Louisiana Libraries

According to a 2012 Oxford University study, students who take practice online tests score an average 56 points higher on their exams than their peers who did not take the course. The extra points may be the difference between a student’s top choice of a university and realizing that practice online tests are efficient.

Do you want to achieve your personal career goals by feeling better about yourself or want to prepare for the ACT/SAT, and professional tests like those wanting to become a nurse or Military Officer? The Union Parish Library lets patrons have access to the EBSCO Learning Express Program at http://www.unionparishlibrary.com. Click on links and arrow down until you are able to select the EBSCO Learning Express Program. These services can be accessed from the Union Parish Library or at home.

Once you get to the page, you will notice to sign in or register. You can access the program for free, but I suggest registering to save your work in progress, store score reports and revisit any practice tutorials or e-Books. Click on register and you will notice your institution which is Union Parish Library. Simply type your First and Last name plus your email address. 

Be sure to type you email again to confirm. Once you do that, click on log in using your email as your user name and type in your password. You will notice six links: Career Preparation, High School Equivalency Center, College Admissions Test Preparation, School Center, College Students and Adult Core Skills. Career Preparation lets a person click on Learn More About a Career, Prepare for an Entrance Exam, Prepare for an Occupation Exam, Join the Military, Job Search and Prepare for the Work Keys Assessments.

I like the eBook guides for best careers for teachers because it has 170 pages of advice if you are interested in being a teacher and deciding what age of children you are most comfortable with. It also mentions teachers who leave the United States to teach English abroad rarely come back home. 

Prepare for Nursing School Entrance Tests for biology, chemistry, general science, math ability, reading and verbal ability. Each test will prepare you for the reading questions found on the Test of Essential Academic Skills. The Postal Worker Exam complete test preparation is my favorite because it has four complete practice exams based on Test 473 and a complete overview of postal service careers including salary benefits and job descriptions.

High School Equivalency Center lets a person prepare for the GED Test by having Language Arts, Mathematical Reasoning, Science and Social Studies tutorials that will help you build the skills you need to pass the GED.

Build your basic skills lists eBooks and tutorials on how to be better at reading, writing and math. The math skills are my favorite because it includes hundreds of practice questions with detailed answer explanations for integers and algebraic expressions. College Admissions Test Preparation lets you prepare for ACT, SAT and AP tests. Prepare for your ACT gives numerous tutorials on English, Mathematics, Reading, Science and Writing. My favorite is the reading comprehensive section because it says that you need to read each question carefully and be especially aware of words like not and except because they can confuse you in a multiple-choice question!

School Center has skill-building resources for classroom and homework success. Elementary School has improvement skills for Math, Language Arts. Middle School has improvement skills for Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and High School Entrance Exams Preparation. High School has Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Technology and Logic and Reasoning Skills. 

American History is my favorite because you can download an eBook that will help you learn the history concepts related to the U.S. Constitution. College Students lets you achieve your undergrad goals and prepare for future success. Math skills has tutorials in Algebra, Basic Math, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Statistics. Reading skills review has reading comprehension, spelling and vocabulary. 

Prepare for Graduate School Admissions Exams is my favorite because it has a practice test and eBook for the GRE which will save you a lot of money instead of purchasing the GRE Preparation Book at the Bookstore!

Adult Core Skills is my favorite category because you can build your math skills, become a better reader, improve your writing, speaking and grammar and become a U.S. citizen. The vocabulary and spelling skills tutorial walks you through essential skills to help you improve your own vocabulary and spelling. Pick ten words in the dictionary and write each one on flash cards. Have a family member or friend hold the ten flash cards and see if you can spell each word correctly which will increase your vocabulary. 

EBSCO Learning Express will help you get the career that you always wanted and help your child do well in elementary, middle, high school and college thanks to the Union Parish Library. 

Bobby Bridger presents a very fascinating look at A Ballad of the West: Seekers of the Fleece Lakota which is a three-part story told in a poetic verse and song about the mountain men, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and the Lakota Sioux people. 

