King County Library System - Library Talk. - September 2008

I really love documentaries, and there aren't too many chances to see them in the theater, but you can check them out on DVD at the library.  

Here are a few of my favorites:

Juvies. This film explores the personal stories of twelve kids in juvie who  were prosecuted and incarcerated as adults and now heading for adult prison. 

Dogtown and Z-Boys. It includes the history of skateboarding and the rise some of the first pro-skaters.

Hoop Dreams. It's a very long film, but totally worth the time. It tells the story of two star high-school basketball stars and their dreams of making it to the NBA.

Some other great documentaries to checkout:

March of the Penguins

Bowling for Columbine

Spellbound

I recently talked with Jennifer Wooten of KCLS's new podcast (I'll link to the podcast when it becomes available) about my new favorite illustrator: Nancy Carpenter.  I've really begun to take notice of Nancy Carpenter as an illustrator just recently with these new books:

M is for mischief : an A to Z of naughty children

17 things i'm not allowed to do anymore

Nancy Carpenter has always done spunky girls. (I could do that : Esther Morris gets women the vote and Apples to Oregon : being the (slightly) true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the Plains)

She's changed her style in these new books.  She now includes more collage and brighter colors to make the children in these books not only spunky, but truly naughty ... they're not just naughty kids... they're kinds of kids who are smart and know that they are misbehaving.  It's just delightful!

 

In which we examine through literature various ways that the world falls apart: physically, socially, and emotionally.

Two novels by Susan Beth Pfeffer place central characters in this end-of-the-world scenario:

An asteroid strikes the moon and moves it out of normal orbit...and nothing will ever be normal again. Tides are disrupted. The entire Eastern Seaboard is gone. Broadcast media is disrupted, and gradually stops. Electricity isn't dependable. Long-dormant volcanoes erupt, pouring ash and smoke into the atmosphere.

Within months of the asteroid event, the people of the Earth are faced with starvation, disease...and worse.

In Life as We Knew It (published 2006), Miranda's family hoards food as long as they can. They live in the country, heat the house with wood from the forest in the backyard, and scavenge canned food from the homes of neighbors who have moved south. But what will happen when the food runs out?

Told in a journal format, Miranda's dire situation is a compelling page-turner, and leaves the reader with a new appreciation for life as we know it now.

In the author's companion novel The Dead and the Gone (published 2008) Puerto Rican/New Yorker Alex Morales is orphaned, and must care for his two younger sisters as the city falls apart around them. To find food, clothing, blankets and batteries, Alex ransacks abandoned apartments...and then starts stripping survival essentials from the bodies of the dead.

His faith in God is sometimes a comfort to Alex, but sometimes it becomes a burden as he struggles between feeling guilty over stealing from the dead, and feeling a strong moral obligation to keep his sisters alive.

School is back in session, and you know what that means: research reports! And chances are, you aren't the only one doing your report on a particular subject. Which usually means that whomever makes it to the library first will snap up all the books on a particular subject, and everyone else is left trying to find good sources of information. Thankfully, KCLS offers many wonderful databases to help you research your subject. And if your subject is a current or controversial topic, CQ Researcher may be just what you need.

Once a week, CQ Researcher publishes an extensive report on a current topic, including cited sources, contacts for more information, and a section they call The Next Step, which they call an "additional bibliography providing sources related to particular questions considered in the report." You can also find plenty of additional links to help flesh out your report with news articles, blog posts, and other books on the same subject.

Best of all though, CQ Researcher tries to provide a balanced and objective description of the issue at hand, its background, and its possible repercussions. It then gives both sides of the issue a chance to voice their argument, without choosing sides. This helps by letting readers choose their own side, instead of promoting one side over the other. And it helps shed light on the other side's viewpoint, which can be especially important in a debate.

Hot-button issues are coming hard and fast this election season, so let CQ Researcher help you find your own opinion on the matter!

Yo! Jonesing for some jazz? How about some ultra-recent tracks from the best youngsters currently blowing in the Puget Sound area? [And note: these are some of the same kids who regularly win the prestigious "Essential Ellington" contest in NYC every year].

Even better: let's say you can't wait three days (or more) for the CD to make it to you via your local library. How about downloading the tracks right now?! (Plus these tracks include some special guest stars such as drummer wunderkind Greg Williamson and bop brothers Thomas and David Marriott!)

 

 

 

Are you looking for something to read that isn't that boring chicklit or all touchy feely?  Here are some ideas you might like.

