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Dayton Theatres and the Library

August twenty-eighth to September thirteenth, Dayton Playhouse is putting on a production of Cabaret. If you like Cabaret, you may want to read Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood, the book on which the musical and I am a Camera, a non-musical play by John Van Druten, are based. The library has the original book, the script, and the movie musical, so if you check them out before or after going to see it on stage you'll see that they all overlap in slightly different ways.

The same weekends, Dayton Theatre Guild is producing on Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Not only does the library have an English translation of the book by Choderlos de Laclos, but if you are feeling ambitious, we have selections from the original French version as well. You can also find the movie in French with English subtitles under the original title, or an English language version with the translated title Dangerous Liaisons that features Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and many other well-known actors.

-- Kristen, Main Library

World Champion Bar-B-Q

John Willingham’s World Champion Bar-B-Q: Over 150 Recipes and Tall Tales for Authentic, Braggin’ Rights, Real Southern Bar-B-Q and all the Fixin’s.

It’s already the middle of August, so its time for those end of summer barbecues. This book is a great source for barbecue recipes as well as some side dishes that complement the sweet and spicy flavors of the meats. Willingham defines barbecue as the process of cooking meat in a closed chamber using indirect heat produced by hardwood logs, chips, chunks, pellets or charcoal. For Willingham, barbecue is a food that is quintessentially Southern--even the side dishes here are Southern favorites. After defining barbecue as a food that is cooked a certain way in a certain place, Willingham starts on the recipes. First, the appetizer chapter provides recipes for old country staples such as deviled eggs and pimiento cheese spread. The bread chapter comes next, showing recipes for southern style biscuits, no-knead refrigerator rolls and corn bread. Then comes the barbecue chapter-- and every type of meat is included. A recipe for Willingham’s World-Champion Ribs is offered, as well as Dixie Chicken and South Carolina-Style Pork. There is a chapter on cooking with grills– the backyard kind – and also one on chilis. And there is the side dish (fixins) chapter which includes Ultimate Mashed Potatoes. There is a chicken, fish and seafood chapter and one on slaws, salads and sandwiches. Finally comes a chapter on sauces, dry rubs, marinades and glazes and one on desserts. This is a really great book for anyone who wants to do barbecue the way experts do it--from the barbecue to the side dishes to dessert, everything you need is here.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library

Stuff We Found While Weeding

Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men.
I remember the hubbub when this book came out—“that big football player does needlepoint?” Well, he did. And he also wrote a book about it. Like its author, the book is big and friendly, and full of good advice like, “One thing to remember if you have someone paint a canvas for you is that you should have them spell your name right.” Appearing with his decidedly guy-oriented needlepoint projects (needlepoint samurai, anyone?) you will find several of his friends whom he has roped into sharing his hobby. A sweet-natured, nostalgic book, even if you don’t give a toss about needlepoint.

Comparative Urban Design: Rare Engravings, 1830-1843, Melville C. Branch.
There is a special kind of person out there who loves to look at old maps and I confess to being one. This book is a treat for people like me in that it reproduces maps of major world cities from a narrow time period and puts them all in one place for easy browsing. Okay for me, you might say, but of what practical use could this be to anybody else? Well, if you are planning some genealogical tourism, this could help you visualize where your forebears lived. Or if you are a reader (or writer!) of historical fiction, this could be an informative tool for you. Or maybe you just want to meditate on the state of the world of urban planning in the mid-18th century. Otherwise, if you are a cartographile, plan on relaxing in a chair under a tree and spending an afternoon flipping through all these delicious maps. On a side note, the other author given credit for this book is The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, so you just know it has to be good!

Folk Toys of Japan, Misako Shishido, translated by Tatsuo Shibata.
Long before Hello Kitty and Pokemon there were toys in Japan with intriguing legends behind them. This classic book from 1961 gathers 50 tales and illustrates each one, sometimes with delicate color reproductions. The stories are sweet and touching and may seem vaguely familiar to anyone who has watched the anime of Hayao Miyazaki. The most touching of all may be the one with the funniest-sounding name: the tale of the Bean-Jam Bun Eater. Trust me.

