August "Notes on Reading" Blog

Can you believe it’s August already??!! This year has somehow managed to move along at both an agonizingly slow and a ridiculously fast pace.  This Thursday (August 6^th) would have been our August Book Club meeting.  While we are sad this cannot happen due to COVID-19 restrictions, we plan to send out the first ARC Newsletter via email to all participants of this year’s Adult Reading Challenge by end of day on Thursday.  

Unfortunately, a lot of people did not give us an email address when they signed up, so if you do not get the e-newsletter in your inbox, then we do not have an email address for you.  You can email stephrhonda@myDPL.org to request your copy of the e-newsletter and we will add your email address to our 2020 Adult Reading Challenge participant list.  We will also have a printed copy of the newsletter in the book outside our office if you prefer to look at it that way.

When we requested books you have read for the challenge to share with others in the newsletter, two of you sent us the same video of the Rock Bottom Remainders. We have shared it on our Facebook page, but if you didn’t see it click here.

Which brings us to this month’s task for the Adult Reading Challenge:  Read a book by one of the members of the Rock Bottom Remainders. Please verify the author you choose to read is listed on the website or Facebook page for the band.  Please note that the band members have changed through the years, but if they are listed as band members on the above links then you can count them.

Happy Reading!

July "Notes on Reading" Blog

We have had a lot of questions this past month about when the ARC Book Club will meet again. We wish we could say tomorrow at our normal (pre Covid-19) time. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. We have no idea when we will be able to schedule a program in the Library due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, we are going to put out a Book Club Newsletter and we need your help. Many of you have come by our office to let us know you are still reading and to ask about meetings. Now we need you to come by and let us know what you have read, what clues and tasks the books counted for on the challenge, and did you enjoy the book enough to recommend it to someone else. We will compile this information (along with other information about the Challenge) and then send it out to the people who are signed up for the challenge that regularly attend the book club.

This leads to the discussion of when is the best time to come to our office. In the month of July we will be doing some regular outreach with our friends at Decatur Youth Services. This month the best day to drop in will be Friday.  Call us at 256-340-5780 the day before to set up a time to make sure we will be available. You can also just give us the information over the phone! We look forward to talking to each of you.

This leads to the task for the month of July. We felt March was a bad time for this task (and now may not be a better time) but it feels relevant to us. Read a book where the world is changed by a major catastrophe. It could be a virus, a solar storm (shout out to Linda Howard/Linda Winstead Jones), or any other major natural disaster that affects events worldwide.  

Happy Reading!

June "Notes on Reading" Blog

In the same way that everyday life has changed to accommodate new safety precautions against the spread of Coronavirus, so too has our approach to summer reading. This year our program is called Summer Reads and it has a category for every age from 0 to 99+. It is mostly virtual and we are using READsquared to manage reading logs and activities toward completing the program. Go to mydpl.readsquared.com to sign up and get started earning electronic badges.

To go with READsquared, we have launched a YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/decaturlib, where we are posting virtual story times with Mrs. Mary and Mrs. Anna, Story Times with Special Guests like Elizabeth Thompson from the Morgan County/Decatur Farmers Market, Kerrie Hoffner, a professional story teller, Rapunzel, (courtesy of Magical Memories, AL), and others. There will also be programs with Ranger Daphne from Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and the Alabama Department of Archives and History. All of the details about Summer Reads and READsquared can be found at mydpl.org/summerreads/.

If you are participating in the Adult Reading Challenge, you may be wondering what kind of effect the Summer Reads will have on the ARC. The answer is none. The Adult Reading Challenge remains the same. If you are signed up for our yearly challenge, you do not have to register for the READsquared app since you already have your reading log. If you are interested, however, you are welcome to do both. You can sign up for an account as an adult and post the same books you are reading for the ARC to READsquared. It is what we call being doubly blessed. You get two reading challenges, one for the summer and one that lasts all year long.

Which brings us to our task for the month of June. Since our theme this year is music, and we now have two challenges for adults, the June task is to read a book with a duo as the main characters. The characters can be coworkers, friends, or super heroes such as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Hap and Leonard, or Batman and Robin to name just a few.    

             

Happy Reading!

Themed Book Recommendations from DPL

The theme this week is libraries.  There is a suggestion for kids, teens, and adults. Lola at the Library is on Tumblebook Library, while the other two are available on hoopla.

Happy Reading!

May “Notes on Reading” Blog

As we are writing this blog, we have no answers to when Decatur Public Library will re-open. We do know that even if Governor Ivey announces the stay at home order is lifted on April 30^th, DPL will not be able to open the doors and go back to business as usual right away.  Programs will not be restarted until we can be sure it is safe for both patrons and staff. That means the monthly book club meeting that was scheduled for May 7^th will not happen. We will post any updates on our status to the website as soon as we have information to share.

While you are at home and cannot physically travel or go to a concert, take a virtual trip to New Orleans.  The link will take you to a lot of the main attractions. It will also allow you to hear the music that has made the Big Easy a favorite destination for so many.  Here’s a link to a list of the best virtual music concerts, available from New Orleans straight to your home during the COVID19 pandemic.

If there is another spot on the globe you are longing to visit, find a book to take you there with our eBook collection. Don't forget to check both Camellia Net and hoopla. April is poetry month and as Emily Dickinson said

“There is no Frigate like a Book

To take us Lands away”.

This is your May task for the Adult Reading Challenge, to read a book that takes you to a place you would like to visit, but cannot while we are all staying safely home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  

We might read a book set in a library, as that is the  place we hope we can all visit soon.

Happy and (Safe) Reading!

Themed Book Recommendations from DPL

Decatur Public Library has partnered with Decatur Parks and Recreation to provide a themed book recommendation each week."Parks" is the theme this week and we have a recommendation for kids, teens, and adults. Each of these books can be checked out from hoopla with your DPL library card.  You can find out more about Decatur's many parks here. 

Happy Reading!

April “Notes on Reading” Blog

Decatur Public Library has been closed to the public since Monday, March 16^th and we don’t know when we will be able to re-open. To say the month of March has been distressing and disruptive is a major understatement. But while the physical library building is closed, we want you to know that DPL is still ready and able to serve you. We have multiple electronic platforms available with eBooks, eAudioBooks, albums, television shows, movies and more to provide you with reading and watching materials. We also have online databases to assist with school work and newspaper access to help you stay informed. If you need Wi-Fi connection, that is available 24/7 from our parking lot. All you need is a device and the password (fun2read). All of our online resources can be accessed from mydpl.org.

The administration team is working from home to update our webpage and keep social media current with ideas for ways to keep your entire family entertained and educated while COVID19 forces us to practice social distancing. We are looking into additional electronic resources and purchasing more titles for all ages to offer our patrons the best service possible in this trying time.

If you have questions for us or suggestions please feel free to contact us at stephrhonda@myDPL.org.

Because this past month has been so stressing and we don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel just yet, the April task for the Adult Reading Challenge is to read any book that makes you happy.  Hoopla has added over 1000 titles that don’t count against your check out limits and that made us happy so we want to pass that feeling along in the Challenge. We hope you will choose to read a book that relieves some of the stress we are all living under right now.

Stay Safe and Happy Reading!