Live Oak UU Church Library

Our church library celebrated its grand opening on October 26, 2003. Here are some frequently asked questions about how it works, followed by library news items from the past...

FAQ - Live Oak Library

Q. Are you using the Dewey Decimal system? 
A. No. We made up our own in the true UU tradition!

Q. Can I just take a book? 
A. Well, sure, after you check it out.

Q. How do I check a book out? 
A. There is a table in the library foyer. All books are in the card catalogue (green box) alphabetized by author's last name. There is a stamp to mark the due date - look in the inside of the book for form to fill out. We'll try to keep the stamp up to date, but you may need to change it yourself. Please stamp the date due and write your name, phone number, and email address next to it. File the card in the brown "out box" in the month the book is due. Books may be checked out for one month unless otherwise marked. We decided to make it easy - if you check out a book on November 2, it's due December 2. You may renew as often as you need to.

Q. Do you want donations? 
A. Yes! Remember, we'd love to have you donate a book that had an impact on your life to share with the congregation!

Q. Used books - any kind? 
A. We'll take anything with the understanding that we may decide to sell it as a fundraiser. Books (for both kids and adults) about spirituality are preferred.

Q. Can my child hang out here? 
A. At this point, kids younger than ten should have an adult with them.

Q. Do you have a Book Wish List? 
A. We're working on it, and will post it when it's finished. It's quite extensive - lots of books about Unitarian Universalism that look intriguing, among many others, including children's books.

FYI: We now have two kinds of book plates that say "This Book Given By" or "This Book Given In Memory Of" so be sure and let us know which one you want to use when you donate a book.

2007 News

June 2007

Teachers, parents, adults, kids, and youth: we have a lot of new additions in the Live Oak library that I know would interest you! Some new books, mostly donated (thank you, thank you!) that are worth mentioning.

Killers of the Dream by Lillian Smith: A description of the psychological and moral cost of the powerful, contradictory rules about sin, sex, and segregation in the South. This was a controversial book when it was first published (1949). Find it in our biography section, code 2100.

Heretics’ Faith: Vocabulary for Religious Liberals by UU Minister Fredric John Muir. Code 1820. Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung. A good read all these years later. Code 2430.

The Essential Tillich: An Anthology of the Writings of Paul Tillich edited by UU Minister F. Forrester Church. Code 1900.

The Indigo Children by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober. Code 1930.

And for the children:

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter. This book is based on a true story about how a librarian struggled to save her community’s collection of books in a war-stricken country where civilians, especially women, have little power. Code 5400.

The following are children’s history books not located in the children’s corner, but near by. All are code 5720.

Off to Plymouth Rock by Dandi Daley Mackall. This is a story of the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving, told in rhyme. This would be good for small children and has fun illustrations.

Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians by Aliki.

I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A beautifully illustrated book of his famous speech.

Charles Darwin: On the Trail of Evolution, a Beyond the Horizons series book, includes illustrations, photographs, maps, and paintings.

Women and American Religion by Ann Braude.

Pardon the pun, but come check out the books in your very own church library. No late fees!

Carolyn Dower, Library Committee Co-Chair

2006 News

October 2006

There continue to be new additions to the library cart for your shop­ping and reading pleasure on Sun­day mornings, plus many more books on the library shelves. We have a team of library workers who are meeting regularly to get books in circulation for you! (If you have bought a book from the cart and wish to put it back on the cart so that someone else can buy it and enjoy it, please feel free! We’re UUs. We’re into recycling!)

