Fall 2021

FALL 2021

• A message from the Library Director • Special Events Current & Upcoming •Tell Me Something Good • Community Events • Special Thanks • Adult, Kids, & Teen Programming

HOURS OF OPERATION Mon.- 9:30am-8pm Tues.- 9:30am-8pm Wed. - 9:30am-8pm Thurs. - 9:30am-8pm Fri. - 9:30am-5:30pm Sat. - 9:30am-5:30pm Sun. - CLOSED

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A message from the Library Director The Hewitt Public Library will celebrate Banned Book Week and bring attention to the First Amendment right of having unrestricted freedom to read material of one’s own choosing.

Each year, the last week of September is designated Banned Books Week. Organizers choose a theme related to the First Amendment that is also designed to promote reading. Banned Books Week supports freedom of conscience and unrestricted access to library materials.

Supporters of the First Amendment have long realized that the unrestricted freedom to read material of one’s own choosing is essential to democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States, believed that freedom of speech was the central element in combating tyranny. Jefferson ran into censorship in 1814 when a bookseller refused to sell him a banned book by a French writer about the creation of the world.

Guided by the ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Manual, Banned Books Week seeks to promote two basic democratic tenets: freedom of conscience, including the right to express individual views in any format, and unrestricted public access to library materials of all kinds. Organizers do acknowledge that parents and guardians have the right to exercise control over their own children, but they do not accept censorship of other people’s children.

Over the years, banned and challenged books have ranged from the Bible to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, and the American Heritage Dictionary. Currently, the most challenged books are those in British author J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series about a young wizard. More than 500 million copies of the Harry Potter book have been sold worldwide, while engendering a controversy that has swept up even the pope and heads of government.

On April 5, the Banned Books Week Coalition announced the 2021 Banned Books Week theme: Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us. This year’s Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the right to read, will be held September 26–October 2, 2021.

In 2020 the most challenged books were: 1. George by Alex Gino 2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds 3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely 4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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6. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin 7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 9. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content. Banned Books Week is intended to make the public more aware of the frequent challenges to the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and press.

Banned books were showcased at the 1982 American Booksellers Association (ABA) BookExpo America trade show in Anaheim, California. At the entrance to the convention center towered large, padlocked metal cages, with some 500 challenged books stacked inside and a large overhead sign cautioning that some people considered these books dangerous.

ALA is currently part of a national coalition to promote Banned Books Week and coverage by mainstream media reaches an estimated 2.8 billion readers, and more than 90,000 publishing industry and library subscribers.

Waynette Ditto Hewitt Public Library Director

Community Conversations Coming Soon!

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TELL M E SOM T HING

GOOD

Friends of Midway ISD Recognitions from the school board meeting on 8-17-2021 Educators Credit Union TFNB - Your Bank For Life Hewitt Public Library Friends of Midway 2021 Midway ISD is proud to recognize the following companies and individuals for their steadfast commitment to supporting educational excellence in our local community schools. The voluntary gifts of time, expertise and funding provided by Educators Credit Union, TFNB, Carly Web, and the Hewitt Public Library have aided in improving education for all Midway students and helped meet our needs as a growing school district.

Midway ISD librarians reached out to the Hewitt Public Library and its director Waynette Ditto to create a partnership so Midway ISD students can receive their own student public library cards.

This amazing opportunity allows all Midway students the ability to access the resources at Hewitt Public Library, including all of their print and digital materials. The timing of this partnership aligned perfectly with the summer approaching to provide access to resources and to encourage our students to keep reading.

Hewitt Public Library Director Waynette Ditto and Children’s Services/Library Clerk Kay Carlile are also enthusiastic supporters of Midway’s special needs students. When approached by the MISD Special Education Parent Advisory Council, they were willing and eager to partner for events serving these students. They presented a creative and interactive telling of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” at the Play for All event in May 2019 held at the accessible Hewitt Elementary playground. In October 2019, they also hosted special needs families at the Hewitt Public Library for a Fall Family Game Night which included indoor and outdoor games, face painting, crafts, light refreshments, a visit from the fire department, and a fall-themed photo area.

