NYPL Blogs: Lifelong Learning

Cracking the Code: Learning Computer Programming Languages

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:46:35 -0400

I learned to code when I was in fourth grade. Okay... maybe that's an exaggeration. I learned Logo when I was in elementary school, using an Apple IIe (in the school library, naturally) and later a Macintosh.

Logo is a programming language that was developed as an educational tool for kids. You issue commands to the "turtle" (pictured at left) and receive output as his simple or complex path on the screen. I didn't know it at the time, but I was solving puzzles and making cool geometric patterns because my teachers wanted me to learn how to think about computers and logic. I didn't consider myself to be programming a computer, but just doing an assignment that was half mind-bending, half fun and rewarding.

Right now it seems fashionable to want to learn to program. It is an added skill set that can be of benefit no matter your current career. And if you are more than a casual user of the web it can help you understand how it all works together, which is an important part of strengthening information literacy.

Reading

"Computer Science for the Rest of Us." by Randall Stross. The New York Times, March 31, 2012.
Computational thinking is a skill that transcends traditional academic boundaries. So what do non-Comp Sci majors need to learn before they graduate?
"A Surge in Learning the Language of the Internet." by Jenna Wortham. The New York Times, March 27, 2012.
Night schools and online courses in web development are growing in popularity, and a market has formed to serve these eager new students.
"Where's _why?" by Annie Lowrey. Slate, March 15, 2012.
"Rubyists possess an often exaggerated, yet nevertheless merited, reputation for being the quirky hug-everyone kids of the programming world." One journalist takes time off for a personal project to learn about Ruby, as well as the mysterious disappearance of _why.
"How I Failed, Failed, and Finally Succeeded at Learning How to Code." by James Somers. The Atlantic, June 2011.
Problem solving, the ORIC-1, Project Euler, and learning to program through a program.
"Why Johnny can’t code." by David Brin. Salon, September 14, 2006.
Computer programs today are far more abstracted away from the user then they were in the good old days of BASIC. Why it's important for kids to see the "insides" of a computer and learn how to code.

From the blogosphere:

"Johnny and Jenny Can Code." The Fishbowl, April 3, 2012.
Forget BASIC; right now is the best time to learn, because the most advanced resources are available and affordable.
"Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women." Anne Z., April 1, 2012.
Overview and individual take on the conversation around encouraging girls to develop computer programming and other STEM (Science, technology, engineering, math) skills.

Online tools and resources

Hackasaurus is a tool that was created for tweens, but anyone can play with the "X-Ray Goggles" that let you turn a website inside-out. From there you can "hack" the site to make changes happen before your eyes, and then share the results. The goal is to turn kids into active users instead of passive consumers of the web. Learn more at the next Hackasaurus event at the library!
Codecademy is a multi-week, self-paced course that helps you learn JavaScript by doing, from the most basic lesson to eventually creating a functional Blackjack program or taxi fare calculator.
TryRuby lets you practice right in your browser; download Hackety Hack for Windows, Mac or Linux to create your own programs and games in Ruby to share within the community.
Udacity made headlines when 58,000 people signed up for a free Stanford course on Artificial Intelligence. They now offer classes on "Building a Search Engine," "Design of Computer Programs," "Web Application Engineering," and more.
MIT App Inventor lets you build an informational or recreational app for your Android phone and start using it right away.
Google Code University offers basic introductions to web programming, databases, programming languages, and Linux, as well as more advanced courses for Computer Science students.
Visit ilearnedtoprogram.com for a random snippet of inspiration.
Nostalgic for the reptilian computer language of your youth, like me? You can practice your Logo skills using the applet on this site.

With your library card

Browse downloadable eBooks on "Computer Technology;" includes some titles on programming.

Books on these subjects available at the library

Which computer language do you "speak"? Did you learn it in a formal class or by exploring on your own?

The Jefferson Market Library Free Classroom: Spring 2012

Frank Collerius, Jefferson Market Library — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:54:29 -0500

Jefferson Market Library, in an effort to offer substantive courses that teach the subjects you want to learn, is thrilled to offer its Spring Semester! Each course offers multiple sessions so students can build their knowledge as the course advances, class by class, guided by an experienced professor! And it's all free! Take a look:

Remember (just like in college) — for all courses requiring pre-registration — students are expected to attend all sessions to achieve the maximum learning experience!

March Classes Intro to Screenwriting: The Short Film

Instructor and filmmaker Helen Kaplan leads this immersive workshop that will demystify the art of screenwriting and give you the tools you need to write a great short script in a month. Emphasis will be placed on visual storytelling, the classic three-act structure, plot, character development, conflict, and dialogue. Registration closed - class is FULL. Thank you!

Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
March 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31

April/May Classes French for Beginners

Instructor Muriel Placet-Kouassi will guide first time learners in the basics of the French language — for beginners only! Textbook provided. Registration is closed - class is FULL. Thank you!

Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
April 7, 14, 21 & 28; May 5, 12 & 19

Italian for Beginners

Instructor Caterina Bertolotto leads students through the basics of the Italian language — for beginners! Textbook provided. Registration is closed - class is FULL. Thank you!

Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 12 noon
April 5, 12, 19 & 26; May 3, 10, 17 & 24

Food, Flavors, and Farming

Instructor Ann Yonetani: "This course aspires to be a fun introduction to the science underlying many different aspects of food in our culture. We will examine many current topics and trends in food and gastronomy with a critical eye and will build scientific background knowledge to help sort through today’s dizzying array of food choices. My hope is that this class will aid students in navigating these options, becoming better-informed consumers, and enjoying the daily act of eating." No pre-registration required.

Fridays, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

April 6: The Omnivore's Dilemma: Food Choices and Nutritional Science

April 13: The Wonders of Taste

April 20: The Science of Cooking

April 27: Farming and the Future of Food

History of Italian Cinema

Instructor Monica London introduces the world of Italian Cinema. Films will be screened in full followed by a conversation relating to the film topic and story, starting with masterpieces of postwar neorealism and continuing to the modern era. Films include Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso and Vittoria De Sica's The Bicycle Thief. No pre-registration required.

Wednesdays, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. April 18 & 25; May 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30; June 6

April 18: The Bicylcle Thief (Vittorio DeSica, 1948)

April 25: Divorce, Italian Style (Pietro Germi, 1961)

May 2: Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973)

May 9: A Special Day (Ettore Scola, 1977)

May 16: Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988)

May 23: Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti, 1993)

May 30: The Hundred Steps (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003))

June 6: We Have a Pope (Nanni Moretti, 2011)

New Year's Resolution for 2012: Learn a New Language!

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:26:09 -0500

As 2011 slowly comes to an end, many of us are anxiously waiting for 2012 to arrive! Usually around this time — for some of the ambitious ones — we make New Year's resolutions. Can we actually keep them through the end of the year? Maybe. It depends on your resolutions and the goals you create to achieve them. Some have many resolutions for the year, such as creating and maintaining a new exercise routine, like yoga; learning to play a musical instrument, like the piano; planning a stress-free wedding; seeking employment or better career opportunities; becoming more active in a particular faith; or developing a stronger spiritual connection. Whatever your resolutions, NYPL commends you for recognizing your desire to advance your knowledge and become a lifelong learner.

For this upcoming year, I encourage everyone to learn a new language. (Learning a new language has ranked high in past New Year's resolution lists.) Whether you learned a language in grade school or college; spoke another language at home with your family; or are simply enamored at the sound and beauty of a foreign language — now is the time to either continue where you left off or make a fresh start. Nothing is more impressive and intimate than speaking a foreign language with precision and passion.

