FFAPL Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Libraries are bellwethers

Libraries are bellwethers. “The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”

In the current issue of the ALA magazine, American Libraries, there is an interview with John Green, whose latest book is Everything Is Tuberculosis.

You’re also a staunch supporter of the freedom to read. What would you say to those who are concerned about the future of book challenges, especially in this political landscape?

“I’ve never been so worried about it. I’ve never experienced attacks on my work like the ones I’ve seen in the last couple of years, and that’s even more true for authors of color and LGBTQ authors. It is really upsetting to live in a world where the freedom to read is at such risk, where so many kids are denied access to the breadth of literature because of activist parents going and trying to get books removed from libraries.

Power

“I think it speaks to the power of literature. I think it speaks to the fact that these books are important. But the old saw that it’s good news when your book gets banned because it’ll sell more copies, that’s just not true. At least it’s not true now. What’s true now is that there has been a fair amount of success at removing books from the hands of kids who would otherwise read and be transformed by those books, and that worries me a lot.”

Here are the Banned and Challenged Books data from the ALA. Also, check out the FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS. On Friday night, March 14, an Executive Order was issued to dismantle the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as well as six other agencies.

Albany Public Library

As previously noted, there are Two Open Seats on the APL Board. Albany voters will select two trustees for the Albany Public Library Board in the May 20 election. Both positions carry full five-year terms, which commence on July 1.

Trustee nominating petitions, with at least 51 signatures, are due to the Clerk of the City School District of Albany by 5 pm on Wednesday, April 30. The library’s trustee election and budget vote are held in conjunction with the city school district. The library trustee candidates will be announced after the school district validates submitted nominating petitions.

I am aware of at least one trustee candidate whom I shall actively oppose. I won’t mention them here until after April 30, in case they choose not to run, although I’ve already seen their campaign literature, which appears to “oppose the property tax increase.” Nearly simultaneously, they’re also running for another public office, which I think is overly ambitious.

I haven’t voted AGAINST a candidate in over a decade, when a neo-Nazi was on the ballot. To show how nervous I was, I considered running myself.

The library is hosting the following public forum:

Meet the Trustee Candidates Forum and Library Budget Session

May 6 (Tue) | 6-7:30 pm | Washington Ave. Branch | 161 Washington Ave.

Talks!

Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library Author talks/book reviews in May, Tuesdays at 2 pm, 161 Washington Ave, large auditorium:

May 6 | Book Review | Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages by Gaston Dorren. Reviewer: David Brickman, longtime writer & editor, language lover, and FFAPL treasurer.

May 13 | Book Review | Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson. Reviewer: Frank S. Robinson, JD, philosopher, author, & blogger.

May 20 | Book Review | Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends by Marisa G. Franco, PhD. Reviewer: Hailey Hamias, FFAPL volunteer & community development professional.

May 27 | Book Review | Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Reviewer: Elaine Garrett, BFA, MA, STEM Outreach and Workforce Development, SUNY Research Foundation at NY Creates and the NYS Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology, UAlbany.

Sunday Stealing: Searching for Solid Ground

Patricia Fennell

This week’s Sunday Stealing is about books. I buy many more books than I read, or more specifically, than I finish reading. Books are often presented at the Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library’s Tuesday book talk. When it is an author talk, I tend to buy the book.

This Tuesday, December 3, at 2 p.m., at the Washington Avenue branch of the APL, musician Reggie Harris will discuss Searching for Solid Ground, the memoir he wrote with Linda Hansell. I will almost certainly buy it because I greatly enjoy Reggie’s music.

Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?

There are lots of them: Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer, which helped me become more assertive; Bartholemew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss, which speaks truth to power; Lying by Sissela Bok, which “challenges the reader to consider the effects of lying on the individual, relationships, and society”; and The Sweeter The Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, which is an interesting treatise on race in America.

Do you prefer to read fiction or non-fiction?

Nonfiction, although historical fiction, can work for me, too.

If you could be a character in any novel you’ve read, who would you be?

Yossarian in Catch-22.

Has reading a book ever made you cry? (Which one and why?)

Absolutely. Among others, I read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Attwood in 1995, about a decade after it came out. I read it while in a book club at my old church. Almost all the people in the group were women, and the narrative was, to be understated here, untoward.

Started…

How many books do you read a year?

I started a dozen or probably even more. Usually, I read a chapter or three. Then I get a new book, and I’m attracted to that. I begin reading that instead and seldom get back to the previous book. I probably finished three this year. One of the things I’ve done in the FFAPL book review group is schedule myself to be a reviewer so that I must finish a book.

Name a book you had to read but hated. Why did you hate it?

The play Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare, which I think I had to read in college freshman English class, was a bloody piece that frankly bored me

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would it be called?

I had no idea, so I asked my wife. She suggested Roger That! I like it!

Have you ever written (or started to write) a book?

Yes, started.

If you could pick a book you’ve read to make into a movie, what would it be?

Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles by James Overmyer. It’s a story about a woman who ran a baseball team in the Negro Leagues.

What was your favorite book as a child?

