71 Monell Avenue
Islip, NY 11751

T: 631-581-5933

F: 631.277.8429

71 Monell Avenue
Islip, NY 11751
T: 631-581-5933
F: 631-581-8429

71 Monell Avenue
Islip, NY 11751

T: 631-581-5933 

F: 631-581-8429

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Archive Monthly Archives: June 2018

Sensory Story Time

Sensory Story Time – Libraries Are for Everyone

Join our Sensory Story Time - Wednesday, July 11 (4:00-4:45 pm) Registration begins Monday, July 2, 5:30 pm at the Islip Public Library. For Islip Library cardholders. Children ages 36 months – preschool age/with caregiver.

Story times are an integral part of library services for children across the globe. They are designed to help promote literacy, vocabulary, and motor skills while having fun. Story times are developed by librarians and are built upon a foundation of creating and nurturing a love of reading in children. Libraries are a place where everyone can feel safe and welcome.

Sensory-based story times are designed especially for children who have sensory issues. Family attendance helps to create a welcoming and accepting atmosphere. These story times may include children who do not have sensory issues as well. Inclusiveness in a small group setting encourages children to form bonds with their peers.

In sensory story time settings, the librarians are aware that every child has different needs and may behave in a variety of ways. Programs are created to cater to certain sensory needs, such as the need to move about while the book(s) are being read. Studies show that a child’s vocabulary increases just by listening to new words. Interactive books are often included in sensory story times, as are movement based songs and finger plays. These activities help to increase early literacy skills in children who may not enjoy sitting still and being quiet. Join us!

Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants

Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants – Do You Know the Difference?

Refugee – A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their home country due to persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. The persecution of a refugee experiences may include harassment, threats, abduction or torture. A refugee is afforded some sort of legal protection, either by their host country’s government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or both.  In the U.S. refugees are hand-selected by the U.S. government and are screened in advance. They are subject to background checks and security screenings by multiple U.S. agencies. Only after everything is approved are they brought to the U.S. to reside permanently.

Asylum Seeker – An asylum seeker is a person who has fled persecution in their home country and is seeking safe haven in a different country, but has not yet received any legal recognition or status. Every refugee is initially an asylum seeker.

Migrants – A migrant is a person who chooses to move from their home for any variety of reasons, but not necessarily because of a direct threat of persecution or death. Migrant is an umbrella category that can include refugees but can also include people moving to improve their lives by finding work or education, those seeking family reunion and others. Migrants become immigrants when they enter into a new country.

Source:  hias.org

Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants

Interested in learning more? For more facts about refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and immigration please also refer to these resources:

Not-For-Profit websites:

 (.ORG INDICATES A NOT-FOR-PROFIT) 

JUST A FEW OF THE BOOKS AT THE ISLIP PUBLIC LIBRARY:

The line becomes a river: dispatches from the border. Cantú, Francisco

The making of a dream: how a group of young undocumented immigrants helped change what it means to be American. Wides-Muñoz, Laura

Border patrol nation: dispatches from the front lines of homeland security. Miller, Todd

Exceptional people: how migration shaped our world and will define our future. Goldin, Ian

Detained and deported: stories of immigrant families under fire. Regan, Margaret

Exodus: how migration is changing our world. Collier, Paul

A nation of nations: a great American immigration story. Gjelten, Tom

The far away brothers: two young migrants and the making of an American life. Markham, Lauren

Immigration and asylum: from 1900 to the present. ABC-CLIO,

Go back to where you came from: the backlash against immigration and the fate of western democracy. Polakow-Suransky, Sasha

A hope more powerful than the sea: one refugee's incredible story of love, loss, and survival. Fleming, Melissa

The great departure: mass migration from Eastern Europe and the making of the free world. Zahra, Tara

The lines we cross. Abdel-Fattah, Randa

Immigrants' rights, citizens' rights. Howell, Sara

Cast away: true stories of survival from Europe's refugee crisis. McDonald-Gibson

The fence: national security, public safety, and illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Maril, Robert Lee

Border crosser: one gringo's illicit passage from Mexico into America. Rico, Johnny

Dying to cross: the worst immigrant tragedy in the history of the United States. Ramos, Jorge

City of dreams: the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York. Anbinder, Tyler

A Nation of Immigrants. Kennedy, John F.

