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Written on: January 11th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
This week marks the return of a recurring post on this blog- a weekly handy abstract of the reviews in this weeks New York Times Book Review. These are always the newest, the most critically acclaimed and anticipated- and the newspapers reviewers are usually frank and unsparing in criticism, and enthusiastic in praise. If you can’t make it to the paper every week, a glance here might persuade you to check out these books from your library instead of shelling out $20 or more at the bookstore!
The sequel to Elizabeth Gilbert’s wildly popular Eat, Pray, Love receives front-page treatment by Curtis Sittenfeld (author of Prep and American Wife). Committed is Gilbert’s account of her marriage of love and convenience- after an agreeable arrangement with her Brazilian partner falls apart courtesy of US immigration law, the author must decide to re-commit to an institution that she is mistrustful of (for good reason). The reviewer thoroughly enjoyed the book- although had difficulties with Gilbert’s asides into analysis of the socio-historical construction of marriage, which gave the book a “neither fish nor fowl quality”.
Unfinished Desires, the new novel by Gail Godwin is a “reserved yet powerful” story set in a Catholic boarding school in North Carolina, in which the former Mother Superior recounts a “richer, darker, uninhibited story” of single tempestuous year of toxic playground politics amongst 9th grade girls.
In non-fiction reviews, Wayne Biddle’s Dark Side of the Moon is “a deeply skeptical account of the early life and career of Wernher von Braun”, which explores the scientist’s successful escape from judgment for his collaboration with and support of Nazi war crimes.
Finally, Red Cloud at Dawn documents the four years of the U.S.A.’s nuclear monopoly between 1945 and 1949- and argues that the beginning of the arms race was an “utterly irrational” decision that could have been forestalled by moving beyond the two nation’s fixation on espionage and secrecy. The reviewer is not so convinced, perhaps- although still impressed by this “fine, thoroughly researched book.”
Written on: January 11th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
Wired Magazine reminds us that Jan. 11th is the birthday of Popular Mechanics, which was first published in 1902, and remains popular more than a century later.
You can access the full-text online version at this link, thanks to your library’s statewide subscription. (Delaware Library Catalog ID and PIN required)
UPDATE: And on a related note: Popular Science recently announced that it’s entire archive- 137 years worth- is available online for free (click here). It works great on an iPhone, too. Here is a sample result set for my search for “Flying Car”, which returned full-color and text issues from the 1920’s to 2004 with articles on the topic. I still think that the future has not officially arrived until I get my flying car!!
Written on: January 10th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
George Clooney- desired by women (and men), envied by men (and women) had a productive and critically acclaimed year in 2009. After no doubt being voted in for the umpteenth time as America’s sexiest man in the usual magazines, odds are that George will receive one or more Oscar mentions when the 82nd Academy Award nominations are announced February 2nd.
That should make his life even more perfect.
It’s nice to notice that all of Clooney’s 2009 hits are adaptations of works of fiction- if you want to see how they stack up against the movie version, click on the links below to check availability or place a hold on copies in the Delaware Library Catalog:
Written on: January 5th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
Earlier this month, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a partnership with Delaware to help public libraries compete for broadband stimulus funds. The foundation’s Opportunity Online grant program will provide the Delaware Division of Libraries (DDL) technical and consulting assistance to develop competitive funding proposals for federal broadband stimulus funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), established through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Delaware will also receive federally required matching funds from the Gates Foundation, contingent on a successful BTOP award, and assistance to help secure additional federal E-rate funding to sustain future broadband connection costs.
Nearly 40 percent of Americans, often those with lower incomes and lower levels of education, still don’t have high-speed Internet access at home. In most communities (70 percent), the public library is the only provider of free Internet access available to residents.
These funds would help Delaware’s libraries accommodate patron demand for high-speed Internet access, which is growing faster than most libraries’ ability to provide increased bandwidth.
BTOP is expected to award federal stimulus grants to private and public sector applicants starting in early 2010 to expand broadband infrastructure to more communities across the country and to help new Internet users benefit from broadband access.
“In order for our libraries to be among the best in the country, we need to adapt to and meet the varied and changing needs of Delawareans,” said Lt. Governor Matthew Denn. “We are fortunate to be partnering with the Gates Foundation to produce a solid application for stimulus funds to meet these needs.”
