The Atrium

This new volume by local author Tom Dilley is a wonderful contribution to the growing number of books about the history of Grand Rapids. Postcard collectors, historians and researchers will find this a useful and interesting book with its black and white reproductions of 228 postcards from Dilley's personal collection, many of which are quite rare.

Dilley begins the volume with a concise overview of Grand Rapids history and the history of postcards. Short explanations are given for the various types of postcards: postal mailing cards, real photos, white border cards, linen and chrome cards. He points out the importance of postcards as historical documents capturing the social history of a certain time and place.

The book is divided into three sections: "The City" "Life in the City" and "The City at Work" This structure works well in categorizing the wide array of postcards. Dilley starts by showing aerial views of the city. He proceeds with street scenes, individual buildings and bridges. Dilley does an excellent job of identifying buildings, giving the location, interesting details, the architect when known, and the life span of the structure. Dilley often refers to the contemporary counterpart of a historical building, giving readers a real sense of "then and now"

The section "Life in the City" includes the commercial, religious, educational and social activities of the growing city. There are wonderful views of museums, theaters, retail stores, cafes, hotels, hospitals, churches schools and parks. The author spotlights social organizations such as the YMCA, the Ladies Literary Club and the St. Cecilia Music Society. Dilley's book includes rare interior scenes of the YWCA gymnasium and the clothing department of May and Sons.

Section Three, "The City at Work" shows Grand Rapids as a leader in "wholesale, retail and manufacturing enterprise" The furniture industry is given prominence, but other industries are also included. The Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Grand Rapids Brass Company, the Cargill Company, and Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company stand out as a few fine examples.

Grand Rapids in Vintage Postcards includes many cards that most people have never seen. Included is a rare double card of the Majestic Theatre, a real photo card of the Fanatorium Bowling Alley and a scene of visiting airplanes lined up for the 1919 dedication of the Grand Rapids Airport. Besides the wonderful visual images, a strong point of the book is the accompanying text, which is very helpful in giving a historical perspective on the postcard views. Dilley's book will serve as a valuable reference work as well as an enjoyable walk down memory lane.

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Email hoaxes are email messages that are invented with one purpose, to be passed on to everyone you know.

If one email message is sent to ten people, and those ten people send it to ten people, and those ten people send it to ten people, by the sixth run of this, that one single email message has made it to one million people! You may think that one teeny tiny message doesn't really have an effect on the Internet, or your privacy, but you couldn't be more wrong!

We pay for the millions of bogus emails to spread across the Internet and eat up bandwidth on our DSL and Cable Internet bills. Secondly, spammers harvest email addresses from hoaxes and chain letters. So if your address is included within one of those messages because the sender did not use proper netiquette and use the BCC field when inserting your address, your address has been published with millions of strangers and become a part of all those spammer's email lists!

If you want to help stop the spread of spam, there are a few simple things you can do.

1. Identify an email hoax when you see one:

The message usually contains something like "send this to everyone you know." No credible source would tell you to do this. Also, the message will normally play on our sense of need to help others (who wouldn't forward on an email about a kidnapped girl?) or our sense of fear (you want to warn your friends about the newest computer virus, don't you?). Another common message is one involving gaining something if you "forward this message on to 20 friends."

2. Check a credible source, like Snopes.com:

Snopes has a database of thousands of email stories. Some are true, but most aren't. There is a search feature that will allow you to enter a phrase from the email. For instance, one email that I have recieved repeatedly throughout the years is one warning me to stop using Febreze because it has been known to posoin and kill pets. Searching the Snopes database for "Febreze" shows me this page, which tells me that there are no known reports of Febreze even injuring an animal, let alone killing one. Another message that everyone has gotten at least 5 times is the promise that Bill Gates is going to give me $1000 if I forward the email on from him! Again, it's simply not true.

After you have identified an email as a hoax, there is only one thing to do. DELETE IT! If you want to take it a step further, I usually respond to the sender and tell them that the message they are sending on is false, and then I direct them to the actual article on Snopes. I also advise them that they should never forward any email message on until they have verified the validity of it.

If everyone took this stance, we could stamp out the spread of spam, reduce our bandwidth costs, and free our inboxes from junk emails.

Posted by Kolene at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Although her novels are classified as mysteries, Janet Evanovich really deserves a category of her own. Her stories fall somewhere between soap opera and a cheesy whodunit by combining over-the-top drama with a healthy dose of humor and a Nancy Drew twist or two. With a series of eleven successful stories based on the character Stephanie Plum and the twelfth to be released on June 20, 2006, who can dispute Evanovich's winning combination?

