Mushrooms and Physics

The last six new books this week don't really fit together in a particular category except for the fact that they are the last ones.

The first two are about mushrooms: Mycelium Running: how mushrooms can help save the world explores how mushrooms and other fungus can clean water and soil and in general help destroy the pollution we have created. Lots of great color photographs. I also got The Mushroom Cultivator, a book for people who want to grow mushrooms. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we get a lot of rain. A lot of rain means a lot of mushrooms. I figure if the things are going to grow anyway, we might as well learn as much about them as we can.

Lost Mountain is all about the effects of strip mining in Appalachia. The Digital Photography Book: How to make your photos look like the pros' and The Last Word, a book about American Education system are also new this week.

The last book for the week is The Trouble with Physics. I have only started it, but so far it is fascination. It explores string theory and why it is being dismissed and where that leaves the scientific community. Have you read this book? I will comment more on it as I read more of it.

Books on the Mind

The new books for today are all about the mind in one way or another.

The Three Faces of Mind: developing your mental, emotional and behavioral intelligence seeks to increase our self awareness and knowledge of our brains work. This is one I would like to read when there is someone to discuss it with. I'm not sure I could stick with it on my own. Too abstract.

Shyness: how Normal behavior became a Disease addresses the increasing number of people diagnosed with anxiety and show that some of it is just normal emotions. This reminds me of another book we got recently called The loss of sadness, with a similar theme. I doubt I will agree with either of these authors completely, as I know of people for whom drugs helped them through times of shyness or sadness. But I do tend to think that is too easy to diagnose someone when all the evaluations occur in their own mind. Sometimes we all feel shy and sometimes we are all sad.

Concentration by Ernst Wood is an approach to meditation. Everyone needs an approach to that.

The last book for today is Alternative Cures that Really Work. I included this with books on the mind because when it comes right down to it, so many cures depend on the mind as much as on the medicine. This is evidnet in the placebo effect as well as other instances where things that shouldn't work do and things that should work don't.

The Question of God and religion

I recently ordered 5 new books on the subject of God and religion. They are:
The Christian World: A global History and Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling: a cultural biography. These two books about religions from a historical and global perspective will help our students who are taking religions of the world (Phil 15) as they write papers on specific religious movements.

We also got three books which consider God from a variety of different (and conflicting) angles. Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God attempts to explore a variety of cultural explorations of diety including : the God of Fiesta, the god of Love, the God of compassion and God acting Womanly. Chance or Purpose revisits the creation vs. evolution debate using rational thought. The Question of God is an imaginary debate between C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud.

Especially on a campus which teaches philosophy and religion classes, the opportunity for debate and understanding and questions is everywhere. Hopefully these books will help students to add to the debate and understand their own positions and the positions of their neighbors better.

Poetry and Fiction

Perhaps because we are a college library, perhaps because it has been so long since I read a fiction book, but for some reason I have an easier time picking our nonfiction than fiction. But despite my frailties, I managed to pick out 5 new books in those subjects.

They include: Anne Sexton: complete poems: a thick book her photograph on the cover. I probably will not have time to read it all, but I read one, Cinderella, which ended with a familiar ring:

Cinderella and the prince
lived, they say, happily ever after,
like two dolls in a museum case
never bothered by diapers or dust,
never arguing over the timing of an egg,
never telling the same story twice,
never getting a middle-aged spread,
their darling smiles pasted on for eternity.
Regular Bobbsey Twins.
That story.


It just may be my new favorite poem


I also received Sixy Poems by Charles Simic and Poetry on Record: 98 Poets read
their work on CD.  I also selected two works of fiction: Tunnels, which our
English professor says is very good.  It centers on a boy about age 10 who lives
underground.
The last book we got in new is Johnny One-Eye, a revolutionary War Historical
 Novel. It got a great review and I felt like it would be of interest to our
History buffs and our novel buffs.

New Native American Books

I just got two big boxes of books in from Eureka. Rather than just listing them all, I have decided to split them up according to some very general subjects and explain why I chose them. The first pile is Native American books.

We got: Understanding Tolowa Histories: Although we have another book very similar to this one, it is checked out almost the whole semester every year. We teach a Native American Studies class and they always have to write a paper about an aspect of Native American culture or a tribe.

Lewis and Clark through Indian Eyes, plus Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country, a Native American Perspective: I got them both because the review I read said they complimented each other very well and show a side of the Lewis and Clark expedition we don't usually see.

Carving Traditions of Northern California: Amazing photographs of carved items from canoes to spoons to toys. wow.

Tribes of California: a thick book covering almost 30 different tribes. traditions, drawings, etc.

Converting California: Indians and Franciscans in the missions. We teach a religions of the world class and a Native American Studies class. This book seems like it could be used for reports from either one.

