Kids Winter Reads - Before It's Too Late

Posted by Staff

Alex Wong / Getty Images

According to the weather authorities (shown at left), Winter will be ending early this year.  Before the warm up commences, consider taking home some books for the kids to enjoy.  The following selections have been chosen by our Youth Library Staff for their entertainment value, artist merits and just for fun!  Enjoy the reading!

When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan.  What happens to all the things that live outside when it gets cold?  Walk with a curious child and his parents to find out.

Old Bear and His Cub by Olivier Dunrea.  A playful and warm tale highlighting how parents and children care for one another in good times and bad.

Red Sled by Lita Judge. Lush artwork creates great visual images that perform the majority of storytelling in this book about a sled ride through the country.

Ice Bear by Nicola Davies.  A beautiful tale about a bear adopted for a time by a hunter and his wife.  One day, the bear child wanders off, and a bear comes to return him to his mother.  The hunter thinks his adopted  child has been stolen and sets off to find the culprit.

Is That You Winter? by Stephen Gammell.  Fantastic artwork, briefly told story, surprise ending.  Winner of the Minnesota Book Award.

Sneezy The Snowman by Maureen Wright.  What do you do if you have a cold snowman?  Give him cocoa, sit him in a hot-tub, and set him by the fire.  Oh, oh, he's melted!  Silly fun for all ages.

Redoing the Oscars: Tell Us What You Think!

It happens every year.  The Oscars are announced and there are grumbles throughout the land because a favorite movie or actor didn't win.  This has happened for decades.  Sometimes, a winner fades from memory and others from that year are well known and loved.  We did an informal poll of the staff to determine if the winners have stood the test of time (and Jacob's critical eye).  The following movies received an overwhelming number of votes for Most Deserving of Best Picture:

1974:  Chinatown instead of The Godfather, Part II.  Other nominees: The Conversation, Lenny, and The Towering Inferno.

1976: Taxi Driver instead of Rocky.  Other nominees: Bound for Glory, Network and All the President's Men.

1979: Apocalypse Now instead of Kramer vs. Kramer.  Other nominees: All That Jazz, Breaking Away and Norma Rae.

1985: The Color Purple instead of Out of Africa.  Other nominees: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Prizzi's Honor, and Witness.

1994: The Shawshank Redemption instead of Forrest Gump.  Other nominees: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, and Quiz Show.

1999:  The Green Mile instead of American Beauty.  Other nominees: The Cider House Rules, The Insider, and The Sixth Sense.

2006: Little Miss Sunshine instead of The Departed.  Other nominees: Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, and The Queen.

If you want to go back and revisit these classics, all are available through the library.

Tell us who you think should have won!

Patron Book Review: Columbus in America

Posted by Guest Blogger and EPL Patron, Irv S.

Columbus in the Americas by William Least Heat Moon is a small book which takes on a large task--an objective analysis of the Great Admiral's character, warts and all, as revealed in his expeditions to the New World. The book is a laudable examination of a not altogether praiseworthy individual.

We were taught in grade school of Columbus' bravery, skills, and accomplishments. Least Heat Moon, of Native American extraction, acknowledges all that but also examines the adventurer's dark side. He describes the uneven and sometimes evil treatment of the indigenous peoples by Columbus and his crew.  Columbus was a devout Christian who took communion before boarding his flagship for his first expedition across the Ocean Sea, as the Atlantic was called then.

The abuse heaped upon the natives, especially the kind, hospitable Tainos was reprehensible. They were generous with food and provisions and the Christians responded to the generosity with rape and pillaging.

The author provides much solid information about the voyages, crew members, travails, destinations, and routes, but concludes, "Judgment of Columbus cannot ignore the forces his actions set in motion in his'other world' that would lead to the greatest genocide humanity has ever witnessed." 

Six Degrees of Recommendation - February

Posted by Staff

The staff is flexing their filmography muscles to find new ways to explore our fabulous DVD collection and make recommendations.  The rules of our game were simple: ONE - only DVDs from Edwardsville; TWO - each selection must be based on something, anything from the previous DVD; and THREE - only 48 hours per choice (get that list moving!).  The results are explained below.  Links between selections are highlighted in purple.

