We've Moved - Please Visit Us at Our New Address

Please visit us at our new address:

www.friends4rpl.wordpress.com

click the link above to go directly to the new site

Happy St Patrick's Day

Practice Random Acts of Green!

Buy a green book!
Give a green book!
Give a book on green issues!
Enjoy a green book on gardening, nature or flowers!

We're waiting for you in the Friends' Bookstore!

St Patrick's Day

Get Your Green On!

by Helen McIver

A good way to celebrate any holiday is with a good book! Stop into the Friends Bookstore for a wide selection of Celtic books.


St Patrick (born c. 387 in Wales - d 17 March, 493) was a Romano-Briton, brought Christianity to Ireland, and is recognized as a patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland. Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints.


St. Patrick's Day is the feast day of the man who brought Christianity to Ireland. It is celebrated both in and outside of Ireland, as both a solemn church holiday and especially outside of Ireland, as a celebration of Ireland itself. There will be parades and celebrations in cities all across the world, but the holiday has always been most popular in the United States, especially in cities with large Irish-American populations.In Chicago, they dye the Chicago River green every year. And in New York City, there's a huge parade that goes up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street, past St. Patrick's Cathedral.


Saint Patrick (Latin: Patricius; Primitive Irish: Qatrikias; Old Irish: Cothraige or Coithrige; Middle Irish: Pátraic; Irish: Pádraig;British: *Patrikios; Old Welsh: Patric; Middle Welsh: Padric; Welsh: Padrig; Old English: Patric; ) (St Paddy, if you must use a diminuitive, but never St Patty!)

National Book Awards

(From their Website:) History of the National Book Awards: On March 16, 1950, publishers, editors, writers, and critics gathered at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City to celebrate the first annual National Book Awards, an award given to writers by writers. The American Book Publisher’s Council, The Book Manufacturers’ Institute, and The American Booksellers’ Association jointly sponsored the Awards, bringing together the American literary community for the first time to honor the year’s best work in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. As the Boston Herald reported the following day, “literary history was indeed in the making.”


The National Book Awards (NBA) quickly established a reputation for recognizing literary excellence, awarding William Carlos Williams the first poetry prize for Paterson: Book III and Selected Poems. Within a mere decade the NBA would acknowledge the work of writers such as William Faulkner, Saul Bellow, Wallace Stevens, Rachel Carson, Ralph Ellison, W.H. Auden, Marianne Moore, and Bernard Malamud – authors who have helped shape the foundation of American literature.

From the mid-sixties through the seventies, the NBA expanded, adding new award categories for Science, Philosophy and Religion, History and Biography, Arts and Letters, Translation, Contemporary Thought, Autobiography, First Novel, Original Paperback, and Children’s Book.

In 1980, various publishers who sponsored the event sought to broaden further the audience for American literature by honoring an even wider range of American writers. As a result, the 30-year-old National Book Awards was discontinued and The American Book Awards (TABA) established. TABA gave a total of 28 prizes in 16 separate categories, recognizing a hardcover and paperback Winner in most categories. Winners and Finalists were chosen by a committee of publishers, booksellers and distributors, librarians, and authors and critics.

With its expanded scope, it soon became obvious that so many categories diffused the Awards’ impact. By 1984 the Board had reduced the number of awards categories to three and, in 1987, reestablished the National Book Awards with an emphasis that the Awards are given by writers to writers. Since 1996, independent panels of five writers have chosen the National Book Award Winners in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature.

Now, over a half-century since its inception, the National Book Awards continues to recognize the best of American literature, raising the cultural appreciation of great writing in the country while advancing the careers of both established and emerging writers like Richard Powers, Jonathan Franzen, and Lily Tuck.

Today in History - March 12, 1901

Andrew Carnegie
1835-1919

Andrew Carnegie Donates $5.2 Million to NYC Libraries
by Catherine H. Armstrong


If you're a book lover and have spent very much time at all in libraries, then the name Andrew Carnegie isn't new to you.  Many libraries across the nation still bear his name; my own library growing up in the small town of El Reno, Oklahoma, was named in his honor - The El Reno Carnegie Library.


A native of Scotland, Carnegie came from humble beginnings and was the son of a handloom weaver.  Though he had very little formal education, his family believed strongly in the importance of books and learning; a belief that must have stayed with him throughout his entire life.


After moving to the United States at the age of 13, Carnegie worked a series of odd jobs including work in a factory, telegraph messenger and then later as a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  There he learned the railroad industry and general business principals and, within three short years, was promoted to Superintendent.  Eventually, his experience in the railroad allowed him to broaden his interests and eventually became a self-made man and steel tycoon, making him one of the wealthiest businessmen in the 19th Century.

The Chatfield Public Library
Built with funds from a Carnegie Grant of $6,000

In 1901, Carnegie sold his steel company to the United Sates Steel Corporation for $200 million, and then began taking steps that would dramatically change the course of his life.  As a philanthropist and a life-long lover of books and learning, Carnegie had spent many years building libraries through a variety of financial donations.  On this date in 1901, however,  Carnegie made a $5.2 million donation to New York City Libraries for the construction of 65 branch libraries, arguably the most important financial donation to a library of that time.  While substantial for a single donation, it was only one of many Carnegie would make throughout his life.  Between 1886 and 1919, Carnegie donated more than $40 million that paid for more than 1,600 libraries in communities of all sizes throughout the United States, many of which still operate today.


