Time goes by . . .

I know it is a sign of age to feel that time is going by too fast, but I am still surprised to see that it is February already and since Christmas seemed just a few weeks ago, Punxatawney Phil's prediction of another 6 weeks of winter doesn't seem that bad. Now, the heat of summer bearing down on us is another issue entirely.

But if you take a moment to consider time and its passage, it can be a shocking and surprising thing. I came across the Beloit Mindset List today, and reading through the 2011 list was as usual a tough thing to wrap your mind around. In case you aren't familiar with it, it is an annual list put together by people at Beloit College that lists realities about the incoming class - what they don't know about, what they have lived their whole lives experiencing, basically what their world view is compared to ours. There are usually about 70 entries ranging from those that are surprising to those that even you don't know. I took the time to have a young woman currently in college who is roughly the age of the Class of 2011 read through the list and see how accurate it really is. I was startled at what she didn't know from the list!

Nelson Mandela has always been free and a force in South Africa. This young person didn't even know who Nelson Mandela is.
Pete Rose has never played baseball. Didn't know who Pete Rose is.
Women have always been police chiefs in major cities. Didn't know there were female police chiefs.
And one I expected, but was still distressed to be proved right:
Tiananmen Square is a 2008 Olympics venue, not the scene of a massacre. Didn't know Tiananmen Square.

History seems to be slipping out of the national conscious and from the school curriculum. Incidents that will stick it your memory forever never even blip on another generation. I can so vividly remember sitting and breathlessly watching the unfolding of the Tiannanman Square protest and massacre, marvelling at the bravery of these young protesters. Just 20 years later, and it is lost in the mists. Back in my school days, we rarely got past the Great Depression, only in my day that was kind of recent history! After all, my parents lived through it, fought in WWII. Now that is as distant from this generation of kids as WWI was to me, and just as shrouded in the dust of ancient history with little obvious relevance to one's life. We all rail against the changes in school curriculum with the drift away from facts and timelines to more touchy-feely experience. But maybe that's not all that bad. This young woman has a more immediate sense of the horrors of war, of the horrors that WWII vets have lived a lifetime with, than I ever could grasp due to a wonderful opportunity to travel with vets to the WWII Memorial in Washington. She interviewed the vets about their experiences, and came away with vivid, personal stories that will stay with her forever, that have deeply affected her attitude about war, and that made the sacrifices made in WWII and every war more immediate and affective than any history text.

So inevitably what is important history and important historical and cultural figures to one generation is not important to another. There are always newer ones taking their place as time hurtles along. I remember some 12 years ago, I was ruthlessly weeding the biography section of the library I was working in at that time - we had run out of space, a constant lament for librarians. I was pulling any that hadn't been read in 5 years, only keeping really iconic historical figures. Someone a generation or so older than me was aghast at the selection I had chosen to discard. So bowing to their concerns, I turned to a group of high school honors students and ran through the group, planning to keep any they had heard of. It was a mind-boggling moment for me and my elder companion. This group knew none of them, and were only too happy to point out others left on the shelves that they hadn't heard of either. It is amazing that we can communicate between generations at all - in truth we have so little in common for a basis of relating.

There is no chance of slowing the race of time, rushing past us, becoming the ever more distant and blurry past. George Santayana is remembered for the famous line "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I think George Bernard Shaw's line "We learn from history that we learn nothing from history" is the perfect counterpoint - the former being the hopeful, the latter being the truth. Should we take comfort that this was being said over 100 years ago? At least modern times aren't unique in neglecting the lessons of history. I will have to ask some kids if they know who either of these Georges are. I will be honest, I haven't a personal clue about who George Santanyana is - will have to look him up!

Music: Best of the Righteous Brothers
Book: The Essential Wisdom of George Santayana, by Thomas Munson
Book: The Dance of Life: the Other Dimension of Time, by Edward T Hall

The end of the book as we know it?

