Blogs

• They are not good at it. They find it difficult so they do not want to.
• "Reading is boringggggg...."
• They are not motivated.
• The book does not have enough pictures. Too many words.

The year 2020 has presented a lot to us. Between Netflix's documentary hit Tiger King, a pandemic, quarantining due to the pandemic, talk of murder hornets, postponement of the Olympics, racial justice movements (please and thank you), sky-rocketed unemployment, AHHHHH! we have endured and still dealing with quite a bit. However, I am a glass half full kind of person, so I believe we will get through this and be stronger because of it.

In the meantime, I have to read to help me cope. So, I'm sharing my list of "next reads" and recommended reads. Hope you enjoy!

By the way, my taste is all over the place-- so don't judge me :-)

Hello. My name is Michelle, and if you know me at all, you know that media, digital, and information literacy is passion of mine. I would love to teach the world how to critically consume the media they choose, and to recognize bias and unfairness in what they consume. If just a small percentage of people who use social media would take the time to vet that tweet before it’s re-tweeted, or think twice before sharing a scathing image or meme on Facebook that vilifies someone they don’t agree with, we could fight back against the spread of misinformation. This is the epitome of “love your neighbor”. It is not helpful to spread conspiracy theories or random text-posts just because it’s “interesting to think about” or “food for thought”.

One of the many pitfalls in knowledge as result of the Internet is the watering down of the term “research”.

You can look at the comments of any Facebook post regarding COVID-19, protestors, vaccines, sunscreen, and it’s littered with calls to “do your own research!”

Research has a very specific meaning, and that does not mean “here’s information that backs up what I already believe”.

I’m Bored!  Family Board games for School Age and Up

Board Games

In response to the ongoing events, our librarians curated a list of anti-racism books that are available in our system.

This post is part of a series on social media and media literacy.  To see all of our media literacy related posts, please click here.

In a previous post about information overload and it’s issues, we discussed how when our brains are overloaded, it’s hard to decide what’s real and what’s not on a good day. So now, when we’ve been overwhelmed for months with new information every day, it’s easy to fall into common media traps.

Listen Up!  Perfect Podcasts for Kids

Kids bored or stressed?  Need some fresh ideas? These Hoopla titles can help revive, inform and renew your kids and family.

Boredom Busters

Learn a new skill, start a new hobby or just find some fun with one of these ebooks from Hoopla.

Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott

These one-liners, tongue twisters and knock-knock jokes are perfect for the young comedian.

Hand Shadow Fun by Frank Jacobs

10 Movies Available on Hoopla:

Nicolas Cage-O-Rama-A-Thon

As I have been going through Hoopla’s movie library, the one constant I keep seeing is Nicolas Cage’s face on movie after movie, either in close-up or with an explosion behind him, sometimes both. It made me wonder, “Is there an all Nicolas Cage 10 movie list available on Hoopla?” Yes, my friends. Yes, there is.