A year of reading

This year I read many adult fiction titles, but also some other genres, including a graphic novel, young adult fiction, an autobiography, and children's books. I picked up most of these at the library, but I also read some of the books I received for free at ALA, some were borrowed from friends, and others were on my bookshelves unread. I also spent a lot of time reading books and articles for graduate school.

I really got into audio books this year. I actually look forward to driving when I’m listening to a good story. They also make less enjoyable tasks (like cleaning and exercising) more bearable. I’ve learned that the narrator really makes a difference, too.

My favorite book of 2010 was the bestseller, “The Help,” a first novel by Kathryn Stockett about a young woman who becomes interested in the plight of black maids working for white families in Mississippi in the 1960s. I’m glad I listened to this book in audio. Narrated by four women - Cassandra Campbell, Jenna Lamia, Octavia Spencer, and Bahni Turpin - it really captures the spirit of the characters. A movie version of this book is currently in post-production!

I also read many books for children thanks to my niece and nephew and recommendations from my friend Merritt, a school librarian. My favorite children’s books are “Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!” by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, and “It’s a Book” by Lane Smith.

I would like to start tracking the books I read online, rate them, and write book reviews. There are several sites to do this very thing, including Goodreads and LibraryThing. I'd love to hear if anyone has experience using one of these or other library sites.

PEO: women helping women

I would like to thank the ladies of P.E.O. who helped me obtain scholarship money for my graduate education. P.E.O. is a philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women; educate women through scholarships, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of Cottey College; and motivate women to achieve their highest aspirations.

Founded in 1869 by seven women at a college in Iowa, the group soon blossomed to include women off campus. Today, P.E.O. has grown to almost a quarter of a million members in chapters in the United States and Canada.

This photo shows some of the ladies of the Sharon, PA, chapter presenting me with a “big check” for $1,200. I am very thankful for this grant, which went toward my graduate tuition at Pitt. I want to especially thank the chapter’s former president, Robin, who told me about the program, and the chapter’s current president, Jane, who wrote a wonderful letter on my behalf.

For more information about the organization and its financial programs for higher education for women, visit the P.E.O. website.

Volunteering

Although my internship at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh officially ended at the end of July, I continue to volunteer at the library. I've been leading a book group at a local nursing home as part of the library's outreach efforts. I've been getting better at leading the group discussions. More people are participating in the discussion and less have been falling asleep. :) The participants really enjoy the monthly meetings, so I'm happy to help out.

I also wrote the Beach Reads section for August's featured collection, Make a Splash: Hit the Beach on the library website. I included quick reads by Jane Green, Andrew Gross, Elin Hilderbrand, Sophie Kinsella, James Patterson, and Anita Shreve.

First ALA conference = lots of books

I attended my first American Library Association conference last month in Washington, D.C. The annual conference is huge! Although it was very well organized, it was quite overwhelming. There was so much going on, it was difficult to decide what to attend. Unfortunately, the sessions I sat in were either not what I expected or not very engaging. I suspect that once I start working as a librarian and have a niche, I'll be able to get more out of the conference sessions.

The best event I attended during my time in DC was an information session on federal librarianship careers. It was at the Library of Congress, so I had to take the subway there, which was very confusing. I wish I had taken a tour of the Library of Congress, but at the time I thought attending the conference was more important.

I spent most of my time in the exhibit hall, attending author signings and collecting free books for children, teens and adults. Of the 50-some books I brought home - 15 are signed copies! Some of the books are not available to the public yet (advanced uncorrected proofs). I met most of the authors or illustrators, including Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, Vicki Myron, Jim Breuer, Adriana Trigiani, Julia Alvarez, Heidi W. Durrow, Jon Scieszka and David Small.

I also got a picture with Nancy Pearl and a signed copy of her latest "Book Lust" tome. I wish I had brought my Nancy Pearl librarian action figure with "amazing push-button shushing action" for her to sign, but it's still in the box and I didn't want to carry it around all day.

My friend Merritt had traveled from St. Croix for the conference and we had blast. She taught me the art of obtaining free books. She shipped 8 boxes of books back to the island - most to donate to an elementary school library - and took a suitcase full of books back with her on the plane. Pretty crazy but the kids will love it.

We stayed in Chinatown at a hotel with an Irish pub downstairs, which was awesome. Hard cider on tap! The walk to the convention center was only about 4 blocks, but it felt MUCH longer while lugging bags of books in the 105-degree heat.

Now I just need to get another bookshelf to store my new books AND find time to read them!

P.S. Check out this cool video for a peek at the ALA exhibit area: Penguin Goes to the American Library Association (ALA) 2010 Annual Conference, by Julie Schaeffer

Library funding crisis

It's that time of year again.

State and city library budgets are increasingly in jeopardy, and it's up to the public to lobby in their favor.

Last year the proposed cut for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system (which includes 29 libraries) was 65 percent, but after the public rallied, it was reduced to 35 percent.

Now that I am a library intern/volunteer there, I know firsthand how important the library is to people. It's sad that we have to beg for such a valuable public service. I am thankful to those who support funding, including these lawmakers. (Still, this is only to keep the libraries open until December 2010!)

House members scold Ravenstahl over funding for Carnegie Library

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Eight state House members from the city of Pittsburgh have sent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl a strongly worded letter complaining that he hasn't lived up to a commitment to provide Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh with $1.2 million over two years.

