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Written on: October 22nd, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
Public libraries continue to be a valuable resource for women wanting to prevent breast cancer or for those who are considering their options to fight it. While finding a professional medical opinion is still every woman’s best option, they can use resources that are readily available through their library to explore and evaluate alternative and complementary therapies, find solace in the stories of women who have battled and survived, and learn more in-depth details about the nature of the disease and its treatment.
In many ways public libraries, which are open to everyone, and with resources available freely along with a staff qualified and trained in assisting library users to access and understand them, are uniquely positioned to help women with health issues- especially in states like Delaware which have excessive incidences of a number of negative health indicators, and which continue to struggle to provide access to underserved and underinsured groups.
Here are a selection of books written in the last year on various aspects of the disease that can be checked out of any of the Delaware Library Catalog member libraries:
Some New 2010/11 Titles:
2009 Book List:
UPDATE: to wrap up the month, check out this delightful video from the staff at the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Dancing librarians at 1:15!
UPDATE: the Delicious.com web bookmarking site has thousands of breast cancer-related websites that have been listed by users. Click here for the full list.
Written on: October 20th, 2009 by: in Q & A's
A: The French ship, the Isere, was led by Commander Lespinasse De Saune.
For further information please see A Chronicle of One Hundred and Fifty Years the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York 1768-1918 by Joseph Bucklin Bishop and Twenty-Eighth Annual Report of the State of New York for the year 1885-86.
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Written on: October 20th, 2009 by: in Learning Journeys
Nobel Prize season is upon us, with ongoing announcements for the winners in various categories, and the awards ceremony itself just around the corner. I came upon (via twitter) this page on the Nobel Prize website that discusses the reading habits of various winners. It’s a fascinating insight into the early learning styles of some of the most accomplished geniuses of the modern age, and there were two points that particularly captured my attention:
First that many of the winners in widely different fields had an early, indiscriminate, and devoted love of reading in general, reading widely and voraciously, exploring and exhausting authors, subjects, and genres before finding the topic that began to unleash their inner genius. And second, that this need to explore, generalize, and finally specialize was supported in its earliest days by public libraries:
Martin Perl (Physics, 1995) writes of his upbringing in Brooklyn:
Along with my parents insistence, soon internalized, that I do very well in school, went my love of reading and my love of mechanics. I read everything: fiction, history, science, mathematics, biography, travel. There were two free public libraries within walking distance of my home; I remember taking six books home from every visit, the limit set by the library.
Among the books that Perl checked out “again and again” were Lancelot Hogben’s popular introductions to mathematics and science, as well as magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics . With these starting blocks, Perl went on to discover new subatomic particles and to redefine our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of matter.
William Phillips (Physics, 1997) also remembers childhood visits to his public library in Huntingdon, Pa:
I clearly remember the value my parents placed on reading and education. My parents read to us and encouraged us to read. As soon as I could read for myself, walking across town to the library became a regular activity.
Rosalyn Yalow (Physiology/Medicine, 1977) notes Eve Curie’s biography of her mother Marie Curie as a significant late influence, but also emphasizes the important role of public libraries in her early intellectual development:
I was an early reader, reading even before kindergarten, and since we did not have books in my home, my older brother, Alexander, was responsible for our trip every week to the Public Library to exchange books already read for new ones to be read.
Yalow’s groundbreaking work on peptide hormones gave birth to a new era in endocrinology and led to significant advances in the treatment of diabetes.
Carl Wieman, another laureate in Physics, was raised in a remote part of Oregon, and speaks appreciatively of the role of public libraries in his early intellectual development:
A stop at the public library was always part of these trips. Although I was unaware of it at the time, my parents must have made special arrangements for their children to use the library since we lived far outside the region it was supposed to serve. The librarians would also overlook the normal five-book limit and allow me to check out a large pile of books each week that I would then eagerly devour.
Finally, Richard Axel (Medicine, 2004) writes movingly of his discovery of reading and intellectual inquiry after moving to New York as a refugee from the Nazi Holocaust. After beginning work at age 11 he grudgingly began to attend Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, where a new world of art and culture revealed itself to him through that city’s great public institutions- including the New York Public Library:
I would read in a most beautifully appointed place, the Reading Room of the Central New York Public Library on 42nd Street. One passes the pair of sculpted lions, ascends a flight of stairs into a huge high-ceilinged room of impressive silence where I read incessantly without direction but with a newfound fascination that made up for years of illiteracy.
On behalf of public libraries everywhere, I’d like to say to all of these outstanding geniuses- “you’re welcome!” I hope that our public libraries will continue to nurture generation after generation of Nobel laureates.
Written on: October 20th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
Click on the links below to get lists of new items available from the Delaware Library Catalog in various formats:
Written on: October 19th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
This week’s New York Times Book Review leads with a review of Jeannette Wall’s new semi-biographical work Half-Broke Horses. Walls also wrote the acclaimed memoir Glass Castle, and her newest work delves further into her family history- what Walls doesn’t actually know about the main character, her Grandmother Lily Casey Smith, she creates out of her keen sense of her grandmother’s character and family fables of Smith’s experiences as a farmsteader in New Mexico and Arizona- the result, according to the Times’ reviewer is reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books, this time for adults.
