Privacy in the news

It seems like a new story about privacy violations appears every day. We've found out that:

• Apple iPhones and iPads constantly track your location -- and then store the information on your device in a file anyone can easily open. (And it's not just Apple devices.)




• The information you post on Facebook is stored indefinitely and sold to advertisers. (Note: this article is from last year, but Facebook's privacy issues remain.)




• Even if you don't use Facebook or an iPhone, your personal information can become less than personal even after shopping at the grocery store.

Your information is out there in some quantity whether you like it or not. But the good news is that you have the ability to take charge of your own privacy. Visit privacyrevolution.org for more details.

And be sure to join us next Tuesday, May 3, at 6:00pm for a presentation on privacy today. It's necessary information if you use a computer, have a phone, work at a job, or have a bank account!
-Alan

New art exhibit by Peggy Thibodeau

We're pleased to present a new art exhibit by local artist Peggy Thibodeau in the non-fiction and periodicals area of the library. Peggy, also known as "the Sidewalk Chalk Prophet," has one artist's statement: "Oh, just whatever pleases!"

For more information about Peggy, visit http://www.peggyart.com/. For pictures of the exhibit (and of past exhibits), visit our www.facebook.com/socasteelibrary or www.flickr.com/socasteelibrary.

National Library Week-For the Mind, Body, & Soul

If you have stopped into any of our libraries over the past few days or have been visiting our blog, Facebook, or Twitter accounts, you know that we have been celebrating National Library Week. However, we are also celebrating another important event, National Volunteer Appreciation Week. It is during this special week that we get the opportunity to formally recognize the efforts provided by our volunteers in serving the library, its patrons and staff, and the Socastee community.

I'm sure you have heard that libraries have the power to transform. But, did you ever stop to think how volunteerism can transform the individual? Community service can be a beneficial and enriching experience in which one is able to pursue personal growth. Harriet Naylor once said that "...volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience. It is truly gratifying to serve a cause, practice one's ideals, work with people, solve problems, see benefits, and know one had a hand in them." Our many volunteers come from all walks of life; men and women, teenagers and adults, from lands abroad and native folks. Yet they are drawn to Socastee Library for one reason-to serve! From April 2010 to the present, our volunteers performed almost 5,000 hours of service carrying out such tasks as shelving, collating handouts, registering children for the Summer Reading Program, advocating on the library's behalf, shelf-reading, mending books, weeding the library gardens, and assisting in the Friends Gift Shop.

We extend genuine and heartfelt gratitude for all of our volunteers' efforts and dedication in helping create a true community library. Volunteers are truly an invaluable resource!

As we draw to the close of National Library Week and National Volunteer Appreciation Week, please keep in mind that "today's libraries can help you discover a new and exciting world," filled with great opportunities for the mind, body, and soul. To get you jump started, be sure to check out The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life and The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life, both by Pam Grout. These handy guidebooks provide succinct descriptions about exciting "volunteer vacations" as well as resources for additional information.

"We've GOT to make noise in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!" ~Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who

-Kim

National Library Week - What to Read?

As a lifelong fan of reading, I can't say enough about libraries. As a child, my favorite summer days were the ones when the bookmobile would visit the small town in which I lived. How gratifying to see the same joy on the faces of my customers at Socastee Library!

When I first began working in the public library, I had been a school librarian for 30 years with the last 24 of those years in elementary schools so my knowledge of adult books was rather limited. While I could easily recommend books by Clive Cussler as an author of great suspense novels and Michael Palmer for medical mysteries, I frequently found myself receiving reader guidance rather than offering it.

Thanks to the patron who insisted I read by Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn as well as the lovely lady who sang Kristin Hannah's praises as she returned Between Sisters. I hope this week you will treat yourself to a trip to Socastee Library. I'll be one of the workers at the circulation desk and will be glad to help you find a great read. - Debbie

National Library Week - About Reading

You sometimes hear authors being described as "writer's writers." These are the writers who can pick the perfect word or turn a phrase like no one else, writers whom other writers read out of admiration, or out of jealousy. They're not always the most popular writers, but are among the most respected and lauded.

