Globish: How the English language became the world's language by Robert McCrum.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thoughts on e-books
No vlog this week -- it has been pretty busy! I'm also in the middle of a great book, and I'd like to finish it before I post anything more about it.
In the meantime, I thought I'd pull something similar to what I did a couple of weeks ago in my TED post, where I talk about something that's not necessarily related to the Library itself, but to librarianship in general.
It's not that there's nothing going on in the Library. Quite the opposite, actually -- big things are happening, as my last post soliciting feedback on the computer area kind of hints. The trouble is, those big things are not yet definite enough to unveil to the general public. Give it another few weeks.
Now, back to this week. I've been thinking a lot about e-books lately, mostly because I'm looking at the newest Kindle and thinking very hard.
Funnily enough, people tend to assume that I'm virulently opposed to e-books, either because I'm a librarian, a hard-core reader, or both. It's as though the concept of a print book and an electronic book are mutually repellent and work like a pair of magnets with their positive poles facing each other.
In practice, things don't work out that way. We have around 220,000 print books in the collection, and another 20 or 30,000 electronic books. Miraculously, the dissolution of the building has maintained the same steady pace it has for the past three decades, rather than flying apart in the force of the reaction resulting from the enlargement of our e-book collection.
Librarians in general tend to be realists. We see the writing on the wall very clearly and are working to anticipate emergent trends in how our collection is used. This does not necessarily mean that we will eventually be buying nothing but electronic books; the general consensus in Library World is that print books will likely not be disappearing any time soon, if ever. Why? Check out my ALA report post from last July; a good summary of current thinking can be found in the Strategic future of print collections section.
So print books aren't going away. Why am I looking at Kindles?
The truth is, I'm a large-volume reader, which is kind of a pun, because a) I read a large volume of books, often simultaneously, and b) a lot of the books I like to read are, in fact, large volumes. As in, they're big. I picked up our copy of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett last week because a friend of mine enthusiastically recommended it, and got into it right away. However, I found myself frustrated by a couple of things. First, the book was falling apart, for two obvious reasons: Use and size. Larger books have shorter usable lives and when they're used quite a bit, as Pillars has been -- it's been checked out 53 times since we got it, a pretty high number for the subject matter -- they fall apart faster. The bookbinding technique most commonly employed these days relies a lot on glue, and it simply isn't strong enough to support books larger than, say, 500 pages after a certain period of time. Pillars is 973 pages long.
The second thing that frustrated me about Pillars is that nearly all of my daily reading takes place outside my home, whether on the Metro or in the local coffee franchise, and Pillars is far from portable. The experience suffered so much that I gave up less than 10 pages in. This I find tragic.
Then I thought a little bit more. Getting an e-book reader negates nearly everything negative about my encounter with Pillars of the Earth, and also displays a net positive: No trees have to die for another 973-page copy to be printed, fall apart in 10 years, and discarded. The same is true with all of the other larger books I've read since I started working at the Gallaudet University Library, up to and including Stephen King's Under the Dome.
"But what about the Library?" you ask. "If Gallaudet's copy is falling apart, are you going to get another one? Will it be print or electronic?"
The answer's easy: Yes, and it will be print. The book's simply been used too much; it would be penalizing success if we were to remove it from the collection altogether, and it's a good book besides. And although we can't do anything about the size of the book -- it's just the way things are -- the environmental argument is answered quite handily by the book's circulation numbers; that's 53 copies that weren't bought, worn out, and discarded because ours took that bullet.
It won't be electronic, though; although that would be nice, our e-books aren't very ideal for leisure reading. They're adequate for research purposes (albeit limited and a tad annoying to use -- see e-Books: How do they work?), but nobody wants to stare at their computer screen for an intensive reading session that's supposed to be fun.
There are other options for libraries, of course; OverDrive is a popular platform that lets libraries "lend" e-book copies that can be read on readers like the Nook and Sony's line of eReaders, for instance. It sounds fantastic, but although they support a huge range of e-reading products up to and including MP3 players (for audiobooks), they don't support the Amazon Kindle. This is simply incredible, given that the Kindle is one of the most popular e-book readers out there, bar none. I know more Kindle users on campus than I do for the iPad. There are a number of reasons why something like this happens, up to and including Amazon's habit of digitally-protecting their content so it can't be read on anything other than something that runs Kindle software (again, refer to e-book post linked above), but it does illustrate a basic problem: platform support.
Although eBrary (and our other e-book providers) isn't perfect, it works on all Internet-connected desktop and laptop computers, and those, at least, are ubiquitous.
