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  Archived Posts From: 2010

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Casting Your Vote for the Arts

Written on: October 28th, 2010 in Blog Posts

A coalition of Delaware non-profit organizations involved in arts and cultural activities throughout the state recently produced this non-partisan guide for voters, which outlines candidate’s views on the arts in educations and the Delaware economy:

Voter’s Guide (4)


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Delaware Local Authors Day

Written on: October 20th, 2010 in Blog Posts

The Delaware Heritage Commission, a sister agency of the Division of Libraries, will be holding its annual Delaware Authors Day on Saturday November 6th at the Agricultural Museum in Dover. It’s a free event running between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

If you’re a Delaware author interested in participating in the event, it’s not too late to sign up. Check the Heritage Commission website for more details. This year, in anticipation of the forthcoming observance of the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, there will be speakers whose specialty is the Civil War, and they will kick off Delaware’s official schedule of events observing the anniversary.

The works of some of the featured authors are also available from your local library- aviation historian Jan Churchill, Terri Clifton, Rehoboth humorist Fay Jacobs, and Bradley Skelcher are among the many attendees who have books available in the collections of various libraries.

If you can’t wait until November, Oak Knoll Books is having its very own mini- local authors day on Oct. 23rd. Click here for more info.


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2010 National Book Award Nominees

Written on: October 14th, 2010 in Blog Posts

Every year for more than half a century, the National Book Foundation brings together writers to select the best of American writing in various categories. The 2010 nominees were announced recently and as usual, are some of the most incredible, provocative, challenging and thought provoking works in the world. Most titles are available from your Delaware public library- click on the title below to connect to the listings in the online catalog to find out more, read reviews, and find a copy in your local library (or have one sent to you from anywhere in the state)

Awards in Fiction

Non-Fiction

You can see the full list, including the poetry and Young Adult categories, at this link


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Stopping Anti-Gay Bullying in Delaware Schools

Written on: October 13th, 2010 in Blog Posts

On Tuesday Oct. 12th, A candlelight vigil for the victims of homophobic bullying was held at the Wilmington riverfront. Hundreds of people gathered to remember teenagers who ended their lives because of others’ intolerance of their perceived sexuality. Among the speakers were New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, Sussex County Recorder of Deeds John Brady, and a number of clergy, activists, and allies. Governor Markell’s representative read a letter from the Governor- you can read Governor Markell’s letter here.

A previous blog post suggested a number of anti-bullying library resources and state programs. In the aftermath of the Tyler Clemente tragedy there has been a renewed focus on the impact of bullying on gay teens. SafeSchools.org produced this factsheet on the issue (opens in a new window), as did the advocacy group Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). You can view the GLSEN resource page at this link. Carrie Gilman’s 5 Steps to Safer Schools is available from the Delaware Library Catalog’s ERIC educational database- click here to read the article (enter your library card number and PIN for access)

Titles added to the Delaware Library Catalog on the subject- many of which include a renewed emphasis on cyber-bullying and bullying based on gender or sexual difference- since the original list was created include:

UPDATE: In response to these recent incidents database publisher Rosen has made its Teen Health and Wellness database available for free until November 15th. This resource includes great resources on this topic as well as many others. For access information, click here for the recent Library Journal bulletin.

Finally, it’s crucial to remind the victims of anti-gay bias: for most, it does get better: Video Testimonials on YouTube


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This Week’s New Reviews

Written on: October 11th, 2010 in Blog Posts

This week’s Sunday book reviews in the New York Times provides the usual wealth of choices. Here are a selection of titles that are currently available from one of your Delaware public libraries. You can now place requests for any public library-held title, so even if you don’t see a copy held by your local library, place a hold and an available copy may be sent from anywhere in the state to the library you select:

  • Jill Lepore’s Whites of their Eyes is one of several recently published books about the Tea Party movement that are reviewed this week. Lepore is a historian of the American Revolution, deeply versed in the fascinating story of the compromises and deliberate omissions that created the Charters of Freedom, and uses her own knowledge along interviews with Tea Party movement members to challenge the populist notion that the Consitution was meant to provide immutable limits to government.
  • The Gendarme is Mark Mustian’s epic of memory and forgiveness- not likely to be published in Turkey any time soon.
  • In Bill Bryson’s new book At Home, the author tried to write “A history of the world without leaving home.” In wandering from room to room, Bryson connects the everyday structures and objects found in domestic life to sweeping currents in global economic and social life.
  • Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer is a murder mystery without a whodunit- the mystery here is what effect will a heinous crime have on the good man who commits it?
  • Jason Elliot’s The Network is a thrilling mixture of “spy chick and ubergeek…the ideal thriller for the age of C.S.I.”
  • Ethiopian-born Dinaw Mengestu’s new book How to Read the Air continues the author’s exploration of the experience of African refugees in America.
  • The Tiger by John Vaillant follows Russian wildlife rangers as they track a man-eating Amur tiger- the largest and most deadly of the species- through the trackless Russian wilderness.

