Lynda.com Online Learning at Hutchinson Public Library

My youngest son has been working on Java programming so I thought I would look to see what kind of tools the Hutchinson Public Library has for helping him along. Turns out we have four books of varying "ages" - from 2004 (yikes!) to 2015. Those might help, so I sent him the list.

Then I went to look in one of our new self-paced education tools, lynda.com and found this:

Turns out that lynda.com has 16 different tutorials on Java, 5 beginner, 10 intermediate, and one advanced. Since these are all self-paced and lynda keeps track of your progress, he'll be able to do them as he has time. Also, since the tutorials are indexed and searchable, he can use them to find answers to particular questions if he is stuck somewhere in the process!

As he progresses (he wants to create games with Java), there are more than two dozen video courses in the "Web Developer" section of lynda dealing specifically with games and game design.

This amazing tool is available to him and to you for FREE. All you need is a valid Hutchinson Public Library card.

Free Music with your library card!

We've been testing out our new music service for a few weeks now. I'm on my second album download (you get 5 free mp3 downloads per week)! So far I personally have found the webpage to work the best. I have android mobile devices and the app available for those seems to work pretty well, but doesn't have the full functionality of the website.

We'll continue to feature this tool at events like Hutchinson's Third Thursday. If you have questions about the service, please call us and we'll help you get started!

Just as a reminder though, that our music service is REALLY easy to use. To get access to almost 10 million songs and your five free downloaded tunes each week, all you need is to visit www.hutchpl.org (the library's website) and click the image you see below and enter your library card number to login:

The "Rich Guy" and "Those People"

It's no secret, I'm sure, that expectations for public behavior seem to be at a low ebb. People that work for public institutions and tend public spaces deal with daily behavior that 20 or 30 years ago would have been cause for calling authorities.

Today there is a much larger percentage of people whose sense of entitlement leads them to believe they can let their children (or themselves) run rough-shod over the rules. We at the library try to be there for all - young, old, rich, and poor. We try to create rules that make use of our library available to all. It's a balancing act.

Behavior and our expectations for how people should act in public occupy a lot of our time at the library. But there is a deeper issue at work.

When you combine an educational system that won't allow or acknowledge the failure of a student, an economic system that has bred chronic un- and under-employment, and a culturally embedded feeling that laying blame is preferable to taking responsibility you end up with people who don't know how or don't care to behave well in public.

I don't know how to cure society-wide ills like this, except through education. Unfortunately, public education is under such unwarranted pressure that that solution seems less certain now than in the past. I do know that most of what we are changing here at the library are attempts to contain undesirable individual behavior.

So, what do we do about behavior in the library? We continue to encourage good behavior, try to enlist the cooperation of our patrons, and ask that people be considerate of others, by pointing out unacceptable behavior before asking people to leave.

Sometimes this involves moving things around. For example, we're moving the smoking area on the West side of the building. Many people entering the building have complained, not necessarily about the smoking in the area, but the attendant bad language near where children enter.

We have moved an adult reading area from right next to the E.L.F. family area. Many adults have an expectation of quiet that we just can't provide near our children's library.

The behavior for which I have no answer has come in this form: "I don't go to the library any more because there are homeless people there." When I first heard that there are folks in our community who won't use their public library because "there are homeless people there", I was more than taken aback. I was hurt, and then curious (with a tinge of paranoia). Who do they say this to, and why?

Is it a surprise that those in need might make use of what few public services there are? Society at large has failed to end joblessness and homelessness and has failed to treat mental illness and drug abuse. I am not sure I can change a well-to-do person's assumption that homelessness=criminality or a well-to-do person's desire to avoid being uncomfortable when confronted by the reality of our local economy.

Now I'm just mad. Mad at the selfish, hard-hearted attitude. Mad and disappointed in an influential person in my community. The public library is THE place in a community where everyone should feel on equal footing. We will work hard to make sure that everyone is welcome here and that everyone is safe here. We will encourage good behavior and will not tolerate behavior that takes away from others' experience at the library. You are safe here, rich guy. I'm sorry if you have to see a homeless person (not really, I actually think it's good for you). But I can almost guarantee that it isn't the homeless person you need fear, it's your attitude and the behavior it breeds. HPL has a dizzying array of tools for everyone and for virtually every educational, inspirational, and even entertainment need. It is a place that can offer hope to anyone who comes in. The library is not a religious institution - no need "convert" or "confess" to get help. The concept of the public library is a societal good. A gift to us made possible by a compassionate, forward-thinking society that valued education and wanted it available to anyone. And if there is no where else to go, the "good" the library does for a person might simply be to let her or him warm up, sit, and maybe, just maybe pick up something to read.