The beauty of this series is that readers don't need to read each book in succession to get a sense of the characters. Stephanie Plum is a moderately successful bounty hunter with a little too much spunk and not quite enough common sense who can't seem to commit to a permanent relationship. The difficulties between Stephanie and the men in her life, Joe Morrelli and Ranger, pale in comparison to the difficulties she encounters in her job, all of which brings her to a life changing decision: time for a career move. In Eleven on Top, Stephanie convinces herself that life in the law enforcement field is over for her, so she attempts to start a new career. While this is great in concept, she just can't seem to adapt to the mundane and finds herself doing office work for Ranger instead. The tension escalates as Stephanie walks the line between Ranger and Joe and tries to maintain her balance while seeking the identity of the stalker who is trying to kill her.

Rumor has it that a movie version of this popular series is in the works. At the official Janet Evanovich website readers can vote on actors to play the lead roles in a Stephanie Plum movie as well as get background information on Evanovich and all of her novels. To cast your vote, get the latest updates and read the first two chapters of book twelve, Twelve Sharp, go to www.evanovich.com

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the continuous publication of Allen Ginsberg's epic poem Howl. To truly appreciate what the "Beat" movement represented a reading of Howl is essential. That is unless you are satisfied with the mass medias portrayal of the Beat generation in films such as The Subterraneans or television shows like Dobie Gillis.

Make sure you visit City Lights Bookstore website to get a great historical perspective on the publication history of Ginsberg's iconic poem. If you are over fifty resolve to read or reread Howl for your souls sake. If you are under thirty read it to help you appreciate an era in our countrys history your parents lived through and survived.

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, another season of American Idol is over and the very entertaining Taylor Hicks earned the most votes making him the next idol. Now, I am not a watcher or fan of the show. I have seen a total of about 2 shows in the years it has been on. The one episode I saw of this years competition showed me the presumed favorite, Chris Daughtry, should have won. Since I'm not a fan, I guess I really have no say. I did find Taylor to be entertaining, but I also wondered if he would have gone so far without his quirky dance moves. So, to the true fans of the show, did the "right" performer become the next American Idol?

Posted by Martin at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other day I was looking for a good book to share with my reading group, so I went to ReadingGroupGuides.com. Yeah, I know, these groups have been hot for a while now. But maybe you are a bit slow to the game. Or perhaps you are having trouble choosing a title. Anyway, ReadingGroupGuides.com has a plethera of guides (over 1840 and counting). There is advice on starting and maintaining a book group, a monthly newsletter, and interviews. You can also register to win books for your group.

There is so much book related information on ReadingGroupGuides.com that you might want to use the web site for your next discussion!

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Death as narrator. He doesn't carry a scythe or wear a black robe. He doesn't get involved in humans lives. Except once as he watches a young girl steal her first book. This is the story of that girl, Liesel Meminger, who is sent to live with a foster family in working class Mulching, Germany in the late 1930's. It is World War II. Death is very busy. Still, he manages to tell Liesel's story. He tells of her joys, her sorrows, her interesting cast of friends and family, and of her thievery. This is a beautiful and haunting story about the power of words. Death does not enjoy his job, he carries children's souls in his arms, and he doesn't always welcome those souls seeking him out. Although this book has been published as a young adult novel, it is a novel for adults, as well. The title has recieved several starred reviews (School Library Journal and Kirkus) and was featured on NPR's All things considered. Death may surprise you.

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ever wonder what those two little columns are underneath the TO field on your email? They say CC and BCC, but what does it mean and when should you use them?

CC stands for Carbon Copy, and BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy. They stem from the days of typewriters, where 2 or more letters could be written without having to retype them over and over again. A BCC is just like the CC, except only the recipient of the blind copy knows that he got it. He doesn't even know who else got a BCC, he just knows that he is being kept quietly in the loop. Since the invention of email, the BCC is still used for this, but it has also evolved into a powerful tool to protect privacy.

Most people want their email address only known to those he/she gives it to. When you forward a joke from your cousin Bob to all of your friends, and then they send it on to all of their friends, and they send it on to all of their friends, and on and on... eventually, your email address has been given to everyone and their brother, and their cousins and aunts and, well, you get the picture, don't you?