Although he's certainly a great writer with a style all his own, I think of Pat Conroy as a "reader's writer" -- someone who understands exactly why we read, and writes exactly that. My Reading Life is Conroy's love letter to the books and people who shaped him. Going through My Reading Life, you don't just learn why Gone With the Wind or Look Homeward, Angel are great books, you learn a little bit about the kind of person reading these books makes you. If you're a Conroy fan, My Reading Life will enrich your experience of all his books, but it's worthwhile for any lover of reading.

During National Library Week we celebrate all that libraries offer. We often say that the library has something for everyone, but the deeper truth is that the library has something for every person that you'd like to be. As Conroy illustrates, reading transforms a person, and the tools to "create your own story" are right here!

Click here to request My Reading Life in print, large print, or as an audiobook read by the author.

-Alan

National Library Week - Library Workers Day

What I really like about Socastee Library is the professional, friendly, and courteous staff. They are all so willing to help people find books that interest them and find answers to questions. It truly is a great place to visit when you know such welcoming people are inside. Remember them on National Library Workers Day on Tuesday, April 12. One of my favorite characters is Odd Thomas of the book of the same name by Dean Koontz. In fact, if you like him in the first book, you'll enjoy the rest of the series about him. He's the kind of guy you wish was your best friend. Now, he does have some different (or odd!) talents, but those just make the story interesting. Give him a chance to be your friend by reading the book! ~Sharon

National Library Week - A World of Possibilities for Life Enrichment

Libraries are so inviting! There’s something for everyone at your local public library! What better place to spend a quiet afternoon in a cozy corner working on your laptop, or reading from a good book you’ve just found in the fiction section? Are you the type who likes to catch up with the latest news? If you are, you can find a variety of local newspapers and news-related magazines at the library. Why bother to pay for them when you can look at them in the library for free? Would you like to learn about a foreign country, begin learning a new language, perfect your talent for baking, drawing, sewing, or perhaps make your new pet behave better? You can find this information at the library. And while you are there, you can sign up for a computer class or any number of other programs being offered at the library. You can also check out movies, music cds, Playaways, and use the computers to access the Internet or do research.

Children, too, have access to thousands of children’s books, children’s dvds, cds, reference materials, and children’s computers. At the Socastee Library programs are designed especially for children; programs such as Baby Lapsit, Preschool Storytime, and a monthly Saturday Family Movie- snacks included. And then there’s the annual Summer Reading Program….all for free.

Membership at the library offers a World of Possibilities to all who walk through the door. Why not visit regularly and see for yourself how you can enrich YOUR life. While you are visiting the Children’s Room you may want to look for some of the books chosen by the Association for Library Services to Children for their 2011 list of Notable Children’s Books for younger readers. Three titles from the list are included below: We Are in a Book! By Mo Willems. Elephant and Piggie discover that someone, the reader, is looking at them in this hilarious, interactive story about the joys of reading and being read. Geisel Honor Book In the Wild By David Elliott. Illus. by Holly Meade. Candlewick. A joyful collection of brief poems paired with dynamic woodblock prints celebrates favorite animals from every continent. Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. By Salley Mavor. Illus. by the author. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Familiar and lesser known nursery rhymes, illustrated with superb needlework and appliqué, create a charming dollhouse of a book. Find the complete list at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb/index.cfm

-Linda

National Library Week, pt. 1

"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." -Walter Cronkite

National Library Week began in 1958 as a way to celebrate and appreciate our nation's libraries. This year's theme is "Create your own Story @ your library," and we'll have some special blog posts throughout the week about our own library stories. So check back throughout the week! In the meantime, here are a few titles that any library lover will enjoy:

• This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson -- We're here to help.


• Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles -- A surprising and lively history of libraries, from Alexandria to the present day.


• Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert -- You'd be surprised...

-Alan