This ballad presents the life story of mountain man, Jim Bridger and the Fur Trade Era. Jim Bridger is Bobby Bridger’s great grand uncle. Bridger starts off by talking about his great grand uncle being 18 years old in 1822 and he decided to make a fortune in selling furs in St. Louis. The young Bridger saw an Ashley-Henry advertisement in the Missouri Republican and he decided to run away and become a mountain man. 

Signing on is a poem that mentions how Jim Bridger learns how to make a dagger blade to kill a grizzly and become the first white man to stand on the Holy Ground of the mountain land. Bridger could not read or write, but could speak numerous Indian languages and survive being in the Rocky Mountains. The Company poem starts off: “I put my x on yesterday, not quitting now, I’m on my way with Major Henry and his crew, the meanest men, I ever knew.” Hugh Glass also answered the call to be a mountain man by answering the Ashley-Henry advertisement.

Glass taught Bridger everything he knew about being a mountain man. Bridger went hunting with Hugh when they encountered a Grizzly bear with cubs. The Grizzly bear pounced on Glass and she inflicted dangerous wounds in his hands and arms. One of them shot the grizzly bear, but Glass went into a coma. The Ashley-Henry Trappers moved out because they thought Glass was dead! 

He miraculously woke from his ordeal and found Jim Bridger at Fort Kiowa. Glass forgave Bridger for leaving him and taking his possessions. The Crawl poem starts off saying: “Oh darkness all around me, oh hurt and fear surround me, Oh, sundown you have found me, I’m not dead, I’m alive.” Glass and another trapper, Edward Rose were scalped and killed by the Arikara Indians in South Dakota in 1833. 

Bridger’s legendary fame came from his talking about the geography of the west especially when people heard his stories about geysers reaching 60 feet high. People thought Bridger was a liar, but he told the truth! The Rendezvous of 1832-1834 were the last big events that were happening which featured a meeting of mountain men and Sioux trading. The Rendezvous-1832 poem says: “At the Rendezvous, white man and the Sioux, smoked the pipe, traded hair, for the maidens fair.” The trappers adopted most of the Indian cultural attributes because the terrain of the Rocky Mountains forced them to live like Indians to survive.

One thing that I did not know was the first American missionary to carry the word of God was Jason Lee, a Methodist who informed eastern congregations that Indians would never become Christians as long as they became hostile. 

Bridger began to see a lot of American missionaries heading west. He had been living in that area for thirteen years when it started to grow with settlers. Bridger established a small fort with a blacksmith shop and supply of iron. The trappers, Indians and settlers could not believe that Jim Bridger went from an explorer to mending a store.

Bridger’s first Indian wife died in 1846 and his second Indian wife died in 1849. The Rockies explorer married his third Indian wife and moved to Santa Fe, Missouri. Mary was born in 1853 and William in 1857. He had three children from his previous marriages. Jim’s vision began to fail in 1875 and he died on July 17, 1881. Free Me Like an Eagle is one of my favorite poems because it starts off: “My thoughts begin to wonder, way out yonder, I can see easily, the sky is wide and open and I know that it’s calling me to be free.”

The second half of the book talks about the Lakota which will keep the readers interested because it mentions that Lakota means “friends or allies” The Oglala leader, Red Cloud said that the buffalo brought the Lakota to their homeland. Red Cloud was the warrior chief of the Oglalas and some people believe that he was involved in the killing of another Lakota named Bull Bear.

Red Cloud formed a group of Allies and stopped the wagon trains on the Bozeman trail and kept the army in its posts along the trail so they could not move. The Indians defeated the soldiers in a decisive battle. Numerous politicians sent hundreds of units against the Lakota. They eventually signed a treaty with Red Cloud promising them the ancient Bison pastures of the Northern Great Plains.  It was short lived because the American Calvary gave the Lakota a defeat and Red Cloud negotiated a treaty in 1868 with men he considered thieves. A poem titled Red Cloud starts off with “A dogwood limb trimmed with hate make warrior’s arrows sharp and straight.” 

If you are interested in learning about explorers and Lakota Indians from the West and reading poems about them, then I suggest you stop by the Union Parish Library and check out A Ballad of the West: Seekers of the Fleece Lakota. That particular book is featured in our Union Parish Library theme for Celebrate National Poetry Month. It will leave you with a feeling of amazement as you come to know what made the history of the west so special through its unique ballads. 

