A smarter YouTube

Take a look at FORA.tv, an online video website that “delivers discourse, discussions and debates on the world’s most interesting political, social and cultural issues, and enables viewers to join the conversation. It provides deep, unfiltered content, tools for self-expression and a place for the interactive community to gather online.”

FORA.tv gets content from government organizations and think tanks from all over the world, and features experts speaking on the arts, business, religion, science, politics, the environment, and technology. And FORA.tv is more – it has a forum for discussion, where you can comment about what you’ve watched and read what others have thought about it, too.

Videomakers: Win $10,000!

Love your library?
Love being a librarian?
Tell the world why and you could win $10,000!

In honor of National Library Week, Thomson Gale has created librareo (www.gale.com/librareo), a Web site dedicated to promoting, marketing, shouting from the mountain tops and generally praising libraries, librarians and the people who love them.

Visit www.gale.com/librareo between April 15 and May 25 to find out how one simple activity – uploading a video you’ve created to YouTube professing your love for your library; your fellow librarians; the community you serve; the information you keep, archive and categorize – can win $10,000. $5,000 goes to the library and $5,000 is for you to spend however you want! And…you’ll be the guest of honor at a special screening of the winning video at the ALA Annual Conference!

2007 – 2008 Library Budget Passed + news about the children’s vote

Thank you to the Half Hollow Hills community for their show of support. The 2007 – 2008 proposed budget passed 345 – 93. Incumbent Martha Graham (Board President) was re-elected.

The winners of the children’s vote were Curious George (for favorite book character), a dog (for favorite pet) and baseball (for favorite sport).

Reader’s Selects Book Discussion

Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand
by James Barron

Meeting: March 20, 2007

Barron chronicles how an immigrant family created an American cultural institution. The book follows the construction process of a Steinway concert grand piano named K0862 from inception to performance. The book examines the history of the Steinway Company from its humble beginnings in Germany to its current icon status in the United States. Most fascinating were Barron’s descriptions of the craftsmen who built the K0862 in the Queens factory, using techniques that for the most part haven’t changed since mid the 1800s.

Prior to the meeting I was concerned that the book would not generate much discussion because there was no controversy or conflict that would generate strong opinions. But I was wrong, the meeting turned out to be one of our better discussions with everyone participating. People were reminiscing about pianos they owned and taking lessons etc. One couple had a personal interest in the book because their nephew Robert was quoted in it. Robert Taub is a professional pianist of some renown and was one of the first people to play the featured piano K0862. The Taubs were not able to attend the meeting but left the group a compact disc of Robert playing a Steinway and hearing the music was a perfect way to conclude our discussion.

Chris Garland

Our Next Meeting is May 15, Melville Branch @7:30
We will be discussing The ghost map : the story of London’s most terrifying epidemic– and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world / Steven Johnson

Call the Melville Branch to reserve a copy. 421-4535

*A note from the author James Barron

Dear Mr. Garland
It was so nice to come in this morning and, thanks to a Google alert, to find your blog report on the discussion about “Piano” waiting in my e-mail in box. And it was nice chatting with you on the phone.

Attached (I hope) is a PDF of the postcards promoting my appearances with Robert Taub next week at Steinway (109 West 57th Street in Manhattan). Please feel free to print and post them and/or forward them to people who might be interested in attending.

I don’t know whether his aunt or uncle mentioned it, but he and I were college classmates. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way, but of all the pianists who tried out K0862 for me, he really was the one for whom K0862 sounded as if it had been made.

As I mentioned on the phone, everyone is welcome next week, but anyone who wants to attend should call to reserve a place (212-246-1100)

Thanks so much,
Best,
James Barron

Donnell Public Library

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking a trip into Manhattan and visiting the Donnell Public Library. It’s located at 20 West 53rd Street and it should be a required pilgrimage for anyone who is a Youth Services librarian. There’s too many treasures there to list in a brief blog entry, but I’ll try to abbreviate it for you.

There is a Harry Potter chess set as you alight from the elevator and directly behind it is a display of the winners of the N.C. Wyeth Bookmaking Competition. This is an annual contest where public school children build their own books and I must say, their craftsmanship rivals that of some adults (myself included!). One will be amazed by the multi-language collection which includes Spanish, Italian, Russian and Chinese. What a great way to make non-English speaking children feel part of the community!

Lastly, the rare books room is worth inquiring about. I had the privilege of speaking with one of the librarians about it. Sadly, it is open by appointment only but what a collection. It contains hundreds of uncatalogued items including an original copy of a book titled “The girl who beat her sister” as well as the actual Newbery Medal awarded to Eric P. Kelly.

If you have kids of your own or are a big kid yourself (like me), make an afternoon of the Donnell Library. I only regret I was on a tight time budget, otherwise I would’ve had security shooing me out at closing time. For information go to http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/dlc/, although the website doesn’t do it justice!

Also visit me:

http://rmcgrory.blogspot.com

And we’re walking…

Wouldn’t it be fun to take a tour without ever getting up off your chair? We thought we’d walk you around some of our favorite spots in the Dix Hills building.

First we have the display for MyLibraryDV. Nancy in our art department turned an unused computer monitor into an old fashioned tv, complete with rabbit ears antennae. Now, don’t you feel like watching tv?

You can try out MyLibraryDV from our website.

This is the media aisle. DVDs on one side, CDs on the other. It looks long and expansive in this picture, like a Walmart.  Yep, we’ve got a lot of stuff! Behind it are the audiobooks.

This is one of my favorite spots in the Dix Hills building – the magazine reading area. Is it the huge plant by the window, the waiting chairs, the table begging for a newspaper to be spread on it, or the walls of free reading matter that make it so appealing? What would you add to improve it?

Library Budget Vote & Trustee Election, Tuesday, April 17th, 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Don’t forget to vote!  This is your community and your library! Tuesday, April 17th is the annual budget vote and trustee election, held at the Dix Hills building from 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. For information about the proposed 2007 – 2008 budget go to http://hhhl.suffolk.lib.ny.us/text%20newsletter/apriladult3.htm#vote. You can also find the information from the Library’s web page at http://hhhl.suffolk.lib.ny.us. Click on “more information about the budget” on the right side of the page.  If you have any questions, please call the Director, Michele Lauer-Bader, at 421-4530, extension 348 or email her at mlauerba@suffolk.lib.ny.us

Wheel of Fortune

We’ve got this fantastic conversation group going. Our Outreach Librarian, Catherine Given, facilitates the meetings, which consists of our library patrons who don’t speak English as their first language. They get together weekly and talk to each other to practice their English. It’s a beautiful thing! Catherine and our art maven Nancy put their heads together and came up with this wheel to help get the conversations going.  Each week the group fills up the wheel’s outer ring with topics they want to discuss.  Each person takes a turn spinning the wheel, and that’s the topic of conversation until the next person spins.