Just a few short items that landed on my desk: --After 133 years, the government of the United States is ceasing publication of Statistical Abstract of the United States. Long a mainstay of libraries' ready reference collections, the 1000 page annual fell victim to a cost-saving program. Bernan Press and Proquest have announced their intention to keep SA alive. --To apply a library-centric filter to your voting preferences, see the ALA's Legislative Scorecard. --It's looking like the Minuteman Library Network will not acquire bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey for Overdrive because of its erotic content. Individual libraries are free to use their own funds to buy the ebook version. --Margaret Atwood on the strike at Toronto Public Library: "People support libraries, but sometimes don't understand that it takes people to make them run. Just as it takes writers to write new books..." --RL
It's a great season for Massachusetts genealogists! First we hear that the 1940 Census will be available on April 2. (See the Mar. 12 post) Then, in the March 20 Globe there was an article about Delene and Jay Holbrook, an Oxford couple that spent 30 years collecting vital records from the dusty basements of town clerks around the state. In all, they accumulated 17 million records dating from 1620 on up. Of course the information itself is public and free, but with the added value of actually collecting it, the Holbrooks were able to sell the whole treasure to Ancestry.com. To do a search, find your favorite founding father, or just have a look, come to the Library to access the Ancestry database. (At the Ancestry home page, look for the menu titled More Collections. Choose Recent, and them Massachusetts Town Vital Collections.) Ancestry will also have the 1940 Census. --RL Please note that as of March 21, not all data was loaded into the Ancestry database.
Most Popular SF & Fantasy books at the library since July. A Dance with Dragons has the most circulations, followed by the other books in the series, followed by the other books on the list.
Dubbed "the American Tolkien" by "TIME" magazine, Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series--as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire. …More
Head of the Rule 34 Squad monitoring the Internet for illegal activities, Detective Inspector Liz Kavanaugh investigates the link between three ex-con spammers who have been murdered. …More
Richard Whitestone is an Elemental Earth Master. Blaming himself for the death of his beloved wife in childbirth, he has sworn never to set eyes on his daughter. But when he finally sees her, a dark plan takes shape in his twisted mind. …More
"Hammered" is the third title in an original series about Atticus O'Sullivan, the last of the Druids. In this final outing, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson asks Atticus to help take down Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Original. …More
Ever wonder where your mandibula is? Been caught out in the rain one too many times to arrive at a library that's just closed? Well, years back the answer to shell out a few hundred dollars and get your own copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The advent of the internet began the iconic publication's demise and the later appearance of Wikipedia all but assured its irrelevancy to the general public so it was to some people's surprise that, when the company announce earlier this week that they're dropping its print editions in favor of a digital version, the Encylopedia Britannica was even still around. I'll always fondly remember the commercials, however, which spell out for you the dire consequences of not having its multi-volume set at your house to help you out of sticky scholarly situations.
For everyone who's interested in genealogy, the US Census from 1940 will be available to the public on April 2. Census information is kept confidential for 70 years and then released to the public. This is the year for the 1940 information to make its debut!
We are so fortunate to have a library as large, well-appointed and well-provisioned as the Wellesley Free Library. It's a pleasure to work in, study in, visit, find just the right books and attend a cool program in. Shutesbury residents don't have quite as good... --RL
"No ancient ruler inspired more legends than Julius Caesar. Under his leadership, Rome conquered territory throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, reaching the North Sea and conducting the first Roman invasion of Great Britain. Acclaimed author Bill Yenne charts the major events that shaped Caesar's leadership, his rise to power, and his crashing fall" More
Ghosts of Empire: Britain's Legacies in the Modern World ByKwarteng, Kwasi 2012-02 - PublicAffairs 9781610391207Check Our Catalog
A narrative history of the British Empire, one that avoids sweeping judgmental condemnation and instead sees the Empire for what it was: a series of local fiefdoms administered in varying degrees of competence or brutality by a cast of characters as outsized and eccentric as anything conjured by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Dr. Frank analyzes the sometimes perplexing behavior of our current President, reaching conclusions that provide new ways of understanding Obama--certain to fascinate admirers and opponents alike .…More
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War ByPlatt, Stephen R. 2012-02 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307271730Check Our Catalog
This narrative history of China's 19th-century Taiping Rebellion (which cost some 20 million lives) brims with unforgettable characters and vivid recreations of massive and sometimes gruesome battles--a riveting, sweeping, and intimate portrait of the largest civil war in history. …More
The only seas Venice ruled were the Mediterranean and Black, but it dominated European trade from 1000 to 1500, an achievement that owes much to its citizens' energy and freedom but mostly to their willingness to fight. …More
The Lost History of 1914: Reconsidering the Year the Great War Began ByBeatty, Jack 2012-02 - Walker & Company 9780802778116Check Our Catalog
Beatty offers a highly original view of World War I, testing against fresh evidence the long-dominant assumption that it was inevitable. Beatty writes "My book draws a new map, uncovering paths to peace long buried under the avalanche of war."…More
Have you ever wished there was an online resource where you could find good quick information about people such as Joe Paterno, Steve Jobs, Sojourner Truth, etc?
Whether you are just interested or have a research project to complete, Biography in Context is your first stop in the library or from home to find nearly 1, 000,000 biographical entries displayed in topic pages featuring information from reference books, academic journals, news articles, audio clips & videos for over 525,000 people in history.
