the abecedarian librarian

Class Time

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:36:00 +0000

Here is a new entry!

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:39:00 +0000

So, exactly how long does it take to close a library and empty an 8000 square foot house? Apparently it can be done in six days if you work hard enough and have enough dedicated people. At least that is what we found when it was decided that we must leave our temporary library in the O'Donnell House. With the Main Library nearing completion and the new owners in place at the house, the only sensible thing to do was pack up everything and begin the process of gathering all the materials spread in several storage areas throughout Sumter. It allowed us to transfer the shelving for the Friends' Library, organize the temporary collection to mate up with the collection in storage, get some great aerobic exercises in, sweat (a lot), and truly manage to get on each other's nerves! But we got it done - the last truckload of materials was taken away from the house yesterday!
(As an aside, I want to say how happy we are that Danny Jefferson has decided to take the O'Donnell House on as a major restoration project. He has the experience and know-how to take that wonderful building and truly make it a spectacular home and icon for Sumter. We'll follow his progress with eager anticipation!)
So where are we and what's expected next? All of the staff is somewhat crammed into the library on Wesmark - my "office" is for now a corner of the kitchen, others are in study rooms, some in the children's area, two in a service hall, and I think a few are hanging from the ceiling. But we can at least find a place to work, continue to add books and materials, prepare for the Author's Luncheon next Friday, get The "Big Read" up and going, and really focus on moving FOR THE LAST TIME back to Main. We anticipate getting into the building the end of February, sorting and shelving books and materials, the furniture arriving sometime the later part of March, and being able to open the early part of April. The "official" Grand Opening is firm for the 15th with a special Friends opening at 2 and the public opening at 3;30. But more on that later. In the mean time we appreciate all the understanding of the Sumter community as we go through this trying time - I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again - it is sooo going to be worth it!

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:46:00 +0000

Since blogging has a decidedly personal tone to it anyway - and since we’re not sure anyone is even reading this one - I thought it would be permissible to give you some book ideas based on the last few I’ve read and enjoyed. (It goes without saying I left the ones off that I read and HATED!) 2006 has been very generous to book-lovers, and consequently you have a plethora of titles to choose from for our holiday gift-giving. This year avoid the mall, and give them a book from the eclectic selection of the best that emerged from the publishing houses this year.

1) Grace at Low Tide by Beth Webb Hart
DeVeaux DeLoach's Daddy has gone belly-up after one too many bad business deals, so the DeLoaches must quit their fancy Charleston digs for a small country cottage. DeVeaux has to pull out of her posh prep school and take a weekend job. Daddy grows progressively meaner throughout the book, screaming at the family, ordering DeVeaux's mother to get a job and cruelly mocking her plump physique. For her part, Mama is mainly worried that DeVeaux, now old enough to turn men's heads, remain chaste. DeVeaux is kept afloat by her Christian faith, a cousin and the youth group leader at her church. DeVeaux's charming narration is the book's greatest strength—readers will love DeVeaux like a sister by the end—and its greatest weakness, for she's still an adolescent but sounds implausibly wise for her age. Set in Charleston and on a thinly disguised Edisto, Hart will be our speaker in February at the annual author’s luncheon.

2) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

3) Empress by Shan Sa
In seventh-century China, during the great Tang dynasty, a young girl from the humble Wu clan entered the imperial gynaecium, which housed ten thousand concubines. Inside the Forbidden City, she witnessed seductions, plots, murders, and brazen acts of treason. Propelled by a shrewd intelligence, an extraordinary persistence, and a friendship with the imperial heir, she rose through the ranks to become the first Empress of China.

4) Lisey's Story by Stephen King
Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband Scott two years ago, after a twenty five year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Lisey knew there was a place Scott went -- a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons.

