Dreams & Swords
September 2006 issue
Dreams & Swords
All books are either dreams or swords,
You can cut, or you can drug, with words.
- Amy Lowell (Sword Blades and Poppy Seeds)
Past issues of the Dreams & Swords column may be found here.
Historically, September has been seen as the month of going back to school and the nearing of the close of summer. Other than Labor Day, not much is usually thought to go on in September observance-wise, with the exception that we begin to see Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations appearing on store shelves (frequently side-by-side). But there are several days of observance or celebration this month following Labor Day:
September 11. The September 11 Project
(http://www.theseptemberproject.org), as stated on the Project's web site, " … is a grassroots effort to get people together on September 11th to talk about issues that matter. September Project events take place in libraries, where all people are welcomed, and where the exchange of information and ideas flourish. The September Project encourages individual communities - neighbors - to make sense of the world together." At the time this column is being written there are thirteen sites in Alabama participating; eleven of which are branches of the Birmingham Public Library. Our library is the only academic library in the state to participate. On our web site you will find a page that lists resources either in our collections or on the Internet on 9-11 and related topics.
Constitution Day (September 17) celebrates the day in 1787, our federal constitution was signed. Two good online sites for learning about the U.S. Constitution are those for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia (http://www.constitutioncenter.org) and for the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (http://www.archives.gov). CQ Electronic Library, a database to which our library subscribes, is another valuable resource for issues related to government and general issues of interest in the news.
Banned Books Week is September 23 - 30. This year marks the 25th anniversary of this annual observance sponsored by the American Library Association and its Office for Intellectual Freedom (http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm). At our library you can learn through several displays about books that have been challenged or banned over the years, some of which may surprise you (The Autobiography of Doris Day ??). Q: And what book tops the American Library Association's list for most challenged book in 2005? A: It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley (#2 & 3 respectively are Forever by Judy Blume and Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger).
Beginning Monday, September 25, we will be giving out "Read Banned Books, They're Your Ticket to Freedom" pins. They will be available to the first forty who drop by the Library and ask.
Eric A. Kidwell
Director of the Library