Tania

Mormon fiction novel written off by retailers

Bob Cox writes;

Nita Stansfield considers herself a spiritual writer, and others have called her a pioneer of Mormon fiction for her ability to construct chaste but romantic novels that have moralistic lessons that appeal to conservative readers.

But her longtime publisher, Covenant Communications Inc., has refused to pick up her latest book, arguing “The Captain of Her Heart” includes offensive material inappropriate for a Christian audience.
Covenant, which has published all 25 of her books, refused to back the romance novel because its protagonist has premarital sex, Stansfield said. And two major Mormon book retailers have said they won’t stock the book even though Stansfield created her own company to publish the book.

The book nobody read

nbruce writes “You can listen to an interesting book story on NPR as Robert Siegel interviews author Owen Gingerich who tells the story of his new book, The book nobody read. He tells how he tracked down the copies of On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, written in the 1500s by Nicolaus Copernicus. There is also an opportunity to listen to Gingerich reading from the book. He notes that most important libraries seemed to own copies and the readers were the top scientists of the era–this being determined by notes in the margins.”

Bronte letters on web

Charles Davis writes;

Letters from the famous Bronte sisters and their friends form
part of a new website.

Among the Bronte correspondence are letters written by
Charlotte Bronte on her deathbed including one to her friend
Amelia Ringrose.

The letters on-line form part of a new women’s history project
His to Her Story.

The website contains archive material relating to women
through the ages and the role they have played in history.

Ruth Sharpe, project co-ordinator, said to read these letters
was a opportunity to learn about the Brontes in their own
words and gain an insight into the personalities of these
remarkable women.

The Bronte Parsonage Museum, at Haworth is open seven
days a week and can be contacted on 01535 642323.

The website address is: http://www.bronte.info/. Read the full story.

Controversial pay rise for Australian librarians

Although dated in 2002, this article from The Age, an Australian newspaper, outlines the reasons for the decision to grant librarians in News South Wales a pay increase. The decision was extremely controversial and has not yet spread to other states in Australia.

Have there been any similar situations in other countries? Read the article here and make a comment.

NPS librarian earns top federal honor

Bob Cox writes:

The stern lady in the dowdy dress with fingers to her lips, shushing her patrons, no longer fits the image of today’s librarian, according to Lillian Woon Gassie, senior systems librarian at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.

“I tend to be a nontraditional librarian,” Gassie said. “I call myself a geek.”

Gassie, 45, has been named national federal librarian of the year for 2003 by the Federal Library information Center Committee in recognition of “innovative leadership and professionalism in the promotion and development of library and information services” at the postgraduate school.”. Read the full story.

Poverty plagues school libraries

Gary D. Price writes:

At Mariposa Elementary School in Redlands, students scouring the school library for books on the space program can find them tomes that date back to 1965.

“We have books on the space program written in 1965 before man even walked on the moon,” said John DeLandtsheer, the school’s principal. “We’ve pulled those books. There’s current literature out there that kids need. We want them to be able to check out two books a week.”

However, funding for new library books is scarce. The school once had $11,000 a year for library books. Now it has $2,000.

While PTA fund-raising and some federal funding help offset the cost of library books, the school still “needs at least three to four times that much,” DeLandtsheer said.

Like DeLandtsheer, many educators remember when California’s school libraries received about $28 per student to stock library shelves. Now that funding is at its lowest ever $1.41 per student when the national average is about $20. As a result, school libraries have fewer books and less money to buy new ones making it harder to encourage students to read on their own.

Until 2001, schools got about $28 per student based on average daily attendance earmarked for library books. That amount has all but disappeared.

For Valerie Lichtman, being the librarian for the Rim of the World Unified School District isn’t easy, trying to keep Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss books stocked and available.

More.

Not your father’s library

Gary Price writes:

Walk onto any of the expansive levels of the new Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources, and crystal clear views of the Valparaiso University campus can be seen through walls of windows.

Freshly delivered furniture is stored at the edge of rooms, empty shelves wait for books and construction tools still occupy some almost-finished spaces. A lot of work must be done by the August opening, but it’s already evident that the library of the future is a far cry from VU’s library of the past.

Students and faculty, who have been daily spectators of the library’s progress, are buzzing with excitement. They know the impressive $33 million structure marks a new era at VU.

“I think it will definitely serve as the hub of intellectual life on campus. It is designed to be friendly and inviting. That’s what you need for this kind of center of learning,” said David Rowland, dean of graduate studies and continuing education, who recently toured the Christopher Center.”

Read more here.

Religious book sales rise

slashgirl writes: I read this article in my provincial paper, but had to find another on-line source for it as it’s paid subscription only for our paper on-line.

‘Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” is a million-selling historical thriller that has angered Catholics by attacking the clergy and implying Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.

Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” is a brutal box-office hit that has angered Jewish and Christian leaders, who allege that the movie could encourage anti-Semitism.

As theology, they have little in common. But as phenomena, they have had a common effect, driving sales for a wave of Christian-themed books, some of them highly controversial.’

The rest of the story is here

Photocopies don’t violate law

slashgirl wrote in with this Toronto Star article:
"Libraries that let patrons photocopy their holdings are not automatically violating copyright law, says the Supreme Court of Canada. In a 9-0 decision today, the court rejected a claim that the Law Society of Upper Canada, the governing body for Ontario lawyers, was acting illegally by providing photocopy services at its Toronto library." Update: 03/07 22:59 EST by J: formatting fixed.

World’s smallest book on show

Charles Davis writes Story from BBC NEWS
The world’s smallest book just one millimetre square is among a number of unusual volumes on display at Aberystwyth to mark World Book Day.

Old King Cole, a 12-page book of the famous nursery rhyme, is part of an exhibition at The National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth. The miniscule volume is one of only 85 copies printed by Scottish publishers in 1985 and can only be read using a microscope.

Among the other rare books on public view are the oldest book printed using moveable type in the 15th Century, the first printed book in Welsh, and also the smallest book in Welsh.

Sion Jobbins, marketing officer at the library, said the books would be on display for the next two weeks.