Highlights

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:05:26 -0400

The “Blog” of “Unneccessary” Quotation Marks, www.unnecessaryquotes.com: I just love this site so much. One of my brother’s pet peeves is unnecessary quotation marks. So, I’ve been very aware of them for years. He’s going to love this site. Maybe you will, too. (Oh, and this site has been made into a book.)

“Are You A Spelling Phenom?” test on Scripps National Spelling Bee website: I know I’m not a phenom but took the test anyway. See, I have Spelling Bee Fever from watching the finals last night on ESPN. The first few test words were all ones I knew how to spell, and I thought, “Maybe I could make it to the finals next year!” But the test confirmed that passing for a 14-year-old would be the least of my obstacles. How did you do?

“It Takes All Types” on smith journal: An interview with the owner of the Australian Typewriter Museum. I found this link via this post on To Be Shelved. I just love typewriters and may have my own very small (certainly less than 903!) collection. Not a typewriter fan? Then you may like this novel about a demon-possessed typewriter: “Walpuski’s Typewriter” by Frank Darabont.

Hatfields v. McCoys: Why can't we all just get along?

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:07:54 -0400

The last three nights my husband watched the “Hatfields & McCoys” miniseries on the History Channel.

I watched about half, and although I enjoyed what I saw, I keep wondering if the “real” story might be even more interesting than the fictionalization.

We can find out by starting with this book: “Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900” by Altina L. Waller.

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:43:46 -0400

“Music to Your Ears: 5 Ways to Discover the Latest Music” by Margaret Mason on Life Scoop: “Fortunately, if you have a few minutes a day, it’s easy to bring new music into your life. Here are five simple ways to find music that’s actually new, not just new to you.”

Roll Models series on Let’s Go Ride a Bike: Every week the bloggers at LGRAB “profile an inspiring everyday cyclist – a weekly series called ‘Roll Models.’” Today is the last Friday of National Bike Month!

“how a book is born (because you kids love the infographics)” by Mariah Bear on Weldon Owen: “Here’s the heartwarming, only slightly messy, and roughly 74 percent accurate story of how an idea churns through the publishing process….”

“Dead Authors on Twitter” by Eleanor Barkhorn on The Atlantic: “What would Flannery O’Connor have sounded like if she’d had a Twitter feed? Or Charles Dickens? Or Shakespeare? The writers themselves may no longer be with us, but clever fans are impersonating them on Twitter…”

I saw this on one of NYPL’s blogs, and with a few link...

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:22:05 -0400

I saw this on one of NYPL’s blogs, and with a few link changes it works for our library, too!

donganhillslibrary:

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the summer.

Get a jumpstart on your outdoor cooking — Check out the library’s collection of cookbooks for great barbeque ideas.

If you’re not a fan of carne we also have books for you vegans and vegetarians. Here are a couple of books the library has for healthy eating that will satisfy your taste buds.

Happy Grilling!

Remember the 9 Sarasota County libraries are closed on Monday, May 28 for Memorial Day. So, come get your grilling cookbooks (or other books, DVDs, CDs, etc.) today, Friday and/or Saturday!

Sarasota County Commission celebrates Library of the Year

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:35:07 -0400

On May 22, the Sarasota County Commission officially recognized staff, volunteers and community partners for winning the Florida Library Association’s 2012 Library of the Year Award.

See photos of the ceremony and celebration on Sarasota County’s Flickr photostream: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzxHuzG.

Public meeting on new Gulf Gate Library, May 24, 2012

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:16:21 -0400

Sarasota County Public Works will hold a public meeting on May 24, 2012, about the design, permitting and construction of the new Gulf Gate Library. Citizens can attend the open-house-style meeting at any time from 5 to 7 p.m. at St. Andrew United Church of Christ, 6908 Beneva Road, Sarasota. (Get directions to the meeting here.)

Attendees at the meeting can view, ask questions and comment about preliminary floor and site plans and conceptual exterior and interior images.

For more information, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000.

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:16:05 -0400

“Data+Design Project: Bar Chart April is Now Live!” on Visual News: “[T]his month [the designers] used the standard bar chart and came up with some really unique designs and topics, ranging from crayons to surfing.” Although my favorite sort of chart is a Venn diagram, the bar chart has its own charm. See especially the chart called “Top 10 Most Read Books in the World.”

Dear Photograph, dearphotograph.com: It’s pictures of pictures from the past in the present. Wrap your mind around that! Read more about it on NPR’s The Picture Show blog. This picture is the most interesting to me.

Simply Bike’s “Bilingual Parenting” blog posts: I’m not bilingual and I’m not a parent, but I’ve loved reading about the experiences of parents trying to raise their children bilingually. (I’ll count this as a bicycle-related link for Bike Month because it was on a blog about bicycling. I found out about Dear Photograph on Simply Bike, too. See, bike people are very interesting!)

