Release Party for Inbound 4: A Comic History of Boston

The Boston Comics Roundtable has just published Inbound 4: A Comic Book History of Boston. Among the dozens of comics included are those telling stories of the Great Molasses Flood, Shay's Rebellion, Charles Ponzi's original scheme, the Gardner Museum heist, Mark Twain's encounter with Boston literary society, and the 1970s busing crisis.

This Saturday, December 5, the writers and artists are celebrating with a release party at the Atomic Bean Cafe in Cambridge. For more info about this free event, click here.

"This unconventional account of our city's history brings a diverse cast of Bostonians to life: sports heroes and serial killers; pirates and punk rockers; founding fathers and favorite sons. An unexpected and delightful assortment of Boston lore!" - Jane Clayson, host of WBUR's "Radio Boston"

Author Tracy Kidder on Libraries and his New Book

An interview with Tracy Kidder - Cohasset, MA - Cohasset Mariner

October 21 - November 8, 2009

"Two weeks of talks, readings, and discussion celebrating the written and the spoken word."

Most events are free and the Chef Fest at Verrill Farm, which was canceled last year due to the fire, will be held Saturday, October 24 at 12-2:00 pm. Howard Dean will be the opening day speaker and will address the health care debate. A print copy of the newspaper supplement detailing the Concord Festival of Authors events is available in the L-S Library.

Author of BLACK WALDEN to speak in Concord

A lecture by Dr. Elise Lemire, author of Black Walden (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009), will be held on Sat., Oct 17 at 5:00 p.m. in the main lobby of the Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main St., Concord, MA. It is free and open to the public. Dr. Lemire, who grew up in Lincoln, is an Associate Professor of Literature, School of Humanities, Purchase College, SUNY. Black Walden was designated a “We the People” project by the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Press release from actionunlimited.com)

A copy of Black Walden is available for check out at the L-S Library.

U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Glück @ Concord Public Library

U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Glück will kick off this year's Poetry Reading series on Saturday, September 26th at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord Library. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. Her new book, A Village Life, was reviewed in the New York Times. [Read review] Some of her award winning books include: The Wild Iris (Pulitzer Prize) Averno (National Book Award finalist) The Seven Ages (New Yorker's Book Award in Poetry) Ararat (Library of Congress Prize for Poetry) Triumph of Achilles (National Book Critics Award)

No More Books?

"Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine..."

This excerpt from today's Globe about the new Cushing Academy Learning Center, formerly known as the library, has generated 303 reader comments as of 3:20 PM. To read the entire article: Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books. - The Boston Globe

Li-Berry, Sh-sh-sh-sherbet, & Rocky Read

Is this how Li-Berry pie might look? Photograph: David Levene.
The Guardian, July 20, 2009

These are 3 of the suggested names for a new library-themed ice cream flavor. According to an article in The Guardian, Book fans develop a taste for library-themed ice-cream, a NJ librarian has been collecting suggestions for flavors on Facebook and a spokesperson for Ben & Jerry's says that a library-inspired flavor is a possibility. To see a list of suggestions or to suggest a flavor, go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=88574048291&ref=search

Historian Looks at Americans in Paris

Vacationers summering on Martha's Vineyard were treated to a reading of the first chapter of author David McCullough's as yet unpublished new book on Americans in Paris during the 19th c. The Vineyard Gazette article contains McCullough's remarks about doing research in and the importance of American libraries. He ended by saying, "... anytime you start to get a little down about the state of American society or the state of American culture, keep in mind that today, still, there are more public libraries in the United States than there are McDonalds."

Dangerous Keywords

Network security company McAfee has released a 2008 study on keyword searches that have the highest probability of enticing users to download viruses, worms, spyware, keystroke loggers, etc., which infect one's computer. The top four are: word unscrambler, lyrics, myspace, and free music downloads. The list of the 50 riskiest search terms in the United States is on p. 8 of the report, The Web’s Most Dangerous Search Terms.

The most in demand out-of-print titles in America

Bookfinder.com has published "Top 10" lists of the most popular out of print books in several categories (biography, history, popular science, thrillers, etc.) each August since 2003. The 2009 titles are now online, but at a different URL than the archive.

Sudbury Town Crier: L-S Debate Team News (6/10/09)

L-S debate team members and library regulars Alex Jacobs, Jonathan Weinstein, Dane Weinberger and Dan Cmejla to compete in the National Forensic League National Tournament. Read more ...



Wicked Local Photo by Bear Cieri
(Sudbury Town Crier, 6/16/2009)

Red Room: Facebook for Authors

Named after the White House Red Room, this fledgling site hosts about 2000 current authors. Check it out!

New England Carnegies

Andrew Carnegie helped to fund the building of many libraries. Search by state/town, architectural style, or current use. Carnegie came to lay the cornerstones for three Worcester libraries - one now a school, one a private residence, and the third still a library.


(Clockwise: Quinsigamond School, Private Residence, Francis Perkins Library)

Video and article about the Amazon Kindle

There's more than one way to read a digital book - The Boston Globe

A Glimmer of Good News

Dana Gioia, NEA chairman who spoke at Sudbury's Longfellow Big Read last spring, reports "Reading on the Rise"

IE Tab for Mozilla Firefox

TECH TIP: To avoid having to open two browsers, e.g. Firefox and IE, you can download an "add on" called IE TAB at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419
After installing you can reload a page in IE with one mouse click.

Libraries Can't Escape Sour Economy

The effect of budget cuts on public libraries can mean "decertification," in which case a library loses its membership in the state and regional systems. Patron are then denied borrowing privileges at other area libraries, can't request inter-library loans, database access is limited and more cumbersome, etc. Similarly, the proposed FY2010 reduction in professional staff in the L-S library will mean exclusion from the shared MASSCAT school library catalog and most database access will be lost to the school community. View Saugus Public Library video. (Unfortunately, there is a short ad before the piece airs and you need IE to view).

California Study Connects School Libraries to Student Achievement

"... schools that staff and fund their school library programs outperform those that don't at the elementary, middle school and high school levels across the state."

Boston Globe Interview with Twitter.com Cofounder

Technology News: Biz Stone, 34, is a Wellesley High grad and recently turned down a $500M offer from Facebook ...

First Person: Biz Stone - The Boston Globe

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