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This Week’s New Reviews

Written on: October 11th, 2010 by: 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.

What next?

Written on: October 7th, 2010 by: 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.

Talking About Civility

Written on: September 30th, 2010 by: 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.

Improving Employment Opportunities in Delaware

Written on: September 28th, 2010 by: 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

Sunday Reviews

Written on: September 26th, 2010 by: 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.

New Online Catalog How-To

Written on: September 25th, 2010 by: 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:

Hard at Work: labor and industry in Delaware

Written on: September 20th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts

Over the next few months, the Delaware Humanities Forum will be presenting a book discussion series reflecting the history of labor and industry in Delaware. Events take place at Dover’s Wesley College Sept. 30, Oct. 20 and Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Set around the theme “hard at work”, the events will include scholarly discussion, dramatic readings from Wilmington’s City Theater Company, and other entertainment. No registration is required and all events are free of charge.

The books which will be discussed are:

• Song Yet Sung by James McBride: Before the Civil War, runaway slaves flee through the swamps of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, chased by Patty Cannon’s gang of kidnappers. The Code of the Underground Railroad tells them how to go. But fugitive Liz Spocott has strange dreams of the future. Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in College Center 206. Percussionist Kamau Ngom will perform African drum music and talk about the African connection to blues music, country shouts and the Underground Railroad.
• In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike: Between 1910 and the 1990s, four generations of the Wilmot family confront the modern America of factories, unions, booming cities, and the fascinating movie business. But there’s a spiritual loss, and small-town Delaware remains a refuge from ruthless competition. Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in Slaybaugh Hall’s Wells Theater. Terry Snyder of the Hagley Library will talk about Delaware’s early millworkers.
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo: In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the fictional river town of Empire Falls, Maine, is dominated by the wealthy Whiting family dynasty, even after the old textile mills close because of overseas competition. Yet the local people who gather at the Empire Grill diner prove to be resilient regardless of corporate fortunes. Finally a credit-card bank buys up and transforms the riverfront buildings. In real life, Delaware-based MBNA bank did this in Camden, Maine, novelist Russo’s hometown. University of Delaware business history specialist Jonathan S. Russ will talk about the evolution of modern industry. Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in Slaybaugh Hall’s Wells Theater.

There is no fee to participate, and no registration required.

Delaware Library Catalog FAQs

Written on: September 9th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts

As we’ve welcomed New Castle County library patrons to the Delaware Library Catalog over the past week, we’ve been hearing from a lot of them by email, blog comment, and other sources, expressing various concerns and questions. The new online catalog is a very dramatic departure for our Northern cousins (it’s also new to Kent and Sussex counties, but their old version was closer to this one) and most questions and comments have been at heart, requests for assistance in finding familiar features and in figuring out how to access different services and account information.

County library staff are still learning the finer points of the system, and patron- and staff-oriented training materials are being prepared- but here is a summary FAQ based on the last week of patron feedback. Please feel free to continue to leave comments in this blog, or to email the Division of Libraries with your thoughts, questions, and opinions.

Where did those links go!

Written on: September 4th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts

As part of the move to the new online library catalog, it’s also been possible to simplify users’ access to the subscription databases and research tools offered to all Delaware public library users. Your public library has long been about more than books, music and movies- you can access thousands of online magazines, scientific journals, and newspapers from around the world with Newspaper Source, MasterFile, and Academic Search; find essential resources in subjects such as health, auto repair, and small business; and conduct genealogical research.

Prior to online catalog upgrade, library users would need to log in to their account to see a list of links to these resources. We’ve now moved the links to a different webpage, which allows us to offer more information about the different services. This page can be found at the e-resources page or by clicking on the link for Magazines and Databases along top of the page in any of the main library catalog search pages. Currently, a couple of the resources- the genealogical site HeritageQuest and the business-oriented ReferenceUSA site- are still only available through the login to the catalog while we finalize the revisions to authorized access with the vendors. The juvenile-class patron logins still offer access to age-appropriate databases for homework help and other reference use.

E-Books for Entrepreneurs

Written on: September 3rd, 2010 by: in Blog Posts

The Delaware Division of Libraries recently purchased a number of downloadable ebooks for small business owners and entrepreneurs. With the recent addition of New Castle County libraries to the catalog, these items are now available statewide!

Here’s the full list of books in the collection. Click on the ebook icon (at the head of this article) in each listing to download the ebook with your library card number and PIN. You can also access this list in the library catalog at the Have You Read link. Along with this New E-Books link, there are also links to New Books and New DVDs, local award winners, Financial Literacy and Social Media reading lists, and more.