There's also an upside for Library users, if I get a Kindle: I may use it to read my own copies of new Library books, freeing those new books up for you to check out! Something to think about ...
Until next week, anyway, when I'll be back with a vlog. This one'll be good!
In the meantime, I thought I'd pull something similar to what I did a couple of weeks ago in my TED post, where I talk about something that's not necessarily related to the Library itself, but to librarianship in general.
It's not that there's nothing going on in the Library. Quite the opposite, actually -- big things are happening, as my last post soliciting feedback on the computer area kind of hints. The trouble is, those big things are not yet definite enough to unveil to the general public. Give it another few weeks.
Now, back to this week. I've been thinking a lot about e-books lately, mostly because I'm looking at the newest Kindle and thinking very hard.
Funnily enough, people tend to assume that I'm virulently opposed to e-books, either because I'm a librarian, a hard-core reader, or both. It's as though the concept of a print book and an electronic book are mutually repellent and work like a pair of magnets with their positive poles facing each other.
In practice, things don't work out that way. We have around 220,000 print books in the collection, and another 20 or 30,000 electronic books. Miraculously, the dissolution of the building has maintained the same steady pace it has for the past three decades, rather than flying apart in the force of the reaction resulting from the enlargement of our e-book collection.
Librarians in general tend to be realists. We see the writing on the wall very clearly and are working to anticipate emergent trends in how our collection is used. This does not necessarily mean that we will eventually be buying nothing but electronic books; the general consensus in Library World is that print books will likely not be disappearing any time soon, if ever. Why? Check out my ALA report post from last July; a good summary of current thinking can be found in the Strategic future of print collections section.
So print books aren't going away. Why am I looking at Kindles?
The truth is, I'm a large-volume reader, which is kind of a pun, because a) I read a large volume of books, often simultaneously, and b) a lot of the books I like to read are, in fact, large volumes. As in, they're big. I picked up our copy of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett last week because a friend of mine enthusiastically recommended it, and got into it right away. However, I found myself frustrated by a couple of things. First, the book was falling apart, for two obvious reasons: Use and size. Larger books have shorter usable lives and when they're used quite a bit, as Pillars has been -- it's been checked out 53 times since we got it, a pretty high number for the subject matter -- they fall apart faster. The bookbinding technique most commonly employed these days relies a lot on glue, and it simply isn't strong enough to support books larger than, say, 500 pages after a certain period of time. Pillars is 973 pages long.
The second thing that frustrated me about Pillars is that nearly all of my daily reading takes place outside my home, whether on the Metro or in the local coffee franchise, and Pillars is far from portable. The experience suffered so much that I gave up less than 10 pages in. This I find tragic.
Then I thought a little bit more. Getting an e-book reader negates nearly everything negative about my encounter with Pillars of the Earth, and also displays a net positive: No trees have to die for another 973-page copy to be printed, fall apart in 10 years, and discarded. The same is true with all of the other larger books I've read since I started working at the Gallaudet University Library, up to and including Stephen King's Under the Dome.
"But what about the Library?" you ask. "If Gallaudet's copy is falling apart, are you going to get another one? Will it be print or electronic?"
The answer's easy: Yes, and it will be print. The book's simply been used too much; it would be penalizing success if we were to remove it from the collection altogether, and it's a good book besides. And although we can't do anything about the size of the book -- it's just the way things are -- the environmental argument is answered quite handily by the book's circulation numbers; that's 53 copies that weren't bought, worn out, and discarded because ours took that bullet.
It won't be electronic, though; although that would be nice, our e-books aren't very ideal for leisure reading. They're adequate for research purposes (albeit limited and a tad annoying to use -- see e-Books: How do they work?), but nobody wants to stare at their computer screen for an intensive reading session that's supposed to be fun.
There are other options for libraries, of course; OverDrive is a popular platform that lets libraries "lend" e-book copies that can be read on readers like the Nook and Sony's line of eReaders, for instance. It sounds fantastic, but although they support a huge range of e-reading products up to and including MP3 players (for audiobooks), they don't support the Amazon Kindle. This is simply incredible, given that the Kindle is one of the most popular e-book readers out there, bar none. I know more Kindle users on campus than I do for the iPad. There are a number of reasons why something like this happens, up to and including Amazon's habit of digitally-protecting their content so it can't be read on anything other than something that runs Kindle software (again, refer to e-book post linked above), but it does illustrate a basic problem: platform support.
Although eBrary (and our other e-book providers) isn't perfect, it works on all Internet-connected desktop and laptop computers, and those, at least, are ubiquitous.