(1) Ike D.: Victor/Victoria (1982) A comedy film starring Jule Andrews, James Garner and Robert Preston; (2) Denise T.: Young Victoria (2009) A film chronicling the life and times of Queen Victoria starring Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend; (3) Katherine R.:  Sunshine Cleaning (2008) In Order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business - a biohazard removal/crime scene service with her unreliable sister, stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin; (4) Zach H.: Anvil (2008) The documentary follow two friends who made one of the most influential heavy metal bands in 1978 and yet failed commercially; (5) Jacob D.: This is Spinal Tap (1984) One of the funniest films of all time, this mockumentary gives a satirical look at a hair metal band much like Anvil; (6) Karen K.: Hard Day's Night (1964) Flashback 20 years and watch a real band deal with Beatlemania - feel free to sing along!; (7) Sara S.: Easy Rider (1969) Going from 'Hard' to 'Easy' within the same decade with classic rock and traditional music, the story down, dirty and dark, follows the mood of the latter years of the decade; (8) Cary H.: The Big Easy (1987) Another 'Easy' title, this is an atmospheric crime drama with great chemistry between conflicted, corrupt cop Dennis Quaid and uptight, by-the-book, district attorney Ellen Barkin; (9) Jacob V.: Barton Fink (1991) John Goodman (DeSoto in The Big Easy) plays Charlie, offering insight into the life of the common man to his new playwright neighbor, Barton Fink (John Turturro).

The History of Automation at the Public Library: A Look Back and to the Future

Posted by Alana T. and Deanne H.

Our Fearless Leader, Deanne H.

The EPL has been part of the new IL Heartland Library System since last year (for more info, visit our previous post).  The next step for the consortium is adopting a new library automation system called Polaris at the beginning of April (for important dates, see our website).

The EPL staff have been busy training and preparing for the upcoming changes.  Last week, I sat down with our Director, Deanne H., and we discussed what patrons needed to know and her thoughts on the new system.  Originally, I thought I would post the highlights to the blog, but the conversation was so interesting, discussing adoption of new technologies at the EPL, that I decided to post it in its entirety.

Alana:  In a few weeks patrons are going to temporarily lose their holds (book requests) as we upload information to the new automation system.  It seems so easy to go online, or call us, and request an item – a few days later, a patron has the item in hand.  We’re going to have a week or so when that system doesn’t work.  But it wasn’t always so quick and easy.  When you started at the EPL (1980), how did people put holds on books?

Deanne:  There were two ways.  If the EPL owned something we (the staff) went to the card catalog, found the location on the shelf; if the book wasn’t there, we knew it wasn’t in.  The staff member then had to look for the book card.  Back in the day, there was a pocket in every book and there was a card that listed title, author, fiction or non-fiction .  When the book was checked out, the card was inter-filed in this giant drawer as big as my desk, maybe a bit smaller.  It was filed by author for fiction, or Dewey # for non-fiction.  If a patron requested a book that was checked out, you had this little metal clippy thing that held the patron’s name and phone number. When the book came in, you would pull the card out of the drawer and you would see a patron had a hold on it.  Then you called them, as we do now.

Interlibrary loans back in the golden oldies was basically the same as what we use now.  Back then, you filled out a piece of paper.  Sometimes we requested specific titles, but we did a lot of subject requests.  In those days the EPL was a much smaller library.  Maybe we had 40,000 items then; we have over 100,000 items now.  So, if somebody came in and they needed five sources about tornados, we might not have everything.  For interlibrary loan requests, we would fill out a paper with as much detail as possible what a patron needed.  The patron needs this, but maybe not this, and they need it by this date.  We would send that to the Lewis & Clark System headquarters.  They had a HUGE card catalog for every book in the system and they would fill the requests.

Alana:  So that means, when we cataloged a book we would have to make two cards for every book…

Deanne:  Yes. And somebody had to file them.  What that meant is that the System had lots of employees and a collection of their own.  You could order directly from them, or they could find who owned a book and request it.  A very quick turnaround for interlibrary loan would be about two weeks.  Expectations were different and patrons had to be prepared.  Obviously even back then, kids doing assignments would not be prepared.  They would say, “What, you don’t have anything?”  And we would try really hard to find something.  We would bypass the System and call libraries and ask, “Do you have this?  Do you have such and such on your shelf?”  In some cases, a staff member would drive places and get items for patrons. 

Alana:  You’ve just described the old-fashioned method of requesting items, but we did become automated and gradually adopted new methods.  What are your memories of that process?

Deanne:  We automated in 1986 here.  We weren’t the first library.  I think East Alton went first and we were third.  It was a HUGE process to envision this online thing and not everybody did it at the same time.  It was a massive cooperative effort and we’re still doing that.

First, we had to barcode and enter all that information (about each book) into the computer.  We did that with the assistance of System staff, and in many cases, staff from other libraries.  Everyone would go to help get all those items entered, and then it would be someone else’s turn.  When we went online that first day, East Alton staff came here and helped us because they had been online several months.  So when the next library went online, we sent staff members.  It was planned that way. 

There were some libraries that waited – everybody didn’t leap in right away.  There were libraries who didn’t automate for years because their boards thought that the decision didn’t best serve their taxpayers.  It was frightening and it was expensive.  In 1986 our population was a bit over 13,000; we were still a small community.  Automation was a significant portion of our budget. 

Alana:  Did it make a difference right away? 