Some new library books worth mentioning are:

·         The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right by Michael Lerner (code 2265, Current Events)

·         The Other Side of the Closet: The Coming Out Crisis for Straight Spouses and Families by Amity Pierce Burton (code 2330, GLBT Studies)

·         God and Other Famous Liberals: Recapturing Bible, Flag, and Family from the Far Right by Forrest Church, a UU minister (we love his stuff!) (code 1000, Spirituality/Religion/Philosophy)

·         A Glance at the Life of the Holy Prophet of Islam translated by N. Tawheedi (perhaps the Pope would do well to take a look at this one) (code 1620, Islamic History)

·         God Makes the Rivers to Flow: Selections From the Sacred Literature of the World chosen for daily meditation by Eknath Easwaran (code 3400, Poetry, Religious and Inspirational)

·         and one of my favorites, a children’s book, What is God? by Etan Boritzer (my copy is still on my bookshelf at home, not to be given away!) (code 5100 in the Kid’s Corner).

Thank you to everybody who has donated books!

Carolyn Dower and Diane Schultz
Library Committee Co-Chairs

September 2006

Alpha Dog is here! The new young adult book Alpha Dog, by Live Oak’s own Jennifer Ziegler (daughter of Esther and Jim Ford) is now on the shelf in the Live Oak Library. The book is about Katie, a young summer student at UT, who definitely does not have an alpha personality. She adopts a dog who turns out to be much more than she bargained for. Just who is going to be head of their little pack and how is it going to happen? This is a heart warming story that I’m giving to my college freshman daughter, but first I’m going to read it! Congratulations to Jennifer, who wrote a very nice inscription in the book to Live Oak.

Also new on the shelves is a significant DVD, Tying the Knot, subtitled The Union That’s Dividing America. This important film has won Frameline’s 2004 Best Documentary award and took Honorable Mention at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2004. It tells the story of two people whose same sex spouses die and the legal and societal battles they face. The description on the back of the DVD states: “Passionately directed by Jim de Seve, Tying the Knot is an eye-opening examination of marriage, featuring amazing footage of gay hippies storming the Manhattan marriage bureau in 1971, plus inspired interviews with gay activists and right-wing politicos.” Thanks to Gregory and Ravi Chandran for this gift.

Carolyn Dower, Library Co-Chair

July 2006

What’s new in the library? Lots of books, plus two provocative and highly recommended DVD movies.

The movie Normal (2002; not rated) is about a devoted couple living a normal life in rural Illinois, until Roy confesses that he’s a man trapped inside a woman’s body. The story is about not only what hap­pens to him and his family, but how the whole town is affected. Thanks to kc of the silverwood for the donation.

Here’s a description from Sheila Kannappan about the DVD The Witness: A Tribe of Heart Documen­tary (2004). “How does a construction contractor from a tough Brooklyn neighborhood become an impassioned animal activist? As the subject of this film, Eddie Lama, says, ‘A miracle is a change in per­ception.’ No matter where you are in your personal story of changing perceptions, this film will take you further. Warning: While primarily an uplifting story of one person’s spiritual awakening, this film does include some disturbing images of animal suffering that would not be appropriate for children.”

On the bookshelves, the spirituality section contin­ues to grow. One book that particularly caught my eye was sent by the publisher, The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. The book’s editor states: “In the first part of the book they explore the founda­tions of the three great monotheistic religions and question whether everything the scriptures say hap­pened actually happened, and if there’s no evidence for it, why we believe it. In the second part, they explain what they think Christianity, Judaism, and Islam really had in mind. They offer a vision of humanity without us/them divisions and invite readers to join their Wake-Up Club.” Along with the editor’s introductory letter, the book comes with a reading group guide.

We’ve also added several books on Islam, and many chapter books in the children’s section. Remem­ber, in the words of Kathleen Norris: “Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier.” Let your Live Oak Library help!

Carolyn Dower, Library Co-Chair

May 2006

I’m very pleased to announce a new and important addition to the Live Oak Library. Our library is now PFLAG’s library, too. There is a separate bookshelf with doors that you can’t miss – it’s straight ahead as you come into the library, and it’s obvious that it belongs to PFLAG. They have a number of books and some video mate­rial. Live Oakers are welcome to check them out. They have their own check out system, comprised of index cards in a little case next to the bookshelf. Please make sure to use their system when checking out their material.

