Library Week, News and Freebies

Library Week

It’s finally here: Library Week!  Because my family homeschools, we depend on our local library quite a lot, so I’m looking forward to giving libraries and many librarians across America credit where credit is due.  While the welfare office  feeds hungry bellies, cure libraries feed hungry minds and souls.  They open doors to knowledge, adventure, and opportunities that can impact families for a lifetime.  And the word is that with our down economy, library usage is up.  We need it more than ever, library advocates say.

While all that is true, it’s just as true that libraries exist in a fallen world.  Therefore, they contain many dangers that parents need to be aware of.  Librarians and those who create books–authors, publishers, etc–need our prayers to be wise stewards of their gifts.  And children, who are especially vulnerable to the dangers ever present in libraries and media generally, need advocates who will speak for them.

So, Janie, Betsy, Megan and I ask you to join us in prayer for our libraries this week.  On Tuesday, Janie will lay out some of the more pressing challenges in libraries.  Then on Thursday (or maybe Friday, if life gets crazy), we’re planning a virtual tour of the library.  We’ll walk parents from pictures books to the YA section and share both helpful hints for getting the most of your visit, as well as serious traps you’ll need to watch out for.

The Ghost of Library Weeks Past

We’ve covered a lot of ground in years past about libraries.  So instead of Web Newberys today, I thought I’d review some of them you may have missed:

• Living Book Libraries:  At last count, Living Book Libraries were being planned and opened in numerous cities across the U.S.  These libraries rely on mostly Christian volunteers who seeing bringing great books to kids as a veritable calling, and because they are not tied to public funds, their collections can express a Christian worldview.

• American Library Association’s 2013 Youth Media Awards:  Janie’s thoughts on some of this year’s winners.

• Christian School Librarian Interview:  Both of the librarians we’ll be talking to later in the week are from the public library sphere.  But here’s an interview with a Christian school librarian with a different set of challenges as she seeks to accommodate both Christian parents and school administrators who all have their own ideas about appropriate content for kids.

• What’s in Your Library?  My reflection about how a family member’s personal library was a huge help to me–and an encouragement to think of your book collection as a lending library.

• The Last Book the Library:  If you could choose one book beyond the Bible to place in every library across the nation, what would it be?  In this finale of our Light Your Library series, Christian writers answer that question, including Kathleen Nielson, Susan Hunt, Marvin and Susan Olasky, and more!

Freebies

Speaking of building your own library, here are a few resources toward that end:

• Free Educational Lapbooks:  This company also has a 50% off sale until April 16th .  Use coupon code WOOHOO.

• How to Find Free Christian Books Online:  A free Kindle ebook.

• Martin Luther’s Commentary on Galatians (Kindle)

• Secret of Success in Christian Life and Work by D.L. Moody (Kindle)

• Dannah Gresh’s new book, Get Lost:  Book giveaway at Christianbook.com.

Hope you guys have a great Monday!  If you know of any other great library posts or giveaways, let us know in the comments below!