Why learn a new language? First, you must ask yourself why you want to learn a particular language — perhaps its a personal interest or a business need — otherwise it will be very easy to quit your resolution. Learning and speaking another language is difficult, but not impossible. Second, you must create goals. Learning a language takes time and, more importantly, patience. A single year will not guarantee fluency, but it will provide a stepping stone for you to thrive linguistically and culturally for years to come. More importantly, think of it is not so much as a destination, but as a journey or hobby that brings pleasure to your. Here are more compelling reasons to learn a new language:

Knowing a second language can improve your job prospects! Whether you are interested in working for the United Nations or simply seeking business opportunities in Spain, knowledge of a foreign language can lead to more professional opportunities.
Today we live in the era of globalization, where U.S. companies are constantly in competition with foreign counterparts. However, not everyone speaks English. If you have the traveling bug, learning another language can expand your horizons in understanding another culture while you travel and connect with the locals.
Learning a language has enormous health benefits for your brain. Scientific studies have concluded that language acquisition may dramatically decrease mental illnesses, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Knowledge of one language can help you learn a more complex language. It will also improve your native language, because it makes you think about translation and how English grammar works.
If you feel a calling to connect with a religion, like Judaism or Islam, you can learn Hebrew to read the Torah or Arabic to read the Quran. Languages can serve as bridges to learning faiths and history.
If you are also planning to return to school for a graduate degree, knowing another language can make you stand out as a candidate in the business, medical, or legal fields; and it is important to know another language for research purposes.

We are not all perfect, and we all learn in different ways. Some are comfortable learning independently, while others are motivated to learn in a classroom setting. The first step may be hard and strange as you become familiar with the cultures of the script, rules, and grammar, but don’t worry — every language student can tell you, “a mile to fluency begins with a single step.”

Overall, learning a language is applicable in every day life — it is the ultimate gateway to the cultures of the speakers in their respective countries or communities.

Here are the top five most spoken languages in the world:

Chinese (Mandarin) — the official language (and dialect) in the People's Republic of China, with over a billion speakers in the country and throughout the world. The Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State ranks Chinese Mandarin as a category III language — (along with Arabic and Japanese) one of the most difficult languages to learn. However, there are more speakers of this language, which may influence and inspire you to take on this challenge.
English — From Australia to Hong Kong, this language is spoken by over 500 million people. "The language is widely used among the international political, business, academic, and scientific communities."
Spanish — With over 400 million speakers across the world, particularly in Europe and the Americas, the Spanish language is one of the most popular Romance languages to learn, due to its simplicity and beauty.
Hindustani (Hindi) — Ranked as a category II language by the Foreign Service Institute, Hindustani is spoken by over 400 million people (slightly under Spanish) in India and abroad. Bollywood, one of the largest film producers in the world, often produces films in Hindi and English. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the language.
Russian — There are over 200 million speakers of this language in Russia, Eastern Europe, and abroad. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations (the others are Chinese Mandarin, English, Spanish, French, and Arabic). Russian is also one of the hardest languages to learn.

NYPL has just the resources to help you to learn these languages — plus the 100+ spoken languages in the world!

To get you started, consider using the free database Mango Languages, available through NYPL. Packed with over 20 different languages, ranging from Korean to Dari and more, Mango Languages is a great language tool to kick start your learning. From easy to advanced, you can learn any of these languages in your local library or in the convenience of your own home with a library card.

You can even learn the language “pirate.” If you're a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, you may be familiar with the lingo of Captain Jack Sparrow, but you may not realize that there is syntax and grammar used and applied by these maritime rebels.

Learn how to use Mango Languages at the Library >>

Search the NYPL catalog for:

Pimsleur audio
The "Teach Yourself" series
Collins Easy Learning
Berlitz books and audio
The McGraw-Hill "Demystified" series
eBooks and e-audiobooks available for download
More information about other language programs/databases at NYPL

But why stop there? Consider joining a language group at Mid-Manhattan Library or at other NYPL neighborhood libraries. Meet other speakers or language enthusiasts from time to time and get connected! Improve or show off your language skills! You can also join English language classes to improve other people’s English skills, and they in turn may be able to share their native languages with you. This is a great way to make friends and strengthen your skills.

If you are not a beginner and are interested in learning to read in a particular language, consider PressDisplay, an international newspaper database that connects to over 1,000 newspapers from all over the world. Read current daily newspapers in Turkish or Hungarian in any NYPL library or at home. This is an excellent way to catch up on the news, improve your reading skills, enhance your knowledge of foreign affairs, and most importantly, enrich yourself! Learn more about PressDisplay >>

May 2012 become the year to learn another language! Even if you don’t succeed in becoming fluent in Egyptian Hieroglyphics, French or American Sign Language, you can at least try, and more importantly, have fun with it!

Learn more about getting a NYPL library card >>

Another great way to learn a language is through books and foreign films. NYPL has an extensive collection of world languages, literatures, and cinemas. Find out more >>

As the year comes to an end, NYPL is dependent upon your support for its foreign language books, free language programs at Mid-Manhattan Library, and access to online databases. Why not start 2012 by giving a gift to all New Yorkers — an opportunity to grow and learn — and help the Library maintain and support its rich collections for language enthusiasts like yourself?

Readings for New Year's Resolutions

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:02:30 -0500

USA.gov provides a listing of popular New Year's Resolutions and related government resources to help you meet any of these goals. The Library is also a great place to find information to help you start off the New Year on the right foot.

What are you going to focus on in 2012?

Drink Less
Eat Healthy
Get a Better Education (follow the Lifelong Learning and Facing the Page blog channels)
Get a Better Job (follow the Job Search Central blog channel)
Get Fit
Lose Weight
Manage Debt
Manage Stress
Quit Smoking
Be Green
Save Money
Take a Trip (follow the Ticketless Traveler blog channel)
Volunteer (check out how to volunteer at NYPL)

And one more just from us:

Read More!

The new year is also a great time to think about a project or plan you want to accomplish. With that concept in mind, I created a book list of the genre I like to think of as the "One Year Challenge." (For a while there it seemed like anyone could get a book deal with a blog and an outrageous idea about how to spend 12 months!)

In this list you can find the stories of real people who made a conscious decision to eat locally in Appalachia, eat locally in Vancouver B.C., only eat in, cook an entire cookbook, seek out exotic delicacies, go on a date with anyone who asks, not have sex, follow the Bible literally, start a real estate business, simplify life and decrease clutter, not buy anything, not buy anything made in China, enjoy life and find happiness, say thank you, follow the teachings of a different self-help guru each month, follow the teachings of Oprah, watch terrible movies, do one scary thing every day, try a new job every week, live below the poverty line, make as little environmental impact as possible, make one positive environmental change per day, read a book a week, read a book a day, read the Harvard Classics, read the Oxford English Dictionary, experience life as a man, knit obsessively, make a skull each day, get committed to a mental hospital, and move to a farmhouse in rural France.

Another type of resolution you could make is to embark on something called a "365 project." Do something — anything — but the same thing every day for a year. Draw a picture, take a snapshot, jot a short journal entry, or write a poem — do whatever it is you enjoy that will help jump start your creativity or help you improve your technique. You can post your project on specifically designed websites, Flickr (see groups/366photos; groups/365days), Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog.

Have you read and enjoyed another "One Year Challenge"? What is your resolution for the year? (Posting here might just make you feel more accountable for it later on.) Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Whatever your plans for 2012, wishing you 366 happy days!

Update, 1/20/12: I am finding that having access to great ebooks is helping me with my personal resolution to read more; with the Kindle app installed on my iPad and iPhone, it syncs to the last page I've read on either device. As my colleague says, reading on your phone is great because you can have an emergency book with you at all times!

And for those interested in the "doing more with less"-type resolutions, you might take a look at Meg Hourihan's latest project, all about how she plans to "use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without."

Notes From a Life-long Learner: Podcasting

Jyna Scheeren, Grand Central — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:12:12 -0500

A podcast is an audio program anyone can make, post to a website, and make available for download onto a computer or portable device, such as an iPod (hence the term “podcast”). Listeners can subscribe to a podcast and get future episodes downloaded automatically as they become available. You probably already subscribe to podcasts of various kinds, but have you ever considered making your own?

Come on! You could garner a great following and become the next (insert favorite radio personality here). Or you could simply be a podcast nerd who broadcasts for family and friends for fun and a sense of personal satisfaction. What I love about podcasting is that anyone can opine or inform on any topic on a regular basis, educating and entertaining for fun and perhaps even profit.

Of course, the hard part, especially for someone like me, is choosing a podcast topic. That brainstorming session could take months.

