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  • 1.  IFRT Reads for October 2024: Reader Come Home

    Posted Oct 07, 2024 02:08 PM

    What does it mean for an author to have free expression if no one is really reading their words? How can libraries support a democratic society through access to information if our users are just skimming all the sources? For the next IFRT Reads selection, we will be reading Maryanne Wolf's Reader Come Home. Wolf considers the future of the reading brain and our capacity for critical thinking, empathy, and reflection as we become increasingly dependent upon digital technologies. She offers solutions for educators and for readers of all age groups. This book is widely available in libraries and in audio format. If you don't have time to read the whole book (oh, the irony!), you can also read this article by Wolf to get a sense of the topic. Our discussion will focus on the first four chapters. We will meet on Monday, October 28th at 3 p.m. Eastern / 2 p.m. Central / 1 p.m. Mountain / noon Pacific via Zoom; you can register for the meeting with this link.

    Hope to see you there!

    Martin Garnar



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    Martin Garnar (he/him/his)
    Director, Amherst College Library
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  • 2.  RE: IFRT Reads for October 2024: Reader Come Home

    Posted Oct 07, 2024 08:49 PM

    The theme of the 33rd annual Long Island Library Resources Council's Conference on Libraries and the Future is:  The Future of Reading. It will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024, at the Heritage Club at the Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, NY.  We selected that theme almost a year ago in response to the idea that reading was on a decline in America and is there something that libraries should be doing to help develop lifelong readers.

    Free expression of authors is also only meaningful if readers can access their works! Libraries have been a consistent source for readers to discover new authors, classical authors, and even best-selling authors. Library funding is essential for this process to work. Authors and their publishers should be working with libraries throughout the nation to make sure that public funding of libraries is sufficient to ensure that books can be acquired for our collections and that libraries can purchase copies to encourage readers to consider them. Leaders in librarianship have noted (for many, many years) that unlike bookstores, the copies of books that libraries purchase are never returned to their publishers! 


    Arthur L. Friedman, Ed.D., MLS, MS(Ed)

    Professor, Library

    Nassau Community College

    One Education Drive

    Garden City, New York 11530-6793

    516-572-7401 ext. 26028


     






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