Here are some other new additions to the Live Oak Library that I think are worth a heads up:

Children Are from Heaven: Positive Parenting Skills for Raising Cooperative, Confident, and Compassion­ate Children by John Gray (highly recommended by a reliable source)

The Depression Book: Depression as an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth by Cheri Huber (also recom­mended by a reliable source)

The Mask of Power: Discovering Your Sacred Self by Lynn V. Andrews

Welcoming Children with Special Needs: A Guidebook for Faith Communities by Sally Patton

The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (one book)

Carolyn Dower, Library Co-Chair

2005 News

November 2005

Who can forget Julie Lake’s inspiring sermon after Hurricane Katrina? During her sermon, Julie described her book, written for young people, Galveston’s Summer of the Storm. I am happy to report that the Live Oak library now has an auto­graphed copy of that book! It’s about a 14-year-old girl from Austin who spends the summer at her grandmother’s home in Galveston and is caught in the great hurricane of September 8, 1900. I bought the book for my niece when it first came out, and read it before I gave it away! The descriptions during the hurricane are thrilling. It’s a good read for any age!

Carolyn Dower, Library Committee Co-Chair

August 2005

Thanks to the kindness of the “mystery woman” at GA, we have several new books on UU Selected Essays, published by the UU Ministers Association, and a book enti­tled Leaping From Our Spheres: The Impact of Women on UU Ministry. These books are found under our growing UU section, code 1820. Newly purchased is The Safe Congregation Handbook: Nurturing Healthy Boundaries in Our Faith Communities, which grants permission to photocopy portions of the book for use (code 1850). For music lovers, teachers, or parents is Sing Your Peace Songbook and, fresh off the press, the new supplement to our hymnal, Singing the Journey, including the song Blue Boat Home by favorite UU musician Peter Mayer (code 1840).

For youth and children there have been donations of more chapter books – still in time for summer reading! And new in the children’s spirituality section is The Blessing Seed: A Creation Myth for the New Millennium by Caitlin Matthews. An excerpt: “… Then God, Mother and Father of all, sang of man and woman … And God led them to the Tree of Life and showed them the four paths of life” that “helps humans to learn and to care”, then goes on to beauti­fully describe these paths. The paths all have names, but you’ll have to check out the book to find out what they are! Another wonderful alternative creation story is Matthew Fox’s In the Beginning There Was Joy. No “God” in this one, but a Mr. and Mrs. Joy! They create atoms: “Little relations bite-size and tiny, smaller than specks with light on the inside and dancing all night ‘twixt electron and proton and light-filled photon.” And then go on to build galaxies and stars and planets and moons “each playing its own tunes” and then finally on about page 18 Earth is cre­ated “they barely noticed how the clock and its hands had passed round and round for billions of years”. Both books are delightfully illustrated and wonder­fully refreshing for adults and children!

Carolyn Dower, Library Co-Chair

June 2005

Last month Carolyn wrote about some of the books in our children’s area about and for kids with special needs. This month, on a somewhat similar topic, I have a particular one I want to let you know about.

     It’s called Aisha’s Moonlit Walk: Stories and Celebrations for the Pagan Year. It’s written by Anika Stafford, published by one of the UUA’s pub­lishing houses, Skinner House Books, copyright 2005. It is (obviously) a recent donation to the library and we’re glad to have it.

     The book has eight main chapters, one for each of the Sabbats usually celebrated by modern Pagans. Each chapter tells a story from the point of view of Aisha, the daughter of Pagan parents, about the Sabbat. The story concerns the spirit of the holiday. For Samhain (the origin of Halloween and the Day of the Dead), she talks about a ritual in which she remem­bers fondly her dog Milly, who has recently died. She is sad, but also enjoys the holiday. The stories also involve Aisha’s best friend Heather, who, we discover, has two Pagan mommies.

     Also included in each chapter are questions that parents can talk about with their children and ways of celebrating the holiday.

