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 Selections
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The newsletter of the Sarasota County Library System |
~ March 2009 ~ Volume 3, Issue 11 | |
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Read Selections online each month or sign up here to have it delivered to you by email.
If you have difficulty reading the newsletter in your email, read this issue here. |
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In this Issue:
This month's issue is brought
to you
by the staff of the
Fruitville Library.
Featured Internet Site:
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Who Reads What?
www.gpl.lib.me.us/wrwind.htm
Who Reads What: Celebrity Name Index is a compilation of a published annual by the Gardiner Public Library in Maine. Use the site to find celebrities' favorite books and read about their love of reading.
Who Reads What is a great site to check out when you may be looking for something different to read and when you are interested in learning more about your celebrity favorites and their favorites. Celebrities include Muhammad Ali, jerry Lewis, Kathy Bates and Brian Adams to name a few.
Can you match the celebrity with his or her favorite book?
(Check your answers with
Who Reads What.)
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1. Anne Curry |
A. "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling |
| 2. Lorne Michaels |
B. "The Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker |
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3. Newt Gingrich |
C. "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White |
| 4. Joni Mitchell |
D. "So Long, See You Tomorrow" by William Maxwell | |
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Events:
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Famous Florida Nature Photographer
Coming to Fruitville Library
"John Moran's Journal of Light: A Photographer's Search for the Soul of Florida" will be presented on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the Fruitville Library meeting room. Mr. Moran’s program comes to Sarasota through the generosity of the Friends of Fruitville Library.
John Moran is a University of Florida graduate who worked as a photographer, writer and editor for the Gainesville Sun for 23 years. His photography has been featured in noted magazines and books, including "National Geographic," "Life," "Time," "Newsweek," "Smithsonian," "The New York Times Magazine" and the cover of the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida." John has been honored as Photographer of the Year for the Southeastern United States by the National Press Photographers Association.
John Moran integrates history, music and culture into a one of a kind narrative featuring a fabulous, slideshow of Florida photography. John captures the natural beauty of Florida and shares interesting background information about each photo. This presentation is a feast for the eyes and ears!
Seating is limited so please register by calling 941-861-2518 or stop by the Reference desk at Fruitville Library. |
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Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.
--Samuel Johnson | |
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National Library News:
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ALA Applauds Signing of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) applauds Congress and the Administration for completing work on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law by President Obama today after clearing Congress last week.
Throughout this process, ALA was actively involved in advocating for all types of libraries to ensure the stimulus invests in the programs and services libraries provide that help America get back to work.
ALA President Jim Rettig said that while the final version did not contain every provision that would help libraries, the bill has many opportunities that libraries can use to continue delivering much-needed services.
“Working through this expansive and vitally important piece of legislation was no easy task for Congress and the White House, and I am grateful to see libraries are included in this effort to put our nation on the road to recovery,” Rettig said.
“I believe we now have a responsibility to reach out to our governors and state officials to highlight the funding available to libraries through this bill and to advocate that investing that funding in libraries is a wise and efficient use of tax-payer dollars during this difficult economic time.” |
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Wall Street Journal to Close Its Research Library
"The Wall Street Journal" has announced that it will close its news research library on March 23. Leslie A. Norman, who heads the library, said in a February 5 posting on the NewsLib online discussion group that she and News Assistant Ed Ramos had received their termination notices that day.
Norman wrote, “When I asked who will do research for the reporters, I was told, ‘No one.’ The reporters will probably be using a Lexis product called Due Diligence Dashboard.” She added that “it cannot replace the knowledge about how to research using all the tricks we’ve learned over the years. We figure that the reporters will probably spend 10 times our compensation trying to do their own research.”
The library closure is part of a 14-person newsroom job reduction announced by the Journal, "Editor and Publisher" reported February 11. In an e-mail to the publication, Journal Spokesman Robert Christie stated, “Yes, we are closing the library. It is regrettable. Our reporters do have access to multiple databases including Factiva and this migration to digital databases . . . has been happening for many years.”
In a NewsLib posting the next day that thanked colleagues for their words of support, Norman noted that many Journal reporters “have called wondering what they are supposed to do after the library closes. They told me how important my research was to their stories. I didn’t know I meant so much to them.”
Norman, an assistant librarian who has been running the library since her predecessor left in 2007, has been at the Journal since 2005, with four years’ prior experience at the Bloomberg library, according to "E&P." |
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Local Library News:
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Sarasota County Libraries Celebrate Teen Tech Week
Sarasota County Libraries will be celebrating the third annual Teen Tech Week March 8 to 14. Teen Tech Week is a national program sponsored by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association. This week is aimed at helping teens become familiar with various types of technology offered through libraries, therefore encouraging more library usage. Not only does technology provide entertainment for teens, but it also helps them thrive in this highly technological marketplace. By focusing on technology during Teen Tech Week, librarians help give teens the skills they need to survive not only in the virtual world but in the real world as well.
