Noah is getting fantastic, wonderful reviews and I am soooo relieved! Even Entertainment Weekly has it #1 in history books for children. I hadn't realized EW did children's books! (Glad they do.) Houghton Mifflin has done a great job of getting review copies out there. 

I'm sorry to have been negligent in blogging  – still a lot to learn. I wonder, if you have a blog, do you find it's better to have it on your website (as mine is), or have a separate blog such as blogspot? 

 Do you know who helped found the American Library Association (ALA)? When? Do you know who opened the first library school? When? Where? Do you know who invented the Dewey Decimal System?

A guy named Dewey, Melvil Dewey, did all the above.

The ALA was founded in 1876; the first library school opened in 1887 at Columbia University; and Dewey came up with his system for organizing and shelving non-fiction books in 1876.

(Fiction is shelved by the author of the book – EXCEPT folk tales, fairy tales, riddles which are in 398, and poetry and plays in 811-12.)

Non-fiction goes by the numbers – decimal numbers – EXCEPT biographies which are under 921 by the last name of the subject (Some libraries still shelve them according to what the subject is famous for, which seems a bit awkward. What if the person was famous in sports and music, both?).

Before Dewey invented his numbering system, some libraries arranged books to “look nice” by size; some put them alphabetically by title; some just had a fixed spot on a shelf. When a new book came in, everything had to be rearranged.

Ask your bffl (best friend forever librarian) for all ten Dewey categories and all the hundreds of sub-categories. Here are three: 200 is religion, 300 is social studies, 600 is applied science (science you use).

So, for example, the Dewey number for a book on the commercial processing of kidney beans is 664.805652. I know you are rushing to get that book even as we speak ­– unless you agree with the friend who said, “Like I care about kidney beans.”

If you are researching at an academic library such as Harvard or Yale, say, you will probably NOT use the Dewey Decimal System. Instead, you’ll use the Library of Congress Classification System which is more, well, academic.

One last fact on Dewey. He was born Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey, He changed this to Melvil Dewey, and even considered changing Dewey to Dui, the better to get rid of extra letters.

Oh, one more last fact. When did he figure out how to organize books? He wrote, “one Sunday during a long sermon … without hearing a word, my mind absorbed in the problem, the solution flashed over me.” 

(Since I mention the Lincoln Public Library, you can see this is from my library column in the Lincoln News Messenger.)

As we think about our great and blessed nation on this 4th of July, we also think about our great public library system. Public, not private. Free entrance to all. Free books and free information, with a free library card. All available to every one of us at the Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges.

It was 236 years ago that the men of the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, after some editing of Thomas Jefferson’s writing. Jefferson himself sat silently during the editing process but he wrote that John Adams fought “fearlessly for every word.” As we know, Jefferson’s argument against slavery was taken out. Also cut was his beautiful phrase of regret to King George – “We might have been a free & a great people together...”

Instead, we are a free & a great people as Americans.

Two hundred and thirty-one years ago, in October 1781, the British surrendered at Yorktown and the Revolutionary War was over. (At least the fighting was. The war ended officlally in 1783 when the peace treaty was signed.) Two hundred and twenty-three years ago George Washington was elected our first president. And as we all know, 186 years ago Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the very same day, the 4th of July. 

Here's more about what the Lincoln, CA, public library provides, and how the Friends of the Lincoln Library help. What can you add about YOUR library?
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Do you want or need to learn a new language? Check the shelves at the Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges. I study Russian, and have been through all the books and tapes and cds on the library shelves. On a drive to Chicago with my Scottie Nasha, we listened to Pimsleur’s Russian lessons (from the library) for about 4,000 miles. I still can barely speak Russian. In fact I think Nasha (means “ours” in Russian) speaks it better than I do, but that’s not the library’s fault. My point? There’s all the help we could ask for right there on our Lincoln Library shelves. And all you need is a library card.

Want to catch up on some movies and don’t have Netflix? Check the shelves at the Lincoln Library. All you need is a library card.

Want to explore your family tree? We have millions of dollars worth of information available for free with your library card. We have, for example, Heritage Quest, an essential collection of material for genealogical and historical research dating back to the 1700s. We also have “Ancestry Library Edition,” one of the most important genealogical collections available, containing census, church, court, immigration records and more. All you need is a library card.

Want to fix your vehicle? For do-it-yourselfers with a library card we have an “on-call mechanic” (Chilton) available 24/7 with repair, maintenance, and service information for the most popular models. One of our librarians reports that a man recently fixed his ailing Saturn with Chilton’s help.

Want to get into college or find a scholarship or create a resume? Our “Testing and Education Reference Center” database has it all, including test prep books, online practice tests, resume builder, and more. You simply need a library card.

Are you brave enough to seek opposing viewpoints? Just go to the library’s “Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center” database. You’ll find resources covering today’s hottest topics, from terrorism to stem cell research to …  Well, just take a look. All you need is a library card.