Journalists seem so ready to ring the death knell on books. Every time a new electronic reader gizmo hits the market, articles spring up about how the book as we have known it for centuries is doomed. I know of local libraries investing in the e-book reader, only to have that model eclipsed by the next new best thing. We have heard that publishers will no longer printing books ahead. Instead, you will go into a store and select your title and *poof* it is printed and bound for you. Audiobooks - first on cassette, then on cd, then MP3 - were going to be the end of books. Then e-books evolved so that you could download to your computer and read the book, or download to your ipod and listen. The list goes on and on, and yet the printed book remains a vibrant format. There is just something about holding a book, feeling the pages, storing scraps of paper in it, being able to throw them, drop them (not library books of course), read them on the beach, in bed, in the tub, at the pool and so on and so on, that just can't be beat.

However, when Amazon announced their new Kindle, there was a bit of a concern among the bookies. After all, Amazon is the biggest book sales point in the world. If they were moving to electronic books, would that mean the end of the book as we know it? I still don't think so. The batteries only last a day or so, so you have to wait for the recharge to get to the next page. Can you imagine reading one of those books you just can't put down? You are in bed, late at night, breathlessly racing through this fabulous thriller, you just have to find out what it's all about and wham, the battery dies. Talk about horror.

Speaking of horror, Stephen King, the premier horror author of our time, bought a Kindle and wrote a column about it for Entertainment Weekly. Take a moment to read it. It is a thoughtful piece that puts Kindles and similar competitors to books in perspective. He loves the Kindle, but loves books too. He says it best with this:
Will Kindles replace books? No. And not just because books furnish a room, either. There's a permanence to books that underlines the importance of the ideas and the stories we find inside them; books solidify an otherwise fragile medium.

Predictions about the demise of books have a place with all the dire predictions we hear. There is some truth about the potential changes to a familiar element of our culture. The prediction jars us into deciding the importance of that element, where the future best lies and what needs to be embraced and what needs to be let go of. You have to consider, be prepared for, embrace the potential change, while treasuring what works and stands the test of time. I think books will always be with us. After all, Capt. Picard reads books all the time in Star Trek, Next Generation and that's a few years into the future!

Book: Danse Macabre, by Stephen King
Book: Future shock, by Alvin Toffler
CD: And I feel fine, by REM

Survey results

A while back we conducted a survey asking our patrons for their opinions about the collection we offer. First, thanks to all of you who took the time to fill out the survey - it was a long one, but well worth the time and effort you made. The survey was so detailed for a specific reason. We have so many dedicated bookmobile users, great folks that may just accept whatever we happen to have on board simply because they are happy to have anything. But we want to offer what you might never of thought of considering. That is why we included on the survey as much as we could potentially offer in a library on wheels.

It hasn't been one of those surveys you take and never see any results. In fact, significant changes have been made and continue to be made based on the survey answers. Hopefully you have noticed, but if not, here are some of the changes made so far.

1. A significant number of respondents asked for more best sellers in large print. We immediately upped the number of these, rather than focusing so heavily on romance.
2. A significant number of respondents asked for more current and best seller non-fiction. Non-fiction has become a 'hot' product in recent years, and we were slow to respond. Since the survey, we now have a strong emphasis on non-fiction, making a point to buy the best sellers and a variety of others.
3. Many of you asked for additional biographies. With the big success of the One Book, One Community title: Glass Castle biographies have become a popular genre. We have upped the number of biographies we add to the collection each month.
4. Respondents requested special interest topics like woodworking and we added titles in direct response to these requests.
5. On the survey, we asked if people would be interested in magazines and software - types of materials we have not offered previously due to space issues. There was some interest, and so we are taking the plunge. You may already have noticed, but we are now subscribing to over 10 magazines. There are so many to choose from, so we decided to subscribe to special interest titles first not only because these would be the ones people are less likely to subscribe to personally, but also to meet the demands for craft books, cookbooks, gardening and the like. We are starting small to see what, if any, are successful. We will be doing the same with software, offering a few random types to see what really is in demand.
6. Respondents also specified genres of fiction that they particularly like, and we had been pretty successful at meeting the demand there.
7. There were requests for new YA titles, and we have really beefed up the collection, adding significantly to it each month.