According to Booklist (reviews are available in the “look inside” section of the Delaware Library Catalog), Walls’ book is
Told in a natural, offhand voice that is utterly enthralling, this is essential reading for anyone who loves good fiction or any work about the American West.
And according to a reviewer on LibraryThing:
The sweeping story of Lily Casey Smith takes us through both the rigors of making a living and the death-defying challenges of life in the American frontier in the early 20th century. From drought-plagued west Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the remote Arizona Grand Canyon, with an attempt at urban life in a rough and growing Chicago, Lily’s life embodies a time when rugged individualism carried depth of meaning.
Also reviewed in this week’s Review:
Written on: October 16th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
New Castle County Libraries and the Department of Community Services are planning a great program of book discussions, lectures and workshops about sustainable agriculture and healthy eating, in a number of New Castle County public libraries during the month of November.
You can download the full program brochure at this link
The booklist for the New Castle County program includes a number of titles that are also available from the Delaware Library Catalog:
Book Discussions at some of the New Castle County Libraries are taking place throughout the first part of November:
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan launched a national conversation about the American way of eating; now In Defense of Food he shows us how to change it, one meal at a time. Pollan proposes a new answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Woodlawn 11/9 @ 7pm
Newark Free 11/17 @ 12noon
Claymont 11/18 @ 10am
Bear 11/18 @ 7pm
Brandywine Hundred 11/18 @ 7pm
The Omnivore’s Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan
A Discussion for Kids and Their Parents
Do you know what’s in the food you eat? Are you making healthy choices at the grocery store? Is it possible to eat healthy at the drive-through? Join us for free snacks, recipes, and ideas about how to eat and shop well , even if you’re on a budget.
Don’t forget to bring Mom and Dad. Ages 9-up.
Kirkwood 11/5 @ 4pm
Woodlawn 11/10 @ 7 pm
Brandywine Hundred 11/13 @ 3pm
Other Programs:
Buy Local From a Delaware Farmer
Judith Leith, Educator from the Delaware Department of Agriculture, will be on hand for a discussion about the benefits of buying your food locally. Learn where you can buy fresh local produce, how to calculate food miles for protecting the environment, and the possibilities of setting up local Community Supported Agriculture. Bring your questions and ideas.
Brandywine Hundred 11/2 @ 11am
Bear 11/2 @ 7pm
Woodlawn 11/3 @ 7pm
What’s All the Fuss About Whole Food Eating?
When it comes to nutrition and health, what’s the difference between whole foods and non-whole foods? We’ll review some basic nutrition information as it relates to making healthy food choices and reading labels for healthful eating. Presented by Maria Pippidis of the New Castle County Cooperative Extension.
Kirkwood 11/3 @ 7pm
Bear 11/4 @ 1pm
Understanding the Natural, Sustainable, & Organic Terms: a Consumer’s Perspective
Lynne Betts, current President of DOFFA (Delaware Organic Food & Farming Association) will address questions such as where is Delaware in the ‘organic movement’, what is sustainable agriculture, and what to ask for when purchasing healthy foods. Is ‘organic’ really all it’s cracked up to be?
Newark Free 11/9 @ 7pm
Brandywine Hundred 11/10 @ 11am
Hockessin 11/10 @ 2pm
Go Grow Your Own!
Have you thought about growing your own food, but don’t know where to start? Come learn about the basics of starting a vegetable garden in your own backyard. Learn how to prepare the beds, select vegetables to grow and when and how to grow them. Anna Stoops from the New Castle County Cooperative Extension will talk about container, raised bed and traditional gardening techniques and also touch on the basics of composting. Bring your questions; there will be ample time for open dialogue.
Hockessin 11/3 @ 3 pm
Brandywine Hundred 11/4 @ 2pm
Film and Discussion:
Supersize Me
Join Consumer Health Librarian Susan LaValley to watch the controversial documentary SuperSize Me – “An irreverent look at obesity in America and one of its sources – fast food corporations.” The film will be followed by a discussion about nutrition resources at the library and in your community.
Brandywine Hundred 11/3 @ 7 pm
Bear 11/4 @ 7 pm
Written on: October 14th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
The National Book Foundation announced its shortlist this morning, and as every year, it’s a great selection of work by some of the greatest authors writing in America today.
You can find most of the nominees in your local library. Fiction nominees include:
Non-fiction nominees include Sean Carrol’s history of evolution and natural selection, Remarkable Creatures, as well as Greg Grandin’s epic account of Henry Ford’s mad dream to remake the Brazilian rainforest in his own image, Fordlandia. Continuing the theme of fascinating books about bloated plutocrats, T.J. Stiles The First Tycoon: the Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt also gets a nod.
Here (.pdf link) is the official press release. Dave Eggers will receive a lifetime award? What is he supposed to do for the next 50 years? There aren’t that many Maurice Sendak books to adapt for movies!
Written on: October 14th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
October 14 marks the death in 1891 of Thocmetony/Sarah Winnemucca, the first Native American woman to publish under copyright in the United States. Her autobiographical work, Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims, was published in 1883.
You can read more about Sarah Winnemucca and the Paiute people at the Library of Congress’ Today in History website
Written on: October 13th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
Click on the links below to get lists of new items available from the Delaware Library Catalog in various formats:
Written on: October 13th, 2009 by: in Blog Posts
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