I believe it was Message From Moscow (1966) by Brandon Keith, a novelization of the NBC television series I Spy.

What are you reading right now?

The Chronic Illness Workbook: Strategies and Solutions for Taking Back Your Life by Patricia A. Fennell, MSW, LCSW-R.

Watching people work

Fargo?

Here’s another day in the life post: Tuesday, March 26. For some reason, many of these are on Tuesdays. Reflecting on it, I spent a lot of time watching people work. The ones I watched for the longest time were the half-dozen people taking down that tree across the street from my house, especially looking out my middle bay window. It was better than television.

The process involved a guy in the cherry picker trimming the branches of two trees and tethering the damaged section with rope so it would not fall too quickly. The guys below were putting the small branches in the wood chipper – wood chippers always remind me of the movie Fargo. The chips flew into the back of a truck like the one pictured. A guy was running a tractor-like vehicle that carried logs to the chipper. One fellow was carefully controlling passing traffic in both directions.

It fascinated me because I would have had no idea how to take down the tree without potentially damaging a house or car. And the tree is gone; there aren’t even signs of the roots. I love Men At Work.

Library

I helped facilitate the interview of author Ian Ross Singleton by educator Geri Walsh concerning his book The Two Differences, which is a lot about Detroit but especially Odessa, Ukraine.

They had invited the Ukraine Solidarity Capital District to table at the event. The group stands for the country’s “independence and territorial integrity.”

Kudos to reference librarian Susan, the new liaison with the FFAPL for Tuesday book reviews and author talks. Oddly, we went to library school simultaneously but only realized this a few months ago.

I saw the interim branch manager, Deanna, at the circulation desk. Librarians do it all.

Indian food

I agreed to order takeout from our nearby Indian restaurant. I usually order takeout to pick up around 5:30, and it’s relatively efficient. Because of my wife’s work schedule, I arranged for a slightly later slot. I called at 6 p.m. and was told it would take about 25 minutes.

When I arrived at the restaurant at 6:25, I was asked to sit at a table. People arriving after I got there were told the same thing. There was some confusion; the guy at the register was not a native speaker, I gathered, and it became incumbent for me to explain to them that we were all in the same situation.

However, an increasingly impatient couple was there before I was. He said repeatedly, “How long will this take?” with an increasing edge in his voice. She counted up: “It’s been 35 minutes!” “It’s been 40 minutes!”

When the next order came out, the guy at the register asked them, “Is this your order? Aloo gobi, chicken tikka masala, and lamb saag?” Er, no, that was mine, which made them more disgusted. I wondered, in retrospect, if they were walk-ins. I understood their frustration, but their attitude made me uncomfortable.

Still, the usual manager or owner might have diffused the situation with free mango lassis or another strategy.

And finally

Our daughter complained online that her parents hadn’t gotten her anything for her birthday. “I didn’t know what you wanted.” “I made a list online on Saturday!” That would have been useful to have known.

So, some mail-order workers will get some items to our daughter soon.

Ready, Set, Library

National Library Week Soiree April 10

From the ALA press release: “National Library Week (April 7-13, 2024) is a time to celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions and promote library use and support. The theme for National Library Week 2024 is ‘Ready, Set, Library,’ illustrating the idea that in our always-online world, libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most. “

Long before there was an online world, libraries were a special place for me. So much so that when, separately, two people tried to encourage me to run for one of the three Open Seats on the Albany Public Library Board of Trustees, I had to pause a moment before saying no.

How did I find a way to resist the temptation? This was a very ego-gratifying ask. The role is important. I am well qualified. (Why am I uncomfortable writing a sentence about myself that is demonstrably true? I’ll ask my shrink as soon as I get one.)

I said no because I had to reread something I wrote three months ago, Saying NO and being OK. Just because I published it doesn’t mean I had internalized it.

I’ve looked at the markers. A pile of medical reimbursements I could have submitted three months ago is still growing. I get notifications from Ancestry about my genealogy that I haven’t checked all of 2024. The number of completed blog posts in my reserve pile is constantly shrinking.

Already doing library stuff

Some of the issues are library-related. I’m on the Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library board and have a project that’s become a bit of an albatross.

More pressingly, three of us have been finding speakers for the book reviews, and the author talks every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Usually, the person who books them takes care of details, such as checking their technological needs and introducing the speaker. But one of us has recently been in the hospital and is still in rehabilitation. This means more work on the engagement day and finding speakers for future talks.

(Maybe it was a too-subtle hint. I’m actively looking for folks who would like to do book reviews, and author talks in July or later.)

BTW, here’s the April schedule for the 2 pm Tuesday talks at the Washington Avenue branch:

April 2 | Special Program | Donna Liquori, freelance writer & editor, writes the Bibliofiles column for the Albany Times Union; she will discuss the culture of reading.

April 9 | Book Review | American Visions: The United States: 1800-1860 by Edward L. Ayers. Reviewer: John Rowen, former president, Friends of APL.