5) Mind the Gaffe by R.L. Trask
The new paperback edition of “Mind the Gaffe,” by the American linguist R. L. Trask, efficiently untangles problems of style and usage, while administering justice with a strong hand. Mr. Trask, who died in 2004, takes on academic jargon, fad words and other forms of stupidity with a flaming sword. A linguist with attitude, Trask was a steadfast soldier in the never-ending War of Words, fighting the good fight for standard written English. Revered for its insight and legendary for its "cheek," Trask's Mind the Gaffe! is an indispensable guidebook for wordsmiths and language mavens of every stripe, providing safe passage through the ubiquitous minefields of improper usage.
· Artiste: This pretentious word . . . commonly means "fraud pretending to be an artist." Don't use it unless you mean to be insulting.
· Amoral, Immoral: An amoral person is one who does not know the difference between right and wrong. An immoral person knows the difference but does wrong anyway.
· Reaction: A reaction is a sudden and spontaneous response to a stimulus, such as jumping, shrieking, or fainting. The word is not properly used as a fancy word for any kind of considered response. If you circulate a policy document, you can ask others for their opinions, or for their criticisms, but do not ask them for their reactions unless you hope to hear responses like "I burst into uncontrollable laughter."
“Do not write drivel like Galliano is at the epicenter of women’s fashion: all this means is ‘Galliano is important in women’s fashion, and I am a pretentious twit.’ ”

6) Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
Doll collecting. The Tooth Fairy. Incontinent dogs. eBay addiction. Hot cardiologists. Available locksmiths. Lesbian personal ads. Junior Mints. Blind dates. Nicorette gum. Coffins (as bookcases). Grandmothers. Dry skin. College t-shirts. Santa Claus. Enforcing traffic laws. Julia Child. Possible Side Effects explores the concept of cause and effect. It is a cautionary tale in essay form. Be forewarned and read the label: hilarious, troubling, and shocking results might occur.

7) Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
What's The Holidays without some good ol' fashioned Christmas dysfunction? Anyone can write a jolly good Christmas tale, but it takes a special kind of person to look at this Season with a dark, twisted and hilarious eye. David Sedaris' collection of six twisted Christmas stories reminds us that this time of year can often go seriously wrong, and so above all else, we must be able to retain our sense of humour (a few stiff drinks couldn't hurt, either). I especially enjoyed his first tale, SantaLand Diaries about Sedaris' crazy experiences working as an elf at Macy's. Also memorable is Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!! one of those oh-so-familiar-and-damned-annoying family Christmas newsletters that gradually begings to dissolve into a litany of horrid dysfunctional incidences. Good fun for the whole family! And of course, I like the cover design. Makes me thirsty just looking at it...

8) Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom by Celia Rivenbark
In some 32 short essays on the ridiculousness of modern life, Rivenbark (Bless Your Heart, Tramp; We're Just Like You, Only Prettier) wanders through Tweenland at the mall, thinking a better name would be "Lil Skanks." She thinks that the Cruise/Holmes pregnancy has an "indescribably delicious" Rosemary's Baby feel to it and recalls that Monica Lewinsky hosted a TV dating show—in which she "didn't get the guy." Rivenbark riffs on America's crazier obsessions—the painful but obligatory pilgrimage to Disney World, the new attention to "buttocks cleavage," coffee makers calling themselves baristas, or those celebrity moms who have "bumps" instead of babies. Rivenbark describes herself as a "slacker mom" and reminds readers to learn something from men—"because no matter how slack a dad is, if he does the least little thing, people gush over him." This is a hilarious read, perhaps best enjoyed while eating Krispy Kremes

9) West of Jesus by Steven Kotler
In West of Jesus, Steven Kotler sets out to find the origins of a very particular surf legend about a surfer called "the conductor" who can control the weather with a human bone. In doing so, Kotler ends up exploring why surfing - not tennis, archery, softball, or NASCAR - is unique in the sense of spiritual fulfillment it provides the practitioner.

10) World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
"Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? ... For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth." -General Travis D'Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

The new library headquarters!

