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Category Archives: Nebraska Center for the Book
Librarians and Teachers to Host Letter Writing Clinics
What could motivate Nebraska young people to write letters? A great story and the opportunity to tell an author about how a book made a difference in their own life can provide just the right encouragement. Teachers and librarians in Nebraska were recently awarded grants to host pilot Letter Writing Clinics for students in their area. The clinics will introduce students to the Letters About Literature contest and letter writing techniques. Students will get ideas for selecting books and learn how to craft letters that can be submitted to the Letters About Literature contest, a national reading and writing promotion program that engages nearly 50,000 adolescent and young readers nationwide in grades four through twelve. 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.
The Letter Writing Clinic grants are sponsored by Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and Nebraska Library Commission. The winning applicants are:
- Sarah Alfred, Morrill Public Library Director, Friends of Morrill Public Library
- Keri Anderson, Hoesch Memorial Library Director, Alma
- Becky Henkel, Bayard Public Library Director
- Alicia Lassen, Overton Public School Librarian and Teacher
The annual Letters About Literature writing competition 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, Houchen Bindery Ltd., and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.
For more information about the Letters About Literature competition, see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html. To learn more about Letter Writing Clinics, see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL_Grant/2018/index.aspx.
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.
Humanities Nebraska inspires and enriches personal and public life by offering opportunities to thoughtfully engage with history and culture. Humanities Nebraska was established as a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1973.
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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, Grants, Nebraska Center for the Book
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NCompass Live: 2018 One Book One Nebraska: “Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry”
Join us for the next NCompass Live, ‘2018 One Book One Nebraska: Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry‘, on Wednesday, May 16, 10:00am – 11:00am CT.
In this fourteenth year of One Book One Nebraska, Nebraska libraries and other literary and cultural organizations continue to plan activities and events to encourage all Nebraskans to read and discuss the same book. Join us to hear more about this statewide reading promotion activity, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, The Backwaters Press, and the Nebraska Library Commission.
We are very pleased to announce that our featured guests will be Greg Kosmicki and Mary K. Stillwell, editors of the 2018 selection, Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry.
Join Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner, Nebraska Library Commission Communication Coordinator Mary Jo Ryan, and Molly Fisher, Commissioner and Nebraska Center for the Book Board Member, to:
- Learn about how to create a successful local reading promotion using Nebraska’s year-long, statewide celebration featuring Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry, Edited by Greg Kosmicki & Mary K. Stillwell.
- Brainstorm strategies to read and discuss Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry, a collection of poems by more than 80 contemporary Nebraska poets, including Pulitzer Prize winner and former Poet Laureate of the United States, Ted Kooser, Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen, former State Poet William Kloefkorn, and many others.
- Find tools to help engage your community in local activities to encourage them to come together through literature to explore this work in community-wide reading programs.
- Learn about the Celebration of Nebraska Books, set for October 27, which will celebrate this book, along with the winners of the 2018 Nebraska Book Awards.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- May 23 – Big-Time Library Support in Small Towns
- May 30 – Library Innovation Studios – A Project Update and Review of the Application Process
- June 20 – Rising to the Challenge: Using the Aspen Institute Report and Action Guide for Strategic Planning
- July 18 – Many Languages, Many Cultures: Responding to Diverse Health Information Needs
- August 1 – Engaging Your Community
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
#BookFaceFriday “The Ordinary Spaceman”
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. this #BookFace has returned to it’s home planet.
May the Fourth be with you! It’s #BookFaceFriday and it’s also Star Wars Day!
“I’m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe.” — Jango Fett. We’re sure Nebraska-born Clayton Anderson would agree with Jango, as he shares his story of growing up to become an astronaut. Anderson’s memoir, “The Ordinary Spaceman” (University of Nebraska Press, 2015) was the winner of the 2016 Nebraska Book Award for Creative Nonfiction. 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 University of Nebraska Press, which we collect from for our state document program.
“Clayton Anderson is no ordinary astronaut, and this is no ordinary book. It is an uncompromisingly honest rendering of a challenging and fulfilling life by someone with a singular dream and the moxie to pursue it to success.”
—Roger Lemkpe, Lincoln Journal Star
This week’s #BookFace model is Computer Service’s Information Systems Specialist, Dennis Klebe!
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!
NCompass Live: Introducing the Nebraska Authors Database!
Join us for the next NCompass Live, ‘Introducing the Nebraska Authors Database!’, on Wednesday, April 25, 10:00am – 11:00am CT.
NebraskaAuthors.org launches on April 22, 2018! This broadly inclusive database holds the biographical information and bibliographies of more than 4,300 Nebraska authors, past and present. The website is the creation of a collaborative effort between Lincoln City Libraries, the UNL Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association. Learn the features of this database to enhance your knowledge of Nebraska Writers and to understand how this valuable resource can support the reference services at your library.
Presenter: Erin Willis, Curator, Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, Lincoln City Libraries and Karin Dalziel, Digital Resources Designer & Developer, UNL Center for Digital Research in the Humanities.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- May 2 – Your Partners in Service: Accessing UNL Libraries Resources
- May 9 – Computers in Libraries 2018
- May 16 – 2018 One Book One Nebraska: Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry
- May 23 – Big-Time Library Support in Small Towns
- May 30 – Library Innovation Studios – A Project Update and Review of the Application Process
- June 20 – Rising to the Challenge: Using the Aspen Institute Report and Action Guide for Strategic Planning
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