Manual for the Peacemakers: an Iroquois Legend about healing.

Our county is almost 7% Native American and is the ancestral home for two tribes, the Yurok and the Tolowa.

Papers to hand back

If you are one of the dozens of students looking for the tests Professor Owen gave in one of History, Economics or Poli Sci classes, Wait no more. The tests and results are now available in the library. Stop on by.

Remember that the library is closed for Memorial Day this Monday.

The Millennial Makeover has used two analogies to describe the upcoming change in political feeling and influence. One is the generational changes in personality that the authors say happen in 4 generation cycles: every 80 years. This is based on American politics since its inception and shows that we alternate between generations that get stuff done and generations that don't. The other analogy is the Harry Potter analogy. The idea that the old guard and professors equals the babyboomers and the Students are like our millennials and the generation stuck in the middle: the Hagrids, have very little power and are like the generation X. Now I don't like either of these analogies for several different reasons, not the least of which it makes me look like a lazy, fat half-giant. Have you read this book? What do you think?

Presidential Politics

We got a book in by each presidential candidate yesterday. I know I mentioned that but today I got a visual for them. Behold the Presidential Candidate Vermont Teddy Bears. They were too cute to resist.

Anyway. I started to read one of the other books I got yesterday, too. It is called Millenial Makover. It is about the changing face of politics and how the newest generation of voters have the power to change the way we run for office. It goes along with my not-so-nice comments about the seemingly egotistical generation taking over the web 2.0. But Millennial Makeover contests that they are actually more likely to feel empathy toward other people, to be more tolerant and so on. I will let you know more as I read more.

By the way, Obama's book is already checked out, but Clinton's and McCain's are still available for check out.

Another reminder: the whole campus, including the library will be closed for Memorial Day. You need a day to stop studying and go play in the Redwood Forest anyway. Find a trail, examine a mushroom, do something in the fresh air (now watch, it will rain and we will all be stuck inside anyway.)

New Books for the Presidential Candidates

We ordered three books by the three main Presidential hopefuls: Hillary Rodham Clinton's Living History; John McCain's Faith of my Fathers; and Barak Obama's Dreams from my Father. They are not all their autobiographies, but rather are books about their families' lives and hopes. They should be good reads, and they are available to check out in the library starting today.

We also got several other books: "The loss of Sadness" by Horwitz; "Millennial Makover" by Winograd and "Four Girls from Berlin" by Meyerhoff. We also got a collection of poetry by Rossetti, a debate between an atheist and a Christian called "God?" and a book on mushrooms that can be checked out and used to identify local mushrooms called "All that the Rain Promises and More" by Arora.

Should be a lot of good summer reading for the inquiring minds of College of the Redwoods, Del Norte students, staff and faculty.

The coolest public library Wiki ever

I found a very cool public library Wiki today. For those who don't know, a wiki is a website that anyone can add stuff to. Like Wikipedia. The thing that the Stevens County public Library did that is so unusual is that rather than being a website for the library only, it centered itself in the community and made its wiki the place to go to find out about that county's everything. Makes me want to be in a public library again.

But not really. A college library does leave me yearning for a children';s department and a teen program to implement, but I really do prefer it in so many ways. College is a jumping off place for so many people and if a library can be open and educational, a great place to study and yet welcoming and informational, then students can take off from there and do anything.

But I wonder if a Wiki would be more advantageous than a blog. I started a blog because I knew it would be easier to manage and honestly, I wanted to get my feet wet before I swam the canal. But I think I would welcome greater comments and more categories and so on that a wiki specializes in. Check out Stevens county wiki. I think you will be as impressed as I was.

http://www.scrldwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page

Why books are still better

I have been reading a lot about Library 2.0 recently. This is a new direction in libraries of which blogging, wikis and XML are a part. The idea behind much of these innovations in web 2.0 where social networking and blogs and websites which can be commented on and changed by anyone. It can also include increasing amounts of digital resources.

Obviously as someone who has a blog, I embrace many aspects of web 2.0. I even like the fact that digital e-books can be purchased by our main librarian and all three campuses can use them. Periodical indexes have been revolutionized since I was in college, to the degree that we don;'t even need to offer ILL of articles anymore.

However, I still get many students who prefer the look and feel of a real book in the hands. For one thing, they can be checked out for free rather than printed out for a cost. The thick bulk of the book also adds to the perception of reliability, whether or not correctly placed.

I read an article today about openlibrary.org, an amazing site devoted to creating a webpage for every single book in existence, eventually. There will be places for reader comments, links to other works by the same author and other amazing features. It could truly turn out to be an amazing resource. But it took my computer several minutes to load and then thirty seconds each time I turned a page. It will be a wonderful resource for books you can;'t get your hands on any other way. But if the physical book is just a few shelves away, I will pick it up and be engrossed in another world in ten seconds. Until the internet is as easy to turn on as a book, there will still be a place for both.

