Trav Cowan

National Library Week

General Information / By Trav Cowan / April 25, 2023

Happy National Library Week!

With national library week finally upon us, some may wonder what National Library Week actually is. National Library Week is a yearly celebration that emphasizes the importance of libraries & their staff in their respective communities. Libraries have a plethora of resources that help build the community and they act as a central hub in the community connecting their members to the resources they may need, inspiring growth/change. While libraries have always been important, National Library Week wasn’t always a thing. Around the mid to late 1950’s, many people were spending less time reading and more time with radios, tvs, and other activities. To encourage more Americans to read, the ALA formed a nonprofit organization called the National Book Committee. One of their many plans involved National Library Week, which was a plan developed to encourage more people to read so libraries could have more support and see more use. The first National Library Week took place in 1958 and now we are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the event.

If you would like to read more about National Library Week, read here

To celebrate National Library Week, we at MVCC Library are having our very own 2nd “Hue-mongous” coloring event where students can color any number of pictures we have on display. Students can also donate a $1 that will go to the student scholarship fund and have their picture hung up in the library.

(Fun fact- Coloring is known to relieve stress because of the way it calms the brain and relaxes the body. Because of that, coloring is know to improve sleep while helping with body aches, heart rate, and feelings of depression/anxiety)

Roses are red, Violets are blue

Events, General Information, Poetry / By Trav Cowan / March 28, 2023

https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/your-voice/stories-poems/article/3059590/poetry-101-beginners-guide-understanding-and

With National Poetry Month soon upon us, one can look forward to many poetry events, one being the library hosted Poetry Contest and Coffeehouse. Students can submit their original poems/spoken word as videos to be posted on the library’s YouTube channel. If students do not feel comfortable reading their own poetry, they can even have someone else perform the poem for them as a submission. The library will host an in-person/online event to announce the winners and have special readings on April 20th so feel free to come by! To prepare for this upcoming National Poetry Month event, here are 5 interesting facts about poetry.

The earliest forms of poetry predate written language. They were sung/recited to help people remember genealogy, laws, and oral history.

While British author Geoffrey Chaucer is known as the father of English literature, he is also considered to be the father of poetry & the best English Poet of the Middle ages

Metrophobia is the fear of poetry & metromania is the compulsion to write poetry.

The longest poem in the world is the Mahabharata, which is an Indian epic poem dating from the fourth century BC or earlier. (the poem has about 1.8 million words).

The best-selling poet of all time, with over 4 billion book sales globally, is William Shakespeare. His surviving works include about 40 plays, 150 sonnets, 2 long-story poems, and a few eulogies.

If you like these facts & want to read more interesting facts about poetry click here & to register for the poetry library hosted event click here!