Library Link of the Day (or is it "of my Heart"?)

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:56:35 -0400

You know I’m slightly obsessed with 3D printing.
In the past month, two co-workers have independently happened to mention 3D printing in conversation and been taken aback as I exclaim, “3D printing! I love 3D printing!” And now today the Library Link of the Day is an article about 3D printing.

So, is 3D printing going to be “a thing” in libraries? (Oh, I hope!)
It is at the Fayetteville (NY) Free Library’s Fab Lab. Read more about that here and here.

Bike to Work Week 2012

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:45:00 -0400

It’s the first day of Bike to Work Week. Sarasota County is officially celebrating it, too.

I think May 11, 2009, was the first time I tried to ride a bicycle to work. I documented that attempt in this post: “Bike to where?!” I can still recall how very hot and tired I felt by the time I was halfway to work. What a difference three years makes!

Find all the bicycle-related posts along with all sorts of SUNCAT searches for library materials about bikes here: sclibshighlights.tumblr.com/tagged/bicycles.

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 11 May 2012 07:00:29 -0400

“Rare 270-year-old book found in SC library vault” by Bruce Smith for the AP: If this isn’t inspiration to go through and clean out any closets or storage areas, I don’t know what is!

“Vote for Your Favorite Book Bloggers” on EarlyWord.com and Independent Book Blogger Awards, www.goodreads.com/book_blogger_award: I didn’t see this post on EarlyWord in time to actually vote for my favorite book bloggers, but I (and you) can still browse all the links to perhaps new-to-us book blogs.

“De Cafe Racer: The Multi-Person Bicycle School Bus” on Utne.com: “Have you ever wondered how the exuberant energy of elementary-school children might be harnessed and put to good use?….a kid-powered bicycle that replaces the traditional school bus.” It’s National Bike Month! So, I have to have a bicycle-related link whenever possible in May. “How is that different from every other month?” you ask. I don’t know; it just is. I wouldn’t mind having an adult-sized De Cafe Racer. There’s something very Fred Flintstone about it.

“15 Vintage Photos of Librarians” by Jill Harness on MentalFloss.com: I spent way too much time on MentalFloss.com this week, but this post of photos of librarians was a favorite.

rogue carts., roguecarts.tumblr.com: “who knows how they got where they are…i’m just here to document them.” (from the “why?” post on rogue carts.) If you’re offended by strong language, you might not want to click through. I, however, am offended when I see shopping carts that haven’t been returned to the store or stowed properly in a parking lot. When I see them I say out loud to no one in particular, “Come on! We’re living in a society here, people!” SUNCAT has two books on shopping carts: the awesome “The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification” and the equally interesting-looking picture book “The Runaway Shopping Cart.”

R.I.P. Maurice Sendak

Tue, 08 May 2012 10:27:23 -0400

Children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak has died.

Today might be a good day to read “Where the Wild Things Are.”

“Where the Wild Things Are” scared (ok, “scares”) me, but Sendak wrote many other books to read instead if you feel likewise.

The Avengers

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:45:30 -0400

“The Avengers” opened with record ticket sales this weekend. Were you one of the many who saw it?

My co-worker tried to see it, but the theater sold out just as she reached the ticket window. Denied! Better luck next weekend.

In the meantime, she (and you) can fill the emptiness by checking out Avengers books and movies from the library.

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:16:12 -0400

Awesome People Reading, awesomepeoplereading.tumblr.com: May is Get Caught Reading Month. Check out all these photos of awesome people reading. This “person” is especially awesome.

“The 39th Lesson” on Zen Habits.net: In case you were worried: “You’re not missing out.” Like the Zen Habits blogger, I also turned 39 this year, and I probably badly needed to read this post.

“10 Gorgeous Buildings Made Out of Books” by Emily Temple on Flavorpill: A “wish list of buildings made out of books that we’d really like to live (or play) in.”

“May is Bike Month: It’s easy once it’s easy” by Ted Johnson on Commute by Bike: “National Bike Month is for guys like Chuck; people who don’t need a whole bunch of convincing. It’s not for twisting the arms of die-hard motorists.” Maybe I needed this post, too….but sorry, I’m still going to talk on and on and on about riding bicycles.

“Foto Marvellini’s Vintage Family Portraits Expose Superheroes’ Roots” by Angela Watercutter on Wired.com’s Underwire: I’m partial to “Nonna Batman Che Legge.” SUNCAT has more on superheroes here and here.

