The culture of today demands efficiency and in turn, technology. Libraries are therefore closing down in the race for money and efficiency. Smith argues for libraries to be saved, and uses a variety of techniques to do so. First, she uses pathos to appeal to the reader’s sentimentality. Then, she uses personal experiences to show the impact of shutting down libraries in everyday lives. Smith appeals to the nostalgic sense of the reader by using sentimental vocabulary to back her claim that libraries should be saved. While she admits that arguing for libraries isn't necessarily “ideological or ethical”, she ultimately uses language that allows the reader to reminisce of times in libraries.
“Can we keep our libraries?” Smith takes the position on behalf of all of the library activists, stepping out of his point of view, and assimilating his viewpoint to speak for the people’s as well. She specifically uses the word “we” to make the audience feel included and apart of the movement to keep libraries. Rather than only referring to only statistics and evidence, Smith appeals emotionally to the audience, emphasizing that we are humans, not robots, and there is something intrinsic about the library that should not be taken away. Additionally, she utilizes a literary technique of allegory to portray an abstract idea as a form of character, illustrating Mr. “Notmytaxes” as the notion of people that do not want to pay for libraries because they do not use them in the first place. She brings out a “call to action”, asking the authorities to think more seriously about the consequences and bring more weight into their
Ursula K. Le Guin begins her essay discussing the death of things as they fall from popularity in her essay, “The Death of the Book.” Throughout her article, she addresses the ways in which books are becoming less important in our world as technology takes over. She appeals to a wide audience, from higher schoolers to adults, with plain language and simple format style.
The audience of the Quick Start Guide (QSG) is going to be composed of men and women who have purchased the mp3 player or received it as a gift. The owners of an MP10 mp3 player may or may not have experience using an mp3 player, and even if they do, the experience may not be with this exact model. One way the designers of the QSG allow for a wider audience is by providing a Spanish alternative to the English side. The reader of this guide needs thorough instructions and diagrams in order to begin operating the MP10 as quickly as possible. For this reason, the instructions are laid out in numerical order to introduce the user to the different features and options that are available. These instructions correlate with diagrams of the MP10. Callout boxes point out the buttons and their functions to allow the user of the QSG to use as much or as little of the guide as they desire. One can assume that because of varying levels of technological knowledge, a user of the guide would want to be informed on all of the capabilities the MP10 possesses. The reader may ask a question like; What is possible with this expensive mp3 player? In turn, the designers of the QSG have to display the functions of the MP10 without turning the guide into a complete owner’s manual. The user of the guide wants to use a feature of the MP10 as quick as possible, and probably doesn’t want to read that much in order to do so. Therefore, the readers’ design preferences include solid diagrams, distinct headings, and comprehensive directions without being overly long.
In this influential excerpt closing the first chapter of Hiroshima, Miss Toshiko Sasaki, stunned by the sudden flash of blinding light that entered into her building, is crushed by a case of books while going about her everyday work. This quotation is influential in that books are perceived to be harmless and sort of non-important to the average person like Miss Sasaki, while ending up nearly killing and putting her through a tremendous amount of pain. In the “atomic age” where this novels time period is based, books are only appreciated by certain people; otherwise they are portrayed as very miniscule parts of a person’s life.
In a world dominated by technology, reading novels has become dull. Instead of immersing into books, we choose to listen to Justin Bieber’s new songs and to scroll through Instagram posts. We have come to completely neglect the simple pleasures of flipping through pages and getting to finally finish a story. Sherman Alexie and Stephan King’s essays attempt to revive this interest in books that has long been lost. They remind us of the important role that reading plays in our daily lives. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” for instance, demonstrates how being literate saved the narrator from the oppressive nature of society. The author explains that even though he was capable of reading complex books at an astonishingly young
Utilizing effective diction is key as Welty to put together the mosaic of memories that illustrates the intense presence of reading in her life. Her use of diction pulls the reader into the scenes, it makes them real. When she describe the library the wording allows to hear “the steady seething of the electric fan”, the harsh tone of the librarian’s “normal commanding
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
The library was different from the last time that I saw it. I walked in, books in hand. As soon as the door shut behind me, I was filled with disconcert. I scrunched my face at the smell. It was as if someone was holding a pair of forgotten dirty socks from a gym bag underneath my nose. There were books thrown throughout the library, the paintings were ruined, the wall was cracked, chairs were broken, and other unimaginable things.
