Political Speeches

I read an article from the Smithsonian yesterday and it got me thinking. It was an article about the debates between hopeful Senatorial candidates Lincoln and Douglas. Increasing technology had transformed these debates from local events to a dialouge of national interest. The article can be read here.

Then last night I saw the first of the two major candidates for President speak. I was struck by the similarities. Including the increasing technology increasing awareness on a nationwide basis. In fact, each of the three big boy channels were playing their own versions of the acceptance speech. Not to mention the news channels.

I was struck by the similarities and thought I would share.

Ebook and google book advances

Ebooks (digital books available online or through subscription) took two more steps forward this year as the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) encouraged publishers to migrate to the .epub format for its books. increasing uniformity or at least transferability between formats will increase readership and reduce costs associated with multiple players for each format.

Also Google and the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) have partnered to connect Google Book Search with WorldCat.org, the international card catalog online. This means that patrons will be able to search for a book and find it in nearby libraries or even scanned online.

This news is especially good for a small location like our because it increases our access to information from just our stacks to books located in many locations online and in other colleges.

Busy busy

Well I know you are all as busy as I am. I see you running around, trying to add one more class, trying to get that one last book that was on back order, writing papers (already!), and there has been a lot of reading. Good to have you all back.

I want to say Thank you to each of the professors and instructors this year. We have a lot of books on reserve, and that really helps students bridge the gap when their is late in coming or forgotten at home.

Remember that Monday is Labor Day, so the whole campus is closed. Go have one last picnic of the summer!

Welcome back to School!

Fall Semester begins today. So print out your schedule and pull out your map.

The library hours remain at 8:30am to 5pm for the time being. Any changes will be posted on this blog and on the door and library website.

Good Luck with all your classes!

New library webpage

Our new library webpage is up! Check it out here. What this means in the long run, is that this blog will be migrating over to the new page. More on that once I get the right software and so forth.

Remember, the library is closed tomorrow and will open at noon on Friday.

Books on reserve

I have been figuring which textbooks we have in the library that I can put on reserve for students to use. Many of them are older editions, so if you are an instructor here who wants an updated text on reserve, please bring me one. Hopefully by tomorrow the online catalog should reflect which books are really on reserve. The bookstore is open all this week and next week from 9 am to 6pm (with an hour lunch between 1 and 2).

Last week before school starts

Lots of new enrollees and people filling out financial aid applications online.

The end of last week was very busy with deadlines for the Writing Conference, things that needed to be changed and so on.

This week will be busy because of convocation: a yearly orientation for employees at our college. Because of it, the Library will be closed on Thursday and will not open until noon on Friday. But you have all day Tuesday and Wednesday with the library open for all your internet, computer and book borrowing needs.

Native American poetry

I got two books back from re-cataloging today that caught my attention. The first is Voice of the Turtle: American Indian Literature 1900-1970, an anthology of short stories. The other book is The Dirt is Red Here: Art and Poetry from Native California. It has a number of fascinating poems and art like this one by Sylvia Ross:

SISTERS

Talking at the table until late
When everyone else is asleep

Sister, we are the bear women
We wear abalone shell necklaces
We carry baskets
We hold our men in great bear women
Arms

Sister, we were too far apart
In our births
We never played together
Never danced with the same boys
Didn't share small children
Like other Sisters did

But while you talk
Our mother's voice comes out of
Your wonderful bear woman mouth
Our mother's laugh shakes your belly
Though it is much smaller
Than hers ever was

My sister, we are the bear women
We have the power
To crash through brush, to smash
The clouds and pluck stars down
To make a meal

Sister tonight your voice
Brings our mother back to us
Her great bear woman presence
Fills all the space
Of this room.

New Books: photos and Hemingway

We received two new books today: Caring for Photographs and the Ernest Hemingway Audio collection with Snows of Kilimanjaro, Old man and the Sea and selected works read by Hemingway himself.

The clouds are out and it's a beautiful day to have Hemingway read to you.

Weekend in Del Norte

There will be a farmer's market again this Saturday: get there early for the best selection.

Also, at 9 a.m on Saturday there will be a volunteer clean up at Elk Creek. Pizza King is sponsoring it and will be supplying pizza for anyone who comes to help.

Sunday at 1 pm at Tolowa Dunes State Park & Lake Early Wildlife Area , the friends of the Dunes are having a Tide Pools and Beach Ecology with Maggie Stoudnour hike.

With these great events planned and miles of beach and mountain trails, you shouldn't be bored this weekend.

computers all in place

But new computers always need tweaking. Little changes that the restricted user does not have the power to change. Sometimes, even a power user cannot change.

I am getting closer to knowing which books are here and which are not.

The library will be closed on Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st for convocation, which means beginning of the year meetings.

Busy and then not

After a morning of inventory, shelving and a ton of students using computers, the afternoon was slow enough I was able to get some desk work done. Now there is more shelving and book searching to do. At least I won't be bored tomorrow.

I am starting a new book, a book on historical fiction called, Johnny One-Eye. It is set during the revolutionary period and my librarian's journal said it was a good one. I have not read much fiction recently, except for Harry Potter. But that has been a few years now. I will keep you posted.

For those keeping score on the old post about the three presidential hopeful books I got, Obama was checked out twice, McCain once and Hillary Clinton not at all.

Computers

the brand new computers are all set up for the students here in the library. Now if we can only get the computers behind the desk to work...
I decided to switch out my old computers for slightly less old ones being replaced by the new computers. It was not that easy. Some specific programs are not wanting to be installed on different computers. Jim spent most of today trying to figure it out. It is not working. Computers are great. Until they are not.

Del Norte County Fair

If you are in Crescent City, you can't help but notice we are having our county fair. The fairgrounds are abuzz with activity. It should be a lot of fun.

The college has also been very busy. Classes end next week, so a lot of students have final papers and projects to finish. We are also getting a lot of new studnets. That's right, it is not too late to register. We have several dedicated counselors ready to help you decide which classes to take, how to pay for it and what you want to be when you grow up. Okay, you might have to decide that one on your own, but the counselors can point you in the right direction.

The library will be open regular hours next week and even during the two weeks between summer and fall. See you then!