Written on: December 23rd, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
Courtesy of the Library of Congress Read.gov website, you can see beautifully digitized versions of classic Christmas stories:
A Christmas Carol
A Visit from St. Nicholas
And of course, the utterly non-Christmas themed, multi-author collaborative children’s tale, Exquisite Corpse. Happy Holidays to everyone in the Delaware library community!
See the original post from Read.gov at this link
Written on: December 22nd, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
You may have already signed up to receive email notifications when works by favorite authors, or works on certain subjects, are added to the catalog (if you haven’t, you can click here to see a quick instructional video). Once you check a certain author or subject as a favorite, the library system software sends out automated weekly emails that are customized to your specified preferences. It’s another way of making the library yours.
But what happens if you want to change the settings? Maybe you’ve used this service to drill down on a particular topic of interest, and you feel you’ve learned enough, or perhaps a particular author has been disappointing you or your tastes have changed. Also, possibly you thought that you REALLY liked books about vampires, and are surprised at just how many books are being written on the subject! (this is an easy situation to get into when you record subjects as favorites, because many fiction books are cataloged under very broad subject classifications- subject favorites work better in non-fiction) It’s easy enough to get into your favorites settings and remove favorites- play the 1 minute video below or click on ‘play in full screen’ to see a larger version:
Written on: December 16th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
It’s been a busy few weeks- my apologies for not updating these lists since Thanksgiving. Remember that most libraries will operate on limited hours and/or be closed for several days next week, so remember to fit in a visit to your local public library between last-minute gift shopping this weekend!
Click on the links below to get lists of new items available from the Delaware Library Catalog in various formats (lists will open in a new window):
Remember- next week you will be able to start accessing additional resources due to the addition of Wilmington Public Library and Wilmington University Library to the Delaware Library Catalog! It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and you can read other library news and initiatives on this blog by clicking here.
Written on: December 15th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
The new 2009 Fellows of the United States Artists were just announced today, with an incredible array of artists in several different categories. United States Artists (click here for their homepage) is a relatively new organization which awards unrestricted $50,000 grants to fifty artists a year.
In literature awards this year, honorees include graphic novel pioneer Gilbert Hernandez; novelist Antonya Nelson; poet Kevin Young; and the incredible Sapphire– author of Push (among many other works), the book on which the critically acclaimed movie Precious is based.
Written on: December 14th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
Great books in the Sunday reviews, and big news for the Delaware Library Catalog this week- first, the books:
An outstanding new biography of Abigail Adams by Woody Holton describes Adams as an early promoter of women’s rights- far beyond her well know admonition to her husband to “remember the ladies”. Adams denounced the subordinate status of women often, and vehemently, in her letters to John- all the while managing his American household and estates with intelligence and skill. Holton notes that her final act of liberation toward the end of her life was to write and file her will, with the full knowledge that as property of her husband, any of her documented wishes were futile and unenforceable as legal instruments. If you were wondering if the world needed another biography of a founding mother you may wish to rethink your position.
Richard Ellis documents the challenges faced by animals living in the arctic environment as climate change alters their habitat, in On Thin Ice. It’s a “timely, passionate and comprehensive survey of polar bear history, lore, biology and politics” which suggests that climate change may be the challenge that this animal will not survive.
In current crime fiction, Joseph Wambaugh’s new novel Hollywood Moon brings more of his anecdotal, old-school vignettes of cops on the beat- his stories are still fresh after an almost 40-year writing career. Stan Jones’ Village of the Ghost Bears is a “sturdy murder plot” set in the remote frontier wildernesses of Alaska. P.D. James most recent offering is a slim non-fiction work Talking About Detective Fiction, in which she discusses her high literary style, and praises current writers in the genre for their continuing efforts in “unpretentious celebrations of reason and order in our increasingly complex and disorderly world”.
Written on: December 11th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
I loved this, and I hope that my daughter will feel this warmly about her school library, and her public library. Many Delaware public libraries have Young Adult Services Librarians (aka Teen Librarians) on staff who make sure that collections and events are geared to create lifelong library users. Laurel Public Library has a particularly strong teen program, with a teen advisory board involved in materials selection and programming.
More videos from the Unquiet Library are available on YouTube
The Unquiet Library is the Media Center at Creekview High School, in Canton, Georgia.
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