Profile - Portsmouth Public Library

The Portsmouth Public Library serves the informational, educational and entertainment needs of the citizens of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Their new building -- which was dedicated in January 2007 -- was the first municipal building in New Hampshire to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification

Tonight at 7pm the library will be hosting a Big Read panel discussion, Media and the Soul of the Citizen. Please join us!

Events - November 1, 2007

As part of their Big Read: NH Reads Fahrenheit 451 programming the Plaistow Public Library will be showing the film version of this classic novel at the Vic Geary Senior Center with an intermission for a short discussion and another short discussion at the end. The film will begin at 9am. The Vic Geary Drop-in Center is located on Greenough Road in Plaistow.

Events - October 31, 2007

The Peterborough Town Library will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 beginning at 7pm

Events - October 30, 2007

As part of their Big Read programming the Kelley Library (Salem) will host a screening of the film version of this classic novel beginning at 6pm with a discussion to follow

Free Speech in a Free Society at Sandown Public Library at 6:30pm

Media and the Soul of the Citizen begins at 7pm at the Portsmouth Public Library

Events - October 29, 2007

Hampton Falls Free Library will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 beginning at 7pm

Surveillance in the Post 9-11 World at 7pm at Madbury Library

"Civil Liberties in a Fahrenheit 451 World" at Philp Read Memorial Library (Plainfield) at 7pm

Ray Bradbury's remarkable account of life in a thoroughly repressive society was written in the midst of the "McCarthy Era" in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Many government officials and agents regarded communism as a sufficient threat to justify the suspension of civil liberties. To
accomplish that objective society had to be persuaded to suppress those who spoke and acted to protect those liberties. Bradbury's account relies on that pattern to construct a society which accepts the destruction of books (and one assumes, all other forms of art and literature) as an appropriate and necessary means of assuring "happiness." Those who do not accept that formula suffer a cruel fate. Are we living through a contemporary version of Fahrenheit 451 or have we insulated ourselves from that form of oppression? We will examine the trends in our society following 9/11 to take our temperature and determine how close we are to Fahrenheit 451.

Media and the Soul of the Citizen

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury envisioned a culture where people have lost interest in reading and in interacting with others and with the world around them. They are anesthetized by wall-size televisions that spew an endless stream of dumbed-down reality programs that don’t require them to think, read, or act. Sound familiar?

What is the role of the media in this age of infotainment, YouTube and the never-ending news cycle? What responsibility do citizens have in navigating the brave new world of new media?

A panel of journalists will address these questions at "Media and the Soul of the Citizen" on Tuesday, October 30 at 7 p.m. at the Portsmouth Public Library.

Aine Donovan, Executive Director of the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College, will moderate the discussion. Dr. Donovan's research emphasis and publications are in the areas of moral education, applied ethics, professional ethics, and philosophy of education. The panelists will be Andrew Merton, reporter and UNH professor; political correspondent for the Boston Globe James Pindell; and award winning journalist Annmarie Timmins of the Concord Monitor.

This Big Read event is co-sponsored by the Portsmouth Public Library and was organized by the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

The Exchange

This afternoon New Hampshire Public Radio came to the NH State Library to tape an episode of The Exchange focusing on our Big Read book, Fahrenheit 451. Laura Knoy's guests were author Jeanne Cavelos and mass media expert Mark Timney. There were some great questions from the audience, and an interesting discussion of how prophetic (or not) Ray Bradbury was in his vision of a media saturated future. This program is scheduled for broadcast at 9am and again at 8pm on Monday, October 29, 2007.

Movies

As part of their Big Read: NH Reads Fahrenheit 451 programming, many libraries around the state are showing film versions of this classic novel. View a video clip from this film here.

10/4 (2pm) Tracy Memorial Library

10/4 (7pm) Portsmouth Public Library as part of Cinema Science Fiction.

10/9 (7pm) Howe Library
This is part of the Dystopian Worlds: The Future Viewed from the Past film series.

10/11 (7pm) Nesmith Library

10/13 (1:30pm) Derry Public Library

10/15 (7pm) Mill Pond Center for the Arts in Durham, in partnership with the Durham Public Library.

10/16 (6pm) Manchester City Library

10/18 (7pm) Mill Pond Center for the Arts in Durham, in partnership with the Durham Public Library.

10/20 (1pm) Silsby Free Public Library in Charlestown
This film is being presented by the CHAOS (Culture, History, and Other Stuff) Book group and will be followed by a community discussion on "What Book Would You Save?" Call 603-826-7793 for more information.

10/24 (1pm) Rye Public Library

10/25 (7pm) The Colonial Theater in Keene in partnership with the Keene Public Library

10/30 (6pm) Kelley Library

11/7 (6pm) Frost Free Library

QUESTION: How do you think the film version compares to the novel?
Click on the comment link below (you don't need an account of any kind to leave a comment, but please sign your comment) and share your thoughts.