Nevertheless, if you’re interested in learning more about podcasting or trying it out for yourself, here are some great books on the topic:

And here are a few of my favorite podcasts to try:

Coffee Break Spanish :15 minute audio lessons for beginning to intermediate Spanish speakers with teacher, Mark, and student, Kara.
NPR Books consists of book reviews, author interviews, and book news.
This American Life is a weekly collection of unusual audio documentaries, real stories, and personal essays arranged around a theme.

What are your experiences with creating or listening to podcasts? Let me know, and happy podcasting!

Yoga: History and Resources at NYPL

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:16:01 -0500

As the holidays are slowly creeping in the corner, starting this week, we are often reminded of this unwelcoming annual maelstrom of booking trips, planning family gatherings and get-togethers with friends and loved ones at a time of maximum anxiety. We find ourselves dangerously flirting with "stress" and "tension" as another year has come and gone.

These holidays are not intentionally harmful but we as human beings tend to strive for perfection in everything we do especially during this time of year. We leave little room and time for ourselves to think and reflect as we clutter our minds with endless questions of doubt, fear and uncertainy: "Can I afford this gift for someone?" "Will I be able to get a better flight deal?" "Will there be enough food for everyone?"

One approach to uncluttering the mind and combating these stress factors of planning, organizing and maintaining an end-of-the-year hectic schedule is yoga.

As a student of yoga, I often find yoga to be physically challenging but therapeutic. Before being a yoga student, like most non-yoga people, I pictured mind-boggling images of ultra body-bending twists and turns that look almost impossible to perform: difficult head stands, awkward body poses and positions, and stretching beyond the sky’s limit. All can be true and untrue depending on the effort you put into it. As I quote from my yoga instructor, “You can make the practice be very simple or very difficult — this is your practice and no one can force you to do it.”The benefits of yoga are tremendous, for mind, body and even spirit. According to the New York Times and the Archives of Internal Medicine, "Weekly yoga classes relieve symptoms of low back pain about as well as intense, regular stretching sessions, a new study shows." MedlinePlus, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, asserts "Eight out of ten people usually suffer from low back pain at some point during their lives." Yoga cannot heal every disease or physical ailment but can make you more resilient in coping with your physical and mental challenges.

Though I won’t state all the benefits of doing yoga but I will mention that yoga has been long practiced since the 3rd millennium B.C. in the Indus Valley Civilization, now modern-day Pakistan and India. Ancient Sanskrit scriptures and seals suggest that the people in the civilization founded and practiced yoga and meditation quite frequently. The goal of yoga is the attainment of a state of spiritual tranquality. Originating from ancient religions and beliefs, yoga is perceived to clear one's thought from stress and tension. Along with meditation, yoga is also practiced in other faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sufism (a practice in Islam that focuses on mysticism and intense meditation).

One of the challenges of doing yoga, is maintaining a steady breathing flow in a variety of simple and complex positions. There are also different types of yogas such as Hatha yoga (performing various poses while adding force) or Bikram yoga (performing yoga under intense heat while reducing stress, tension and preventing injuries).

From beginners' practice to the history of exercise, NYPL research and branch libraries offer plenty of resources in doing or researching yoga. If stretching isn't your thing, you can also consider meditation classes to improve your deep breathing, declutter your mind and focus on what's important.

If you are shy about doing yoga in the company of other participants, consider checking out our DVD collections on yoga and meditation! But the classes themselves are a great way to meet other yoga students and fans.

Perhaps you are a talented individual immune to holiday anxiety and can ward off the stress during this time of year or maybe you actually enjoy this fervent feeling but in case you have the irresistible urge to indulge during the holidays, yoga can still be part of an exercise regimen to reduce the guilt!

Learn more about borrowing from NYPL's collection
For more current resources on yoga moves and techniques, check out Yoga Journal, Yoga International or other periodical publications.
YOGA, MEDITATION and OTHER FITNESS classes at NYPL libraries
General resources on the history of yoga, yoga in philosophy, ancient civilizations or ancient religions
NYPL'S Articles and Databases page on Health and Medicine
Search the web for information on the health benefits of yoga

The Floating University and other Online Learning Tools

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:28:19 -0500

The New York Public Library recently announced a partnership with The Floating University to present the 'Great Big Ideas' video lecture series. The first one took place yesterday, and was a lecture titled If You're So Free, Why Do You Follow Others? The Sociology and Science Behind Social Networks, Altruism and the Genetic Origins of Human Interaction presented by Professor Nicholas Christakis.

Go to nypl.org/floatinguniversity to see the schedule of upcoming screenings, some featuring live Q&A with the professors:

Malthus Miffed: Are People the Problem, the Solution or Both?
Dr. Joel Cohen, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of Populations, Rockefeller University, Mathematical Biologist, Columbia University
The Psychology of Everything: What Compassion, Racism, and Sex Tell Us about Human Nature
Dr. Paul Bloom, Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale University
Art Now: Aesthetics Across Music, Painting, Architecture, Movies and More
Dr. Leon Botstein, President and Leon Levy Professor of Bard College

In his introduction to the screening, Peter Hopkins emphasized that the world of higher education is in a state of flux, due in large part to both economic and technological changes taking place. He also acknowledged the need for more opportunities for cross-disciplinary study apart from the traditional academic structure. The public library has always been a place that people turn to when they are seeking information, whether for a short term need or as part of a long term process of self-improvement. We have the resources that allow people who are highly disciplined but working outside of the traditional educational system to teach themselves what they need to know to fulfill their intellectual curiosity and oftentimes improve their lives. Lifelong learning is part of our mission.

Below is a listing of resources that might help you if you decide to embark on a self-made semester to learn something new. If you've tried another free program missing from this list, please let us know in the comments.

General resources

The Edupunks' Guide: How to Write a Personal Learning Plan an excerpt from the Edupunks' Guide to a DIY Credential, "a comprehensive guide to learning online and charting a personalized path to an affordable credential using the latest innovative tools and organizations." Free ebook download.
The OpenCourseWare Consortium provides resources and information on Open Courseware materials, and offers a useful search tool to locate one of 6,384 courses from 64 sources and 12 languages.
Open Culture: 400 Free Online Courses from Top Universities is a listing of free online audio and video courses from different sources broken down into broad subject areas.
iTunes U is a hub for free educational audio and video resources (and NYPL is there!)
YouTube EDU divided into K12, Lifelong Learning, and University videos.

Other websites

Academic Earth aggregates several OCW sources for video with accompanying educational materials.
Connexions A platform and a way to remix and share educational content.
Google Code University basic introductions to web programming, databases, programming languages, and Linux, as well as more advanced courses for Computer Science students.
EngineerGuy.com videos that show how stuff works, from an engineering perspective.
Khan Academy <10 minute videos and practice tools for Math, Science, Humanities, Finance, and Test Prep.
MIT OpenCourseWare
Open Yale Courses
Project Euler "exists to encourage, challenge, and develop the skills and enjoyment of anyone with an interest in the fascinating world of mathematics."
TED Talks "riveting talks by remarkable people."
webcast.berkeley "UC Berkeley's central service for online video & audio for students and learners around the globe."

DIY

Instructables "a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others." Projects divided into Food, Living, Outside, Play, Technology and Workshop sections.
Popular Mechanics Projects & Plans
Wired How-To Wiki "Collaborate with Wired editors and add to our library of projects, hacks, tricks and tips."

Free with your library card

LearningExpressLibrary - helps you prepare for standardized tests and certification exams, because parallel parking will not be your only challenge in adulthood.
Mango Languages - learn one of over 30 foreign languages (or ESOL for speakers of 15 different languages), online or through the available mobile app.

Articles

"The Evolution of Higher Education." New York Times, November 4, 2011.
"The University of Wherever." New York Times, October 2, 2011.
"8 Steps to Getting What You Want... Without Formal Credentials." fourhourworkweek.com, September 29, 2011.
"How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education." Wired, August 2011.
"How I Failed, Failed, and Finally Succeeded at Learning How to Code." The Atlantic, June 2011.
"How to Learn Something For Nothing" and "An Open Mind." New York Times, April 16, 2010.

