This report analyses the historic performance of public library services in the US, UK and Australia. It contains a narrative of the past ten years, showing declines in use and how widely they have occurred. It looks at the performance of different library activities and of different categories of expenditure on libraries It looks at the use of different reading formats that are available and how much they are used in public libraries compared to the wider reading public It identifies the purpose of reading in libraries and what influences people to read their books The report draws conclusions and makes recommendations for improvement.

Freckle Report 2021 follows the Freckle Report 2020. It is an analysis of the performance and funding of public libraries in the United States, in Australia and in the United Kingdom It assesses the problems facing the service, the decline in use; the apparent denial of that problem; how library services can sensibly be measured; the pursuit of digital material and the increasingly diverse audiences. The reports contain original research of the most recently available figures about how the public make use of public libraries and how the libraries have responded to the demand for them in recent years In particular it reports how successful the library service in the United States has been in providing digital books, as audio and eBooks, during the Covid 19 Pandemic

The 14th International Symposium on Superalloys (Superalloys 2020) highlights technologies for lifecycle improvement of superalloys. In addition to the traditional focus areas of alloy development, processing, mechanical behavior, coatings, and environmental effects, this volume includes contributions from academia, supply chain, and product-user members of the superalloy community that highlight technologies that contribute to improving manufacturability, affordability, life prediction, and performance of superalloys.

"The perfect story for adults to read to or with children between two and six years old with each page inviting children to interact with each page. Invites similar engagement as an ipad activity (i.e.: finding objects, mazes, peek-a boo flaps and encouragement to touch the book like a tablet) without increasing screen time. Introduces children to responsibility and care for animals--i.e. unlocking doors, turning lights on and off, cleaning up messes, feeding and playing with the cat. Assists with shape and colour recognition via the minimalistic design. Helps to develop spatial awareness and fine motor skills through the inclusion of flaps and simple activities. Freckles the cat is an adorable character that children will immediately bond with as the story progresses. This interactive book is filled with fun flaps and powered by imaginative play. For the littlest cat lovers."--Blue Duck Books New Zealand website.

More than anything in the world, Andrew wants freckles. His classmate Nicky has freckles -- they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. (Once sitting behind him in class, Andrew counted eighty-six of them, and that was just a start! One day after school, Andrew screws up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. And, as luck would have it, who should overhear him but giggling, teasing Sharon (who makes frog faces at everybody!) Sharon offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe -- for fifty cents. That's a lot of money to Andrew -- five whole weeks allowance! He spends a sleepless night, torn between his desire for freckles and his reluctance to part with such a substantial sum of money. Finally, the freckles win, and Andrew decides to accept Sharon's offer. After school, Andrew rushes home (with the recipe tucked into his shoe for safekeeping). He carefully begins to mix the strange combination of ingredients -- and immediately runs into some unforeseen problems. How Andrew finally manages to achieve a temporary set of freckles -- and then isn't sure he really wants them -- makes a warm and hilarious story.

Fourth-grader Ariel's weekend is turning out to be a disaster. Her friends are coming over for a sleepover on Saturday night and a movie on Sunday, but she can't get it together to write her homework essay about heritage and cultural traditions that is due on Monday. Her two best friends know everything about their cultures, but Ariel knows nothing about her own. As she reflects on the maze of changes surrounding her after her parents' divorce and her mother's remarriage, she reminisces about her early years in Colombia, her summers spent in Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest, and her current life in the Monterey Bay beach town where she now lives with her mom and her new dad. From her Caribbean grandma's patacones to her Pacific Northwest grandma's blackberry pie, Ariel discovers that food keeps emerging as a theme in her life. It's a theme that helps her gain a stronger sense of self, and one that just might save her before the Monday morning deadline.

For fans of The Glass Castle and Educated, comes mystery author Toby Neal's personal story of surviving a wild childhood in paradise.Born in 1965 to hippie surfer parents who just want to ride waves, use substances, and hide from society, red-headed Toby grows up as one of only a few hundred Caucasian "haole" people on the rugged, beautiful North Shore of Kauai, Hawaii.Toby's idealistic parents, breaking away from high achieving families, struggle with mental health and addiction issues as they try to live according to their own rules. Despite the hardship and deprivations of life on Kauai, they return again and again to an island whose hold on them is more powerful than any drug.Told from the immersive, first-person view of a child experiencing turbulent times as they occur, Freckled will take you on a journey you won't soon forget as Toby catches an octopus with her bare hands to feed the family, careens on her first bike down a rugged dirt trail deep in the jungle, and makes money by selling magic mushrooms to a drug dealer. Living in tents and off the land without electricity or communication with the outside world, Toby escapes into reading and imagination to deal with racial harassment and indifferent parenting. Sensitive, imaginative, and resilient,like a surfer girl Anne of Green Gables. Toby clings to a dream of academic achievement and a "normal" life. "Neal's prose is often effortless and elegant." ~Kirkus Reviews