The Atrium

As a library, we are pretty much required to keep up with all the new technology that emerges each year, month, heck each WEEK! In doing so, we have created pages, podcasts, and videos, oh my! Our expert team of tech people
have posted our filmed commercials on YouTube and uploaded pictures on our flickr page. We have a small group who work on our teen myspace page posting new books, putting programs on the calendar and blogging about various subjects. And if you missed a program, we have podcasts available on many of our programs! Here is an interesting article on how libraries around the country are keeping up. So, check us out. We're not only about books anymore!

Posted by Mary at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are some great additions to the Children's books area!

Leaves
Written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein

Bear's first year is full of new things, and he enjoys every part of his tiny island home. Then a leaf falls, and he wonders, “Are you okay?” More and more leaves fall, and Bear tries to put them back, but it's just not the same. Eventually, Bear uses the leaves to make a bed in a small cave, because he's suddenly so sleepy. Waking in the spring brings new joy, as he welcomes the tiny new leaves unfolding on the trees. A wonderfully simple and innocent tale to share.

Available now in the New Picture Book area.
Picture Book Stein

Darkwing
Written by Kenneth Oppel and illustrated by Keith Thompson

The author of the Silverwing series takes a 65 million year leap backward in time to tell the story of Dusk, the world's first bat. Dusk's colony are a group of 'chiropters,' tree-dwelling flightless creatures who regard him as a mutant. Only his father, the colony's leader, sees Dusk's talents of flight and echo vision as gifts and trusts him with relocating the colony when they suddenly find themselves in danger. The whole world is poised on the brink of change, and below them stalks a brand new carnivore.

Available now in the New Juvenile Fiction area.
jFiction Oppel

Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
Written by Sue Stauffacher and illustrated by Greg Couch

“It took time, a good long time, but slowly Althea learned that wanting to slug her opponent as soon as she started losing her match made her a worse tennis player than if she kept her cool.” Local author Stauffacher takes the first African American tennis player to win at Wimbledon from her wild child street life in Harlem to a champion who can “dress up in white and act like a lady.” Also appearing are her many supporters, including Buddy Walker, who first put a tennis racket in Althea's hand.

Available now in the New Juvenile Nonfiction area.
jBiography Gibson, Althea

Numero Uno
Written by Alex and Arthur Dorros and illustrated by Susan Guevara

Hercules believes that his strength makes him the most needed person in the village. Socrates knows that his intelligence makes him the most needed. When a young boy suggests a sort of competition, and sends both men away to see who will be more missed, the stubborn men return to find that neither of them is 'Numero Uno.' This humorous and bilingual tale of brains versus brawn proves that neither quality is more important than the other, and that constant squabbling only makes one annoying.

Available now in the New Picture Book area.
Picture Book Dorros

Nightmare Academy
Written by Dean Lorey and illustrated by Brandon Dorman

Thirteen-year-old Charlie lives a sheltered lonely life, at least during the daytime. At night, however, Charlie's gift for connecting to the netherworld puts himself and the rest of the world in grave danger from the nasty beasties and monsters striving to escape into the real world. Charlie must learn to face his nightmares and control his powers, so he becomes a student at the wildly eccentric and strange Nightmare Academy, an organization dedicated to fighting the forces of Hell.

Available now in the New Juvenile Fiction area.
jFiction Lorey

Pssst!
Written and illustrated by Adam Rex

A quiet whisper grabs the attention of a little girl visiting the zoo. She's quite surprised to find it's the gorilla, who casually requests she bring him a new tire to swing on. As she continues, she soon discovers that all the animals are in need of something. The pig wants trash cans, the sloths demand bicycle helmets. What's going on here? Are the animals sprucing up their cages, or plotting something more intricate? Rex's unusual comic-like graphics and eccentric characters create a very funny story.

Available now in the New Picture Book area.
Picture Book Rex

Piper Reed, Navy Brat
Written by Kimberly Willis Holt and illustrated by Christine Davenier

Fourth-grader Piper Reed is used to moving around. But when her father, a Navy aircraft mechanic, announces their next move right after school starts, Piper is distressed. Starting over is hard, especially for Piper, who struggles with dyslexia and as the middle child. Florida, however, holds some pleasant surprises as Piper finds some new friends, gets a puppy, discovers the Blue Angels flight team (which she can watch practice during recess), and makes a connection with her very different sisters.