-- Sue, Main Library

Sandman Slim

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey tells the story of James Stark, who has recently escaped from Hell – literally. At the age of nineteen, he was set up by his fellow magicians to be dragged “Downtown,” alive, by demons. The residents of Hell, never having seen a living human before, tortured him experimentally for a while and then put him to work as a sideshow gladiator for eleven years when he stubbornly refused to die. Now he’s back and determined to take revenge on those who betrayed him and killed the woman he loved. To help he has Vidocq – yes, the historical crook-turned-cop whom Victor Hugo used as inspiration both for Valjean and Javert in Les Miserables. In Sandman Slim, he’s also an alchemist who managed to make himself immortal accidentally. But how can Stark really know who to trust, when the forces of Heaven, Hell, and every kind of unaffiliated magic there is seem to be playing their own games?

This is the grittiest, darkest paranormal noir that I have ever read. The pace is fast and the dialogue is razor sharp. It is not for the faint of stomach, but if you can handle the guts and gore place your request today and be one of the first to get your hands on a copy.

-- Kristen, Main Library

The Best Freezer Cookbook: Freezer Friendly Recipes, Tips and Techniques

The Best Freezer Cookbook: Freezer Friendly Recipes, Tips and Techniques by Jan Main

It’s almost time to start thinking about preserving our Summer garden produce, and this little book is a great way to start yourself out by learning freezing techniques. First, the book explains how freezing preserves food, followed by some helpful tips to get you started. Next is a table that shows how long various foods will keep in the freezer. Then there is a section on how to thaw different types of food. Next, there is a chapter on freezing fresh foods. This includes tips and information on freezing specific fruits and specific vegetables. Also there are instructions for how to freeze meat, poultry and fish. The book also offers some recipes using food you have frozen. “Sweet Onion and Tomato Soup with Fresh Basil Crème” is offered as a way to use frozen tomatoes. There is a recipe for “Best-ever Meat Loaf” that sounds great and includes tips for freezing it. In the entertaining chapter is a recipe for “Mini Cheese Souffles” and how to freeze the puff pastry if you wish. A final chapter on baking offers “Harvest Apple, Pear and Cranberry Pie with Cheddar Pastry”, which sounds delicious as a Fall dish. This book is full of information on freezing food and recipes you can make using it.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library

The Night Counter

The Night Counter by Alia Yunis tells the story of Fatima Abdullah, an aging woman who emigrated from Lebanon to America seventy years ago. For the past 991 nights, she has been visited by Scheherazade, the immortal storyteller of The Arabian Nights. Fatima believes that on the 1,001st night, she will die, and so in between telling stories of her life to Scheherazade, she is trying to tie up her loose ends, like planning her funeral, finding a woman to marry her grandson (hard to do in nine days no matter what, and even less likely in this case because he’s openly gay), and deciding who should inherit her home in Lebanon. To make things even more difficult, the house where she lives with her grandson is under surveillance by two photographers who want to trade their days as paparazzi for a career with the FBI, and who suspect them of Al Qaeda connections. Scheherazade, who surprisingly is not a hallucination, amuses herself in between visits to Fatima by dropping in, unobserved, on the rest of her large family, filling in the gaps in the versions of events that Fatima knows in order to create an epic family saga squeezed into nine nights of events and memories.

-- Kristen, Main Library

Low carb 1-2-3

Low carb 1-2-3 The Low-Calorie, Low Carbohydrate Cookbook, by Rozanne Gold with Helen Kimmel, MS, RD.

If you’re looking for help with your low-carb diet, this book will definitely help. Each recipe is composed of just three ingredients, so it’s really simple to use. The first part of the book describes the basic pantry items needed for the book as well as basic equipment you will need to make the recipes. The first chapter offers ideas for breakfast. Eggs go well with low carb diets, and many recipes here call for them. Ham and Eggs with Red eye Gravy is a new way of preparing an originally fat laden dish. Next is the party chapter and there are some really great dips, including Cucumber-Chive Dip. There is a meat chapter, and Gold makes it clear at the beginning that even though low carb diets can include a lot of meat, it is important to be careful about fat. Braised Hoisin Pork with Scallions is an example of using the technique of searing to cook meat in a low-fat way and bump up the flavor with Hot Hoisin Sauce. The vegetable chapter is great if you’re a vegetarian. Broccoli Smothered in Wine and Olive Oil is one of the tasty offerings, as is Roasted Cauliflower with Cheddar Cheese. The last recipe chapter offers dessert recipes. Melon Balls in Lime Syrup sounds refreshing for Summer. So does Spiced Mangoes with Coconut. The book ends with a list of foods that can be part of a successful diet. Even though you may be put off by the fact that these recipes have only three ingredients, don’t let that keep you from trying this book. These recipes can be very flavorful, and that will help you -- no matter what type of diet you are on.