There's also an upside for Library users, if I get a Kindle: I may use it to read my own copies of new Library books, freeing those new books up for you to check out! Something to think about ...
Until next week, anyway, when I'll be back with a vlog. This one'll be good!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Feedback and Facebook
This will be a quick post, I promise -- just two things.
First, if you've ever used our first floor on a regular basis -- specifically, the public computers by the Service Desk -- and hate it, now's a great time to tell us why, and how you'd like to see it changed! We're in the process of figuring out how that area could be improved, and will have a survey available in a week or two, but you can always start thinking about it (and speaking up) now!
Second, did you know that the Library has a Facebook page? We're a bit of a dark horse compared to some other Gallaudet departments, of course, but it's there and we do update it! We got off to a slow start a few months ago, but we've been picking up speed in terms of what we add to it; heck, I'm going to spend the week posting random things to the page. You should take a look! And maybe, uh, like us? Please?
Okay, that's it for now. I'll post again later this week, either a blog or a vlog. Which one? Stay tuned and find out!
First, if you've ever used our first floor on a regular basis -- specifically, the public computers by the Service Desk -- and hate it, now's a great time to tell us why, and how you'd like to see it changed! We're in the process of figuring out how that area could be improved, and will have a survey available in a week or two, but you can always start thinking about it (and speaking up) now!
Second, did you know that the Library has a Facebook page? We're a bit of a dark horse compared to some other Gallaudet departments, of course, but it's there and we do update it! We got off to a slow start a few months ago, but we've been picking up speed in terms of what we add to it; heck, I'm going to spend the week posting random things to the page. You should take a look! And maybe, uh, like us? Please?
Okay, that's it for now. I'll post again later this week, either a blog or a vlog. Which one? Stay tuned and find out!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Vlog review: Doubleheader!
Note: Due to technical difficulties, this video cuts off rather abruptly. Many apologies for that, but nothing interesting is missing.
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman, and The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman, and The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Meet TED
Well.
One could say, I suppose, that this winter is in severe danger of resembling last year. We got whacked with several inches of snow within a few hours on Wednesday night in a thunderous storm that was preceded by heavy rain, then sleet, then heavy wet snow that hit precisely at rush hour. Predictably, this made everyone's lives miserable; there were reports of 13-hour commutes over at the Capital Weather Gang's blog at the Post.
That didn't happen to any of us at the Library, though; those of us who drove were able to leave early enough to miss most of the traffic, and the rest relied on the Metro, which was still running. Our terrific student assistants helped make sure the Library stayed open through the storm until our regular closing time at midnight. And although Gallaudet opened two hours late yesterday morning, the assistants also helped make sure we were open on time!
Now that I'm here and working away, I've realized exactly how much I have to do -- more information will be forthcoming in a future blog post -- and have decided that, as a little mental break from the Library, I'm going to wander a little off-topic in today's post.
Have you ever heard of TED?
Not the person. I don't think I know a Ted, actually. I mean the annual conferences known as TED: Technology, Entertainment, Design.
TED is a little hard to define, although you can certainly start with the three words that make up the acronym. Essentially, TED's focus is on the sharing of new and interesting ideas. Most of these ideas are about different ways of doing or thinking about things, some of which can be called revolutionary and others of which are just fascinating on general principle. All of the talks are given by various people who may be well-known in their areas or remain unrecognized but significant.
All are recorded on video and nearly all videos have subtitles available in multiple languages, including English, thanks to their Open Translation Project. Actually, TED makes a point of ensuring that all videos are subtitled in English, so the accessibility is great!
One of my favorite examples of TED's ideals is Temple Grandin's talk, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds." Identified as a person with autism at a young age, she's become one of the most widely-recognized experts on animal behavior and humane processing-facility design. Although this means she makes slaughterhouses less upsetting for cows and pigs, it's indicative of how differently she perceives the world, and she goes into detail about that in this talk, which is essentially an argument for neurodiversity. There are many different kinds of minds, she says, and weaknesses in areas that are perceived to be important may actually lead to surprising strengths in other areas that are no less significant for their obscurity.
Grandin's speech is just one example of many absolutely fascinating talks that I've spent hours watching. They cover every topic from women who are reshaping the world to food-related matters to the science of longevity. Really. It's better than TV.
On a note that may be somewhat closer to home, TED also supports smaller, independent TED conferences around the world that focus on local issues, known as TEDx events. Sometimes they're about issues affecting a country like TEDxAddis out of Ethiopia (for which I am anxiously awaiting videos), a city like TEDxPusan out of South Korea, or a specific group of people, like TEDxIslay.
