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Written on: June 16th, 2010 in Blog Posts
This short video parody of the iPad commercials currently being shown on TV deftly shows that it’s really public libraries that provide access to the world’s information, not the popular device of the moment:
Written on: June 15th, 2010 in Blog Posts
On June 15th, the Attorney General’s Office will be marking Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Delaware as it continues to make efforts to make awareness and establish policy to protect our elders. The 2010 National Elder Mistreatment Study (click here to read the full study with your library ID and PIN) shows the shocking prevalence of elder abuse in the United States. More than 11% of those non-cognitively impaired 60 years or older, living in community settings self-reported emotional, physical, sexual, or financial abuse by those involved in their care.
If you or a senior citizen who you care about is being harmed by abuse or neglect or is being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous individual contact:
A number of books are available from Delaware Library Catalog libraries on the subject, including:
Elder Abuse Prevention
Elder Mistreatment, by the National Academies
Abuse Neglect and Exploitation of Older Persons, and
Elder Mistreatment: Ethical Issues
Online Resources include:
Written on: June 14th, 2010 in Blog Posts
Not a huge array of titles to pick from this week- the publishing industry must be starting its summer slump (historically, the New York industry doesn’t go on vacation until August, but hey, it’s been a tough winter) and a lot of the more niche-y titles won’t necessarily immediately get picked up by Delaware libraries, especially with the academic libraries on break.
Several books featured this week are definitely worth a look, based on the strength of the reviews:
In the Place of Justice a new autobiography by prisoner-journalist Wilbert Rideau is an uncompromising look at his more than 40 years in Louisiana’s hellish Angola prison, and an examination of his eventual rehabilitation and release.
The Rehearsal by the “astonishingly talented” Eleanor Catton has “keen insights into the highschool herd mentality.” Finally, Chef by Jaspreet Singh is set on the disputed Siachen glacier, where India, Pakistan and China meet and watch one another across a frigid no-man’s land.
Written on: June 10th, 2010 in Informal learning, Learning Journeys, Reading
Sometimes we need a nudge. Something to make us stretch out and wake up. My nudge came last weekend when I accepted the Fifth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge on the MotherReader blog. Please know that this was a personal challenge; an effort to generate some intellectual movement…summer is not my most creative time. I did not participate in the (amazing) community throughout. Maybe next year.
The results? *My Smithsonian, National Geographic, Time, Country, Food Network magazines are up-to-date. The back issue piles had ranged from 2 to 6 months. *I am deep into a re-read of The Alienist by Caleb Carr. *The two page list of blogs to visit in my “spare time” is no more. I dropped in, nosed around and either added them to my feed or kicked ’em to the curb. Book Patrol is a keeper.
Obviously, I did not spend the entire 48 hours reading; but the Challenge helped me make it The Point of the weekend. Reading was the task, duty, errand of the day…I had to fit bills, groceries, laundry around it. And it was just a delight. Your Challenges? Nudges?
Oh remember that several of the magazines mentioned are available to you via your library card and databases!
Written on: June 9th, 2010 in Blog Posts
Click on the links below to get lists of new items available from the Delaware Library Catalog in various formats:
You can sign up to receive a weekly reminder of new items via email- visit our catalog homepage and go to the “connect with us” section in the lower left of the page and click on “other new item feeds”- enter your email address, look for a verification email, and you’ll receive a reminder when new item links are posted.
Written on: June 8th, 2010 in Blog Posts
The U.S. Army War College recently published this selected bibliography of books and journal articles published within the past 5 years, dealing with the subject of terrorism. The document was made available through the Homeland Security Digital Library, an incredible resource operated by several government and Department of Defense institutions- the HSDL has been a subscription only site for a while- with eligibility for a subscription quite tightly controlled- but the site has recently opened up some of its holdings and reports to wider public view (click here to see their recent newsletter announcing the changes to access). You can read the Terrorism Bibliography below, or click to download it:
While many of the publications listed in the full bibliography are specialized resources that public libraries don’t typically select for their collections, the Delaware Library Catalog does have a good number of they key titles and resources listed, in part because of our partnerships with many of the state’s academic libraries. Among the titles listed in the Army War College bibliography that are available to you through the Delaware Library Catalog are:
Subscription resources available from the Delaware Library Catalog include access to a number of the journals and periodicals cited in the bibliography, including Foriegn Policy (click here to view the publication’s 2008 Terrorism Index, the most recent listed in the War College bibliography.)
