This Book is Overdue!

Disclaimer: The author of this blog post is in fact biased because she is a librarian....and who doesn't like to hear nice things about your chosen profession?

There is a new book that came out earlier this month called This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson. The author states "Librarians are one of our most underappreciated natural resources." Aww, thanks, Marilyn :-) Here is the book's synopsis taken from Marilyn Johnson's website:

Are librarians still necessary in the age of Google? I wrote This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All after chasing dozens of tech-savvy librarians who are wrestling the accumulated history and culture of the world in a variety of mutating formats while serving needy, techno-stressed patrons -- us. These librarians are leaning into the digital age while they hold firmly to old-fashioned librarian values like privacy, accuracy, open access, and free speech. Irrelevant? Hardly. In fact, we've never needed them more.

There is so much interesting information contained in this book, for library workers and non-library workers alike. Librarians from all kinds of backgrounds and jobs were interviewed for this book. One chapter talks about librarians as "cyber-missionaries" at St. John's University in Queens. Librarians instruct students from developing nations (some who have never even used computers before) to get familiar with the internet and learn skills to be able to earn degrees online. Another chapter mentions the American Kennel Club. They have their own library and librarian! This book is an example of what makes a great non-fiction book - the reader can learn something new while being entertained at the same time.

As always a few links for more info:

Official Book Site

Patronize This Blog

Librarians Gone Wild

I will end with another quote from the book...

"In tough times a librarian is a terrible thing to waste."

We feel the same way - we are here to serve our community. Let us know how we can help!

Celebrate Dr. Seuss!

Dr.Seuss' birthday is coming up on March 2nd. There are a couple of events going on in town this weekend to celebrate this beloved children's author.

The McWane Science Center is hosting their 1st ever Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast! A ticket includes a hot breakfast, meeting The Cat in the Hat and admission to the museum. For more information about the Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast (including the menu) visit McWane Center's website.


The other event is happening at Target stores. All of their stores across the country will host a Dr. Seuss storytime this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The event will feature a reading of the classic Oh, The Places You'll Go! and other family-friendly activities. Target has partnered with the NEA (National Education Association) to support Read Across America, the nation’s largest celebration of children’s reading. Click on these links for more details about Read Across America or other NEA programs.


If you can't make it to either one of these great events you can always come down to the library! We have a great selection of Dr. Seuss books and DVDs!

Author Sapphire speaking at UAB

From UAB's website:

Sapphire, the author whose book inspired the hit film "Precious," will be the keynote speaker during the 2010 University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Black History Month celebration Feb. 2-28 on the UAB campus.

The lecture, titled "When Push Comes to Precious," is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17 in Volker Hall Lecture Room A, 1670 University Blvd. A book-signing event will follow. The event is free for UAB students, faculty and staff and $10.50 for the general public. Tickets are available at the UAB Ticket Office in the Hill University Center, 1400 University Blvd., or call 205-934-8001.

We haven't been able to keep copies of Push on the shelf! But you can get on the waiting list for the book - or if you missed the movie in the theater you can reserve the DVD, which is set to be released on March 9th, 2010.

Percy Jackson hits the big screen

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief will be released in theaters today! The movie is based on the popular series of books written by Rick Riordan.

Publisher's Book Summary: After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, 12 year old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

If you want to read about how the series came about here is a really great article from the UK's Guardian. It talks about Pick Riordan's background and his son's experiences with dyslexia and ADHD. The character of Percy was based on Riordan's son, Haley, who is now 15 years old and is writing his own book!

Find more information at the movie's official website or view the trailer below:

Book Club Wrap-Up - The Help

This month's book club selection was Kathryn Stockett's debut novel The Help. It has sold over a million copies since its release in early 2009.

From Library Journal:

Set in Stockett's native Jackson, MS, in the early 19060s, this first novel adopts the complicated theme of blacks and whites living in a segregated South. A century after the Emancipation Proclamation, black maids raised white children and ran households but were paid poorly, often had to use separate toilets from the family, and watched the children they cared for commit bigotry. In Stockett's narrative, Miss Skeeter, a young white woman, is a naive, aspiring writer who wants to create a series of interviews with local black maids. Even if they're published anonymously, the risk is great; still, Aibileen and Minny agree to participate. Tension pervades the novel as its event are told by these three memorable women. Is this an easy book to read? No, but it is surely worth reading. It may even stir things up as readers in Jackson and beyond question their own discrimination and intolerance in the past and present.

While looking up information about the book I came across this:

It is the UK cover of the book - which was deemed too controversial to be used in the United States. I believe everyone in the group enjoyed the book! Several members shared memories of what it was like growing up during the 1960s - it was very interesting to hear the different experiences people had.

The author is working on her 2nd novel, which is also set in Mississippi but during the Great Depression. Here are a few links for more information about Kathryn Stockett and The Help:

Kathryn Stockett's official website

Telegraph (UK newspaper) article

Time Magazine article

While the movie rights have been acquired by another Jackson native, Tate Taylor, there have been no announced plans as of yet for a movie. Here at the library we have been pondering who we would cast. Here is what we have come up with so far.....

April's votes: Octavia Spencer as Minny (she narrated Minny's part on the audiobook), Marcia Gay Harden as Hilly and Gwyneth Paltrow as Skeeter and her real-life mother Blythe Danner as Skeeter's mother.

Nina's votes: Anne Hathaway as Skeeter, Scarlett Johansson as Celia, Lacy Chabert as Hilly, Susan Sarandon as Skeeter's mom, and Amanda Siegfried as Elizabeth Leefolt.

Let us know what you think - who would you cast in the roles of Skeeter, Minny, Aibileen, Hilly, etc.???

A Prairie Home Companion - Live!

A Prairie Home Companion is a two-hour weekly variety show broadcast live primarily from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. The show offers an eccentric combination of comedy sketches and music and is hosted by humorist/author/storyteller Garrison Keillor. It is heard each week by millions on more than 600 public radio stations across the country. This Thursday you have a chance to see a special presentation of the popular radio show, A Prairie Home Companion.

From their official website:

On Thursday, February 4th, 2010, a performance of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitz (plus a 30-minute pre-show segment) will be beamed — live and in high-definition — to 500+ movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

The only theater in the Birmingham area that will be showing APHC is Regal Trussville 16. In addition to the Thursday night live airing there will also be an encore showing Tuesday, February 9th.

For more information about A Prairie Home Companion read the brief history on their website or search the library's catalog for Garrison Keillor.

Fancy Nancy Party Wrap-Up

Our Fancy Nancy Tea Party this past Saturday was a big success!


First we listened to a Fancy Nancy story.

Ms. Nina showed us how to wrap our boas around our necks!

Then we moved onto our recreation time (a fancy word for crafts!)

We made tissue paper flower corsages!

Ohh-la-la!

Snack time!

Everyone was so polite and used their manners :-)

Ms. April handing out one of our door prizes - Fancy Nancy Posh Bedroom Board Game!

Everyone had a blast! Thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather to come out to the library and be "fancy"!