The Atrium

No, I am not pushing my new book I Love My iPod (and 99 Other Reasons I'm Always Broke). I havent even written one since my seminal work The Last Unicorn was published by me in 1977 using construction paper, crayons & yarn. "A classic by any standard, " says my mom.

Nope. This week I am plugging book sale at the Main Library (111 Library Street NE). The good folks that make up the "Friends of the GRPL" are having a book sale on Saturday, September 30 from 9:30-4:30 p.m. What does this mean for you? BARGAINS, of course! Bargains on books of

all genres in hardcover and paperback. Plus lots of other materials for sale from magazines to CDs. All for little more than some loose change. You might make a great find! Or at least you will get a better deal than at a bookstore. Plus, all proceeds benefit the Grand Rapids Public Library. So you can feel good about yourself, too.

So get down to the Main Library this weekend for the Friends of the Library Book Sale. I hear they might be giving away free unicorn books. Or not.

Posted by Ben at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Banned Books Week is traditionally observed during the last week in September 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of this American Library Association sponsored event. During the week of September 25-30 stop by our Banned Books Week display on the first floor of our Ryerson wing and celebrate your freedom to choose by reading one of the books on display. You might also visit this site for a look at a list of books banned or challenged taken from the Radcliffe Publishing Course top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.

Posted by John at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With Summer officially over, gas bills begins to rise as the mercury begins to drop. Within the last five years, as natural gas prices have swelled, lawsuits abound have been filed with some even proving that rates were artificially manipulated in order to drive up stock values. So is outrage towards your energy supplier a mandate? Maybe, but if they could lower their prices, they would (though there is lots of red tape). In the meantime, here's a comparison of what other cold climate habitants pay for heat:

Company Gas Recovery Cost (per Ccf)

• Consumers Energy (Mid-Michigan) $1.05
• Columbia Gas of Ohio $1.05
• Enbridge (Ontario, Canada) $.96
• DTE (West and Northern Michigan) $.85
• Manitoba Hydro (Manitoba, Canada) $.84Nicor (Greater Chicago) $.59
• Gazprom (Russia) $.10

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

Our friends at the Univeristy of Michigan Library has just sent all the librarians in the state a great site called Elections 2006. It lists links to candidates, public opinion polls, Michigan ballot proposals, national issues, voter registration, prior election results. They put this out every election cycle, new this year is a section on election forecasting and free Presidential election results by Congressional District.

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

A patron came in today to pick up some mysteries and she referred me to a site called stopyourekillingme.com. It indexes over 2100 authors, and it lists their books chronologically, both series and non-series! You can either search according to author or main character! It also has an index of award winners and read-alikes as well. Right now the location index is being updated. Really a tremendous resource for anyone looking for a good Who-dun-it!

Posted by Martin at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In anticipation of our own film series here at GRPL (our first film, showing on October 8, is Casablanca), I just had to go to the Toronto International Film Festival and I have to tell you, there are some fabulous movies coming our way! This year marks the 31st anniversary of this festival which is on par with the Cannes Film Festival in France. Not only can you find some amazing Canadian films, but you can also see the world premiers of such big budget star packed extravaganza such as "Babel" (which stars Brad Pitt, who I happened to see, mainly from the back of his head) and "All the King's Men." Past films from the festival that went on to become winners include Walk the Line, Hotel Rwanda, and Life is Beautiful. This year, films from Scandinavia, Iceland and Eastern Europe are giving the audience their money's worth. Oh, and I did happen to catch the premier of "Death of a President." So, if you can't make it to Toronto, fear not! We have a festival worthy selection of films here at the library

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

I love music. All kinds of music. I'm not an audiophile with a $10,000 turntable and hundreds of vinyl records in protective plastic sleeves (not on my salary). I'm not an expert on the history of jazz and I don't own any Chopin (to my knowledge). I am as likely to listen to Dixie Chicks as I am to queue up Miles Davis' "Birth of the Cool" and I probably know more about Stevie Wonder than I do about Steve Vai. My tastes are all over the place, and that's ok with me.

What I like in my music is variety. I like finding new music and discovering forgotten classics. I'm old enough to have bought my first album (your first clue...), Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" (...your second clue...), on 8-track (...your third clue...) in 1979 (...and we're done). But I love the variety of

artists and the availability of music everywhere online today. But you don't need to wait until you can afford that sweet new laptop to start experiencing musical democracy. For decades, the Library has been in the business of doing for music what it has always done for books: making available the widest variety of music from every different genre for FREE. You might have to get up out of your seat to get it, but your body will thank you for it. And you won't have to pay $9.99 or more to download it. Sure, you could scour BitTorrent sites for that lost Wham! remix, but is it really worth the guilty conscience?