Today it is just plain hot

They say it doesn't get hot in Crescent City. But they weren't talking about today. All the girls are in tank tops and summer dresses. I have even seen a few guys in tanks or without shirts altogether. They say it won't last long and won't happen again, but I am starting to wonder if they know what they are talking about.

What do you think about carrels for the library? It gives some privacy, but it can also feel claustrophobic. Would you rather have your own little space, or a table big enough to spread out if no one else was there?

Open until 6pm

The library will be open until 6pm just like every other week this semester. Please try to have your assignments finished before 6pm.

The finals are flowing

Every hour or so another student comes in to ask for a final. the computers are full again with students finishing papers and emailing their professors one last request for an extension.

One girl is checking out her last book and sending her deposit check to her new apartment in Hawaii. The sun is shining and out my back window I can see the bright pink rhododendrons. It is a beautiful spring day. Day two of finals week. hang in there. It is almost over.

Finals Week

Finals Week is upon us and so far things have been pretty calm. A lot of people are studying . The computers are full of people finishing papers and the quiet rooms are all full of people taking tests. So we are calm as a beehive: full of activity, but everyone knows what they need to do and they just do it.

The weather is sunny and warm. One of those Del Norte days that reminds you why you live up here so far from the rest of civilization: it is absolutely beautiful.

Yesterday on a drive out to Gasquet to see some exotic and area specific wildflowers, someone said, "some people travel hours and hours to hike this trail. We get to live right nearby it." We really are lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

So soak up the sun, study outside if you can and then breathe in all the wildflowers while you wait for your next exam.

Lots of new books

Three boxes of books arrived today. Many were specifically requested by professors.


They are: Tunnels, Tending the Wild, Immigrant America, Written in Water, Written in Stone, The God Delusion, Bilingual Law Dictionary, Critical Encounters in High School English, Imposter, They take our Jobs and 20 other myths, The Flash of Lightning behind the Mountain, More Damned Lies and Statistics, Classic Spanish Stories and plays.

Also Spanish for Educators, ADD and the College Student, Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism, Public Access, Freakonomics, The Lost Boy, Animal, Vegetable and Miracle, god is not Great, the Blue Death, Pigs in Heaven, Writing like a Woman, God in the Classroom, Living Like Ed, The Digital Photography Book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Plus: Flowers for Algernon, A Second Opinion, Best Damned Lies and Statistics, beautiful boy, A Man Named Dave, First Spanish Reader, Poems by Sylvia Plath, Letter to a Christian Nation, Windfalls, Aspects of the Novel, Untapped: the Scramble for Africa's Oil, Robert Hayden: Essays on the Poetry, Beginning Theory, Into the Forest, The Culture of Fear.

I will add a photo on Monday.

New chairs and couch

Del Norte Office supply delivered the two black leather chairs to match the couch. Pretty, huh.

Furniture Frustrations

This one is for all the other librarians out there:

What do you do about furniture in your library?

I have been doing a lot of shopping for furniture recently (obviously. See my other posts). And I have run into some snags. First of all, the products never seem to end up being as good a quality as they appear in the photos in the catalogs. Secondly, things are expensive. Even cheap stuff is expensive. So decide to get something mid-grade and I still catch flack for it being "not real wood." I can't seem to find real wood to purchase, except at the hardware store, and that is only in the lumber section. My chairs are real wood and my tables have real wood legs. I am satisfied with those purchases. Now I need more computer desks and the options I have are all laminate. I picked some, but their wheels were poorly designed and very weak. How do I buy good quality stuff on a community college budget?

New books on the new shelf.

We have a new spot for new books on my new circulation desk. Today we received 15 new books in the mail. There is something for everyone: from John Stossel's Give me a Break to a "survival Guide for college students with ADHD, a book all about Gwendolyn Brooks and her writing and more.

Art Show Reception

The Student Art Show Reception is today from 3-5. If you can't make it, you can still stop by the Main building here on campus and view the art for a few weeks. The local artists had a very difficult time choosing winners because the art this year was so good. Come on by and see if you agree with their choices.

The Spring Student Art Show

The art is all arranged and hanging up in the main hallway gallery. The students did a wonderful job this yeatr with a wide variety of themes and mediums. The local artist judges are coming today at 1 pm to judge the art show. Our reception is scheduled for Monday.

Bad News at Del Norte

We found out today that we will not be getting wireless on our campus as we had hoped. Due to liabilty issues, the committees in Eureka have decided to run a wireless trial on the main campus first. If all goes well, wireless at Del Norte and at Mendicino will be addressed at a future time.

Take heart. We are making progress.