-- Mary Ellen, main

Internet Archive Part 4: Movies and Much More

Get ready to lose some big chunks of time. The e-texts, audiobooks and music at the Internet Archive were interesting; now how about some movies? From the home page www.archive.org click on the moving images tab.

You can spend hours watching old (and not so old) cartoons under the animation and cartoons link. Classics like Bugs Bunny in “Falling Hare” (the one with the gremlin). There are shorts featuring Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, Popeye…and many others. Then there is the subcategory “Brick Films” offering proof that some people have far too much time on their hands: Lego movies. This one is the first Star Wars movie…”acted” by Lego men, set to the original soundtrack.

Remember those non-fiction films they used to show in school (or the army) those are available under the Ephemeral Films link like 1947’s “Are You Popular?”: More are available under the Prelinger Archives link “Design for Dreaming” an extended General Motors car commercial is a personal favorite for the “Kitchen of Tomorrow” sequence. There are home movies, sports movies, and video game “speed runs,” where someone plays through a whole videogame as quickly as possible and records it as a digital video.

There are also nearly 3,000 full length movies available the likes of “Last Man on Earth” (1964) starring Vincent Price: based on the Richard Mathesson book “I Am Legend” or Cary Grant and Rosiland Russel in “His Girl Friday” (1940). And no such collection would be complete without “Reefer Madness.”

And again, there is a religion and spirituality section with 36,000 videos of sermons and religious services of all denominations including the adorable Buddhist children singing a favorite song in Taiping Malaysia

Happy Surfing!

Internet Archive Part 3: Sounds Abound — Amazing Assortment of Audio Content

Yes, it’s time for more online content available at the Internet Archive. This time it’s all kinds of things you can listen to. From the home page www.archive.org click on the audio tab at the top and marvel at the variety. First, of course we have to mention the over 4,000 audio books and poetry collections at: http://www.archive.org/details/audio_bookspoetry Browse by collection or title.

Far more amazingly, there is a huge collection (over 66,000) of live concerts you can listen to; you can even download some of them. Try Robyn Hitchcock at the 3 Kings Pub July 1, 2007 singing songs of the Beatles and others at: http://www.archive.org/details/rh2007-07-01 Or for something to completely blow your mind Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I – IV http://www.archive.org/details/nineinchnails_ghosts_I_IV a 36 track instrumental collection FREE! And there is such an abundance of Grateful Dead material; they have their own collection at: http://www.archive.org/details/GratefulDead

There are radio programs some from defunct radio shows as well as those still creating new broadcasts, podcasts on topics from the religions from the ancient Mediterranean to evolution to Nintendo games.

There’s even a section of religious recordings touching on all religions. Most remarkably, there is an extensive collection of Buddhist lectures (633) from the Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies. If you enjoyed the Monks last May creating their sand mandala, listen to “What is a Buddhist” http://www.archive.org/details/Tse_Chen_Ling_Sarah_Thresher_Buddhist_20051014 or Sunday service by Ven. Geshe Ngawang Dakpa from April http://www.archive.org/details/GD_SundayService_200904

Happy Surfing!

-- Tim, Main Library

In Memoriam

Frank McCourt, best known as the author of Angela's Ashes, passed away on July 19. His other memoirs, also available at the library, are 'Tis and Teacher Man. He also wrote the novel Angela and the Baby Jesus and contributed to Yeats is Dead! A Mystery by Fifteen Irish Writers, in which a different author writes each chapter. Angela's Ashes was adapted into a movie.

-- Kristen, Main Library

Internet Archive Part 2: Bunches of Books in your Browser

Via the Internet you have access to all kinds of online and downloadable full-text books that we’ve mentioned here before (Don’t forget Dayton Metro offers a wide variety of new and classic texts in various formats on our website: overdrive.daytonmetrolibrary.org ) but you’ll be surprised at what you can find at the Internet Archive. From the homepage www.archive.org click on the tab titled “Texts” for access to over 1.5 million texts.

Libraries across the world have scanned rare and not so rare books into digital formats. You can look at the most downloaded titles on the right, look at the newest additions via the link in the center, or browse specific collections a bit lower down the page.