This is why you should NEVER send out a mass mailing that uses the TO or CC field. Think about it this way: When you send out snail mail invitations to a party, would you include the home addresses of everyone you invited in each envelope? Most people would not trust you with their personal information if they knew you were abusing it this way. An email address is no different. When you do not use the BCC option, you are giving your friends' email to complete strangers. More importantly, spam harvesters use the email addresses found in these messages to build their arsenal of addresses, adding to your collection of junk emails in your inbox.

If you want to send a mass email out, like that message from Bill Gates about giving his money away, please protect your friends and loved ones by using the BCC field! This will protect your email contacts. By using the BCC option instead of TO or CC, no one will be able to find their email address. Your friends and family will thank you!

Speaking of Bill Gates and his money, tune in next week when I teach you the secret of identifying email hoaxes and frauds!

Posted by Kolene at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone was a winner as they created brightly colored masterpieces at
Main Library last night. Lots of talk and collaborations with other kids,
Moms, and Dads. Building went on for over an hour and a half. Ambitious
and industrious, teams built a replica of the Sears tower, a zig zag
house, a sleek white dwelling, exciting scenes, spaceships, and a
transporter. Trenten, age 11, wanted to come back next year.

Rex worked on this castle on and off for 6 weeks using legos gathered from garage sales.

Rex, age 7, and his castle.

Pierce, age 10, and his Dad build a moving space transporter.

Casey launches his starship.

Posted by Martin at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ever get to the point where you just can't find anything else to read? You've gone through all of your favorite authors and now the back of the cereal box is looking good. Or perhaps you have decided to turn over a new leaf and organize your library at home. How in the world are you going to catalog 5,000 titles? Me thinks it is time for www.librarything.com Go ahead and type in the last book you read (even if it was months ago). LibraryThing will connect you to people who have the same reading interests and you will also get great book recommendations. And go ahead, catalog those books (you can never have too many). One user has over 8,000 books catalogued!!

You need to create your own account and once you do that, the skies the limit! Click on Zeitgeist for loads of fun and don't forget to check out the LibraryThing Blog.

Posted by Martin at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I send out this electronic mailing list to all of the ficiton lovers out there. It is called Fiction_L and comes from the Morton Grove Public Library in Illinois. It was started by librarians as a way for them to share their knowledge regarding fiction and anything related. Approximately 2,500 people from around the world share their expertise on this list. My favorite section of Fiction_L are the booklists developed by the subscribers from Fiction_L. They list books by genre, character, setting, subject, author, or audience. I rather like the genre "Nuns in Mysteries"!

So join up and share your knowledge with your fellow fiction lovers, or just look through the archives and learn something you might have missed.

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saw this article in Sundays Grand Rapids Press. It is regarding the protection and overall coordination of West Michigan's green space. According to the article planners from different organizations are looking at the map of the region and wondering how the environment and green space can be protected when the population of Kent and Ottawa counties is approaching 1 million by 2020? Obviously we do not have the answer to such a question, but we do have the resources to help inform people on the issue.

Try one of these books or DVD

• Sprawl: a compact history
• The land we share : private property and the common good
• Save our land, save our towns

A list of organizations mentioned in the article can be found below.

• West Michigan Strategic Alliance
• Grand Valley Metropolitan Council
• Home and Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids
• Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In past months, the social networking site myspace.com has been partially blamed for teens connecting to adults much older than them. Five days ago, it happened again. Myspace and other social networking sites available on the internet as sites where people are able to post profiles of themselves including likes, dislikes, photos and more. Myspace in particular is said to be specifically for teens, but adults use the site as well, and this is often where people believe the trouble starts. However, some believe that these sites are the "hot new" thing now but will eventually be phased out when the newest, hottest thing emerges.

Do you think myspace should have some type of controls to help lower or stop some of the online predators from striking or do you think these types of social networking sites will eventually disappear anyway? For teen safety on the internet, check out links from our website

Posted by Martin at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you already use Google's Gmail webmail, then you can get a personalized homepage from Google. If you don't have a Gmail account, it's as easy as signing up for an account on their homepage.

Once you have a Gmail account, you have the option of making a personalized Google search page with only the information you want to see. For instance, my Google search page contains the Google search bar, and some personalized information: The Top 3 Slashdot stories, today's events from my Google Calendar, the weather in Grand Rapids, the top 10 items in my Netflix queue, and so much more. It's my own space to provide myself whatever content I see fit, and Google makes it easy.

After signing into your gmail account, just visit http://www.google.com/ig?hl=en and click on the 'Add Content' link in the top-left corner of the page. You will be amazed at the hundreds of options you can choose from to provide whatever content you like on your page.