Yes, there was a TEDx event for deaf people, in Austin, Texas, last May, and the talks are fascinating. Linda Bove on artistic expression, Wayne Betts on seeing the world as a filmmaker, Danny Lacey on sharing ideas ... the list goes on. Gallaudet had a strong representation at the conference, too; talks were presented by Alim Chandani, Michelle McAuliffe, Robert Sirvage, and Josh Swiller, all of whom work in various departments here.
So that's all way cool. Why am I posting about it?
Because although my focus is on the Gallaudet Library and the resources we provide, I do keep an eye out for resources in the wider world that are both available and accessible -- and interesting. The creation of new ideas is a value that's held in common by all libraries in one way or another, and TED, including TEDx, addresses this aspect of human nature on a grander scale. My decision to write about this was bolstered by TEDxIslay, as well; deaf people can play, too!
No vlog this week -- lots to do. Next week, though, will net you a doubleheader!
One could say, I suppose, that this winter is in severe danger of resembling last year. We got whacked with several inches of snow within a few hours on Wednesday night in a thunderous storm that was preceded by heavy rain, then sleet, then heavy wet snow that hit precisely at rush hour. Predictably, this made everyone's lives miserable; there were reports of 13-hour commutes over at the Capital Weather Gang's blog at the Post.
That didn't happen to any of us at the Library, though; those of us who drove were able to leave early enough to miss most of the traffic, and the rest relied on the Metro, which was still running. Our terrific student assistants helped make sure the Library stayed open through the storm until our regular closing time at midnight. And although Gallaudet opened two hours late yesterday morning, the assistants also helped make sure we were open on time!
Now that I'm here and working away, I've realized exactly how much I have to do -- more information will be forthcoming in a future blog post -- and have decided that, as a little mental break from the Library, I'm going to wander a little off-topic in today's post.
Have you ever heard of TED?
Not the person. I don't think I know a Ted, actually. I mean the annual conferences known as TED: Technology, Entertainment, Design.
TED is a little hard to define, although you can certainly start with the three words that make up the acronym. Essentially, TED's focus is on the sharing of new and interesting ideas. Most of these ideas are about different ways of doing or thinking about things, some of which can be called revolutionary and others of which are just fascinating on general principle. All of the talks are given by various people who may be well-known in their areas or remain unrecognized but significant.
All are recorded on video and nearly all videos have subtitles available in multiple languages, including English, thanks to their Open Translation Project. Actually, TED makes a point of ensuring that all videos are subtitled in English, so the accessibility is great!
One of my favorite examples of TED's ideals is Temple Grandin's talk, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds." Identified as a person with autism at a young age, she's become one of the most widely-recognized experts on animal behavior and humane processing-facility design. Although this means she makes slaughterhouses less upsetting for cows and pigs, it's indicative of how differently she perceives the world, and she goes into detail about that in this talk, which is essentially an argument for neurodiversity. There are many different kinds of minds, she says, and weaknesses in areas that are perceived to be important may actually lead to surprising strengths in other areas that are no less significant for their obscurity.
Grandin's speech is just one example of many absolutely fascinating talks that I've spent hours watching. They cover every topic from women who are reshaping the world to food-related matters to the science of longevity. Really. It's better than TV.
On a note that may be somewhat closer to home, TED also supports smaller, independent TED conferences around the world that focus on local issues, known as TEDx events. Sometimes they're about issues affecting a country like TEDxAddis out of Ethiopia (for which I am anxiously awaiting videos), a city like TEDxPusan out of South Korea, or a specific group of people, like TEDxIslay.
Yes, there was a TEDx event for deaf people, in Austin, Texas, last May, and the talks are fascinating. Linda Bove on artistic expression, Wayne Betts on seeing the world as a filmmaker, Danny Lacey on sharing ideas ... the list goes on. Gallaudet had a strong representation at the conference, too; talks were presented by Alim Chandani, Michelle McAuliffe, Robert Sirvage, and Josh Swiller, all of whom work in various departments here.
So that's all way cool. Why am I posting about it?
Because although my focus is on the Gallaudet Library and the resources we provide, I do keep an eye out for resources in the wider world that are both available and accessible -- and interesting. The creation of new ideas is a value that's held in common by all libraries in one way or another, and TED, including TEDx, addresses this aspect of human nature on a grander scale. My decision to write about this was bolstered by TEDxIslay, as well; deaf people can play, too!
No vlog this week -- lots to do. Next week, though, will net you a doubleheader!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Some Web site changes
The Spring semester has begun!