Groupthink

Groupthink

Definition of Groupthink: a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groupthink

Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (p. 9). Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups. A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.”

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm

Groupthink occurs when a group with a particular agenda makes irrational or problematic decisions because its members value harmony and coherence over accurate analysis and critical evaluation. Individual members of the group are strongly discouraged from any disagreement with the consensus and set aside their own thoughts and feelings to unquestioningly follow the word of the leader and other group members. In a groupthink situation, group members refrain from expressing doubts, judgments or disagreement with the consensus and ignore any ethical or moral consequences of any group decision that furthers their cause. Risk-taking is common, and the lack of creativity and independent thinking have negative personal and political implications for both group members and outsiders. Groupthink decisions rarely have successful outcomes.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/groupthink

Groupthink -  you’ve probably heard this term before - it gets bandied about in the media with some frequency - but have you thought about what it really means?

Groupthink is not the same thing as collaborating with others in a group to form a consensus. Groupthink is characterized by conformity and blind obedience due to coercion and pressure from the group’s leadership. When individual opinions and creative thought are suppressed by a group, poor - even dangerous, decisions are often the result. When members of a group seem fearful of sharing an alternative idea or disagreeing with others in the group it is not a healthy group.

History teaches us that Groupthink and blind obedience can produce disastrous results: slavery and ‘Jim Crow’ laws, the Holocaust, the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, McCarthyism, the massacre in the Jonestown Cult, the massacre in Tiananmen Square, and recent massive separations of children from their parents by the U.S. government are just a few examples that come to mind.

We humans have the power to think – to reason, analyze, weigh evidence, consult various sources, and to logically evaluate facts in order to make decisions. It can be an enlightening exercise to consult various news sources, especially ones that offer viewpoints that seem different from what you usually hear.  If you generally only read one newspaper, or listen to one radio station, or watch one TV network it’s quite possible that you are getting a biased presentation. Try listening to what multiple sources are saying about the same event, then do some fact checking* and form your own opinion!  Be prepared to express your viewpoint and make your case. Support your opinion with solid arguments and examples from multiple and varied sources. Then, the next time you find yourself in a group in which everyone is agreeing but you feel differently, speak up! If we do not exercise the power of our minds, we risk becoming “sheeple” – no better than a sheep who would follow the one in front of him straight off a cliff or into the clutches of a hungry wolf. It can be scary to express an idea that is unpopular with your group, or “tribe” – but it’s necessary for all of us to hear other ideas and to expand our minds. Respectful civil discourse, varied ideas, and thinking voters are the necessary ingredients of a healthy democracy.

As Albert Einstein once said,
“When we all think alike, no one thinks very much!”

Listed below are some interesting books in our collection at the Islip Public Library on becoming a more logical, individual thinker. Check one out today – exercise your mind by reading, analyzing, and thinking for yourself!

  • The Art of Thinking Clearly.  By Rolf Dobelli
  • Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking.  By D. Q. McInerny
  • Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists and Other Serial Offenders.  By Jamie Whyte
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    How to Think.  By Alan Jacobs
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    Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World.  By Adam Grant
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    Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations.  By Amy Chua
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    Post-Truth.  By Lee C. McIntyre
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    Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.  By John J. Ratey
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    Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior.  By Ori Brafman
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    Thinking Fast and Slow.  By Daniel Kahneman
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    You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself.  By David McRaney

Get the Facts!

Fact Checking Sources:

Summer Reading

Summertime is Reading Time

Summer is right around the corner and that means beaches, barbecues, hiking, kayaking, sailing, and of course summer reading! Did you know that we have a summer reading club for adults?!

