Do we still need the Electoral College?

Do we still need the Electoral College? was the question under discussion today when Dr. Tera McCown of the University of Charleston came to the West Virginia Library Commission. The lunchtime discussion was well-attended and lively.

For more information about the Electoral College and other election-related resources check out the NARA Federal Register and U.S. Electoral College homepage website.

Watch the WVLC blog, website, and Facebook page for more lunchtime programs.

Events are free and open to the public.

Capitol Reads

October's Capitol Read is The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry

In a rural Kentucky river town, "Old Jack" Beechum, a retired farmer, sees his life again through the shades of one burnished day in September 1952. Bringing the earthiness of America's past to mind, The Memory of Old Jack conveys truth and integrity of the land and the people who live from it. Through the eyes of one man can be seen the values Americans strive to recapture today.

More information about Capitol Reads selections can be found on the WVLC website.

WVLC at Conference

Banned Books Week Screening

The West Virginia Library Commission screened the film "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book" to wrap up Banned Books Week. The film, though 25 years old, is surprisingly modern and relevant.

Check to see if your local library has a copy of the film. You can also view it on YouTube.

Banned Books Week Turns 30

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

The Library Commission will be celebrating Banned Books Week by showing the classic "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book." The film is approximately 45 minutes long. Join us for the lunchtime showing on Friday, October 5, at noon, in the Childers Room. This event is free and open to the public. Bring your own lunch. Cookies and beverages will be provided.

For more information on Banned Books Week, click here.

For more information about the Friday film event, contact Megan Tarbett, 304-558-2045

Lunch with Local Author

The West Virginia Center for the Book will host Charleston author Jim Wallace on Friday, November 16th at Noon in the Library Commission's State Library in the State Culture Center. Wallace will be discussing and autographing his new book "A History of the West Virginia Capitol: The House of State." Bring a brown-bag lunch and we will provide drinks/dessert. Please join us!

Capitol Reads

September's Capitol Read is Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

When his sister tricks him into taking her guru on a trip to their childhood home, Otto Ringling, a confirmed skeptic, is not amused. Six days on the road with an enigmatic holy man who answers every question with a riddle is not what he'd planned. But in an effort to westernize his passenger—and amuse himself—he decides to show the monk some "American fun" along the way. From a chocolate factory in Hershey to a bowling alley in South Bend, from a Cubs game at Wrigley field to his family farm near Bismarck, Otto is given the remarkable opportunity to see his world—and more important, his life—through someone else's eyes. Gradually, skepticism yields to amazement as he realizes that his companion might just be the real thing.

In Roland Merullo's masterful hands, Otto tells his story with all the wonder, bemusement, and wry humor of a man who unwittingly finds what he's missing in the most unexpected place.