Read the first edition of Little Women: http://www.archive.org/details/littlewomenormeg00alcoiala online or download it in a number of formats to read on your computer or mobile device from the links in the “view the book” box at the left. This was scanned at the University of California. You can click on the author’s name or the publisher’s name to find other similar texts.

For scholars of Children’s Literature texts like Comtesse de Segur’s “Old French Fairtales” http://www.archive.org/details/oldfrenchfairyta00sgrich offered for study or leisure reading with all its illustrations intact.

You can also find some odder materials like those items in the Prelinger Library which collects and preserves ephemeral publications like this US Government pamphlet about surviving a nuclear attack from 1959: http://www.archive.org/details/falloutprotectio00unitrich

It’s addictive if you are interested, and it’s amazing what they have collected. Happy Surfing!

-- Tim, Main Library

The Internet Archive Part 1: The Beginnings of a Little Bit of Everything (Digital)

Libraries have always been about preserving materials for future generations. From the Library of Ashurbanipal, the first systematically collected library in the 7th century BC, to your very own Dayton Metro Library, Librarians have gathered items of various types in an effort to keep knowledge alive.

To a similar end, the folks at Internet Archive www.archive.org have been working to preserve Internet sites and other digital media since 1996. They are a non-profit organization in San Francisco, and their collections cover audio, video, digitized texts, and much more. Quite a bit of new information these days is being created first online (that is, without any paper copy that a traditional library would collect and preserve,) and archive.org is working to keep that type of information from being lost forever in bits and bytes. Also many cultural artifacts like pamphlets or informational movies are not being collected in their original forms; archive.org and its partners are converting those things to computer files. They are cooperating with various organizations like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, so there are links that will take you to collections housed on other computers.

There is a lot on this site for researchers, but there is just as much for the casual browser or the Internet thrill-seeker with some time to kill. We say “Part 1” in the title above to let you know that future entries on the Internet Archive will highlight its various parts. For now, sit back in your most comfortable chair and browse their collections. There’s more there than you could ever look at or listen to in ten lifetimes. Happy Surfing!

-- Tim, Main Library

Bois de la Brigade de Marine

The above is translated "Wood of the Marine Brigade," the named bestowed by a grateful France on a mounded patch of woods barely a square mile in size located due east of Paris, but nearer to Strasbourg. It was here that the U.S. Marine Corps encountered its first heavy fighting of World War I and the bloodiest fighting in its history to that point, losing 1087 men in a single day of this month-long engagement. It came late in the war as an exhausted Germany took advantage of the Russian capitulation to shift troops against the French in the hopes of winning a decisive victory before the Americans became fully involved in the war. German forces had turned the former hunting preserve into a stronghold with more than 120 well-fortified machine gun positions while retaining the capability to direct heavy artillery fire around the woods. In multiple attacks, Marines waded through waist-high wheat in the face of withering German fire, often for hundreds of yards at a time. Combat in the wood was frequently at very close range and of a savage nature as bayonets were deployed with ferocity and more than one German machine gun crew succumbed to even the fists and feet of the Devil Dogs. It was truly "hand-to-hand" combat.

Author Alan Axelrod provides a solid overview, prologue, and reflections on the glorious battle in his engaging and balanced work
Miracle at Belleau Wood: The Birth of the Modern U.S. Marine Corps. Axelrod draws effectively from firsthand accounts to create a transporting portrayal of the thoughts and feelings of the involved parties from generals to privates. He reaffirms the importance of the battle to the Allies eventual victory and reveals the central role it played in shaping the Marine Corps in years to come. A highly recommended book for those who enjoy historical nonfiction or have an interest in the subject matter.