     At the end of the book is a Guide for Parents and Educators, which explains some basic concepts in Paganism and in doing ritual and To Find Out More, a bibliography for more information for Pagan parent­ing. Included in the bibliography is another book we have in the library, the very well-respected Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Dianne Baker, Anne Hill, and Starhawk. The new book is not yet shelved, but when it is you’ll find it in 5100.BAK on the children’s shelves.

     Since Kathleen is going to be speaking about Thich Nhat Hanh this month, I thought I’d mention that we have several books by him in our library. We have Anger; Sutra on the Eight Realizations; The Long Road Turns to Joy; and No Death, No Fear. You’ll find them shelved at 1500.HAN.

Diane Schultz
Library Committee Co-Chair

May 2005

It is always a delight to see our Live Oak children head for the kids’ corner in the library. However, there are some excellent children’s books in a section that’s actually in the big bookshelf nearby that parents may want to check out for them. Thanks to middle schooler Rachel Connor last month for her review of the book Patrick Gets Hearing Aids. Here are some more books about some special situations.

            My Sister is Special, a Golden Book by Larry Jansen, is about a little girl who has Down Syndrome. This is an older book and the pictures are a bit dated, but the message is good. It does talk about God, which may not appeal to everybody. It offers good discussion questions on the last page. A Very Special Critter by Gina and Mercer Mayer is about a little boy in a wheelchair. If you’re at all familiar with the Little Critter books, you know these are wonderful for children. Come Sit By Me by Margaret Merrifield, M.D., is about a little boy in pre-school who has AIDS. A little girl asks her mother, who’s a doctor, why some children aren’t allowed to play with him. The concerned mother calls a meeting to educate the other parents. It’s a heartwarming story and has a lot of age appropriate information. Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie dePaola isn’t about a child with special needs, but about a child’s grandpa who’s slowly recovering from a stroke. It’s a very sweet story that just might bring a tear to mom or dad’s eye, but probably not your child’s!

            When my kids were small, I often turned to books when facing some difficult situation or question. These are just a sampling of what we have. You’ll find them in your Live Oak Library, Room 101, with the catalog code 5712. Take a look; I hope they’ll help you, too!

Carolyn Dower

Library Co-Chair

April 2005

A Book Review by Rachel Connor
Patrick Gets Hearing Aids, by Maureen Riski

I think Patrick Gets Hearing Aids was a very good book. It was written to “reduce anxiety in children first being diagnosed with hearing loss and fit with hearing aids”. If I were five or six and having hearing difficulties, this book would undoubtedly make me feel more comfortable.

The book starts out introducing Patrick the bunny and his life. The problem is that he can’t quite hear his friends or teacher and he becomes very sad and lonely. The story follows his path to the ear doctor and then the audiologist. Patrick discovers he has hearing loss in both ears. He gets earmolds and hearing aids.

In the end Patrick gets used to his new hearing aids, learns how to take care of his equipment, and is much happier.

This colorful picture book was written by a pediatric audiologist and even includes a “Speech and Hearing Checklist” in the back. This outline lists expected behaviors for children at various age levels to help parents identify the possibility of hearing problems. For example: by two years old, children should be able to follow a few simple commands without visual cues.

Overall this book creates a resource for parents and teachers who want to learn about the process involved in hearing evaluation and it appeals to kids because of its interesting plot and lower reading level.

This book can be found in the Live Oak library, code 5712.RIS.

March 2005

New Books in the Library

The library continues to grow, with an eclectic array of books. One new purchase is We Used to Be Wives: Divorce Unveiled Through Poetry, edited by Jane Butkin Roth. I took a writing workshop from Jane at last month’s Women’s Conference and was moved by this book. John Fox, author of Poetic Medicine says, “This anthology can give your sorrow, rage, and loss a song.” Jane Roth’s intelligent and heartfelt anthology offers both women and men who know divorce or who are considering it, courage and insight.