Books

(Not just) For teachers

MoMA Modern Teachers - guides, lessons and images for learning about modern art
PBS Teachers

Storm Reading: What Were You Reading During Irene?

Elizabeth Waters, Mid-Manhattan Library — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:11:09 -0400

What were you reading during Irene? Friday evening, Mid-Manhattan Library patrons were busy until 8 p.m. stocking up on books and DVDs to see them through the weekend storm. Some people were looking for fat 19th century novels, cozy mysteries, or vampire sagas to while away the weekend, while others had ambitious study or DIY projects in mind.

We had requests for novels by Henry James and Charles Dickens and for anything by 20th century writer Angela Carter. Harry Potter books and Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series featuring Sookie Stackhouse were, as always, highly sought after. We had several requests for Agatha Christie's classic mysteries in print, on CD and adapted for TV and film. One reader who was immersed in Plutarch’s Lives came to find a book of maps of ancient Greece so that he could better visualize the geography of the “noble Grecians” he was reading about.

We found that learning was on the agenda for other library patrons, too. One patron decided to spend some time reading up on iPads and iPhones. Another resolved to become more familiar with the basics of sewing and using her sewing machine while another planned to use the weekend to begin learning Korean with a Pimsleur audio course. [Note: The Mango Languages database is also a great option for language self-study as long as the power is on and you can connect to the Internet.]

Thankfully, we were mostly spared serious damage and power outages in the five boroughs, but with no mass transit running over the weekend, hunkering down with a good book was a fine way to ride out Tropical Storm Irene. What was your storm reading? Please tell us in the Comments section below.

Celebrating the Centennial: The Tilden Library

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:07:30 -0400

Contrary to what you may have heard — or thought you heard, at least — this year does not mark the centennial of The New York Public Library. The centennial marks the opening of what many still think of as the Library's "main branch" on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, the Beaux-Arts landmark recently rechristened the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. But we could also call it the centennial of the Tilden Library, as I'll explain.

Recently, a large-scale drawing came to the attention of Print Collection staff, whose workspace (which I share) is on the third floor of the Schwarzman Building. It was signed "Vernon Howe Bailey, '09," and it appeared to be an early view of the building's Main Reading Room, showing elegantly clad gentlemen and ladies reading or quietly conversing in the gracious surroundings. But two things were puzzling about it. One was the date, 1909, and the other was the inscription on the back: "Tilden Library." No one who works in this building could fail to know that it opened to the public in 1911, and that it never bore an individual's name until 2008, when it was named for Mr. Schwarzman in gratitude for a donation that is expected to help finance a sweeping transformation of its interior over the next several years.

The date was partly explained on closer examination of the back of the drawing. It also bears a faint stamp, "Editorial Room, for use in Harper's Weekly." The date is supplied as "August 28, 1909," along with the information that Bailey (1874-1953), a well-known commercial artist of the day, was to be paid 75 dollars for its use. Examination of the issue in question revealed that it did indeed appear, on page 13, with the legend "A Book-Worm's Paradise ... the main reading-room of the New York Public Library, now nearing completion at Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street." (An e-version of Harper's Weekly may be consulted at research collection locations.) How the artist obtained his detailed knowledge of the room's layout and furnishings is still something of a mystery, since contemporary photographs show a completely empty space, and in fact the contract to construct the furniture had not yet been awarded. Presumably Bailey was in contact with (or even working for) the architectural firm of Carrère & Hastings, who designed the furniture as well as the building, and had access to their plans for the room. Bailey is also responsible for a series of illustrations for an article by Clifford Smyth in Munsey's Magazine (v. 34, no. 5, February 1906) titled "New York's Great New Library"; they showed the stacks under construction and several renderings of the building as it would look when completed.

But the inscription "Tilden Library" on our drawing remained puzzling.

This great institution came into being on May 23, 1895, when "The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations" was established. A year-long centennial celebration for that event was held 16 years ago. The Astor and the Lenox in the new body's name represented two large public reference libraries then existing in the city, whose collections would become the nucleus of the planned new library. The Astor Library had been open on Lafayette Street since 1854 (the building now houses the Public Theater). It was the nation's first large public reference library and New York City's first large free library. It was followed by the more specialized Lenox Library, which opened at Fifth Avenue and 70th Street in 1877, on the lot where the Frick Collection now stands. In 1895, these two libraries together held about 350,000 bound volumes available for on-site consultation only.

These two institutions were gifts to New York from two wealthy men: John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), founder of a legendary fortune, and James Lenox (1800–1880), an important collector of rare books and manuscripts and the importer of the first Gutenberg Bible to land on American soil.

But who was Tilden? And where was his library?

Samuel Jones Tilden (1814–1886) (1, 2, 3) was a former New York governor who had run for U.S. president in 1876. He went down in history as the only man to win the popular vote, but lose the electoral vote. More importantly for our purposes, he died a wealthy bachelor and left the bulk of his estate — rumored to be as much as the then-astronomical sum of 10 million dollars, though it was actually a few million short of that — to a trust to be called the Tilden Trust, whose purpose was "to establish and maintain a free library and reading room in the City of New York," along with his personal book collection comprising some 20,000 volumes.

For various reasons, neither the Astor Library nor the Lenox Library could be considered a truly public library worthy of the metropolis New York City had become by the 1880s. Public demand for such an institution was growing. When Tilden's bequest became known, a dream was born of a "Tilden Library" that might achieve a size and importance until then equaled only by the great national libraries. From The Critic for February 5, 1887:

"This gift to New York, and through New York to the whole world, is one of the largest bequests of the kind recorded in history ... The exact amount of money which the Trustees of the Tilden Library will have under their control is not yet known, but it is not likely to fall short of four million dollars and may largely exceed that sum. Few persons not specially informed in such matters can form any conception of what can be done with the income from such an estate toward the foundation of a library. Its wise expenditure would ensure the building up in a few years of an institution superior in equipment and facilities to any now existing in America, and destined within the lives of living men to rival the British Museum and the Bibliothèque National. There can be no doubt of the need of such a library in this country; there should be no delay in securing it."

Interestingly, this article already mentions a possible site for such a library, referring to "the suggestion, in some quarters, that the old Reservoir at Fifth Avenue and 40th and 42d Streets should be put at the disposal of the Tilden Trust as the site of the main library building."

But the road to the erection of a Tilden Library proved rocky. Tilden's heirs —descendants of his brother and sister — contested his will. For nearly five years the battle raged through the courts, until October of 1891, when the New York Court of Appeals declared the disputed Thirty-Fifth Clause of the will invalid. The entire fortune would go to the heirs, effectively squelching the Tilden Trust. The dream would have ended then, except that Tilden's grandniece Laura Pelton Hazard (1863-1934) had previously made a deal with the trust. In exchange for a sum close to a million dollars, she had agreed to hand over the bequest she was in line to receive should the court side with the heirs. As she was the granddaughter and only surviving heir of Tilden's sister, that would be half the estate. In March 1892, when everything was finally settled, the Trust found itself holding some two to two and a quarter million dollars, down from the five and a half million the estate was worth by then.

That was a lot, but almost certainly not enough, by itself, to fulfill the dream of a Tilden Library that would rival the world's greatest. John Bigelow, Tilden's old friend and political associate, had helped him draft his will and now headed the trust. Despite the change of fortune, he remained an enthusiastic supporter of the "Very Big Library" idea, and he revived a proposal that had first been bandied about in the 1880s: Let the City Fathers cover the expense of constructing the building for the new library, and let it be located on city-owned land, in Bryant Park and on the site of the obsolete Distributing Reservoir that stood beside it. That would free the Tilden Trust funds for operating and staffing the library and purchasing books to expand its collections to be as comprehensive as possible.