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook is a collection of recipes that have been published, some in a different form, in Martha Stewart Living Magazine. The book begins with helpful information. The first chapter is a list of pantry items. Basic items are listed, along with specialty items. Next is a description of equipment that is recommended for purchase. A chapter on menus is a really wonderful addition. There are about ten menus each for Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. This is a comprehensive collection of recipes. And, they are Martha Stewart recipes, so they have a tendency to have more esoteric ingredients and are a bit more complex than some other recipe collections. But, Martha puts her flavors together well and there are some really tasty recipes in this book. There are the usual cookbook chapters---poultry, pasta, fish and meatless main. But there is also a breakfast and brunch chapter as well as a fruit dessert chapter and a chapter on salsas sauces, and dips. An example of a chicken dish that is fairly easy is Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Sage. From the fruit dessert chapter there is Baked Apricots with Almond Topping. And from the Breakfast and Brunch chapter she offers Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake. If you are looking for something for a really special occasion, look here. It may take some extra effort, but your guests will be impressed and go away feeling special.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library

Germany 1945: From War to Peace

Richard Bessel, Professor of Twentieth-Century History at the University of York, analyzes how Germany’s defeat transformed the nation from a militaristic and nationalistic society into a pacifistic society. In early 1945, Germany experienced an enormous loss of civilians and soldiers as the Allied armies pushed into German territory. Bessel argues that this exposure to extreme violence and brutality transformed Germans into self-regarding victims of the Nazi regime; despite the fact that German civilians had not been innocent bystanders of the years of conquest and genocide. A combination of brutalities by the invading Allied troops, millions of Germans fleeing from eastern conquered territories, and the brutalities the Nazi regime committed against its own people contributed to a change in the German psyche that became focused solely on day-to-day survival. This change made it possible for the German people to concentrate on looking forward without immediately confronting the horrors committed during the Third Reich. Germany 1945: From War to Peace is a superbly written book that will appeal to anyone interested in World War II. Be sure to also checkout Bessel’s other titles available at the library: Nazism and War and Germany After the First World War.

-- Jared, Main Library

Bastille Day

July 14 is Bastille Day, the anniversary of the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. If you aren't ready for the revolutionary fun to be over yet just because Independence Day is past, why not pick up some swashbuckling adventure from the library in the form of The Scarlet Pimpernel? Not only do we have the original book, but we have many of the sequels as well. If you prefer your swashbuckling on the screen, the best movie adaptations are the black and white one starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon and the version from the 1980s starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian McKellen, which is a hybrid of the original novel and the sequel Eldorado.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens set the standard for fictional portrayals of the French Revolution, but although it's a literary classic it actually isn't terribly historically accurate. For example, Dickens depicts constant rate of executions by guillotine throughout the revolution that was actually only reached for short periods of time near the end of the phase called the Reign of Terror. Fans of historical fiction, retellings of classics, and A Tale of Two Cities may want to check out A Far Better Rest by Susanne Alleyn. Alleyn presents the story through the eyes of Sydney Carton, who in spite of being the hero gets very little "screen time" in the original story, and attempts to meld Dickens with historical fact. It's out of print, so the easiest place to find it is here at the library.

Alleyn also writes a series of detective novels set in the years just after and before the revolution. Start with Game of Patience and A Treasury of Regrets, and be ready for the prequel coming out later this month, The Cavalier of the Apocalypse.

-- Kristen, Main Library

Independence Day

John Adams may have been off by two days when he wrote that July 2nd (the day on which the Second Continental Congress actually voted for independence) would be celebrated with “Pomp and Parade with shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this continent to the other from this Time forward forever more,” but he was remarkably correct about how Independence Day would be celebrated. If you need some escape from the heat of the day before going back out for the fireworks, here are some ideas from your library:

1776 is the classic movie musical story of the Declaration of Independence. As far as movies with endings that we already know go, it builds suspense better than any other. If you have only seen the theatrical or video cuts, on the DVD you will find a song from the play that was removed from the movie, allegedly under pressure from the Nixon White House due to perceived anti-conservative sentiments.

If you prefer a documentary approach, try Liberty! The American Revolution, a six part, three DVD PBS series that spans from the period just after the French and Indian War through the writing of the Constitution. Told largely through the words of original documents, the series features many familiar faces depicting various historical figures and a soundtrack by Mark O’Connor, who visited Dayton last fall to play with the Philharmonic, and James Taylor. The soundtrack is also available on CD, and the library also owns a tie-in book by the same title by Thomas J. Fleming.

-- Kristen, Main Library

A Beach Party in Franklin, Ohio?

Blues Traveler performed recently at J.D. Legends in Franklin, Ohio. First, the venue: I like it. It's weird, but so am I. You walk into a bowling alley which also contains a bar and a restaurant. There's a side exit, though, which opens onto a very large sunken sand area - probably three volleyball courts worth of nice, soft sand. At one end is a stage, pictured here at left. The entrance side of the sand area is a massive deck with a couple of bars and a VIP lounge. It has the effect of transporting one to Myrtle Beach or Fort Lauderdale.