Available now in the New Juvenile Fiction area.
jFiction Holt

Keep Your Cool
Written by Kelly Doudna

Controlling your emotions can be difficult, especially for children, and it can be hard to understand the importance of self-control. This easy reader provides examples of situations kids can relate to, and gives realistic suggestions about behavior. For instance, "Paige doesn't yell when she finds a toy she likes; she asks for it calmly." The second part of the book tells a longer story illustrating the trait. Full color photographs and large print text are attractive, and the message will generate discussion.

Available now in the New Easy Readers area.
Easy Reader Doudna

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Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, visited the Main Grand Rapids Public Library on September 20, 2007. Dr. Billington toured our renovated building, viewed some of our prize items in our Grand Rapids History and Special Collections area, and spoke with staff on the resources the Library of Congress is making available to the entire world through their digitization project.

Dr. Billington was quite taken with our archival holdings, in particular the photos of the Detroit Tigers which form part of our Robinson Studio collection and the letters and documents we have from such notables as Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and Alexander Calder. He also admired our Furniture Design collection, one of the largest in the country.

Elizabeth Ridgeway, director of educational outreach at the Library of Congress, accompanied Dr. Billington and presented an overview of the more than 7.5 million digital items from over 100 collections the Library of Congress has made available to the world through their website. These letters, photographs, oral histories, and other primary sources bring history alive and put a personal face on historical figures great and small.

The Grand Rapids Public Library is honored to have hosted a visit from such distinguished librarians!

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In my opinion the British write some of the best literature in the English Language. I always anticipate the annual announcements for winners of the Man Booker Prize, the Costa Book Award (formerly the Whitbread Award) , and the Guardian First Book Award.

On September 6th, the Man Booker Prize judges announced the six books up for this year's prize. There were 110 entries; 92 were submitted for the prize and 18 were called in by the judges. The winner will be announced on October 16th.

Darkmans by Nicola Barker
The Gathering by Anne Enright
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Animal's People by Indra Sinha

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

Sustainable design is currently all the rage and it amazes me how creative folks can get when it comes to green living. Like the Sustainable Dance Club that's scheduled to open next month in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The club will have energy-generating dance floors, toilets that flush using rain water, walls that change color based on the temperature, and a rooftop garden.

The club is just one of many projects from NGO, an environmental organization which scouts the world for innovative, Earth-friendly ideas to develop. An NGO team of about 80 volunteers and Dutch architectural firm, Döll, co-designed the club as a sustainable building which will have a low-impact on the environment, and help to raise environmental awareness. You can find more information about how you can help to create a sustainable life on the GRPL wiki.

Also, take a peek inside the club to see how it will work:

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On Saturday, September 15th, Grand Rapids juniors and seniors got up early and flocked to the library in the name of academic achievement. Wendy Marty, professional Academic Coach, presided over a four hour workshop intended to help students raise their ACT scores. Each student left this free workshop with tips, tactics, techniques, and a free copy of Barron's ACT 2007-2008. The next workshop is scheduled for January 2008.

Posted by Martin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you know your baseball trivia? Here's a few interesting additions to our collection of baseball books to help you gear up for the final stretch.

The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger by Bill Jenkinson You can find this book at: NEW 796.357092 R932 J4 Whether you're a Barry fan or not, we all know there will never be another Babe Ruth. Jenkinson takes a look at the home run numbers and tries to show that if there were Babe-like players hitting in today's ballparks his single-season home run record would still stand. Sorry, Barry!

Ruling Over Monarchs, Giants & Stars: Umpiring in the Negro Leagues and Beyond by Bob Motley, with Byron Motley You can find this book at: NEW 796.35764 M857r This behind-the-plate memoir, from the Negro League's only living umpire, tells the stories of baseball's golden era when Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Buck O'Neil, and Josh Gibson ruled the field.

Few And Chosen: Defining Negro Leagues Greatness by Monte Irvin, with Phil Pepe You can find this book at: NEW 796.3576408996 Ir8f Known for stealing home-plate in the 1951 World Series, Monte Irvin also spent his early career playing with the baseball greats in the Negro Leagues. The Few And Chosen are his picks for an all-star lineup of the League's greats.