            Janelle Curlin-Taylor, former UU Christian minister, now ministering at an African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bastrop, has donated several excellent books to the Live Oak library. Some of the titles that you’ll find under UU history are: Conrad Wright, The Liberal Christians: Essays in American Unitarian History, James Luther Adams, The Prophethood of All Believers, Robert L. Patterson, The Philosophy of William Ellery Channing, and Jack Mendelsohn, Channing: The Reluctant Radical.

            There are also books on congregational policy in the Unitarian Universalist movement, and a book that especially caught my eye was Black Pioneers in a White Denomination by Mark Morrison-Reed. A par­ticularly special contribution is Earl Morse Wilbur’s A History of Unitarianism (in 2 volumes), which accord­ing to our own Rev. Ellis is rare and out of print. To quote Kathleen, “I remember the struggle as a semi­nary student finding these books for required read­ing. I think it is no longer required, but still a great resource.” Last, but definitely not least of Janelle’s donations, are about 14 years worth of The Unitarian Universalist Christian, which is the theological journal of the UUCF. Many thanks to Janelle for her excep­tional contributions to our spirituality section!

Carolyn Dower, Library Committee Co-Chair

February 2005

I was recently asked, “Where is the library?” Good heavens! to me, that’s like asking “Where is the sanctuary?” So, to be precise, the Live Oak Library is located in Room 101, right across from the office, conveniently located next to the informal meeting room with the comfy couches, so you can literally curl up with a good book before or after church!

      A book that made me sit up and take notice recently is Annie Stories: A Special Kind of Story­telling by Doris Brett. As it explains on the front, “Adults may know that dreams aren’t real, dogs never kidnap children, and you can’t get sucked down the bathroom drain. But try explaining that to a fearful five-year old. Annie Stories will.” Some topics covered are: Divorce, When Somebody Dies, Dealing with Pain, and Going to the Hospital. Look for it in the parenting section.

      A book that’s fun and educational for the younger set is Ashanti to Zulu by Margaret Musgrove. This is an ABC book and a Caldecott Medal winner with beau­tiful illustrations and explanations of African tradi­tions. In fact, even though it’s in the children’s sec­tion, adults may want to check it out; bet you didn’t know that the Tuareg people are called “the people of the veil”, but only the men wear veils!

      The Live Oak Library is your library. Though the library committee is focused on offering a varied selection of spirituality books, there are lots of other books to choose from. For pure escapism, there’s good fiction from classic literature to mys­teries to science fiction. For less escapism, there’s nonfiction from history to economics to self-help, too.

      I hope to see you in the library, in Room 101!

Carolyn Dower, Library Committee Co-Chair

2004 News

October 2004

We’re looking for readers to write! Feel like reading is a luxury that you don’t give yourself, but wish you could? Here’s your opportunity to say, “I’m writing a book review, so I have to read this book!” Diane and I thought it would be fun to have occasional book reviews in the newsletter from people in the congregation, including children and youth. The Live Oak Library has many great books on its shelves: fiction, nonfiction, history, parenting, spirituality, and specific religions (including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Paganism, Wicca, Baha’i, UUism, and more).

 If you’d like to write a review, please let us know.

 Carolyn Dower, Library Committee Co-Chair

September 2004

We are so lucky to have a good selection of spirituality books in the library. This summer Diane and I had to bring in another set of shelves so that we could make room for them!

Being that I’m part of the UUCF group and have been participating in the very stimulating discussions during our Bible Study, I’ll mention a little about books under the label of “Christian.” We have several different kinds of bibles, including one with a study guide, and two unconventional ones: Thomas Jefferson’s Bible and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s, The Woman’s Bible, which has some great commentary; she was definitely a woman before her time! I recommend looking at what she says about Genesis! Plus, we have The Gnostic Gospels and the actual Nag Hammadi texts. One of our recent acquisitions is the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michel Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, one of the resources Dan Brown used for The DaVinci Code. Always interesting reads are books by author, Bishop John Shelby Spong We are fortunate to have: Living In Sin, Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism, Resurrection, and Why Christianity Must Change or Die. Many of us at Live Oak are “wounded Christians”; I recommend taking a look at our selection of books under Christianity to help your healing process.