Sports Authors

• Carl Deuker     Runner, Night Hoops
• Mike Lupica    Heat, The Big Field
• Chris Crutcher  The Crazy Horse Electric Game, Whale Talk

Adventure

• Roland Smith   Elephant Run, Sasquatch
• Will Hobbs       Far North, Jason's Gold
• Gary Paulsen    Hatchet, Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and The Brian books
• Kenneth Oppel  Airborn, Skybreaker
• Anthony Horowitz  Stormbreaker (first in Alex Rider Spy Series)

Science Fiction/Fantasy

• Orson Scott Card   Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead
• M. T. Anderson   Feed, Whales on Stilts
• Christopher Paolini  Eragon, Eldest
• D.J. Machale  The Merchant of Death  (first in Pendragon Series)

Humor

• Gordon Korman  Son of the Mob, No More Dead Dogs
• Ned Vizzini  Be More Chill, It's Kind of a Funny Story

Edgy Stories--Teens in Trouble

• Walter Dean Myers  Game, Monster
• John Green  Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines
• Kevin Brooks  Martyn Pig, Kissing the Rain
• Ben Mikaelsen  Touching Spirit Bear

Gripping True Stories

• Sports Bloopers: All-Star Flubs and Fumbles  by Mark Huebner and Brad Wilson
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
• Houdini the Handcuff King by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi
• Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin

It's been a tough week, and so I've found myself going back to a couple of my favorite little books: The world according to Mister Rogers : important things to remember and Life's journeys according to Mister Rogers : things to remember along the way.  Full of little tidbits of self-affirmation, these books calm me and bring me back to the nostalgia of Fred Rogers who told me that I was special just the way I was.  

I was surprised to find that Mr. Rogers is still on KCTS  and still has a presence on PBS.org .  I'm also surprised to find another of my childhood favorites: Reading Rainbow also still on TV .  Hey, I feel better already just knowing those childhood comforts are still around.

This fall KCLS is offering a free parenting workshop sponsored by KCTS called Using Television to Teach.  You may be surprised to find that the public library offers many other parenting and caregiver classes, free to anyone who signs up.  These programs are also STARS-approved, meaning they are state certified to provide continuing education credit to professional caregivers.  Many of these workshops are part of KCTS Television's series on A Place of Our Own/Los Niños en Su Casa which was inspired by Fred Rogers to promote conflict resolution and diversity appreciation in young children. 

In the words of Fred Rogers "You are the only one like you....There's only one in this wonderful world. You are special." Now, don't you feel better, too?

Are your friends on Facebook recommending good books, music and movies? 

Do you need the perfect photo for your research paper, company report, or blog?  PC clip art often doesn't give you what you need.  Knowing and following copyright rules can be confusing.

Brrr....the weather outside is far from frightful, but the return of rainy days and cooler temperatures makes me want to curl up with a nice book. If you're feeling "burnt" out on summer books, here are some of my favorite fall books. Chill out with some of these and brace yourself for hot cocoa weather!

Blue Burt and Wiggles by Derek Anderson
Mommy's Little Star by Janet Bingham
A Pipkin of Pepper by Helen Cooper
Tippy-Tippy, Tippy HIDE! by Candace Fleming
Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin
Snuggle Mountain by Lindsey Lane
Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson

Flickr photo by CORDAN

Non-fiction. It brings to mind strings of decimal numbers that seem to make no sense. For example, you know you want to find books about building a sea kayak from scratch, but you're not sure where a book like that would be. 

Students are back in school and reference desks across the system have been busy. Often when students are working on their History Day projects they need to cite primary sources.

The definition of a primary source sometimes loses something in the translation when passed from teacher to student to parent. UCLA gives a great list of examples with a definition of primary sources. When students are told to use a primary source they seem confused or frustrated when we try to show them to the Primary Sources database page. They are expecting a crumbling stack of newspapers from the Civil War or recordings of FDR's Fireside Chats.

Many of these items are accessible through our databases, books or microfilm. As a teen services librarian, I am often educating patrons that databases are not websites. They are merely electronic forms of our print based materials.  Our databases page gives a subject list for students to choose proper databases.  Our newest subject area is Primary Sources.  From sources such as the New York Times Historical Backfile students will be able to read the New York Times as it appeared the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed or see actual scanned treaty documents from the American Indian History and Culture database.

Encourage your students to take advantage of these rich resources. 

Nick Cave is coming to the Pacific Northwest for the first time in years next week - he and the Bad Seeds will be performing at the Showbox Sodo on the 23rd and the 24th of September.   

Thank goodness for baby sitters.

The bad news is that the shows are all sold out.

The good news?  KCLS can help you feel better about missing out.  Well, a little bit better...

KCLS Music Collections

We've got an incredible collection of music for you to borrow - CDs and DVDs - go ahead and search our collections for the songs you've got stuck in your head.  

We've also got a growing collection of online music - streaming collections (African American Song, Smithsonian Global Sound, and Classical Music Library) and downloadables.

And Nick Cave?

Try this search for everything under the sun.