Science Fiction Discussion: Deathworld

This month our group read Deathworld (book 1, beware: spoilers in the wikipedia link) by Harry Harrison. This is the first book in a trilogy about Pyrrus, the most dangerous planet in the galaxy.

The settlement on this planet is facing extinction. The flora and fauna are extremely dangerous and seem to be becoming more dangerous with every passing moment. The main character, a gambler named Jason dinAlt gets involved with the Pyrrans when he is enlisted to turn a large sum of money into a massive fortune by gambling. dinAlt has psychic powers that he can sometimes harness to influence his gambling "luck".

The main story develops on Pyrrus when dinAlt and the Pyrran ambassador, Kerk Pyrrus return to the embattled colony. dinAlt discovers some secrets of life on Pyrrus which really improve the story and are, in my opinion, the only reasons to read the book. The style of the book was very pulp sci-fi action adventure - the sort of storyline that you could set in colonial period Africa, or the wild west of the United States. There is a lot of action though which keeps the pages turning. I'm not sure I could really recommend this one. I think Harrison's more famous series, The Stainless Steel Rat, is a better bet.

The discussion group's opinion was that this is a book to be avoided.

"Deathworld" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deathworld.jpg#/media/File:Deathworld.jpg

Book Challenges - What tops the list?

 ISO 3864-1 prohibition sign via wikipedia

Public libraries are places for contemplative study, for entertainment, for meeting and sharing of ideas. Not just some ideas, not just some points of view, but as many of each as possible. Public libraries are meant to represent the views of ALL people in their communities and therefore any individual using one may run into ideas that are in opposition to his or her own.

This is NOT a bad thing. This is a good thing. Libraries are "safe" venues to be exposed to other view points and other ways of thinking. What's harsh, crass, or offensive to one person may be matter of routine to another. To "not be offended" is a dangerous and increasingly common reason for blocking, censoring, and otherwise trying to suppress ideas that run contrary to one's own. It is generally attempted and justified in the name of sparing the "innocent" from a perceived harm if an idea is shared.

Here's a good summary of a portion of this years American Library Association "State of America's Libraries Report" concerning works that are challenged most often:

http://boingboing.net/2015/04/14/ya-graphic-novels-books-by-p.html

In some ways this might not be a surprising list, but it is a never ending battle that librarians fight on your behalf. Bottom line is that we believe you know best what is appropriate for you and your children. This is why we, as librarians, encourage learning with , reading with, and visiting the library with your children.

Science Fiction Discussion: Ender's Game

The SF Discussion Group met at Hutchinson Public Library in September to discuss Orson Scott Card's novel, Ender's Game. The discussion was a rare one for our group - we all liked it and agreed that it was a good one! It is another novel that is quite a bit different (like our July pick, Enemy Mine) than its big screen version. If you've seen the movie but not read the book, I would highly recommend picking up a copy.

The novel is about war, military tactics, and expansionism, centering on the character Ender Wiggin and his rise through the ranks of the International Fleet.

Interestingly (at least to me), the novel has been included in the Professional Reading List of the US Marine Corps for its depiction of how and why military forces do what they do.

It is a Hugo (1986) and Nebula (1985) Award winning novel.

E-books and reading

This is something I have long wondered about: will e-books ever "eclipse" print books as the medium of choice?

So many different types of media have come into the mainstream and then become "just another option" or simply faded away when superseded by another medium.

This article from the New York Times seems to indicate that the frenzy for e-books might be cooling. That might mean that at least in libraries e-books, like any other new media, will simply be assimilated into the collection. I personally think that the more ways we can have to share ideas with each other, the better.

I could be smug and say, "I told you so!" and that I thought e-books were a fad or something. But I would be lying if I said that I really thought print books were never in danger of disappearing. There have been moments, especially with the sustained media frenzy over e-books, that I thought the tide had risen too high for print. And, of course, print still might disappear someday. The information about sales in the NYT article seems to indicate though that print books, book stores, and libraries might still have a place in society and an important one at that.

Access 10,000,000 songs with your library card!

Seriously.

Starting October 1, the Hutchinson Public Library has made available a new download and streaming music service.

The new service, Freegal, allows every patron with a valid HPL library card 5 free download songs per week and 3 hours of free streaming music per day!

Did I mention that the songs are free? They are also DRM free and can be saved to anything that can store/read mp3 files. Apps are available for Android and iOS users.

This service expands our music collection exponentially and covers all genres and musical tastes. I can hardly believe that it's real, but it is - and you should check it out!