Kathy, teaching students to mark their text is a pretty key skill in high school, at least. I usually give them the option to use post-its if they have a real problem with writing in a book, but a lot of kids don't read closely until they learn that skill.

(Not commenting on the person herself; just on the annotation thing.)

Maybe she means they have to use a specific (paperback) edition so the page numbers will be consistent.

Eta: wow, I had no idea that marking the text was a taught skill. We were so not allowed to mark up the (school-owned, and they were pretty much all school or library owned) books in my day.

That site is sort of addictive. After a while, I was clicking things mostly on instinct. Still, 540 grains of rice is what - a mouthful? Maybe two?

Right! And yet, addictive because it's this trick of figuring out how far I can get in vocabulary level (highest I've gotten was 47 but with a ton of luck and guessing).

I love annotating text and think it's a good skill to be taught to students, especially with readers who struggle because it makes explicit what is often a hidden process -- that of making meaning of a text. And I will often, with short pieces, have kids get credit for annotating (or group annotating) because they are practicing it and need motivation to do so since it isn't easy.

And there are lots of ways to annotate and teach annotating. For many of the teachers I work with, it's now WHAT or HOW something is annotated, but it is the fact that annotation happens that is important.

eta xpost with others.

they need to be transformed into gathering places for all sorts of activities, combined with rec centers, perhaps, and focused more on multimedia.

I was going to say. My public library has toys in the children's room, two rooms of entertainment DVDs and videos (they're gangbusters on TV series), and a small lecture hall. And free internet, and ESL materials, and two reading rooms, and a bunch of smaller conference-style rooms for group work, and a reference librarian to whom you can direct questions, and oh yeah a whole lot of books. And a giant plant (possibly a ficus) in the middle of the non-fiction floor!

The problem with the library complainer is that they're describing what libraries already do -- but since s/he declares that s/he doesn't and never plans to go there....

What amych said. The only libraries I can think of that don't have meeting rooms are older ones with serious space issues. All of them have a lot of public programmes that are so much more about books.

You can keep your glass vertical Sue! We believe in you! You the woman!

I am heartened by your belief in me, Gud. But I actually threw my travel mug in my bag after rinsing it out, without dumping all the water out.

From tommy's link:

Now, this may seem ridiculous, but keep in mind this was an era before doctors such as the esteemed Dr. Gregory House gained the ability to solve any ailment within 42 minutes.

That never-use-a-library person's posting makes me wait for the one where s/he complains her/his tax dollars shouldn't go to libraries... because that's what comes next at least 50% of the time.

It's a classic way to weasel out of the argument: changing the focus of the discussion from talking about the good of the whole to the good of a specific person (usually the speaker).

In other words, Pfft!

And yet, addictive because it's this trick of figuring out how far I can get in vocabulary level (highest I've gotten was 47 but with a ton of luck and guessing).

Totally. I think I hit 49 a couple of times but that was after a string of lucky guesses and dropped right down into the mid-40s after another string of not so lucky guesses. I also want to find out what happens if you get over 9000, but Safari crashed and I had to start over before i got that far.

I also want to find out what happens if you get over 9000

You actually feed someone.