The library was democratizing music selection before DARPA even conceived of the Internet (and probably before "mutually assured destruction" was coined). A wide variety of all types of music, always free, all the time. They can't do that online without the FBI getting very interested. And librarians are in the business of staying up-to-date on the latest musical trends, while also making room for genres that may have more limited appeal. Record sales don't factor into our decisions, so if polka is your passion, we'll probably have some. And if you're looking for suggestions for new listening, ask a librarian. Don't wade through countless computer-generated Amazon.com "recommendations" based on your purchase of "The Best of Barney" for your nephew last year. Life is too short. Get out of your seat and get to the original home of free musical variety. Get to the library and start exploring! As my 5-year-old son says, "Rock on, dude!".

You might even get some circulation back in that leg.

Posted by Ben at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I happened upon the show To the Point on Sunday. On this program there was a disucssion regarding the issue of affirmative action and whether or not it should be banned within the state of Michigan. The two guests of the program were members of the MCRI(Michigan Civil Rights Initiative) and BAMN(By Any Means Necessary). This issue will be voted upon in November and I thought it might be helpful if people were shown the ballot proposal from the Secretary of State's office. Also you might want to read up on affirmative action and do a little homework before you decide on such a weighty issue.

• Equality transformed : a quarter-century of affirmative action
• The affirmative action debate
• Affirmative action : an encyclopedia

Posted by Martin at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A town outside Witchita, Kansas has stepped up their drug testing of students to not only the athletes but to any student in middle and high school wanting to attend any sporting event, extracurricular activity, drivers training and other school related events. Some agree that this is a good idea. Others, including some students, do not like it, and neither does the ACLU.

The problem the ACLU and some students have is that they feel it invades the students privacy and rights. Drug testing has been done for a while for students athletes, but this is the first and the harshest policy for non-athletes. Most urban schools do not have as strict of policies. Those for the policy state it is in the best interest of the child and that good sportmanship and citizinship needs to be put ahead of winning. But is this the way to do? Should all students be required to take a drug test if they want to go on the field trip or attend a football game? Are their rights being violated?

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

Dear Reader,

There is a rumor of a dreadful party being held at the Grand Rapids Seymour, West Leonard, and Yankee Clipper branches. Unfortunately, they have decided to "celebrate" the final title of the "Series of unfortunate events" books (book the 13th: The end). Awful games and horrible food will be available. It should be an awful time, so if you know what is good for you, you won't contact any of those libraries for more information and to register. If something distressing happens, don't blame us. You've been warned.

West Leonard's event is planned for Saturday, Sept 30 at 11 am.
Seymour's event is planned for Saturday, Sept 7 at 11 am.
Yankee Clipper's event is planned for Saturday, Sept 14 at 3 pm.

Posted by Mary at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Come with a curious mind . . . leave with ideas. A week-long celebration of all things literary will occur at the second annual Celebration of the Book at the Grand Rapids Public Library October 16-22, 2006. Over 25 featured authors are scheduled to speak including Nick Basbanes, Steve Rinella, Gary Eberle and Sue Stauffacher. The week-long event will also include childrens programs, rare book appraisals, publishing tips, musical performances and more!

Celebration of the Book was started in 2005 as a way to celebrate and promote the culture and history of the book and to provide a venue to highlight the areas wonderful mosaic of educations,

literacy and literary programs. Co-sponsored by the Ryerson Library Foundation, the event offers free programs for all ages, including practical information and demonstrations. Weekday events begin at 7:00 pm at the Main Library, 111 Library St. NE. Saturday and Sunday has several programs running simultaneously from 10 am to 4 pm, with a variety of programs offered. Free parking is available in the gated lot adjacent to the Library.

The keynote speaker for the week is Nicholas Basbanes. Well known for writing about books and bibliophiles, he has worked as an award-winning investigative reporter, a literary editor, and a nationally syndicated columnist. His first book, A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction for 1995, and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. It is now in its sixteenth printing, with more than 100,000 copies in print. Of his second book, Patience & Fortitude, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian David McCullough wrote that "Nicholas Basbanes has become our leading authority of books about books and this, his latest, is a jewel." Basbanes is now working on a centennial history of Yale University Press.

Posted by Ben at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been over six months since I started writing the Patron Tips blog. My first post was about the benefits of using USB Flash drives over floppy disks, but no ones seems to have read it!!! :-)

We still get patrons coming in with bad floppies and losing their data. So in this post, I will reiterate what I said before - - Throw away those disks and invest $15 in getting yourself a USB Flash drive! And do it NOW!

USB Flash dirves are more reliabe and can store so much more data than those antiquated and soon to be obsolete floppies. In case you didn't know, most computer manufacturers no longer include floppy drives with their computers. There are lots of reasons for this. Most importantly, they are not reliable. Floppy disks go bad without warning, and occassionally it happens here. It's disappointing when our staff have to tell patrons that there is nothing we can do to get their research paper or resume off their corrupted floppy disk. We really don't like doing it. If you would stop using them, we would stop being sad. Do you want to keep making us sad? If it hasn't happened to you yet, consider yourself one of the lucky ones... and a timebomb waiting to go off!

If you missed the post, you can find it here.