Deanne:  It made a difference in the speed of getting patrons the things that they wanted.  The biggest selling point was seeing what everybody (other libraries) had.  There was so much there.  This wasn’t the internet (not until 1995), but it was new and exciting!  People were really nervous in some ways.  For quite some time we had computers, but we were still keeping our card catalog.

Just as there are discussions now (about digitization), there were big discussions in the 80's and early 90's about what we were losing as we let our card catalogs go.  And it is the case that we lost a lot.  Technologies and libraries change, and overall, these are positive changes.  

However, an online catalog will not, has not, and in my opinion, will never really reflect our local collection.  With a card catalog you can catalog for your community.  With MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging) records, and particularly with a big consortium, we all have to use the same format.  Everyone has to be trained the same, enter the data the same way, use the same format.  With a card catalog, foof on that!  You could do what you wanted, and we did.  Take Sara Coventry as an example, nobody knows her outside of Edwardsville (she was Director of the EPL from 1891-1937 and is occasionally sighted in the building).  We could have a subject heading, Coventry comma Sara.  We could make up our own subject headings, and often we did.  We would hear from patrons that they were looking for x instead of y.  We could use both, and all kinds of ‘see also’ cards. We had a huge catalog that reflected how people were searching in Edwardsville, and they loved that.  There was a lot of info in a card catalog and that was wonderful.

Alana:  When I was in college, even grad school, I still used card catalogs.  I had a friend that, when we were given assignments, would go to the library and pull all the cards on the topic (to prevent others from using the sources).  He was horrible.  But, you can’t do that anymore!

Deanne:  Oh my gosh!  Yes, access is 100 million times better – absolutely.  Have we lost something?  Sure.  We kept the card catalog for several years, but we weren’t deleting or adding to it.  We reached a point where we just didn’t have the staff or resources to do it.

Alana:  In a way that’s similar to what is happening now.  Technology, financial issues and expectations are affecting how libraries work. 

Deanne:  Absolutely.  At one time there were, 13 library systems in IL.  Librarians could easily come together and discuss issues that reflected their geographic area. Then there were 10, then eight for a long time, then six, and now there are three.  That is absolutely money driven . And we just don’t have a choice.  Numbers of employees keeps dwindling, dwindling, dwindling.  We now have a consortium  encompassing two thirds of the state and we can’t all sit together.  We’ve elected people to make decisions for us.  People in the SHARE group (Sharing Heartland's Available Resources Equally) are doing the absolute best job they can do in the spirit of what works best for the group as a whole.  Does that mean it is always the perfect fit for the EPL?  No it doesn’t.  But we have to make a choice.  

Has money become a driver in technology change?  Money has always been important in the public library world.  There just isn’t money for supporting multiple systems.   There is this absolute expectation (from library patrons) that you can get the information or item you need you need very, very quickly.  If not, why not?  How can that be?   In order to give good service to our patrons, we have to belong to a consortium and we have to have a good automation product.

Alana:  How was the new software chosen?

Deane:  The SHARE group looked for a company that really had a track record and a demonstrated ability to manage a consortium this large.  This is potentially, or is currently, the largest consortium of multi-type libraries (public, school, academic & special) under one automation system in the country!  Cost was also an issue. Vendors had the opportunity to give presentations, show all the bells and whistles.  People voted and Polaris got the vote. 

Alana:  So, when we go through the whole change at the end of March, it’s not going to be just us (libraries close by) uploading information, it’s other systems, too.

Deanne:   I’ve heard the 10 million mark stated.  I think within Gatenet (our previous system)  it was 4 million items, so it will be almost 3 times as much.  My understanding is that everyday, all day, they are loading all kinds of things.  Millions of patron records and millions and millions of bibliographic records.  And also making sure that it’s all there and working.  There may be some hiccups.  In many ways it could be a bigger undertaking than automation in 1986. Well, I shouldn’t say that.  It seemed like such a monumental undertaking back then, when you go from nothing...  There were no computers in the building when I started!

Alana:  Overall though, except for the period of the switchover, things aren't going to change too much for patrons.

Deanne: The system will be larger, but the process will be the same.  Request and delivery-wise there will be three concentric circles.  If something is available in Carbondale and Glen Carbon, obviously we want it to come from Glen Carbon.  In the beginning, there will be some bumps in the road, a few delays.  

The online catalog that patrons see at home is going to change.  It will be similar to what they have now, but it will look more like what they see when shopping on the internet.  There will be images of books and more information about the books.  

It’s exciting!  People will have to be very patient with us.  We're all experiencing the learning curve.  Our patrons have a high service expectation and we’ll be trying our utmost.  We'll be okay, we have the greatest staff and the greatest patrons.  But we may need a lot of chocolate… 

I Love This Book!

Posted by Alana T.

