The 8th Annual LITA Forum in San Jose began Friday with a welcoming presentation by Roy Tennant (User Services Architect at the California Digital Library and a columnist for Library Journal) called Googlezon, Episode VI: Return of the Librarians. First he showed a little film that he made that tells the history and future of Google. Stating afterward that he can not really predict the future, which is "always more bizarre than we expect," he wanted to make the point that Google may seem strong right now, but it could be gone in five years; it is a public company with a commitment to stock holders; big companies fall; it could be bankrupt and gone. Libraries are here “for the long haul.” We have to adapt to survive, but we can do so.
To outlast the Internet giants, libraries need to learn from them. They all became big by taking simple ideas and applying them to new services. Not only should we use their methods, we should use their services to push our content through their pages.
I gather from reading other reports that Tennant has some oft repeated statements, including one he used today: “Librarians like to search, everyone else likes to find.” He especially picked on library catalogs, saying they need to be scrapped and replaced by better systems. “Stop putting lipstick on pigs,” he repeated several times.
Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and Microsoft have lots of money, but libraries have lots of skilled, dedicated people. He thinks we can beat them.
There is a more detailed report on his presentation at LITA Blog. You will also find my report on the difficulties of web harvesting government information at LITA Blog.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Portola Redwood State Park in California
I spent several hours hiking in a park that I think very few people find called Portola Redwood State Park yesterday. I was driving along Skyline Drive, meeting very few cars despite being only a few miles west of the highly populated Santa Clara Valley. I saw a sign for the park, noting the wood redwood, and turned at the next road. If I had known it would still take half an hour of driving narrow twisty roads, I might not have gone; I would have missed a beautiful park. At 9:45 a.m., I was only the second visitor of the day. If you like hiking and solitude, I recommend Portola.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Glimpse of a Fountain at Stanford University
Stanford University has one of the most beautiful campuses that I have ever seen, mixing Mediterranean architecture and California landscaping. Unlike most universities with buildings spanning many decades, Stanford has kept a consist look about its buildings; they all have the clay tile roofs and the creamy colored stone. The Main Quad is a stunning space; no photo can really represent its vastness. I can imagine anyone lucky enough to work or study at Stanford would be very sorry to leave.
I got a little lost getting to the campus. I made a wrong turn off of Pasteur Drive and found myself boxed in by medical centers and then I was in a shopping complex. I eventually made my way through the Arboretum to approach the Oval and the Main Quad. Because it was after 4:00 p.m., I was able to park across from the Cantor Center for the Visual Arts for free. There I found the Rodin Sculpture Garden. There is a lot to find if you can find it. Look at a map carefully before you attempt to visit the campus.
I saw more people on bicycles on the Stanford campus than I have ever seen anywhere. I was reminded of Chinese bicycle commuting. I took a lot of photos. Click on this one to find more.
I got a little lost getting to the campus. I made a wrong turn off of Pasteur Drive and found myself boxed in by medical centers and then I was in a shopping complex. I eventually made my way through the Arboretum to approach the Oval and the Main Quad. Because it was after 4:00 p.m., I was able to park across from the Cantor Center for the Visual Arts for free. There I found the Rodin Sculpture Garden. There is a lot to find if you can find it. Look at a map carefully before you attempt to visit the campus.
I saw more people on bicycles on the Stanford campus than I have ever seen anywhere. I was reminded of Chinese bicycle commuting. I took a lot of photos. Click on this one to find more.
Unformed Landscape by Peter Stamm
Peter Stamm sets Unformed Landscape in the remotest area of Norway, in a village that can only be reached by boat, where most people either fish or work for the fish factory. It is near the borders with Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Stamm describes the political borders, covered by snow and darkness, as irrelevant and ignored. "The real borders were between day and night, between summer and winter, between the people.”
The central character is Katherine, a young woman who works for the customs service; she spends much of her time inspecting Russian boats for illegal cigarettes and vodka. She is only twenty-two at the beginning of the story, but she is already divorced from the father of her son, a boy who is never referred to by name until half way through the novel. She likes her job because she meets many people who have seen the outside world; Katherine has been to Hammerfest twice, but she has never been south of the Arctic Circle. The best day of her life was the day she rode in a helicopter to make a raid on a Russian trawler; she enjoyed seeing the fjords from the air. She has very few options in her life. She is agrees to marry Thomas because it might improve her situation; this proves to be a bad decision.
I do not want to reveal too much, to spoil the mystery of the story, which covers six years of Katherine’s life. It takes most of the novel for the reader to come to know the quiet woman, whose past is revealed very slowly by the author.
Reading Unformed Landscape feels a lot like watching a Scandinavian film; I was surprised to learn the author is Swiss. He probably has seen many European films; he has one of his characters watch Truffaut's Belle du Jour. I suspect anyone who enjoys Ingmar Bergen films will enjoy this novel.
Stamm, Peter. Unformed Landscape. New York: Handsel Books, 2004. ISBN 1590511409
I learned about this book by reading the Review-A-Day from Powell’s Books.
The central character is Katherine, a young woman who works for the customs service; she spends much of her time inspecting Russian boats for illegal cigarettes and vodka. She is only twenty-two at the beginning of the story, but she is already divorced from the father of her son, a boy who is never referred to by name until half way through the novel. She likes her job because she meets many people who have seen the outside world; Katherine has been to Hammerfest twice, but she has never been south of the Arctic Circle. The best day of her life was the day she rode in a helicopter to make a raid on a Russian trawler; she enjoyed seeing the fjords from the air. She has very few options in her life. She is agrees to marry Thomas because it might improve her situation; this proves to be a bad decision.
I do not want to reveal too much, to spoil the mystery of the story, which covers six years of Katherine’s life. It takes most of the novel for the reader to come to know the quiet woman, whose past is revealed very slowly by the author.
Reading Unformed Landscape feels a lot like watching a Scandinavian film; I was surprised to learn the author is Swiss. He probably has seen many European films; he has one of his characters watch Truffaut's Belle du Jour. I suspect anyone who enjoys Ingmar Bergen films will enjoy this novel.
Stamm, Peter. Unformed Landscape. New York: Handsel Books, 2004. ISBN 1590511409
I learned about this book by reading the Review-A-Day from Powell’s Books.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
I'm Heading to the LITA Forum in San Jose
I am flying today to California to attend the annual LITA Forum, which is being held in San Jose this year. The LITA Forum is a gathering of several hundred librarians interested in information technology, which runs Friday through Sunday. During that time (and for the next day or so) I will be blogging on the LITA blog, which is called LITA Blog. Activity on this blog was heavy during the American Library Association Conference in Chicago this summer, as a dozen or more members of the organization reported on the programs and events that they attended. I expect the Forum will be very well covered. I know I am going to report on programs about the Michigan eLibrary and Blake Carver's LISNews. Feel free to follow the reports.
During this time, I may post to ricklibrarian as time allows, especially if I finish reading a book or two or take an interesting photo.
Updates
I wore my new reading glasses hanging from my neck today for the first time. I got a couple of "oh, my!" comments, but I never lost my glasses.
You may still sponsor me for the October 16 CROP Walk in Downers Grove. Go to my CROP Walk webpage to contribute. I have almost met my goal. I would be very happy to exceed it with many $10 contributions.
Sam from Writely is working to troubleshoot the bug that keeps me from sending text directly from Writely to Blogger. I have used the web-based word processor to work on several of my postings, and The Big Read group to which I belong has used it to collaborate on a page for our website.
During this time, I may post to ricklibrarian as time allows, especially if I finish reading a book or two or take an interesting photo.
Updates
I wore my new reading glasses hanging from my neck today for the first time. I got a couple of "oh, my!" comments, but I never lost my glasses.
You may still sponsor me for the October 16 CROP Walk in Downers Grove. Go to my CROP Walk webpage to contribute. I have almost met my goal. I would be very happy to exceed it with many $10 contributions.
Sam from Writely is working to troubleshoot the bug that keeps me from sending text directly from Writely to Blogger. I have used the web-based word processor to work on several of my postings, and The Big Read group to which I belong has used it to collaborate on a page for our website.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Identifying Scientific Journal Articles Though Blog Engines
Can blogs be useful reference tools?
Yesterday a library user asked me for a just-released journal article about panic disorder and cardiovascular disease that was highlighted on one of the local television stations. The station promised further information on its website, but our client could not remember which of the local stations ran the story. We visited the websites of Chicago's ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates, scrolling through lists of recent stories and trying keywords in search boxes; we found nothing. We then tried EBSCO and Firstsearch databases, hoping the article would be indexed, but we found nothing. After a Google search yielded nothing, I tried Google Blogsearch. There I found several bloggers who were commenting on the three-day-old article and one gave a full citation.
I then tested Technorati and Feedster and found many of the same blog postings. So, yes, blogs can help the reference librarian. Try the search engines devoted to blogs when you need very recent information.
Yesterday a library user asked me for a just-released journal article about panic disorder and cardiovascular disease that was highlighted on one of the local television stations. The station promised further information on its website, but our client could not remember which of the local stations ran the story. We visited the websites of Chicago's ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates, scrolling through lists of recent stories and trying keywords in search boxes; we found nothing. We then tried EBSCO and Firstsearch databases, hoping the article would be indexed, but we found nothing. After a Google search yielded nothing, I tried Google Blogsearch. There I found several bloggers who were commenting on the three-day-old article and one gave a full citation.
I then tested Technorati and Feedster and found many of the same blog postings. So, yes, blogs can help the reference librarian. Try the search engines devoted to blogs when you need very recent information.
The Demise of Marshall Field's: A Librarian's Viewpoint
A lot of people in the Chicago area are stirred emotionally by the announcement that May Department Stores is going to retire the Marshall Field's name and replace it with the Macys logo. Many people who have known and loved the Chicago store and its famous public service are upset by what they feel is a senseless and heartless act. They feel something is being ripped away from them. The men in suits respond that it is a good business decision. Their vision is of opportunities for national marketing - a homogenization of our country.
Many people in this area have Marshall Field's stories. Mine actually has a library tie-in. When I arrived in the Chicago area in the early 1980s I had no credit cards; I had believed that I needed little and that I was better off without a temptation to go into debt. The realities of commerce were changing and writing checks was getting to be a hassle, so I decided to get some credit cards. It was not so easy, because I had no track record, having gotten into my late twenties without ever testing credit. I got several rejections, including one from Marshall Field's Department Store. Having read a booklet on credit from my library's pamphlet file (remember pamphlet files?), I went to the offices of Marshall Field's in their State Street store and asked to speak with a credit reviewer. I was taken to the desk of an older woman who looked at my application and my bank statement and said that she saw nothing on which to base a recommendation. (With my library salary, I could have qualified for public housing.) Then she said, " I see you are a librarian. Did you have to go to college for that?" I affirmed that I did, telling that I had a master's degree, to which she replied, "If you have a master's degree, you deserve a credit card." I have shopped at Marshall Field's ever since.
Eric Zorn's column in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday, September 22 was an eye-opener. He listed many Chicago and national business names that have disappeared during the last twenty-five years: Montgomery Ward, Kroch's and Brentano's, Poppin' Fresh, Stuart Brent Booksellers, Chas. A. Stevens, Illinois Bell, Polk Brothers, Wiebolt's, Union 76, Rose Records, and many more. (Oh, I loved Rose Records store on Wabash - three floors of LPs - heaven!) I can imagine taking a time machine back twenty years to any Chicago area shopping district or mall and being surprised by all the old names. We have lost so much tradition. At least our public libraries are still here with the same names. Mostly.
When I think about it, our libraries have changed much in the past twenty years and not all of our clients have been thrilled with the changes. While I see much good from our technical advancements and new buildings and new ways of providing services, some longtime residents have not kept up. Perhaps some are no longer inclined to adapt: they have seen too many changes and symbols of their pasts are being taken away; they have fond memories of the old, poorly-lit buildings where the books overflowing the shelves. We have to be more sensitive than the men in suits and try to find ways to soften the shock to our public when we institute change. We want them to stay with us through the changes.
We have not totally escaped the name change phenomenon here in Illinois. On the positive side, a couple public libraries merged to form a bigger, stronger library with more resources: the Indian Prairie Library was the result of merger; it is unfortunate that so few communities were able to do what Darien and Willowbrook did. All other public libraries that I know in our area are under the names they were twenty years ago.
A bigger name change in our area came from the Illinois State Library's push to consolidate regional library systems. The Suburban Library System combined with a portion of the old Chicago Library System (minus Chicago Public Library) to become the Metropolitan Library System. Not everyone was thrilled, and fifteen months after the official merger, not much has happened to excite reference librarian about the new name. In time, we may have the promised collaborations between city and suburbs and involving public, academic, and special libraries, but I see no structure to foster joint projects yet. We lost the system's reference service and the resources to which it subscribed in the state of Illinois' underfunding of library systems. MLS seems a lesser entity. Like the name Marshall Field's Department Store, the name Suburban Library System evokes some good old memories.
Will I shop at Macy's Department Store? My first reaction is "No." I may eventually find myself there, but I will never have any fondness for it. It will always just be a corporate box filled with dry goods. I am sticking with the Metropolitan Library System; there is still hope for good times to be remembered later.
Many people in this area have Marshall Field's stories. Mine actually has a library tie-in. When I arrived in the Chicago area in the early 1980s I had no credit cards; I had believed that I needed little and that I was better off without a temptation to go into debt. The realities of commerce were changing and writing checks was getting to be a hassle, so I decided to get some credit cards. It was not so easy, because I had no track record, having gotten into my late twenties without ever testing credit. I got several rejections, including one from Marshall Field's Department Store. Having read a booklet on credit from my library's pamphlet file (remember pamphlet files?), I went to the offices of Marshall Field's in their State Street store and asked to speak with a credit reviewer. I was taken to the desk of an older woman who looked at my application and my bank statement and said that she saw nothing on which to base a recommendation. (With my library salary, I could have qualified for public housing.) Then she said, " I see you are a librarian. Did you have to go to college for that?" I affirmed that I did, telling that I had a master's degree, to which she replied, "If you have a master's degree, you deserve a credit card." I have shopped at Marshall Field's ever since.
Eric Zorn's column in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday, September 22 was an eye-opener. He listed many Chicago and national business names that have disappeared during the last twenty-five years: Montgomery Ward, Kroch's and Brentano's, Poppin' Fresh, Stuart Brent Booksellers, Chas. A. Stevens, Illinois Bell, Polk Brothers, Wiebolt's, Union 76, Rose Records, and many more. (Oh, I loved Rose Records store on Wabash - three floors of LPs - heaven!) I can imagine taking a time machine back twenty years to any Chicago area shopping district or mall and being surprised by all the old names. We have lost so much tradition. At least our public libraries are still here with the same names. Mostly.
When I think about it, our libraries have changed much in the past twenty years and not all of our clients have been thrilled with the changes. While I see much good from our technical advancements and new buildings and new ways of providing services, some longtime residents have not kept up. Perhaps some are no longer inclined to adapt: they have seen too many changes and symbols of their pasts are being taken away; they have fond memories of the old, poorly-lit buildings where the books overflowing the shelves. We have to be more sensitive than the men in suits and try to find ways to soften the shock to our public when we institute change. We want them to stay with us through the changes.
We have not totally escaped the name change phenomenon here in Illinois. On the positive side, a couple public libraries merged to form a bigger, stronger library with more resources: the Indian Prairie Library was the result of merger; it is unfortunate that so few communities were able to do what Darien and Willowbrook did. All other public libraries that I know in our area are under the names they were twenty years ago.
A bigger name change in our area came from the Illinois State Library's push to consolidate regional library systems. The Suburban Library System combined with a portion of the old Chicago Library System (minus Chicago Public Library) to become the Metropolitan Library System. Not everyone was thrilled, and fifteen months after the official merger, not much has happened to excite reference librarian about the new name. In time, we may have the promised collaborations between city and suburbs and involving public, academic, and special libraries, but I see no structure to foster joint projects yet. We lost the system's reference service and the resources to which it subscribed in the state of Illinois' underfunding of library systems. MLS seems a lesser entity. Like the name Marshall Field's Department Store, the name Suburban Library System evokes some good old memories.
Will I shop at Macy's Department Store? My first reaction is "No." I may eventually find myself there, but I will never have any fondness for it. It will always just be a corporate box filled with dry goods. I am sticking with the Metropolitan Library System; there is still hope for good times to be remembered later.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Amy Krouse Rosenthal may claim that she has led an ordinary nothing-spectacular-kind-of-life, but she has an extraordinary drive to write and comment on her experiences and observations. She has been hawking her compositions to publications like Might, Parenting, Utne Reader, and the Chicago Tribune for the last eight or so years, and she has been a commentator for WBEZ radio in Chicago during part of that time. She started a zine/newspaper called Oyster and a CD-based audio magazine called Writer’s Block Party, both of which were loved by a few and ignored by many. She has written several books, including The Mother’s Guide to the Meaning of Life: What I’ve Learned in a Never-Ending Quest to Become a Dalai Mama, the humorous The Book of Eleven: An Itemized Collection of Brain Lint, and the children’s book Little Pea. The author has also been raising three children and managing a husband. I imagine that her fingers are always on her laptop.
Her latest effort is Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, which has a subscript “Volume One.” I suspect that she could easily put out a second volume; she probably has an extra disc drive to attach to her laptop loaded with her stories and comments. I hope she gets a call from a publisher saying “Do it!” Reading her book is a lot of fun.
Why will readers enjoy this book? They will identify with her. Too much analyzing will spoil the humor, but let me say that I found myself nodding my head in agreement with her comments often. Like Rosenthal, I want to know what happens when movies end; I agree that chain-letters are a total waste of time; I feel better when we use up the groceries that are filling our refrigerator; I too try to cross a street quickly when there is a car waiting. Like the author I usually prefer reading nonfiction to fiction. I also differ from the author: I do not enjoy sleeping late; I don’t drink coffee or read many magazines, staples in the author’s life; I would never leave money in public places as a social experiment.
What kind of book is Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life? The Library of Congress and many other libraries seem to agree that it is a biography. Granted, there are details of the author’s life in the chronology section and some tragedies are listed in the entry “Lows,” but the items only outline her life. A case could be made that the alphabetically arranged entries work together to build a profile of the mind of Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Still, if it is a biography, it is very unconventional. The author claims that it is a harvest of details from an ordinary life, which could be the reader’s life as much as hers, but the reader may notice there are some surprising stories. This may be her point: even ordinary lives are filled with wonder, drama, and heartache.
Being the hip person she is, Rosenthal has a companion website to go with her book. Visit www.encyclopediaofanordinarylife.com and leave a Purple Flower Moment or a Moon Description, if you are so inclined.
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. New York: Crown Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1400080452
Her latest effort is Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, which has a subscript “Volume One.” I suspect that she could easily put out a second volume; she probably has an extra disc drive to attach to her laptop loaded with her stories and comments. I hope she gets a call from a publisher saying “Do it!” Reading her book is a lot of fun.
Why will readers enjoy this book? They will identify with her. Too much analyzing will spoil the humor, but let me say that I found myself nodding my head in agreement with her comments often. Like Rosenthal, I want to know what happens when movies end; I agree that chain-letters are a total waste of time; I feel better when we use up the groceries that are filling our refrigerator; I too try to cross a street quickly when there is a car waiting. Like the author I usually prefer reading nonfiction to fiction. I also differ from the author: I do not enjoy sleeping late; I don’t drink coffee or read many magazines, staples in the author’s life; I would never leave money in public places as a social experiment.
What kind of book is Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life? The Library of Congress and many other libraries seem to agree that it is a biography. Granted, there are details of the author’s life in the chronology section and some tragedies are listed in the entry “Lows,” but the items only outline her life. A case could be made that the alphabetically arranged entries work together to build a profile of the mind of Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Still, if it is a biography, it is very unconventional. The author claims that it is a harvest of details from an ordinary life, which could be the reader’s life as much as hers, but the reader may notice there are some surprising stories. This may be her point: even ordinary lives are filled with wonder, drama, and heartache.
Being the hip person she is, Rosenthal has a companion website to go with her book. Visit www.encyclopediaofanordinarylife.com and leave a Purple Flower Moment or a Moon Description, if you are so inclined.
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. New York: Crown Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1400080452
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Reading Glasses
I have new contact lenses that give me better distance vision, so I should be able to read highway and street signs from greater distances, but the change comes at the expense of my close vision - vision I need every day in the library. I had been living with a compromise, trying to balance my near and far vision in a single prescription, but it was no longer working. My optometrist thought my cornea was too steep for bifocal contact lenses, so I now have reading glasses, an inexpensive pair that I purchased at a drugstore. It has been two or three (or four) weeks, but I have not figured out yet when to have the reading glasses on hand and when I do not need them. It seems a small change in my life, but I need to stop and think about my routines - which may be a good thing.
I have amused colleagues and friends at the library in these weeks, as I am constantly putting the glasses on and taking them off and laying them down and having to find them. Several people have told me I look cute in glasses, when I can find them, which is a surprising thing to hear. I am getting fashion advice about frames as well. It has been a long time since I got so much attention.
I really goofed Saturday and left my reading glasses at home. I was able to use the computer without any problem; I could have enlarged the print but did not do so; I can sit fairly far from the screen and the back lighting must help. At arms length most of our reference books were still readable, but some circulating nonfiction books were fuzzy, the newspaper was difficult, and I had to look at a Baker and Taylor bill very carefully to distinguish an 8 from a 9. Telephone books were impossible to read. I don't know where the magnifying glass went. I also has trouble with spine labels in aisles with dim lighting. I am getting a lesson in how dependent I am on my vision.
The solution to my problem is two-fold. I will buy more reading glasses and leave them everywhere I need them, and though I have hesitated to do so, I will hang a pair of reading glasses around my neck; it will probably make me look like (gasp) a librarian.
I have amused colleagues and friends at the library in these weeks, as I am constantly putting the glasses on and taking them off and laying them down and having to find them. Several people have told me I look cute in glasses, when I can find them, which is a surprising thing to hear. I am getting fashion advice about frames as well. It has been a long time since I got so much attention.
I really goofed Saturday and left my reading glasses at home. I was able to use the computer without any problem; I could have enlarged the print but did not do so; I can sit fairly far from the screen and the back lighting must help. At arms length most of our reference books were still readable, but some circulating nonfiction books were fuzzy, the newspaper was difficult, and I had to look at a Baker and Taylor bill very carefully to distinguish an 8 from a 9. Telephone books were impossible to read. I don't know where the magnifying glass went. I also has trouble with spine labels in aisles with dim lighting. I am getting a lesson in how dependent I am on my vision.
The solution to my problem is two-fold. I will buy more reading glasses and leave them everywhere I need them, and though I have hesitated to do so, I will hang a pair of reading glasses around my neck; it will probably make me look like (gasp) a librarian.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Dreaming About Old Libraries
In Free Range Librarian two weeks ago Karen Schneider wrote Being a Good Former Employee; she set out helpful guidelines for anyone leaving one job to go to another. I have left several wonderful jobs in the past to take on new challenges and I think I behaved well according to Karen's ten rules for leaving. As she would probably agree, these rules were easy for me to follow in most cases because I moved to another state; I had no opportunity to stay involved in the affairs of the libraries I left; my moving predated widespread Internet, email, and instant message access. Now there are easy ways to violate rules 7, 8, and 9 from wherever you are, but you should not. I recommend everyone who will be changing jobs take a look at Karen's essay.
Karen wrote her essay after dreaming about an old job, a position she obviously enjoyed with people she liked; in her dream something went amiss. This struck a cord with me, for I also have had dreams about my old libraries. In most of these dreams, I have gone back to the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri, where I had my first professional library job as a reference librarian with a desk right beside the reference collection. The big picture windows to the north are still there and I look forward to again watching the drama of approaching storms. The second floor still overlooks the first and I look forward to the annual hanging display of quilts, which added so much color to the public space when I was there. Many of my former colleagues are still there in my dream, and I am eager to answer reference questions. Upon entering the dream everything is perfect, but then complications arise. I get lost in the new underground passage to the new staff room, or I misplace my desk, or I realize than I am still in my pajamas (or worse) and need to run home to change. I never answer a reference question. I awake with a melancholy feeling.
In reality, the Daniel Boone Regional Library has a totally new building. I am sure most of the staff have changed as it has been 24 years since I was there. I would like to see it some day. Daniel Boone had the most impressive community outreach program I have ever seen, and we had an energetic public service team. As my dreams indicates it still has a place in my heart.Friday, September 23, 2005
Request for Crop Walk Sponsors
With another hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, this is a good time to ask for your help. I will be cropwalking in Downers Grove, Illinois for Church World Service on Sunday, October 16 and am in need of sponsors. This is my twelth Crop Walk, but the first for which I have my own Crop Walk web page. You may click here to get to my page and make a small donation.
Church World Service works to eradicate hunger and poverty and promote peace and justice in the US and around the world. The organization has posted statements about its hurricane relief efforts here. Click here for report on Church World Service from Charity Navigator.
The South Dupage Crop Walk through Downers Grove and Westmont is always well attended, but there is always room for more walkers. Join us if you can or join a Crop Walk in your region. Thanks.
Church World Service works to eradicate hunger and poverty and promote peace and justice in the US and around the world. The organization has posted statements about its hurricane relief efforts here. Click here for report on Church World Service from Charity Navigator.
The South Dupage Crop Walk through Downers Grove and Westmont is always well attended, but there is always room for more walkers. Join us if you can or join a Crop Walk in your region. Thanks.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Writely: A Web-Based Word Processor
Several years ago Bill Gates said that we soon would have web-based software and not bother having any on our desktops and notebook computers. His forecast was a little premature; people seem to like having software on their computers and are a little frightened by the idea of all their work in cyberspace; they can work offline with computer-bound software. Still many people have gone to totally web-based email; the precedent is set.
Yesterday I learned about Writely - The Web Word Processor while reading the blog The Distant Librarian. It is so new that the instruction page is not complete; there are several gaps were the editors have not yet decided what to say. What they do say is that their web-based word processor is free for anyone to use in its beta phase; later there will be a variety of free and fee versions. They suggest the product will be useful for people who like to collaborate with others; start a document and tell your friends by adding their email addresses to the permissions for document access; they can then add to the document online. The editors also suggest Writely will be handy for people who travel; if they can get to the Web, they can get to their documents.
I am composing this document on Writely. I am assured that I can post it directly to Blogger when I am ready; Blogger is the only weblog that is so supported at present, but the editors are taking requests. I have given Aaron access to the document, so he can collaborate.
I tried to post directly from Writely to Blogger, but it did not work. I kept getting an error message : " 'o' is an undeclared namespace. Line 1318, position 2." I have no idea what that means. I double-checked my blog settings. So I pasted the message here instead. Maybe the beta product is having a blogging problem. I'll try another item in a few days.
The word processor itself seems at first glance to have all the basic features I use. You can see this document at www.writely.com/View.aspx?docid=aks2wccr3jj. Maybe Aaron will have added a comment.
Yesterday I learned about Writely - The Web Word Processor while reading the blog The Distant Librarian. It is so new that the instruction page is not complete; there are several gaps were the editors have not yet decided what to say. What they do say is that their web-based word processor is free for anyone to use in its beta phase; later there will be a variety of free and fee versions. They suggest the product will be useful for people who like to collaborate with others; start a document and tell your friends by adding their email addresses to the permissions for document access; they can then add to the document online. The editors also suggest Writely will be handy for people who travel; if they can get to the Web, they can get to their documents.
I am composing this document on Writely. I am assured that I can post it directly to Blogger when I am ready; Blogger is the only weblog that is so supported at present, but the editors are taking requests. I have given Aaron access to the document, so he can collaborate.
I tried to post directly from Writely to Blogger, but it did not work. I kept getting an error message : " 'o' is an undeclared namespace. Line 1318, position 2." I have no idea what that means. I double-checked my blog settings. So I pasted the message here instead. Maybe the beta product is having a blogging problem. I'll try another item in a few days.
The word processor itself seems at first glance to have all the basic features I use. You can see this document at www.writely.com/View.aspx?docid=aks2wccr3jj. Maybe Aaron will have added a comment.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Poetry for Cats by Henry Beard
Readers of Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse by Henry Beard will notice how much influence humans have on cats. Cats will not enjoy having this pointed out. They work hard to protect their free will and try to dictate the terms of their relationships with humans. You can not just pick up a cat and expect it to be happy being held; you have to wait until the cat is ready. Cats will not play with toys just because you want to play. Cats appear to think independently, but their poetry betrays them.
Here is a bit of verse written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s cat:
I chased a mouse beneath the stair,
It went to ground, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it ran, my sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
Sound familiar?
There is more. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s cat wrote the following:
In Xanadu did Kubla Kat
A splendid sofa-bed decree
With silken cushions soft and fat
A perfect feline habitat
Set on a gilt settee.
Here is another sample, this time by William Shakespeare’s cat:
To go outside, and there perchance to stay
Or to remain within: that is the question:
Whether ‘tis better for a cat to suffer
The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather
That nature rains on those who roam abroad
Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet …
Have you noticed a trend? It appears that cats listen more than they let on, and they even identify with the humans with whom they relate. They certainly borrow verse as freely as they claim their favorite chairs.
Cats do deserve some credit for knowing what poetry to borrow and adapt as their own. They are able to turn bits of Chaucer, Keats, Frost, or Ginsberg into works that serve their purposes, such as catching goldfish, breaking vases, or berating Whitman for sleeping too late. In near unison they raise their voices to complain about their vets.
One thing that surprises me about Poetry for Cats is that Henry Beard never reveals the cats’ names. I can not imagine that Emily Dickinson had a nameless cat!
Poetry for Cats is an attractive book with colorful illustrations and is still in print after eleven years. I found our copy when inventorying the poetry collection. I am afraid few people have borrowed it lately, so I am going to put it on display. The cats need to be heard.
Beard, Henry. Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse. New York: Villard Books, 1994. ISBN 0679435824
Here is a bit of verse written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s cat:
I chased a mouse beneath the stair,
It went to ground, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it ran, my sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
Sound familiar?
There is more. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s cat wrote the following:
In Xanadu did Kubla Kat
A splendid sofa-bed decree
With silken cushions soft and fat
A perfect feline habitat
Set on a gilt settee.
Here is another sample, this time by William Shakespeare’s cat:
To go outside, and there perchance to stay
Or to remain within: that is the question:
Whether ‘tis better for a cat to suffer
The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather
That nature rains on those who roam abroad
Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet …
Have you noticed a trend? It appears that cats listen more than they let on, and they even identify with the humans with whom they relate. They certainly borrow verse as freely as they claim their favorite chairs.
Cats do deserve some credit for knowing what poetry to borrow and adapt as their own. They are able to turn bits of Chaucer, Keats, Frost, or Ginsberg into works that serve their purposes, such as catching goldfish, breaking vases, or berating Whitman for sleeping too late. In near unison they raise their voices to complain about their vets.
One thing that surprises me about Poetry for Cats is that Henry Beard never reveals the cats’ names. I can not imagine that Emily Dickinson had a nameless cat!
Poetry for Cats is an attractive book with colorful illustrations and is still in print after eleven years. I found our copy when inventorying the poetry collection. I am afraid few people have borrowed it lately, so I am going to put it on display. The cats need to be heard.
Beard, Henry. Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse. New York: Villard Books, 1994. ISBN 0679435824
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Andy Young Singing at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library
When I took over my job, I did not suspect that I would enjoy running our occasional coffee house called Friday at the Ford as much as I do. I've gotten to hear a lot of great music and meet many wonderful people. We enjoyed Andy Young from Chicago last Friday night, who played mostly Scottish and Irish tunes on hammer dulcimer, tin whistle, Irish flute, and guitar. He'd like to play more libraries.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
A Look at Google Blog Search
Google has released a beta version of Google Blog Search, which it promises will do a better job of searching blogs than Google; it will be more precise than the main search engine in finding items posted on blogs. I have noticed in the past when searching for a specific review that I had posted that regular Google sometimes pointed me to a later review that had the wanted review as a previous postings link on the left side of the blog page. In some cases Google only pointed to my reviews in the monthly archive instead of the individual postings.
I have taken a quick look at Google Blog Search, comparing the results with my postings list in Blogger, which is also owned by Google. Only one of my last 50 postings is missing. Every entry is an individual post; I do not see the archive. Nothing posted before April 27 is represented.
Searchers can have their results list sorted two ways – by relevance or by date. By relevance brought all my postings including photos to the top. Do photos have more weight in Google’s algorithm?
Google Blog Search looks a lot like Google, so people will probably find it easy to use. Results can be updated as Atom or RSS feeds.
I have taken a quick look at Google Blog Search, comparing the results with my postings list in Blogger, which is also owned by Google. Only one of my last 50 postings is missing. Every entry is an individual post; I do not see the archive. Nothing posted before April 27 is represented.
Searchers can have their results list sorted two ways – by relevance or by date. By relevance brought all my postings including photos to the top. Do photos have more weight in Google’s algorithm?
Google Blog Search looks a lot like Google, so people will probably find it easy to use. Results can be updated as Atom or RSS feeds.
Friday, September 16, 2005
The Value of a Good Old Textbook: The Riverside Shakespeare
As students have been returning to their campuses, much has been written and said about the cost of college textbooks. The Wall Street Journal reported in its August 16 issue that textbook prices were increasing at twice the rate of inflation. On August 25 the Chicago Tribune reported that the first year, fulltime student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who must take a range of introductory courses, spends on average $698 for used textbooks or $931 for new textbooks. An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on September 2 told about ten college bookstores selling downloadable electronic textbooks.
All of this news was fresh in my head when I started moving everything in our house to have the carpets cleaned. We carried end tables, lamps, dining room chairs, the coffee table, crystal, china, record albums (vinyls), CDs, videos, DVDs, photo albums, high school annuals, and books out of the living room, dining room, and family room into the kitchen, laundry room, and extra bedroom. I found among the books the following:
The American Tradition in Literature, 4th ed. Grosset & Dunlap, 1974.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Revised, vol. 1. Norton, 1968
The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Shorter Edition. Norton, 1970.
The Riverside Shakespeare. Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
These four books used in my literature classes, some of the vinyls, a laundry bag, several letters from friends, a tool for splicing reel-to-reel audiotape (unused for 30 years), my last student ID, and my diplomas are all the physical remains of my six years at the University of Texas at Austin. I did not keep any old clothes or hats; I did not own a camera, so I have no photos; I have replaced my dictionary; I have none of my school papers. I used to claim that I was unsentimental, and I gave away or sold many things as soon as I decided they were of no use to me, but these four textbooks have never been in danger of my tossing them.
In the six years during which I got my bachelors and masters degrees, I owned a lot of textbooks. I recall spending about $100 on books each semester, which was about half of what I spent for tuition and fees each semester - attending the University of Texas in the 1970s was incredibly cheap! The most that I ever spent on a single book was $42 for a thin title required for a library class that the instructor never used; I am still a bit upset over the waste. I bought many used textbooks and sold most back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. When I left Austin, I had few of my textbooks.
I did keep some library school texts for a few years, but I found I was not using them. I donated my AACR2 and Sears Subject Headings to a sale run by the Friends of the Daniel Bonne Regional Library long ago. I do not even remember most of my library school textbooks.
The four books that I still have are special. They are really more anthologies of great literature than traditional subject textbooks and are never out of date. All but the Norton Anthology of Poetry are hardbound and still look good on the shelf; I removed the tattered paper covers long ago. I still refer to them when I have a literature question or when I want to reread a short story or a poem or a play. They were all worth more to me than whatever I paid for them. Only the trade paperback poetry book has a printed price - $3.95.
My favorite is The Riverside Shakespeare, which I remember buying for a course in which we read a dozen of the plays. It was a handsome book that stood out among my ragged collection of textbooks. Even then, I thought that it was something to keep. Every other year or so I find myself reading one of the plays; Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are my favorites. It is still one of the best things I have, which is something to think about as my own daughter goes off to college in a couple years. What will she keep? I wonder.
All of this news was fresh in my head when I started moving everything in our house to have the carpets cleaned. We carried end tables, lamps, dining room chairs, the coffee table, crystal, china, record albums (vinyls), CDs, videos, DVDs, photo albums, high school annuals, and books out of the living room, dining room, and family room into the kitchen, laundry room, and extra bedroom. I found among the books the following:
The American Tradition in Literature, 4th ed. Grosset & Dunlap, 1974.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Revised, vol. 1. Norton, 1968
The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Shorter Edition. Norton, 1970.
The Riverside Shakespeare. Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
These four books used in my literature classes, some of the vinyls, a laundry bag, several letters from friends, a tool for splicing reel-to-reel audiotape (unused for 30 years), my last student ID, and my diplomas are all the physical remains of my six years at the University of Texas at Austin. I did not keep any old clothes or hats; I did not own a camera, so I have no photos; I have replaced my dictionary; I have none of my school papers. I used to claim that I was unsentimental, and I gave away or sold many things as soon as I decided they were of no use to me, but these four textbooks have never been in danger of my tossing them.
In the six years during which I got my bachelors and masters degrees, I owned a lot of textbooks. I recall spending about $100 on books each semester, which was about half of what I spent for tuition and fees each semester - attending the University of Texas in the 1970s was incredibly cheap! The most that I ever spent on a single book was $42 for a thin title required for a library class that the instructor never used; I am still a bit upset over the waste. I bought many used textbooks and sold most back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. When I left Austin, I had few of my textbooks.
I did keep some library school texts for a few years, but I found I was not using them. I donated my AACR2 and Sears Subject Headings to a sale run by the Friends of the Daniel Bonne Regional Library long ago. I do not even remember most of my library school textbooks.
The four books that I still have are special. They are really more anthologies of great literature than traditional subject textbooks and are never out of date. All but the Norton Anthology of Poetry are hardbound and still look good on the shelf; I removed the tattered paper covers long ago. I still refer to them when I have a literature question or when I want to reread a short story or a poem or a play. They were all worth more to me than whatever I paid for them. Only the trade paperback poetry book has a printed price - $3.95.
My favorite is The Riverside Shakespeare, which I remember buying for a course in which we read a dozen of the plays. It was a handsome book that stood out among my ragged collection of textbooks. Even then, I thought that it was something to keep. Every other year or so I find myself reading one of the plays; Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are my favorites. It is still one of the best things I have, which is something to think about as my own daughter goes off to college in a couple years. What will she keep? I wonder.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika by Giles Foden
As I read Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika by Giles Foden, I thought of how it could be made into a darkly comic movie. It has all the necessary elements. The central character in the story is Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson, a British naval officer who had been confined to a desk job after several disastrous assignments in England, Gambia, and China; he was adept at sinking and beaching ships under his command. No one really wanted to associate with him, for he was a ridiculous braggart; he was always claiming great acts of heroism that listeners could not possibly believe. He also told terrible jokes and broke into song, singing off-key. When the First World War began, the Royal Navy sent him on a seemingly impossible task in a remote region of Africa. Maybe he would not return.
The task was to transport two forty-foot wooden motor boats from London to Cape Town, South Africa and from there across the continent to Lake Tanganyika. When the Navy would not let Spicer-Simson name the boats Cat and Dog, he submitted Mimi and Toutou, which the Navy accepted, not knowing they meant “meow” and “bow-wow” in French. The train from Cape Town would only carry the boats part of the way to the destination; Spicer-Simson and his men would have to drag the boats through a jungle and over some mountains! Moviegoers will think of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, of course. Once the boats arrived, the assignment was to sink a German ship five times their size that was controlling the lake. What the Royal Navy did not know was the German Navy had a ship twenty times their size on Lake Tanganyika as well.
Spicer-Simson’s behavior alternates from sensible to bizarre. No one can read his semaphore; he designs himself a skirt to wear in the heat; he enjoys showing his snake tattoos to the local Holo Holo people. If John Cleese were not so old, he would be the perfect cast. Also on the trip are the patient Dr. Hother McCormick Hanschell and the loyal, clever transport officer Lieutenant Wainwright, who is the real genius behind the transport operation. There would be many good roles for actors in a movie version of Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure. Even the title sounds good.
I should state before I go any further, that this is nonfiction. This is not comic novel.
The story has some disturbingly tragic elements. The English, Belgians, and Germans have no qualms about forcing the local tribes to haul their boats and build their ports and forts; many of the Africans were beaten into compliance. Many of the soldiers contract diseases, tropical and venereal, and when the navies finally do battle, some sailors die grizzly deaths. Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure would probably be rated R if the book were closely followed.
The concluding chapters of the book tell follow-up stories. One is about the making of The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, a story inspired by a part of the Mimi and Toutou story. The final chapter tells about the author’s fact finding trip to Lake Tanganyika; he found one of the German boats is still in service, carrying thousands of local people and their livestock around the lake.
Until the movie is made, you will have to read the book.
Foden, Giles. Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1400041570
The task was to transport two forty-foot wooden motor boats from London to Cape Town, South Africa and from there across the continent to Lake Tanganyika. When the Navy would not let Spicer-Simson name the boats Cat and Dog, he submitted Mimi and Toutou, which the Navy accepted, not knowing they meant “meow” and “bow-wow” in French. The train from Cape Town would only carry the boats part of the way to the destination; Spicer-Simson and his men would have to drag the boats through a jungle and over some mountains! Moviegoers will think of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, of course. Once the boats arrived, the assignment was to sink a German ship five times their size that was controlling the lake. What the Royal Navy did not know was the German Navy had a ship twenty times their size on Lake Tanganyika as well.
Spicer-Simson’s behavior alternates from sensible to bizarre. No one can read his semaphore; he designs himself a skirt to wear in the heat; he enjoys showing his snake tattoos to the local Holo Holo people. If John Cleese were not so old, he would be the perfect cast. Also on the trip are the patient Dr. Hother McCormick Hanschell and the loyal, clever transport officer Lieutenant Wainwright, who is the real genius behind the transport operation. There would be many good roles for actors in a movie version of Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure. Even the title sounds good.
I should state before I go any further, that this is nonfiction. This is not comic novel.
The story has some disturbingly tragic elements. The English, Belgians, and Germans have no qualms about forcing the local tribes to haul their boats and build their ports and forts; many of the Africans were beaten into compliance. Many of the soldiers contract diseases, tropical and venereal, and when the navies finally do battle, some sailors die grizzly deaths. Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure would probably be rated R if the book were closely followed.
The concluding chapters of the book tell follow-up stories. One is about the making of The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, a story inspired by a part of the Mimi and Toutou story. The final chapter tells about the author’s fact finding trip to Lake Tanganyika; he found one of the German boats is still in service, carrying thousands of local people and their livestock around the lake.
Until the movie is made, you will have to read the book.
Foden, Giles. Mimi and Toutou’s Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1400041570
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
News on Libraries in the Path of Hurricane Katrina
The American Library Association changed the URL for its page with news about libraries in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other places touched by Hurricane Katrina or its aftermath. The new address is http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/hurricanekatrinanews/katrinanews.htm.
Rating the Charities in Times of Need
With many people interested in helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina and with stories of charity scams in the news, it seems a good time to remind library users that they can research their charities before they write their checks. At the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, we subscribe to Charity Rating Guide & Watchdog, quarterly publication that also has a website. Other online sources to check are Charity Navigator (which has some nice articles on avoiding scams) and Give.org (which is a service of the Better Business Bureau).
By the way, libraries that are collecting for hurricane relief should check to make sure the funds they are passing on get into the right hands. We, too, should do our homework.
By the way, libraries that are collecting for hurricane relief should check to make sure the funds they are passing on get into the right hands. We, too, should do our homework.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Meredith's Survey of Library Bloggers
Meredith Farkas, who is the new Distance Learning Librarian at Norwich University in Vermont, has posted the results of her survey of library bloggers at her blog Information Wants to Be Free. Some of the results are what you would expect, while others are a bit surprising.
I most liked seeing that I am not alone as an over 50 blogger; 19 of us admitted to being at least that old, 11.5 percent of the pool.
I was also surprised to see that more bloggers come from small public libraries than medium-sized public libraries, 10 to 5; actually that may make sense as small is defined as serving populations of 10,001 to 40,000 and medium-sized gets up to 99,999, and there may be many more small libraries than medium-sized by that definition.
I am not typical in that I read only a few blogs. Many of the people responding claim to read a lot of blogs.
Bloggers seem to do many jobs at many kinds of libraries, and most claim to be happy, which is contrary to the idea of bloggers as malcontents.
When looking at Meredith's survey, start at Survey of the Biblioblogosphere: Results.
I most liked seeing that I am not alone as an over 50 blogger; 19 of us admitted to being at least that old, 11.5 percent of the pool.
I was also surprised to see that more bloggers come from small public libraries than medium-sized public libraries, 10 to 5; actually that may make sense as small is defined as serving populations of 10,001 to 40,000 and medium-sized gets up to 99,999, and there may be many more small libraries than medium-sized by that definition.
I am not typical in that I read only a few blogs. Many of the people responding claim to read a lot of blogs.
Bloggers seem to do many jobs at many kinds of libraries, and most claim to be happy, which is contrary to the idea of bloggers as malcontents.
When looking at Meredith's survey, start at Survey of the Biblioblogosphere: Results.
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
It is 1937 and Mary Alice has been sent down to southern Illinois to live with Grandma Dowdel, while her parents try to survive the Great Depression in Chicago. Mary Alice has never traveled by train alone; her brother Joe was with her every summer that she spent with Grandma; now he is in the Civilian Conservation Corps in California. With her radio, her cat Bootsie, and her trunk, Mary Alice meets Grandma on the station platform. There are no hugs; Grandma is not the hugging type.
If you read A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, you know all about Grandma. Most of the neighbors are a bit afraid of her, as she is rather large, rarely smiles, and has been known to carry an antique rifle when she has a mind she needs it. She does what she needs to do to get by and is a bit of a Robin Hood. She slips under the barbed wire of the Piatt County Rod and Gun Club to catch catfish to provide a good meal for old Aunt Puss. When the bank tries to foreclose on Mrs. Wilcox’s house, she finds a way to leverage her friend’s antiques at a rummage sale with the banker’s wife. Grandma is clever and mischievous.
In A Year Down Yonder, Mary Alice loses a lot of sleep, as she and Grandma are often out in the dead of night catching privy tippers and gathering ingredients for pumpkin pies. Her math grades suffer, but she learns many valuable lessons otherwise. Being a city girl and being related to Grandma make finding friends at school harder, but she gets to play Mary in the Christmas play and even studies with the star basketball player. Grandma is always there to solve any problem.
I enjoyed the humor and the historical detail of both of these books. Almost every library has them, as they should. They may be aimed at young readers, but adults can enjoy them, too.
Peck, Richard. A Long Way from Chicago. New York: Puffin Books, 1998. ISBN 0141311827
Peck, Richard. A Year Down Yonder. New York: Puffin Books, 2002. ISBN 0142300705
If you read A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, you know all about Grandma. Most of the neighbors are a bit afraid of her, as she is rather large, rarely smiles, and has been known to carry an antique rifle when she has a mind she needs it. She does what she needs to do to get by and is a bit of a Robin Hood. She slips under the barbed wire of the Piatt County Rod and Gun Club to catch catfish to provide a good meal for old Aunt Puss. When the bank tries to foreclose on Mrs. Wilcox’s house, she finds a way to leverage her friend’s antiques at a rummage sale with the banker’s wife. Grandma is clever and mischievous.
In A Year Down Yonder, Mary Alice loses a lot of sleep, as she and Grandma are often out in the dead of night catching privy tippers and gathering ingredients for pumpkin pies. Her math grades suffer, but she learns many valuable lessons otherwise. Being a city girl and being related to Grandma make finding friends at school harder, but she gets to play Mary in the Christmas play and even studies with the star basketball player. Grandma is always there to solve any problem.
I enjoyed the humor and the historical detail of both of these books. Almost every library has them, as they should. They may be aimed at young readers, but adults can enjoy them, too.
Peck, Richard. A Long Way from Chicago. New York: Puffin Books, 1998. ISBN 0141311827
Peck, Richard. A Year Down Yonder. New York: Puffin Books, 2002. ISBN 0142300705
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw
As the curtain rises in The Doctor’s Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw, the eminent doctor Colenso Ridgeon has just received word that he has been knighted, and all his friends in the medical profession come by his house to congratulate him. Sir Patrick Cullen, Mr. Cutter Walpole, Sir Ralph Bloomfield Bonington, Dr. Blenkinsop,, and Dr. Leo Schutzmacher are welcomed into Sir Colenso’s infirmary for a lively discussion of advances in medical science. Ninety-five percent of all disease is the result of blood poisoning, says Walpole. Stimulating the phagocytes is the best cure, any antitoxin will do, is Sir Ralph’s belief. Sir Patrick claims that he saw all the new cures thirty years ago. It is a lively discussion; Sir Colenso could not possibly find time to see the woman in the waiting room – but then he does.
Jennifer Dubedat’s husband Louis has tuberculosis, and she comes to Sir Colenso with a plea to save him, but the newly knighted doctor says that he has room in his clinic for only ten patients, which he has already chosen – ten people whose lives are worth saving. He could not possibly add another, he says, until she shows him Louis’ wonderful drawings. Perhaps he can make room for him. Then Sir Colenso learns that his friend Blenkinsop also needs treatment. Who should he save? Who is most worthy of being saved?
George Bernard Shaw and his socialist views were so well known by the time of the staging of The Doctor’s Dilemma in 1906 that he was able to incorporate a joke about himself to please the audience. Following his success with Major Barbara, he took aim at the hypocrisy of British physicians in the new play. He also characterized the young artist as a scoundrel, who rejects conventional moralities, but with good reasons for doing so; the audience is left uncertain whether to admire or dislike him – it is the audience’s dilemma.
I listened to The Doctor’s Dilemma on compact discs from LA Theatre Works, which staged the play with an audience for radio. I likes it so well I listened a second time. It would be a great addition to public library audio collections.
Shaw, George Bernard. The Doctor’s Dilemma. Los Angeles: LA Theatre Works, p2000. 2 discs.
Jennifer Dubedat’s husband Louis has tuberculosis, and she comes to Sir Colenso with a plea to save him, but the newly knighted doctor says that he has room in his clinic for only ten patients, which he has already chosen – ten people whose lives are worth saving. He could not possibly add another, he says, until she shows him Louis’ wonderful drawings. Perhaps he can make room for him. Then Sir Colenso learns that his friend Blenkinsop also needs treatment. Who should he save? Who is most worthy of being saved?
George Bernard Shaw and his socialist views were so well known by the time of the staging of The Doctor’s Dilemma in 1906 that he was able to incorporate a joke about himself to please the audience. Following his success with Major Barbara, he took aim at the hypocrisy of British physicians in the new play. He also characterized the young artist as a scoundrel, who rejects conventional moralities, but with good reasons for doing so; the audience is left uncertain whether to admire or dislike him – it is the audience’s dilemma.
I listened to The Doctor’s Dilemma on compact discs from LA Theatre Works, which staged the play with an audience for radio. I likes it so well I listened a second time. It would be a great addition to public library audio collections.
Shaw, George Bernard. The Doctor’s Dilemma. Los Angeles: LA Theatre Works, p2000. 2 discs.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Mad Hot Ballroom
Do you know the steps to meringue, rumba, foxtrot, tango, or swing dancing? I don’t, but many eleven year old students in New York sure do; they get ballroom dancing instruction from the American Ballroom Theater’s Dancing Classrooms program, and they take it seriously. For ten weeks they learn the dances and prepare for competitions. The best team wins the city trophy for its school. Only one school wins the competitions, but all the students benefit: school pride is raised, each student’s sense of accomplishment is strengthened, and they learn how to dance, which will stick with them forever.
The cameras of Mad Hot Ballroom followed teams from three schools closely through the 2004 dance season, so moviegoers get to see the students from first lessons to the final competition, witnessing all the missteps and frustrations of children just beginning to mature. They also see what can be accomplished when dedicated people care enough to work with students in all economic classes.
I especially liked the interviews with the students. Michael from Public School 112 is really funny, talking about girls while playing foosball with his friends. All the girls in Public School 115 want to dance with Wilson, who already seems to possess quiet charm and ballroom style. Tara from Public School 150 is already planning to be an actress, dancer, and singer; you get to see her practice in front of her mirror. Because there are many kids involved, there are many stories to follow; I’d like to see the film again to get them all straight.
Aaron will be showing Mad Hot Ballroom as one of several documentaries in our fall film series at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library. People are already telling me they are coming. You can see a bit of the film at the Official Mad Hot Ballroom website.
The cameras of Mad Hot Ballroom followed teams from three schools closely through the 2004 dance season, so moviegoers get to see the students from first lessons to the final competition, witnessing all the missteps and frustrations of children just beginning to mature. They also see what can be accomplished when dedicated people care enough to work with students in all economic classes.
I especially liked the interviews with the students. Michael from Public School 112 is really funny, talking about girls while playing foosball with his friends. All the girls in Public School 115 want to dance with Wilson, who already seems to possess quiet charm and ballroom style. Tara from Public School 150 is already planning to be an actress, dancer, and singer; you get to see her practice in front of her mirror. Because there are many kids involved, there are many stories to follow; I’d like to see the film again to get them all straight.
Aaron will be showing Mad Hot Ballroom as one of several documentaries in our fall film series at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library. People are already telling me they are coming. You can see a bit of the film at the Official Mad Hot Ballroom website.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Jethro Creighton was only nine years old when word reached his family farm in southern Illinois that Confederate forces under the command of Brigadier General Beauregard had fired upon the 1st U.S. Artillery stationed at Fort Sumter in Charlestown, South Carolina. Important news traveled very slowly in April 1861; for four years the youngest son of the farmer Matt Creighton would rely on old newspapers and slowly delivered letters and wounded soldiers for news of the war and of the fates of his older brothers, cousins, and friends. Though he and his parents were many miles from the battlefields, the war brought sorrow and hardship to them daily. When his father fell ill, Jethro took on most of the farm work.
What I like most about Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt is the authenticity of the story. In the notes at the back of the book, the author says that stories her grandfather told her inspired her novel to which she added much historical detail. The result is a blending of family saga and military history. The names of battles and generals become meaningful to the reader because they are important to Jethro, who must know what has become of his brothers and his sister’s fiancée.
Across Five Aprils has several great characters: Jethro’s sister Jenny who worked as hard as Jethro, her fiancée Shadrach Yale who was his school teacher and mentor, and the local newspaper editor Ross Milton who befriended the young man. It was Milton who explained that the freeing of the slaves by the Emancipation Proclamation was only a beginning in a long quest for justice and equality for blacks; he foresaw the Ku Klux Klan and bitter reconstruction of the South.
Southern Illinois was an interesting place during the Civil War. Many of the residents with families living in the southern states sympathized with the Confederacy; some of the young men joined the “Southern Cause.” Others hated the South; local vigilantes burned barns and killed livestock to punish anyone they thought disloyal. The woods also filled with deserters. The night was dangerous.
Across Five Aprils gives readers much to ponder. I recommend this Newberry Medal Honor book to readers of all ages. Every library should have a couple of copies.
Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils. New York : Berkley Jam Books, 2002, c1964. ISBN 0425182789
What I like most about Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt is the authenticity of the story. In the notes at the back of the book, the author says that stories her grandfather told her inspired her novel to which she added much historical detail. The result is a blending of family saga and military history. The names of battles and generals become meaningful to the reader because they are important to Jethro, who must know what has become of his brothers and his sister’s fiancée.
Across Five Aprils has several great characters: Jethro’s sister Jenny who worked as hard as Jethro, her fiancée Shadrach Yale who was his school teacher and mentor, and the local newspaper editor Ross Milton who befriended the young man. It was Milton who explained that the freeing of the slaves by the Emancipation Proclamation was only a beginning in a long quest for justice and equality for blacks; he foresaw the Ku Klux Klan and bitter reconstruction of the South.
Southern Illinois was an interesting place during the Civil War. Many of the residents with families living in the southern states sympathized with the Confederacy; some of the young men joined the “Southern Cause.” Others hated the South; local vigilantes burned barns and killed livestock to punish anyone they thought disloyal. The woods also filled with deserters. The night was dangerous.
Across Five Aprils gives readers much to ponder. I recommend this Newberry Medal Honor book to readers of all ages. Every library should have a couple of copies.
Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils. New York : Berkley Jam Books, 2002, c1964. ISBN 0425182789
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Sand cat at the Brookfield Zoo
We spent Labor Day at the Brookfield Zoo with friends. This sand cat in the Fragile Desert exhibit was posing for lots of pictures.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
A Book to Discuss: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
At the One Book, One Community program at the American Library Association Conference in Chicago this summer, I was given a bag of books, including When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka. During the program, a representative from Random House Books promised us that this would be a good book for community discussions; it had already been popular in the Seattle Reads program. Now that I have finally gotten around to reading it, I agree.
When the Emperor Was Divine has a lot going for it as a community reading choice. It is a short, well written book about the experiences of a Japanese-American family that is divided by federal security officials and sent to internments camps during World War II. The father is carried off in the night without even being allowed to dress; the son and the daughter both dream later of their father returning to them still wearing only a robe and slippers. The children and their mother remain in Berkeley for several months, becoming poorer and more isolated, until they too are sent to a series of camps, mostly in forbidding locations; they suffer form heat, cold, saline dust and boredom. Most readers will sympathize with the family, whose habits and aspirations are so much like their own.
Though the setting of When the Emperor Was Divine is the 1940s, the book is timely: we still have the fear of foreign people leading to angry words being said and rocks being thrown through windows. We may someday have books like this one about the families of American Muslims who were unaccountedly held without ever being charged with crimes after September 2001. When we do, we should discuss them, too.
When the Emperor Was Divine has a lot going for it as a community reading choice. It is a short, well written book about the experiences of a Japanese-American family that is divided by federal security officials and sent to internments camps during World War II. The father is carried off in the night without even being allowed to dress; the son and the daughter both dream later of their father returning to them still wearing only a robe and slippers. The children and their mother remain in Berkeley for several months, becoming poorer and more isolated, until they too are sent to a series of camps, mostly in forbidding locations; they suffer form heat, cold, saline dust and boredom. Most readers will sympathize with the family, whose habits and aspirations are so much like their own.
Though the setting of When the Emperor Was Divine is the 1940s, the book is timely: we still have the fear of foreign people leading to angry words being said and rocks being thrown through windows. We may someday have books like this one about the families of American Muslims who were unaccountedly held without ever being charged with crimes after September 2001. When we do, we should discuss them, too.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Prince Wanted
There were many reasons to go to the Bristol Renaissance Fair. Click the photo to find more photos.
Sunflowers
It was a beautiful day at the Morton Arboretum. This was near the new maze. The new children's garden is opening soon.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
My daughter Laura complains about my writing. My sentences are too short. Their structure is too simple. It looks pretty boring.
I have intended to read Eats, Shoot & Leaves by Lynne Truss since it came out in the United States in 2004. Now that I have, I have some more ideas to improve my writing: use more punctuation. I will start again.
My daughter Laura complains about my writing: my sentences are too short; their structure is too simple; it looks “pretty boring”. [Note British positioning of these marks.]
I wish I had read Eats, Shoots & Leaves earlier: it is very entertaining - I didn’t laugh out loud, but Bonnie did - and is full of useful punctuation advice. I now know why I have been confused about the use of quotation marks with other punctuation marks at the ends of sentences: the British and Americans have different rules; I read both. It might be interesting to compare British and American editions of books (will I ever have such time?) to see if the editors have changed the punctuation.
It would be nice if this book had an index to facilitate re-finding the rules and illustrations. Oh! It would be nice to have a package of Starburst (once called Opal Fruits), too!
Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Gotham Books, 2004. ISBN 1592400876
I have intended to read Eats, Shoot & Leaves by Lynne Truss since it came out in the United States in 2004. Now that I have, I have some more ideas to improve my writing: use more punctuation. I will start again.
My daughter Laura complains about my writing: my sentences are too short; their structure is too simple; it looks “pretty boring”. [Note British positioning of these marks.]
I wish I had read Eats, Shoots & Leaves earlier: it is very entertaining - I didn’t laugh out loud, but Bonnie did - and is full of useful punctuation advice. I now know why I have been confused about the use of quotation marks with other punctuation marks at the ends of sentences: the British and Americans have different rules; I read both. It might be interesting to compare British and American editions of books (will I ever have such time?) to see if the editors have changed the punctuation.
It would be nice if this book had an index to facilitate re-finding the rules and illustrations. Oh! It would be nice to have a package of Starburst (once called Opal Fruits), too!
Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Gotham Books, 2004. ISBN 1592400876
Friday, September 02, 2005
Use of Google Maps to Show Hurricane Damage
The Katrina Information Map is a Google Map to which people are adding markers for specific addresses in Louisianna. There are a few markers in Mississippi and Alabama, too. Click on a marker and you may find out whether there is flooding at that location. The creator has asked people to only add markers if they have information, but some are using the map to ask for help. Some are leaving phone numbers and email addresses in the balloon that appears when you click on the markers.
Wandering around the map gives me the impression that ther are still people wandering around New Orleans. Could emergency personnel be stopping to add markers to this map? Maybe they are if the addresses are important to themselves or their friends. I'm sure a lot of people would like to know.
Wandering around the map gives me the impression that ther are still people wandering around New Orleans. Could emergency personnel be stopping to add markers to this map? Maybe they are if the addresses are important to themselves or their friends. I'm sure a lot of people would like to know.
Working: A Musical by Stephen Schwartz
Working is a different kind of musical: there are no main characters, no storyline, and no plot. What it has is what the Studs Terkel book on which it is based has – many voices, dramatic, comic, and tragic. I have been listening to a full-cast production by LA Theatre Works on compact disc while I commute to work, enjoying the songs and the many monologues of workers from all walks of life. I’m very glad I work at the library and not up on some girder high above the city nor in a cubicle deep inside some building!
The voices you hear while listening to Working are blue collar and white collar, young and old, happy and very sad. The most outlandish characters are the least effective; I do not think the one boss, who enjoys having thousands of workers do his bidding and who wants to pass his “values” to future bosses, was a very fair characterization; it did not fit with the many moving stories of other workers. The best are the steelworker, the immigrant who works in the produce department at a grocery, the receptionist, and the mother who stays home with her children; they all have good points about the unfairness of stereotyping. I was most incensed by the description of the job of the factory worker making luggage on an assembly line, who is always at risk of being hit by moving pieces or scalding steam. I was most disturbed by the newspaper copy boy who is about “to go postal”; I skipped his part the second time I listened.
Skipping is not easy: the two compact discs have no tracking. You have to sit on the fast forward button to move ahead. Tracking would help listeners who want to just hear the songs again.
My library purchased Working along with other compact discs, DVDs, and lots of books with an LSTA Weed and Feed Grant from the Illinois State Library. We spent $3200 improving our drama and theater collection this year. Last year we added many novels read by honors English classes with LSTA funds, and we hope next year to improve our science collection. In Illinois, the Weed and Feed Grants seem fairly easy to get, as long as you are willing to do a lot of paperwork.
We have Working if you want to borrow t, but I recommend you get one into your own library.
Schwartz, Stephen. Working: a Musical. LA Theatre Works, 2000. ISBN 1580811310
The voices you hear while listening to Working are blue collar and white collar, young and old, happy and very sad. The most outlandish characters are the least effective; I do not think the one boss, who enjoys having thousands of workers do his bidding and who wants to pass his “values” to future bosses, was a very fair characterization; it did not fit with the many moving stories of other workers. The best are the steelworker, the immigrant who works in the produce department at a grocery, the receptionist, and the mother who stays home with her children; they all have good points about the unfairness of stereotyping. I was most incensed by the description of the job of the factory worker making luggage on an assembly line, who is always at risk of being hit by moving pieces or scalding steam. I was most disturbed by the newspaper copy boy who is about “to go postal”; I skipped his part the second time I listened.
Skipping is not easy: the two compact discs have no tracking. You have to sit on the fast forward button to move ahead. Tracking would help listeners who want to just hear the songs again.
My library purchased Working along with other compact discs, DVDs, and lots of books with an LSTA Weed and Feed Grant from the Illinois State Library. We spent $3200 improving our drama and theater collection this year. Last year we added many novels read by honors English classes with LSTA funds, and we hope next year to improve our science collection. In Illinois, the Weed and Feed Grants seem fairly easy to get, as long as you are willing to do a lot of paperwork.
We have Working if you want to borrow t, but I recommend you get one into your own library.
Schwartz, Stephen. Working: a Musical. LA Theatre Works, 2000. ISBN 1580811310
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Libraries in the Path of Hurricane Katrina
Here are a few items about libraries in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama that have been hit by Hurricane Katrina. In many, libraries are just mentioned as part of the story.
Evacuees in West Shreveport, Louisiana are getting meals at the Shreve Memorial Library West Shreveport Branch again this morning. Library staff and patrons are arranging a buffet and will also entertain the needy with a children’s story time and a movie.
Libraries in the Shreveport area are providing Internet service for many evacuees trying to find their family and friends.
The Chicago Tribune reports on Gulfport, Mississippi, “In what was once the public library, wet books formed a mound of soggy pulp.”
Students slept in the library Tuesday night at Jackson State University.
The Mobile Register will be unable to run its Yesterday’s News column until its staff can get back into the public library to use the microfilm.
Libraries outside the three states are beginning to respond. Here are a couple of items.
The American Red Cross is training volunteers who will work at shelters at the Tyler Public Library in Texas.
Students at Kansas City’s Westport Middle School are raising funds for disaster relief by reading school library books a penny a page.
The websites for the New Orleans and Mobile public libraries are down. The website for Jackson, Mississippi is up but has no hurricane news.
A search on the website for the Times-Picayune retrieves only pre-hurricane items.
The American Library Association has set up a page with news items about libraries that suffered from the hurricane.
Evacuees in West Shreveport, Louisiana are getting meals at the Shreve Memorial Library West Shreveport Branch again this morning. Library staff and patrons are arranging a buffet and will also entertain the needy with a children’s story time and a movie.
Libraries in the Shreveport area are providing Internet service for many evacuees trying to find their family and friends.
The Chicago Tribune reports on Gulfport, Mississippi, “In what was once the public library, wet books formed a mound of soggy pulp.”
Students slept in the library Tuesday night at Jackson State University.
The Mobile Register will be unable to run its Yesterday’s News column until its staff can get back into the public library to use the microfilm.
Libraries outside the three states are beginning to respond. Here are a couple of items.
The American Red Cross is training volunteers who will work at shelters at the Tyler Public Library in Texas.
Students at Kansas City’s Westport Middle School are raising funds for disaster relief by reading school library books a penny a page.
The websites for the New Orleans and Mobile public libraries are down. The website for Jackson, Mississippi is up but has no hurricane news.
A search on the website for the Times-Picayune retrieves only pre-hurricane items.
The American Library Association has set up a page with news items about libraries that suffered from the hurricane.
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