Her "trial" was held at Gadsden City High School on Wednesday, September 28 where the students defended free speech and the right to choose what to read. Students in the audience chanted "Free Amanda! Free the Books!" Judge William Ogletree listed to arguments by "prosecuting" attorney Jared Vaughn. Closing arguments were presented by Gadsden High teacher Jason Bozeman. Photos from the trial are included on the Gadsden Times website as well.
Amanda Jackson, director of the Gadsden Public Library, wanted to raise awareness about what can happen if people are allowed to ban books. Her solution? Get arrested - for reading banned books. To read the article in the Gadsden Times click HERE or on the photo to the left.
Her "trial" was held at Gadsden City High School on Wednesday, September 28 where the students defended free speech and the right to choose what to read. Students in the audience chanted "Free Amanda! Free the Books!" Judge William Ogletree listed to arguments by "prosecuting" attorney Jared Vaughn. Closing arguments were presented by Gadsden High teacher Jason Bozeman. Photos from the trial are included on the Gadsden Times website as well.
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(Gadsden, AL) – September 21, 2011 – GADSDEN PUBLIC LIBRARY is excited to announce that its eBook collection is now compatible with the world’s bestselling eBook reader, the Amazon® Kindle. Patrons can now download popular and classic eBooks to a Kindle device or any mobile device running the free Kindle app, such as iPhone®, iPad®, Android™, and more. To get started, visit www.gadsdenlibrary.org and find Downloadable Books under the Online Services tab. Gadsden Public Library also offers eBooks and audiobooks for use on a PC or Mac computer and popular mobile devices such as a Smartphone, MP3 player, and eBook reader like the Barnes & Noble® Nook™ and Sony® Reader. Kindle users can browse the Gadsden Public Library’s collection of bestselling and classic eBooks from a PC or Mac computer, check out titles using a library card, and select “Get for Kindle” to deliver eBooks to their Kindle device or any device running the free Kindle app. Users who enjoy eBooks on Kindle will benefit from Amazon’s Whispersync technology that synchronizes notes, highlights and last page read between their Kindle and free Kindle apps. Visit the library’s website to download eBooks for your Kindle by using this quick link: Camellia Net. About OverDrive OverDrive is a leading full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools, and retailers serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.overdrive.com Kim Townsel currently lives in Sweet Home Alabama. Her fiction and poetry appear in Quality Fiction, Glossolalia, Salome, Hot Valley Writers, The Chick Lit Review, Liquid Imagination, and All Things Girl. She is a 2009 Oscars/Nicholl Semi-finalist and a 2008 Oscars/Nicholl Quarterfinalist. She recently interviewed the fabulous writing team of LEGALLY BLONDE, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, and THE HOUSE BUNNY. Her interviews appear on MovieBytes, DoneDeal, Yankee Pot Roast, and Script magazine. The Wettest Spring is a departure from your previous non-fiction books. What made you decide to write fiction? I actually wrote The Wettest Spring back in the 80s when my sons were young. I was on leave from my teaching job to be a stay-at-home mom and decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote for Christian Parenting Today and Virtue magazine. One day, I realized there was no book on the market to help young males journey through puberty, so I decided to write one. My oldest son was facing puberty in a few years and I could find no books to help give him perspectives on what he might experience. In addition, he had many classmates who had various types of home lives that differed from his. I fancied that I could write a story to help him learn information about puberty and expose him to the type of life that others might have. My son had a very high IQ and excellent language skills, so he was a helpful editor! He still is. In the book, Kurt Maxwell is a young man in the 1980s when kids did not have cell phones and computers that provided all the knowledge in the world at their fingertips. When puberty hits him, he knows nothing except rumors and locker-room tales. To make things worse, his workaholic dad leaves his alcoholic mom. His friend, Sami, has sprouted breasts, colored her hair, and is causing Kurt’s jeans to be too tight. At school, he’s failing Date Math. Did the writing process for The Wettest Spring differ from writing your other books such as School Skills 101? Absolutely. I moved five times after I wrote The Wettest Spring and kept shuffling the box. Last year, I opened it and found the old manuscript, typed on a Smith Corona word processor. Since I didn’t have an electronic version, I scanned the pages as OCR files and worked from there to revise it. The revision was quick as I was pleased to see