City Council last year approved, and the mayor signed, a bill giving the library system $600,000.

But Mr. Ravenstahl returned unsigned a bill council passed June 1 allocating the system another $640,000 -- money the system says it needs to keep all branches open through December. The bill now becomes law without his signature.

"This is an issue that we have all worked collectively on as elected officials, and we hope we may rely on you to finalize your piece," said the June 8 letter signed by Democratic Reps. Dom Costa of Stanton Heights, Paul Costa of Wilkins, Dan Deasy of Westwood, Dan Frankel of Squirrel Hill, Joe Preston of East Liberty, Harry Readshaw of Carrick, Chelsa Wagner of Beechview and Jake Wheatley of the Hill District.

By June 8, however, the mayor already had returned the bill unsigned, according to council records.

At the time the letter was written, the signers were all of the House members representing city neighborhoods. Mr. Ravenstahl's brother, Adam, of the North Side, was sworn in the next day to serve out the term of Don Walko, now an Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge.

Ms. Wagner, the chief author, acknowledged in an interview that the letter was unusual because of the signers' unanimity and the unusually stern language directed at the mayor.

The lawmakers said long-term and short-term financing plans for the library were ironed out at a Nov. 23 meeting of state, county, city and library officials at the Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown. The leaders convened as the library system was preparing to close a handful of city branches.

"At this meeting, which was attended by your chief of staff, Yarone Zober, we all came to an agreement that the city would provide $1.2 million in stop-gap funding for the libraries, and the state representatives would direct the city's share of the table-games revenue to (the library system).

"If you did not agree with this arrangement, then, as your representative, Mr. Zober should have voiced that opposition before the decision was made or could have alerted us within a reasonable time frame after that meeting."

The library system did not ask the lawmakers to send the letter, spokeswoman Suzanne Thinnes said.

So far, the library system hasn't received any money from the city; the first $600,000, though approved by council and the mayor, has not yet arrived, Ms. Thinnes said.

In recent weeks, mayoral spokeswoman Joanna Doven has said another $640,000 would amount to a "blank check" for the library system and come at a time when the city has its own financial worries. Besides, she said, there's nothing to prevent the library from returning next year and demanding yet another grant to keep branches open.

CLP's Eleventh Stack

This is my first blog posting and bio for the library's blog, Eleventh Stack. The photo at right is of Turtle Beach on Buck Island near St. Croix.

Island Dreaming
Looking for a great vacation location? I lived on the beautiful island of St. Croix, and highly recommend the U.S. Virgin Islands. No passport is needed since it is a U.S. territory. I’ve identified some library materials to get you in the mood for a trip, or just to immerse yourself in island dreaming.

Travel guidebooks include Frommer’s Virgin Islands, Fodor’s the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Moon Handbooks’ Virgin Islands. While these are great resources to start your research, the best way to learn about the islands and get the inside scoop is to hear from people who live there or have visited there, which you can do before or during your trip.

In the fiction book Don’t Stop the Carnival, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk draws on his own experience managing a hotel on an island near St. Thomas in the 1960s. The comedy about living out your fantasies on an exotic Caribbean island gives a pretty realistic account of the ups and downs of island life.

Wouk’s novel was turned into a short-lived musical by Jimmy Buffet in 1997 and an interactive multimedia CD, Don’t Stop the Carnival, words and music by Jimmy Buffett, can be found at the Library.

Other music and film recordings offer a glimpse of island life:

Zoop Zoop Zoop: Traditional Music and Folklore of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John features folk music field recordings from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Various artists perform the pieces, including “Sly mongoose,” “Me mother had tell me,” and “Cigar win the race.”

Caribbean Dreaming: U.S. Virgin Islands. This DVD brings the island atmosphere to life, with sumptuous visual images and music. From sunrise to sunset, go “behind the scenes” of the islands, visiting the most serene beaches, and observe breathtaking landscapes and ocean views.

Hollywood has shot several films in the USVI. The final scene in The Shawshank Redemption was filmed at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge on St. Croix. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire Caribbean and is only open to the public seasonally during specific times in order to protect sea turtle nests and hatchlings.

Movies with scenes shot on St. Thomas include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Weekend at Bernie’s II, and Trading Places.

-Apryl

Apryl is an intern on the First Floor of the Main Library. She loves the redesigned bookstore/café-style space — a library trend that influenced her decision to pursue librarianship as a new career rather than open a bookstore. A magazine junkie, she is excited to help with the First Floor’s amazing magazine collection, among other projects. Having worked in continuing and graduate education for many years, she’s taken the plunge herself as a master’s student in the University of Pittsburgh’s library and information science program. When not working on her online courses, she indulges in popular fiction and is currently obsessed with audio books.

Summer Internship and Travel Plans

This summer I am interning with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's First Floor: New & Featured department. I love it! This is a quite a relief since I am halfway through the graduate program at Pitt. Now I'm even more excited to earn my MLIS. (It would be a very expensive venture if I didn't want to pursue it as a career, after all.)

I completed spring semester's courses with A's. This summer I'm taking the internship for credit. Later this month I'm traveling to Baltimore to visit friends and family and to DC to attend the ALA annual conference at the end of the month. It is a huge conference with big name authors! I'll be rooming with my friend Merritt from St. Croix, who also earned her MLIS though Pitt's program (which is how I learned about the program).