Serious topics require serious information- public libraries prize their role as distributors and presenters of the information citizens need to create their own fully-formed point of view- independent of bumper-sticker slogans and second-hand (second-rate) opinions parroted by pundits and partisan websites and news media to further their own commercial and ideological agendas. From the elusive government of North Korea, the ideology of the suicide bomber, to the technology and impact of deep-water drilling, your library can be a place for you to find facts, figures and commentary from all sides of the policy spectrum and make up your own mind about the issues that matter most!
Written on: June 8th, 2010 in Blog Posts
EBSCO’s Auto Repair Reference Center contains information on most major manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles, with repair information for most vintage makes starting as far back as 1945- the content is licensed from the former publisher of the very popular Chilton’s repair guides, which are a mainstay of most public library reference collections in this area. You can save yourself a trip and time spent standing around the photocopier by connecting to your public library subscription resources and downloading at home (or from your garage.)
Database content includes more than 34,000 vehicles covered from 1945 to present, nearly 850,000 drawings and step-by-step photographs, approximately 86,600 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer, over 158,600 enhanced wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing, specifications & maintenance schedules, Labor Time Guide & Estimator, AutoIQ, Quick Tips (a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance), unlimited remote access and much more.
You can access the database at this link (you’ll be asked for your library card ID and PIN). You can see other databases and subscription resources at the Delaware Library Catalog e-resources page.
Written on: June 5th, 2010 in Blog Posts
The publisher Harper Collins made this presentation at the recent Book Expo America, promoting upcoming titles for this fall and winter seasons. These are sure to be books that you are going to hear a lot about over the next few months! I haven’t seen any of these personally as yet, but fingers crossed I will be able to pick up some of them as promotional copies at the forthcoming American Library Association conference in Washington D.C. Which of these will YOU be wanting to see in your Delaware public library? Let us know in the comment section!
There was also a much-buzzed about panel discussion at BEA with included John Stewart, Condoleezza Rice, and John Grisham, amongst others. Reports suggested that Rice was so charming that Stewart pleaded with her “don’t make me like you!” The breakfast is being rebroadcasted this weekend on C-SPAN’s BookTV. Click here to see the schedule.
Written on: June 3rd, 2010 in Informal learning, Learning Journeys, Reading
Confession time. I do not read every book that I check out of the library or buy at the bookstore. Yes, there are cases where the title and I just don’t match up…the voice of the character or the format of the writing puts me off for some reason. But more often than not, I wind up returning/donating unread books to the library because I have gone into a sort of feeding frenzy. [What?] When serendipity steps in and I am faced with shelves and shelves of new releases or piles and piles of must-have bargain buys, it’s a feeding frenzy. I can walk out with two full bookbags.
I do feel badly though; I picture those titles on a kind of Island of Unread Books. To give them another chance to be enjoyed, my most recent returns include The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food & Friendship, Game Change: Obama & the Clintons, McCain & Palin and the Race of a Lifetime and Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. Won’t you give them a try? And, why not share a few of your Island dwellers with us here?
One last thing…a special thank you for the recommendation to request a copy of Defend the Valley: A Shenandoah Family in the Civil War by Margaretta Barton Colt. To walk through those years with this family via their journals and letters made the unique, convoluted tragedy of civil war truly visible…and made clear the resilience of the human spirit. My learning is richer for the read. I appreciate it.
Written on: June 2nd, 2010 in Blog Posts
In this blog post from last year, I summarized some findings from a Book Industry Study Group report about book buying habits of the general public, which discussed online impulse buying of popular titles as a significant driver of commerce- with my note that several tools exist to expedite your ability as a consumer to check library holdings before spending the average $10/book for an online purchase.
This most recent BISG report shows the dramatic shift in consumer behavior toward “pure” ebook purchasing. Last year, this was barely mentioned and the main issue at hand was online purchasing of ink-and-paper books. In the past year, ebook purchases have risen from just over 1% to more than 5% of the entire market- and a significant percentage of ebook buyers purchased their first ebook within the past year:
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