how clean the manuscript was. I found structured notes and mathematical charts about story, character, and plotlines. From winning a writing contest on Writer’s Café, I was awarded a year’s subscription to AutoCrit http://www.autocrit.com and I ran the manuscript through that to help find redundancies. School Skills 101 was written for me to use with my ninth grade students and my youngest son. I was teaching a Study Skills unit and all of the books that I used with my students were too long and wordy. Finally, I decided to write a school success book for the younger and average student, not the ones worried about AP tests and college placements… just the ones who wanted to decrease the torture of middle and high school academics. My youngest son and I researched tips for School Skills 101 and he picked his top tips. The cover of the book is a bit “personal”. Please tell us about it. Isn’t that a great photo? My brother, Scott Holdbrooks, is an award-winning art teacher at Gadsden City High School. He took that photo of his son, Zack, who also has won awards for his artwork. Everyone in my family loves that photo. When I entered The Wettest Spring in the Amazon fiction contest (it placed but did not progress past the first stage), I was offered a free copy. I had to choose a cover, so I asked Scott and Zack if I could use their photo. I actually never intended for The Wettest Spring to be available to the masses, but in order to buy a copy for myself and a friend, that was the simplest and cheapest strategy. It’s out there and we will see if it goes anywhere. How long did you work on the manuscript? Gosh, I really can’t remember it taking a long time to write. I recall enjoying the process and not trying to be in a hurry. Obviously, since it moved across the country in a box for years I wasn’t in a hurry to get it published. I have found notes that I sent it to publishers and agents but no one took it. I had an agent for School Skills 101 but all of the publishers who offered contracts wanted me to make the book bigger, add research, and talk more to “smart kids.” I declined because to me the whole point of School Skills 101 is to be for younger kids and kids who do not want, as one of my former students said, “to study to read a study book.” Currently it is available for Kindle, but will there be a print version? The Wettest Spring is available as both the Kindle and the print version. Anyone can download the Kindle reader for his or her computer, iPad, or cell phone. Here is the link: Free Kindle reader. How can people contact you if they have questions about the book? The best way is to become a fan of the Facebook page for The Wettest Spring. Here is the link: The Wettest Spring FaceBook page Do you have other projects in progress? I have written a couple of other novels that I will either rework or try to get published. Also, I write screenplays. Every screenplay that I have written has placed in contests. JET LAG actually was a Semi-Finalist in the prestigious Nicholl, which is conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which conducts the Oscars. It is an honor to have my name on their webpage. I have a couple of screenplays in progress. LEMONADE is a story of how love can be destructive to save what it can. THE LIGHT MAN is about using children for profit. Both are dark and I’ve been working on them a while. I need to finish them and get those tragic stories out of my head! My mother wants to step on the red carpet someday, so I persevere… For non-fiction, I am working on Teaching Strategies 101 which will be a practical book for teachers to help with various teaching and learning techniques. Research and supplemental reading will be provided for those who want the “why” behind the “what.” Finally, as I say, “my doctorate is working on me.” I’m working on my Instructional Leadership doctorate through the University of Alabama, so most of what I write is APA style papers for classes. Fingers crossed, this degree will be completed and dissertation approved by the end of 2013. We’ll see. Your books can be purchased on Amazon, but where else can they be found? Amazon has been very good to me. They provide authors with detailed data about buyers and where the buyers live. If an author has time to conduct marketing, the data would help allocate resources. I don’t spend a on penny marketing; all I do is on FaceBook and still have some old sites on MySpace, so it is a miracle that anyone finds the books to buy. However, last September, one buyer bought 627 copies of School Skills 101. That was pretty exciting. Book sales are funny. Many times my Amazon ranking for School Skills 101 is higher than my friends who have toney publishers and professors who wrote my textbooks. My morning report told me that 25 copies of School Skills 101 were sold while I slept in late this morning. It’s nice to finally make money on a project that was fun and interesting to do. I have several books available: School Skills 101, TEEN 101, Secondary