BBW Open Mic

Let Freedom Ring Open Mic

Teens celebrated their freedom to read at Freedom Regional Library on 9/29/08 in celebration of Banned Books Week!

There was an open mic for all teens who wanted to read a short passage from a book that was either challenged or banned in the past, or something of their own. All participants enjoyed snacks while listening to other teens read and received more info about Banned Books Week (Sept 27-Oct 4, 2008).


Teens read from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, TTYL, Whale Talk, Fat Kids Rule the World, Black Boy, Totally Joe, Bad Boy, The Catcher in the Rye and one teen read a poem of her own! Here are some of the participants:

Teens won prizes for participating - a book, a movie rental card and an iTunes gift card!

To find more challenged and banned books, visit the Teen Zone and check out this display!

Thank you to all the participants...you rocked the mic!

See you next Monday from 3-4pm for Teen Writer's Cafe
where you can share your poetry with other teens
while working on new material and getting published!

Also in celebration of Banned Books Week, I visited Harding University High School to give all English classes BBW booktalks. All in all, I met with nearly 400 students! Thanks for being a great audience and for celebrating your freedom to read! Hope to see you at the library soon to find more banned books!

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week 2008
September 27-October 4
Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Celebrate your freedom to read @ Freedom in one or all of the following ways:

1. Checkout and read at least one book from our BBW display, which includes books that were banned or challenged in the past year.

2. Pick up our BBW booklist and request additional books that may not be at FRL.

3. Find out more about BBW by visiting the following:

BBW Facebook Page

BBW MySpace Page

Frequently Challenged Books

Support BBW

4. Write a review for one or more books that were recently banned or challenged.

5. Participate in and/or come to our BBW program:

Let Freedom Ring Open Mic
Celebrate your freedom to read at Freedom! In celebration of Banned Books Week, read an excerpt from a book that was challenged or banned, or read us something of your own dealing with "Free People Read Freely."
Location: Freedom Regional
Date: Monday, 9/29/2008 at 3:00 PM (Program Length: 2 hours)
Age Range: Teens

Take Responsibility for Oneself

Dr. Gloria Edmunds, licensed psychologist and author of Take Responsibility for Oneself, visited Freedom Regional Library on September 15th.

A select number of Phillip O. Berry High School students were able to come hear her speak. Dr. Edmunds talked about how you can take responsibility of your life and your actions by outlining the necessary steps you need to take in order to be responsible and achieve your goals.

Dr. Edmunds was generous enough to donate a copy of her book for the teens at FRL. If you would like to look at it while you're in the library, please sign it out at the reference desk on the second floor.

Find out more about Dr. Edmunds and her work at her website: http://gloriaedmunds.com/book_author.php

New Arrivals @ FRL

Check out one of these new teen fiction books that we just got in! Click on the cover and it will take you to our catalog to find out more information about it. Enjoy!

Dark Dude
by Oscar Hijuelos

The Devouring
by Simon Holt

The Juvie Three
by Gordon Korman

The Dragonfly Pool
by Eva Ibbotson

Melting Stones
by Tamora Pierce

The Stowaway
by R.A. and Geno Salvatore

Bog Child
by Siobhan Dowd

Cybele's Secret
by Juliet Marillier

The Other Side of the Island
by Allegra Goodman

We Want To Hear What You Have to Say About Books & Other Things

Write a Review for Freedom Teens Blog

Do you feel like nobody cares about what you think? Well, Freedom Library does and we want to hear from you. So, review a book, graphic novel, CD, movie or magazine and see it posted right here on our blog! Reviews will be featured on the blog not only to let other teens know what you think and feel but also to get other teens interested in new literature, music, movies, etc. We think your opinions can help do that. Just write a review and submit it to the library and you could be published on this blog. For more information, attend any one of our daily programs after school and find out how you can share your thoughts with other teens.