It's That Time Again - Banned Book Week!

We love banned book week here at the Homer Library- not because we love the idea of banning books but just the opposite - we love to show our patrons some of the absurd reasons books have been challenged or successfully banned from other school or public libraries.

As one high school student noted, "Jailing books shuts out ideas" and "Free People Read Freely".  I like both of those sentiments.

Here at the Homer Community Library we want you to Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!

 

In honor of Banned Book Week, the Homer Community Library is once again spotlighting books that are frequently challenged or banned.  We are beginning our annual Banned Book reading incentive on Sept. 23rd and encouraging our patrons to read one (or many!) of the books that are found on the American Library Association's list of frequently challenged books. Every time you check out a book from this list we will add your name to a drawing for a $25 gift card.  We will continue this reading incentive through the end of December.

 

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Libraries and schools around the nation use this week to highlight the value of free and open access to information. This is a great opportunity for the book community to come together in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

 

Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.  The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.  You might be surprised at what some people think should be restricted.

 

This year we are proud to partner with the local school district and will be displaying  Banned Book posters made by Freshmen students at Heritage High School. Come on in and see some student art work and learn more about what the your local library has to offer you!

Lots of Movies at the Library!

Did you know that the library offers much more than just books?  The Homer Community Library is here for both your educational and entertainment needs.  To this end, each month we purchase a few movies just released to DVD to add to our movie collection.  We currently have over 2000 movies, 1500 of them on DVD. Yes, this does mean we still have some favorites on VHS tapes so if you still have that old VCR, there is somewhere you can come and find something to watch!  Anyone with a valid library card can check out movies.  There is no charge to check them out but, be careful – there is a $1.00/day late fee if you don’t bring them back on time!  Regular movies circulate for 2 days and non-fiction movies (this would include exercise DVDs) circulate for 2 weeks. 

The library also has a movie license which allows us to show movies on-site.  This is why we are able to hold our two monthly movie events.  We usually show movies newly released on DVD for both our Movie Matinee and our Family Movie Night.  We try to keep the rating for our matinee to PG or PG-13 and our family movie to G or PG.

 Our Movie Matinee is held on the second Wednesday of each month at 1pm. On Sept. 11^th,  the library is showing the newest version of The Great Gatsby for our Movie Matinee. The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin Daisy and her philandering, blue-blooded husband Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles. This movie is rated PG-13 and runs 142 minutes.

Our Free Family Movie Night is held on the third Friday of each month.  This month, Sept. 20^th, we are showing Epic. Epic is an animated adventure comedy that reveals a fantastical world unlike any other. From the creators of Ice Age and Rio, Epic tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world...and ours. This movie is rated PG and runs 103 minutes.

If you have questions about our movie collection, events, or anything else, please give us a call at 217/896-2121 or email us athomerlibrarian@gmail.com.  We will be happy to assist  you.