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TELL M E SOM T HING

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COMMUNITY EVENTS

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SPECIAL

THANKS

The benefits of summer reading are clear. National research finds that students who participate in public library summer reading programs scored higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than those who did not participate. The Hewitt Public Library appreciates partnerships to help fund summer programs.

Waynette Ditto, Library Director, and Traci Villa, Summer Program Coordinator, accept a $500.00 sponsorship from Tammie Brown, Manager of Public Affairs from ATMOS Energy in the Library Courtyard this morning.

ATMOS Energy program-FUELING SAFE AND THRIVING COMMUNITIES states that the compassion to give back to communities we serve flows through the heart and soul of Atmos Energy’s 4,800 employees. Whether through reading to students, working with local food banks, or showing appreciation to our hometown heroes, our employees continually invest in the communities we call home. We are proud to present this initiative that captures what we have been doing for years: Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities.

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SPECIAL

THANKS The HPL would like to thank Pet Partners of Central Texas (PPCT), formerly Angel Paws, a nonprofit organization of volunteers in Waco. They visited the HPL Summer 2021 with their fur babies and allowed children to read. The main objective of this program is to provide a relaxed and “dog-friendly” atmosphere, which will enable kids of all ages to practice the skill of reading. Members own and train their dogs. PPCT teams consist of a handler and a well-trained dog or other animals to offer consistent, safe attention.

Dragon tails were hiding throughout Hewitt Public Library during the summer!

Mrs. Ditto contacted Kay Carlile and Sally Goldman, and they put together teams of volunteers to make the tails. Throughout the summer, staff hid the tails around the library and encouraged patrons to bring them to the circulation desk for a prize.

This project would not have been possible without Kay and Sally organizing volunteers to hand make the tails.

Thank you very much for contributing your time and effort to encourage children to read.

Mrs. Ditto

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THANKS

Reading programs, activities, and events make the library a hub of activity during the summer months. We hire temporary summer help to keep up with shelving the large volume of books and extra hands for activities during the summer. Today we say goodbye to a great group of individuals. One is returning to the Smithsonian in Washington, another is going to Scotland to work on an advanced degree in literature, and the other is returning to Midway ISD as a Rockstar teacher! We want to send our well wishes and let them know they will be missed. I know you will miss them too!

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SPECIAL

THANKS

Hootie the Owl, Hewitt Public Library Mascot The Hewitt Public Library would like to give a generous Thank You to Kade Perry for being an amazing volunteer as our librarys mascot.

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THANKS

Hewitt Public Library Volunteers The Hewitt Public Library would like to give a generous Thank You to all our wonderful volunteers who assisted us this Summer.

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Explore STREAM with curated Curiosity Crates Each Crate has materials for building, creating, and inventing, along with a book and idea.

Bring out the inventor in your child!

Explore Curiosity Crates in the HPL online catalog.

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One Saturday a month join our Teen Librarian, Caitlin, via Zoom to conduct experiments using common household items. You can either do the experiments with her or watch, enjoy, and learn! Register on our event calendar if you’re interested.

Every week our Teen Librarian, Caitlin, posts a booktalk video on social media, talking about different YA books she’s reading. To access the videos, follow Hewitt Public Library on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or you can subscribe to Hewitt Public Library’s channel on YouTube.

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Do you like to craft? Every month you can register on our event calendar for a craft project.

Our Teen Librarian, Caitlin, will prepare the supplies for you to pick up from the Hewitt Library, then you can join her on Zoom to make the craft together!

Teens! Do you want to help design teen programs at the library?

Are you looking for leadership opportunities? Do you want your voice to be heard?

Then join the Teen Advisory Board! Contact the library at library@cityofhewitt.com for more information.

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Ann Schiltz FHPL President

Sally Goldman

Eddie Sincereny FHPL Vice President

Lydia Dashner

Delores Sincereny FHPL Treasurer

President

Vice President Ryan Erck Secretary

Laura Beaty FHPL Secretary

Jerry Snider

Beau Hart FHPL Member at Large

Julie Holcomb

Margie Kinney FHPL Member at Large

Betty J. Smith

Sally Goldman FHPL Member at Large

Jennifer Hunt