Peace activist, John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace to be celebrated on March 21, 1970 which is the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. McConnell wrote a proclamation about the event and it was signed by UN Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. Senator Gaylord Nelson created a separate Earth Day on April 22, 1970 as a way to force the issue about protecting the environment as a national agenda.

More that 1 billion people participate in Earth Day Activities each year, making it the largest civil observance in the world. The event, celebrated every April 22 is a great opportunity to educate library goers about environmental issues. Earth day now includes events in more than 193 countries which are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network.

The Union Parish Library will be celebrating Earth Days with our preschool story time on April 1 and April 8. Farmerville Head Start came by the Union Parish Library to learn about Earth Day and how to properly care for the planet. 

Betty Frazier read to the Farmervile Head Start students a children’s book titled: Go Green for Earth Day and Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day. They also took part in a craft called rubbing art. According to Brittanica, rubbing art is the most universal and perhaps the oldest of the techniques used in printmaking. Rubbings are made by carefully pressing paper onto a carved or split surface so that the paper conforms to the features to be copied. The paper is then blacked and the projecting areas of the surface become dark, while indented areas remain white. Judy Lewis showed me one of the rubbing art pieces of a fish so I decided to conduct research on the subject. 

Farmerville Head Start will also visit the library next Monday on April 8^thfrom 10:00-11:00 a.m. The Farmerville Head Start also got a visit from the book bunny where the students got their picture taken and the Farmerville Head Start Center also received a copy of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss to add to their school library.

Earth Days at the Union Parish Library will teach your preschooler how to positively treat the environment and if you are in the area, please come join us! 

According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, about six percent of public libraries had one or more bookmobile outlets, with a total of 659 bookmobiles delivering library services in the U.S. Bookmobiles are known to serve rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas, bringing access to information and life-long learning resources to all classes and communities.

The Union Parish Library has eight programs-outreach staff that brings numerous learning resources to all classes and communities.  One of the newer staff members is Jessica Hart. Hart lives in Farmerville and she lists cooking, going to church and taking care of the kids as her main hobbies. She has also said that she can cook anything!  As for kids, she has two, a girl named Lexi and a boy named Jett. 

Faith-based devotionals like the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren are her favorite genres to read and her favorite book is the Holy Bible. When she was younger, she remembered going to the Union Parish Library as a child and being involved in one of their reading programs. She has also read The Host and The Twilight Series of books by Stephanie Meyer before they were made into movies. Each employee is very unique because they all have a different book that they love and that is what makes them such a wonderful asset to the Union Parish Library. 

As part of her duties at the Union Parish Library, Hart helps with the numerous outreach programs that the library provides such as reading to the children and checking out their books on the bookmobile. She also passes out pencils and treats to them. Other than that, she checks out books for the adults whenever the bookmobile makes neighborhood stops around the parish.

If you ask her why she likes working at the library, she will say “the kids because they will tell you about their problems and talk to you about their day.” You will agree once you meet her because she knows how to interact with children because she generally is always happy to see a child and it shows on her face.  You can tell that she is friendly and has lots of energy to work on the bookmobile. Before Hart worked at the Union Parish Library, she worked for her Dad who is a painter and at the Tin Can which is a women’s clothing store.

One of the parts of her job that she loves most is doing storytimes that bring childrens books to life for young readers.  Most recently everything from leprecauns to Cat and the Hat, and soon to come “Book Bunny” characters will be paying visits to their daycares and preschool groups.  Other than working at the library, she loves grilling outside and taking her kids to the park. She does such a wonderful job as the bookmobile outreach coordinator so please stop by whenever the bookmobile is in your area and check out a book and tell Jessica Hart hello!

According to 2018 Edison Research data, the percentage of Americans who have listened to an audiobook stands at 44 percent, just one point up from 2015’s 45 percent. Scribd CEO and co-founder Trip Adler says that “Not only is audiobook production constantly improving, but recent developments in technology have made audiobooks extremely convenient for the consumer. Since 2016, audiobook sales in the U.S. alone amounted to $2.1 billion which means that technology is making it easier to produce audiobooks.