Now, the band: Blues Traveler hit the top of the charts with their 1994 LP Four. The singles "Run Around" and "Hook" stayed on the charts throughout 1995. Lead singer John Popper had some serious health issues in 1999 and the band also lost its original bass player, Bobby Sheehan, to a drug overdose that year. Popper also got popped for pot possession in 2003. Despite this off-stage turmoil, Blues Traveler has released a steady stream of studio albums since their 1994 breakthrough and their latest record, North Holloywood Shootout is at the library along with others such as Truth Be Told and Straight on Till Morning. The band put on a very solid show on a Saturday night at Legends. They played a long set with all their early hits, some new material, and a lot of extended jamming, during which John Popper turned his back to the crowd and hot-boxed cigarettes. Fun times for all.

-- Steve, Main Library

Fabulous Fondues: Appetizers, Main Courses & Desserts

If you’re looking for something fun to liven-up a Summer Party, Fabulous Fondues is the book for you. Fabulous Fondues is a great source for information about fondue as well as some really great recipes for all kinds of different fondues. There are nine chapters of recipes in this book, and each deals with a different type of fondue. The first deals with what most people think of when they think of fondue: cheese fondue. “Beer and Cheese Fondue” sounds great for a party outdoors. There are even three pizza fondue recipes. For the vegetarians in your crowd, there is a whole chapter on vegetable fondues, such as “Sweet Corn Fondue.” A recipe for cocktail sauce is included in the chapter with recipes to go with meat. In the final chapter “Topping the Meal” the author offers several chocolate fondue recipes as well as dessert “dunkables” including several different pastries and fresh fruit.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library

Theatrific

The Human Race Theatre Company production of Ethel Waters: His Eye is on the Sparrow opened on the eleventh and is continuing through the twenty-eighth. If you are interested but can’t make it to the show, or if you’ve seen it and want to learn more, get His Eye is on the Sparrow: an Autobiography from the library.




The Lion in Winter opened on the nineteenth and is running Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees through the twenty-eighth. If seeing it once there isn’t enough, check out the movie starring Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn. The library also has the script of the play.



Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins at Beavercreek Community Theatre is running the same dates as The Lion in Winter. The Broadway Cast Recording, which includes not only all of the music but selections of the dialogue as well, is available at the library. If you see the show and enjoy it, you may also want to read Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, who discusses the musical in the introduction.

-- Kristen, Main Library

Red Rally!

For Ohio Libraries
Thursday, June 25
4:00 PM
Centerville Library
111 W. Spring Valley Road, 45458

Wear Red and Attend!

Statehouse Rally

There will be a Save Ohio Libraries rally Thursday, June 25 at 11:30 A.M. at the Statehouse in Columbus. Wear red and bring you library card!

Montgomery county residents may find it easier to attend the Red Rally at the Washington Centerville Public Library Thursday, June 25 at4:00 P.M. Location: 111 W. Spring Valley Road. Supporters are asked to wear red for this event as well.

Rally for the Cause!

A public rally is being held Wednesday to protest Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed budget cuts, which include a 50 percent reduction in public library funding.

This is the primary funding source for public libraries in Ohio.

The budget decision must be made by June 30, and may happen sooner. The "Save Our Libraries" rally will take place at 11 a.m. at the Loveland Branch Library, 649 Loveland-Madeira Road.

For more information, contact Phyllis Hegner at phyllis.hegner@cincinnatilibrary.org or 513-369-4571.


London Public Library - *RALLY on the LAWN - Show your support on Wednesday, June 24, 6:30 pm.


The Portsmouth Library will be closing at 12:00pm on Wednesday, June 24th for the "Save Our Libraries" rally which will take place on the front lawn at 1:00pm. We will re-open at 3:00pm after the rally.

Library Funding Update

The Ohio Library Council has published an article which covers all the details and implications of the enormous threat to the state's libraries that has emerged over the weekend. You can read the whole article here.