We also have books on Judaism, Islam, Paganism, UUism, Bahai’, and more, of course. Come and take a look. If anyone has read a book from the library, we would love to have you write a “book report” for the newsletter for us. Just let me or Diane Schultz know.

Carolyn Dower, Library Committee Co-Chair

July 2004

BOOK SHOWER A SUCCESS!

The Live Oak Library has some wonderful additions thanks to a number of folks who donated books or contributed monetarily at the Book Shower. (Wasn’t it festive?!) A big THANK YOU to:

Joyce Phelps for ABCs for UU Newcomers: A Brief Introduction to Unitarian Universalism, Bereaved Children and Teens: A Support Guide for Parents and Professionals, and Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Our Life. Hella Holoubek for The Book Your Church Doesn’t Want You to Read

John Iacoletti for Never Call Them Jerks: Healthy Responses to Difficult Behavior, When God Was a Woman, and Why Atheism? Leah Korn for Living When a Young Friend Commits Suicide … Or Even Starts Talking About It. Stuart Wetterschneider for Can We Be Good Without God?  Esther Ford for The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. Sara Davis for Life Lines: Holding On (And Letting Go). Katherine Enyart for Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography. Mary Sutay for uu&me!: Collected Stories. Eric and Alex Davis for Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. Diane Schultz for Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. Monetary contributions were given by Martha Nethers, Jennifer and Chris Almond, Sylvia Davis, Jim Terrell, and Anonymous (cash that was in the donation jar from whom we don’t know!)

Newly purchased books (by your librarians from the Library Fund) include The Way of the Labyrinth and Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

We hope you agree these books are great additions to the book shelves. Speaking of … thanks to Jeff Van Meter and Chris (not sure of his last name – Gold? Sorry, Chris!) for interrupting their munching during the BBQ lunch to move another bookcase into the library, and to Subhash Pal and Leslie Cunningham for all their help on Thursday nights.

And extra special thanks to Thomas Moore and Sally Anderson for the lovely (and very good quality) Compact Complete Oxford English Dictionary they donated to the library. It’s a wonderful collector’s item, recently raffled off, which we very much appreciate!

Carolyn Dower

June 2004

Your Library Committee would like to remind you of our upcoming Book Shower. It will be June 13, after the service, in the Fellowship Hall. Refreshments will be served and we plan for all to have a good time! A Gift Registry has been compiled and is available in the narthex so you can sign up to bring a book (or books) to the party. Also available is a list of the books to help you find them, and a description of the books we’re requesting so you can decide what interests you most.

 Don’t forget that we’ll also be raffling off a good quality Compact Complete Oxford English Dictionary. Tickets will be sold at two tickets for $10; we believe this set is worth at least $100! The proceeds from the raffle will go towards purchasing software to help us organize all your wonderful donations! So come, have fun, bring us a wonderful book or two, and maybe you can take home a collector’s item!

May 2004

The Live Oak Library, our “baby” is almost seven months old, and we’re just as excited about it today as when it was just a glimmer in our eyes! We have an impressive selection of books, thanks to donations from our Live Oak friends and fellow book lovers.

We’re now excited about actually purchasing new books! We have almost $200 from fundraising, which will put a dent in our wish list. And since we’re wishing, we also want to purchase a software program called FileMakerPro 7 that would help make the library more organized (and thus more usable). It costs about $300, and could also be helpful to church staff and other committees and groups. The math is pretty simple; we don’t have enough money! We approached the Finance Committee, but, alas, there are just no funds for the library at this time.