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:33:00 +0000

Wow, I thought that shopping for furniture for my house was time consuming and sometimes overwhelming - try outfitting a 45000 square foot library sometime! That's exactly what we did last Thursday for 17 hours! Danny Shelly - the library's architect and designer has developed the concept that our new library is going to look as updated INSIDE as it does on the outside - to that end we think people are going to be struck by the colors, patterns, textures, and the basic movement of the new space. The color palate is light and very bright - not at all the perceived "dull" or "staid" look normally associated with a library. There are pockets of welcoming areas spread throughout the first and second floors that are ideal for casual browsing and decision making over the latest books and magazines. There is a separate and distinct young adults area far removed from the children's section that we hope will be welcomed by our middle schoolers and above. And the children's area is incredible! I can't wait to see the children in it and we hope you will be as enthusiastic as they are as well. But I had no idea the work that went into planning it all.
Every piece of furniture must be examined for color and style of course, but decisions also have to made on the leg style and type and color, the arms, the overall design, its relationship to everything near it, the durability (measured in 'rubs' by the way), and of course, the cost. After awhile, it all runs together - but we think the community as a whole is going to be wowed by the whole effect.
I will take some updated pictures this week and post them on the website! But I will warn you in advance, it’s difficult to do justice to the space with a camera - you will have to see it to believe it and that should take place early next spring.

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:38:00 +0000

Just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
Remember that the Main library and South Sumter and the Bookmobile will be closed Thursday through Sunday and reopen all services Monday. Wesmark however will be closed Thursday and Friday BUT OPEN Saturday and Sunday.

A Deep Fried Delicacy: The How-To on Deep Frying Turkey
Deep-fried turkey, a concept that started in the south, is gradually rising in popularity nationwide. It's a perfect twist for barbecues, block parties and holiday feasts. In fact, since deep frying turkey requires special equipment and lots of oil, families and groups of neighbors often get together to share the costs and the feast. To get you started, we have several deep-fried turkey recipes for you.So if you’re planning on frying a turkey for the dinner, this page might be useful to you.

http://www.epicurious.com/cooking/holiday/thanksgiving/
Or if you're just looking for great receipes or ideas, loosen your belt a notch as you browse Thanksgiving menus, cooking tips, and hundreds of recipes (many featuring beautiful photographs). Includes wine and beer suggestions, a "turkey primer," vegetarian dishes, and suggestions for using up leftovers. From Epicurious.

Or if you want to educate your guests on the non-Disney side of Thanksgiving, this site traces the history of Thanksgiving in North America and the U.S. "Most Americans are familiar with the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving Feast of 1621, but few realize that it was not the first festival of its kind in North America." Discusses Native American harvest celebrations; celebrations in Newfoundland, Florida, Maine, and Virginia prior to the Pilgrim's celebration; and presidential Thanksgiving proclamations. Part of the Encyclopedia Smithsonian from the Smithsonian Institution.
http://www.smithsonian.org/resource/faq/nmah/thanks.htm

In any case have a great one and come see us Monday!

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:50:00 +0000

In case you haven't been in a retail store since Halloween, Christmas is apparently coming whether we're ready or not - I'm in the not category. When I was younger and actually watched TV, I used to look forward to this time of year because all my favorite shows would do special Christmas programs. They weren't always good, but they did seem somehow to add to the season. Now I don't think many of them do that - although it's such trash that I haven't actually watched any 'hit shows' in so long I can't tell you which ones are popular - nor understand why they would be since they're written for a slow witted seven year old. Oh, sorry, editorial opinion there. But in the spirit of Christmas - and making money, a growing number of popular authors are releasing books that use Christmas as its central motif. Like the TV of yesterday, they aren't always good - but they do offer something different! And most are entertaining reads that may make a good movie someday - or be absolutely horrid, ie. John Grishams' Skipping Christmas (good)and the dreadful Christmas with the Cranks (disaster). Here is a brief rundown of the season's new books - all are available at the library either now or very soon after Thanksgiving!

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry
Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol!
First Impressions by Nora Roberts
A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher
Sugar and Spice by Fern Michaels and others
Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber
A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry
Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 16:21:00 +0000

Welcome to the Sumter Library's newest attempt to keep you updated - our own blog. Here we will share with you new books just arrived, selected reviews, ideas from other libraries that might be popular in our community, updates on events etc.

There is no set schedule for updating the blog, but I'll try to do it at least once a week. What I promise is to listen to your suggestions and comments. So RSSs us if you wish or at least check back from time to time! Talk to you soon.