Sharon Byerly

Women’s History Month 2021

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Started in 1978, Women’s History Month observes the contributions of women to culture, history and humankind. President Jimmy Carter first declared the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week in 1980. The following year, U.S. Congress passed a resolution that made the week a national celebration. In 1987, The National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March.

To celebrate check out these free virtual programs being offered by Illinois institutions to recognize some important contributions of women to the world. Registration is required. Click on the title of the program for registration information.

Saturday, March 20, 2021 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

High Tea at Hall: The Women of Hall Branch — Archivist Beverly Cook will discuss the librarians and patrons of the past from the Chicago Public Library Hall Branch in Bronzeville; including Vivian Harsh (branch manager), Charlemae Hill Rollins (children’s librarian), and Gwendolyn Brooks (patron). 

March 25th, 2021 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Title IX – The Landmark Legislation that Transformed American Sports — Join Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the co-authors of the definitive book on Title IX and others to discuss the impact of the 1972 legislation that vastly expanded opportunities for women in sports at the high school and college levels. Brought to you by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

March 25, 2021 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Virtual Artist Talk: Miranda July on Mail Art — Filmmaker, artist, and author Miranda July and others join for a conversation exploring the history and practice of mail art, a form of art that has re-established itself in this era of social distancing. Hosted by the Art Institute of Chicago.

Source information: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month, Image credit: https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/02/celebrating-womens-history-month/

Screen time and the brain

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“Headaches, anxiety and exhaustion caused by screen time that never ends is not just for adults anymore.”

A CNN study showed 80 percent of teenagers check their phones on the hour, and 72 percent need to respond to their messages right away. Teens also preferred texting rather than speaking and often used a device to “save and protect” them from social interactions. Harvard research in 2019 revealed that too much screen time can “interfere with sleep and creativity.” It is not only teenagers–have you felt compelled to leave your phone at home or feel a sense of terror, or relief, when you did? Do you purposefully move your phone across the room or turn it off to get away? Are you exhausted, easily distracted and constantly multi-tasking online and in “real life”?

Take a break says Dr. Michael Rich who also suggests:

Put down your device. Be present with others. Observe the world around you. Let your mind wander. Avoid blue light-emitting screen use before bedtime.

Find sources and additional readings on this topic below:

Screen Time and the Brain

Shirolkar, Shivani. “Screened in: Cell Phones Dictate our Lives.” University Wire, 22 Mar 2017. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/morainevalley.edu?url=https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2265372339?accountid=1977.

US teens use screens more than seven hours a day on average – and that’s not including school work

Kelly, Heather. “With Remote Learning, it’s Now Screen Time all the Time.” Washington Post, 06 Sep 2020. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/morainevalley.edu?url=https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2453819623?accountid=1977.

Photo: “Screen Time” by A.Davey is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Best Books of 2020

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Looking for something to read over Winter break? Check out the titles considered some of the best of 2020 by the New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library. Click on the title or link below for a book summary. If you are new to Hoopla–create an account using your MVCC email, select Moraine Valley Community College as your library and use your MVCC username in place of a library card number. For help with Hoopla click here or Ask a Librarian. For Library Winter break hours click here.

The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda (e-book)

The Bear by Andrew Krivak (e-book)

Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo (book)

Everywhere You Don’t Belong: A Novel by Gabriel Bump (e-book)

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall (e-book)

Hurricane Season: A Novel by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes

https://encore.morainevalley.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb419542 (e-audiobook)
https://encore.morainevalley.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb430510 (e-book)

Interior Chinatown: A Novel by Charles Yu (book)

Little Gods: A Novel by Meng Jin (book)

Long Bright River: A Novel by Liz Moore (book)

Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America

by Candacy A. Taylor

https://encore.morainevalley.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb672595 (e-pub full-text)
https://encore.morainevalley.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb708526 (e-book Hoopla)

Shuggie Bain: A Novel by Douglas Stuart

https://encore.morainevalley.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb708152 (e-audiobook)
https://encore.morainevalley.edu/iii/encore/record/C__Rb708540 (e-book)

Such a Fun Age: A Novel by Kiley Reid (book)

Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-year Battle for a More Unjust America by Adam Cohen (book)

Temporary: A Novel by Hilary Leichter (e-book)

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (e-audiobook)

Writers & Lovers: A Novel by Lily King (e-book)

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2020

New York Public Library Best Books of 2020

Voting Information for the November 3, 2020 Election

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Key Dates for the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election

  Date  Event
  10/6/2020  Voter registration closes for deputy registrars and local election officials
  10/7/2020  First day of grace period registration and voting
  10/18/2020  Last day to register to vote by online application
  10/19/2020  First day of early voting
  10/29/2020  Last day to request a mail ballot, including military and overseas voters
  11/2/2020  Last day of early voting
  11/2/2020  Last day of grace period registration and voting
  11/3/2020  Last day mail in ballots can be postmarked or dropped off in a secure Mail Ballot Drop Box
  11/3/2020  Election Day

Vote by mail

Any registered suburban Cook County voter may request a mail ballot using the online application. Once your registration is verified and the application is processed, a paper ballot will be sent to the mailing address you designate in your application. The deadline to apply is five days before the election.