So we will be relying yet again on the generosity of our wonderful congregation. And we want to make it fun! We’re going to have a Baby, er … Book Shower on June 13 after the service, in the Fellowship Hall. We’ll be compiling a “Books R Us” gift registry, where you can sign up to donate a new book or the money to buy it. That should be going up in the narthex soon. (We’ll have copies available so you can read about the books we want to buy at your leisure.) We’ll also have some snack food, as well as the coffee and such usually available at that time. And, for those looking to acquire all the great works of literature in one volume, we’ll have a raffle! We have a good quality Compact Complete Oxford English Dictionary that someone kindly brought to the garage sale. It comes in two large volumes and with a matching magnifying glass (which you’ll need!). Given the price of other copies, we figure it’s worth at least $100. We’ll sell raffle tickets for it at 2 tickets for $10, with the money earmarked for the software.

Mark your calendars to help us make the library even better!

Carolyn Dower and Diane Schultz, Co-Chairs

April 2004

Spring has sprung and summer is around the corner. Parents, I know you want your kids to do some summer reading, so here’s some books I recommend from your very own Live Oak Library. For the kids who are beginning to read chapter books, there is a Dear America series of four books that take place on the Mayflower, during the Revolutionary War, during the Civil war, and on the Titanic. For those who are delving into science fiction or fantasy, there’s Time Cat, about a boy and his magical cat who has the power to time travel, and The Sword in the Stone, the story of the young King Arthur. These are located in the children’s corner (5500 in our cataloging system). For the older, more advanced readers we have a Young Adult section (5600). We don’t have a lot of books there – yet – but we do have are good ones. There’s Stop Pretending, a true story subtitled “What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy”. It’s about a girl who learns to deal with her sister’s mental illness. And there’s Wizard’s Bane and The Wizardry Compiled, about a computer geek who transforms himself from a demon programmer into a programmer of demons. And don’t forget the Nonfiction section (5700) for children and youth. Some good books for the younger kids to read aloud are Come Sit By Me about a little boy with AIDS, A Very Special Critter, about a new classmate who’s in a wheelchair, and Patrick Gets Hearing Aids. And for the adults we have some good fiction, including mysteries (my favorite way to escape!). Happy reading!

 Carolyn Dower, Committee Co-Chair

March 2004

The Library Committee wants to thank Austin Kessler for a number of interesting and informative books on rock music and musicians, as well as books on philosophy and other textbooks. What a great collection!

In fact, we have several books we think might be of interest especially to our homeschooling families, including some older, basic textbooks that could form the beginning of study on many different topics. Come see what we have!

The Library Committee will be having a book sale during the Women’s Groups’ Garage Sale on March 6. We have set aside some of the books that were donated to the library to sell and will also be selling any books donated to the Garage Sale. Proceeds will go to buying books we’d like to have in the library that have not yet been donated. So be generous with your donations and come buy books with your other Garage Sale items!

Diane Schultz, Committee Co-Chair

2003 News

September: WE HAVE A LIBRARY?

Well, we have the start of one! Several book-loving volunteers have been meeting on Thursday nights to prepare the library for our Grand Opening on October 26, after the service. Carolyn Dower and I (Diane Schultz) are the co-chairs of the Committee, and Subhash Pal, Leslie Cunningham, Gail Larimer, Nichol Miller, and Kathy Bishop have putting in lots of volunteer time.

The Library is housed in room 101. We have some very interesting books, all donated at one time or another, including a lot of history books (thanks, Subhash!) and kids’ books. We appreciate all the donations.

But, being bookloving UUs, we’re not satisfied. So our Grand Opening will also be a fundraiser. While we love the books we’ve been working on, what we really want to do is establish a library with an excellent foundation of UU books, especially those published by Beacon Press and Skinner House books, publishing houses run by the UUA. So we’re working on a list of the books we want (and there’s a lot of them, folks!) and will be asking for money to get started on acquiring books that we think most of the congregation will want to check out.

Copyright ©2006, Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church.
Last edited Friday, September 21, 2007 08:41 PM by webmaster@liveoakuu.org