This is all part of a trend in web page design that gives control to the user to create not only the content, but even the look and feel of the page as well. Sites that have been succesful in this are del.icio.us, which lets you keep all your Internet bookmarks in one place no matter where you are, and Digg, a technology news site.

Is anyone else using anything fun and customizable like this? What sites do you use that you have more control over?

Posted by Kolene at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saw this article in the New York Times the other day. Seems the Book Review editor at the paper decided to poll a couple hundred writers, critics, editors, etc. to see what they thought was the best work of American fiction in the last 25 years. The winner was Beloved by Toni Morrison. The runners-up were Underworld by Don DeLillo, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Rabbit Angstrom by John Updike, and American Pastoral by Philip Roth. So do you agree with the choice of Toni Morrison? Do you think the decision is a valid one?

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am a political junkie, I follow politics every day and from every part of the country. For all of my fellow political addicts out there I present the following from NPR. It is a map of all 50 states, when you click on each of the states the governor and congressional races are highlighted from that state. It also gives the reader predictions on each race, whether one candidate is favored over another, or if the race is a toss up. It helps one forget that the election is still 6 months away.

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Around first grade or so, many of us realize the old saying is true: a mother's job really is never done. These mothers, grandmothers and their families gathered to celebrate all of the hard work mums do. Mariachi singer Gabriel Estrada took requests, "Cielito Lindo" and "Las Mananitas" among the favorites, while the Hispanic Heritage Committee passed out cake and flowers.

Jaclyn, 8, and Juliette, 2, put the table decorations to good use.

Two-year-old Katherine, practicing the whole "eating with a fork" idea, and her mother, Margarita.

The Kaltenberg family being serenaded.

Felipe, 10, holding his younger brother Charlie, 2.

Estrada learned many of his traditional songs from his grandmother.

Posted by Katy at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Since we live in the Great Lakes state, thought this website the Great Lakes Information Network might interest some of you out there. It is a site with information from all over the Great Lakes basin. This includes the states from Minnesota to New York and the two Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The different sections covered are tourism, economy, environment, education, to name a few. My favorite section is the Daily News where news from around the Great Lakes is presented every 24 hours.

Posted by Martin at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have all heard that kids can lose reading skills if not read to or are not reading themselves over the summer. See some articles and statistics at the American Library Association's website.

That is why the Grand Rapids Public Library has the Summer Reading Program every summer for children of all ages! (up to age 18). It is simple. Just visit your local library, pledge how many books or minutes you think you can read in an 8 week period, read, and gather fun prizes. For teens, for every four books read, your name is entered into a drawing for some great prizes. This year the program runs from Monday, June 12 through Saturday, August 5. Come join the fun!

The Arthritis Foundation estimates 66 million Americans of all ages have arthritis or chronic joint symptoms.

The Grand Rapids Public Library has many titles on the subject of arthritis. Some of the newer titles include Arthritis Drugs and More : An A to Z Guide published by the Arthritis Foundation, Arthritis : A Cleveland Clinic Guide by John Clough, The Arthritis Helpbook by Kate Lorig, and Exercises for Arthritis by Erin O'Driscoll.

Health information on the Internet is plentiful but how do you know what you find is reputable? We have pulled together some of those health sites which will help you find the best in health information.

You can find excellent information online from the Arthritis Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, as well as through the Arthritis section of MedlinePlus.

If you would like to keep up with the latest in current health news, check out the News section of the MedlinePlus web site. MedlinePlus is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

Contact the regional office of the Arthritis Foundation for more helpful information.

Posted by Martin at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Solveig Haugland started using StarOffice and OpenOffice.org in 1999. She discovered that she loved teaching and has authored three books on the subject. She says:

"Here's the bottom line. If you're using Microsoft but not happy with the product/price/security issues, or if you're switching to OpenOffice.org and finding it confusing, I'm here to help. I think OpenOffice.org, for the most part, is by far the best choice for an office suite, and I want to help everyone else using it or considering using it to understand it. Whether you just want some nice simple documents, complex charts and calculations, technical illustrations, or some, frankly, fabulous graphic art, you can do it with OpenOffice.org."

Solveig's blog is dedicated to helping OO users be more efficient and comfortable with the software package. As well as providing tips on using the software, she also lists tons of other resources for getting help with OO and finding other free software packages, like GIMP, a Photoshop alternative. Her blog is divided into categories for each OO component, as well as a ton of other related topics. If you're looking for specific help with Writer, just click on that subject under the category listing on the right. Her blog is at openoffice.blogs.com.