Sarasota County Libraries will be celebrating Teen Tech Week by launching a new online book to movie contest website designed by Jennifer Hitchcock, a Youth Librarian at the Fruitville Library. The contests held over the past three years have been extremely popular and generated wide participation from children and teens. Jennifer not only designed the websites but also read the books and saw the movies in order to write the quiz questions. To enter the contests, children and teens will be able to either take the quiz or write a review comparing the books to the movies.
Some of the most popular past quizzes have been "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Twilight," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "The Spiderwick Chronicles." On the new website, all previous contests will be available, and new ones will be added as movies are released. Participants will be able to take as many quizzes or write as many reviews as they like to be entered in periodic drawings for prizes. Prizes are typically $50 Visa gift cards. The money for the prizes is provided by the Friends of the Fruitville Library.
These contests provide young people with two interesting ways to show that they understand the differences between the books and movies, and they really encourage more people to read books that relate to new, popular movies rather than just watching them. Since contests regarding older movies will now be available, people will be able to check out both the movies and the books simultaneously at the libraries.
Sarasota County Libraries are excited about increasing participation of children and teens online and in the libraries through this new website. The site will be rolled out on Monday, March 9, 2009. The link will be located on Planet Teen at sclibs.net/Teens/PlanetTeen.aspx. For more information about online contests, please call the Fruitville Public Library’s Children’s Department at 861-2525.
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Featured Story:
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Dr. Kenneth Erb
Dr. Kenneth Erb, world traveler, photographer, botanist and gardener, has presented a number of programs at the Fruitville Library on a variety of topics. Dr. Erb retired from Hofstra University's Department of Biology in 2000 and has been sharing his travels with library audiences ever since. He has presented his programs at the Gulf Gate Library also.
Beginning in January, 2007, Dr. Erb brought views of the world to the library through slide-illustrated lectures covering the gardens of Central and Northern Italy, Hawaii and France. He then moved on to a world-spanning travel series in 2008 and 2009, including India, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Argentina, Russia and Chile. One more program is scheduled on March 31: Himalayan India.
Ken Erb’s background in science demonstrates his strong interest in things botanical. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology, went on for a master's degree in botany and then earned a doctorate in agricultural microbiology. His lectures follow somewhat the same pattern of focusing on the larger picture and then narrowing down to specific sights and views. He locates the area he’ll be talking about with maps and Google photos and then gets down to the fine details of daily living: the inhabitants of an area, typical views of scenery, atypical views of gardens and buildings and shots of rivers and mountains. His commentary is detailed, very knowledgeable and always interesting. Comments from the audience note his was a “delightful, fascinating presentation, slide collection enhanced the program and especially the talk.” The listener is eager to pack his or her bag and take off for any of the places Dr. Erb has described.
Not surprisingly, Ken has several writing projects in the works, including a book on botany for gardeners and one on the relationship between faith and science. He continues to research the parts of the world he visits as well as contemplate how individuals develop their worldviews. He is married with two grown children and one newly arrived granddaughter. Truly, he is a man of many and varied interests.
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Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.
--Lady Bird Johnson
A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.
--Lemony Snicket
There are 70 million books in American libraries, but the one I want to read is always out.
--Tom Masson
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Staff Picks:
Picks from the staff of Fruitville Library
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(Click a cover to search SUNCAT for that title.)
do you love me?
by Joost Elffers
The Gargoyle
by Andrew Davidson
Liberty: A Lake Wobegon Novel
by Garrison Keillor
The Piano Teacher
by Janice Y.K. Lee
Running for My Life
by Warrick Dunn
Sports Shorts
by Joseph Bruchac
The Wheat Doll
by Alison L. Randall |
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An original idea. That can't be too hard. The library must be full of them.
--Stephen Fry
My father gave me free run of his library. When I think of my boyhood, I think in terms of the books I read.
--Jorge Luis Borges
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
--Groucho Marx
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Community Connection:
Imagination Library
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Young Sarasota children are receiving free books in the mail each month thanks to the Sarasota County Library System and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This early literacy program, targeting children from birth to 5 years of age, is funded by the generosity of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and administered by the library system.
The children receive a new book each month, and their families are encouraged to read to them and visit their public library for more great stories. The program--which began here last fall--is currently operating in zip codes 34231, 34232, 34234, 34237, 34287 and 34293. Parents may register their children who are under the age of 5 at any of Sarasota County’s eight libraries, through agencies serving young children or online at the Dolly Parton Imagination Library website, www.imaginationlibrary.com.
The first book all children receive is “The Little Engine That Could” and the last is “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come,” upon their fifth birthday. Children who were enrolled from birth acquire a little library of 60 books to spur their imaginations and promote family reading time together.
Dolly Parton began the Imagination Library in her home county in rural Tennessee in 1996 to foster a love of reading and give the children there a head start at learning. She joined forces with Penguin Books to provide high quality children’s books at reduced costs. In 2000, she expanded the program, offering it to other communities across the country, in Canada and in Great Britain. Communities like Sarasota may become affiliates, providing funding, promotion and enrollments. The Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library selects and mails the books and gives guidance and promotional support to the affiliates.