Teaching 101, College Skills 101, and The Wettest Spring. All have FaceBook pages, and all are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and some are also available on eCampus, The Book Depository, Tower Books, Amazon UK, and Infibeam, as well as Amazon for Germany, Canada, France, and Japan. How many books have you written? How many are published? I have five that are published. One novel needs a publisher. Jet Lag was taken through hours of writers’ groups and UCLA workshops and is ready to go. That book is good and needs to find its soulmate to be published. Heartstrings was written back in the 1980s and would need a major revision before going out to meet the public. What has been the most interesting or funniest experience you’ve had while writing a book? One interesting thing was some advice I received while living in Los Angeles. Tom Koranda was in the film industry and I met him in a writing class at UCLA. He asked to read my novel, Jet Lag. The story line wasn’t his thing, but he invited me to an exclusive screenwriting group and suggested that I take the novel and turn it into a screenplay, with the intent of improving the structure of the novel. Honored and humbled to be in a room with such talented writers, I went through the painful but invigorating process of converting a novel to a screenplay. The process did strengthen the rewrite of the novel, but the unintended outcome was that they all loved the screenplay, slinging the word “Oscar” at me, and encouraged me to begin shopping it around. I didn’t feel comfortable selling myself as a screenwriter, but began placing the screenplay for Jet Lag in contests. Meanwhile I moved back to Alabama, and the screenplay began placing in contests and even winning the Acclaim. While many producers, agents, and managers (most interns, I suspect who are looking for a box office hit, which Jet Lag is not) have requested the screenplay, no sale yet. Still, for a country girl from Gadsden, getting that kind of encouragement and exposure is good for the ego. Who is your favorite author and why. Janet Fitch wrote my favorite book, White Oleander, but her other works are less pleasing to me. Right now, I’m reading Mary Forsburg Weiland’s autobiography, Fall to Pieces. Either she and/or her ghost writer write very well; it’s beautifully done. When I first read White Oleander, I didn’t want the book to end; I was sad about leaving Astrid’s world. I anticipate the same feeling with Mary’s book. An excellent writer can take the reader into a nightmarish world and make the reader feel engaged. Both of those books have that quality for me. Any advice for someone who is trying to get published? Edit, edit, edit. Many times we are so exuberant when we finish a project that we think it is ready to send out to the world, and it usually isn’t. Women after childbirth have a rush of hormones that help them forget the pain of what just happened and focus on the future. However, that newborn is not ready to face the world. He needs guidance, nurturing, and protection. Writing projects are like that. When they are “finished” is actually their birth, and the process of making them “grown” is to take them through the process. I usually finish a draft and then take sections through a writing group, which is time-consuming. Then several editors read for errors in language, continuity, and character development. Then it is revised again. Then the manuscript needs to be read aloud by me. Tape-recording and playing it back for yourself can reveal needed changes. Just as we would never send our babies out into the world to fend for themselves, neither should we send out an immature manuscript. The library has served this fabulous punch recipe at several events, delighting even those who don't normally care for punch! It has a Pina Colada flavor and is so good you could almost serve it for dessert. We have had several requests for the recipe, so I thought I would post it here:
Gadsden Public Library Punch Recipe 1 can Eagle Brand Milk 1 can Cream of Coconut 2 liters Ginger Ale (chilled) 1/2 gallon Pineapple Sherbet About 30 minutes before serving the punch set the pineapple sherbet out of the freezer to soften. The punch should be made as close to serving as possible. Using a whisk, blend together the eagle brand milk and cream of coconut until smooth. Slowly add the ginger ale to the milk mixture, whisking until thoroughly blended. Add the sherbet to the punch. Hint : When serving the punch add 1 tablespoon of sherbet to the cup before adding the punch.Serves about 40 Gadsden Public Library: 100 Years of Service has a growing presence on the internet! So far it can be found on such sites as Open Library (www.openlibrary.org) and Library Thing (www.librarything.com). It can also be found on Good Reads (www.goodreads.com) and WorldCat (www.worldcat.org). Feel free to post a review on any of these sites. If you find it on other appropriate websites, please let me know and I'll post it here. Thanks!