Have you ever had an interest in listening to an audiobook while traveling or just wanted to listen to someone with a unique voice read your favorite book to you? If you did then, I suggest you take a look at the audiobooks at the Union Parish Library. They have 1,641 adult and 90 juvenile audiobooks like Andersen’s Fairy Tales; Volume 2 by Hans Christian Andersen and Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. 

According to Brandon Gaille, the birth of the audiobook occurred in 1931 when the American foundation for the Blind worked with the Library of Congress to establish the Talking Book Program through the Book for the Blind Project.

The first audio recording that was used as a test for this new product included a chapter from Midstream that was written by Helen Keller. It was also at that time when Shakespeare’s plays,the Holy Bible and the Declaration of Independence were made into records. Anne T. Macdonald who was a member of the New York Public Library’s Women Auxiliary transformed the attic of the New York Library into a studio to record textbooks using phonograph discs for soldiers who lost their sight in combat during World War II. 

In 1950, record companies began distributing albums for books which helped the audiobook industry to start taking shape. The invention of the cassette tape in 1963 helped  make audiobooks more accessible as well. It was not until the 1970’s that libraries began to stock audiobooks for their patrons. 

The leading audiobook genres in the United States in 2017 are: Literature and Fiction, Mystery, Thriller and Suspense, Science-Fiction and Fantasy, Romance, Business and Money, Children’s Books and Biographies and Memoirs. 

According to Southern Living, there are 32 audio books for your next road trip, but I picked 20 just for you! Pulp Head Essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan which examines musicians, writers and historians amid the cultural landscape from Kentucky to the Ozarks to the Gulf Coast. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson contemplates the mysteries of the universe by experiencing everything in life. 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  by Rebecca Skloot  which tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a woman whose cells were taken without her consent.

The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell  tells how the author observed a plot of wooded ground to explain how the ecosystems and species relationships help bind the earth’s inhabitants together. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert tells the story of Alma Whittaker who is born in 1800 and becomes a botanist. The Mother’s by Brit Bennett will transport you to Southern California and into a community that has long-kept secrets, tough choices and loves lost in friendship spanning decades.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel tells the story about a group of actors that seek to do more than survive amid the imminent collapse of civilization. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman tells the story about a new family moving next door to Ove who has a bad temper. City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg transports you to 1970’s New York that talks about various families with power.

Euphoria by Lily King follows three anthropologists in the 1930’s as they navigate their careers and their relationships.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng takes listeners to small town Ohio in the 1970’s by mentioning how a family is trying to cope and see behind the curtain of their everyday lives. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison narrates her own novel about a man living in Michigan from birth to adulthood.

Big Little Liesby Liane Moriarty is a murder mystery that will keep you interested until the very end. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien will transport listener’s to Tolkien’s fantastical world of elves, hobbits and wizards. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis will transport listeners to the unforgettable band of Narnia. Matilda by Roald Dahl is told by actress Kate Winslet which is about a girl with special intellectual abilities. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling tells the story about a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle tells the story about a child genius who can read minds. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is a unique story filled with compelling characteristics and plenty of mysteries.

If you are interested in reading any of the audiobook genres that I mentioned then I suggest stopping by at the Union Parish Library and check out one! Pick an author and listen to a narrator’s unique voice as you take a family vacation or listen at home when there is nothing on television, either way you will be amazed with the audiobooks at the Union Parish Library. 

According to Penn State University researchers, it has become even more essential in the job market today to know another language because companies and businesses have a natural desire to expand their existing networks, perhaps even globally. Having fluency in another language will give you an edge on any resume by showing employers the potential to speak with an entirely different group of people. Only nine percent of the population in the United States is multilingual while 52.7% of the population in Europe is multilingual. 

Do you want to learn a foreign language to increase your job skills or want your child to increase his or her vocabulary at an early age? The Union Parish Library lets patrons have access to the Pronunciator Language Program at http://www.unionparishlibrary.com. Click on links and arrow down until you are able to select the Pronunciator Language Program. These services can be accessed from the Union Parish Library or you can access it at home just as long as you log in with your library card number.