If you still don't believe me, keep reading...
USB Benefits
Buzz of Death
USB Flass Drive Alliance

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

While reading the Grand Rapids Press this morning I noticed this article regarding Mayor Heartwell's intiative to make the city smokeless. He is asking the City Commission to set an Oct. 3 public hearing on an ordinance that would ban smoking in public spaces and private work sites. Where this debate will lead, who knows? But, it is something that will be debated, so before you go to the public hearing you might want to read these items.

• For Your Own Good : The Anti-Smoking Crusade And The Tyranny Of Public Health
• Cigarettes : What The Warning Label Doesn't Tell You
• Let's ban smoking outright! : OK, it's a stupid, fascist, unnecessary, unworkable, historically discredited idea--but besides that, what's wrong with it?
• The passionate nonsmoker's bill of rights : the first guide to enacting nonsmoking legislation

Posted by Martin at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Right now I am at a loss. I can't find that next good book to read.

You know the feeling you look over the shelves and nothing seems to stand out. You go to the bestseller lists and your eyes just glaze over. You go to the databases and the internet and all the titles look the same. So yes I am at a loss. I need to find the next read, the next fix that will engage my brain.

So that is why I come to you dear readers, what book would you recommend? I don't care if it is fiction, cookbooks, histories, mysteries, romance, it does not matter. So share a title, an author, perhaps even a subject in the comment section below. I will share the ideas I get and perhaps create a list of the most popular books that are mentioned.

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

Parting is such sweet sorrow! Ok, that might be pouring it on a bit thick, but I will be sorry to see this gem of an exhibit leave the Library on September 10. "The Case about Diversity: The Affirmative Action Debate at the University of Michigan" is a traveling photo exhibition on loan from the University of Michigan depicting the historic U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action cases in 2003. Whatever your opinion on affirmative action, this display will impress. The exhibition literally winds it's way through the halls of the Main Library's Ryerson Wing on the second floor with photographs printed on paper, canvas and other materials. This isn't just and ordinary photo display. You can walk through, around and in between the displays, giving you a sense of the magnitude of emotions on both sides of the debate. But, like the summer, it isn't meant to last. Its last day at the Main Library is Sunday, September 10 (This is also our first Sunday open since May as we return to our normal Sunday schedule). Whether your interest is in the history and facts of the cases or just in fantastic photography, this is one you'll want to catch before it's gone.

You can learn more about the exhibition on our Programs Calendar or visit the Univerity of Michigan's exhibit website.

Posted by Ben at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the season of harvest. Bushels fill with apples, bins fill with gourds, pears, concord grapes, pots fill with mums and asters. The weekly trip to a farmer's market becomes a must for the cook as well as the simple sensualist.

Where are those thirty area Farmer's Markets?
What days and hours are they open?
Where are the farms that welcome visitors and customers who would like to pick their own fruit and vegetables?
Where are the farms that adhere to organic standards for their produce?
Which restaurants in the area make a point of using locally grown foods?

These and other questions are answered in a new 46 page pamphlet offered free by the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. It includes a handy middle section of maps that makes locating the markets and farms a breeze. Copies are available at their headquarters, 1007 Lake Dr. SE, or from locations around town, including the main Grand Rapids Public Library. The guide is available on the web at http://www.foodshed.net/foodguide.

It may be a bit late to start this year's garden, but not to early to plan next year's. You could try your library for The Gaia book of organic gardening or Best garden plants for Michigan.

Posted by Kolene at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Patrons often ask about the templates built in with OpenOffice and how to use them.

We have several templates to choose from including several resumes, which are the most popular. The easiest way to get to them is by opening the folder on the desktop called "Document Templates". From there you will see a list of all the Templates we have to offer. Just double-click the one you want and wait for OpenOffice to open.

From there, you will be able to edit the templates, customizing them to meet your needs.

For more help with using these templates, view the PDF entitled Working with Templates published by OpenOffice.org for more details.

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

Wondering what your neighbors are reading? The following titles are the top ten titles on hold for GRPL patrons as of September 1st! Happy Reading!

Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
Judge and Jury by James Patterson
Angels Fall by Nora Roberts
Ricochet by Sandra Brown
Beach Road by James Patterson
Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins CLark
Marley & Me by John Grogan
At Risk by Patricia Cornwell
The Husband by Dean Koontz
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruenl

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

On Wednesday Google announced their latest undertaking, Google Book Search.

Google Book Search allows you to view full copies of any book in the public domain (out-of-copyright books).

They do not atest to how many books they have scanned, only citing "many" books, but at first glance, it appears to be quite extensive.

You may think that some of the charm is lost, but the scans are pretty good so that you even get some of the wonderful typography.

I'm still not entirely sure that I want to sit down and read an entire book on my computer screen, but I think if I was looking for a certain passage or information on something specific, I may be apt to look here. Terms that you search for will be highlighted, like the term "fairy" above, within the pages so that they are easy to find.

Regardless, I think it is a wonderful way to preserve some of our history, and make information more readily available.

Posted by Kolene at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)