This month, we're starting a new series of posts in which EPL staff members describe why he or she loves one of the physical books that lives here in the library.  To start, I've chosen one of our many copies of Persuasion by Jane Austen.  I will admit I'm not really a fan of the work, but this little book makes me smile every single time someone checks it out.  It is far and away my single favorite book in the library.

This particular copy was added to our collection in 1991, but the book itself is much older. Because we have other Austen works with a similar format, I think this was part of a set added all at once (there is no publication date inside).  The floral printed cardboard cover is very worn, the edges rounded from decades of handling, and the pages have aged to a mellow ivory color.  The type is vanishingly small - only teens can read it with ease. In spite of heavy use, the little tome is holding together quite well, although the binding is far from tight. This is a tiny book, smaller than the typical paperback and it just seems so... precious.

Each time this copy crosses the circulation desk and someone new takes it home, I am reminded of the wonderfulness of libraries.  Here is tangible evidence of a book passing from one hand to the next over multiple decades.  I hope this book makes the rounds for a few decades more.

Kids And E-Readers

Posted by Staff

Sorry for the length of this post, but there is some interesting information here.  Scholastic recently released a new study on kid's reading in the digital age.  They study found that children reading ebooks has nearly doubled since 2010.  For more details or to download the full report, visit the Scholastic Site.  Tell us what you think!



Kids, Families and  e-Books

• The percent of children who have read an ebook has almost doubled since 2010 (25% vs. 46%
• Among children who have read an ebook, 1 in 5 says s/he is reading more books for fun; boys are more likely to agree than girls (26% vs 16%).
• Half of children age 9-17 say they would rad more books for fun if they had greater access to ebooks - a 50% increase since 2010.
• 75% of kids who have read an ebook are reading them at home, with about 1 in 4 reading them at school.
• 72% of parents are interested in having their child read ebooks.
• 80% of kids who read ebooks still read book for fun primarily inprint.
• Kids say that ebooks are better than print books when they do not want their friends to know what they are reading, and when they are out and about/traveling; print is better for sharing with friends and reading at bedtime.
• 58% of kids age 9-17 say they will always want to read books printed onpaper even though there are ebooks available a slight decrease from 2010 (66%).

Kids' Reading Frequency and Attitudes Toward Reading

• Among girls, there has been a decline since 2010 in frequent readers (42% vs. 36%, reading enjoyment (71 vs. 66%), and the importance of reading for fun (62% vs. 56%).
• Compared to 2010, boys are more likely to think reading books for fun is important (39% in 2010 vs 47% in 2012), but they still lag girls on this measure (47% for boys in 2012 vs. 56% for girls in 2012).
• Frequency of reading books for fun is significantly lower for kids age 12-17 than for those age 6-11; frequency of reading books for school is also lower for kids age 12-17 than for those age 6-11.

Parents' Role in Kids Reading Practice

• About half of parents (49%) feel their children do not spend enough time reading books for fun, while the vast majority of parent think their children spend too much time playing video games or visiting social networking sites.
• The percentage of parents who say their child does not spend enough time reading for fun has increased since 2010 across all age groups of children (36% in 2010 to 49% in 2012).
• Having reading role-model parents or a large book collection at home has more of an impact on kids' reading frequency than does household income.
• Building reading into kids' schedules and regularly bringing additional books into the home for children positively impact kids' reading frequency.

Summer Reading

• 99% of parents think children their child's age should read over the summer.
• 86% percent of children say they read a book (or books) over the summer.
• On average, kids say they read 12 books over the summer.

Try Something New - The Winter Reading Relay!

Posted by Staff

In the past, we had a winter reading program called Warm Up With A Good Book.  For a variety of reasons, we moved our reading program to the summer and we've been getting requests from patrons for another Winter program.

This time, we're trying something different.  We want to share some of our underappreciated gems, and the staff have chosen our favorite hidden treasures.  To introduce an element of surprise, we've wrapped each book in a bag and given a few hints about plot, setting and characters.  You choose a bag, check out the book inside and take home something new and unexpected to enjoy.  You can earn two tickets for a prize drawing at the end of the program (March 8th).  Stop by the library for more information and to sign up!

New Book Review: Man in the Empty Suit

Posted by Susan C.

In this literary fiction by Sean Ferrell (Numb) a time traveler gropes his way through a maze of clues and suspicions in an attempt to prevent an event happening, without creating a paradox in the slipstream of time. The traveler celebrates his 100^th birthday every year by traveling to 2071 as a 39 year old man, to a party attended only by other versions of him, young and old. But this time, he sees his 40 year old self murdered. Without the cooperation of his Youngster or Elder selves he must solve the murder by his next birthday. He challenges the conventions of time travel to unravel what seems to be an impossible task. VERDICT: For readers willing to jump on for the ride, this fascinating novel is engaging and thought provoking, requiring  concentration and commitment. It will appeal to readers of Stephen King’s 11/22/63.

To request this title, click here.