Registration for the Islip Public Library’s Adult Summer Reading Club began on Friday, June 16th! It’s really easy to participate: Come into the Library to register and receive a summer reading club folder. Read any book you want and give us a review of the book(s) you read.

You can either report on your book using a paper book review form (found in the folder you will receive when you register) or by filling out your book review on our Adult Summer Reading Club blog found here.

Remember: you need to register before reporting on your books. After reading and reporting on two books, you will receive a special prize -- a personalized Islip Public Library notebook/pen set as well as an invitation to attend our summer reading club party on Thursday, August 16 at 6:00 pm.

Need some ideas for what to read this summer?

Try these lists or stop into the Library for some great summer reading suggestions!

Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice – It’s Almost Here!

The Summer Solstice arrives this year at 6:07 am EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) on Thursday June 21st! It’s the beginning of summer….finally. After a long, cold, snowy, rainy winter and spring, I know we are all hoping for a nice stretch of beautiful weather.

Each year, the date and time of the Summer Solstice varies between June 20 and June 22, depending on when the Sun reaches it northernmost point from the equator.  Summer Solstice is the day we enjoy the greatest number of daylight hours of the whole year – the longest day. It’s also the day with the highest sun intensity so you’d think it would also be the hottest day of the year, but of course we know that’s not the case. It takes the land and the oceans a bit longer to warm up. That usually happens toward the end of July or the beginning of August in our Northern Hemisphere.

Much interesting folklore surrounds the Summer Solstice. Since ancient times, people have celebrated the magnificence of the Solstice in a variety of ways. The Summer Solstice is associated with a renewal of mind, body, and spirit. In fact, the ancient Greeks counted the Summer Solstice as the first official day of their new year. The Mayans and Aztecs honored the day by building new structures employing the specific alignment and shadows produced by the Sun on that date. The ancient Chinese celebrated by paying tribute to the Earth, femininity, and the yin energy of yin/yang philosophy. Today practitioners of yoga (which is defined as a blending of mind, body, and spirit) congregate in New York City and spread out their yoga mats in Times Square to practice together en masse! One of the grandest celebrations of the Summer Solstice happens every year at the ancient archaeological site of Stonehenge in Great Britain, where druids, mystics, and thousands of Sun worshippers witness the golden sunrise as it perfectly aligns between these mysterious ruins.

For most of us, the Summer Solstice simply marks the beginning of that wonderful time of year when we can slow down a bit and soak up the warmth of the Sun once again. Long Island is a wonderful place to spend a summer day. There is no shortage of beaches, parks, trails, and adventures to enjoy!

Please put the Library on your list of places to visit this summer. Check out our summer programs, borrow a free museum pass, or investigate the many local attractions you can explore this summer. We also have discounted tickets to several places of interest: the Riverhead Aquarium; the Long Island Game Farm; and the Museum of Natural History.  Newsday produces the jam-packed Fun Book each spring with a wide variety of ideas for summer fun, including listings of places to boat, swim, fish, surf, hike, play sports, and see shows, as well as listings of museums, shopping areas, restaurants, B&Bs, wineries, and special events. Ask to see the newest edition at the Reference Desk!  While you’re in the Library stock up on some good beach reads to tuck into your beach bag as well as some audio books or music CDs for your next road trip, and DVDs for a rainy (or too hot!) day. Spend some time perusing a newspaper, magazine, or book in one of our rocking chairs under an umbrella on our new outdoor Library Terrace. Join one of our Summer Reading Clubs - there’s one for children, teens, and adults too! Learn how to download free library ebooks, audio books, and magazines onto your electronic device. Speaking of electronic devices, did I mention there’s wifi on the Terrace?!  We even have iPods and laptops that you can check out to use while you’re here.

For more suggestions of fabulous, nearby summer fun check out these websites:

Have fun and stay safe this summer!

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