Of course, on the very first school day of 2011, we had a big ice storm move through the area, and Gallaudet opened 2 hours later than normal. However, we were able to open on schedule because we had a pair of librarians here! Some students were quite relieved to discover this. Others wondered whether or not the storm was a sign of things to come; many who were here around this time last year remember the large snowstorms that hit us during the first and second weeks of February and shut campus down for a solid week. Coincidence or omen?
You decide. But read The Drunkard's Walk first (if you like coincidences, note the date on that blog post!).
In the meantime, the Library is ready for Spring 2011! We've spent the break mostly working on our internal processes and figuring out ways to make some things easier. You may have noticed that our home page, library.gallaudet.edu, looks a little bit different, for example (example? It's the topic of this post!). We've cleaned it up, gotten rid of redundant links, and tossed the "Library News" section altogether. It wasn't getting updated, and most news were being posted in this blog and in the "Announcements" box anyway, so it was just clutter. Instead, we've relocated our site-wide search box into that space.
On a somewhat deeper level, we've gotten rid of all the links that led to more or less the same place: ALADIN. We realized that people were getting confused between ALADIN Discovery (which is our catalog), ALADIN (which is the portal page that leads to all of our electronic resources), and the electronic databases linked to through ALADIN.
Instead, we've gotten rid of links to ALADIN entirely and made the article databases more accessible directly from the drop-down list on library.gallaudet.edu (first thing in the "Research Help" box on the left-hand side). Part of that included just making the list more readable -- no more "Multi-Subject: Articles." The only question that remains is whether or not the removal of the ALADIN link will actually alleviate confusion or exacerbate it. We'll be keeping a close eye on how you all respond to this change over the next couple of weeks.
We've also brought the Classic Catalog forward through a link from the main page. We've all found that, because of some oddities, there are some items from certain other WRLC universities that don't play well with the consortial loan system, so can't be requested through ALADIN Discovery -- but work just fine through Classic. Until that's been smoothed out, Classic's a good alternative when requesting books or articles from other schools in WRLC.
Right now, there's just a link to Classic -- it's not searchable from library.gallaudet.edu. You'll have to click on the link and then search when the new window pops up. I'm working on a solution to this, but it may take a teeny while.
Finally, we've also hopefully solved one of the biggest wellsprings of confusion for students: opening hours. You'll see right in the middle of the page that we have our hours for each day listed. Those hours are updated automatically, which makes our lives (and hopefully yours, too) easier; our thanks go to WRLC and their Library Systems department for that!
Let's see ... what else?
I think that more or less covers it for the time being. Work is continuing in increments; nothing huge has changed. Hopefully it's less annoying to use the home page, but as always, that depends on your feedback! Tell us what you think.
You're getting a vlog later this week; this I vow.
Of course, on the very first school day of 2011, we had a big ice storm move through the area, and Gallaudet opened 2 hours later than normal. However, we were able to open on schedule because we had a pair of librarians here! Some students were quite relieved to discover this. Others wondered whether or not the storm was a sign of things to come; many who were here around this time last year remember the large snowstorms that hit us during the first and second weeks of February and shut campus down for a solid week. Coincidence or omen?
You decide. But read The Drunkard's Walk first (if you like coincidences, note the date on that blog post!).
In the meantime, the Library is ready for Spring 2011! We've spent the break mostly working on our internal processes and figuring out ways to make some things easier. You may have noticed that our home page, library.gallaudet.edu, looks a little bit different, for example (example? It's the topic of this post!). We've cleaned it up, gotten rid of redundant links, and tossed the "Library News" section altogether. It wasn't getting updated, and most news were being posted in this blog and in the "Announcements" box anyway, so it was just clutter. Instead, we've relocated our site-wide search box into that space.
On a somewhat deeper level, we've gotten rid of all the links that led to more or less the same place: ALADIN. We realized that people were getting confused between ALADIN Discovery (which is our catalog), ALADIN (which is the portal page that leads to all of our electronic resources), and the electronic databases linked to through ALADIN.
Instead, we've gotten rid of links to ALADIN entirely and made the article databases more accessible directly from the drop-down list on library.gallaudet.edu (first thing in the "Research Help" box on the left-hand side). Part of that included just making the list more readable -- no more "Multi-Subject: Articles." The only question that remains is whether or not the removal of the ALADIN link will actually alleviate confusion or exacerbate it. We'll be keeping a close eye on how you all respond to this change over the next couple of weeks.