Or head straight to his latest (Dig Lazarus Dig!, The Abbatoir Blues Tour DVD), some of his greatest (Henry's Dream, The Lyre of Oprheus) or some of his many other endeavors (The Proposition, Lectures: The Secret Life Of The Love Song, guesting with Dan Zanes, the I'm Your Man DVD) and get these items sent to your home library for pickup.

Autumn is just around the corner even though we are currently in the middle of some lovely summer weather. But pretty soon the leaves will begin to change, pumpkin farms will be gearing up for the big season (find a pumpkin farm!) and the summer weather will wander off again. So now is the time to think about some fun activities to do to celebrate the changing of the seasons. The books included here have the added benefit of taking you and your child outside to explore the world.

Look What I Did With a Leaf! by Morteza E. Sohi is a delightful book that shows how to take leaves and make different pictures with them.

Animals of all kinds parade through leafy backgrounds. The library system is in the process of buying more of this glorious book. Pair it with Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert for added pizzaz.

Check out Crafts to Make in the Fall by Kathy Ross who is the guru of craft books. Do an author search on Kathy and pull up her whole list of entertaining titles.

A more science related book is Sandra Markle's Exploring Autumn: A Season of Science Activities, Puzzlers, and Games. This book lets you dig into the season and make discoveries and stretch your brain a bit while having fun.

For the younger Autumn investigators take a look at Fall by Núria Roca. It covers the basics of the season (why do leaves change color and fall?) and includes activities to engage your preschool and early elementary kids.

Get outside this fall and feel the seasons change!

Fantasy isn't my favorite genre, but I do love Harry Potter. I guess my favorite part about HP is Hogwarts. In an imaginary world I would love to go to Hogwarts, there's just something so exotic and cool about boarding school and add the magic on top of it and it's even better. Come to think of it, some of my favorite books are set in boarding schools.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. In Prep Lee Fiora gets a scholarship to prestigious boarding school and finds out that life at boarding school isn't as glossy and perfect as it sounded. This was a great audiobook, I couldn't stop listening...

Printz Award winner, Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Spud by John Van de Ruit. This is kind of a new book. It's about life at an all boys boarding school in South Africa, filled with laugh out loud comedy and unbearably embarrassing moments.

New from Oprah: Oprah's Kids Picks. 

Did you know that the library has brand new video games for you to play - for free?  Here's a sampling of some of our newest titles:

We have new releases for the Wii, PS2, and Xbox 360, as well as old favorites for Nintendo DS and GameCube. Most libraries at KCLS run gaming programs for middle and high school students; to find one, check with your local branch or search our calendar using the keywords "game on."

Do you have a favorite video game, or one you think we should buy?  Post your suggestions here.  Please remember that we can only purchase games that are rated E or T (no Halo or Grand Theft Auto, sorry!) and can be played by two or more people.

DO NOT PROCEED TO CHECKOUT!  Put your credit card away, and step away from that book purchasing website. 

Libraries across the country cooperate in what some might describe as the Serengeti of the written word.  Every year, millions of books participate in the great circle of life, migrating thousands of miles to needy patrons everywhere.  I'm actually not quite sure about the "millions" part, but I know it's a lot.  Millions (who knows, maybe even billions, if you include magazine articles) are available for loan, and someone with a lot of time could probably find the answer in the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, and Electronic Reserve.

Anyway, if you cannot find a book in the KCLS catalog, call us.  Or click on the Interlibrary Loan link at the top of the catalog.  You can make the request yourself, and in all likelihood, receive the book on loan from far far away in a few weeks.  The speed and availability depend upon the loaning library, and how fast it's pulled and sent to us.  You won't get that rare 15th century vellum-scribed tome, but within reason, we can get most items.  I got a late 19th century genealogy book once from a small New York library, and was pleasantly surprised that they were willing to part with it temporarily.

The fee?  Zero, typically (you can state how much you are willing to pay if the loaning library charges a fee, but usually there is no charge).

In addition to books, you can request:  magazine articles from journals we do not own; microfilm (genealogists take great advantage of this service); music scores; conference proceedings; and more.  You cannot request DVD's or other media items, or that latest John Grisham book with 750 holds.  Click here for more info and FAQ's. 

Dawn breaks on the dusty grassland, and intrepid Interlibrary Loan staff stride once again into the breach...

So you have to read a classic. Your book report is due Monday, and it's Friday afternoon. Head to the Teen Classics section of your local library and check out one of these titles:

Fahreinheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)

Guy Montag is a fireman whose job is to burn books. When he starts hoarding and reading books himself, he finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

Grendel by John Gardner (174 pages)

The monster from Beowulf finally gets to tell his side of the story. It's not his fault, really.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (127 pages)

An old Cuban fisherman battles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Written in short sentences, this is a quick, easy-to-understand read.

