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Get a liberal arts education for free!
Regular readers may remember me going on about the library’s new Strategic Plan, which was adopted in February after a lengthy planning process. The Whistler Public Library Strategic Plan is now posted on the library’s website, and if you look at it you will see that one of the library’s two primary service priorities is to support lifelong learning and literacy. While this is nothing new – these ideas have been driving forces in public libraries since their inception – it’s always good to check in with the community and make sure the priority is still valid.
This priority, along with the Learning Strategy in the Whistler2020 framework, helps us focus our attention on resources that will help Whistler residents find educational opportunities, even though formal education can be hard to find after Grade 12. Informal learning is something that can enrich your life and stimulate brain function. To that end, Whistler Public Library has purchased 22 courses through The Teaching Company, a well-respected organization that records and sells the Great Courses series. These are university-level classes that you watch or listen to on DVD or CD. We have purchased 4 audio course and 18 video courses that range from 12 to 42 lectures at 30 minutes each.
Have you ever had a really great teacher? I’ll never forget my high school experience with science. My chemistry teacher was, to be kind, a good-hearted but very dull man. I hated chemistry. My physics teacher, on the other hand, was fascinating and exciting and I loved the class.
The Great Courses are all delivered by the best and most inspiring of lecturers from excellent schools. They are the ones that make learning as compelling as a good film – the L.A. Times calls them “passionate, erudite, living-legend lecturers doing their greatest hits.” Have you seen the TV show Numb3rs? Well, give The Joy of Mathematics with Arthur Benjamin a try. Have you always wanted to go to Paris but never had the chance? Watch Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre with Richard Brettell.
Other courses include Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life (this one’s on CD so you can listen in the car); Great Battles of the Ancient World; and Lost Christianities: Scriptures and the Battles Over Authentication – who needs Dan Brown? We’ve got Bart Ehrman! There are lectures on game theory, world history, writing, language, chaos, probability: the list goes on.
We’ll be getting these wonderful resources on the shelves very soon, but if you want a preview, just ask. I’m looking forward to spending some time improving myself – and enjoying it – this winter.
Lauren Stara, Library Director