We've also brought the Classic Catalog forward through a link from the main page. We've all found that, because of some oddities, there are some items from certain other WRLC universities that don't play well with the consortial loan system, so can't be requested through ALADIN Discovery -- but work just fine through Classic. Until that's been smoothed out, Classic's a good alternative when requesting books or articles from other schools in WRLC.
Right now, there's just a link to Classic -- it's not searchable from library.gallaudet.edu. You'll have to click on the link and then search when the new window pops up. I'm working on a solution to this, but it may take a teeny while.
Finally, we've also hopefully solved one of the biggest wellsprings of confusion for students: opening hours. You'll see right in the middle of the page that we have our hours for each day listed. Those hours are updated automatically, which makes our lives (and hopefully yours, too) easier; our thanks go to WRLC and their Library Systems department for that!
Let's see ... what else?
I think that more or less covers it for the time being. Work is continuing in increments; nothing huge has changed. Hopefully it's less annoying to use the home page, but as always, that depends on your feedback! Tell us what you think.
You're getting a vlog later this week; this I vow.
Friday, January 14, 2011
More new books!
I'm back from San Diego, slightly jet-lagged and thunderstruck, but otherwise okay! Since it's such a short week and there's a lot to do, I won't be posting a vlog until next week. Instead, we just got a cart groaning with new books, so I'll do another new-book post for this week.
It'll also serve a dual purpose: many of these books are going straight onto my reading list for future vlogs, and posting this will help me remember them -- my memory short-circuits with each wave of new items.
China and English
This is a collection of essays about the role that English is increasingly taking on in China because of a number of factors, including close financial ties with the U.S. and English's rise as a global language, and its impact on Chinese national and cultural identity.
Globish: How the English language became the world's language
The term lingua franca refers to a language used to communicate between people who don't share a mother tongue. Originally used to refer to French -- once the language of trade, politics, and culture -- the term now applies to English, which has started to work as a common global language. This book traces how English came to be and the various factors behind its spread.
One word: Contemporary writers on the words they love and loathe
Is there a word that irritates you every time you see or hear it? Or a word you love? If so, you're not alone in your exacting tastes; a number of authors come together in this collection of essays on words they either wish were used more or were abolished from the language entirely.
Voice of America: Stories
A collection of short stories, this book covers different events taking place in either Nigeria or the U.S. among Nigerian immigrants. I'm pretty excited about this one -- I've heard many fantastic reviews.
Terror and wonder: Architecture in a tumultuous age
The attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 serves as a demarcation in the history of modern architecture, both as an instigator of security measures that reshape the buildings of Washington, DC, and as an instance of destruction just before a decade-long period of creation, in which the world saw an unparalleled building boom.
Makeshift metropolis: Ideas about cities
In the tradition of Jane Jacobs' Death and Life of Great American Cities (mentioned in a brief review here), this book considers the history of urban development, the current state of planning and design trends, and the possible future of the American city.
The 100 best African-American poems (*but I cheated)
A collection of (slightly more than) 100 poems written by African Americans that are generally recognized as the best at characterizing the African-American experience in the U.S., in many different ways.
German: Biography of a language
Did you know that English is actually Germanic in origin? Or that the German state didn't fully unify into a single country until 1871? The history of the German language is closely intertwined with that of our own -- as the history of German culture is with ours.
Triumvirate: McKim, Mead, & White: Art, architecture, scandal, and class in America's Gilded Age
A bit of a lengthy title, but then the subject is rather involved. One of America's leading architectural firms in 1920s New York was led by a group of three men who led wildly different lives but together updated the American aesthetic with buildings like the second Madison Square Garden and the original Pennsylvania Station. The differences between the three men makes it clear that they're worth a book of their own: a pragmatist, a tragic figure, and a murdered sybarite.
Okay, wish list filed with the appropriate authorities. Next week, we'll take a look at what's going on in the Library and, as promised, there'll be a vlog. See you then!
It'll also serve a dual purpose: many of these books are going straight onto my reading list for future vlogs, and posting this will help me remember them -- my memory short-circuits with each wave of new items.
China and English
This is a collection of essays about the role that English is increasingly taking on in China because of a number of factors, including close financial ties with the U.S. and English's rise as a global language, and its impact on Chinese national and cultural identity.
Globish: How the English language became the world's language
The term lingua franca refers to a language used to communicate between people who don't share a mother tongue. Originally used to refer to French -- once the language of trade, politics, and culture -- the term now applies to English, which has started to work as a common global language. This book traces how English came to be and the various factors behind its spread.