Solveig's website is GetOpenOffice.org.

Posted by Kolene at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It is often said, by adults, that the book is always better than the movie. Ever wonder if this is true? The children's novel Hoot is the latest in a long line of books being made into movies. Some of these are very well adapted. Some, maybe not. The movies show you what the characters look like, what a certain place, such as Hogwarts, the wizardy school in the Harry Potter series, looks like, and how the characters sound and interact with each other. But do these images on the big screen match what you have already envionsed yourself? Do you believe the book is always better than the movie?

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been falling down on the job and haven't sent you to the Hornby Island Eagle Cam. Ten million people a day are tuning in to watch the adult eagles and wait for the egg to hatch, perhaps any day now. Except when the male and female change places, you don't get to see much action. The audio is wind on the microphone, except for the occasion eagle scream. Hornby Island is in the Strait of Georgia east of Vancounver Island, to the northwest of Qualicum Beach on this map.

Posted by Martin at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Wondering what your neighbors are reading? The following titles are the top ten titles on hold for GRPL patrons as of May 1st! The new number 1 is Two little girls in blue by Mary Higgins Clark. Happy Reading!

Two little girls in blue by Mary Higgins Clark
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
The 5th horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Marley and Me by John Grogan
S is for silence by Sue Grafton
Beach road : a novel by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge
Divine : a novel by Karen Kingsbury
The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century by Thomas Friedman
Prior bad acts by Tami Hoag
Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline

Posted by Martin at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After vacationing in Manitoulin island last summer and experiencing the jaw-dropping beauty of a truly dark summer sky, I bought my first telescope. It was a an impulse purchase and at the time part of me wondered if I was wasting money on a passing whim. Thankfully, this is not the case. In several short months I have become completely addicted to viewing the night sky. Even with the existing light pollution from neighboring street lights, I am able to view Saturn's rings, the Orion Nebula, Mars, Jupiter and, star clusters, and galaxies from my own backyard. Luckily, you don't need to buy a telescope to enjoy the night sky.

On May 6th, astronomers around the world will celebrate Astronomy Day. This annual event encourages individuals and organizations to share their knowledge and passion about the universe with others. During Astronomy Day events, people who have never looked through a telescope receive a great chance to do so with the help of local experts. Check out the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association's website for details on events that are planned throughout the city. Grab your binoculars, borrow a copy of Michigan Starwatch: the essential guide to our night sky by Mike Lynch from the library, and pray for clear skies!

Posted by Martin at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Poets Heather Sellers and Thylias Moss wrapped-up the National Poetry Month celebrations last weekend by reading and singing some of their poems.

Heather Sellers, author of Spike and Cubby's Ice Cream Island Adventure and Drinking Girls and Their Dresses: Poems spoke about how she writes her best poetry in a child-like state of mind. For Sellers, the grown-up part of her brain, responsible for paying the mortgage and filing taxes, tends to write really boring stuff. About interest rates and that sort of thing. So in order to write, Sellers represses that area of her thoughts. She demonstrated this technique through a few writing exercises, in which participants ended up on the floor, without their shoes, clutching purple and red markers. Afterward, she talked with the crowd and signed copies of her books.

Thylias Moss, an award-winning author of several books including Tale of a Sky-Blue Dress, attributed much of the credit for her latest book, Slave moth: a narrative in verse, to her son Ansted. She got the idea for "Slave Moth" when she attended a school meeting and one of Ansted's classmates objected to a genealogy project because he was "embarrassed" some of his ancestors were slaves. Thylias announced to the meeting that she wasn't embarrassed of anything (which was not quite the whole truth, she later admitted) and sat down to write "Slave Moth." Now Ansted, a jazz pianist, accompanies Thylias while she sings her poems.

Thylias Moss singing one of her poems with her son, Ansted.

Posted by Katy at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A printer appearing as a Windows network printer is available at each GRPL location. You'll need to install a new printer using a building ID and the printer name (see table below). You may use any standard Postscript driver. We recommend something like the "HP LaserJet 5/5M Postscript". Color printing is not available.

Print jobs cost 25 cents per page but are queued before printing. Please see desk staff to preview and retrieve your print outs. At Main, these may be previewed and printed at the Retrieval Desk on the first floor of the Keeler Wing.

MAC OSX users can print by setting up a printer to use "IP Printing" to the LPR service. The printer adress is print48 and the queue name is hold.

See Connecting to GRPL Printers for a detailed example with Windows XP.

Posted by Kolene at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)