Gratitude.

The day after tomorrow is a national holiday. One of gratitude.

It is the lead up to the end of the year holidays and the long dark.

Yep. Thanksgiving.

(I couldn’t decide which was more representative…certainly the Norman Rockwell painting isn’t; so I didn’t include it.)

Real meaning?

I recently read an article from my Alma mater on the “Real Meaning of Thanksgiving”. What I didn’t know is that “since 1970, Native Americans… commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US Thanksgiving holiday.”  It is a “reminder of the genocide of millions of indigenous people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture.” This day of remembrance and spiritual connection protests the racism and oppression which the Native Americans continue to experience.  A similar gathering will take place in San Francisco, California, on Alcatraz Island.

This is because of the concept “described by scholars as settler colonialism”.

Ronald Trosper, professor of American Indian studies at the University of Arizona, presents a short quiz about Thanksgiving Day (three questions only). Although he cites the web site  GlobalSocietyTheory.com, that link doesn’t work. He says “Settler colonialism persists in the ongoing elimination of indigenous populations, and the assertion of state sovereignty and juridical control over their lands.” Although Thanksgiving is an US holiday, “…Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa also are examples of countries formed by settler colonialism.”

Criteria.

Everyone has a criteria for determining what Thanksgiving means to them. What is the value, merit, worth of that program.

Is is just a two day break from work? Is it just another holiday? Or is is about the food? For me, I look at the food and I am thankful. I have not gone hungry. Sometimes it is any food; sometimes it is only green food.

This year, I will be celebrating the holiday with my brother, his wife, his son, and his son’s girlfriend. We will feast of foods for which we are thankful. That does not include turkey.

I made a new pie for gathering. Dulce De Leche any one?

my.

LIBRARIES 

With them, we are amazing!

Without them, we humons are limited.

I can only speak for myself–I do not want to be limited. I am a library champion. (A library champion is someone who fosters public awareness on the extensive range of resources and services available at public, school, academic and special libraries nationwide.)

If you were to see my professional library, perhaps you would understand. (It looks like the photo above, only the shelves are white; I have four bookcases with extensions. The shelves are full.)

If you were to see my personal library, you would understand. Most of it is still in boxes.

Because I believe that literacy is important, When they were young and beginning to read, I gave four of my bookshelves to my daughters (who are now grown, although their bookshelves are still full, mostly, of books). One each is in their room; two are now in the quest room. Hence, my library is mostly still in boxes.

I’ve stopped buying books for personal use (I still get professional ones). I use the library to get hard copy. I have 13 books at home plus two book club books. I have 11 books on hold.

I have an iPad on which I have at least four books and an equal number on hold. (I read a lot.)

But libraries do so much more than provide us with books (still their most important function). They move information in new directions! And they have magic fingers on the keyboard. I would be lost without libraries.

The information to which they have access is astounding.

Libraries and evaluation.

I want to discuss my professional library. I have one whole bookcase (of seven plus shelves) which is filled with books relating to evaluation. Some books are in many editions. And that doesn’t include statistics books or measurement books or the hard-copy journals that have come over the years.

“Why?” you ask, do I have multiple versions of the same (well, almost) book, different editions? Ah. Perhaps one edition will provide the answer (to the puzzle) and the others do not. Does that mean that the answer is not relevant? No. Does that mean that the information is passe? Maybe. Maybe not. The book may be the seminal reference and needs to be sited. It may give a history that isn’t found any place else. It is important to see how the volume changes with each edition. Having multiple volumes adds value. (And the root of evaluation is value.)

Do I need all this? Probably not, especially in the age of the internet and access to all that it provides. Yet, there is something about hard copy; you know a book  (whether a paperback or not), with its binding, its smell, its feel, that cannot be duplicated on-line. Something that cannot be diminished. Something that definitely adds value, merit and worth.

“To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering in a great library without touching the books.” ~~Manly P. Hall

My feeling exactly.