Bigelow's article "The Tilden Trust Library: What Shall It Be?" in Scribner's Magazine (September 1892) outlines this proposal in great detail, complete with architectural renderings and floor plans (by Ernest Flagg), for what he called "this library, the manifest destiny of which is to become the most important library of the continent." In his scheme, the library would have sprawled out across the park as well as the reservoir site, though its area would have been less than the space covered by the monolithic reservoir, expanding the available parkland. This article made quite a splash in the press. The New York Times (August 24, 1892) summarized it under the headline "Bryant Park for a Site: Mr. Bigelow's Plan for the Tilden Library." In November of that year, the Trust formally requested that the City of New York should build, and the Trust equip and operate, a library "commensurate with the magnitude and importance of our commercial metropolis."

But negotiations with the city stalled, and the trustees turned to another problem, that of not spreading the reduced Tilden monies thinner than necessary by duplicating the efforts of the various libraries already operating in the city. Several schemes of merger were proposed, including one that would have joined the resources of the Trust with the collections of Columbia College. But the one that made the most sense for all the parties and would best fulfill the spirit of Tilden's will was the one that was eventually adopted. In March 1895, more than two months before the formal consolidation, the news leaked to the press. As the Times reported, "The amalgamation of the Astor and Lenox Libraries and the Tilden Trust Fund and the formation therefrom of a great public library to be known as The New-York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations, became an assured fact yesterday." John Bigelow was named the first president of the new corporation.

The collections of the Astor and Lenox libraries did not circulate. So that the new library could be of the greatest service to the entire population of the city, not just a scholarly and leisured elite, there clearly needed to be a circulating component, preferably in the form of a system of neighborhood libraries. Indeed, if the city were to agree to supply a site for a central building and finance its construction, this would be a practical necessity. New York already possessed the rudiments of such a system in the form of several independent organizations, notably the New York Free Circulating Library (founded in 1878), of which Bigelow was also a trustee, and the Aguilar Free Library (founded in 1886). They too would eventually merge with The New York Public Library, in 1901 and 1903 respectively, and the neighborhood library system would be greatly expanded through the generosity of another plutocrat, Andrew Carnegie. But that is a story for another time. For now, let us return to the problem of where, and how, the central building for the great library would be erected.

The Croton Distributing Reservoir in 1900, in process of demolition, from the corner of Fifth Ave. and 40th Street.

The reservoir site was only one of several proposed. But it had several advantages: its central location, for one, and the fact that the obsolete reservoir was on city-owned land for which a use had been sought for decades. Eventually the trustees were agreed on the site, and in March 1896, a formal request was made to the city fathers to approve "such legislation as will enable the City to grant to this Corporation, by some permanent tenure, a proper site for its Library Building and such funds as may be necessary to enable this Corporation to construct and equip its building thereon; and that the site of the present Reservoir on Fifth Avenue, between Fortieth and Forty-second Streets, be granted for that purpose." It took more than a year of lobbying and wrangling, but on May 19, 1897, the final bill was enacted authorizing the city to remove the reservoir and construct and maintain a library building on its site, to be occupied and operated by The New York Public Library.

But nearly five years would elapse before the site could be cleared, and construction on the monumental building occupied another nine. During that time, the Astor Library and the Lenox Library continued to function much as before, maintaining their separate identities, though they were in fact now jointly the repository for the collections of The New York Public Library (Tilden's own collection had been moved to the Lenox building). It's not surprising that we can occasionally find references to the new building as the "Tilden Library." It was well known that the Tilden Trust money was the driving force behind the new institution — it represented a sum more than double than that of the endowments of the Astor and Lenox Libraries combined — and indeed, Tilden's intention to give the city a library to outshine any until then existing in it had been known for two decades by the time construction was well underway. It was also being erected on the very site long associated with the proposed Tilden Library. No wonder the Vernon Howe Bailey drawing of the yet-to-be-completed Main Reading Room was identified as depicting the Tilden Library — though the factual inaccuracy was corrected when it was published in Harper's.

And so, with all due respect to Mr. Schwarzman, in a very real sense the anniversary we are celebrating in this year of 2011 is the centennial of the Samuel J. Tilden Library — the library he and the executors of his will envisioned: "such a Free Public Library in the City of New York" (as it was phrased in the 1887 petition to establish the Tilden Trust) "as would best serve the interests of science and education, and place the best literature of the world within easy reach of every class and condition of people in our commercial metropolis, without money and without price." The building designed to accomplish that end was dedicated on May 23, 1911. The public began streaming in the following day.

For further reading:

Bigelow, John. The Life of Samuel J. Tilden. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1895. Available online via HathiTrust (v. 1, 2).
Dain, Phyllis. The New York Public Library: A History of Its Founding and Early Years. New York: New York Public Library, 1972.
Lydenberg, Harry M. History of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. New York: New York Public Library, 1923. Original version published in the Bulletin of The New York Public Library; available online via Google Books (v. 20, 21, 24, 25) and HathiTrust (v. 21, 24, 25)
Proceedings at the Opening of the New Library Building, May 23, 1911. New York: The New York Public Library, 1911. Available online via HathiTrust and Google Books.
Rives, George L, and Charles H. Russell. Book of Charters, Wills, Deeds and Other Official Documents [relating to] The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations . New York: Printed for the Trustees, 1905. Available online via the Internet Archive and Google Books.

Recipes from the Reluctant Camper

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:50:25 -0400

Summer is in full swing. Maybe you've taken a cruise, a roadtrip, a European jaunt or a trip to the beach, but summer would not be complete without a night spent with only a thin layer of nylon separating you from the starry sky and the cool night air... am I right?

No?! Well to be honest, I haven't always felt that way. I am a reluctant camper. If you are too, all you need is a patient (and preferably more camping-experienced) friend or family member and maybe a few books from the library to get you started.

Cooking and enjoying food is probably my favorite hobby, so it is exciting for me to have the opportunity to expand my repertoire to the fire pit once in a while. On my last trip I was really happy to have found Campfire Cookery: Adventuresome Recipes & Other Curiosities for the Great Outdoors. While the writing style is a little twee, the suggested meals go way beyond the standard hot dog and marshmallow fare. I ended up making lemon curd (for breakfast with English muffins) and garlic aïoli (for smothering some flame broiled sardines in a baguette) based on recipes in the book.

To be clear, I prepared most of these recipes before I left for the great outdoors. They all keep wonderfully in a cooler for a few days; maybe I will try something more adventurous next time.

Lemon Curd (adapted from Campfire Cookery by Sarah Huck and Jaimee Young)

1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 C sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice (from those 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)

Whisk egg and yolk, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk in the lemon juice and drop in the butter pieces. Put the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon. Keep stirring until it is thick enough to pile up when pushed to the side, 10-15 minutes. Don't let it get hot enough to bubble, if it does take it off the heat and stir vigorously.

When it's nice and thickened, push it through a sieve into a bowl containing the lemon zest. Stir it all together. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming; once it cools transfer it to a jar and chill in the fridge for a few hours.

(Note: This is halved from what is in the book, and there are also tangerine and grapefruit variations available there.)

Bast's Grilled Sardines & Lemon Aïoli Tartine (adapted from Campfire Cookery by Sarah Huck and Jaimee Young)

1 egg yolk at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice at room temp
1/2 cup olive oil at room temp
1 chopped garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon (or 1/2 lemon's worth) lemon zest
pinch of kosher salt

Whisk together the yolk, salt, and lemon juice; drizzle in a steady thread of oil. If you've made mayonnaise before you know not to add the oil too fast and to stir like crazy. Your arm should end up hurting really bad. Or you can use a food processor and drizzle the oil in through the hole in the top. Your call. It's either more dishes to clean or tired arm muscles, as I've discovered. Anyway, continue until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture is thick. Mix in the zest, garlic and salt. Cover and send to the fridge.

You can use fresh sardines (get the book to read the instructions on that) or just use canned (when you're really hungry after a long day of hiking I don't think it matters). Heat them up on a piece of foil on the grill top over the fire. Toast the bread too. Put it all together with the aïoli and enjoy—even your mayonnaise-hating friend will love it. Sardines are brain food!

I don't know why, but browsing the energy bar aisle in the grocery store always makes me tired and depressed. So I decided to make my own granola bars (from How to Cook Everything) for hiking with leftover granola (from Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys: Recipes, Strategies, and Survival Techniques.) They turned out very sweet but also powerful enough to get me up a small mountain and back.

