Library Expands Its Offerings

Growing up, one of my favorite memories was waiting for the evening newspaper to arrive at the door, especially when I was supposed to be practicing piano. The first thing we did in our house after we got ready for school was to read the morning newspaper, as we were lucky enough to have two papers. In college, one of my favorite things to do, when I was supposedly at the library studying, was to read the local Chicago newspapers and take little “study breaks” in the stacks to read old bound copies of “Life,” “Look,” “Time,” and “Newsweek.” Today, we would say that I needed to get a life. Marie Lydon, Reference Librarian

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.

Animal, Vegetable ... Kindle?

A Kindle? If you haven’t heard, the Kindle is Amazon.com’s very popular e-reader or electronic book. There are many amazing things about the Kindle – the lightweight design, the easy-to-read text, the text-to-speech capability, and wireless capability to download books in seconds, anytime and anywhere. I was recently at a friend’s mountain ski house where to get cell service we need to stand very close to a window on the second floor leaning over a balcony (you’ve got the “Can you hear me now” picture?). Yet, I downloaded a Kindle book sitting at a kitchen chair using Amazon’s Whispernet wireless. In just seconds. (The Kindle version of most books costs between $8 and $12 and is delivered free from Amazon.com’s Web site.) From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript. Read or listen to some other opinions about the Kindle: How the Kindle Changed the World at Salon.com, A Kind Society Can Be Literate at NPR, Kindle e-Reader, A Trojan Horse For Free Thought in the Christian Science Monitor.

What's All the Fuss About Blogs?

What is a blog, anyway? Why read them, why write them. In short, why care?

Online definitions of the word “blog” differ. Marketingterms.com defines a blog simply as “a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.” Another online definition defines a blog as a “personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption.” Well, consume we do. Blogs can be found on all newspaper and magazine Web sites, conference and political Web sites; there are millions of them and they are everywhere and can be used for all types of purposes. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire article in the From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.

The School Project: It's a Family Thing

Last Thursday night my husband and I attended an amazing program at the elementary school in our hometown of Norfolk. The event was the annual Wax Museum and included the exhibits of over 150 fifth-graders as famous personalities. That night I met Amelia Earhart, Charles Schultz, Ben Franklin, Christa McAuliffe, Theodore Geisel, Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Jackie Bouvier Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson and many others, including our own grandson, Colin, as Norman Rockwell. I don’t know if I was the most impressed adult in the crowd but I was certainly awed by the creativity and brilliance of these confident 10-year olds. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.

Reading About Reading

When I leave the library each day I try not to look around me. What I mean is that working as a librarian has its shortcomings. I often use the analogy of working in a candy story while having to watch sugar intake. I often overload my bedside table with books that I’ve read about, hear about or watched come and go from our busy library. It’s a tough job and someone has to do it … but it can be pretty frustrating when you’re a busy person with little time to read. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.