Jill

A New Atmosphere At Flagship Library

From the Washington Post, all about the newly remodeled
Central
library in Howard County, Maryland.

\”You\’ll smell it in the aroma wafting from the coffee bar. You\’ll feel it
as you settle onto sleek sofas, browse the DVD and CD collections, hook
your laptop into the wired desks. This is not your grandmother\’s
library.\”

Full Story

Egyptian man asking about water system scares Stark librarian

The Plain Dealer from Cleveland reports about research
done at
a local library. The librarian said it was research about diseases
transferred between animals and humans.

\”She remembered that the man said he was from Egypt and had
come to the area to work at Case Farms, a chicken farm in nearby
Holmes County. He also wanted information about water treatment
systems and diseases that could be transferred between humans and
animals.

Fearful, the librarian told her supervisor and the supervisor called
the county prosecutor and the local FBI office Sept. 12 or Sept. 13.
\”

Full
Story

“Literature in Context” Web Resource Will Help Chicagoans Understand Book

A neat web site for learning about literary classics.

From the press release:
\”While Chicagoans are reading To Kill a Mockingbird next week
during the city\’s “One Book One Chicago\’\’ program, they\’ll have an
award-winning resource at their public libraries that helps them to
understand the historical and social context in which the book was
written in the 1950s. \”

See the FULL
STORY
to learn how to access the site.

Books outweigh food in convoy to famine area

This story from The Herald in the UK, reports that UN aid
near the
Afgan border is pouring..well, trotting in by donkey. But much of the
last shipment was books rather than food.

\”What were in most of the boxes? I asked one of the drivers.
\”Ketab,\” he replied, using the Dari word for books.

Some 204,000 books, educational aids, and stationery made up the
bulk of the consignment. Of about 220 tons, only six consisted of food,
a high protein porridge called Unimix.

\”Believe me when I say we are grateful for the books and the
possibility of some education for our children, but it is difficult to go
to school when you are weak or dead from hunger,\” said Haji
Mohammed, an Afghan refugee man from the Panjshir valley, who
was standing nearby. He explained, and apologised at the same time:
\”Books are important, but these things, the food, warm clothes and
medicines, are what will see us through this winter.\”

Full Story

FOOLs lead learning at library

OK, I posted this one because the title caught me eye and it made
me chuckle when I read it….see what you think. 🙂 From the
Oakmont Advance Leader Star:

\”It\’s not too late to become a FOOL. More FOOLs are needed to
continue bringing fun and learning to the children of Oakmont,
Verona and surrounding communities. \”

Full
Story

PBS Announces American Field Guide-An Unprecedented Online Resource

PBS has created a great web site! This is a must see for
public reference staff. From the Press
Release
:

\”The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Oregon Public
Broadcasting (OPB) announce the launch of the AMERICAN FIELD
GUIDE Web site (www.PBS.org/afg). This unparalleled initiative draws on the rich video libraries of
local public television stations, bringing users searchable access to
more than 1,000 online video clips comprising 150 hours of outdoors
productions. This content — available together for the first time ever
— ranges from cliff-climbing in Maine to an intriguing look at the life
of wolves in Yellowstone. An extensive resource area for educators
complements the easy-to-use site.

Nearly 30 local public television stations collaborated to provide
captivating outdoor video content, representing all 50
states.\”

(It does require Real Player.)

Writing for Search Engines

From Search Engine
Watch
comes this article about \”the subject of developing
content for a web site that maintains a good balance between
ranking well in the Search Engines and appeals to the intended
audience.\”
This is a special report from the Search Engine
Strategies 2001 Conference, August 16-17, San Francisco CA.

Lots of
tips and links!

Full Story (scroll down the page a bit to the story)

At Age 30, E-Mail Matures to Adulthood

Reuters reports about e-mail, first invented in 1971. A lot of
good information and history about e-mail.

\”Thirty years on, e-mail has become a vital form of communication
whose usefulness was demonstrated in the during the devastating
attacks on New York and Washington last month. \”

Full Story