Stupid, or just multi-tasking?

Nicholas Carr, in his article for the Atlantic Monthly, argues that the amount of time that we all spend reading on the web has turned many of us into chronic skimmers. Even those of us who were literature majors in college find it difficult to stick with a narrative for long periods of time. Web content, with all it’s linky sidetrips, makes it difficult to finish a lengthy article, and all this hopping around impacts not only how we interact with media, but also how we think. Carr quotes a pathologist who refers to the “staccato” nature of his thoughts, and I, for one, can relate to that feeling. It’s a good thing I am not a surgeon because I would get sidetracked watering my plants on the way to an emergency appendectomy. Honestly, I’m amazed that I made it through this blog post. It’s going to be short, because I need to get back to the four other things I was doing before I ran across this article and decided to blog about it.

Here it is. If you passed unscathed through my gauntlet of links and made it to this point, I dare you to read the whole thing. I didn’t. It’s kind of long.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
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HT: Rob Sica, who commented here

Juneteenth–Today in History

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery, on January 1, 1863. Two and half years later, on June 19, 1865, slaves in Texas finally heard of their emancipation when federal troops landed in Galveston, Texas. Out of this event grew the annual observation of Juneteenth. Juneteenth celebrations spread to neighboring states as African Americans moved from Texas. Today, 29 states acknowledge Juneteenth with some type of observance or recognition (Juneteenth is a legal state holiday in Texas). Cities across the country, including Memphis TN, San Jose CA, and Minneapolis MN, host large festivals.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Rutherford County Alumnae Chapter sponsored its sixth annual Juneteenth celebration last weekend. This Saturday, June 21, Bradley Academy Cultural Museum and Cultural Center will hold its annual Juneteenth celebration at 415 S. Academy Street. Food and craft vendor booths open at 10 a.m., with live music and entertainment from noon to 4 p.m.

Read more about the history of Juneteenth in this
Time article or in one of these books at Walker Library.

Patriotic Holidays of the United States / H. Henderson
1st floor – Reference: 394.26973 H38p

Juneteenth: A Day to Celebrate Freedom From Slavery / A. Leeper
3rd floor - Curriculum Collection: 394.263 LEEj

Juneteenth: Freedom Day / M. M. Branch
3rd floor - Curriculum Collection: 394.263 BRA

Dear Old Dad

Is it us, or is it publishers? Because we don’t have nearly as much in our collection on fathers as we do on mothers. Take it as a compliment, dads. Afer all, most of those books about moms are — deservedly or not — about how darned difficult they are. Here’s some of the best (or at least, most current) of what we do have about male parents. Happy Father’s Day.

My father before me : how fathers and sons influence each other throughout their lives / Michael J. Diamond. New York : W. W. Norton, c2007. 2nd Floor - Main Collection: 306.8742 D54

Wisdom of our fathers : lessons and letters from daughters and sons / [collected] by Tim Russert. New York : Random House, c2006
2nd Floor - Main Collection Call Number: 306.8742 W75r

Reshaping fatherhood : the social construction of shared parenting / Anna Dienhart. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, c1998.
2nd Floor - Main Collection Call Number: 306.8742 D56r

Faithful travelers : a father, a daughter, a fly-fishing journey of the heart / James Dodson. Publisher: New York : Bantam Books, c1998.
2nd Floor - Main Collection Call Number: 306.8742 D66f

Gay men choosing parenthood / Gerald P. Mallon. Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, c2004. 2nd Floor - Main Collection Call Number: 306.8742 M29g

Browse our new books.

Books that have just been received and processed by the library will be available on our New Books browsing shelves for several weeks before they are shelved in the regular stacks. The New Books shelves are located behind the reference desk at the start of the reference collection. If you find something you want to read just take it across the atrium to the circulation desk to check out. You may also discover new books when searching in Voyager, where their status is indicated by a location note that reads “Currently Shelved on New Book Shelf.”

We hope you’ll enjoy this new service.