Architectural Photography

If you all like photography and architecture, here is a book for you!

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3728786

(Warning: I am a little biased, since this is my sister!)

Tragedy

My heart goes out to the Colorado, Batman movie, tragedy. :(

Here are some links to news reports:

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/20/anderson-cooper-reports-from-aurora/

http://www.foxnews.com/index.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/shooting-at-colorado-theater-showing-batman-movie.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

http://www.tallahassee.com/


(I will try to update the links once the stories are moved off the home pages.)

Let's remember to uplift the families, victims, and the community of Aurora, rather than focus on the suspected killer.

Dancing in the Library?

There is a raging trend in the professional library literature, namely, that of reinvention. It should come as no surprise to other professionals or patrons that all types of libraries are trying to find new ways to be useful to their respective communities.


Of course, most of this refocus has to do with technology -- how can libraries provide it and apply it? From providing access to computers and ebooks to virtual reference, libraries are getting creative.


I thought I couldn't be surprised anymore by these efforts of creativity, but I was wrong. (In fact, I am coming to expect that complacency usually yields the unexpected.) Today I discovered a newer form of art, called Sciart. This movement merges art and science. At a Swiss school, dancers performed a dance, "Strangels," in the library...working their way through the researching scientists and dangling from the bookcases.

Dancing in the Cern library


Now, I've heard about the Dance Dance Revolution contests happening for teenagers in the libraries. (A library I worked at has done this program.) I even have not been surprised by flash mobs descending upon libraries.


UNC Chapel Hill Flash Mob


But serious performances happening in and among the stacks -- with unsuspecting patrons and researchers as the captive audience?

I think that this is a splendid idea.

This is an interesting topic...would you like to see this in a library near you?

New ACLU lawsuit

I was browsing my library news feeds and came across this headline: "ACLU alleges Michigan school district violated students' 'right to learn to read.'" from the Washington Post.  While not necessarily library related, the story does have to do with a major mission of libraries -- literacy.

Basically, a school district in the Detroit area is being sued by the ACLU and some of the students for being passed on without being able to read at the grade level they should be reading.  The entire area is doing awful financially, and most of the kids in the district are in poverty.

Read the article and tell me, what do you think?

Books Make a Home

Whenever I'm feeling bummed out (as I have been lately), I like to return to comfort books.  For me, one of those is called Books Make a Home.  This book is full of creative ways people have incorporated books into the designs of their homes.

Similar in theme, the website Bookshelf porn provides lots of images of creative ways people store their books.  (By the way, if you are on Pinterest, this site provides a lot of material for repinning!!!!)

Perhaps, this is the inspiration for my own reuse of my broken bookcase:

Here, I rewrapped old diaper boxes to create "shelving" where the previous shelves broke.   Below is a "dresser" I created out of old boxes, wrapping paper, and tape, for my baby when she was born:

One of my new favorite authors...Susanna Kearsley

Wow...

The last couple of weeks I have been reading a newly discovered author (newly discovered by me, that is) -- named Susanna Kearsley. The two books I've devoured were The Rose Garden and The Winter Sea.

I don't know about her other novels, but these two books are somewhat similar in plot. Both of these have strong, wealthy female protagonists that find "The One" under unusual circumstances -- journeys into the past. If you love historical novels, love a romantic story, and love a touch of magic, then you'll love these books. For me, Kearsley made me contemplate my own relationships, what will she do for you?

For more information, check out her website susannakearsley.com.
                             

Websites for the Book Lover, Part 3

Hello all! After a round of sickness at my house, I hope to be back at it! :)

Today I discovered a new website and app, called Pocket.  By creating a free account, you can add this tool to your browser (or install the app on your mobile device), and save things to read later.  To me, it sort of acts like Pinterest, except whereas Pinterest focuses on images, Pocket allows you to save images, videos, articles, etc.

I have not played around with it that much, but I plan to get started.  If you use Pocket, let me know how it works for you!

Websites for the Book Lover, Part 2

I do apologize for the delay in posts -- due to inclement weather I had no internet or tv at home.

In case you are one who likes to get others' opinions on the next books you read, it may be helpful to know about different review resources.  The resources listed below provide reviews for all genres and formats for adults (and some for children).

• Library Journal
• Scroll over "Reviews" in the menu bar and choose your genre.  This is a trusted source for Librarians.
• Booklist
• Another great source for Librarians.  The website has a lot of free material.
• New York Times Book Review
• Publishers Weekly
• Amazon
• This is a great place to get customer reviews.  Sometimes it even provides professional comments from the above-listed sources.

In later posts, I will cover the world of Children's books, which has many unique sources of information.  There are many sources for reviews, which ones do you use?

Websites for the Book Lover, Part 1

In the next several posts, I will offer helpful online tools for finding new books to read, getting reviews, and keeping a track record of what you've read.

First up: Read-a-Likes.  The following list of websites will all help you find books based on authors and genres you already adore.

• Fantastic Fiction 
• This website is absolutely amazing.  By searching for an author, you can find out all the books that have been published for him/her, the order of series, new books expected to be published, and a linked list of related authors.
• Whichbook
• This website lets you combine different factors to create a suggested reading list.  You slide the scale according to different ranges (beautiful/disgusting, funny/serious).  You can browse their pre-chosen categories, and even create lists by signing in.  The site also links to Facebook.
• whatshouldireadnext.com
• This site suggests your next book based on an author or title you enter into their search engine.

• Your local libraries' online resources.  Many public libraries subscribe to an online database, such as Novelist or Books and Authors, that will help you explore new authors.  In addition, librarians love to put together read-a-like lists based on their patrons' most popular requests.

I know there are countless online tools to help you decide what to read next.  What tools do you use?

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my new blog, Surviving the Shelves!

This blog will be all about books, information, and the Library world.  I hope to have a lot of variety to keep it interesting for library fans, Librarians, and library staff.