Future Architect in the Library

By Sue P.  Third-grade career day, everyone dressed-up as their future career-self, sitting in the gym listening to parents talk about their professions, proved to be the day that set my future. My best friend’s dad, an architect, showed us the new county library building he was designing. It struck me because it was so … Read more

The Bookmobile

By Ellie A.  I have many fond memories of the Bookmobile in Grand Rapids, MI, back in the 40’s. During the summer months, it would come regularly to our neighborhood and I looked forward to each visit.. My favorite books at the time were Nancy Drew mysteries, 1001 Nights and Black Beauty. It was also … Read more

Planet of the Apes Made Me a Librarian

By Terry M. 

As a young man, a boy really, I LOVED the original Planet of the Apes movie.One Saturday afternoon, I was watching it for the umpteenth time and for some reason this time, I did not want it to end. It was that day, that maleficent fall almost snowy day I became a credit reader. While reading the closing credits, I made a discovery – I discovered that the film was based on a book, by Pierre Boulle. I immediately jumped up and ran throughout the house in search of my father. I found him in the kitchen. The next room over from which I had originally started my paternal hunt. With an outrageous sense of urgency I yelled, “Dad we have to go to the mall.” He withdrew his head from the refrigerator and while slowly turning to face me he closed the fridge door. Once we were face to face he casually tossed the bag o’ turkey he had retrieved on the kitchen table and said, “Why?”

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Did You Know: Not a very catchy name, now is it…

Did you know?

Did you know…the Popsicle had another name? The very first “icy treat on a stick” was called the Epsicle, named in 1924 by Frank Epperson who was a powdered lemonade vendor in California. Read about how the more popular name of this beloved frozen treat came to be, and much more, in the St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Check it out or call your rep for more information.

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19th Century Nitty-Gritty: Dancing with Jane Austen

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

It’s certainly no twerk (thank goodness), but there are people all over who love to dress up and dance the way people danced in eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain. What woman in love with Jane Austen’s world wouldn’t dream of going back in time and being Elizabeth Bennet at a ball, meeting Darcy (minus the rejection part)?

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Is Bento Transforming Library Menus?

By Nicholas Schultz
shutterstock_126736217This delicious image portrays a traditional Japanese Bento. Bento is a single portion takeout or home-packed meal. Traditionally a Bento would hold rice, protein, and pickled or cooked veggies – usually in a box-shaped container – hence “Bento Box”.

Over the last few years, Bento has become the new hip. Culinary speaking, Bento Boxes are being offered in most upscale gastro pubs throughout North America, regardless of cuisine style. It satisfies the hipster’s need to be trendy while not having to cook. It satisfies the Michelin chef’s need to offer chic take-out lunches at a premium price point. The world’s most expensive Bento sold for $229,000.

Now Bento is influencing how we consume information as well. The word “bento” roughly translates to “convenient” or “convenience”. In an embattled library world that has seen many skirmishes between federated searching and web-scale discovery/discovery service iterations, user convenience may be the silver bullet.

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Special Librarian

By Michelle F. 

When my daughter, Sami, was about 4 years old (she’s now 18), I registered her for a weekly story time / arts and crafts program at our local library (The Prospect Library in Prospect, CT). Sami has special needs and I had been in search of an appropriate program for her. The story time program seemed perfect. On the first day of the program, the children entered a quiet room in the back of the library and were instructed to take a seat on the floor in front of Mrs. Peterson, the librarian. As Mrs. Peterson began to read the story, Sami got up from her seat, walked over to Mrs. Peterson and stood by her side. I was worried that Sami would be asked to leave the program if she couldn’t stay seated; however, Mrs. Peterson could see that Sami was interested, so she continued to read with Sami by her side. When story time ended, Mrs. Peterson began a conversation with my husband and expressed interest in learning more about Sami. He explained Sami’s special needs and mentioned how much she enjoys books and reading. He told Mrs. Peterson that he reads to Sami every night before bed. Mrs. Peterson responded by telling my husband that her father had read to her when she was a young girl, and she remembers how much she enjoyed that time together. 

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