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What next?

Written on: October 7th, 2010 in Blog Posts

Here’s a swift return to more traditional blog content! We always want to be a place where we share what we’re reading and learning- and we hope you do too! I’ve been a fairly close follower of the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher- if you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a gritty noir-style fantasy series which mashes up police procedural with vampires and shapeshifters in a kind of Vachss-influenced underworld Chicago. And did I mention the protagonist is a wizard?

Not to give anything away, but it appears that we might be in for a bit of a wait until the next Dresden title….so what to read? I also have the same quandary with Lee Child at the moment, after the cliffhanger ending of his most recent 61 hours. Fortunately, the kind folks at Harper Collins recently sent along a promotional copy of the newest Richard Kadrey novel- the next in the Sandman Slim series. I’m not going to say that there are TOO many similarities- largely because by the look of his jacket photo (above and to the left), Kadrey is not someone to pick a fight with- but everything that I found enjoyable in Dresden I find more so in Slim. They’re even more hard-boiled and MUCH more tightly written and plotted. So if you’re a fan of this kind of fantasy genre, think about reading the first in the series- Sandman Slim- and keep an eye out for Kill the Dead, which was published on October 5th. And don’t just take it from me- Cory Doctorow really liked it. You can read his review at this link.


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Talking About Civility

Written on: September 30th, 2010 in Blog Posts

New Castle County Libraries are hosting a series of events, starting next week, on the theme of civility. Events at the Woodlawn and Bear libraries, on the topic “Civility in a Diverse Community” will feature Wanda Lopez, Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic Affairs and Sandra Bucay, President of First State LULAC Council, who will co-present a program on how we can treat all people with respect, regardless of different viewpoints.

The Diverse Community programs are scheduled for:
Wednesday, October 6 @ 7pm at Woodlawn Library
Wednesday, November 10 @ 7pm at Bear Library
You can download the flyer for the event at this link (opens in .pdf format).

On Monday October 18th, Joe Ehrmann, former NFL football player, will appear at St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington to discuss civility in sports. This even is also free and open to the public, and begins at 7 pm. Ehrmann was the subject of Jeffrey Marx’s Season of Life, which is available from your public library.


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Improving Employment Opportunities in Delaware

Written on: September 28th, 2010 in Blog Posts

Great news for Delawareans today- the Division of Libraries will receive a grant of almost $3 million from the federal government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create job training and learning centers in each county, deliver online employment training and education programs, and to improve access to broadband internet services at all Delaware public libraries. You can read the full announcement below or at this link


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Sunday Reviews

Written on: September 26th, 2010 in Blog Posts

This regular feature has been in hibernation for a few weeks while the statewide catalog comes together. This week, we’re back to featuring some selected reviews from this week’s New York Times Sunday book review section. These critically-acclaimed and newly released titles are available from your Delaware public library- wherever you are in the state. Click on the titles to check availability or to place a hold.

  • To the End of the Land, by David Grossman is the featured review in this week’s New York Times book review section- “one of the few novels that feel as though they have made a difference to the world.” A recent feature in the New Yorker explored the tragic context of Grossman’s novel, which was completed after the death of the author’s son Uri in the Second Lebanon War.
  • James Ellroy’s The Hilliker Curse continues the author’s investigation of the unsolved murder of this mother, as a sort-of sequel to My Dark Places. Where that work concentrated on the procedural and investigative aspects of the crime, this latest work is more of an “emotional autopsy” which charts the effects of the crime on the author’s relationships and romantic life.
  • Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange is a “story of lifesaving music and heartbroken maternity.. engaging from start to finish” which tells the story of the against-the-odds survival of black women in America.
  • According to the author, Carl Rakoff’s new book of essays, Half Empty contains “no inspirational life lessons”- the reviewer begs to differ.
  • Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows is a “chatty and colloquial” guide to contemporary Chinese culture, drawn from the author’s three years living in China and immersing herself in learning the language.
  • Robert Sheffield’s Talking to Girls About Duran Duran is the coming-of-age biography of an ’80s music geek growing up in New Englan.


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New Online Catalog How-To

Written on: September 25th, 2010 in Blog Posts

Here’s a first draft of a user guide to the new online catalog. It features instructions on how to search, use the enhanced features of the catalog, and view your checkouts and holds through the account management features:





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