1916 A vertical file was bought to care for the mounted pictures and clippings.
1917 The annual report takes a philosophical turn with Miss Lena musing over the real function of the library in light of “the war”(World War I) and the increased need for frugality. Her conclusion was service. The books most requested that year were about the war, the aviation corps, personal narratives, books on why we are at war, and books on the causes of war. Most of these requests were made by men who had never used the library before. Her report also included a section on “War Activities.” 110 volumes were collected in a book drive to provide a library at Camp McClellan. The camp libraries were sponsored by the American Library Association. In addition to the books collected (and fully prepared for circulation), the City of Gadsden and its librarian raised $590.10 for the ALA Camp Libraries - $90.10 above their quota. The Alabama City Branch of the Gadsden Public Library is now on the National and State Historical Registers. There will be a celebration on Friday, May 13 on the library grounds - and beyond. The gazebo across the street will have a band and speakers for the occasion. Glenda Byars, library employee and Gadsden Times columnist, will be giving a tour of the library. Pauline Roberts is in charge of the library and she is very excited about being listed on the registers. "This is something I have wanted for a long time!" said Roberts.
The library began on May 13, 1938. Obviously Miss Lena wasn't superstitious. The full story of how that branch got started is included in the library history book - the cover of which is a picture of the Alabama City library. Thanks to the community for their support for over 70 years! I am exceptionally pleased! They said it couldn't be done and there were so many obstacles, but we persevered and here we are all these years later. A beautiful celebration it will be. ~Lena Martin The Friends of the Gadsden Public Library sponsored Howard Wiggins for their meeting on April 28. Wiggins is an interior designer with Howard Wiggins Interior Design (formerly Hearthstone Interior Design) in Nashville, Tennessee, and the author of What Were You Thinking? Recognizing Costly Mistakes That Everyone Makes. It was a great evening of discussion and viewing pictures of rooms before and after Wiggins worked his magic. Part of the enjoyment came from Wiggins' pleasant manner. He and his business partner, Vicki Donovan, quickly put everyone at ease. They made it possible for everyone in attendance to find a way to make improvements without wasting money. He explained how to start, as well as, how to make a plan so that you will buy things in proper order. All of this is covered in the book, as well as guidelines for hiring a decorator. The book is well worth the money! Don't forget to check out Howard Wiggins Interior Design's website (www.HowardWigginsInteriorDesign.com) or call 615-854-1468. Wiggins has copies of his many magazine articles posted on the site, plus pictures of his work. Miss Lena is pleased to announce that the library now has a Flikr account so you can see pictures from the above event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadsdenlibrary/sets/72157626483917063/with/5669898502/ Shirley W. Mitchell BIO: Shirley W. Mitchell, known as "The Golden Egg of Aging™", is a National Author/Writer/Syndicated Columnist/Speaker and Celebrity Radio Talk Show Host. We call her "The Original Baby Boomer Promoter™" because of her tremendous insight years previous to the coming of the Baby Boomer Wave of Aging Younger. She is highly recognized as one of the Top Writers and Speakers on Aging, Senior’s, Senior Lifestyle, the Baby Boomer Generation, Women's Issues and Healthy Lifestyles of Today. Shirley is the Author of 6 books including "Fabulous after 50®" and "Sensational after 60®", and the Co-Author of 4 books including "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life" and "Love Like God". She is the Columnist of the Syndicated "Fabulous after Fifty™" On-Line Column and a Featured Columnist for "Senior Lifestyle Magazine" and "Passionate for Life Magazine". Shirley is listed with Self Growth, Inc. and MyExpertSolution.com as an Aging and Longevity Expert. She is the Celebrity Radio Talk Show Host of the Syndicated Radio Shows "Aging Outside the Box®" and "Aging Outside the Box® Christian Spiritual Sparks™". Shirley is a member of the American Society on Aging, American Senior Benefits Association, National Association for Female Executives, American Business Women’s Association, Red Hat Society and the Diva Web of Fame. A Dale Carnegie Graduate, she is a Competent Toastmaster