How about the kids? For students from kindergarten through grade five the library has “Kids InfoBits,” with online information from books, magazines, newspapers, maps, charts, images, and more. Use your library card, do a key word search, and the info will be yours (or theirs).

Btw, these last five examples are available online 24/7.  You just need the number on your library card to access them all.

There really ARE good things for free in this world! At least in the library.

Well, part of the column anyway. Thing is, my library columns are fairly personal in that they relate to the Lincoln, California, public library and may not be of interest to, say, someone in Lincoln, Nebraska. 


So here's some info about what Friends of a public library do (at least in Lincoln, CA).
We’ve been talking about what exactly the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges (FOLL) DO for the library. We learned last time that the Friends support several important library programs, and help the library buy books, CDs, and DVDs.

What else do the Friends do? Here are two more examples from a very long list:

Friends’ volunteers help shelve library books; protective-cover donated (like new) books before they are shelved; sort donated books for use in the library or for special sales; maintain the Book Sale shelves in the library; manage and staff the special weekend book sales (move lots of books, organize those books, collect money, etc.); arrange the Family Movie Nights (get the film, make the popcorn, move the chairs, etc.); assist with Mother Goose and our other special programs – and more.

That was one example. Here’s another:

We raise money so we can accomplish all the things on the list. Thank you for YOUR membership, your extra donations, and your time. If you aren’t yet a member, we hope you will become one today. Contact info for FOLL follows this column.

Here’s a patron’s question on a different subject: Who leads the Friends? What are his/her qualifications? What is his/her goal for the Friends? And here’s the answer.

Our FOLL President (name omitted), has had a long and successful career in law and politics, including serving on the staff of three U.S. senators. For some time her office “was right next door to the Roosevelt Room and around the corner from the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room” when she worked in the White House. She also worked as an advocate for a paper products manufacturing and recycling company for 26 years. (name omitted) moved to Lincoln in 2002 and joined the Friends in 2009. She is clearly ultra-qualified to lead the Friends! (When you attend the Friends’ meetings, you will notice how extremely well they are run.)

And what is her goal for the Friends? To keep our library(s) open, viable, and thriving for the Lincoln community.

As is clear to all, we’re in hard economic times in Lincoln. To keep our remaining library viable we need your help. We really need you. Please use the contact information at the end of the column. Thank you.

More about eBooks

If you have a Nook (as I do), or a Kindle, or another form of eBook reader, you can check books out from the library on your e-reader! Lora gave us a short tutorial several columns ago, and if you go to the libraryatlincoln.org site you will see the instructions. Here’s more information:

You can check out a book 24/7 online. You may check out three books at a time. If the book you want is already checked out, you’ll be sent an email when it is available. Your book will automatically expire when the lending period is up. You can’t renew your eBook, but can check it out again. I just looked at the downloadable collection. There are 100 books, and there are a lot of people waiting, so we’ll need to join the queue.

Okay, now I’m going to go check out some books for my Nook. I mean, join the queue.

May 3, 2012

            A man told me recently that he didn’t see the need for libraries in this age of internet access. I was taken aback, and only later (of course) did I come up with some appropriate responses.

            Why do we need libraries? Let me count the ways.

            First, though, a caveat or two. I love my iPad. I love my Nook. I love my laptop and my cell phone. I’m an author – I DO use the internet – a lot.

But back to libraries.       

            We know that not everyone has a Nook or Kindle. Not everyone has an iPad. Unfortunately, not even a computer.

            There are families whose money must go to rent and food and medicine before books.

            Kids need school libraries and public libraries. Kids need our Twelve Bridges Library. (They need our Carnegie Library too, but that’s another column.) Kids needs books they can take home and curl up with. They need shelf after shelf of books, free books, and that is what a library is.

            Adults who are searching for jobs need libraries. They need job search computer software. We Friends have provided two software programs for the Twelve Bridges Library: Brainfuse’s “JobNow” and “HelpNow.” These programs were purchased with funds raised by the Friends (that’s you!).

            Kids and adults who are doing research need libraries, especially if they don’t have their own internet access. Not only do researchers need the library’s computers and the library’s internet access, they need the library’s librarians. A librarian is the researcher/reader/author/student/teacher/parent’s best friend.

            It’s a given that library use creates better readers, higher achievers, more successful workers. We need a way for those successful workers to actually find work, and a way for students to access advanced on-line help. That’s why the Friends purchased the Brainfuse job-search (JobNow) and homework help (HelpNow) mentioned above.

            Contrary to what the man at the beginning of this column said, libraries ARE in the 21st century. Libraries provide online resources, e-book downloading, and 24/7 access to library services in addition to plain old-fashioned books. And librarians.

            To quote from the executive director of the American Library Association: “Sure, the library is an old fashioned concept. So is equal opportunity. So is democracy.”

            Well said. But what else would we expect from a librarian?