Books have impacted lives for centuries. We receive knowledge from books, and also learn more about ourselves through them. We are often rejuvenated by children’s sprightly picture books and warped by popular novels. Flippant or grievous, these books I have selected for my ideal bookshelf have impacted my life for the better.
Meeting the needs of the students calls for changes on the part of the librarian. Librarians are trained to help students become 21st century learners by not only finding information effectively and efficiently, but also being able to apply that knowledge in different learning environments. In fact, Abram (2003) declares that librarians must “…predict content that students and other users want before they know that it exists or even that they need it” (p. 6). They must have knowledge of different types of resources, technology, and developments in the field of literacy information. They are obligated to help students locate and organize information. As Carey (1998) put it, librarians in the schools should be teaching children to think rather than memorize and repeat, and students’ thinking skills should transfer to the real world so that they become independent, productive members of adult society. Collections must be modernized and assessed on a regular basis in order to best serve the students, and librarians must also commit to learning and using these services in order to sustain the library for the next generation of users.
Printed books have a 600 year history, they are an embodiment of culture. Many book lovers tend to enjoy how books look on a shelf in their home. Like many forms of physical media like books and vinyl; people tend to buy original first print copies for their collections. First pressings of books tend to be very rare and expensive, books are an important part of history and collecting old pieces of literature is very important to some people.“Traditionally a book is either seen as an isolated singular phenomenon, a copy with all its physical dimensions attached to a single descriptive level, or embedded in a large context, a life, a library, an e...
To the generations before the advent of the internet, if one was to study, they would have to go to a library, where they would spend countless hours flipping through the pages of books and trying to find knowledge they were looking for. To this library generation the library is like a church. But instead of religious knowledge and oral tradition, the library is a place for secular knowledge and reason. Both places hold two different kinds of knowledge but the devotion to this knowledge is clearly evident. The similarities can be seen firsthand by walking into either. The atmosphere in both are of ...
Pride and Reid remind us of the power of the dust jacket to attract attention (33-34). Black students are drawn to books with black people on the cover, so these books must be seen. Welch notes that male readers are particularly attracted to books with exciting photographs and edgy title fonts (41). Consequently, a good strategy for increasing the “visibility” of books is to shelve them with the covers out. While it is not feasible to face all or even many of the book covers out, it is possible to pull books out and place them on tops of shelves or in other locations where they can easily be seen. Another way to connect with teens and increase the visibility of not only individual titles but the library as a whole is through the use of social media (Pride and Reid 34). School library websites and social media platforms can connect students with books and media-savvy publishers, blogs, and other book sites. Booktalking is another tried-and-true trick that can be used to introduce students to books across a wide variety of genres, cultures, and interests. A good booktalk should be a brief advertisement for a book that catches the audience’s attention without giving too much away and leaves them wanting more, thereby increasing the likelihood that that they will want to read the book themselves (Lesesne, 115). Librarians
In kindergarten, days that we had library time scheduled were the most spectacular days. Back then, I was more of an illustrations fan than of actual reading. I had a special cart of books that I was summoned to on almost every trip to that magical room of pictures. I flipped through the pages, looking at the illustrations while occasionally reading the story. As Maya Angelou stated in her speech, “a library is a rainbow in the clouds” (Popova). A library is a special and quiet room in which children can either escape in the magnificent illustrations of a picture book or an adult can disappear into the passionate words of their favorite author. The possibilities that live inside of a library are endless which
The books that lined the shelves were of many different colors, of many varying ages, and of many various authors. The bindings were leather and paper and even a cotton fabric material, and the lettering embossed upon them was in gold and silver and sometimes in plain ink. Authors that had been passed on reverently from age to age sat mightily in their rightful places, next to their respective equals: such writers as Defoe and Hawthorne sat side by side, while others, like Whitman and Thoreau surrounded them. Each book had been lovingly placed in its specific niche, and as the little girl gazed about the room, it was obvious to her that many hours had been spent placing and caring for this massive collection.