For a full list of short classics available at KCLS libraries, click here.

I suppose its possible that there are people out there who aren not aware there is a rather important vote coming up. Perhaps they were in Antarctica, visiting relatives. Or on the moon (with Steve)! But chances are, if you've turned on the TV, the radio, or your computer any time in the last year or so, you have probably caught a vague hint that we're approaching that rather important day when we vote for the next President of the United States. But did you know there are other things we vote for on that day too?

Its true! On November 4th, voters across the country will have their chance to weigh in on their favorite candidates, taxes, and initiatives. But if you're like me,  you probably don't have a good idea of what all of it means. Who are these people, and what are their stances towards the things I care about most? How will that initiative affect me? How much will that new tax cost me? And where is the closest Dairy Queen?

Well you're in luck, because KCLS has launched a new site to help answer your questions: InfoVote 2008, a central place find the answers you need (except that Dairy Queen question, you might want to try Ask A Librarian for that one). Virtually bursting with information, dates, and important links, InfoVote is your one-stop shop for all of your voting needs.

Let's start healthy (but fun) and then we'll slide right into just plain fun.  Let's face it, getting kids involved in cooking family meals can be a challenge.  The clean up alone is daunting!  But there are some fabulous cookbooks out there that make the process downright enjoyable.

One of our newest books is The Usborne Healthy Cookbook which includes funky Mini Pizzas and Honey Berry Swirl.  It may take some fancy footwork on your part to sell the Cauliflower Curry to your kids but you never know!  What I like about this cookbook is the easy to follow pictures for each step.  Plus there are great tips on how to eat healthy presented in bright, fun cartoon artwork.  What I would like to see is more safety instruction for using knives and stoves.  There's a bit but more wouldn't be a bad thing. 

Another practical but very tasty cookbook is Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!  The Ultimate Breadmaking Book for Parents and Kids by Judith and Evan Jones.  I have to admit that I use this just for my own benefit because I'm a baking disaster area.  This book helped me with easy pictures, friendly advice and very tasty recipes that I could handle (without setting fire to my kitchen).  They also give safety tips and advice.  It works!

Other practical titles include Betty Crocker Kids Cook! and The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Children's Cookbook.  Good solid sources of ideas to use with your kids.

Then there's the just plain fun stuff.  For your Star Wars fans there is The Star Wars Cookbook:  Wookie Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes.  Who can resist the Jabba Jiggle or Tusken Raider Taters?   The lovely Pink Princess Tea Parties will be a big hit with your princess.  You can get literary with Fairy Tale Feasts:  A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters or check out the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook:  Recipes Inspired by Dr. Seuss!  by Georgeanne Brennan.

The library is PACKED with wonderful children's cookbooks for every occasion.  Check out a stack and get your kids cooking today.  But you're still going to be stuck with the clean up...

We as a nation, have voting on the mind. This gives us an exciting opportunity to educate kids about voting and democracy. KCLS is launching our new INFO VOTE 2008 to answer your all election-related questions. There's quite a lot of information there for voting adults: www.kcls.org/infovote.

But what about for kids? Here are some recommendations:

This US News article on teaching kids about voting has some helpful and easy hints about how to raise voters.

PBS Kids has a delightful introduction to voting that is fun and interactive. Kids can cast a vote by filling out a future voters card or they can learn what it takes to be President by applying to be President for a day!

And don't forget books available through your public library! Here are some of my favorites.

The day Gogo went to vote : South Africa, April 1994 by Elinor Batezat Sisulu

I could do that : Esther Morris gets women the vote by Linda Arms White

Vote! by Eileen Christelow.

So you want to be president? by Judith St. George ; illustrated by David Small.

But not "simple".  Still, that being said, after a bit of practice it's reasonably quick and easy to create powerful, customized data-rich maps.  Drawing on U.S. Census datasets (including the 2000 Census and recent estimate sets) as well as economic, business and market survey data, SimplyMap allows users to create national as well as local (down to the block group level, if you are familiar with Census lingo) maps.

An additional feature allows users to mark business locations ("Points") onto the map you create.  You can mark the map via NAICS code or business name.  When your map is customized to your satisfaction, you can save or email a PDF file or high-resolution GIF image.  The map above shows median income in King County by zip code.  You can also download/save raw data to an Excel format.

The maps are just half the product.  Users can also create reports comparing various data across numerous geographical areas.  For example, you could compare median income, Spanish speaking, and age data across King County.

KCLS subscribes to SimplyMap for our patrons, so you must access this database via the KCLS website.  You'll need your card number on hand, and be aware that our licensing agreement limits the number of users accessing the product at one time.  If it's busy try back a short while later.

I could describe much more, but it's best just to try it out.  Enjoy.