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Welcome from Annie Norman, Delaware State Librarian

Written on: March 17th, 2008 by: in Learning Journeys

Welcome to all of the participants in the Delaware
Library Learning Journeys program! Thank you to the sponsoring libraries for
hosting the program.

How do you track your reading and learning?

Do you keep a reading log or journal, too? I’ve kept track of my reading in
various ways, off and on, since I was a teenager.

All through high school I was a fiction reader. I knew I read a lot of books
but had no idea how many, so one day I decided to start a list. I began by
recording authors and titles in a notebook, and by the end of a year discovered
I was reading more than 100 books per year!

After college, in my late 30s, I shifted into a self-help phase, reading
exclusively non-fiction. Since I’m a big-picture person and don’t retain
details very well, I decided I needed to start taking notes in order for the
reading to do me any good! I resumed listing authors and titles, and also noted
any tips or ideas that were helpful. I didn’t necessarily note what the author
wanted me to remember, just what I wanted to remember.

I’ve kept reading journals continuously for more than 10 years now. As my
reading journal evolved, I also note the value of the book and find that I save
more than $1,500 per year by using my library! While I’m reading a book, I use
Post-it® flags (aren’t they a great invention?) to mark quotes, phrases,
concepts, and ideas that intrigue me. Then when I’m finished the book, I pull
out my journal and record the items that I’ve flagged.

It’s fascinating to me to retrace my learning journey by browsing through my
journals. I can see what concepts I was working on at different periods, and
the various paths and detours that I explored along the way. I can also see
areas that I’ve conquered — topics where my questions have been answered and
issues resolved. It’s reassuring to know that there has been progress!

We are delighted that you have joined us! I’ve enjoyed meeting many of you at
your libraries at the Delaware Library Learning Journeys programs and look
forward to chatting with you in this continuing conversation. We hope that
you’ll share your techniques and your exciting discoveries along your lifelong
learning journeys. The better we know you and what you need next, the better we
can develop our Delaware library collections and services to meet your needs.

Annie

Anne E.C. Norman, Director / State Librarian
Delaware Division of Libraries / State Library
43 S DuPont Hwy Dover DE 19901
302-739-4748 / fax 302-739-6787      
annie.norman at state.de.us 
(Email address is not linked to prevent Spam. Please insert @ symbol and remove spaces to send email to Annie. Thanks!)

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