A huge "thank you" to Mr. Carnegie for paving the way for the readers, writers and book lovers of today.




Sources:


" Andrew Carnegie." 2012. Biography.com 25 Feb 2012, 01:13,  http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-carnegie-9238756

"Carnegie Libraries:  The Future Made Bright." 2012. NPS.gov 25 Feb 2012, 01:19, http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/50carnegie/50carnegie.htm

"Andrew Carnegie Offers New York $5.2 MIllion to Build Libraries." Timelines.com 25 Feb 2012, 01:31, http://timelines.com/1901/3/12/andrew-carnegie-offers-new-york-52-million-to-build-libraries

Don't Forget - Our Blog is Moving!

Don't forget!  The Friends of the Rochester Public Library blog will be moving Tomorrow, March 5th!  Please take a moment to check out our new blog-hosting site at www.friends4rpl.com. 

We'll continue to bring you the same great information and book reviews to which you've become accustomed, but there's just so much more!  We'll offer easy to view tabs with information about upcoming events, Friends' Membership and other valuable information.

Take a look this weekend and then come back tomorrow to help us celebrate our new home!

A Reminder - "Civil War Weapons" Tomorrow at 3:00

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

by Catherine. H. Armstrong

Theodore Seuss Geisel
1904-1991

If he were alive today, Dr. Seuss would be celebrating his 108th Birthday.  Since he's no longer with us, The National Education Association has designated this week - beginning on March 2nd - as Read Across America Week in honor of that beloved author, Theodore Seuss Geisel.


Whoa!  His last name was  Geisel?  Why do we call him Dr. Seuss, then?  Believe it or not, Dr. Seuss used to tell people that he was saving his real name for when he finally penned the "Great American Novel" that every author aspires.  Probably that wasn't true, but it sure made for a great story which was, after all, exactly what Dr. Seuss was all about.


Surprisingly, Dr. Seuss had no children of his own.  When asked about this, he once responded in typical Dr. Seuss fashion - with a smile and a bit of humor saying, "You make 'em.  I'll amuse 'em."


Seuss' first book was, quite surprisingly, not an easy sell to publishers.  After being turned down by dozens of publishers, Seuss was on the verge of throwing it away when he - completely by chance - ran into a former classmate who had recently been appointed juvenile editor of Vanguard Press.  This former classmate, Mike McClintock, invited Seuss up to his office and immediately offered a contract for the overwhelmingly rejected, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street. 

Dr. Seuss was often asked where he got ideas for his stories.  Since the answer to this question was a mystery even to himself, Seuss would frequently answer this question with a completely invented-on-the-spot answer.


Said Seuss to one interviewer: 

"This is the most asked question of any successful author. Most authors will not disclose their source for fear that other, less successful authors will chisel in on their territory. However, I am willing to take that chance. I get all my ideas in Switzerland, near the Forka Pass. There is a little town called Gletch, and two thousand feet up above Gletch there is a smaller hamlet called Uber Gletch. I go there on the fourth of August every summer to get my cuckoo clock repaired. While the cuckoo is in the hospital, I wander around and talk to the people in the streets. They are very strange people, and I get my ideas from them." 

While we may never know the truth to his inspiration for many of his works, we do know that the inspiration for The Cat in the Hat came from a challenge issued by the director of Houghton Mifflin's education division who said to Seuss, “Write me a story that first-graders can’t put down!”  He gave Seuss a list of 348 words, and asked him to limit the book's vocabulary to no more than 225 different words selected from the list.  When published in March of 1957, The Cat in the Hat became an instant success and sold nearly a million copies by 1960, making it arguably the most famous and well-loved among children's books of the 20th century.


Celebrate the birth of one of world's most beloved writers with a loved one this week.  Read to your children.  Offer to read in a classroom.  Or even just take a moment to regress back to your own child with a copy of Green Eggs and Ham.


For more information on Dr. Seuss, together with video and interactive games for children, visit www.seussville.com.


Sources:


Nel, Phillip. Biography of Dr. Seuss. 2012. Seussville.com 29 Feb 2012, 18:23, http://www.seussville.com/#/author

March 5th - Rochester Reads Event - Civil War Women

Join Us On Monday

March 5th

7:00 PM

Rochester Public Library Auditorium

Guest Presenter:  

Vicki Wendel 

March 2nd Begins "Read Across America Week"

Read Across America Week!

by Helen McIver

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2nd, the National Education Association (NEA) has set aside this week to honor the birthday of one of the world's most beloved children's author.

The National Education Association's Read Across America began in 1998 and is an annual reading motivation and awareness program celebrated every March 2nd to encourage reading and literacy. They hope to create lifelong successful readers. 

This year's theme is green in 2012 as NEA partners with The Lorax movie to bring the magic of books and film to the community.

There are so many wonderful Dr. Seuss books which inspire and encourage reading, and there is nothing like reading with a child.  Joy can be found not only by sharing the story, but also by sharing their reactions and discussing their thoughts. 

Don’t forget to read to your adult loved ones as well. That special poem, silly rhyme, moving passage, joke that you can’t wait to share, or just the book you are reading now. 

March 4th - Rochester Reads Event - Civil War Weapons

Join us this Sunday!

March 4th

3:00 - 4:00 PM

Olmsted County History Center

1195 West Circle Drive SW

Rochester, MN