From the All Things Google Dept.

• Google is offering free downloads of classic public domain books....
• Google provides online catalogs for your browsing and shopping pleasure...
• Librarian Cathy Rudowsky recently shared how Google Scholar can be used to track citations of scholarly articles... a useful bit of information for faculty seeking promotion and tenure.
• Boing Boing believes Google should be praised not buried....

One of These Things is Not Like the Others...

Fear not, blog fans, "Recently Read" has returned! (This will be good news for all seven of you.)

Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon Flake. I have long been an admirer of Flake's books: The Skin I'm In, Begging for Change, Money Hungry, all excellent. This collection of short stories is geared toward the junior high crowd, makes some important points about relationships, and would be terrific for teen discussions. Young adult literature is often described as a "mirror and a window," allowing teens to see themselves reflected in fiction and to get a glimpse of how others have handled similar situations. These stories run the gamut from good girls going boy hunting in defiance of their strict church upbringing to the haunting story of a girl so eager for affection she accepts the casual violence of a tenuous relationship.


And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell.
This charming story about a penguin relationship is making waves, pun intended. Based on real events, the book describes how two male penguins form a loving bond, build a nest, and try to hatch a stone. A sympathetic zookeeper (check the illustrations to see pictures of his partner and children on his desk--so subtle!) gives the two males an extra egg to care for and the two penguins hatch and care for their new daughter, Tango. You can visit them today at the Central Park Zoo. A nice, tender story with sweet illustrations.

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeannette Winter. Another children's book based on a true story details how Alia Muhammad Baker, an Iraqi librarian, does whatever is necessary to save her library's books and her country's literary heritage. This includes hiding the books and precious manuscripts in a nearby restaurant, renting a truck to take books to the homes of her friends, and secretly taking books to her own home every night. The illustrations are dramatic and provide just the right accompaniment to the spare text. The invading country (that would be US) is never identified.



The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden. More tales of war for children! This book details the flight of Hans and Magrete Rey, the creators of Curious George, from France to America during World War II. The couple had a perilous escape to the south of France on bicycles, taking very little except their manuscripts with them. The book is nicely put together, with drawings, real photos, letters, and journal entries arranged scrapbook style. Interesting behind-the-scenes story of one of the most popular (and widely merchandised) characters in children's literature.



The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I know everyone else read it two years ago, but I just picked it up at the airport. I am obviously not the "Maven" Gladwell talks about. I mistakenly thought The Tipping Point was a collection of essays about turning points in history, like if Napoleon hadn't caught cold, this wouldn't have happened, etc... However, once I got over my delusions, I found Gladwell's approach to sociological theory very accessible. For the other four people who haven't read it yet, Gladwell discourses on social "epidemics" and describes the conditions necessary for an idea to take off: a few influential people, the "stickiness" of the idea, the context, and the environmental conditions. Although his popularity seems to make him a target for criticism, I enjoyed the wide spectrum of popular examples he found to support his theories: Converse All-Stars, a syphillis epidemic in Baltimore, Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and Paul Revere's ride, among others.

When's a Planet a Planet?

I don't know about you, but I thought I had the planets down when I learned nine in elementary school. Now they're changing on me. If you want to find out the latest on our solar system, check NASA's regularly updated Mission News.

Ponder This...

Hot library pics...
Library Barcode fun...
President Bush's Summer Reading List...

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

Welcome back! We have so much to tell you!
Laptop circulation has moved to the basement... and so has the printer for the second floor. So, yes, for all of you who have come to my office to ask, you do have to walk ALL the way down the stairs or take the elevator!
2 am closing hours won't start until October when new staff is hired and trained...
New fun features are available in the online catalog... cover art, reviews, etc.
The new library web site is up...

I will add more as it develops. We are looking forward to another action-packed year, so please don't hesitate to get in touch for all of your information needs.

Freshman One Book...

This year's Freshman One Book featured Jackie Pflug, author of Miles to Go Before I Sleep, a vivid account of her ordeal after being shot in the head by highjackers. Her survival story is exceptionally inspiring and was the focus of various activities today, including a brunch with the author, a presentation to the new freshman class, and individual discussion groups in the afternoon.

Identify the Author....

Library Thing is now posting author portraits and posed the following quiz... How many authors can you name?

Give up? Mouse over the portraits to see the file name....

Coming to You Live from Paris...

Blogging tonight from the CyberWorld Cafe in Paris... Saw my first book vending machine in the metro today (I didn't take this photo, but close enough).. also Gertrude Stein's house, one of Hemingway's favorite cafes, and the Shakespeare and Co. librairie (which means a bookstore here.) Bon soiree!

A Load of Library...

Mull on these whilst I am away...

• WorldCat is stepping up and out with a freely accessible beta... Search for books and "find in a library near you"... also available as a handy toolbar....
• Neighborhood Bookstores (in Washington state and well you may ask, "why should I care?") that offer their Best Picks...
• If you have been waiting for the digital version of Manliness: For Young Men and Their Well Wishers, get yourself over to the Nineteenth Century in Print: The Making of America in Books and Periodicals from the Library of Congress...
• Check out Book Mooch, a new free exchange for used books... and enjoy their awesome illustration above...
• Why I Can't Stop Starting Books... a New York Times Sunday Book Review piece on the disease that fills your nightstand with 5, 6, 27 books you haven't finished yet...
• A comic called Pearls Before Swine addresses writing books for children...
• and here's a vintage piece from YouTube... No Cookies in the Library...

Pennsylvania's New 24/7 Reference Service...

AskHerePA is debuting on September 7. During the initial trial phase, the service is presently available from 12 to 5 daily. Read more here and here...

Test Driving....

The new library web site is in place, with a link for comments and feedback. This "test-drive" is planned to catch any difficulties, omissions, errors, etc. before the busy beginning of the semester. Please use the web feedback link at the bottom of the library page to send us your comments and suggestions. I am particularly interested to know of any information you can no longer find. If this unfortunate circumstance should occur, please be reassured that the former web site continues to be operational at http://www.sru.edu/pages/4886.asp (and as of right this minute, is still linked from the main SRU site.)

Also new on our online horizon is the addition of cover art and reviews to our catalog. Systems Librarian Del Hamilton is working to phase in these new features, so you will begin to see changes immediately. It's very cool -- do a date search for 2006 or 2005 and you will find cover images in your results.

Little Bits of Library....

Speaking of library web pages, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has well-designed ones, including a collection of Book Lists....

Lucky Library of Congress interns locate treasures... from ResourceShelf...
Interesting list of top ten books sold on e-bay...

Dolly Parton's contributions to literacy (for real) ... photo from the Library of Congress, in a coincidental twist...

And finally (hope you have already had your breakfast,) a Green Eggs and Ham cake, via Book Moot.