One word: Contemporary writers on the words they love and loathe
Is there a word that irritates you every time you see or hear it? Or a word you love? If so, you're not alone in your exacting tastes; a number of authors come together in this collection of essays on words they either wish were used more or were abolished from the language entirely.
Voice of America: Stories
A collection of short stories, this book covers different events taking place in either Nigeria or the U.S. among Nigerian immigrants. I'm pretty excited about this one -- I've heard many fantastic reviews.
Terror and wonder: Architecture in a tumultuous age
The attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 serves as a demarcation in the history of modern architecture, both as an instigator of security measures that reshape the buildings of Washington, DC, and as an instance of destruction just before a decade-long period of creation, in which the world saw an unparalleled building boom.
Makeshift metropolis: Ideas about cities
In the tradition of Jane Jacobs' Death and Life of Great American Cities (mentioned in a brief review here), this book considers the history of urban development, the current state of planning and design trends, and the possible future of the American city.
The 100 best African-American poems (*but I cheated)
A collection of (slightly more than) 100 poems written by African Americans that are generally recognized as the best at characterizing the African-American experience in the U.S., in many different ways.
German: Biography of a language
Did you know that English is actually Germanic in origin? Or that the German state didn't fully unify into a single country until 1871? The history of the German language is closely intertwined with that of our own -- as the history of German culture is with ours.
Triumvirate: McKim, Mead, & White: Art, architecture, scandal, and class in America's Gilded Age
A bit of a lengthy title, but then the subject is rather involved. One of America's leading architectural firms in 1920s New York was led by a group of three men who led wildly different lives but together updated the American aesthetic with buildings like the second Madison Square Garden and the original Pennsylvania Station. The differences between the three men makes it clear that they're worth a book of their own: a pragmatist, a tragic figure, and a murdered sybarite.
Okay, wish list filed with the appropriate authorities. Next week, we'll take a look at what's going on in the Library and, as promised, there'll be a vlog. See you then!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New books!
It's everyone's first week back from the winter break and it kind of shows. The shell-shock hasn't worn off of some staff members as they realize that yes, they need to be here, and yes, they have to do things that don't involve watching movies, reading a book, or hanging out with their friends.
Or maybe I'm the only one. It feels like I was just at the airport, waiting for my flight to Florida, and now I'm getting ready for another flight, this one to San Diego. Yup, I'm leaving tomorrow for the American Library Association's MidWinter Meeting, which ought to be both fun and interesting. It's a little different from the Annual Conference, which happens in June; that one has more programs and workshops, while this one has meetings and discussion groups. I'm looking forward to learning more about how ALA works and from other librarians about how they're doing things differently from -- and maybe better than -- how we do things.
Of course, the fact that it's in Southern California doesn't hurt. Nor does the fact that there will also be an exhibition hall, at which free books will be given out. I'm planning to pack light -- need some room for those books!
In the meantime, I thought I'd hold you all over until late next week with a listing of new books. We've begun ordering, and because of various reasons, have streamlined the process so things move a little more quickly, which means books are arriving on the shelves already!
American insurgents by T.H. Breen
Fascinating analysis of the American Revolution in terms of a grassroots revolution: it was quite literally an insurgency against the British Crown. This helps paint the Revolution in a different light, and makes it considerably more a product of daily life in the colonies -- and how that daily life was overturned by violence.
Dew breaker by Edwidge Danticat
The famed Haitian author comes back with the powerful story of a Haitian immigrant whose past is not what he told his daughter it was -- and how it comes back, little by little, in glances of recognition on the streets of a city far away and in stories told to children. As a hint, the term "dew breaker" refers to an agent of the government who comes early in the morning to arrest someone or burn down a house -- breaking the dew on the grass.
The half-made world by Felix Gilman
From the author of Gears of the City -- which I keep promising to review but keep failing, if only because it's so odd -- comes this new book. Gilman is sort of a steampunk/fantasy author who likes to build universes predicated on different principles than our own. In Gears, his world was based on a large machine that was found in the center of an ancient city; in this one, it's based on two peoples -- one whose power is supernatural, the other mechanical -- who have always been at war, and how that war finally comes to an end.
Lost to the West: The forgotten Byzantine Empire that rescued Western civilization by Lars Brownworth
It can be easy to think that the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance was a veritable eon of darkness for the planet. However, it's a big planet, and even Europe's neighborhood is pretty big. The Byzantine Empire was originally part of the Roman Empire, but persisted after the fall of the West. This book does a fantastic job of portraying the Byzantine Empire's gradual metamorphosis from a Christian dominion to a Muslim sultanate, and exactly how much the history of the West owes to this part of the world.