Not just PBS

Thu, 03 May 2012 13:09:58 -0400

I’m aware that I mention watching PBS quite a bit in my posts here. Lest you think I only watch educational television, let me introduce you to my newest TV show obsession “Ice Loves Coco” which follows the life of actor and rapper Ice-T and his wife Coco. I love it!

And in its own way “Ice Loves Coco” can be as educational as some shows on PBS. For instance, from a recent episode I found out that Hawaii is one of very few places in the world with rabies-free status.

The library does not own the first season of “Ice Loves Coco” so that you can watch it, too, but we do have materials by and about Ice-T. The library also has nothing by or about Coco, but how about something about “cocoa” instead?

30 Days of Biking is over. Long live National Bike Month!

Tue, 01 May 2012 07:15:44 -0400

The last day of 30 Days of Biking was yesterday, April 30. Did you participate? How did you do?

I did well and rode my bike all 30 days, but you probably could have guessed that since I would have never, ever brought it up again if I hadn’t.

Lucky us that although 30 Days of Biking is over, we have National Bike Month to enjoy every day in May.

Find out more about National Bike Month from the League of American Bicyclists.

Find everything you can about bicycles and bicycling in SUNCAT with this search.

"Birdsong" on Masterpiece Classics

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:31:18 -0400

I watched “Birdsong” on Masterpiece Classics yesterday and last Sunday. Did you see it? Or have you read the book from which it was adapted?

I can’t say that I really enjoyed the movie as I’m not often a fan of books or movies that can be described as “lyrical,” but it did make me curious about the author, Sebastian Faulks.

Find out more about Faulks and his work, including the “French trilogy” (“The Girl at the Lion d’Or,” “Birdsong,” and “Charlotte Gray”) in NoveList Plus.

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:38:18 -0400

“The Book of the Future” by Grant Snider on NYTimes.com (or see it here insted: http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2012/04/book-of-future.html): Very funny, but I don’t think ebooks are going anywhere.

“How to Recycle Anything” on RealSimple.com: “An A-to-Z guide of what can be tossed into which bin.” Read more on recycling in SUNCAT: subject search for “recycling.”

“Henri” and “Henri 2, Paw de Deux” on YouTube: I love Henri, the existentialist cat. This is what the Internet is for, right? Pictures and videos of cats? I certainly think so. More on existentialism and on cats in SUNCAT.

Links I Love Friday

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:34:39 -0400

I often save links with the intention of posting them on Friday but then don’t for various reasons. Usually, they’re links I liked early in the week but by week’s end my fancy had been caught by something else. Today I’m posting some of my never-weres.

“Hobbyist Launches Camera Into Space and Takes Amazing Pictures” by Annalee Newitz on io9: “John Gordon used a hobby kit to design a computer-controlled camera, then stuck it in a protective box and launched it into space (from Vulcan, Alberta) with a weather balloon.”

“Can TV Make You Happy? 9 Tips To Ensure that TV is Boosting, Not Undermining, Your Happiness” from The Happiness Project: “But while television is a good servant, it’s a bad master. It can swallow up huge amounts of time, without much happiness bang for the buck.”

“An Introvert’s Guide to Networking” from Mary Ellen Bates on Librarian of Fortune: A little summary of a post on networking for introverts from a Harvard Business Review blog post and a link to another blog post with advice for introverts.

“Things That Were Once Amazing” by David Pogue for Pogue’s Posts on NYTimes.com: “It’s too bad there’s no List of Things That Were Once Amazing, but Are Really Kind of Old News at This Point.” I think Pogue’s post is kind of cynical. There must be a happy medium naive and blasé.

“Off Book: The Fashion of Artists” from PBS arts: “[F]ashion plays a role in the aesthetic landscape of many artists. In this episode, we talk with a diverse array of creators about the relationship of style and fashion to their lives and work.”

Fingerprints

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:52:58 -0400

If you didn’t see Frontline on Tuesday night, you missed a great show. You can watch it on PBS’s Frontline website: “The Real CSI: How reliable is the science behind forensics?”

I’m reluctant to ruin it for you by saying too much. Let me just say that after watching, you might want to search SUNCAT for the subjects “fingerprints” and “forensic sciences.”

Try Transit Day is April 19, 2012.

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:30:55 -0400

SCAT will offer free bus rides on ‘Try Transit Day’ April 19

Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) will offer free rides to all transit users on regular fixed-route or commuter Express buses to celebrate “Try Transit Day” on Thursday, April 19. On all other days, the standard fare for a single-ride is $1.25 for the regular fixed-route service and $2.50 for the Express service.

For more information, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 or visit www.scgov.net.

P.S. Want to try transit but not sure where to ride?
Take the bus to the library! All 9 libraries are accessible by SCAT bus.