Shared Article: Haben Girma

Shared Article: Haben Girma

Contributed by LaShawn Myles, Youth Services Librarian

On August 5th, the Today Show featured an interview with Haben Girma, a disability rights advocate and graduate of Harvard Law.  She was named a White House Champion of Change under President Obama and has a steady spot on the Forbs "30 under 30" list. 

Her best selling book: Harben: The DeafBlind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law is an NYT Best Seller and is available on the Maryland Digital eLibrary Consortium in both eBook and Audio. It can be downloaded for FREE with your public library card: https://maryland.overdrive.com/maryland-enochprattfree/content/search?query=Haben+Girma

To listen to her Today Show interview, click the link below:
https://www.today.com/video/meet-haben-girma-the-deafblind-woman-who-made-harvard-history-65327173813

Shared Article: Literacy Matters!

Shared Article: Literacy Matters!

Contributed by LaShawn Myles, Youth Services Librarian

DID YOU KNOW...

• The building blocks of literacy and language form in the first three years of a child's life. In their first year alone, a a child's brain actually doubles in size. 
• By the age of three (3), a child's brain is twice as active as an adult's brain.
• Connections within the brain are formed through the five (5) senses - sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
• The more activities a child can experience with a warm and responsive caregiver, the more connections the brain will develop. 
• Early childhood experiences - happiness, sadness - will determine how a child's brain will develop. 
• Simple things, like holding your child's hand or talking and singing, will help form brain connections for children that will last forever. 

What are some early literacy best practices with children with low or no vision?  

Read this article from Jill Rothstein, the Chief Librarian of the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library.

https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2018/07/early-lit-kids-who-cant-see/  

Podcast Review: Ologies

Podcast Review

Contributed by Taryn Tranby, Administrative Assistant

Ologies, hosted by Alie Ward, is an energetic podcast that focuses on the world around us by compartmentalizing various fields of study into individual episodes. Beginning in 2017 with the pilot episode focusing on Volcanoes (Volcanology), Alie Ward has continued on to other topics such as Paleontology, Herpetology, Dendrology, Thermophysiology, and many more! If you don’t mind some minor vulgarity in the realm of swearing and in-depth questions on the procreation of slugs, this is definitely the podcast for you. One of the excellent aspects of this particular podcast is that there is no designated listening order. The episodes aren’t chronological and you can pick up on whatever episode sounds the most interesting to you. (However, to be fair, even the episodes I thought unappealing have kept me enthralled the whole way through)!


Each week, Ward bombards a different specialist with questions about their current position, their career path, and their studies. Thanks to Patreon contributors, Ward also asks a series of rapid-fire listener questions and adds whether or not they were popular questions. She starts the podcast with an introduction to the title topic as well as the etymology of the word itself. (Etymology is also one of the episodes). As Ward introduces her guest, she explains the show set up to them and begins asking about the guest’s career path, what they’re currently working on, and various questions about the subject at hand. Ward is also excellent in adding asides after each complicated concept that’s introduced to make it easier for listeners to understand and follow along. At the end of each interview, Ward asks the guest what their favorite and least favorite aspects of their job are. (Be sure to listen through all of the ‘Thank Yous’ at the conclusion because each week, Ward divulges a secret)!


Alie Ward is currently a science correspondent for Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca, a host on ‘Food: Fact or Fiction’ on the Cooking Channel, and a volunteer at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.


Ologies can be found on Itunes, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.