with Toastmasters International. Websites: Aging Outside the Box® Syndicated Radio Show - http://www.agingoutsidethebox.net Aging Outside the Box® Christian Spiritual Sparks™ Syndicated Radio Show - http://www.agingoutsidethebox.org Aging Outside the Box® Publicity Info - http://www.agingoutsidethebox.info Fabulous after Fifty™ Syndicated Column - http://www.fabulousafterfifty.com Fabulous after 50® Finding Fulfillment for Tomorrow - http://www.fabulousafter50.com Sensational after 60® Loving Life All Over Again - http://www.sensationalafter60.com 101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life - http://www.101greatways.com Love Like God: Embracing Unconditional Love - http://www.fabat50.com Ageless Living™ - http://www.fabafter50.com Citrus Park™ Health & Wellness - http://www.citruspark.biz Crosstown Info™ State Business Directory - http://www.crosstown.info Book Listing: Fabulous after 50: Finding Fulfillment for Tomorrow - ISBN# 089221497X - New Leaf Press (3rd Printing) Sensational after 60: Loving Life All Over Again - ISBN# 0892216093 - New Leaf Press (First Printing) Co-Author: Love Notes for Mom - ISBN# 0892215232 - New Leaf Press (First Printing) Co-Author: Love Notes for Dad - ISBN# 0892215240 - New Leaf Press (First Printing) Co-Author: 101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life - ISBN# 0974567264 - Self Growth, Inc. Co-Author: Love Like God: Embracing Unconditional Love - ISBN# 0983301700 - Absolute Love Publishing Coming Soon - Author of 5 more Books and Co-Author of 1 more book! Managed By: Lighthouse Coastal Productions – Lighthouse News Bureau 466 Sardis Cutoff Road Sardis City, AL 35956 tel. 256-281-9399 [email protected] William Yancey-Peacekeeper Synopsis: Peacekeeper follows the adventures of a young peasant, Henry Doulunge, who must leave home to seek the truth of his heritage and battle armies and evil forces to save his kingdom. In the end, Henry discovers a shocking truth, and claims the role he was born to play. Bio: William Yancey is an honor student at Glencoe High School. He started writing and telling stories at an early age, and finished his first novel at the age of fifteen. His influences include a variety of mythologies, a love of swordplay, and video games. www.peacekeepernovel.com Kim Holdbrooks Townsel-School Skills 101, Teen 101, Secondary Teaching 101, and College Skills 101 Synopses: School Skills 101-Hundreds of teenagers picked these 101 techniques as being the easiest to improve grades while reducing stress and saving time. Teens tested these tips to prove they are effective. A National Board Certified Teacher compiled the strategies in a user friendly format. These are tips from real teens that really work! Teen 101- Why do teenage girls and teenage guys do what they do? Real teenagers ask hundreds of questions and get answers from a professional who has worked with thousands of teenagers. Questions that teens really want answers for... like why do girls have to scream? Why do guys spit? Why do girls like drama movies so much? Why do guys get in fights? Advice from teens to other teens... Teen guys and teen girls give their real tips for how not to be a jerk while surviving adolescence. Plus there's a special section on sex ed myths…addressed by a former Sex Ed instructor. Secondary Teaching 101-Over 250 teacher-tested strategies to reduce stress, save time, organize the paperwork, accomplish more, get students to produce, help students be accountable and proactive in the classroom operation, manage your career, and make teaching secondary and middle school enjoyable again...because there's more to life than paperwork. College Skills 101- Over 197 techniques to help make the college experience fun and useful while reducing stress and saving time. These are the best techniques that were tried and tested by hundreds of students. Sections include Advisement, Buying Books, In the Classroom, Online Classes and Technology Issues, Get Organized, plus more! Bio: Kim Holdbrooks Townsel loves to learn, but doesn’t like to spend more time studying than she has to. She used the strategies in College Skills 101 to earn a 4.0 Master’s degree from the University of Alabama and a 4.0 CLAD from UCLA. She also used them to pass her National Board Certification on her first try. She has taught high school and middle school for over seventeen years, and is now a college instructor for teachers. |
AuthorAs one of the authors of the library history book, I thought it would be fun and vital to have a site dedicated to the library and chronicle its move toward the future. ~Julie Dobbins Archives
February 2013
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