There will always be low demand genres - science fiction/fantasy or westerns, computer books or travel guides - where tons are published, but few patrons are interested. In these cases, we can only fall back on the countywide collection to fill this demand. We have a limited amount that we can spend on new books and movies, and we tend to purchase what will get the highest return on the investment.

As expected, many respondents asked for us to get the top selling titles both in fiction and movies. Please be aware that we do buy them all. It is just that they go out immediately, first time to one of our patrons, and then for up to 6 months out and around the county to fill requests. Did you know that there are over 500 reserves on James Patterson's new title Double Cross? The same is true for movie titles. Happy Feet had such a huge list that we didn't see our copy for over a year. And this is with all the libraries purchasing copies! I know it is frustrating not to find the title you want when you come on to browse. However, if we want to take advantage of what all the other libraries have to offer, we have to share what we have. That is why we work so hard to encourage you all to request titles of popular authors and films. You might have to wait, but they all will come for you sooner that if you wait to catch it on board.

Thanks again to all of you that returned the surveys. I hope you see the impact your time spent has and will make. And watch for our survey about the children's collection coming in a couple of months. And of course - if you have any suggestions for what we should buy, let me know!

Book: Link to the Best Sellers Lists

Music: Journey - Greatest Hits

Snowmen - more than you ever imagined

Last time, I recommended the book: History of the Snowman, by Bob Eckstein. I had read about it in various library review periodicals and being fond of snowmen in a as long as I don't have to be the one out in the cold making them sort of way, I requested the book to see what it was all about. Well in a word - snowmen. But it is a delightful book. Mr. Eckstein writes with a great deal of humor, yet it really is a scholarly tome underneath. I was amazed at how much there is to know about snowmen - especially their appearances in early literature (we are talking medieval here) and art. The book also is an interesting exploration of popular culture and the development of an icon.

Anyway, I got an email from Mr. Eckstein - he discovered that I had mentioned his book in this blog (just check out the comments on the last posting). His contact brought me to his website:

http://www.historyofthesnowman.com/

Take a moment to check this site out. Just the snowman of the day is worth the visit, but there is so much more to the page like the picture below.

It's in the posting about the planned snowman amusement park in Norway - the idea fit right in with my 'thing' with Scandinavian mysteries. I can just imagine the story . . .

Books: The Making of the Wizard of Oz, by Aljean Harmetz

From Abba to Zoom: a popular culture encyclopedia of the late 20th Centure, David Mansour

DVD: Coca-cola: the history of an American icon

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow?

Well, we survived our first taste of winter this past week and as always there were success stories (shout out to Brentwood) and stories with less success (too many to list). I travel to the North Shore from the very southern depths of Allegheny County, driving that lovely road Route 51. Apparently it is maintained section by section by the local community, so it is an interesting and challenging patchwork ranging from well-cleared and salted to surfaces that have seen a salt truck in recent history to wilderness travel (I exaggerate of course). Even the various neighborhoods of Pittsburgh that 51 winds through have an astounding range of clearing, Overbrook being good, West End not so good, North Shore - we won't talk about that.

This is always a challenging season for us bookmobilers. Trying to decide what the weather will do as the day progresses, how well the streets will really be cleared, how well the sidewalks to the senior facilities and the Head Start buildings will be salted - it is an art that we are constantly working to improve. We have to consider the sure-footedness of the particular vehicle. The big community route buses are like tanks. The senior bus is skittish even with wet leaves and ice is a more interesting challenge. We have to consider the communities we are going to and through, are we taking major roads that will be cleared or are we going to be on secondary roads in communities that don't get to salting for a while. We have to consider the weather forecast and what time of day we are going out. We have to consider the safety of our drivers, the librarians, the patrons and of course the vehicles.

Most libraries have a simple snow plan - if the school district closes, the library closes. Unfortunately, that doesn't work for us except for the preschool route. Many of our preschool sites are in schools, so our preschool librarian gets to watch for closures in a number of communities on a bad snow day. The community route runs mostly at night and weekends. By the end of a day, the roads might be nice and clear even if school was cancelled, and of course there is no school on weekends.