Once you get to the page, it mentions that Pronunciator is a fun and free way to learn one of 80 languages with Personalized Courses, movies, music and more. Patrons can learn online either on their desktop computer or mobile device.

If it is your first time, you can click on instant access or register to track your progress and use on mobile devices. I suggest that you click on register where you have to type your email address and think of a good password to use. Click continue and it will send you a confirmation link to your personal email address saying that Pronunciator Registration is Successful and click below to log in.

Type in your email and password to log in. It asks for an entry code, but I suggest to leave that blank.

Once you logged in, you will notice: Launch Pronunciator and My Accounts. My Accounts let you update your preferences and Launch Pronunciator gets you started. It lists I Speak and I want to Learn. English is already there so select the language that you want to learn. 

It has 80 languages to choose from. I clicked on Spanish (Latin America) and it took me to three links: Personalized Courses, Main Course, Learning Guides and More. Personalized Courses has custom courses created just for you. You can select all the topics that interest you so Pronunciator will build a language course that matches what you love.

The topics that I clicked on are: Pets, Politics, History, Spirituality, Sports, Food, Colors, Animals, Hobbies, Tv, Family, Shopping, Travel, Vehicles Weather, Arts and Recreation. Click next where it will ask you for your skill level as Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. I clicked on Beginner and it wants your age which lists 0-12, 13-17, 18-29 and 30-64 and 65+. It also asks how many weeks do you want the course to last? 

It lists how many phrases each day so I clicked on six. Your Learning goals lets you select Speaking, Understanding, Reading and Writing from 1 being most important to four being least important. Click build course to get you started.

Main Course lets you select Language Learning Levels, Pro Flix, Workplace, Poetry, Pro Tunes, Pro Library and Words on the Street. I like the language learning levels because they have core vocabulary words that you can learn in Spanish like manzana being the word for apple. Platano is the word for banana. Frijol is bean. Bayas for berries. Jardin for Garden and Uvas for grapes.

It gives you the correct pronunciation so you will not get it wrong!

Pro Flix has four Spanish movies that you can click on: “Violeta Went to Heaven,” “Romantico,” “In the Pit” and Movies for Kids. I watched one cartoon about a baby llama asking his animal friends, “Is your mama a llama?” The animals are speaking in Spanish and it gives English subtitles. 

Spanish music has lyrics to a song titled Macusa where it has the lyrics in Spanish on one side and the lyrics in English on the other. Spanish Poetry has numerous poems by Garcia Lorca where you can also see the words in Spanish on one side and the words in English on the other. 

Workplace lets you click on job interviews where you will hear tell me about yourself? “Hable me acerca de usted” which is in Spanish. 

It also lists thirteen baseball terms in Spanish from Artificial Turf being Terreno artificial to Scoreboard being el marcador. 

Pro Library lets you click on Greetings and Courtesy where you can say Hola which means hello! Learning Guides and More lets you click on Spanish Grammar Reference where it shows how to form negative expressions. The Healthcare Course is my favorite because it shows Spanish words that you can use in emergencies if you need help. Por favor means Please. Disculpe means excuse me. 

An 8-week Travel Prep Course lets you learn words such as “Un gusto en conocerte” which means I’m pleased to meet you.

The Pronunciator Language Program will help any patron learn one of 80 foreign languages with tutorials and learning software thanks to the Union Parish Library. 

Joe Yogerst presents a very fascinating look at National Geographic’s 100 Parks, 5000 Ideas, Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do which showcases the best experiences that are both obvious and unexpected. Each entry in this robust guide provides an overview of the park, details travel advice, fascinating facts, insider knowledge about wildlife and expert tips for hiking, biking, camping and exploring. This comprehensive book provides all the inspiration and information you need to plan your next park visit and make it a memorable one!

Yogerst starts off by mentioning the National Parks in New England. Acadia National Park which is located in Maine is one of the nation’s most beloved parks. Acadia protects a section of coastal Maine and many New Englanders escape into nature and learn to cherish the wild blue yonder. Acadia was named after the French settlers who were expelled from Atlantic Canada by the British. 