April 16 | Author Talk | Katherine Harbour, who is inspired by world mythology & folklore, discusses & reads from her Young Adult novel, The Dark Fable: Magic . . . Mayhem . . . Murder.

April 23 | Book Review | Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power by Jefferson Cowie. Reviewer: Erasmus Schneider, PhD, retired cancer researcher, interested in current affairs & history.

April 30 | Book Review | New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Reviewer: Mark Lowery, MS, assistant director, Office of Climate Change, NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation.

More NLW stuff

The FFAPL is having a National Library Week Soiree on Wednesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Delaware Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library. The event costs $30. Here’s the NLW Kelly FFAPL flyer.

Jack Kelly, journalist, historian, and author of God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man, will give a short talk on a fresh perspective on the reasons for Arnold’s momentous change of heart.

Dinner is to be catered by Mamoun’s Falafel, including meat and vegan options. Wine, coffee, and dessert included. Tickets are available online now.

February rambling: extrauterine children

Alexei Navalny, RIP

Alabama hospital puts a pause on IVF in the wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children. Conservative groups have long revered Chief Justice Tom Parker as an architect for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “The majority, in its opinion, cited an 1872 statute that allows parents to sue over the wrongful death of a child and found that ‘unborn children,’ including ‘extrauterine children,’ were included in that.” SMH at the faux Christian “logic.”

‘Unconscionable’ criminal justice bills could fuel soaring incarceration in Louisiana. Reform advocates condemn raft of measures expected to pass under the new far-right governor, Jeff Landry.

Mitch McConnell to Step Down as Senate Minority Leader

Capital One to Acquire Discover, Creating a Consumer Lending Colossus. “The all-stock deal, valued at $35.3 billion, will combine two of the largest credit card companies in the United States.” As a long-time satisfied Discover cardholder, I am extremely wary.

Ecological Overreach: Ignorance, Hubris, and Stupidity

To purchase The Black Woods: Pursuing Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier by Amy Godine at Cornell Press, input discount promo code 09FLYER at check out for 30% off the list price.

A Big Week in the Trump Trials; He Says Indictments and His Mug Shot Are Helping Him With Black Voters

Parent’s Guide to Fentanyl

Sleeping Pills & Addiction

The myth of men’s full-time employment

I’m a Digital Nomad. It’s Not as Fun As It Looks. Remote workers find that the challenges of globetrotting with a laptop can sometimes outweigh the benefits.

One Swedish zoo, seven escaped chimpanzees

Library staff reunites cat family

Bicentennial Minutes

Richard Lewis, “Neurotic” Comic, Dies at 76

RIP, artist Ramona Fradon, and stories about her

Dan Wilcox, Writer and Producer on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 82

Sam Waterston on His ‘Law & Order’ Goodbye and Getting to “Kill the Bull” One Last Time

Overtime rules for postseason NFL games

How Actor Kevin Miles Became “Jake from State Farm”

Why Doesn’t Look Like a Heart?

Now I Know

The Ghost That Was Too Quiet and The Rules of the Roadkill, Smart Phone-Version and The Problem With Dark Blue and Yellow License Plates, and The Lion King and the Secret (But Not Actually R-Rated) Message

The Russians Are Coming

Alexei Navalny, the Fiercest Foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dies at 47. With every story, I become more sad and angry.

Fox Promoted Informant’s Dubious Tale To Bolster Right-Wing Lies About Ukraine

Jon Stewart on Tucker Carlson’s Putin Interview & Trip to Russia | The Daily Show

What Is The Deal With Republicans And All These Russian Spies?

FFAPL book reviews/author talks

Tuesdays at 2 pm at 161 Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Avenue

March 5 | Book Review | The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story by Sam Wasson. Reviewer: John McGuire, PhD, attorney.

March 12 | Author Talk | Author, Spiritual Director, and Book Coach Diane Cameron will discuss her book, Looking for Signs, and talk about writing memoirs.

March 19 | Book Review | The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike. Reviewer: Elaine Garrett, BFA, MA, STEM Outreach and Workforce Development, SUNY Research Foundation at NY Creates and the NYS Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology, UAlbany.

March 26 | Author Interview | Ian Ross Singleton, MFA, of the Writing & Critical Inquiry Program, U at Albany, SUNY, is interviewed by Geri Walsh, MS (special education), employment specialist, about his novel The Two Differences.

Music

Gotta Have You – Peter Sprague, featuring Leonard Patton and Rebecca Jade

boygenius – $20

J. Eric Smith: Yes and Good Rats

Farewell, Seiji Ozawa

Maggie Rose – Underestimate Me

Coverville 1476: Tribute to Melanie and Norah Jones Cover Story and 1477: The Robbie Williams Cover Story II

I Don’t Mind – MonaLisa Twins

Overture to Candide, conducted by composer Leonard Bernstein

Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come

Jump – Van Halen

Texas Hold’Em – Beyoncé

A film music suite from the movie Miracle

Toots Thielemans – Bluesette

Sam Mendes will direct four movies about each Beatle, slated for release in 2027 with an “innovative and groundbreaking” release schedule