | ||
| book 1 43928, book 2 45001, book 3 22959, book 4 37323 | ||
| 61873 | Looking for Alaska by John Green | |
| The Lord of the Rings (series) by J.R.R. Tolkien | ||
| prequel 48978, book 1 47486, book 2 47487, book 3 47488 | ||
| 54698 | The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold | |
| 78389 | The Martian by Andy Weir | |
| 45008 | Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden | |
| 34184 | Moby-Dick by Herman Melville | |
| 43180 | The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks | |
| 25181 | One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez | |
| Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon | ||
| book 1 36535, book 2 36536, book 3 38591, book 4 43320 | ||
| book 5 53366, book 6 61201, book 7 70073, book 8 79331 | ||
| 22433 | The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton | |
| 56794 | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde | |
| 59950 | The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan | |
| 30999 | The Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follett | |
| 50549 | Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen | |
| 73772 | Ready Player One by Ernest Cline | |
| 11106 | Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier | |
| 67237 | The Shack by William P. Young | |
| 52190 | Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse | |
| 15759 | The Sirens Of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut | |
| 12942 | The Stand by Stephen King | |
| 34114 | The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway | |
| 26498 | Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon | |
| Tales of The City series by Armistead Maupin | ||
| book 1 39531, book 2 39602, book 3 39603, book 4 39604, | ||
| book 5 39605, book 6 39606, book 7 65336, book 8 72107, | ||
| book 9 78276 | ||
| 35745 | Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston | |
| 47510 | Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe | |
| 29252 | This Present Darkness by Frank. E. Peretti | |
| 36414 | To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee | |
| Twilight Saga series by Stephanie Meyer | ||
| book 1 82750, book 2 64367, book 3 65812, book 4 67238 | ||
| 67136 | War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy | |
| 25982 | Watchers by Dean Koontz | |
| The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon | ||
| Sanderson | ||
| prequel 57628, book 1 57628, book 2 34701, book 3 34702, | ||
| book 4 36984, book 5 37569, book 6 39661, book 7 43043, | ||
| book 8 47082, book 9 51203, book 10 55506, book 11 62078, | ||
| book 12 70020, book 13 71926, book 14 76085 | ||
| 32449 | Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls | |
| 50261 | White Teeth by Zadie Smith | |
| 25178 | Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë |
