The Contemporary Problem of Mass Rape by Allison Ruby Reid-Cunningham

Today I am reviewing something a bit different. The Contemporary Problem of Mass Rape is a self-published book by my niece Allison Ruby Reid-Cunningham, a doctoral student in social work at the University of California at Berkeley. I promise to write a fair review.

The topic about which Ruby writes is mostly ignored by the popular press and commercial publishing. Do a search of "mass rape" in Worldcat from OCLC and you find little. There is an article in Maclean's in 2006 and another in New Statesman in 2005. There are a few university press books. Otherwise, the topic is found only in reports from international organizations and articles from academic journals. Reading Ruby's book, I noticed that most of the references are to reports from groups like Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, and various bodies of the United Nations.

What is mass rape? In the context of Ruby's book, mass rape is sexual violence against women as a part of war. Throughout history, as the saying goes, "to the victor go the spoils." Victorious armies have always celebrated by looting their conquered cities and raping the women and girls. As horrible as this is, the topic of this book is even more shocking. Rape is used as a weapon of genocide.

Ruby's book includes discussions of recent or on-going wars in Bosnia- Hercegovina, Rwanda, and Darfur. In these wars, soldiers were (are) often under orders to rape women. In these wars, commanders at the highest level directed their forces to use all means to humiliate and eliminate the ethnic peoples against whom they fought. In these societies, the ethnicity of offspring is thought to come from the father and not the mother, so rape serves to wipe out conquered populations. To accomplish the work, rape camps were set up where women were systematically raped, kept until pregnancies were verified, and sent back to their own communities. Many babies were subsequently abandoned.

What is to be done about these atrocities? Ruby discusses war crimes trials. According to current conventions, mass rape is a war crime, but it is often not one of the charges that is pursued. The problem is under reported because in many cultures being raped is actually considered a crime of adultery. Women reporting their rapes in these societies condemn themselves to expulsion or death.

Being a student of social work, Ruby discusses the need for social workers in the wake of ethnic warfare and the care which they need to provide.

On her website, Ruby discusses her ongoing work, which includes interviewing women from the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. I hope she writes a narrative book for mass publication. Readers need to know about this subject. In the meantime, Ruby provides a link to buy her book from Lulu. The paperback is $10 and the download is only $1.25.

300 Books, 300 More to Choose

Today is a milestone in the writing of my readers' advisory guide for biography. I have chosen 300 books and written short descriptions of them. I want to choose 300 more and then put them into a useful order with finding aids and further recommendations. I also will add some helpful appendices.

Number 300 is Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams by Michael D'Antonio. I celebrated with a bit of left over Halloween chocolate. Delicious!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

I have just finished my second reading of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. I took two months, often reading a few pages or a chapter a day, sometimes skipping a couple of days. At this relaxed pace, the tale becomes an installment story. Of course, I understood much more the this time through.

I was particularly struck on the second reading how Voldemort really is just Tom Riddle, not all powerful. He is so obsessed with Harry that he loses his original vision of dominion. He makes mistakes in front of his Death Eaters, shocking them. He worries about wands and horcruxes. Moreover, you see he is not so different from Dumbledore in his origins. The late headmaster of Hogwarts could have let hate make him into a monster, too. Dumbledore's failing was not finding a better path for Riddle when he might have had influence. Maybe he would have failed, but he did not really try.

Before the seventh book was issued, I worried that it would be a long battle, constantly tense, losing all the charms of the earlier books. At the end of the sixth book, there was such a sense that the time of conflict had come. I need not have worried. I liked how Rowling was able to still include humorous lines and situations in the final book.

I also like how the characters continue to develop in the seventh book. In fact, we learn much about Harry, Dumbledore, Snape, Luna, and Neville. Rowling had many threads to tie in the final book and I think she succeeded, staying fair to all of her characters, even Riddle.

Now what do I do? The story is over. Well, I might reread book six again.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. ISBN 9780545010221

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver

Here's food for thought. (I could not resist the pun.)

I have just finished listening to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver, read by the authors. I was not sure how interesting twelve compact discs about a family growing, buying, and eating local food would be, but I was hooked. Kingsolver is so talented a storyteller that she could probably entertain readers with a story about asparagus. In fact, she does tell a good story about the tall green vegetable, first food of spring.

In one essay in her book Small Wonder, Kingsolver discusses the great waste of shipping foods around the world when they could be grown locally. Admittedly, they would not always really be the same foods, but buying local would foster strong local farming communities. No one would go hungry, and third world farmers would not be enslaved by corporations to feed wealthy Americans. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, she and her family take the topic much farther.

I enjoyed hearing three voices on the audiobook. Kingsolver delivers the main narrative, which hardly sounds like reading. Her husband Hopp is "Mr. Science," reading his fact-filled sidebars about politics, economy, and ethics. Her college-bound daughter Camille reads her essays on nutrition, describes meal plans, and provides a young point of view.

Kingsolver's younger daughter Lily is also a principle in the narrative. One of the best recurring themes is development of the budding entrepreneur's egg business.

The central story is that the family pledges to eat locally grown foods for one year. Each person gets an exception, such as coffee. To accomplish the feat, they garden and raise their own chickens and turkeys on their farm in North Carolina. They also frequent the local farmers' market, visit neighboring farms, and buy from grocers who stock regional foods. There are some sacrifices; they have no bananas with breakfast or any foods out of season. There are a few failures: they never find a good local source for grains and flour. Still, they succeed in the spirit of the venture, helping the local economy, reducing the burning of fossil fuel, eating well, not losing any weight.

In an interview on the last compact disc, Kingsolver says that she does not expect everyone to replicate her family's experiment. What she does hope is that concern readers will start to examine what they eat and question its origins. If they start buying more local products, the food industry will have to take notice and will adjust to meet the demand. Eventually, a more sustainable system will be established.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle would be a good book for discuss because our whole way of life is questioned. Libraries should expect this book to continue to be popular for a long time.

Kingsolver, Barbara with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Harper Audio, 2007. ISBN 0060853573

Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World by Phil Borges

Photographer Phil Borges has traveled to many developing nations to witness the efforts of CARE to assist women's rights and welfare. The result is his book Women Empowered, which includes photos of and captions about individual women who are prospering and in turn assisting their neighbors to fight poverty, disease, illiteracy, rape, genital mutilation, child trafficking, political repression, and environmental exploitation.

The beauty of this book is its direct appeal. Readers see and learn about strong women who have defied conventions to demand their rights in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, and even Montana. Several of the women have used microloans to start village industries that have allowed them to feed their families, secure homes, and send their children to school. Others have chased off illegal loggers, stopped slave traders, and joined village governments for the first time. You see photos of these women and then of young women and girls who are in line to benefit.

With the effects and ethics of foreign aid often in question, this is an important book for students and citizens who contemplate their charitable giving. It is a good addition to any library.

Borges, Phil. Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World. Rizzoli, 2007. ISBN 9780847829279

This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley

Are you one of many readers who have dreamed of being a novelist? If you are, Walter Mosley has written This Year You Write Your Novel for you. Why has he done this? Did he do so to help you, or did he do so to take your money?

Evidence of helpfulness #1 - In this small book, which takes only a couple of hours to read, Mosley strips down the process of novel writing to its essentials, making his points clearly. The author says that to write a book you have to be disciplined and write every day, and he lays out a plan that can help you do that in a year. He says to get a first draft written before you worry about all of the books problems. Then he gives advice for rewriting. This may be just the encouragement that you need to rise to the call. He has given you a method.

Evidence of helpfulness #2 - This Year You Write Your Novel is small and attractive. It might work as a nice gift of encouragement to a friend. I would like to give the book to several people I know. Giving it might be that extra statement of faith that would spark a friend to do what he/she has promised/threatened.

Evidence of taking the money - The book is rather small for the price. It is sketchy. It does not refer to any other tools to help the writer. (He does mention using a thesaurus.) Like many self-help books, it is common sense spelled out.

I like to think that Mosley's intentions are honorable. Perhaps a bigger book with more details would be less read and not as influential. Still, I think more people would be better served by a cheap paperback version. This definitely does not need to be hardbound.

Mosley, Walter. This Year Your Write Your Novel. Little, Brown & Company, 2007. ISBN 9780316065412

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

The popularity of Agatha Christie mysteries continues thirty years after her death. Thanks to new editions of the books published by Black Dog & Leventhan, my library has restocked the mystery shelves with a couple dozen new Christie volumes. Among these is The Body in the Library.

I have opened the library many times and never found a body in front of the fireplace. At Thomas Ford, we do have a fireplace but no blood stains. Actually, there were no blood stains on Colonel Bantry's library floor either. Obviously, the heavily made-up young woman with the bleached hair in the cheap white gown was strangled somewhere else. Who was she and why was she in the library? Mrs. Bantry knows the local police will botch the investigation, so she calls her friend Miss Jane Marple.

As I read the book, I started remembering much of the plot, which I saw dramatized on Masterpiece Theatre recently, but I did not recall who the murderers were. This may be because as a viewer and a reader I spent almost the entire story contemplating the clues and testing scenarios. Then Miss Marple reveals the solution and the book ends rather quickly. In Body in the Library, there is no great scene were all the suspects are brought together. Two weeks from now, I may have forgotten the solution and could read it all over again.

I was struck on this reading how Miss Marple is not a sweet old lady. She is the least trusting of all the investigators, attune to the moods of the suspects. She also tells about catching her housemaids at lies. Christie hints that the sleuth has perhaps gone through many maids. I do not think I saw that in the dramatizations.

Libraries may want to inspect their Agatha Christie collections now as there are inexpensive editions available to fill the gaps and replace the tattered copies. Your readers will appreciate them.

Adventures of a Biographer by Catherine Drinker Bowen

A colleague at the library wished recently that publishers would stop the flood of new books so she could catch up with all the old books. I would not go so far, but I sympathize, as there are many old books that I will never read, and every time I go in the stacks to weed I find more.

I do what I can. So, here is a new review of a book from 1959.

I first became aware of the biographer Catherine Drinker Bowen in August when I was studying the ALA Notable Books lists. Bowen had seven books on the lists, second only to Sir Winston Churchill. When I looked through our library catalog to see if any were still available, I found that they all were somewhere in the Chicago suburbs. The title that caught my eye was her memoir Adventures of a Biographer, published in 1959, before ISBN numbers.

I could tell I had made a good choice from the first page of the first chapter. The year is 1937 and a Russian friend tries to talk Bowen out of going to Moscow to research pianist Anton Rubinstein. She had already written a book about Tchaikovsky without visiting his homeland, but she felt that it lacked authority. Now she is determined to wade into Stalin's Soviet Union to get the goods that she needed to write a great book. Of course, she finds many barriers to her research in the cold capital. She cannot go anywhere without her official translator, who seems at first bent on showing her all the city's factories and communist shrines instead of letting her study a musician who was a loyal subject of the last czar. Eventually she gets into Moscow Conservatory where she is only allowed in certain rooms. During an afternoon concert, when no one is looking, she sneaks into the upstairs archive where an old librarian welcomes her and shows her some of Rubinstein's manuscripts.

Not all of the chapters are as thrilling as the first, but Bowen usually finds people or institutions opposing her work. When she goes to Boston to study Oliver Wendall Holmes in the 1940s, when many people remember him, she is viewed as an outsider and shunned. In Washington, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter tries to discourage her from writing a "popular" book and denies her access to the Holmes papers under his care. He then hires an academic read these papers and write a scholarly book. Bowen is not able to cozy up to Holmes' old friends until she pulls out her family tree.

While writing about John Adams, Bowen attends a conference of history professors. Thinking that she will learn some new techniques for research, she finds herself frustrated by the academic attitude that requires the scholars to be almost without opinion about their subjects. Bowen believes biography should be written with a point of view. She admits to bias. She says most biographers learn to love or hate their subjects.

Of course, my favorite chapter is the ninth, "Salute to Librarians." Early in that chapter is a great paragraph.

"In early days, I tried not to give librarians any trouble, which was where I made my primary mistake. Librarians like to be given trouble; they exist for it, they are geared to it. For the location of a mislaid volume, an uncatalogued item, your good librarian has a ferret's nose. Give her a scent and she jumps the leash, her eyes bright with battle. But I did not know this. All unaware I used to make my way to those long-block municipal buildings, hope in my heart and in my hand a list of ten or fifteen books. Not books to read in the library but to take home, where I could copy at length, with time to think about what I was copying. I did not telephone beforehand and ask to have my books ready at the desk. I took my list and looked up the proper numbers in the card catalog, rechecked each one and carried the cards to the desk. The young woman would glance at the cards and then she would say, "Only two books at a time can be taken from the circulation department, miss." Black hatred would then well up in a heart that had been ready to love."

Bowen continues in this chapter to tell stories about her sometimes difficult but usually rewarding work with librarians. Some are just as reticent as the Bostonian friends of Justice Holmes. Others bend as many rules as they can to widen her access.

In the final chapters, Bowen tells about a dry period when she struggled to select a subject for her latest book. When she finally settled on Edward Coke, an adviser to Elizabeth I and James I of England, she found some English ancestors very suspicious of having an American writer in their midst. They claimed Coke was an English topic for an English scholar. For Bowen, the research was never easy.

Not many libraries have Adventures of a Biographer now, but it is a book worth seeking out. Try out your local interlibrary loan.

Bowen, Catherine Drinker. Adventures of a Biographer. Little, Brown, 1959.

Graduate School of Art, University of Iowa

On Saturday, Bonnie and I toured the Graduate School of Art at the University of Iowa with our daughter Laura. Laura told us that there was a really cool exhibit, but it had closed when we got there. So we just wandered around the building. There was still plenty to see.

We went up the industrial metal ramps to the second level, where we found a collection of paintings around the landing walls. Most had no attributions. Were they by students? What I liked best was a little green figure, a detail in a larger piece. I'd tell you what it is, but I do not know. Maybe it is an angel.

The art school library was fairly deserted while we walked around. It was mostly an unadorned, more functional than artful space, but I saw much to like from a service point of view. The reference collection and new titles were right up front. There were still many empty shelves for future acquisitions, and there were many interesting looking periodicals. Around the library were displays of red-colored uncovered structural steel.The large glass windows looked out on a goldfish pool under a limestone wall. If the windows were washed, it would be very nice. If I were a student, I'd like studying in the art library, away from the noise of dorms.

On the third level was a display of metal box sculpture. I liked the the burned-out oven. There were three other pieces, one of which I almost tripped over when I was looking at something else. There were more big windows, lots of faculty offices, and more naked structural steel.

It was a cool building. I have loaded 18 photos from around the graduate school in a set on Flickr.

Great Tales from English History: Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More by Robert Lacey

In his series Great Tales from English History, Robert Lacey retells some of the most known stories about the monarchs and subjects of England. While this could be pretty dull reading in a less talented author's hands, Lacey entertains with humorous details, thoughtful observations, and swift portrayals of the key historical figures. In doing so, he often dispels myths and humanizes the exalted figures about whom he writes.

I read the second book Great Tales from English History: Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More. In this volume, Lacey covers events and people between 1387 and 1687 in chapters that range from three to seven pages. You could read several a day and enjoy the book for a couple of weeks and then get one of the other volumes.

I most enjoyed reading about people whose names I knew but about whom I knew little.

• Famous for his role in the folk tale Puss in Boots, Dick Whittington really did rise to become mayor of London and a counsellor for King Henry IV, but there is no evidence that he ever owned a cat.
• Lady Jane Grey was a pawn in a political struggle and never deserved to lose her head at the block.
• William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English and who lost his head for criticizing King Henry VIII's divorce, is the source of many famous phrases, including "salt of the earth," "the powers that be," and "eat, drink and be merry."
• Samuel Pepys traveled to Holland to get an exclusive interview with Charles II before he was restored to the crown.
• William Caxton, the first Englishman to own a printing press, is responsible for many of the inconsistent spellings in the English language.

Of course, Lacey tells stories about all the kings and queens of the three centuries. Richard II died because he went on a hunger strike in prison; he was not assassinated. Charles II really did hide in a tree to escape Puritan soldiers. Mary was hailed as a fair and just queen when she succeeded her brother Edward, but she spent her political capital rather quickly and everyone was happy to see her die.

The Great Tales from History series is fun to read and makes a nice introduction to English history. All public libraries should get Lacey's series.

Lacey, Robert. Great Tales from English History: Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More. Little, Brown & Company, 2004. ISBN 031610924X.

Other volumes:

Great tales from English history : the truth about King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart and more. ISBN: 031610910X

Great tales from English history : Captain Cook, Samuel Johnson, Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin, Edward the Abdicator, and more. ISBN: 0316114596

Library Outreach Services, London, 1895

I always enjoy finding references to libraries in my pleasure reading. I found the following opening paragraph in the second chapter of The London Yankees: Portraits of American Writers and Artists in England, 1894-1914 by Stanley Weintraub.

Externally, Lancaster Gate had an ambience of comfortable gentility rather than showy fashion. At number 69, for example, lived retired Indian civil administrator Sir Richard Strachey, whose gaunt, precocious son Giles Lytton was often home from public school on sick leave. Every week the van from the circulating library would deliver half a dozen novels to Sir Richard's door, perhaps even the latest title by Bret Harte, or by Pearl Craigie under her well-known pseudonym, "John Oliver Hobbes." Deaf and doddering, Strachey very likely had no idea that Lancaster Gate was being overrun by authors or tainted by scandal by such Americans.

The next paragraph tells the reader that the time is 1895.

I wonder whether the books were for the father or the son or someone else in the house. Also, was delivery service just a benefit of membership in the circulating library or a special arrangement? Did someone have to have a doctor's signature to get delivery? It must not have been an uncommon service, for the library had a van.

One of the current ideas that is being batted around is that public libraries should send out their books by mail (like Netflix) or deliver more to homes. It seems to be an older idea than we thought.

Will There Be Books on the Colorado Rockies?

With their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Playoffs last night (this morning), the Colorado Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games. In doing so, they surprised much of the baseball world, as they had been written off for the season. Because that level of winning is the stuff of legends, expect to see books on the Colorado Rockies 2007 season by next spring. If they win the World Series, there may be some instant publishing. Sports writers from the Denver media will take this opportunity for some windfall profits.

I see only one book about the Rockies aimed at adults in the current SWAN catalog (our Chicago suburbs consortium), and there is only one copy of that 1994 title, Mile High Madness: A Year with the Colorado Rockies by Bob Kravitz. There are, of course, more copies in Coloado, according to Worldcat. I also see that some profit minded people are putting their copies for sale on EBay.

There are several books aimed at young readers available. Children's librarians should put them on display to catch the eyes of young fans.

The Rockies now have eight days off before the World Series begins. The concern of some fans is that they will lose momentum. These fans may take some comfort in the statistic that teams with that many days off have won the World Series seven out of ten times.

No Fines in Libraries

Aaron Schmidt has posted a piece about libraries not charging overdue fines but using other means to get items returned. There are been some interesting comments added by other librarians. He has now also set up a wiki for libraries to add their names to the no fines list. It will be interesting to see how long the list grows.

I have always wished we would get away from overdue fines. It costs us good will and our circulation staff have better things to do than argue over insignificant amounts of money.

I also think we should not insist that less in demand books come back so quickly. Too many of our books spend too much time on our shelves. I'd like to see the books off the shelves and in readers hands more of the time. We could keep more of our older books if more of them were out. Longer loan periods for these books might be a good move for libraries and readers.

Pontoon by Garrison Keillor

If you like Garrison Keillor's monologues on his radio program Prairie Home Companion, you will like his newest novel Pontoon. It is very funny, and like those monologues, the story takes place in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. It includes a few characters that radio listeners will recognize. The most familiar is Pastor Ingqvist of the Lutheran Church, who has to worry about a visit from 24 agnostic Lutheran ministers from Denmark at the same time he is trying to help a dysfunctional family with an nontraditional celebration of death. Fans will also know Dorothy, who is waiting tables at the Chatterbox Cafe, and Clint Bunsen, who helps the pastor haul some donated champagne, French cheese, and shrimp back to the church. Fans will also recognize the statue of the Unknown Norwegian, the Whippets baseball team, and Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery.

If you are puzzled by the title, just let me say that there is a boat in the plot. It is mentioned about half way through the book and reappears near the end. Knowing this does not spoil the ending. You can not imagine what's going to happen. The plot also involves a wedding that is not really a wedding and a funeral that is not really a funeral.

Keillor must have had a lot of fun writing Pontoon. It's as much fun to read.

Keillor, Garrison. Pontoon. Viking, 2007. ISBN 9780670063567

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

Ideology has always trumped precedence in the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States, according to Jeffrey Toobin in The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. The law does not change and necessitate new decisions. What changes are the judges. To get the decisions you want, you need to put your judges on the bench.

Toobin is a story teller with a great subject, nine people who are appointed to the highest court for life. If there is a hero to the story, it is Sandra Day O'Connor, who is appointed as first woman on the court by President Ronald Reagan. She is a lifelong moderate Republican, an Arizona friend of William Renquist, whom she eclipses in power. As the swing vote during much of her tenure, she is the most influential of justices. She always seeks to find the will of the American public's political center, not a strict interpretation of law. Her biggest mistake is her vote in Bush v. Gore. She discovers that Bush has no concern for the rule of law and the political center. His power comes from the extreme right, whom she abhors. Her traditional Republican Party has ceased to exist, and she blames Bush.

In telling the story, Toobin sprinkles the serious matter with some amusing details. I never knew that justices get to decorate their offices with paintings and sculpture from the Smithsonian's Museum of American Art. David Souter eats an apple and a cup of yogurt every day for lunch. Clarence Thomas got through an entire term without asking any questions.

A key point that Toobin makes is that the Bush administration has put more effort into focusing on the political viewpoints of its appointments that any previous administration. There is no pretense that recent appointments will weigh the merits of cases. There is to be no straying from the right wing position. Now neither reasoning nor public opinion really matter.

Readers will learn much about all the justices appointed in the past forty five years. Toobin seems to admire most of them. The Nine would be a great discussion book. There are bound to be readers who disagree.

Toobin, Jeffrey. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. Doubleday, 2007. ISBN 0385516401

Illinois Blue Book, 2005-2006: It's Time Has Passed

Today, my library received the Illinois Blue Book, 2005-2006. If you have noticed that it is already October 2007, you see the problem. This is an out of date directory when you get it. It always has been.

Perhaps this book is really intended as a historical reference item or collectors item and not as a directory at all. It is printed on nice glossy paper and the binding is stitched. The cover is dark blue with gold emblem, lettering, and stripes. Though it is no larger than many novels, it weighs twice as much (estimate). There must be half a pound of lead in the ink.

So, why is it full of possibly out of date addresses and phone numbers? It also tells what governmental departments have to spend in 2006. If you want to know Illinois legislative committee assignments of two years ago, this is your source.

There are some helpful sections in the back of the volume. All the legislators since 1819 are named, as are all the governors and other elected officials. There is also basic information on the counties, a copy of the Illinois constitution, and pictures of all the statues around the capitol.

It is interesting to learn from the chronology that Disco Demolition Night at Comisky Park in Chicago, July 12, 1979, is one of the highlights of the state's history.

Why do we still get this book? The information is all available on the Illinois Secretary of State's website. (It would be more useful and searchable if it were in HTML instead on PDF format.) State officials of Illinois are always pleading that revenue is short, denying funding to useful projects. The state library has been strapped for funds for years, as have all the regional library systems. I suggest that all the money spent to produce and distribute this heavy, rarely used book could be better spent.

Marlene Dietrich: Photographs and Memoirs

Before looking at Marlene Dietrich: Photographs and Memoirs, I knew little about the actress. After looking at it, I know more about her public persona, but she is still a mystery to me. The book has many photos, some being family snapshots, but she seems always to be acting a role. I am unable to solve the riddle of her personality.

According to the compiler of this book, Marlene Dietrich kept everything, including letters, telegrams, playbills, and photographs. The actress claimed that she had every dress, blouse, cape, shoe, hat, and accessory she used on stage or in a film. When she died, her estate opened six storage units in London, Paris, New York, and California, for which she spent thousands of dollars annually in rent, and donated her personal possessions to the FilmMuseum in Berlin. This book is a selective catalog of those items. Through family photos, movie stills, displays of artifacts, and comments of her friends, this big museum book gives fans an archaeological look at the life and career of the legendary actress.

There are some especially interesting sections of the book. After watching Ken Burn's documentary The War, I was struck by the twenty plus pages of photos showing her visiting and entertaining American troops in Italy. Seeing her in uniform contrasts sharply with the elegant and sophisticated attire in most of the book.

Dietrich fans will appreciate this attractive book, which may suggest a trip to the museum in Berlin.

Naudet, Jean-Jacques, compiler. Marlene Dietrich: Photographs and Memories, from the Marlene Dietrich Collection of the FilmMuseum Berlin. Knopf, 2001. 262p. ISBN 0375405348

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film, Based on the Lost Interviews from the Official Lucasfilm Archives by J. W. Rin

How many books about Star Wars do we need? At least one more, that being The Making of Star Wars by J. W. Rinzler. Based on four boxes full of interviews 1975 and 1978, which are now called the "lost interviews" because they had been put in the Lucas archives and forgotten, The Making of Star Wars is a thick, very detailed account that movie fans will enjoy.

The book starts at the beginning with an account of how George Lucas first conceived of Star Wars and how his ideas changed through his many handwritten drafts. Among the illustrations are photos of pages from the drafts, written with pencil on lined notebook paper. It is a wonder the story ever gelled. The early drafts were far different than the scripts issued for shooting. Lucas had ideas about certain scenes instead firm ideas of a story. Lots of ideas that reappeared in later movies were dropped. All the names changed.

Early in the development, the central character is Captain Annikin Starkiller. When Han Solo first appears, he is described as 150 years old. The droids were originally construction workers. There is a minor character named Skywalker.

The book includes many drawings showing how costumes, creatures, and sets evolved, and there are photos from the sets showing the cast as they work. What's funny to see is that when all the stormtroopers remove their helmets, they have huge amounts of hair. It was the 1970s.

At 314 oversize pages with small font text, this wonderful book takes time to read. Libraries should give readers extended loans.


Rinzler, J. W. The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film, Based on the Lost Interviews from the Official Lucasfilm Archives. Ballantine Books, 2007. ISBN 9780345477613.

God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir by John Bul Dau

John Bul Dau was naked when he ran out of his village after 2 a.m. on a night in 1987. According to the author in his memoir God Grew Tired of Us, all Dinka children of southern Sudan sleep naked and there was no time to find clothes and dress in the dark when the Djellabas attacked. He ran eastward into the bush with a man he thought was his father, but he learned when they stopped that the man was a neighbor. They nearly died several times on their march to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Thirteen year old Dau was naked most of the way.

There was much nakedness among the Lost Boys of Sudan in the initial months before they received international aid. Many boys had run away in the night like Dau. Others bartered their clothes away for food. Some who had kept their clothes wore them until there was nothing left. As bad as nakedness was, it was only one of the problems for the Dinkas, who were being hunted down by the northern Sudanese. Even in the relative safety of the refugee camps, there was terrible heat, disease, and hunger.

If God Grew Tired of Us stopped at the point Dau reached Ethiopia, it would be a shocking, but not insightful book. Things get worse before they get better, but Dau claims that he always had hope, even when he jumped in a crocodile rich river to escape Ethiopian rebels. He and his friends continually find ways to stay alive. The book is mostly upbeat. I can not explain the title, as Dau always seems to think tomorrow will be a better day. He may have adopted the title to align it with the documentary by the same name in which he appears.

After years in various refugee camps, where he learns to write and read, Dau is resettled in Syracuse, New York, where he is sponsored by a local Presbyterian church. They furnish an apartment with three other Lost Boys, teach him American customs, and give him rides to his work or school day or night.

Not all of his American experiences are positive. Some people think he is a potential terrorist or resent him taking jobs and federal aid. He has his bicycle stolen five times. He takes this all in stride. After you have seen people killed by the Djellabas or nearly starved to death, the ugliness of some American behaviors seem hardly noteworthy to Dau.

In the last part of the book, Dau tells about returning to Sudan to see his family after nineteen years and about his plans for the future, which include the clinic he is building for the Dinkas. In this part he both defends and criticizes American culture and foreign policy.

God Grew Tired of Us is an engaging book that may tell many reader an important story that they missed in the news. Many public libraries should add the book.

Dau, John Bul. God Grew Tired of Us. National Geographic, 2007. ISBN 9781426201141

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

By now I should have read or listened to In a Sunburned Country, Bill Bryson's entertaining journey across the island/country/continent of Australia. The book has been around for seven years, during which several people have said, "Hey, mate, give it a go!" I had already enjoyed A Walk in the Woods, his difficult hike along the Appalachian Trail, which in a bizarre way made me want to try the trail, too.

However, I had also tried to read I'm a Stranger Here Myself, his trip around the U.S., which I found irksome. In that book, I felt that he belittled the clerks, waitresses, and other small town folk he met. I only read a couple of chapters in before I gave it up. Now I wonder whether it was really so bad or whether I was in a bad mood. Maybe I stopped too soon. Maybe he was having a bad time.

I had no problems with In a Sunburned Country. Within minutes of starting to listen to it on audio book, read by the author himself, I was laughing out loud about some witty observations about the enormity of the land down under. Perhaps it is a crazy place because of the ill-conceived way in which it was colonized, Bryson poses, as he muses on its history. As a listener I was impressed not only by his wit but also by the fact that he had done his homework.

Bryson does find it a problem getting everywhere he wants to go, for the distances are so great. He and his various companions rent a series of sometimes less than ideal vehicles. He also at odd times decides "It's a pretty day, I think I'll walk," which of course leads to sunburn and the great need for several rounds of beer. Some wild dogs scare him pretty badly, and the flies can be maddening.

I like that he goes into every museum that he finds and reports on the wonders therein. It is just what I would do. There are some pretty strange things presented with great skill by the museum professionals in the country. Oh, I wish I could go to Australia.

I should mention poisonous creatures. Bryson finds that there are more in Australia than anywhere else in the world. Snakes, spiders, fish, worms, and so on. He is always watching for them.

There are lots of copies of this book in libraries, so you can probably find one pretty quickly. Enjoy yourself. Prepare to laugh.

Bryson, Bill. In a Sunburned Country. Broadway Books, 2000. ISBN 0767903862; Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio, p2000. 10 compact discs, 055350259X.

Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill by Gretchen Rubin

Author Gretchen Rubin wrote this entertaining book for readers who want to know something but not everything about Winston Churchill. Its forty chapters, some quite short, are essays, quizzes, and lists that present various views of the famous British prime minister about whom many huge books are written. Some essays are like Opposing Viewpoint books, giving evidence for contrary assertions, such "Churchill was an alcoholic" and "Churchill was not an alcoholic." The result is an engaging portrait of the man Rubin says was the real James Bond. I will include Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill in the biography readers' advisory guide that I am writing because Rubin has broken out of the big book biography mold with this creatively organized book. It might be described as "biography lite" but she really did capture the essential life in her small book, which should appeal to many busy readers. More libraries should have it. The author has also written a similar book about President Kennedy, which is also under-represented in libraries.

Rubin, Gretchen. Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life. Ballantine Books, 2003. 307p. ISBN 0345450477.

Two University of Texas Grads in Reference

It is not often in a far northerly library to find two graduates of the University of Texas library school in one library. For the next month or so, Brent Lipinski is joining us in the public services department at Thomas Ford to answer questions at our reference desk, while we search for a new reference librarian.

Brent started at Thomas Ford in 1998 when he was still in high school. Most of his time with us has been spent at the circulation desk, checking thousands upon thousands of items for the our clients. He has also set up meeting rooms, shelved books, and kept us in good humor with his infectious personality.

Brent is the one on the left with hair. He graduated in 2007. My degree was issued in 1978. According to his degree he is really an information scientist with some library classes, but he seems to have a good grasp on everything reference. It is good to have him around again.

Hook 'em Horns!

Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries by Sarah Houghton-Jan

It has been my intention to review Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries by Sarah Houghton-Jan when I finish reading the report for a couple of weeks. The problem is I have no idea if I will ever actually finish reading. Sarah's paragraphs are full of statements and questions that act like electrical charges on my brain, and I start thinking about my library and many possibilities to help the staff better serve our clients. I usually only get a couple of pages read at a sitting. Sometimes I only get through a couple of paragraphs. I am enjoying the process. Maybe I do not want to finish.

In logical fashion Sarah starts with the question of what technical competencies are. Instead of just offering a simple definition, she prompts and assists librarians to come up with definitions that suit their own needs. She follows with reasons why the librarians should even care. The crime, she asserts, is that libraries often do not expect enough from their employees, when if only they would ask for more and then help educate them, they would be happier. The goal is to equalize service for the public and foster a culture of learning in the staff.

This is one of the questions (paraphrased) that particularly sparked my thoughts: what should library clients know and does this influence what staff should know?

I remember that when my libraries first started offering public computers we expected much more from the public than from the staff. We had statements in user agreements saying that the clients were responsible for knowing computer programs and that little instruction was offered. Staff might help turn the computers on or put paper into the copiers. The attitude seemed to be that staff did not have time to help with computers. The underlying facts was that most staff members at the time had no idea how to help.

I think the staffs in my libraries quickly realized that the above unhelpful attitude was contrary to our mission, and we quickly found time for individual assistance/instruction. We started taking classes and attending workshops from which we learned to give our own classes to the public.

At Thomas Ford Memorial Library, we have now been teaching our Beginning Internet class for over ten years. There was a slight dip in attendance a few years ago, but registrations have increased again recently. I think the need to use computers has nearly reached everyone now. Not everyone is happy with that, but they have to turn somewhere, and the public library is where they turn. In the past two weeks in our "Book a Librarian" program, I have helped several people who had been resisting computers for years. A couple of them said to me that they did not really want to learn but felt they had to do it.

So getting back to Sarah's Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries. It is good for library professional and support staff to meet competencies. It may be especially helpful to get reluctant staff up to speed because they can empathize and be more patient with reluctant clients better some technical whizzes.

The latter part of Sarah's report details how through staff participation to create a technology competencies document and start meeting its objectives. It looks very helpful.

Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries looks like an item that ought to be in lots of libraries, but there are only 53 identified through Worldcat. Maybe many copies are still in the hands of the original purchasers, who are studying them - like me. I suspect a lot of cash strapped libraries are reluctant to part with $63 and postage. I would like to see ALA sell this report for half the price (while still paying Sarah for all her effort). They might sell many more copies.

I see a few additional copies hidden under the records of Library Technology Reports [1976 to] in our consortium catalog. You have to already know its there to look there. I think it would be found by more librarians if treated like a book.

73 pages printed as a serial, this work might be 120 to 150 pages if published as a book.

I do promise to finish soon and get our copy into the collection so others can borrow it. Soon. Really.

Houghton-Jan, Sarah. Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries. ALA Techsource, March/April 2007. ISSN 0024-2586. Phone orders, 1-800-545-2433, press 5.

Chanel: Her Life, Her World, and the Woman Behind the Legend She Herself Created by Edmonde Charles-Roux

This is an alert. As I continue to work on my book about biographies, I find great older titles that might be in danger of being withdrawn from libraries. Chanel by Edmonde Charles-Roux is a prime example. It is as good a read today as 32 years ago. According to Worldcat, there are still 643 copies in libraries. If you have it, don't withdraw it. It will be in my book. Here is a first draft of it's entry.

Charles-Roux, Edmonde. Chanel: Her Life, Her World, and the Woman Behind the Legend She Herself Created. Translated from the French by Nancy Amphoux. Knopf, 1975. 380p. ISBN 0394476131.

Why has there been no television miniseries about Coco Chanel? Her life reads like a racy French novel. She not only created perfumes, the first modern women's bathing suit, and the first little black dress, she also convinced women to throw away corsets, shorten their skirts, and wear costume jewelry without apology. She met royalty and knew all of Europe's most famous fashion designers. Former editor of French Vogue Edmonde Charles-Roux also reveals she kept shocking secrets until her death in 1971. Truly biography that reads like fiction.

Subjects: Chanel, Coco; Fashion Designers; Twentieth Century; Women.

Story Line: Celebrity Biography; Great Achievement; Rags to Riches; Romance.

Now try:?

I have not yet decided what books to recommend to readers who enjoyed Chanel. Have any suggestions?

Tiger Cubs at the Brookfield Zoo

I only noticed yesterday that Blogger now has an easy way to load videos, so I am testing it with this short showing the two tiger cubs at the Brookfield Zoo.

The cubs were in the den until just about ten days ago. They already weigh 75 pounds each, but they still are very much kittens.

I am typing as the video loads. It is taking a while on DSL. I am glad I only chose the 33 second clip and not the longer one to load.

Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route by Saidiya Hartman

In Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route, Saidiya Hartman spends a year in Ghana seeking understanding of herself as the descendant of slaves. Not knowing from where in Africa her ancestors came, she chooses Ghana because it was a center for the slave trade with several key ports. She expects to bond with the people among whom she is going to live, as she thinks their lives have a common heritage. She instead finds she is always considered a stranger, just the kind of person who might be sold into slavery.

When the Portuguese first came to Ghana, just before Columbus sailed to America, they brought slaves "harvested" along the western coast of Africa to Ghana to trade for gold and other items. Slavery had long been a component of African life, as tribes captured and traded members of other tribes. Only later would the ports to ship slaves be built in the country. Hartman's descriptions of the history of the trade, the reducing of lives to commodities, is shocking, even though we have heard much of it time and time again. Every man, woman, and child is measured against quantities of tobacco, sugar, coffee, copper pots, or brass bracelets.

In Lose Your Mother, Hartman longs to be embraced by the Ghanaians as a sister, but she finds that they are suspicious of her. A few welcome rich Americans for the money they bring, but many cannot understand why they come, for to be the child of a slave is to their thinking shameful. There is also an underlying sense of guilt for having ancestors who traded slaves.

Hartman is a great writer. Her thought-provoking chapters are essays on various aspects of the slave trading past and the depressed present in Africa. Lose Your Mother is on the surface a travel memoir, but deeper down, it is a sometimes angry meditation on slavery and its legacy. It should be in more libraries than it is.

Hartman, Saidiya. Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. ISBN 0374270821.

Doctors without Borders in Chicago

Doctors without Borders 025
Originally uploaded by ricklibrarian.

Lisa, who served as a nurse on a six month mission for Medecins Sans Frontieres in the southern area of the Sudan, demonstrated how medicines were kept cold until time to use them in a refugee camp. MSF, known in the U.S. as Doctors Without Borders, buys drugs locally if possible, but often the organization has to ship the drugs in and deliver them packed to stay cold. Yellow fever, cholera, measles, and meningitis are among the inoculations MSF staff give regularly.

Bonnie and I took an informative 45-minute tour of the demonstration camp, which told what and why MSF works in refugee camps throughout the world. Of course, we could only imagine the true state of things, as it was a beautiful warm day in Chicago in Grant Park. We had no tropical rain, mud, blistering heat, horrible stench from latrines or dirty people, swarms of insects, or fear that we would be attacked in the night. Currently there are 33 million people in refugee camps around the world.

You can find more information on the MSF-USA website. Books about the organization include Hope in Hell by Dan Bortolotti and Forgotten War: Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Like the legendary circus that it depicts, the novel Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is an entertainment. It is a quick paced story set in the Depression Era with a memorable climax and a lot of historical detail. What it lacks, however, is believability.

A couple of things bother me. The first is that when Jacob returns home for his parents funeral, the will is read very quickly and the bank takes everything almost immediately. The support network of church people and his father's veterinary clients is apparent one day and disappears the next. The bank and the community would have been better with Jacob taking over his father's veterinary practice. I think the whole set up is improbable.

The second thing that bothers me is Jacob's actions are almost completely predictable. He disregards all danger, falls for the beautiful woman (a character without any depth), fights the bad guys, etc. There is a template for this character in many other "young man faced with hardship" stories. The bad guys are also cookie cutter characters. Jacob's friend Walter is the only character in the primary story that I really liked.

I do, however, like the alternate story of Jacob at 90 or 93 (he can't remember his age). Again, he is a bit predictable but he seems more believable. I can imagine people actually facing his problems. His eventual fate is a clever twist to the story.

The best part of the book is all the circus life description. It made me wonder about the history of circuses. Did owners often withhold pay? Was there a hierarchy among the circus family? Did circuses have orchestras? What were the living conditions for humans and animals? Were the men always so drunk? How many circuses were run out of town? Some readers may ask for some nonfiction books to see how accurate Water for Elephants is.

Gruen, Sara. Water for Elephants. Algonquin Books, 2006. ISBN 1565124995.

Solas (Alone), a film in Spanish directed by Benito Zambrano

In the film Solas, everyone is in some way alone.

Maria (played by Ana Fernandez) is a thin young woman who has come to a city to escape her family. Denied college by her father (women should remain at home), she has no marketable skills, so she cleans houses and lives in a rundown apartment in a bad neighborhood.

Maria's mother (Maria Galiana) is mostly alone. She has come into the city to attend to her husband in the hospital. Even when he is well, she is mostly alone, for he is an emotionally cold figure. She stays with Maria, who mostly abandons her to sit in the flat alone.

Maria's neighbor Vecino (Carlos Alvarez-Novoa) is a widower who walks his dog to the grocery daily. He identifies Maria's mother to be a kind, listening woman, and pursues a doomed friendship.

The plot sounds rather hopeless, but Solas is not a common film. It takes time to reveal the true character of its cast and never forces any conventions on the audience. I really liked how the resolution was so surprising yet right.

Fans of Ingmar Bergman will notice some similarities and enjoy this beautiful film. More libraries should add this 1999 Spanish film, which won 35 international awards, to their DVD collections.

Chas Addams: a Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis

I continue to work on my readers' advisory guide to biography. This is one of the books that I have enjoyed most so far. Not many libraries in my area have it, but they should. It will definitely be in my guide.

New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams was not a person to stop rumors. Let the public believe he slept in a coffin, owned his own guillotine, and dropped eyeballs into martinis. He cultivated his aura by wearing antique clothes, driving classic cars, and cracking morbid jokes. Did he really laugh at funerals? Did he really have love affairs with actresses? Yes and Yes.

In Chas Addams: A Cartoonist's Life, biographer Linda H. Davis looks behind the Addams legends. She tells how he always drew a variety of cartoons, but the morbid ones got all of the public attention. She also describes his high life in New York, where he hung out with celebrities and wooed actresses. Best of all, she includes several dozen classic Addams cartoons.

Readers who enjoy this book will also like Ogden Nash: The Life and Work of America’s Laureate of Light Verse by Douglas M. Parker. Though Nash was more of a family man. both could be wickedly funny. Book books are admiring accounts of funny men who entertained Americans for decades.

Davis, Linda H. Chas Addams: A Cartoonist's Life. Random House, 2006. 382p. ISBN 0679463259.

Photography Books by Art Shay

Last week Bonnie and I saw an extensive exhibit of the photographs of Chicago photojournalist Art Shay at the Chicago Historical Museum. The exhibit, which takes up a large section of the second floor, includes works from Shay's days with Life magazine in the late 1940s to a few recent photographs. Most of the work was from the 1950s and 1960s and almost all of it was black and white.

We looked at a small book that the museum had to go along with the exhibit, but it was very disappointing. It had only a sampling of the many photos. The museum shop also had a reduced size version of Nelson Algren's Chicago by Shay. I knew that there had to be better volumes than these.

I picked three to reserve from various libraries in my library's consortium, which together do show many, though still not all, of the photos.

The first is the original edition of Nelson Algren's Chicago. The first part of the exhibit featured the many photos of Algren and his haunts that Shay took while on an assignment for Life magazine in the early 1950s. While some of the photos are humorous, some are sad, especially the scenes of drug addicts and alcoholics. Life never ran the photo story because some of these images were considered beyond the mainstream acceptability. It was the 1950s.

Spread across pages 2 and 3 is a great photo shot on a Sunday morning on Madison Street, also called Skid Row. It is framed by a car window and shows a variety of street characters going about their business. The mood reminds me of A Sunday on La Grand Jatte by Georges Seurat.

I was struck by the burning of the street garbage on Maxwell Street, shown on page 43. It looks like 1900, not 1950. Can there have really been such places in 1950?


The idea behind the collection of photos in Couples by Art Shay is that there are visual pairs in every image. From the striking cover a reader might image that meant romantic couples, but that is not the case. It could be a pair of pigs or water towers, but most are people.

The cover image is also on page 6. It makes me think of a scene in the movie Bull Durham. Shay took the picture as part of a publicity campaign for a play.

This book includes a lot of non-Algren photos. Most were not in the exhibit, but I like them anyway. On page 35 are two rather frightened looking National Guardsmen in Chicago for the 1968 Democratic National Convention. On page 107 is a photo of boy who has drawn himself into his coat so he appears to he headless and armless. On page 85 telephone linemen are up on telephone poles playing catch with a ball.

The museum exhibit featured a display of Shay's photos taken with secret cameras hidden in books, briefcases, handbags, and newspapers. He was able to get photos in court rooms, jails, and other places that cameras were forbidden. I am sure he used a hidden camera to take the photo on page 89 of the autopsies of two nurses killed by Richard Speck.

Album for an Age is a book to read after seeing the larger sized photography books. The reproductions are smaller and not glossy, which is a bit disappointing. Shay, however, tells stories of what the pictures depict and how he took them. A real fan of photography will find the book essential, as will people who are interested in the history of Chicago and its people.

This book also includes some celebrity photos, like the ones in the later part of the exhibit at the museum. Judy Garland, Marlon Brando, and Ernest Hemingway are included, as is a group shot of Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack.

If you are in the Chicago area, I recommend the exhibit to you. If not, check out some of Art Shay's books.

I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, The Dog Who Was Toto by Willard Carroll

One of the benefits of working at a library is discovering interesting books when you are supposed to be doing something else. I happened to be looking through the movie books to answer a question yesterday and found I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, The Dog Who Was Toto by Willard Carroll. Of course, I checked it out.

There are some surprising statements in this cute little book. The author says that Toto is the real star of The Wizard of Oz. He argues that it is Toto's actions that spark the story. He also goes on to say that Toto is in more scenes that Dorothy! There are nine solo shots of Toto, who barks 44 times.

The central part of the book is a memoir written by Terry, found by the author in a metal box at a road construction site outside Hollywood. Toto tells all about her discovery, training, and auditions for various movies. Her first film was costarring with Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes (1934). According to Terry, it was a pleasure working with Miss Temple. The Wizard of Oz was Terry's seventh movie. There were problems on the set, as several directors left the production, the script was often changed, costuming was elaborate, and the wind machines nearly blew Terry over. The hardest part was working with winged monkeys and winkies, which were very frightening. Margaret Hamilton, a dog lover, however, was lots of fun. Terry made fourteen movies, getting to know almost all the studios in Hollywood.

Not many libraries in my area seem to have this humorous book, but it is available through interlibrary loan. Wizard of Oz fans (there are lots of them) will enjoy it.

Carroll, Willard. I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, The Dog who Was Toto. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2001. ISBN 158479111x.

A Life of One's Own: A Guide to Original Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf by Ilana Simons

I was a bit apprehensive when I started reading A Life of One's Own by Ilana Simons. The subtitle suggests the book is a self-help guide using Virginia Woolf and her work as a model. Would advice drawn from a writer who ended her life by walking into a river with stones in her pockets be useful? Simons acknowledges this perspective from the first, and for me, the question went away. Besides, advice from a writer who really suffered may be more useful than advice from a team of well-balanced mental health professionals who only witness suffering.

Now that I have read A Life of One's Own, I think it is not really so much a self-help guide for living as an aid for enjoying literature and using reading to find meaning and satisfaction in life. The side benefit is that the reader learns more about Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf may have been bipolar. She tried to commit suicide as a young woman, right after several members of her family died in a short period. She often fought depression and had to maintain a fairly regular routine to function well. In view of her problems, she actually did quite well for a long time. She wrote a lot of very perceptive books and essays, some that are now considered classics. When she committed suicide in May 1940, her London home had been bombed and it seemed probable that the German military would soon invade Great Britain. Perhaps her despair can be forgiven.

Simons uses situations from Woolf's fiction and life as described in her diaries to discuss finding satisfaction in day to day living. Finding a balance between solitude and companionship is key, as is learning how to nurture relationships. When Woolf lived, the nature of some of those relationships was considered scandalous. Today they would hardly be noticed.

I particularly liked advice on why and how to read near the end of the book. A Life of One's Own is a good selection for public libraries.

Simons, Ilana. A Life of One's Own:A Guide to Original Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf. Penguin Books, 2007. ISBN 9780143112259

Lincoln by Augustus Saint-Gaugens

Lincoln by Augustus Saint-Gaugens
Originally uploaded by ricklibrarian.

Sometimes a quest about which you read inspires your own quest. In Land of Lincoln, Andrew Ferguson tells of visiting Lincoln sites, including famous statues, around the country. Included was the Lincoln Memorial, which Bonnie and I saw this summer on our trip to the American Library Association Conference in Washington, D.C. Ferguson reminds us that there was another famous Lincoln just outside the Chicago History Museum, forty minutes from our house. So we used last Saturday to make a visit.

Neither Bonnie nor I remembered seeing the statue before. It is behind the building, not visible from any of the nearby streets. Its location would have been in front of the museum many years ago before remodeling moved the entrance to the other side of the building.

Ferguson says that this is the most famous of all Nineteenth Century Lincoln statues. (The Lincoln Memorial is Twentieth Century.) It is bigger than life and emphasizes the statesman rising up to act. Still it is a rather calm depiction of the president. It is worth seeing.

We also went into the museum, where a few Lincoln items, including the death bed, are prominently displayed. We were mostly pleased with the new permanent exhibit on Chicago history, which mixes artifacts with media. An entertaining audio-tour on iPod comes with the admission.

The bookstore has a good collection of Chicago history titles, some published by the museum. On display are numerous books that Baker and Taylor and other sources say are out of print. There are also little known books and DVDs that many Chicago libraries do not own. I need to go back with a tax letter to buy some books.

Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression edited by David Wallis

Editorial page cartoons have a history of ridiculing politicians and other public figures. They also express opinions on current events and controversial issues. As a result, they often upset some readers, particularly the figures depicted. According to David Wallis in Killed Cartoons, newspaper editors review the cartoons before they are published and have always stopped some of them. He admits that there may be good reasons to stop one or two, but since September 11, 2001, some editors have been downright cowardly. Some editors have told their cartoonists "just be funny." Others have eliminated cartoons from their editorial page.

In Killed Cartoons, Wallis publishes works that were rejected by the cartoonists' employing newspapers or magazines. Though some were syndicated, many have not been seen before this book. There is something to offend almost everyone, especially in the early sections, which deal with sexual and religious issues. Most, however, were killed because the editors did not want to offend politicians, advertisers, or a group, like sports fans or gun owners.

With each cartoon, Wallis provides history and commentary.

Here are some of my favorites:

A lighthearted look at the funeral of Orville Redenbacher that the popcorn king himself might have found funny by Bob Englehart, killed by the Hartford Courant in 1995, on page 71.

Jesus Christ carrying an electric chair by Doug Marlette, killed by the Charlotte Observer, date unknown, page 81.

Hitler and Nixon with some generals, discussing aerial bombing, by Paul Szep, killed by the Boston Globe in 1972, on page 113. (Put Hitler in a cartoon with current political figures and they always object.)

"U.S-Supported Dictators Hall of Fame" by Patrick O'Connor, killed by the Los Angeles Daily News in 2003, on page 183.

A marriage between the Halliburton no-bid contracts controversy and the story of baseball players using steroids by J. D. Crowe, killed by the Mobile Register in 2003, on page 186.

There are many other great cartoons.

Public libraries are committed to the collection of library materials offering a variety of viewpoints. With commercial print media failing in its charge to protect free expression, it is especially important that public libraries keep their commitment. Buying Killed Cartoons is one step in meeting the library mission.

Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression. Norton, 2007. ISBN 9780393329247.

Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America by Andrew Ferguson

When I see another book about the Kennedy family, the Bushes, the Clintons, Princess Diana, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, or Ronald Reagan, I think "Oh, bother! Another book to buy. We have enough." I never feel this way about Abraham Lincoln. It is often said that there are more books about Lincoln than any other American figure, but that does not bother me. There always seems to be something new and worth reading about Lincoln .

So, I was eager to read Land of Lincoln by journalist Andrew Ferguson, who visited Lincoln sites across the country. In his book he begins by going to Richmond, Virginia, where Lincoln haters gather to protest the unveiling of a statue of the President and his son Tad. In subsequent chapters, he visits statues, museums, and historical sites, noting how the Lincoln story differs and evolves. He even takes his family on a Lincoln Trail summer vacation that leads to many odd discoveries.

Though I liked them all, Chapter 7 "Abe Lincoln and the Secret of Success" may be my favorite chapter. Ferguson describes how the self-help book business has abused the Lincoln legacy, twisting his words for profit. He really slams Dale Carnegie and his early editions of How to Win Friends and Influence People. He also describes a seminar he attends where Lincoln is described as a CEO who has taken over a company with half the employees on strike. Throughout, Ferguson's comments are sharp and funny.

Now that I am finished with the book, I have some trips to make, first to the Chicago History Museum, then to Springfield, Illinois. There is always more to learn about Lincoln.

Ferguson, Andrew. Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007. ISBN 9780871139672

A Visit to the Wheaton Public Library in Illinois

Library Director Sarah Meisels took the Zone 1 Reference Librarians on a two hour tour of the newly expanded and renovated Wheaton (IL) Public Library. The $20.8 million renovation resulted in a 128,000 facility with four floors in the downtown Wheaton area.

The most amazing thing was that the village actually closed the street west of the library to give it room to expand and connect it to a park. Mrs. Meisels said it took her ten years to talk the village council into doing this. It also enhanced the park, as a new public space for events was created. On the day of our tour, there was a farmer’s market in front of the library.

The main reason for other librarians in the area to be interested in the Wheaton Public Library is its collection of genealogy materials. Genealogical Librarian Donna Freymark showed us the collection, which takes up the southwest corner of the first floor. It was begun in the 1950s by a couple of staff, who were interested in the topic. In 1974, the DuPage County Genealogical Society donated its collection and began working with the library to give classes to the public. The DCGS also meets in the library. In both 1985 and 1999, the library received large grants to expand the genealogy collection. The collection includes reference sets, periodicals, microfilm, and CD-roms (which are all loaded on a CD server). The library also has online database subscriptions.

Donna said that many people beginning their first family searches come to the library, and the staff can usually find some facts about their ancestors in this strong general collection. People also come on Friday nights, when volunteers from the DCGS are on hand to help people start their research or advise them on advanced questions.

The staff and volunteers are creating a vital records index from the Wheaton newspapers microfilm and connecting it to the Innovative Interfaces library catalog.

There were a number of things I noticed that I liked:

· The library has a public snack area with vending machines that can be open to the park when the library is closed.
· Signs were on pillars instead of hanging, which left the view clearer.
· The mouse pads at computer stations had windows in which messages could be displayed.
· Some of the easy chairs had been crossed with school desks. See photo.
· The library has a foreign language collection, including French, German, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
· Every computer had been names for an author or president.

I noticed that all the program rooms had drop-from-the-ceiling projectors, including the children’s story hour rooms and larger conference rooms.

One thing I question is how the library uses it public computers. Many of them are dedicated to only databases, only genealogy, or only library catalogs. This goes against the current multi-use philosophy in many libraries. It would be interesting to see how it works for the Wheaton public.

I also liked the dioramas in the public services counter in the children's library.

In some ways, the Wheaton Public Library seems old fashioned, but it provides many spaces for individuals and groups to study and collaborate. It passes the library as place test well.

ricklibrarian on Google Book Search

When I was at the annual conference of the American Library Association in June, I saw that Google Book Search was building pages about books with content drawn from across the web. The treatment seems to vary book to book. Some have sample chapters, illustrations, reviews, other book recommendations, and, of course, links to buy the books.

Yesterday, someone found one of my reviews there and then visited my blog. Above is the proof. Click it to get a larger view.

I got the impression at the Google Book presentation that some Google editors are selecting items to load onto these pages. If so, it would be great if libraries with book reviews could claim some of this space regularly. It would also be great if Google would link to library holdings (Worldcat) on all of these without readers having to know to load a gadget.

ricklibrarian's helpful hints for the selection librarian

To make our library collection relevant to our public, we need to have many of the book titles that people see when they are out and about our area. In the western suburbs of Chicago, one of the places people go is the Morton Arboretum, which has an attractive collection of books on nature, wildlife, gardening, and landscaping in its gift shop. While I am there, I snap photos of the book displays with my camera (which I always take to the arboretum). With digital photography, I am able to record quickly what is being promoted and then check our collection when I return to the library. It costs nearly nothing other than my time, which is minimal. You could do this with your cellphone, too.


Back at the library I found that we had all of these books in our collection, except The Mountain Bike Trail Guide. Because this third edition is already nearly five years old, I will wait to buy a probable fourth edition in the future. (Click this photo for a closer look.)



Hardly anyone in our area owns this book. Because it looks good, I ordered it.



How did I miss this one? Only a few libraries have it so far. I ordered it this morning.

I also took photos in the gift shop at the Chicago Botanic Garden this weekend. I ordered three books from those photos.

Look for more ricklibrarian's helpful hints in the future.