How to read a word by Elizabeth Knowles
Written by a lexicographer at the Oxford English Dictionary, this book is mostly about how to use a dictionary and understand what it tells you. It sounds boring, but if you're interested in language and how definitions work, this is a great read. It includes a number of fascinating stories on the origins of some words.
Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky
First sentence of this book: "Sometimes, Marie got a little drunk at work." Given that she works as a live-in nanny, the title is probably true to the character. Marie's an ex-con, having served six years for harboring a fugitive ex-boyfriend, and has just gotten out of prison. She's caring for her best friend's daughter while she lives with the family -- but being Bad Marie, of course, things go relatively bad relatively quickly. Fueled by a steady diet of improbable coincidences, this is a pretty fun read.
That covers it for now. We've all ordered quite a few more already, and they should start arriving within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out!
I'll be back next week, most likely with lots of stuff to report.
Or maybe I'm the only one. It feels like I was just at the airport, waiting for my flight to Florida, and now I'm getting ready for another flight, this one to San Diego. Yup, I'm leaving tomorrow for the American Library Association's MidWinter Meeting, which ought to be both fun and interesting. It's a little different from the Annual Conference, which happens in June; that one has more programs and workshops, while this one has meetings and discussion groups. I'm looking forward to learning more about how ALA works and from other librarians about how they're doing things differently from -- and maybe better than -- how we do things.
Of course, the fact that it's in Southern California doesn't hurt. Nor does the fact that there will also be an exhibition hall, at which free books will be given out. I'm planning to pack light -- need some room for those books!
In the meantime, I thought I'd hold you all over until late next week with a listing of new books. We've begun ordering, and because of various reasons, have streamlined the process so things move a little more quickly, which means books are arriving on the shelves already!
American insurgents by T.H. Breen
Fascinating analysis of the American Revolution in terms of a grassroots revolution: it was quite literally an insurgency against the British Crown. This helps paint the Revolution in a different light, and makes it considerably more a product of daily life in the colonies -- and how that daily life was overturned by violence.
Dew breaker by Edwidge Danticat
The famed Haitian author comes back with the powerful story of a Haitian immigrant whose past is not what he told his daughter it was -- and how it comes back, little by little, in glances of recognition on the streets of a city far away and in stories told to children. As a hint, the term "dew breaker" refers to an agent of the government who comes early in the morning to arrest someone or burn down a house -- breaking the dew on the grass.
The half-made world by Felix Gilman
From the author of Gears of the City -- which I keep promising to review but keep failing, if only because it's so odd -- comes this new book. Gilman is sort of a steampunk/fantasy author who likes to build universes predicated on different principles than our own. In Gears, his world was based on a large machine that was found in the center of an ancient city; in this one, it's based on two peoples -- one whose power is supernatural, the other mechanical -- who have always been at war, and how that war finally comes to an end.
Lost to the West: The forgotten Byzantine Empire that rescued Western civilization by Lars Brownworth
It can be easy to think that the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance was a veritable eon of darkness for the planet. However, it's a big planet, and even Europe's neighborhood is pretty big. The Byzantine Empire was originally part of the Roman Empire, but persisted after the fall of the West. This book does a fantastic job of portraying the Byzantine Empire's gradual metamorphosis from a Christian dominion to a Muslim sultanate, and exactly how much the history of the West owes to this part of the world.
How to read a word by Elizabeth Knowles
Written by a lexicographer at the Oxford English Dictionary, this book is mostly about how to use a dictionary and understand what it tells you. It sounds boring, but if you're interested in language and how definitions work, this is a great read. It includes a number of fascinating stories on the origins of some words.
Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky
First sentence of this book: "Sometimes, Marie got a little drunk at work." Given that she works as a live-in nanny, the title is probably true to the character. Marie's an ex-con, having served six years for harboring a fugitive ex-boyfriend, and has just gotten out of prison. She's caring for her best friend's daughter while she lives with the family -- but being Bad Marie, of course, things go relatively bad relatively quickly. Fueled by a steady diet of improbable coincidences, this is a pretty fun read.
That covers it for now. We've all ordered quite a few more already, and they should start arriving within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out!
I'll be back next week, most likely with lots of stuff to report.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Vlog review of Crazy Like Us
NOTE: Zimbabwe is referred to repeatedly. This is incorrect. The section on schizophrenia discusses Zanzibar. Zambia was not present, while Zaire vanished sometime in 1997 and has not been seen since.
Crazy like us: The globalization of the American psyche by Ethan Watters.
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