"Public libraries in Ohio are funded primarily through the Public Library Fund (PLF), which receives 2.2% of the state's tax revenue. Since 2001, public library funding has been on the decline. As a result of the current downturn in the economy and decreasing state tax revenues, public libraries are currently experiencing a drop in funding from the Public Library Fund (PLF) estimated at 20% or more as compared to 2008. At a news conference on Friday, June 19, the Governor proposed an additional cut in the PLF of $112.5 million in fiscal year 2010 and $114.8 million in 2011 as part of his "framework" to fill the $3.2 billion gap in the budget that must be balanced by Ohio General Assembly's Conference Committee by June 30. This will mean a more than 50% cut in funding for many of Ohio 's public libraries." - Ohio Library Council.

Also check out this new Ohio libraries advocacy blog.

Library Funding on the Chopping Block

From Library Journal :

Ohio Governor Proposes Halving State Support; Many Libraries Could Close

Library aid would be cut by $227 million over two years

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 6/19/2009

• $3.2 billion budget gap
• Libraries' cut significant
• 11 days to agree on budget

Trying to close a $3.2 billion gap by June 30, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today proposed “resiz[ing] state government in line with the shrinking economy,” prioritizing “extremely limited resources toward critical health and safety service,” and—though not saying so in his speech—severely cutting library aid.

See the DML home page for more info and action tips.

To find your state legislators go to: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/ and just type in your complete 9 number zip code for a link to your state senator and representative.

To find out your complete zip http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

To contact Gov. Strickland go to: http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Contact/tabid/153/Default.aspx

Dayton Ghosts

A perfect book arrived last week at the library for fans of Ghost Hunters, which airs weekly on the Sci-Fi Channel. Karen Laven, an author from Northern Kentucky, has just published a new book titled Dayton Ghosts. Laven covers various purportedly haunted locations across the Dayton region including the Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Blair Hall at Sinclair Community College, Stivers School for the Arts, Sycamore Woods Park, and other various locations around greater Dayton. There are even some humorous hauntings included such as the haunted Arbys in Miamisburg. Be sure to also checkout the author’s website at http://www.karenlaven.com.

-- Jared, Main Library

Almost Vegetarian?

Almost Vegetarian: A Primer for Cooks who are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time, Chicken & Fish Some of the Time & Altogether Well All of the Time, by Diana Shaw.

This book is great for people who are, for whatever reason, beginning to be careful about what they put on their table. Many of these people are starting by eating less meat. If you or your family are starting to watch what you eat, this book provides information and guidance to help you prepare delicious meals that are also healthy for you. The book begins with a fresh vegetable directory. Information given includes how to choose fresh vegetables and many other useful facts, such as how the vegetable is commonly used, when the peak season is, how to store the vegetable, and how to determine if it is ripe. There are chapters on poultry and fish, but there also are chapters on soups, salads, pasta and risotto, vegetable main dishes, and side dishes that can double as main dishes. The book ends with even more information: a fresh food directory, info on cookware and utensils, and mail order sources for food. The recipes in this book look really good, and almost every one has serving suggestions. All told, this is a very useful book and very pertinent for today.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library

A Good Year for the Short Story

Although we’ve barely reached summer, 2009 has already proven to be a banner year for fans of the short story. Recently A.O. Scott extolled the virtues of the American short story in the New York Times and James Lasdun in the Guardian took a more global approach in praising the current crop of short story collections. In my opinion, this media coverage is well-deserved, but judge for yourself by checking out one of these fine collections that have all been released in the first six months of 2009:

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower

Love and Obstacles by Aleksander Hemon

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin

How It Ended by Jay McInerney




For more suggestions on short stories worth reading, check out http://ireadashortstorytoday.com/.

We Have a Winner!

Last Sunday Dayton area native Alice Ripley won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the rock opera Next to Normal. If you haven’t heard it yet, the original cast recording is on its way to the library, so request it now. You can also hear her on the cast recordings of the 2006 production of The Rocky Horror Show and on the duet album with Emily Skinner Unsuspecting Hearts.

Write a Winning Resume

Don't miss experts from the Montgomery County Job Center as they present "How to Write a Powerful Resume" at 7:00 PM, June 15 at the Belmont branch. This interactive session shows you the what, where, why, and how of resumes. After you get the concepts down, reserve a session at a library PC to write your resume with Winway resume writing software. The library has recently purchases this program which guides you through the resume writing process with a wizard, Autowriter, Resume Auditor, and many other excellent tools. The software also allows you to customize the appearance of your resume with a wide selection of graphical themes. Winway is available for your use free of charge.