The prodigious British novelist, Charles Dickens, born February 7, 1812, is being celebrated the world over this year on the occasion of his bicentennial. Considered the first literary celebrity by many scholars, Dickens, the author of more than 14 novels, was also well known as a magazine editor, playwright, actor, philanthropist and social reformer. Dickens was the creator of some of literature's most celebrated characters such as Oliver Twist, Scrooge and Tiny Tim while his writing gave a voice to the poor and downtrodden. The subject of numerous retrospectives around the world, Dickens fans may enjoy exhibits at the Museum of London, Museum of Modern Artin New York, and UMass Lowell, among others. Dickens best-selling novel? A Tale of Two Citieshas sold over 200 million copies!
Dr. Peter Brown, aka Pietro Brwna, is back. This time he accompanies a paleontologist on an assignment at the request of an eccentric billionaire. Murders, drug deals, of course the mob, and lots of laughs by the author of Beat the Reaper.
It's Boston in 1868 in Matthew Pearl's latest historical novel. Four of the first group of MIT students team up to look into a series of baffling scientific mysteries.
My jaw quite literally dropped when I read this New York Times article about the global jukebox, an idea of folklorist and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax which envisioned based on his substantial collection of folk music, pictures, videos, and more. Thankfully, the idea's time has come and thanks to the Association for Cultural Equity it will have a majority of Alan Lomax's collection live on the web by the end of February. You can see what they have already digitized at the "Research Center," where you can thrill to early recordings of Big Bill Broonzy, the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, and international recordings from countries like Ireland, the Caribbean, and Romania.
Okay, it may be to late to "celebrate"Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28), but it's not too late raise a little awareness about data privacy. You may have thought that the battle was lost. That "They" are going to know what ails you, what interests you, what actors you love and politicians you hate, your hobbies, your fantasies, your favorite foods, your bad habits, buying habits, work habits, best friends, travel plans, money problems, love problems, kid problems, your questions about God, about sex and how you feel about your mother, your shoe size, waist size and size of your intellect, every interaction with the law, and with your keyboard, every credit card transaction and phone call, every swipe of a bar code or zap of a QR code, and every book you read.** You may have thought the battle was lost, but lo! there's Frodo and Winston Smith and Sojourner Truth, swords in hands, convictions intact, and nothing left to lose. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Electronic Privacy Information Center, American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the American Civil Liberties Union are several of the many organizations leading the fight to reclaim our personal information in the digital marketplace. Data Privacy Day has its own website concentrating mostly on internet security and safety (after all, Google[!!] is one of its corporate sponsors). They offer tips and resources for individuals, classes and companies.
**Libraries have long been stalwart defenders of book-borrowing privacy. Libraries do not retain the borrowing record of a book after it has been returned; nor do we keep a history of what books patrons have borrowed. The records of e-book borrowing, however, is in the hands of the companies (Amazon, Overdrive) that contract with the Minuteman Library Network to supply those e-books.
--RL
In Search of the Multiverse: Parallel Worlds, Hidden Dimensions, and the Ultimate Quest for the Frontiers of Reality ByGribbin, John 2010-08 - John Wiley & Sons 9780470613528Check Our Catalog
Is our universe just one of many? As impossible as it seems-that other universes came before ours, float alongside ours, or even mirror ours-the evidence is surprisingly convincing.
How to Build a Time Machine: The Real Science of Time Travel ByClegg, Brian 2011-12 - St. Martin's Press 9780312656881Check Our Catalog
What is time and how can it be manipulated? Clegg explores the remarkable possibilities of real time travel that emerge from quantum entanglement, superluminal speeds, neutron star cylinders and wormholes in space.
Atkins explains the processes involved in chemical reactions. He begins by introducing a "tool kit" of basic reactions, such as precipitation,corrosion, and catalysis, and concludes by showing how these building blocks are brought together in more complex processes such as photosynthesis.
This highly acclaimed atlas distills the vast science of climate change, providing a reliable and insightful guide to this rapidly growing field. This new edition reflects the latest developments in research, the impact of climate change, and in current efforts to mitigate and adapt to changes in the world's weather.
An illustrated survey of the 100 key discoveries of science across several millennia. This book not only explains the discovery and history but looks at the impact of the breakthrough today.
Mystery Writers have announced the 2012 Edgar Award Nominees. Start reading (or listening or watching) now so you can weigh in on your choice before the winners are announce on April 26. Perhaps you will find some new authors and even tv shows to follow.
TV Episode "Innocence" - Blue Bloods"The Life Inside" - Justified"Part 1" - Whitechapel"Pilot" - Homeland"Mask" - Law & Order: SVU
When you find one of the nominees you really enjoyed, share your thoughts here so others may be enticed as well. If you recommend one of the tv shows, let us know.
The Hunger Games, the first book in Suzanne Collins' 2008 sci-fi trilogy, comes to the screen in March. Directed by Gary Ross, the thriller stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci.
One For the Money(Jan 27) is adapted from Janet Evanovich's 1994 first novel featuring bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson, the film stars Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, John Leguizamo and Debbie Reynolds.
Have you made a resolution that this will be the year you take charge of your investments?Interested in getting a jump start on retirement?Then join us in February and March for a series of four talks that will help you become a more confident investor.Our February classes will be:
SIX STEPS TO A SECURE RETIREMENT THURSDAY, FEBURARY 2ND 2-3PM ARNOLD ROOM
Ryland Hanstad, Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors in Wellesley, will outline the Six Steps to a Secure Retirement: Challenges and Perils Where You Stand Today Getting to where you want to be Picturing your retirement Your dreams and goals Bringing it all together
Come to our investment resource class featuring Morningstar®Investment Research Center, Valueline® Guides, and more! The Wellesley Free Library has a wealth of information to help you be a better investor. Whether it's for mutual funds or stock investing, the Library has rating guides, newsletters and magazines—both online and in print. Learn all about them at this informative class.
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