Since it is challenging for us to decide whether to drive or not, you should be ready to call us to check whether we are going to be at your community or facility. No book, movie or piece of music is worth risking your safety. We will keep or reorder whatever is on hold for you so that it will be waiting for you on our next visit. We are nice about waiving the fines, especially when the stuff is late due to weather conditions. But most importantly - CALL US!

Monday through Friday 8-4 call us at 412-321-1853. On Saturdays we will answer the phone between 8:30 and 9:30. If you still need an update for evening stops after our regular hours, you can call at 412-726-3525. That will answer only when the weather is bad, so if there is no answer, we plan to be at your stop. And if you call the center during our regular hours and no one answers - it's a snow day. No one could make it to work so get some hot chocolate, snuggle under a warm throw and we will see you next time.

Movie: Snow Day
Book: Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Book: The History of the Snowman: from the ice age to the flea market, by Bob Eckstein

Getting back to you . . .

I promised to report back about my luck in tracking down some Danish and Finnish mysteries. Well, it has been a mixed bag. Although the Danish mystery field is very active, none have been translated into English. I had a bit more luck with an author from Finland - not only is it virtually the only one translated into English, it was actually available in the system. The book, Stone Murders, by Matti Joensuu, is definitely on the dark side of the traditionally dark Scandinavian mysteries. Years ago during a Winter Olympics, there was one of those get to know the people clips about a pairs couple from Finland. The theme was how depressed and glum the Finns are (in spite of having tons of tango halls where lots of people hang out and glumly dance the tango). Apparently melancholy is beautiful to the Finnish soul.

This book is nothing if not melancholy. It was a bit choppy - I would guess it all depends on the translator - but I would read others in the series. What was unique about this mystery as compared to other in the genre is that the police in the story were frightened. Although they carry guns, these police were characterized as being scared of the rough crowd, or too frightened to enter a dark tunnel. Maybe it is just more honest than most other police fiction.

There was also a sense that they could never get ahead of crime - as in protecting the public - rather they were there to clean up the dreary mess. Missed opportunities came back to punish them with the unhappy results they would have to live thinking about. Life is filled with alcholism, spousal abuse and physical abuse of children. Everyone is tired and feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. And yet it's always the US being held up as being such a violent place.

But it is a beautiful country and I browsed through the Wikipedia links about Finland marveling at the differentness of their architecture. Take a moment to browse - it is fascinating.


Book: Leney, Terttu - Finland
Movie: Scent of a Woman

Creating a Bookmobile Community . . .

Last spring, a patron came on board to return the selection for this year's One Book, One Community. She said she had enjoyed the book, but was that all there was to One Book? I was caught by surprise, not sure what to say. Sure, most libraries have book discussions and programming concerning the One Book selection, but we didn't have the venue to do so and just promoted the reading of the title. But it got me thinking - how could we make it possible to do more with One Book? After some thought - and a felicitous class on Web 2.0/Library 2.0 - I decided the only way to bring together our users, scattered as they are all over the county, was to do something online.

So I turned to my computer guys for advice and thus was born the idea of the Bookmobile Community, a cyber community that would make interaction between us all possible. We decided to use our new website as the base, start an informal blog and then a discussion forum. This blog is interactive - you can make comments anytime and I will post them for all to read. Most exciting and with the most potential to really be interesting, useful and interactive is the forum - and it is ready for you to try now.

It has been named As the Wheels Turn to keep with the whole bookmobile theme and it is an easy to use venue to talk books. There are currently just a couple of discussions going on, but anyone can start a new one. Need a new author? Post the question and watch for recommendatons. Want to discuss a specific book with someone else? Start the discussion and see who jumps in. Hated a book and want to warn people off? Go for it! And you don't have to leave home.

It is a really easy process (thank you Randy) but full directions are on the webpage (thank you Robyn) - just select As the Wheels Turn from the menu on the right. To get directly to the forum, just click on the icon on the main page - it's the one that looks like a bookmobile.

So I am really hopeful that this turns out to be just the thing to spark some talk with all of you. If you have friends, neighbors, co-workers and family that might be interested in taking part - invite them to join. It isn't just limited to us bookmobile people, we are just the core. Go on, give it a try!

Book: Book Club cookbook, by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
DVD: The Carol Burnett Show