No-Bake Granola Bars (adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe, see below)

1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used apricots and dates and a few prunes)
1/4 cup neutral oil, like grapeseed
3 cups granola (next time I'll use less, they were a bit crumbly)

Put the dried fruit and oil in a food processor and purée until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides if necessary. (Add small amounts of water if the fruit is dried out and not processing.) Transfer to a small pot and bring to a boil. Put the granola in a large bowl and combine with the fruit mixture; stir until the granola is well coated. Press into an 8- or 9-inch square pan and let cool in the fridge. Cut into squares or rectangles and separate with that press-and-seal type plastic wrap.

For variations on this, including versions without fruit or with nut butter, see How to Cook Everything or the full recipe on nytimes.com.

Another great recipe to make ahead and bring in the cooler is this pasta salad; it keeps well and is delicious cold. It also goes great with hot dogs.

Other books to check out:

The Scout's Outdoor Cookbook by Christine & Tim Conners

This book was written by and for scouts, as in, girl and boy scouts and their leaders. But even scouting drop-outs like me can use it to learn about cooking techniques and times, and how to best cook for a crowd when you do not have any of the conveniences of an indoor kitchen. "Each recipe includes number of servings, a difficulty rating, a list of required equipment, and a handy icon to let the reader see the cooking method (dutch oven, skillet, etc.) at a glance." Very handy.

Camping in Comfort: A Guide to Roughing It with Ease and Style by Lynn Haney (eBook)

A guide to outdoor gear that actually makes a reluctant camper excited about all the STUFF she can acquire to be more comfy! But the emphasis here is really on making the right decisions based on your needs and camping comfort level. It includes information on tents, sleeping gear, clothing, and cooking supplies. It also offers details on public and private campgrounds, luxury camping resorts, backpacking, bicycle camping, kayak camping, and RV camping, so it is great for experienced campers and newbies alike.

For more inspiration as far as places to head out to, check out Kerri Wallace's posts on hiking spots near NYC and the Finger Lakes, and Sherri Liberman's postcard from Maine. Where do you like to camp? More importantly, what do you like to cook there?

Related subject headings:

See the Recipes from the Reluctant Camper booklist on nypl.bibliocommons.com!

The Ticketless Traveler: Into the Woods

Kerri Wallace, Mulberry Street Branch Library — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:35:49 -0400

"We just passed two huge black bears on the trail. They're not cute."

My hike in Harriman State Park started off with the only concern being the chance of rain and ticks. I had packed my 99 cent rain poncho and doused myself in OFF bug spray to the amusement of my friends. I could handle seeing snakes, bucks, and other wild animals, but ticks were the last thing I wanted to find on my body or in my hair. My fears soon changed when we passed a father and daughter who mentioned the two black bears they had come upon, which unfortunately happened to be in the direction we were headed. On we pressed, clapping our hands and serenading the hiding bears with today's greatest hits and a new song we named "We Love Bears." Fortunately for us, we did not run into the uncuddly bears.

I live within driving distance of many great trails and parks, but have never taken advantage of the free activities that are available. A few years ago, a friend and I decided to take a walk at the Ramapo Reservation on a beautiful spring day. After strolling around for an hour, we realized that we had no idea where we were, but managed to back track to our starting point. It was during that scary moment of feeling lost that I realized there's a lot more to hiking then just throwing on a pair of sneakers and walking around aimlessly. Soon after, I became obsessed wtih this outdoor activity.

Hiking is a great way to clear your mind and is usually an inexpensive getaway. But don't let living in New York City stop you from escaping this urban jungle and finding the great outdoors. Listed below are some great resources and tips to get you out on the trails.

Hiking readling list:

AMC's Best Day Hikes Near New York City: Four-Season Guide to 50 of the Best Trails in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey by Dan Case
Appalachian Trail Guide to New York-New Jersey by Daniel Chazin
The Hiking Companion by Michael W. Robbins
Hiking the Road to Ruins: Day Trips and Camping Adventures to Iron Mines, Old Military Sites, and Things Abandoned in the New York City Area—And Beyond by David A. Steinberg.
A Journey North: One Woman's Story of Hiking the Appalachian Trail by Adrienne Hall
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Online resources:

A few of my favorite hikes:

Appalachian Trail / Major Welch Trail (strenuous but amazing views!). These directions suggest that you start at the Major Welch Trail, which is very steep and challenging. As an alternate suggestion, you can also start at the Appalachian Trail, take in the view at the top of Bear Mountain, and come back down the way you came up. For the non-hikers, you can also drive up to Perkins Tower.

1777 E Doodletown Bridal Loop from Route 9W (easy to moderate). I just love saying Doodletown. Doodletown was an old mining community and you can still see remains of the foundations. If you see a sign for the waterfall, be sure to take a quick detour and check it out!

The Great Stairs (challenging). Like all hikes, but most importantly this particular hike, it is very important that you wear very good hiking boots. The Palisades are very steep when climbing up and down. The rock scrambles and stairs can be very slippery, especially during the fall season.

Shore Trail / Long Path Loop via Carpenters Trail (moderate). Walk along the Hudson River on a beautiful day! The Carpenters Trail is very easy to miss, but even if you decide to just walk along the Shore Trail it will be a really great experience. If you're looking for a good workout, the Carpenters Trail will lead you to the top of the Palisades' cliffs.

Wild things are out there:

Black bears
Coyotes
Deer
Poison ivy, oak, and sumac
Snakes
Ticks and other creepy crawlers
Smithsonian Wild (Hidden camera shots of animals in the wild, includes the Adirondacks of New York)

Be sure to check out some of these suggested books and websites so you know what to bring and what to wear. Just remember to be prepared, be aware of your surroundings, stay hydrated, and have lots of fun! It's the same advice my mother gave me when I started working in the city.

Notes From a Life-Long Learner: God — To Be(lieve) or Not To Be(lieve)

Jyna Scheeren, Grand Central — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 06:19:37 -0400

I spent a recent weekend pondering the existence of God. It’s something I do from time to time because I was a religious person once, in the Judeo/Christian tradition, but am not so now. After many years, I’m still getting used to living without that label. I have to admit, my non-religious years have been very good years.

One interesting documentary that makes a case against the Judeo/Christian God is called The God Who Wasn’t There. It presents the story of Jesus Christ — his birth, ministry, death, and resurrection — and discusses how it resembles many of the myths invented hundreds to thousands of years before Christ’s birth.

This edgy film contains man-on-the-street chats with rank and file believers and interviews with professors, well-known atheists, and the headmaster of a fundamentalist christian school the filmmaker attended as a child. That interview doesn’t go so well; the filmmaker spent many of his formative years terrified by the teachings of that school. In fact, although the documentary is interesting and makes compelling arguments against the existence of God, it’s clear that the filmmaker is unpacking some baggage on screen.

Another documentary I watched is God in America (also available to watch online), a PBS mini-series that traces the history of God in America from before its official founding until now. Narrated by Campbell Scott and dramatized by fine actors depicting historical figures and their very own words, this film doesn’t tackle the question of the existence of God. Rather, it shows the influence the belief in God had (has) on America, and, more interestingly, the influence America — its ideals of liberty for all and the pursuit of happiness — influenced belief in God.

In the Old World, central authority and conformity were all important. In the New World, the individual became paramount. New churches and denominations developed, old beliefs were reformed.

I suppose while watching this mini-series an atheist would note the continual morphing of religious beliefs and conclude what he has always believed: God is a human construct. On the other had, a believer in God may see God behind the scenes directing the evolution (pardon the term) of humans’ understanding of Him.

God or no God — it's a puzzle. Thankfully, great minds have grappled and are still grappling with this question. Along with the films mentioned above, there are several interesting books making the case for and against the existence of God listed below.