The park is located in Bar Harbor and was once a fishing village, but gradually evolved into a Victorian era getaway for the artists who love nature. Today the island town is the parks main tourist attraction where tourists can watch for whales and go on sailing tours. Eagle Lake is navigable by kayak, canoe and horsepower motorboat. The lake area comes with hiking trails and cobblestone carriage roads.

Cape Cod National Seashore protects a wide range of natural habitation from salt marshes to oak forest and freshwater ponds. One thing I did not know was President Kennedy spent many summers there and loved it so much that he created the park in 1961. President Kennedy saved the park from massive subdivision development that would have devastated much of the Cape’s ecosystems. Visitors should always make first contact with the park’s Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham which features 12-minute films about the Cape’s natural and human history. The Pilgrims on the Mayflower first stepped ashore on November 9, 1620 before anchoring near what is now Provincetown.

The Mid-Atlantic features Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania which decided the fate of a nation where Confederate and Yankee soldiers fought for three days in July 1-3, 1863. Yankee forces blocked General Robert. E. Lee’s advance near Gettysburg and had no choice, but to engage the enemy. Visitors should visit the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center before touring the park. The complex also offers the restored Gettysburg cyclorama depicting Pickett’s Charge and you can see a film called “A New Birth of Freedom.” Visitors can tour the grounds on their own or follow a self-guided 24-mile tour. I suggest the 24-mile auto tour that starts outside the visitor center because you will learn more.

Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia offers a journey through early American history that includes the English colonial settlement at Jamestown and the Yorktown battlefield where the Revolutionary War came to a dramatic end. The 23-mile Colonial Parkway connects these historic sites with Williamsburg as people can admire Virginia’s lush countryside.

Hikers can explore the Jamestown Island and on the other side is the state-run Jamestown settlement which recreates the 16^th Century colony through living history programs and reproduction buildings. Colonial Parkway continues another 13 miles to Yorktown where Washington and his French allies defeated General Cornwallis in October 1781. 

There is a Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center that offers many historical artifacts which includes Washington’s campaign tents and a film “The Siege of Yorktown” and a shop filled with books and other features. 

Yogerst keeps the reader interested by mentioning The South which features Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One thing that I did not know was that the Great Smoky Mountains is the nation’s most visited National Park and visitors can hike, camp and ride horses along the trail. Great Smoky Mountains was once in private hands, but the Park Service bought out the logging operations and Congress got around to declaring the park in 1934. 

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are the gateway to the park’s Tennessee sector which offers a huge selection of accommodations and roadside attractions. One of my favorite pictures in the book is on pages 88-89 which shows a summer sunset over Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

The Rocky Mountains have Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming that was established in 1872 when President Grant acted at the request of geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden who surveyed the region and told the politicians in Washington DC that the park was worth saving. The massive park offers five main attractions: Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake Village, Canyon Village and Mammoth Hot Springs. 

The Southwest features Grand Canyon National Park which was established in 1919 and tourists can visit the park’s natural and human history by touring the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. One of the best ways to see the Grand Canyon is rowing the Colorado River or hiking the rocky stone walls. 

California has Yosemite National Park which was established in 1890. The Park is a natural wonder since it was carved by glaciers spanning 30 million years ago. Visitors can start out by viewing the valley for the first time while exploring the Wawona Tunnel and also take a look at the Bridalveil Fall which is 620 feet of delicate white water tumbling down a granite beneath Cathedral Rocks. Tourists can also swim, rafting and fishing during the summer. 

If you are interested in learning about National Parks and the states in which they are located then I suggest you stop by the Union Parish Library and check out National Geographic’s 100 Parks, 5000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to see, What to Do. That particular book is one of our new arrivals for 2019. It will leave you with a feeling of awe as you admire the beauty of America’s National Parks. 

Does your child have a favorite book they want to read over and over again or have a book shelf that is close to their bed where you can select a book and read to them?  According to readbrightly.com, A child that reads or hears the same book multiple times usually becomes familiar and comfortable with a greater number of words. Hearing favorite stories read aloud helps children become familiar with the pattern and rhythm of text.

