Library As An Important Tool When It Comes To Enhancing Knowledge. Persuasive Presentation - Essay Example

I.D. Number: Project 2: Persuasive Presentation Evaluation 32 Ninth Grade English 2 ENGH 032 059 Be sure to include ALL pages of this project (including the directions and the assignment) when you send the project to your teacher for grading. Don’t forget to put your name and I.D. number at the top of this page! For this project, you may choose to write a persuasive essay or deliver a persuasive speech. Your purpose is to convince your readers/audience to use the library more. To prepare, refer to the “Research and Technology” discussion that goes along with “Libraries Face Sad Chapter.” This information can be found on page 537 of your textbook. Follow the directions given. Research the services offered by libraries today and collect information about the services and frequency of use for each of the services. Next, draft a simple outline to organize your ideas. Your presentation should be organized logically and should include a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Refer back to Pete Hamill’s persuasive essay titled “Libraries Face Sad Chapter” that you studied in Lesson 10 to refresh your memory on persuasive structure. Refer to the outline template on the next page as a model structure for your presentation. IMPORTANT NOTE: This project contains 2 parts: the outline and the essay or speech. Please be sure to include BOTH parts in your final submission. Your essay should be between two and four pages (600 to 1200 words) in length. Type a final draft of your outline, as well as the final draft of your essay, in the space provided at the end of this project assignment document. You will need to use at least three sources in your paper. They must be cited, and all direct quotations must be in quotation marks. Use the MLA Style and include a bibliography at the end of your essay. The current edition of the MLA Style Manual is available in most libraries, and guides to the manual may be found online. There is a brief summary of the MLA Style on page R36 in your textbook. Your essay and outline will be worth 100 points, and they will be worth 12 percent of your course grade. They will be graded according to the following criteria: Project Grading Table (Teacher Use Only) Points Possible Points Earned Does your essay follow your outline? 10 Does your essay follow the template provided in the project assignment (introduction, body, conclusion, etc.)? 10 Does your essay have a clear position about why people should use libraries more often? 20 Have you used at least three resources to support your position? 20 Is your evidence credible, and does it support your position logically? 20 Are your sources cited in MLA Style and in a bibliography? 10 Is your paper free of errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation? 10 To submit your project online, type it in the space provided at the end of this project assignment document (please double-space lines). Save the document on your desktop under the name ENGH032059-Project2. Outline I. Services offered by the libraries. a. Borrowing b. Internet c. Self-directed learning d. Magazines and newspapers e. References and general information II. Conclusion a. Point to note b. Why visit the library. III. References Use of Library A library is an important tool when it comes to enhancing our knowledge. We should encourage its use repeatedly to have a well-informed society. A library is defined as a collection of information resources that are orderly arranged and accessible to users for reading, research and studies. These resources are in the form of print, audio or other forms. Libraries can be categorized into two: a public library and a private library. In a public library, information materials are kept for all people to use while in a private library the information materials are usually used with the owner’s permission only. In this essay, am going to discuss the importance of the library and reasons to why we should use the library more often. To start with, libraries do offer many services that I bet you can never find anywhere else. The many services offered by public libraries include books borrowing services, available to library members (both adults and children), reserves and requests, internet services, newspapers and magazine, local studies and self-directed learning. With the ever-skyrocketing prices of books, those who love reading but do not have the extra cash to buy books on their own, public libraries are there for them. Here you gain access to a wide range of books like the classic novels, history books, science books, self-help and biography books without even spending a dime. Besides the normal books, there are large-print books suitable for those who are visually impaired and the audio books for those who are unable to read. Hence, the library is the perfect place for all who are in dire need of accessing information. For the library members, one has the option of borrowing the books and if the book one wishes to borrow is not available, one has the option of requesting for it by filling a form so that the library can purchase the book or check it through their loan system if at all somebody else had borrowed it. According to the American Library association report “over 169.7 million people were registered to borrow books at public libraries” The report continues to state that “this is a 4.8 percent increase from the number of registered borrowers in FY2006” (Hamill) There is a common saying that goes like “Ignorance has no defense”. This say simply means that, one has no excuse for being ignorant, and the only way to be free of ignorance is through gaining knowledge. Knowledge is gained through wide reading and the library offers that perfect environment for reading. For those who like to source information from the internet, the library has that service for them as well. The internet is nowadays available in all public libraries. Some libraries demand that one has to be a library member to use the computers. To obtain the membership status is free of charge. In most cases, an individual books a session in advance while in others no booking is necessary. With the internet, one is able to access the e-books, e-readers and the social networks like Facebook and Twitter. “70% of libraries use social networking tools such as Facebook.” That is according to The American Library association report. The report goes on to say that “76% of libraries offer access to e-books, and 39% of libraries provide e-readers for checkout by patrons; e-books are available for 92% of urban libraries, compared to 65% of rural libraries.” It is also interesting to note that children are also not left out in the usage of internet in public libraries. “Nearly one-third of Americans age 14 or older-roughly 77 million people-used public library computer or wireless network to access the internet in the past year” (American Library Association) From the information above, it is evidently clear that the internet is widely used in the libraries, both in the rural and urban areas. This information should be an encouragement to many who never use the library to start using it. Many people willing to take a course of study find themselves in difficult situations due to lack of time to attend classes or the free time available for them do not correspond to that of the class session. However, with the self-directed learning in many public libraries, they do not have to worry no more. Quite a good number of public libraries, especially the larger ones, do offer resources enabling users to follow a course of study all by themselves. These courses include user education programs and computer based training facilities. 75% of library users spend their reading. This percentage includes the number of users who undertake a self-directed learning. Libraries also do have resources for entertainment like magazines and newspapers. For one to have an access to newspapers or magazines one must part with some bucks. The public library gives you an option to read a variety of the latest magazines and newspapers all free of charge. Once you have that magazine or newspaper, you will have all the time to go through it just as you would do if u bought one for yourself. The journals and the periodicals are different varieties. They include international and local newspapers and magazines containing different topics like health, business, lifestyle, nature, history and sports. The percentage of usage of a variety of materials by the library users are as follows: Magazines 63%, newspapers 75% and general others 9.5%. (Karen) Research is one way of seeking a solution to a problem. We encounter different types of problems in our day-to-day lives. The only way we can get solutions to our problems is through research. For many who carry out research in areas like business, science, health and lifestyle, library is one of their most treasured assets. The library is a home for reference and general services. Public libraries got reference sections, where books and other resources are for consultation purposes. The reference sections have materials such as the dictionaries for those who would like to perfect their language skills. Directories for those who want to quickly know location of places as well as encyclopedias for those who want to sharpen their general knowledge. Government publications for those who are interested in politics and news about their country, atlases for the ones who want to know the very many countries and natural resources in the world and finally business information for those who want to make their businesses a success. Fun lovers are not left out either by the public libraries since they contain local information about clubs, societies and events in the neighborhoods. 46% of library users spend their time reading the general knowledge books which some of them are found in the reference sections of the public libraries. Conclusion It is important to note that libraries are one of those facilities we cannot do without them. It is also important to point out that many people out there who are out to stop ignorance in our society spend some time in the libraries. If you are one of those who have not taken the initiative to visit any library before, please do make it a habit to be a regular visitor of the library. It is for your own good and for the benefit of the society as a whole. We need that knowledge for a better future. Work cited "American Library Association." Public Library Use. 14 February 2013 . Hamill. "Libraries Face Saad Chapter." 2012. Attached. 15th February 2013 . Karen, Moen. Global Library Use. California: ISBN Press, 2002. Read More