February 16, 2011
The British Council, an international organization whose motto is “Learn, share, connect worldwide,” promotes the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people around the world. One of its many resources is Contemporary Writers, a database of UK, Commonwealth, and Republic of Ireland writers to which it adds new names each month. A page comprising a biography, a […]
February 14, 2011
Dick Buckley, WBEZ’s jazz DJ for many years, passed away last year. His entire music collection of over 8,000 items will be auctioned off this Thursday at Leslie Hindman’s auction house in Chicago. Buckley was a walking font of musical knowledge, which he clearly enjoyed sharing on the air. It seems this sale and gathering […]
February 12, 2011
Our latest Book Trailer of the Week is designed to put you in a T.C. Boyle state of mind. On February 22nd the author’s thirteenth novel When the Killing’s Done hits the shelves, and to help get you primed for Boyle’s patented brand of intricate, thought-provoking fiction, we present the following short film for his stunning twelfth novel The Women. Published […]
February 11, 2011
A recent update on the status of Borders‘ finances reflects an uncertain future. Despite the massive loan obtained several days ago (and noted here) from GE, the chain may be headed toward bankruptcy. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. On the bright side I found an article about a small independent store […]
February 10, 2011
Among the different ways people have been marking the anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, this book seems more hopeful than some. The several dozen photos in Tent Life: Haiti offer a close-up look at the resilience of the Haitian people. The website for the book itself is also worth seeing. Shira S.
February 10, 2011
The lowly golf pencil–essential tool of library jotters–seems to be a victim of cutbacks and money-saving programs. When I cracked open a fresh, new box of Dixon brand pencils to re-stock the patron PC stations, I sensed something wrong. Sure enough, when I compared a new pencil to one from an older batch, the new […]
February 9, 2011
So, the patron has just discovered British author Kate Atkinson, and wants to have a tidy list of everything she’s written, when it was published, a short annotation about each book, an author profile, and, oh, yes, a photo of Atkinson would be nice, too. Then there’s that other writer, John Grisham, who’s written tons and tons. […]
February 8, 2011
In recognition of this February’s Black History Month, the library has created bibliographies of recent releases in various genres–fiction, history, society and culture, arts and entertainment, biography and memoir, and home and family life. While exploring these new offerings, you’ll be using the preview version of our new library catalog, so we hope you’ll enjoy “test […]
February 8, 2011
Armchair travelers will love Google’s new site where you can go to 17 museums around the world, click on artwork, and zoom in or out to get close-ups of brushstrokes, etc. The reviewer of this NYT article says the web site is still a work in progress, with glitches and not-so-good representations in some cases, but […]
February 8, 2011
Reading Group Guides–the online community of reading groups–is polling its users to create a list of the most popular choices for book groups last year. It’s easy to participate and become eligible to win 12 copies of a book for your book group. The deadline for participation is February 21, 2011. While you’re visiting this site, explore […]