Repetitive reading allows a child to read without stumbling or stopping and reading times become more pleasant for everyone. Each time your child reads or hears a book read to them, they learn more about the story itself. 

The Union Parish Library has a Book Bunny that encourages reading both in and out of the classroom by serving to help Pre-School and elementary school students read and makes sure to deliver one age appropriate book to them. Every Pre-School to elementary school student who attends Bernice Head Start, Darbonne Woods Charter School,  Union Parish Elementary School and various daycares throughout the parish are eligible for the Book Bunny visit and free book!

What is so unique about the Book Bunny is that it passes out books to the children and that the Union Parish Library receives a special grant that pays for the books! As of right now the Book Bunny is on the bookmobile traveling to all of the Union Parish area schools and daycares to bring literacy awareness to the children through reading. This year the Book Bunny is scheduled to be at the Union Parish Library on April 16: Tuesday and April 18: Thursday from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Come by and have your photo made with the Book Bunny and receive a free book which is the week of Good Friday! 

The Book Bunny and crew from the Union Parish Library will also be at the Corney Creek Festival on April 20^th to take pictures and pass out free books. 

The Union Parish Library also has the Book Bunny bringing literacy awareness to the children during our Summer Reading Program and even has a Halloween theme during that night where we pass out free books to the children.  Rudolph and Santa Claus also help out during the month of Christmas! 

The friendly Book Bunny encourages children to read by allowing them to understand a story by giving them the confidence they need and the self-assurance that they will keep their favorite book on a shelf. 

According to raceweb.org, recent studies have indicated that students graduating with internship experiences in general are more likely than students without those experiences to find employment upon graduation. Look Sharpe’s 2016 State of Millennial Hiring Report mentions that 81.1 percent of graduates reported that each internship helped them shift their career directions significantly at 35.8 percent. An internship provides practice, learning, experience and success. 

The Union Parish Library has a volunteer intern that is a Junior at Darbonne Woods Charter School by the name of Dakota Dodd.  While Dakota is planning on pursuing a career in law enforcement once he graduates high school, for now he is on a mission to provide free help at the Union Parish Library which will be a good learning experience for him.   The staff jokingly refer to Dakota as the official, unofficial “library police”, but his role at the library is really to help support library services in whatever way is needed from climbing on ladders to dressing up in costumes and his weekly internship is a wonderful asset to the library.

Dakota lives in Farmerville and he lists hanging out with family and reading as his main hobbies. He told me that he does not have time to do much else because of school. Mysteries are his favorite genre to read and his favorite author is James Patterson who wrote the Alex Cross novel series about a police detective in New Orleans.  And while he doesn’t have a particular favorite book in that series, it’s clear that his reading interests and his career choice seem to be in line with one another.

As part of his duties working at the Union Parish Library, Dodd helps patrons check in books, check out books, put books ups, hang signs, assist with any computer questions, and has dressed up as Harry Potter, Rudolph, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny for the numerous children’s programs that the Union Parish Library offers during that special time. 

If you ask him why he likes working at the library, he will say “the interaction with patrons.” You will agree once you meet him because he has a professionalism and ease when interacting with others that makes them feel comfortable.

Dodd does not have any previous work experience before his internship at the Union Parish Library, but he has been a part of programs in 4-H and Beta Club at his school which have helped give him some leadership skills.  Dodd has been an intern for the Union Parish Library for one and a half years now and other than working at the library, he loves to go hiking in the mountains with his family where he can take beautiful nature photos. 

Each library employee that I have interviewed is very unique because they all love different authors and genres of books, but the one thing that seems to bring all the employees and volunteers together is being able to work with patrons in such a friendly environment.   The Union Parish Library is certainly one place where a patron and even a volunteer can always feel welcome.    

You can tell that Dodd loves what he does because I just saw him on a ladder moving one of the Teen Fiction genre signs so that patrons can find those types of books.   His co-workers love him because no matter what he’s asked to do, he usually says very politely, “yes M’amm” and helps out wherever he can.  So come by and look for Dakota cause you never know what he will be doing next!  In fact, I hear that the Book Bunny will be at the library soon…I have a feeling I know who may be there too!  