Two Similarly Strange and Entertaining Novels

The Unknown Knowns by Jeffrey Rotter and The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno are both stories of characters pursuing equally strange obsessions in unsuccessful attempts to ignore the complexities of their everyday lives. Jim Rath, the protagonist in The Unknown Knowns, dreams of building a museum dedicated to the Aquatic Ape Theory of Human Evolution. While performing underwater experiments at a hotel pool, Jim mistakes a low level Homeland Security agent for an emissary from a lost aquatic race known as Nautikons. Knowing that a living Nautikon would be a great attraction at his museum, Jim follows the agent from hotel to hotel until the story climaxes with an absurd showdown at a dilapidated water park.

In a similar tale of underwater obsession, The Great Perhaps tells the story of Jonathan Casper, head of the odd and crumbling Casper family. While focusing all his energy on searching in vain for a prehistoric giant squid, Jonathan effectively ignores the dysfunction surrounding him, which includes his wife’s failing academic career, his oldest daughter’s first attempts at becoming a teenage revolutionary and his youngest daughter’s wayward search for God. Like The Unknown Knowns, Joe Meno’s The Great Perhaps deftly mixes the absurd with the everyday to create a compelling and humorous novel.

-- Joe, Main Library

Everyone Against Everyone!

German thrash metal masters Kreator toured recently to support their new release, Hordes of Chaos. Their show on a recent Thursday night in Louisville, KY did not disappoint. Opening band Warbringer was outstanding as well, but you get the feeling they are attending a "Thrash 101" clinic when Kreator begins their set. This is the twelfth studio album from Kreator and its critical reception has been quite good. If you came to metal with the early 80s thrash explosion, you will love this record. As great as some of today's non-extreme metal (Lamb of God) is, or as much as you might love death metal or black metal, thrash came first and, if you've been around long enough, you might be tempted to exclaim "that's what I mean when I say metal!" upon the wave of intensity that flows over you as Hordes of Chaos unleashes itself through your speakers.

65th Anniversary of D-Day

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. President Obama paid tribute recently to the 215,000 Allied soldiers who were killed or wounded during D-Day and the following three months it took to secure the Allied capture of Normandy. Here at the Main Library, there is a book display that pays tribute to the Allied invasion of Normandy 65 years ago. The display is located directly in front of the World War II history books. Titles featured on the D-Day display include works from noted historians Stephen Ambrose, Max Hastings, and Martin Gilbert. We also have a large collection of books and DVDs on the Normandy Invasion by other historians.

--Jared, Main Library

The Spunky Librarian Checks In

It’s the very end of the school year and a lot of students are in a sweat to finish their last research paper. My latest student needed some basic population statistics for Puerto Rico along with some history & cultural information. For general information about countries, I like the CIA website. Yes, that’s the Central Intelligence Agency. They have a lot of up-to-date information provided in their country profiles. Then we have a source called Culturegrams which comes in a print as well as an online database version. We have a lot of other encyclopedias about different cultures around the world and we always have books about specific countries. This was all more than enough for a 3 page paper.

--That’s all for now.

BB, Main Library

The Best of Sci-Fi in 2008

About a month ago, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gathered in Los Angeles to present the annual Nebula Awards for books published in 2008. These books are nominated and voted on by all active members of the SFWA and, together with the Hugo awards, they are the major literary prize for the Science Fiction genre. This year's winner for Best Novel was Powers, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Here are the other nominees:

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow

Cauldron, by Jack McDevitt


Brasyl, by Ian McDonald

Making Money, by Terry Pratchett

The Eco-Kitchen

Recipes from an ecological kitchen: healthy meals for you and your planet, by Lorna J. Sass.

More and more people are becoming cognizant of issues relating to the current ecological crisis. Many are adopting lifestyles based on the idea that we need to be responsible about how we use the resources on our planet. And, often they start by changing the way they eat. This book is a guide to making that change. The book begins with suggestions for your pantry. Information on beans, grains, nuts, dried fruits and dried herbs and spices is given. Proper storage is explained. Next, the book explains the use of wok cooking, pressure cooking and steaming. Twelve menus using recipes from the book follow. Recipe chapter topics include grains, rice, pasta, tofu, land and sea vegetables, sauces, dips, quick breads and desserts. The book ends with lists of books for further reading and a list of mail order sources.

-- Mary Ellen, Main Library