January 2006

The Reader’s Shop writes “post-gazette.com reports Whitehall Library in Pittsburgh, PA is participating in a program sponsored by a local dog obedience club. The program is aimed at children who need help with reading skills and is based on “the idea is that children will read to an unbiased listener who can’t correct them or make fun of them.” Participating as part of the “Reading Education Assistance Dogs” or READ program, Whitehall Library joins 750 programs in 45 states.

More Here Or @ The National Geographic“

An Anonymous Patron writes ”
From The News Tribune.com Kevlin, 47, has worked as the library services secretary for the Tacoma Public School District for 15 years. Two years ago, the Puyallup resident came across a library directory Web site and started collecting cards by sending e-mails to branches around the country.

I’d say I’m collecting library cards and I’d like one from their system, Kevlin said.

He now has 158 of them.”

Based on the popularity of this earlier story on categorizing “A Million Little Pieces”, LISNews readers will certainly enjoy New York Times columnist Clyde Haberman’s take on the Frey debacle.

The Womelsdorf (PA)Community Library, hoping to raise money for a renovation and addition, has put its naming rights up for sale on eBay.

The library, the smallest in Berks County, has about 11-thousand-422 books and serves the 26-hundred or so residents of Womelsdorf and two nearby communities. AP Has More

Madeleine Lefebvre is Librarian of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax Nova Scotia and a former President of the Canadian Library Association. She’s also been a professional actress (a court stenographer in a John Cusack movie and Queen Elizabeth in radio commercials) and now…she’s an author.

Her new book is “The Romance of Libraries”; an entertaining and often inspiring look at couples who’ve met in libraries, stolen a kiss in libraries, married in libraries, broken up in libraries, and those who’ve passed along the love of libraries to their friends and their children. It’s proof that in this day and age of virtual libraries and e-braries, there’s still nothing like the wonderful look, smell, feel, and touch of the library and its papery contents.

You’ll enjoy “The Romance of Libraries”…not to mention it’s a great gift for that special someone on Valentine’s Day. Scarecrow Press, Inc.
$25.00 Paper 0-8108-5352-3 Nov 2005 224pp.
Worldcat listing

For the full review, click “Read More”…

Madeleine Lefebvre is Librarian of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax Nova Scotia and a former President of the Canadian Library Association. She’s also been a professional actress (a court stenographer in a John Cusack movie and Queen Elizabeth in radio commercials) and now…she’s an author.

Her new book is “The Romance of Libraries”; an entertaining and often inspiring look at couples who’ve met in libraries, stolen a kiss in libraries, married in libraries, broken up in libraries, and those who’ve passed along the love of libraries to their friends and their children. It’s proof that in this day and age of virtual libraries and e-braries, there’s still nothing like the wonderful look, smell, feel, and touch of the library and its papery contents.

You’ll enjoy “The Romance of Libraries”…not to mention it’s a great gift for that special someone on Valentine’s Day. Scarecrow Press, Inc.
$25.00 Paper 0-8108-5352-3 Nov 2005 224pp.
Worldcat listing

For the full review, click “Read More”…

As the book is a compilation of stories from authors all over the globe, there’s a great deal of variety in the writing. Some of the authors choose to remain anonymous even though they’ve revealed their deepest secrets to us and of course, some write better than others, but in the end, they’re all quite endearing as they involve the discovery and revelation of our most precious emotion…feelings of love. Chapters include “Reading Room Romance”, “Bookmobile Romance”, “The Romance of Library School” and “The Romance of Library Conferences”.

In this last chapter, there’s the story of Paul (excerpts used here with permission of the publisher):

“My wife and I met at a library conference held in Providence, RI, In April 1998. At the time I was living and working in a library in South Florida, and she was doing the same in Alberta. We ended up attending the same social event on the first night of the conference, and spent the evening talking about many things, including, of course, favorite books.” An e-mail relationship ensued which blossomed into love”. Paul later moved to Canada in the fall of 1999, and they now “have two little bookworms” of their own.

{Any great love stories from San Antonio??}

Here’s one from “The Romance of Special Libraries” by Erda:

“I met my husband at the place where I was the librarian, and he, an astronomer. We were located at two thousand four hundred meters altitude, and could enjoy the fabulous southern sky. He would go to the library and borrow some books, which I noticed he would return sooner than the other scientists! Since my schedule was to work at the mountain every two weeks, it was a different setting for romance. Instead of the city, we had the mountains, and the most glorious sunsets. He proposed one evening, when the sun was about to disappear in the horizon, and together we saw the rare green flash. We are happy after twenty years of marriage.”

For those of you who are looking for a “yeah, we did it in the library” book, this is not it. There are books, articles, blogs and even an on-line test available elsewhere. Although Lefebvre thought of including a chapter that consisted of “grappling in the stacks”, she later determined that it didn’t really fit in with the overall theme of romance. I think she made the right call.

The Foreword is by ALA President Michael Gorman (and whether or not you’re a supporter of his, he expounds beautifully on the theme of the book…quoting Jimmy Buffett among others). You’ll enjoy “The Romance of Libraries”…not to mention it’s a great gift for that special someone on Valentine’s Day. Scarecrow Press, Inc.
$25.00 Paper 0-8108-5352-3 Nov 2005 224pp.

Worldcat listing

Anonymous Patron writes “Some won’t “shhh” as librarians shifted; story from the Seattle Times about a Richmond Beach (WA)couple who don’t want to see their library director redirected to another branch.”

From the Columbia Spectator (Columbia University in NYC), another story about the struggle for independent bookstores to survive in the age of chains {A Noble Battle?
In a World Dominated by Chains, Customers Decide Whether to Pay the Price for Their Local Stores}.

Google has announced ‘improvements’ to its toolbar that allow the user to customize their Internet Explorer searches. Story from Red Herring and Forbes.

Karen Writes: “I am just a citizen concerned about the mis-classification of James Frey’s “non-fiction novel” A Million Little Pieces. I feel the author and publisher should not be the authority over where the book is positioned in our nation’s libraries. I feel it should be re-classified and moved to the fiction shelves. I have written to the American Library Association, but have not received any response. Please tell me if this is a valid endeavor? Am I the only one who cares about the integrity of book classifications in our libraries?

I just feel strongly that unsuspecting library patrons in future years will be mislead by this book if it remains in the non-fiction stacks. The author initially wrote this book and pitched to publishers as a novel and has admitted fabricating key portions. I am saddened that major opinion makers such as Oprah Winfrey say it is no big deal to pass off fiction as fact. I am amazed that librarians have not spoken out in this public debate. But maybe I am alone in my concerns.“

I met up with two non-book people this past weekend (lawyers), who cannot believe the number of headlines/stories/TV segments and overall attention to the scandal over James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces.” Links from Arts Journal

What About Frey’s Enablers? – The New York Times 01/28/06

Who’s Responsible? – Boston Globe 01/28/06

Warning Labels – Truth In Memoirism? – BookStandard 01/26/06

First Oprah, Now Frey’s Publisher Rebukes Author – BookStandard 01/26/06

Oprah: I was Wrong To Defend Frey – The New York Times 01/26/06

Readers Sue Frey For “Wasted Time” – Seattle Times 01/25/06

Question: Do you think too much is being made of the story? Is the ‘buzz’ just part of the ‘biz’?