Classic Lit vs. Lusty Wenches

Recently the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald posted a "Throwback Thursday" article from March 11, 1951 about the then Dubuque County Attorney, John L. Duffy, ordering the confiscation of a few books from the library in conjunction with an obscenity case.

The article can be accessed via microfilm at the library and soon you will be able to search articles digitally.  Thanks to a old Google project, you can read the first page of the article here and the second page here.

The obscenity case was picked up in Time magazine and published in the April 2, 1951 edition.  You can come to the library and read the article; we have bound copies of Time magazine going back to 1936.

One of the books cited in the news article and Time magazine happens to be our April 17, 2016 book discussion selection, A Stretch on the River by Dubuque's own Richard Bissell. Bissell's book was selected along with three French and English classics so the grand jury would have "something to make comparisons with."  In 1951, A Stretch on the River was on a restricted list at the library and not given out to children. Today anyone with a library card can check out a copy. There are several different covers of the book out there; the one to the left seems to be from 1959.  If this was the 1951 cover, you can imagine why it might have been considered "obscene."  

Bissell himself commented on the case in his book "My Life on the Mississippi or why I'm not Mark Twain"


If you are interested in more of Richard Bissell's works, you can place a hold on many of his items here.  

Our microfilm room is available anytime the library is open. We have a large collection of Dubuque newspapers on film, a few as far back as 1836.  Stop by the Recommendations Desk for help finding a Bissell book, and come to the Reference area to browse magazines and newspapers both past and present.  

~ Amy, Adult Services. 

New Item Tuesday

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Join the First Annual Great Reading Challenge!

Carnegie-Stout Public Library is doing something new this year. We are having a year-long reading challenge for our adult readers. You have until the end of 2016 to read 24 books - with the catch being (fun catch, I think!) that your books have to fit into one of our book categories.

The challenge was built to appeal to as many people as possible. People who want to challenge themselves and expand their reading horizons by reading from the different categories or genres will find lots of new areas to explore. But, our categories do fit just about any type of book, so don't worry if you like to keep reading in your favorite niche or genre.

Some examples of our categories (we have over 50 in all):

Read a love story
Read a book by a North American author
Read a book recommended by a friend
Read book you have always meant to read
Read a true crime book
Listen to an audio book
Read a book of poetry
Read a graphic novel
Read a microhistory

If 24 books seems like a lot to read in the next 11 months, never fear. You can substitute for up to 12 of those books by attending events at the library in 2016. The only rule is that the events have to be adult events. Events like Coloring, Nerf, Book Clubs, etc. will count toward the challenge.

You can register and submit your book logs online, or stop by the Recommendations Desk on first floor. There are small prizes at 12 books (50%) and 18 books (75%) read. When you complete the challenge, you will be invited to a reception in January 2017 and can put your name in to win a gift-basket, with prizes from our sponsors: Dubuque Food Co-op, Inspire Cafe, Mindframe Theaters, L. May Eatery, River Lights Bookstore, Rubix Coffee, Jumble Coffee Company, East Mill Bakeshop & Catering, Manna Java World Cafe and Outside the Lines Art Gallery.