Library Word of the Week - March Madness Edition

March is almost here, and with it, basketball season. I know here at HSC we have some amazing players who want to play for the NBA, and I certainly hope that some of them make it.

With that in mind, not only are we doing a March Reading Madness bracket (found both in person at the library and online here: March Reading Madness Vote), but the Library Word of the Week is actually a short History of Basketball. After all, Springfield is the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Basketball originated in 1891 when a future Presbyterian minister named James Naismith (1861-1939) was assigned to teach a physical education class at a Young Men's Christian Association(YMCA) training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. The class had been noted for being disorderly, and Naismith was told to invent a new game to keep the young men occupied. Since it was winter and very cold outside, a game that could be played indoors was desirable.

Naismith thought back to his boyhood in Canada, where he and his friends had played "duck on a rock," which involved trying to knock a large rock off a boulder by throwing smaller rocks at it. He also recalled watching rugby players toss a ball into a box in a gymnasium. He had the idea of nailing up raised boxes into which players would attempt to throw a ball. When boxes couldn't be found, he used peach baskets. According to Alexander Wolff, in his book 100 Years of Hoops, Naismith drew up the rules for the new game in "about an hour." Most of them still apply in some form today.

(from http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0875085.html) 

So enjoy some hoops, learn about the history, and follow our Reading Madness bracket.