Sarasota’s Imagination Library is funded by the Community Foundation of Sarasota Count as part of the Literacy Empowers all Families (LEAF) project. The Sarasota County Library System is joined by community partners Children First, the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County and others in this project.
For more information about enrolling your child in
Sarasota’s Imagination Library, please call the
Fruitville Public Library’s Children’s Department at 861-2525.
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Featured Database:
What Do I Read Next?
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What Do I Read Next? is a reader’s advisory tool that allows librarians and patrons to answer the question, “What do I read next?” The database allows them to act as their own advisors and make informed suggestions to others.
What Do I Read Next? offers more than 115,000 recommended titles, incorporating all titles in the print version of the database, and reaching beyond the printed version to include classic fiction and popular nonfiction for all ages. What Do I Read Next? features thousands of award winners, bestsellers and librarian favorites. Over 62,500 titles have plot summaries and expanded indexing. Also included are more than 1,400 author biographies. All of these numbers increase with every release.
A "Monthly Highlights" page allows the user to see selections of award winners, upcoming titles and titles that revolve around different subjects each month.
Some of the key features of What Do I Read Next? are as follows.
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Allows users of all ages to benefit from the expertise of specialists,
critics and librarians to find the best in fiction and nonfiction.
- One-stop shopping eliminates the need to search several sources for the best suggestions from all genres.
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Users can find what they need easily and with only minimal information.
- Users can create their own custom lists of titles.
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Allows full-text and Boolean searches.
- Includes nonfiction as well as fiction.
Find What Do I Read Next? and other databases on the library website's Electronic Information Resources page: sclibs.net/resources.aspx.
A Sarasota County Library card is required to access
databases from outside the library.
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Reference Question of the Month:
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Were people really jumping to their deaths during the Stock Market Crash of 1929? Was it a widespread phenomenon?
While there were a few isolated cases of people jumping to their death during the "Great Crash," the notion that droves of people were jumping from windows is a hyperbole.
According to slate.com/id/2200633/: "Between Black Thursday and the end of 1929, only four of the 100 suicides and suicide attempts reported in the New York Times were plunges linked to the crash, and only two took place on Wall Street."
Similarly, in a Washington Post article titled "The Jumpers of '29; When the Market Crashed, Who Headed for the Windows?" (Oct 25, 1987. pg. c.05), the author Bennet Lowenthal concurs:
"From 'Black Thursday,' Oct.24, until the end of the year, 100 suicides and attempted suicides were reported in the New York Times, including cases from around the country and overseas. Eight of these people had jumped from building, bridge, boat or airplane. Half of these plunges were attributed to losses suffered in the Crash. The number of suide leaps in Wall Street during this period was a mere two." |
Your Feedback:
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Do you have a question or comment you would like to send to the library?
| ** Important Notice Regarding privacy and e-mail.SB 80 effective July 1, 2006: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead contact this office by phone or in writing. |
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Volunteer Spotlight:
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Vicky Anthony
After over 500 hours of service, Vicky Anthony keeps coming back to Fruitville Library to volunteer. Vicky started volunteering at the beginning of her freshman year in high school, and is now a junior. She began helping with shelving and crafts in the youth department, but then found a job that really suited her perfectly: Every Thursday for the past two years, Vicky has helped with the Knit Wits Knitting Group.
Knit Wits started as a monthly event with youth librarian, Jennifer Hitchcock. When the knitters showed increased interest, they all decided to meet every Thursday in the young adult area for “loosely knit” sessions. Since Jennifer is busy with her other duties as a youth librarian, Vicky has taken the lead on these “loosely knit” sessions and comes every week from 4 to 6 p.m. to help and chat with the other knitters.
Most of the knitters are girls ages 9 to 13, but now some boys have joined the group. Nine year old Scarlett, who has been with the group from the beginning, said “Vicky is so nice.” Scarlett’s mother added that “Vicky taught her (Scarlett) everything she knows--which is a lot!”
Vicky says that knitting is a stress-free way to make something that you can actually use, and she loves knitting while listening to audio-books. Her specialty is large felted bags which she sells in craft shows. She also makes hats, scarves and other special accessories.
Not only is Vicky great at helping with knitting, she has great insight for reader's advisory. As an avid young reader, Vicky had already read many of the most popular fantasy series including "Redwall," "Harry Potter" and books by Tamora Pierce before entering ninth grade. She continues to develop her knowledge by knitting and listening to audio-books and enjoys leading book discussions with the knitters.
The Knit Wits are currently holding a raffle for a quilt they made out of a variety of colorful, knitted swatches. The quilt was on display in the lobby in February. The knitters will decide what to do with the proceeds and have discussed adding to the young adult collection or purchasing new furniture for the young adult area.
The Knit Wits made the swatches, and the youth librarians put them all together to create this quilt. Some of the knitters were here before the librarians put the quilt in the lobby display case. Pictured from left to right are Aaron, teen volunteer Vicky Anthony, youth librarian Jennifer Hitchcock, Nicole and Skylar. The group has about ten year-round regulars and increases to about 30 people over the summer when they knit in the meeting room. |
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A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone. ~Jo Godwin |
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