Now that we’re finally into October, it’s culturally acceptable for me to fully exhibit my undying love for all things Halloween, which includes gorging myself on scary books and movies (I’ve already got my plans set to see the Halloween sequel later this month). Even if you’re not the type who watches horror movies all year long, leading up to Halloween is the perfect time to curl up in the dark and spook yourself with some creepy films.

FRVPLD  and our consortium libraries have a great selection of horror to keep you busy throughout the month. Some of these are scary, some are hilarious, some are straight up campy, and some offer  chilling social commentary. Happy watching!

We are coming to the end of Banned Books Week, a week dedicated to free expression.  The American Library Association, alongside a number of other organizations, promotes this campaign to spread awareness for the freedom to read and spreads attention towards banned and challenged books. 

To this day, books are frequently challenged within schools, libraries and other organizations.  When a book is challenged, a person or group is arguing that it should be removed from a collection and, therefore, unavailable for anyone to access in that organization.  The urge to censor expression one disagrees with is very much present today, despite an increase in information access and regulation by the First Amendment.  Nevertheless, these challenged books remain available in one way or another to the public due to the people who stand up for the freedom to read. 

We have been celebrating Banned Books Week at the Dundee Library Youth Services Department through the display of children’s books that have been most frequently challenged based on statistics from the American Library Association. To see more lists of challenged books, see the ALA website.

Are you interested in learning a new language? Looking to brush up on your language skills? Traveling to another country and want to learn some basics of their language and culture? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then Pronunciator is the perfect resource for you!

Pronunciator is an online language learning platform with self-directed lessons, live tutoring, movies, music, and more. There are 87 different languages to choose from and it is completely free to use for patrons with a valid FRVPLD card. Pronunciator also offers ESL content for multiple languages and a U.S. Citizenship course. The steps below will show you how to access Pronunciator and provide an overview of the content and features available.

How to Access

1. From the library’s homepage, click on “Research.”

2. You’ll get a list of resources in alphabetical order. Scroll down to the “Ps” and click on “Pronunciator.”

3. You’ll be taken to a log in screen on the Pronunciator website.

Creating an Account/Logging In

The Pronunciator login screen is divided into two columns. The column on the left is for returning users and the column on the right is for new users. For new users, you can use the green “Instant Access” button to get into the website without registering. If you are at home, there will be a box above that green button that you will have to type your library card number in to. New users also have the option of creating an account by clicking on the blue “Register” button. Creating an account is free, simple and beneficial because with an account you can track your progress and access all of the features that Pronunciator has to offer. If you create an account, moving forward you will use the left column of the login screen to log in to your account. Where is says “Student Name” you will put in your email address and then type in your password in the “Password” box. You can disregard the “Entry Code” box; you don’t need to put anything there. Once you create an account and log in, you’ll be asked if you want to launch Pronunciator in HTML5 or Flash. HTML5 is the newer, faster version of Pronunciator that just came out this year, so that is what I would recommend. However, you can always look at the Flash version as well to see how the looks and feel compare so you can use what works best for you.

Using Pronunciator

Once you log in and launch Pronunciator, a box will come up that says “I Speak” and “I Want to Learn.” Simply use the drop down arrows to pick a language for both of these. Also, if you are a returning user you will see a section that says “Last time you were here, you were studying” and then it shows the last course you were working on. You can click on that course right there to launch it and take you back to where you were.

After you choose a language, you will be taken to the homepage for that language. From here, there are several options to choose from to begin learning that language. The main options you will see are: Main Course, Live Conversation, and Learning Guides and More. Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

Main Course

The main course utilizes an open format. All of the content for that language is available and you can pick and choose specific topics, lessons, activities, etc. to work on and go through the content in whatever order you want. There are two drop down menus at the top of the screen. The menu on the left has broader categories for the parts of the language (i.e. vocabulary, verbs, phrases) and the format of the content (i.e. movies, music). Once you pick a broader category, the menu on the right will have more specific topics that fit that category. After you pick a specific topic, you’ll see a toolbar under the two drop down menus that tell you the different types of lessons and activities you can do, i.e. Postcards, Drills, Quizzes. You can manually click on any of these or you can use the arrows by the box in the middle of the screen to go through all of the lessons in order.

Live Conversation

In this section you’ll see a feature called ProLive. ProLive lets you connect with an expert tutor that is a native speaker of the language you are trying to learn. When you click on ProLive, a calendar will open that shows when tutoring classes are available for the current week. Classes are organized by skill level: beginners, intermediate, advanced, and kids. Each class can only hold up to 5 students, so entry is on a first-come, first-served basis. To join a class, click on the name of the class on the calendar, then click on “Join.” The virtual classrooms open 5 minutes before the class starts, so you won’t be able to click on “Join” until that point. When you join a class, a window will come up with a chatroom interface and you will be in there along with the instructor and up to 4 other students.

Learning Guides and More

In this section, you’ll see specialty courses and courses broken down by skill level. What makes these courses different from the Main Course is that these courses are structured. Most of these courses have an 8-week structure where you do 1-2 sessions each day for 5 days a week over the course of 8 weeks. The courses for kids (Early Learners [ages 3-6] and Young Learners [ages 7-12]) have a 4-week structure where you do 1 session a day for 5 days a week over the course of 4 weeks. When you click on a course, you’ll see two drop down menus at the top like with the main course, however now the left menu shows weeks and the right menu shows days and sessions. Once you pick a week and day/session, use the arrows next to the box in the middle of the screen to go through the lessons and activities for that session.