For God:

Letters to Doubting Thomas: A Case for the Existence of God by C. Stephen Layman
The Case for God by Karen Armstrong

Against God:

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Reasonable Atheism: A Moral Case for Respectful Disbelief by Scott F. Aikin & Robert B. Talisse

Although I’m not religious and lean against the existence of a central character that controls the universe, I do have a spiritual streak and I’m not ready to jump on the atheist bandwagon, or into the atheist hand basket, if you will. I suppose I’m an agnostic, which means I am not taking a position about the existence of God, because I do not know.

In the meantime, I’ll keep pondering. How about you?

Notes From a Life-Long Learner: Rattlesnake!!!

Jyna Scheeren, Grand Central — Tue, 17 May 2011 09:25:34 -0400

The sound of a Rattlesnake's warning is terrifying and hard to describe. It doesn’t sound like a baby’s toy. Well, it might if the toy was being shaken at a million times per second by an angry, tight-fisted god who looked kind of like a baby. Add to that impossible sound a buzz and a sinister, insistent shhhhhhhhhhh. You may think I’m being dramatic, but in my defense, it’s easy to be dramatic when you’re face to face with a Diamond Back Rattler.

This was my welcome to Southern California: a sunny, casual hike up a rolling hill in Castaic. My tour guides: brother and sister in law. I will refrain from naming them to protect their reputations as conscientious hosts. Let’s call them Monica and Lucky Ed.

Before the hike, These two bantered back and forth about the probability of snakes and questioned the need for a snake bite kit. Now, keep in mind that this conversation was quite breezy, far from urgent. Where I come from, snakes, let alone poisonous ones, are serious business. The consensus between them was that the first week in May was probably too early in the season for snakes.

Not really.

Lucky Ed alerted us when we had walked a few dusty feet past the large, black, Diamond Back. I turned and saw it slowly slither into the scrub. It wasn’t in a hurry. Pretty confident, I’d say. Did it see us and mercifully wait until we passed before it crossed the trail?

I didn’t know, and I wasn’t about to find out.

Lucky Ed, on the other hand, was all kinds of curious. He moved into what seemed to be the snake’s striking distance to get a better look. This sent Monica into hysterics. I merely stood, dazed, watching. I reasoned that life had been good, that I had had a “good run”, and dying on top of a hill in Castaic wasn’t so bad. There were already vultures flying overhead, so everything seemed to be in place for an efficient finish.

These are the things that went through my mind when I heard that...sound.

Obviously, we got out of there, unbitten, adrenaline coursing through our veins instead of venom, thankful that we encountered the snake on land, with plenty of running space, and not on a plane. Another day, another learning experience.

I learned that Rattler season begins in mid-to-late April in that part of the country. Good to know. I learned that each segment of a Rattler’s rattle is formed as a direct result of molting and that, contrary to what many believe, the segments do not indicate the snake’s age, as snakes can molt several times a year, depending. I learned that an adult Rattler’s bite may not kill you, but the bite of a baby rattler will most likely do you in--their venom is more toxic than adult venom and the little devils can’t control how much of it they release. They’ll drain themselves dry right into you.

And I learned that you should probably leave Rattlesnakes alone.

Have you ever been this close to a Rattlesnake or any other kind of poisonous snake? Feel free to share your war story right here.

Notes From a Life-Long Learner: Comedy Writing

Jyna Scheeren, Grand Central — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:45:14 -0400

"It's the jokes. I need the jokes."

This is something a young library patron said to me the other day. He wanted me to find him a DVD of Abbott and Costello’s greatest movies and routines. I felt an instant kinship with the boy, whom I’ll call Hal. “Yes,” I thought as I took to the catalog. “It’s the jokes.”

I remember being a kid and watching Abbott & Costello movies every Saturday morning on one of New York City’s local stations, channel 11. Films such as Buck Privates and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, although made in the 1940s, are still hilarious today.

One of my favorite Abbott & Costello routines is “Who’s on First?” which appeared in their film The Naughty Nineties. This is exactly the kind of thing Hal, who must be about 12 years old, wanted.

“I’m not into The Three Stooges,” he told me, as I searched the catalog. “It’s just guys hitting each other.”

I didn’t comment. I happen to like the physical comedy of The Stooges (I’m so familiar with them, I’ve long since dropped the “Three” out of their name). Call it a guilty pleasure, if you must. There’s just something about them. It does my heart good to know that in a simpler, gentler time people were able to laugh at a large man crashing into an occupied baby carriage at full speed.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that it takes a little more to write the kind of comedic material that can stand from decade to decade. It’s the jokes. It’s Abbott and Costello and The Marx Brothers; stand-up comedians like Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Dave Chapelle, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Sarah Silverman; sketch writers like Tina Fey; and humorists like David Sedaris.

These are just a few of my many favorites—diverse people with different styles. What they all have in common is the writing. They make it look easy. But it isn't.

I’d always wanted to try my hand at some comedy writing—just for laughs. Hal’s visit to the library gave me inspiration. I checked out Comedy Writing Secrets, and after some study, and with total respect for the comedian’s craft, I took the liberty of writing a joke.

You know what amazes me about the first few days of spring—you know when it’s only about 60 degrees and there’s still a chance of snow? I’m always amazed at folks who wear too little on those first days of spring. They’re like the equivalent of a needy first date. They come out of the house all smiles and Spring is like: “Whoa, whoa. Flip flops? Strappy tank top? Hey—I’m not looking to get serious or anything. I barely know you.” Next day, it’s windy and really cold. A total shock. It’s like Spring is saying, “Back off! Put on some clothes, will ya?”

Don’t worry; I’m keeping my day job.

Do you have a favorite comedian or comedy writer? Feel free to share.

Previously on NYPL blogs: Comedy! (insert witty subtitle phrase here)

Notes From a Life-Long Learner: Social Dance

Jyna Scheeren, Grand Central — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:43:03 -0400

Social Dancing, which consists of various forms of dance, such as square dancing, is a communal tradition brought to the American continent by its earliest immigrants. Big in centuries past, social dancing is still practiced today, even in New York City. I know because I attended my first dance very recently: a barn dance.

For the beginner, social dancing, which in my case included free-wheeling square dances and contra dances, can seem like aerobics, physics, and geometry all rolled up into one.

Like aerobics, the dances rely on repetitive motions that work your muscles, burn fat, and make you sweat. Like physics, direction and speed are factors. Like Geometry, the dances involve lines, squares, and circles. And, you're golden if you can quickly tell your left hand from your right.

Is it fun? Sure. But, unless you do these dances regularly, you have to learn the steps. And the way you learn is by listening to someone call the directions over the loud strains of guitar, bango, bass, and fiddle. Not easy at first. I can’t tell you how many keystone kop moments I observed in the various dancing squares that moved across the expansive hardwood floor, or the number in which I was personally involved.

But, the human tangles made everyone experiencing them laugh, and the repetition of dances and moves dramatically lowered the learning curve as the night wore on.

And then there’s the other physical aspect of all this: actually touching other people.

Even if you show up to one of these dances with a partner, the dances require that you bow to, hold hands and swing arm-in-arm with several people you’ve never met. Awkward? Yes. At least at first. But, after the endorphins kick in from the continual swinging, doh-see-doh-ing, and promenading, it doesn’t seem to matter much anymore.

If we lived in the 1800s and the local paper published a blurb about any social dance event, the last line might read: “Acquaintances were made and a good time was had by all.”

And that’s the point of the social dance. In an age where communicating with others was extremely difficult, social dancing provided a means of finding friends and companions while offering an evening of exhilarating fun.

Folks took the dances seriously, especially the more formal ones—not only the steps but the subtle ways in which participants could communicate with one another to indicate interest beyond the dance.

In this modern age, at this particular barn dance, I saw some of this subtlety, mainly in the form of folks making quiet connections at the periphery of the floor. Seeing a long-skirted woman coquettishly smile and nod to a tall, well-groomed gent made me feel as though I had travelled back in time.

But then I’d see someone sitting alone with the light of her cell phone shining up on her face as she electronically touched someone, somewhere. Who needs a social dance when you have unlimited texting?

Nevertheless, it might be interesting to explore the history of Social Dancing in America. Read all about it.

