MDBCs 10 Dec 2023

December 10 is Dewey Decimal System Day. The day commemorates the birth of Melville Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System of library classification.

The system, first published in 1876, organizes library materials by fields. There are 10 main fields that are further divided into smaller, more specialized area. Libraries around to the world use the system to organize and classify their books.

In addition to creating this ingenious system of organization, Melville Dewey was also a big proponent of the metric system. He was the founder of the American Metric Bureau.

How to Celebrate?

Learn more about the Dewey Decimal System.
Visit a library and talk to a librarian about how they keep track of all the books in the building.

Did You Know…

…that only 3 countries in the world do not use the metric system today? These are the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia.

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Jane Addams Day

December 10 is Jane Addams Day, an unofficial holiday that celebrates the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Created in 2007, the holiday is held annually on December 10 to commemorate the date in 1931 when Addams was awarded the world's most prestigious award for those who work to spread peace and prosperity in the world and their communities - the Nobel Peace Prize.

Five Prizes

The award is one of the five prizes instituted by the Swedish inventor, Alfred Nobel and is given out annually in Oslo, Norway. Addams shared her prize with Nicholas Murray Butler.

Feminist and Peace Activist

Born in 1860, Jane Addams was a social worker, a feminist, and a peace activist. She was committed to improving the lives of women and children and to improving conditions of underprivileged communities in Chicago. In 1889, she co-founded the Hull House in Chicago, a settlement house that encouraged educated women to work for social reform in working class neighborhoods in the city. Addams was also a feminist and believed that women had the right to vote and make themselves heard both in politics and in society.

Founder of Social Work

In addition to her prolific social work, Jane Addams was also involved in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She is also known as the founder of social work in the United States.

How to Celebrate?

Women like Jane Addams made it possible for women in the United States to have the political, economic and social opportunities they have today. So, spend this day reading about the history of women's rights in the U.S.
If you have children and kids in your life, tell them about the work of Jane Addams. The Jane Addams Peace Association gives out annual awards to children's books that promote the cause of peace, equality and social justice.
Even though Jane Addams worked hard to ensure social change, peace and equality, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Celebrate the life and work of an inspiring woman by volunteering your time and money to a social justice charity.
Remember, you don't have to be in the United States to honor Jane Addams. Her ideals of equality, peace and justice are relevant to all times, ages and places.

Did You Know...

...that Jane Addams was only the second woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? The first woman was peace activist Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner.

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Traveling through the Midwest, I stopped at an Ohio welcome center to pick up a state map. I found plenty of brochures but no maps. Then I spotted two employees and asked whether they had any.

“Sure,” said the first guy. “I’ll get you one.”

As he walked to the back, the second guy explained, “We keep them in the storage room. If we leave them out on the counter, people just come in and take them.”

***

“Has your diet changed?”  I asked an 87-year-old woman I was admitting into the hospital.

“Yes,” she said. “For Lent, I gave  up whipped cream on my Jell-O, hard candy, and my two beers a night. [Pause] And look where it’s gotten me.”

***

A child psychologist had twin boys—one was an optimist; the other, a pessimist. Just to see what would happen, on Christmas Day he loaded the pessimist’s room with toys and games. In the optimist’s room, he dumped a pile of horse droppings.

That night, the father found the pessimist surrounded by his gifts, crying. “What’s wrong?” the father asked.

“I have a ton of game manuals to read … I need batteries … and my toys will all eventually get broken!” sobbed the pessimist.

Passing the optimist’s room, the father found him dancing for joy around the pile of manure. “Why are you so happy?” he asked.

The optimist shouted, “There’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”

***

Natives of Baltimore, Maryland, my wife and I decided to move to the country in southwest  Virginia for a change of pace. After we made the move, we started to notice little things about our neighbors. One we could not get over was how they gave directions.

When we asked, everyone said to go down yonder and go over yonder and go around yonder. We would say thank you, but when we got into the truck we’d look at each other and ask, “Do you know where yonder is?” So for the first year or so, we drove around in circles.

Then the other day, while we were in town shopping, someone asked us for directions. As I told them where to go, it came to me all at once. It took some time, but yeah—now I know where yonder is. And the people there are all right.