The Clerk’s Office will offer secure mail ballot drop boxes. Additionally, the Clerk’s office will offer an Election Day Drop Box in Daley Plaza in Chicago. Ballots may also be returned via USPS.

For the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election, traditional Early Voting will take place October 19-November 2. 

Early Voting locations and hours in suburban Cook County

If you live in the City of Chicago please visit chicagoelections.com for their Early Voting locations and other important information.

Election Day Voting

Registered suburban Cook County voters can only vote in their home precinct on Election Day.

Registered and unregistered Cook County residents can find their assigned polling place with the Your Voter Information tool.

Residents who are not registered to vote may register and cast a ballot on Election Day with same-day registration and voting. Those who wish to register on Election Day must present two qualifying forms of ID.

A voter who needs ID, but who cannot present ID, may cast a Provisional Ballot on Election Day. In order for that Provisional Ballot to be counted, the voter must present ID within 7 days of the election to the Cook County Clerk’s office, 69 W. Washington St., Suite 500, Chicago IL 60602.

Source COOK COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE

Reminder : Census 2020

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The 2020 Census is open for self-response online at 2020Census.gov, over the phone by calling the number provided in your invitation, and by paper through the mail. As of May 5, about 56.8% of households across the country have already responded since invitations began arriving in mailboxes on March 12. Households who do not respond to the census will receive an in-person visit by a census taker to collect their information later this summer. Everyone living in the United States and its five territories is required by law to be counted. The census can shape many different aspects of your community. Respond today!

April is National Poetry Month

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National Poetry Month was established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets as a way to celebrate poets and to continue the promotion of poetry and the role it continues to play in our world’s culture. Chicago is home to The Poetry Foundation, established in 2003, which publishes Poetry magazine and hosts related events like author readings and a book club. It also houses the Midwest’s only poetry library containing 30,000 volumes including audio and video recordings. Poetry magazine considers over 150,000 international poems per year for publication. Click on the links below to add a little poetry to your life!

From the Academy of American Poets :

From the Poetry Foundation :

Poetry-related materials available in the MVCC Library electronic collection

Illinois’ primary election continues through today

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The March 17, 2020, Illinois primary election includes voting for the Democratic presidential primary, the race for Cook County State’s attorney, the Republican primary for U.S. Senate and the Democratic primary for Illinois Supreme Court, plus others. To register on election day, residents must bring two forms of identification, one with a current address, to your polling place for same-day voting. Polling places throughout Illinois are scheduled to be open until 7:00 PM today.

Census 2020

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If you reside in the United States or one of its five territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) it is required by law to be counted in the 2020 Census—citizen or not. The U.S. has counted its population every 10 years since 1790. Expect to receive an invitation to respond to the 2020 Census between March 12-20 that will ask for a response online, by phone, or mail. Census results determine how billions of federal funding dollars are allocated to communities for schools, roads, and other public services. Results from the 2020 Census also help determine seats that each state holds in Congress.

You can learn more about the 2020 Census by visiting 2020census.gov. The Moraine Valley Library is a resource for any questions and a place to respond online!

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

Early Voting Information

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For the March 17, 2020 Presidential Primary Election, traditional Early Voting will take place March 2-16. 

Early Voting locations and hours in suburban Cook County can be found here .

If you live in the City of Chicago please visit chicagoelections.com for their Early Voting locations and other important information.

What do you need to Early Vote?

  1. Voters do not need to provide an excuse or reason why they cannot vote on Election Day.
  2. Government-issued photo ID is not required but is helpful if there is a question about the voter’s registration, address or signature.  Providing an ID can also speed up the process because ID card readers are at every check-in station.

Important dates

 2/19/2020  First day of grace period registration and voting
  3/1/2020  Last day to register to vote by online application
  3/2/2020  First day of early voting
  3/12/2020 Last day to request a mail ballot, including military and overseas voters
 3/16/2020  Last day of early voting
 3/16/2020  Last day of grace period registration and voting
 3/17/2020  Last day mail ballots can be postmarked
 3/17/2020  Election Day

Looking for a part-time job? Join the Census!

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Representatives from the Census Bureau will be outside of the Library to answer your questions about Census 2020 jobs on Wednesday, Jan. 29 and Thursday, Jan. 30, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Apply for positions online.

To be eligible for a 2020 Census job, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years old.
  • Have a valid Social Security number.
  • Be a U.S. citizen.
  • Have a valid email address.
  • Complete an application and answer assessment questions. (Some application questions are available in Spanish. However, an English proficiency test may also be required.)
  • Be able to speak, read, and write in English, if applying in the 50 states or Washington, D.C. (Bilingual applicants are needed and are encouraged to apply.)
  • Be registered with the Selective Service System or have a qualifying exemption, if you are a male born after December 31, 1959.
  • Undergo fingerprinting and pass a criminal background check and a review of criminal records performed by the Census Bureau.
  • Commit to completing training.

Other Employment Opportunities

The Census Bureau has other employment opportunities; to learn more search the Federal Government’s official employment site at usajobs.gov, browse Field Jobs by State, and/or visit the National Processing Center site.

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