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Showing posts from June, 2013

best summer reading quote so far

The best-quote-so-far prize goes to Moonbird:  A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B965, by Phillip Hoose.  This is a children's/YA nonfiction book about an incredible migratory species and one amazing little bird, and the quote comes from p. 25. "This bird has to be among the toughest four ounces of life in the world." Inspiring.  And it's well-written science for kids.  The book won several awards last year, so it has seen greater accolades, but I'm delighted to share this little gem of a quote.  And it's worth reading!

Open Letter re: Weeding Issues

To Whom It May Concern: This recent nonfiction collection weeding situation has damaged public trust, and the only remedy for that is greater transparency in government.  I believe that we, as citizens of Urbana, should be advocating for televised meetings of the Urbana Free Library Board of Trustees. Other city meetings are televised via Urbana Public Television (UPTV,  http://urbanaillinois.us/uptv ) .  City council, board of education, park district board of commisionners, and many other local governmental meetings are regularly televised ( http:// urbanapublictelevision.org/ schedule ), to name a few examples. Apologies are a start; concrete measures to enhance accountability would be a prudent next step to begin to rebuild public trust. Joining the other local governmental groups that televise their meetings on UPTV would be a good-faith effort to address, rather than avoid, public criticisms. I advocate televising the meetings of the The Urbana Free Library Board of Tru