Satchel Paige And Company: Essays on the Kansas City Monarchs, Their Greatest Star, and the Negro Leagues Edited by Leslie A. Heaphy You can find this book at: NEW 796.357092 Sa82 If you're looking for a more academic approach to your reading about the Negro Leagues, here is a collection of essays that take a further look into the lives of Satchel Paige and his teammates.

Jews and Baseball: Volume 1; Entering the American Mainstream, 1871-1948 By Burton A. Boxerman and Benita W. Boxerman You can find this book at: NEW 796.3570922 B69j v.1 Jonah Goldman, Jim Levey, Milt Galatzer, Sydney Cohen -- any of these sound familiar? During the years when Jews were beginning to identify themselves with America, America was beginning to identify itself with baseball. This book takes a look at this interesting relationship and a look at some of the forgotten players.

A History Of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006 by Peter C. Bjarkman You can find this book at: NEW 796.357097291 B555h Every October two of Major League Baseball's best teams compete for the World Series. However, there are many other leagues throughout the world that are not represented in this series. One of the greatest teams in the world is the Cuban national team, here is a history of some great baseball from outside the major leagues.

Baseball without Borders:The International Pastime edited by George Gmelch You can find this book at: NEW 796.357 B291w Japanese baseball, Korean baseball, Dominican baseball, Brazilian baseball, even Dutch baseball. It's all here in this look at “the international pastime.”

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

Now that summer is over, you may think there is nothing to do at the library. You'd be wrong! Check out our program page on our website or our calendar on our myspace page for all the happenings. From preparing for the ACT and discussing the Harry Potter Series to participating in our first ever Wii Tennis Tournament, we've got it all. Some programs require registration so be sure to call if you have questions. Come join the continuous fun!

Posted by Mary at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apple has done it again! The company recently introduced a sleek new generation of iPods that has set the technoworld abuzz. Geeks seem most excited about the iPod Touch, the highly anticipated touch-screen version of the iPod with wireless Internet access.

Personally, I'm smitten with the new ocean-hued iPod Nanos, which now play videos as well as music. Whichever iPod I get for Christmas (are you listening Santa?) I know that GRPL's collection of books about this cool product will help me learn how to take advantage of all its features.

My favorite book for learning about my current iPod is Scott Kelby's The iPod Book: Doing Cool Stuff with the iPod and the iTunes Music Store. Easy to read with plenty of explanatory photos, each page contains useful iPod tips and tricks. And no matter which iPod you have, you can keep up with GRPL events by downloading our podcasts.

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GRPL's Rare Book Collection is one of its most valuable collections. Until recently public access was not available because the materials were not cataloged. Technical Services has been working on classifying and cataloging the collection and now more than 50 percent of the material is available for public viewing.

You can access the holdings list through the above link, or by doing a key word search on the phrase "rare book" in the online catalog. This option will display a list of the collection. Some of the rare books and other materials will be available for public view at the Celebration of the Book program scheduled for October.

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The Romance Writers of America (RWA) recently announced the 2006 winners of its RITA award for the best in romance novel writing.

Tis the Silly Season by Roxanne St. Claire Category: Best Romantic Novella A trio of NASCAR Holiday stories with a Christmas setting.

Revealed by Tamera Alexander Category: Best Inspirational Romance Set in the 19th century American West, this is the story of Matt and Annabelle as they journey to a new life. This is the second book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles.

Claiming His Family by Barbara Hannay Category: Best Traditional Romance Erin and Luke have been divorced for five years. When Erin travels to the Outback so that their son can visit Luke, memories of their happy times together make her want to consider Luke's proposal -- to give their marriage another chance.

From the First by Jessica Bird Category: Best Short Contemporary When Alex looses his best friend in a sailing accident, he is consumed with guilt over whether he tried hard enough to save his friend's life. Alex's guilt festers because he was in love with his friend's wife Cassie long before the deadly accident.

The Mommy Quest by Lori Handeland Category: Best Long Contemporary Dean Luchetti is a single parent who wants a mom for his adopted son -- and he knows who she will be. This is the final book in a trilogy about three Ohio brothers.

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole Category: Best Paranormal Romance Emmaline, who is half vampire, lives under the strict control of her powerful Louisiana family. She decides to travel to Paris, France to find out about the father she never knew and to gain independence. Emmaline encounters a dangerous man in Paris who may hold the key to what she seeks -- but he may also prevent her from ever returning to Louisiana. Posted by Angela at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Page last updated: 11/20/08