Friday, February 28, 2014

Celebrating the life of Alice Herz-Sommer through literature of the Holocaust

Alice Herz-Sommer, 110 years old and considered the oldest known Holocaust survivor passed away Sunday February 23rd in London. A gifted pianist before the war, Herz-Sommer was taken to the concentration camp Terezin and it was music that saved her life there. Considered a transit camp, Terezin was the stop before virtually imminent death at concentration camps. Because of her music performance at the various concerts set up at Terezin, she and her son were kept at Terezin throughout the war until liberation. Alice spoke with open candor about her time during the war and her fear future generations will forget the horrific treatment of the Jews and other groups during this time. Many books and documentaries have been written about her.

While it seems odd to use the words "celebration" and "Holocaust" in the same sentence, I want to point out the tremendous amount of intense and fabulous literature that came out of such a dark and dreadful time. From The Diary of a Young Girl to The Book Thief to Number the Stars. To do honor to Alice Herz-Sommer's survival and life and her fear that the Holocaust be forgotten, it is our duty to remember the Holocaust and what better way than through the amazing stories lived and created through literature.

Please come to the library and check out the display of amazing books we have on this topic. The best way we can remember is to engross ourselves in stories from years passed so we can honor those fallen, celebrate those who fought and not make the same mistakes again!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Vacation.......snowy and otherwise....

Well, the day before February Vacation!! I am hoping when we return it will be to milder temps and NO SNOW!! This winter is one for the books...I know it is New England but enough is enough. It is difficult to put a positive spin on much of anything with the frigid temps and the constant snow. However, with the early release yesterday, I was able to finish Fangirl / Rainbow Rowell. I loved Eleanor and Park, and didn't think this one would live up to E & P, but wow!! This was fantastic! The perfect way to ride out another crazy snow storm!!!










Chemistry at the Interface!

Aside from snow and snow and more snow, the library has been unbelievably busy this week with Chem Classes. It is that time of year, all chemistry classes are taking on their research project. One of the best collaborations I work on all year is this project. Students are asked to research anything that interests them that has a tie to chemistry. This can be topics from Green Chemistry, to a famous chemist to performance enhancing drugs. The students need to make the connection to what they have studied in chemistry. I love working with the classes on how to find high academic level resources through our databases and using our new resource Literati. The classes are required to pull from the library resources and apply the research they find in our databases to their project. It is exciting to watch as they begin to understand the vast amount of high level resources they have access to. Their final products are always great to read but I am always impressed with the road map they use to develop a topic, gather the research, analyze the data and create something new!


Friday, February 7, 2014

COFFEE and.........

We are hitting the doldrums of winter. It has been one storm after another, frigid cold temperatures and spring so far away! Trying to find something to keep us "awake" and energetic, the library staff decided coffee was the way to go! Our latest and greatest display is devoted to the amazing drinks that helps wake us up in the morning, gives us a reason to chat and keep us warm during this harsh winter. Taking the board to a different level we decided to make it "interactive" and asked our students and staff who from history past or present, they would like to have a cup of coffee with. The answers range from Paul McCartney to Bill Clinton to Jesus. It has been fun to see the varied responses from our community!
Stay warm and drink some coffee!!!