Pronunciator is a robust language learning platform that makes learning a new language fun and straightforward. Whether you prefer an open learning experience or a more formal structure style, Pronunciator offers content in ways that meet your learning needs. In addition to the language, you can learn about culture as well through music, movies, images, poetry and more. It can be accessed in the library and at home as well. Have questions, want more information, or want help using Pronunciator? Please stop by the Information Desk, call 847-428-3661 and ask for the Information Desk, or send an email at LibraryHelp@frvpld.info and we’d be happy to help you!

Civic Conversations is a new monthly conversation group at the Dundee Library. All are welcome to meet with others from our library district and participate in a respectful conversation about current issues and events. Popular discussion leader Gary Midkiff will facilitate these sessions on the first Tuesday of the month from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Our first meeting, September 4, will focus on “Foreign Policy: how should the United States deal with China, Russia, and Iran?” While no homework is required to attend these sessions, if you’re interested in some background information on the three countries, some recommendations are listed below.

Register for the September 4 session here.

• Wealth and Power: China's long march to the twenty-first century by Orville Schell
• The China Challenge: shaping the choices of a rising power by Thomas Christensen 
• The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's secret strategy to replace America as the Global Superpower by Michael Pillsbury
• China's Economy: what everyone needs to know by Arthur Kroeber

• Putin: his downfall and Russia's coming crash by Richard Lourie
• Putin Country: a journey into the real Russia by Anne Garrels
• Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: the surreal heart of the new Russia by Peter Pomerantsev
• The Red Web: the struggle between Russia's digital dictators and the new online revolutionaries by Andrei Soldatov

• The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: the paradox of modern Iran by Hooman Majd
• Mirrors of the Unseen: journeys in Iran by Jason Elliot
• Iran Opposing Viewpoints Series
• Inside Iran: the real history and politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran by Medea Benjamin

Congratulations to our newest graduates of the 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten program at the Fox River Valley Public Libraries! 

The 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten program is an early literacy initiative with the purpose of encouraging the community’s littlest book lovers to begin their journey to independent reading.  Children from ages birth to five (kindergarten) can be signed up for this program at either library location, with the goal of reading 1,001 books before their first day of kindergarten.  Our program is self-paced, so it is up to you and your child how long you would like to take in the program.   Throughout these 1,001 books, there are prizes for different milestones (100 books, 250 books, 500 books, 750 books, and 1,001 books).  Finishers of the program will be invited to the next scheduled graduation ceremony. 

Stop into the Dundee Library Youth Department or the Randall Oaks Library to sign your child up for 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten!

   Will libraries exist in half a century? That is the question I hear others debating. Forbes magazine recently printed an opinion piece by Panos Mourdoukoutas titled, “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money”. Forbes deleted the frivolous article after receiving severe criticism from not only librarians but library advocates. Regardless, libraries will remain with us despite the criticism.  Currently there are more libraries than Starbucks or McDonald’s!

   Libraries will not become obsolete as technology has actually enhanced our services not worked against us. Libraries have transformed themselves from the stereotypical place where librarians in tight buns and long cardigans “shush” patrons. 21^st Century libraries promote diplomatic public discourse in our adult and teen programs, while still maintaining quiet areas for those who seek silence and solitude from their everyday chaotic world. Librarians are information scientists who want to make patrons lifelong learners.

   Libraries provide accessible and accurate information to the public while also imparting knowledge, and promoting the culture of reading. They are a sanctuary for the homeless, and underserved populations.

   Libraries supply the community with free public Wi-Fi, as well as civic and career engagement. Additionally, we provide technology focused services such as computer classes, 3D printing, and digital conversion. Our Youth Department promotes early literacy with our 1001 Books Before Kindergarten. The initiative is aimed at getting children from age birth to five prepared to ready independently.  In their totality, these programs function as community builders.

   The common misconception is that libraries will be diminished because of our current digital age and many assume that print books will face their end in upcoming years due to E-books. In my experience patrons are much more likely to ask for recommended books in print form. Parents want to separate their kids from their i-Pads. They want their children to have a free and wireless form of entertainment, a book.

   Libraries follow trends, and respond to the specific needs of their community. They meet with schools through outreach programs to support their educational ecosystems. Libraries tend to function as “society’s first responders.” An example of this would be the financial crisis of 2007. This was the year when people flooded to our library doors to take advantage of our free programs and resources; across the county, public libraries were at their largest capacity. According to the Pew Research Center 76% of adults said that libraries served the learning and education needs of their communities either “very well” by 37% or “pretty well” by 39%. 71% said libraries served their own personal needs and the needs of their families “very well or pretty well”.

   Libraries are America’s backbone and they are institutions that hold organic knowledge. They are the place where lifelong learners thrive. The library is a welcoming place that will always have its doors open.

The 2019 AISLE award-nominated titles are now on display at the Dundee Library!  Each year, the Association of Illinois School Library Educators (AISLE) nominates books for the Monarch, Bluestem and Rebecca Caudill Readers’ Choice Awards.  Kids across Illinois are then invited to read the nominated books throughout the year and vote for their favorite.

The Monarch Award Nominees are titles chosen for children in grades K-3.  The Dundee Library has a monthly book club for kids in grades K-3 highlighting these nominees, where we read one of the books and enjoy snacks, crafts and activities based on it.  You can sign up for the next Book Explorers event here!

The Bluestem Award Nominees are titles suggested for students in grades 3-5.  The Dundee Library has a monthly book club for kids in grades 3-6 highlighting these Bluestem nominees.  Participants are asked to read the book prior to attending the event, where we will discuss it along with snacks, crafts, and activities. You can sign up for the next Beyond the Book event here!

The Rebecca Caudill Award Nominees are titles suggested for students in grades 4-8.