Notes From a Life-Long Learner

Jyna Scheeren, Grand Central — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:47:34 -0400

I am a rabid, chronic life-long learner, and I'm starting this column because promoting life-long learning is one of the key components of our mission here at NYPL. Also, I bet there are a lot of people like me out in the world, people who want to know about EVERYTHING.

Whether you take up something new one thing at a time, or scatter your attention on a few things at once, this is your forum.

In her book called Refuse to Choose, Barbara Sher calls people like us "scanners." As she puts it, we are “hopelessly interested in everything.”

I’ve always wanted to become an expert at one thing, but, generally, I find something new to learn, put my all into it, and once I’ve learned it, I find something else and start the process all over again. Often, I try to juggle many new subjects at once. Sher says it’s OK to be this way, and that’s a relief, although at times I still have to convince myself that she’s right.

Nevertheless, I can say without a doubt, that learning something new is one of the most exciting things that I ever do. Gardening, soap-making, knitting, piano-playing—I’ve tried all of these and more. Perhaps I’m addicted to the rush of my first success in each new subject. I can still remember the surge of joy and self-confidence at seeing my first tomato plant seedlings sprout from fresh peat. My third batch of soap was nothing fancy, but I wouldn’t have hesitated to recommend a bar to anyone. I knit perfect—I mean, perfect—scarves. I just never graduated to knitting hats or sweaters.

Learning to play the piano has been my greatest success so far—I spent over two years deeply and passionately immersed in the practice, and although I don’t play regularly, I’m able to sit at the piano with a new song and have a decent rendition of it within twenty minutes.

But I’m no expert.

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell cites researchers who conclude that it takes about 10,000 hours to become a world-class expert in any field. That's fine, but instead of using those hours to become a master, I'd rather use them to learn a bit about a lot. So, I’m probably never going to be the one with the green thumb, or the proprietor of a soap shop, or the go-to lady for the fancy knit handbag. And, I’m definitely not going to be the next Scott Joplin.

I'll be the very happy generalist.

Hey, Barbara Sher says it’s OK. If you think so, too, and have your own experiences to share, I’d love to hear from you.

And I invite all NYPL colleagues to share, via this blog channel, what you’re learning now.

Start a New Hobby with the Help From NYPL's Periodical Collections!

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:03:11 -0500

Would you like to learn how to knit or improve your bird watching skills? The DeWitt Wallace Periodicals Division currently holds over 100 hobbies and leisure activities magazines for hobbyists, amateurs and enthusiasts alike.

We have periodicals ranging from antique trading to doll collecting, running, biking, amateur wrestling, chess playing, cooking, traveling, horse riding, photographing, fly fishing, writing, interior designing, yachting, jewelry making, golfing, gaming, gardening, archery, and swimming.

We also subscribe to magazines that focus on collecting stamps, coins, beer cans, clocks, firearms, marbles, pens, post cards, seashells, souvenir buildings, teddy bears, and toys; just to name a few!

Personally, I like reading about book collecting more than doing the “collecting" aspect itself. Books are interesting objects; they are full of tiny details that are often overlooked by people. The activity of book collecting can be lucrative, fun and overwhelming. Competition is fierce but only the true bibliophiles can master the art of book collecting by reading these periodicals!

So how can you find such periodicals? There are numerous ways to search for these magazines from our library catalog; the quickest way is to switch keyword to subject and then type in your hobby of interest and " -- periodicals ." Example: " fly fishing -- periodicals "

This search method will filter your results for the "hobby interests" to "periodicals." If there are "no matches found," you can refine your search by retyping another subject or simply look at the results below to see if there are other nearby subjects close to your interests.

If you already know the title of the magazine, you can switch "keyword" to "journal title" and type the name of the magazine and submit the search. You can also search for other similar titles based on the same "subject headings" in the catalog record of a magazine.

Lifelong Learning Never Ends

Ambrose Thompson, Tompkins Square Library — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 06:08:24 -0400

We are born with scarcely any of the skills or abilities we need to survive in the world and must amass skills to succeed. Without care and guidance from family, we would not survive the first day of life. While we all walk down different paths in life, the one common feature to all paths is that the path is never perfectly straight and narrow or clear of debris as we might like. There are pitfalls as the skills or abilities we possess don’t match the pavement we find ourselves on. Unexpected twists or bends change our world view as society evolves in unprecedented manners we are not ready for. Blocks form that we must find a way around or over by increasing our problem solving abilities or quickly altering our intentions.

Because lifelong learning is about reacting to an evolving world, lifelong learning is not something we do after retirement or on weekends to pass the time. Rather, lifelong learning is about going from day to day and trying to cope and prosper. And sometimes, lifelong learning is about coming to the hard realization we are not perfect and innately capable in all areas we find ourselves interacting in.

Take the Born Digital generation, people born with computers as a given and who grew up interacting with computers without fear or trepidation. There is the assumption that kids who grew up using computers are by their nature computer literate and savvy. But then a young adult will ask how to cut and paste on a word processor document, try doing research by typing a query into the URL box, or think Wikipedia and Google are primary sources.

Among the younger set, children will know how to get to the coolest game website but not know how to find a book in the library or even what it means to reserve materials on the online catalog. Computer use is just an example since youth are often touted as being natural computer users. It could be any field of knowledge and any ability base we wish to talk about.

First, getting by and actually excelling are two different things. I can speak a few words of Spanish and get by in an emergency but that is far different from fluency or literacy. Second, lifelong learning is not a sign of poor education or limited mental skills; actually it is quite the opposite. Lifelong learning recognizes that life is chaotic and dynamic. We are all throughout the day akin to babies taking their first step, and that is because we are alive and growing, finding ourselves in new and expanding communities with new needs and expectations.

The key to lifelong learning success is to see a dualistic aspect to it. There is the realization that we cannot possibly be born or have learned all we need in formal education settings. Also, there is always a nervous factor in learning new material as our brains rewire and find different ways of processing the world around us. To inspire lifelong learning it is necessary to address both facets of the process.

As a public library is open to all and serves all ages in their recreational and educational pursuits, we are well aligned to support lifelong learning. By creating open and inviting spaces with staff that are easy to approach, we can leverage our already existing placement in the community to more conscientiously design lifelong learning initiatives by meeting our patrons where they are in their lives and helping solve information gaps in whatever manner is best for them.

To read more on lifelong learning and learning options, check out these books at your local branch:

But What If I Don't Want to Go to College?: A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education by Harlow G. Unger
Lifelong and Continuing Education: What is a Learning Society? edited by Paul Oliver
Smart Things to Know About Lifelong Learning by Andrew Holmes

Brain Fitness: Practical Advice to Keep Your Brain Sharp

Brigid Cahalan, Teaching & Learning, Literacy and Outreach — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:46:04 -0400

Alvaro Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of SharpBrains and co-author (with Elkhonon Goldberg) of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews to Keep your Brain Sharp will be discussing the growing field of research in this area at two NYPL locations this coming week: Wednesday, September 23, 10 A.M. at Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road; and, Friday, September 25, 1:30 P.M. at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. By presenting the results gleaned from recent research and scientific studies, Fernandez aims to help us make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness.

In partnership with the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, The Library recently held three film screenings/discussions focused on Alzheimer’s disease. One thing I learned is that there is no known way to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease: no “gold standard.” On the other hand, based on evidence we can say that engaging in mentally stimulating activities through education, jobs, and leisure activities lowers the probability of developing Alzheimer’s symptoms. And for some reason, the building up of a Brain Reserve helps people, even with the same Alzheimer's pathology (which cannot be delayed/ prevented), to withstand the effects of that pathology and to delay the appearance of symptoms. I asked Alvaro for a few books he would recommend on the topic of brain fitness. Here are some of his suggestions and comments:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John J. Medina, “A fun and accessible overview of the research and implications, written with a younger/ business audience in mind"; A User’s Guide to the Brain, by John J. Ratey. “An excellent introduction to how the brain works and important concepts such as perception, cognition, attention, emotions.”

He also recommended a few websites- Cognitive Daily and Mind Hacks.

For more about Alvaro and SharpBrains, see my earlier post here.

I hope you can join us for Alvaro’s *free* presentation—your brain will thank you for it!