Go Set A Watchman

In Harper Lee’s wildly popular novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, published in 1960, readers were introduced to Atticus Finch and his family, and to the deep moral dilemmas wracking their small southern town.

The story continues in Go Set A Watchman, published 55 years after Mockingbird.  Atticus is back in Watchman, as is an adult Scout who revisits Maycomb, Alabama, in a different time, but finds it faced with many of the same issues.

Be a part of the discussion, on Thursday October 27, at noon, in Room 122.  Copies of the book and audio are in the library.  Bring your lunch!

Banned Books Week

Every year, the list of books that are challenged or banned, gets longer.  People decide that certain books should be removed from libraries or schools for various reasons, usually religious or political.

Here are the top ten titles that the American Library Association said were most challenged in 2015:

1. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
2. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
   Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).
3. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
   Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.
4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
   Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
   Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).
6. The Holy Bible
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint.
7. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
   Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).
8. Habibi, by Craig Thompson
   Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
9. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.
10. Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
    Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).

Check out our display, and be a rebel by checking out some "dangerous" books!

Autumn's Arrival

Whether you want to identify what trees those colorful leaves fell off of, or bake the perfect pumpkin (or apple) pie, stop by the library this fall and browse our collection to find just what you're looking for.  

If you're not into cooking, or trees aren't your thing, how about curling up with a blanket and escaping to someplace warm and sunny with one of our fiction books, or DVDs?  

Of course, as the days get shorter, and a chill is in the air, it's the perfect time to create lasting memories: pull your kids close and read to them.  We've got a great bunch of kids' books!

Happy 50th Anniversary!

In September, 1966, New Hampshire Vocational Institute opened the doors to it's northern most campus in Berlin, N.H.  Director Ed Oleson welcomed 102 students, enrolled in four programs.

Fifty years later, White Mountains Community College welcomes 813 students at our main campus in Berlin, and our Littleton and North Conway centers too.  We offer 23 degree, and 29 certificate programs.  Oh how we've grown!

Fall Program Series