Have you ever walked out of Walmart and saw people huddled around the “Red Box” vending machine selecting movies?  Sometimes one may see families around the box scanning the 30-40 films to select from a rated G film, swiping their credit card for $1.75 to keep the film for 24 hours. If they don’t return the film the next day that same card is charged every day up to the value of the DVD.    Did you know that this same film may be available at the Union Parish Library at no charge with 14 day lending period?    What you may not realize also is that the library has a total of 2,605 films to choose from too!   

Learning from the success of Red Box genre searching, the library recently divided the entire 2,605 DVD collection into genres.   

The “KIDS” section features rated G films that feature cartoons, animation, and subject matter just for kids.  Everything from the TV shows such as “Clifford the Big Red Dog” to full length feature films such as the “Lion King”, there are hundreds to choose from.  

The “FAMILY” section features rated PG films or tv shows that would be wholesome entertainment for the entire family.  These may be religious films or PG films such as “Chronicles of Narnia”,  “Where the Red Fern Grows”, or retro TV series such as “Flipper”.

The “TEEN section features PG and PG-13 films or tv shows that may appeal to older teens and pre-teens.  Films such as “Jurassic Park” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” are examples of our teen films which may feature more action and adventure than the average family film.  

The “ADULT” section features mostly dramas, westerns, romance mysteries that would appeal more to an adult audience.  These may include the TV show “Downtown Abbey” or a good old fashioned TV series such as “The Rifleman”.  There are some rated R films in this series usually historical (war) films that may feature violence, although the library doesn’t make it a policy to order them routinely.  

The “EDUCATION” section features non-fiction films that are documentaries, academic, or how-to videos.  These feature everything from yoga, travel, woodworking, sports, and professional education for job searches and test preparation.

And yes, the library does carry new releases too. About 30 new releases are added each month to the library collection featuring the latest Star Wars film or the newest Paw Patrol (Easter edition).     Each month the library circulates about 500 films to patrons! 

According to imdb.com, the 50 world best-selling movies by order are: Avatar (2009) which tells the story of a marine sent to the moon Pandora on a unique mission. Titanic is the story of a seventeen-year-old aristocrat that falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the ill-fated Titanic ship. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) tells the story of Gandalf and Aragon who leads the world of men against Sauron’s army.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) tells the story of Jack Sparrow racing to recover the heart of Davy Jones to avoid enslaving his soul to Jones’ service. Toy Story 3 (2010) is about toys that are mistakenly delivered to a day care center instead of the attic before Andy leaves for college. Alice in Wonderland (2010) has Alice returning to the magical world from her child adventure which is one of my favorites because Johnny Depp played a superb performance as the Mad Hatter. 

The Dark Knight (2008) fights the joker in this particular movie and is one of my favorites because Batman is always tested when it comes to helping people. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was originally a book that was written by J.K. Rowling in 1997 and it was made into a movie in 2001which is about an orphaned boy enrolling in a school for wizardry. 

Shrek 2 (2004) is an animated adventure about Princess Fiona’s parents inviting her and Shrek to dinner. Spider Man 3 (2007) is an action-sci-fi movie about Peter Parker facing inner turmoil as he contends with new villains. Finding Nemo (2009) is an animated comedy about a clownfish setting out on a journey to bring his son home. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982) is a family sci-fi movie about a troubled child helping a friendly alien escape earth and return to his own world which is one of my favorites.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) which is about archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry Jones finding out about a Soviet plot to uncover the Crystal Skull. The Lion King (1994) is an animation adventure that is about a lion cub prince learning about his real identity. 

Forrest Gump (1994) tells the story of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75 that sees the history of the presidencies of Kennedy, Johnson, the Vietnam War and Watergate all unfold which is one of my favorites. Winston Groom is the author who wrote Forrest Gump in 1986. 

If you are interested in viewing any of the DVD genre of movies that I mentioned then I suggest stopping by at the Union Parish Library and check out one! Pick a movie and imagine you are an archaeologist looking for a priceless artifact or looking for an adventure in the Sahara Desert, either way you will be amazed at the stunning graphics that each movie will provide you!