Books That Shaped America

The Library of Congress has begun its multi-year “Celebration of the Book” with an exhibition entitled “Books That Shaped America.” The books were selected by the Library’s curators, not because they were the best books, but because they were the most influential. The Library is soliciting public comment and suggestions for future extensions of the list through an online survey, available at The LOC website.

We at the Richmond Public Library are joining the Library of Congress in the debate, with our own exhibition of the 88 “Books That Shaped America.”

Intern Brad Krautwurst considered the 88 titles and organized them into seven broad categories, from "More American than Apple Pie: Influential Figures in American Mythos" (including books by American luminaries such as Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass) to "Movers and Shakers: Books that Changed Public Thought" (with titles running the gamut from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged to Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique) to "And the rest . . . Eclectic selections that defy categorization" (The Joy of Cooking, Alcoholics Anonymous). Brad's thoughtful commentary and selections from the Library of Congress's curators' comments accompany the books, some of which are coming up from the library's stacks for the first time in many years.

We invite you to visit the display, located in the General Collections department of the Main library, and complete our version of the Library of Congress survey. Tell us which books were most influential, which of the books most influenced you, and what books should be on the list but aren't. We will compare our patrons' choices with those compiled by the Library of Congress at the end of the exhibit, which will run through September 29th.

Tech Trends for Teens: Cool (Free) Apps for Teens

Everybody loves to play on their cell phones, right? Thanks to our Library Science student intern, Laura Buell, we have compiled a list of exciting apps for teens and tweens so you can check them out! And they're free!

Pandora
Pandora is an internet radio station that adjusts itself to your musical tastes! You can create up to 100 different stations and select your likes and dislikes to create the Perfect Music Experience!

myHomework
Great way to keep organized! First, input your classes so you can have a schedule in your phone (especially helpful for the beginning of the year). Second, put your assignments into the "Homework" section. Finally, there's an area called "calendar" where you can view all of your assignments at once.

OverDrive
Just in case you hadn't heard: OverDrive connects you to this library so you can download eBooks and audiobooks!

Temple Run
For when you just need a little fun, Temple Run is an adventure game. Your objective is to stay away from whatever is chasing you -- and as fast as you can!

Shazam
Do you ever hear a song you like, but you don’t know what it’s called or who sings it? The next time you hear it playing, use Shazam to figure out what it is!

Instagram
You can use this app to edit your pictures -- make them black and white or give them other effects to change their appearance. Lots of fun to play around with!

There are a ton of fun apps to play with and these are just a few that we know are fun to play with!

From Child Star to Greater Success: Dr. Danielle Spencer-Fields

Dr. Danielle Spencer-Fields, who played Raj's sassy sister, Dee from the 1970's hit show, What's Happening!! (1976) will be at the Main Library to discuss her book, Through the Fire...Journal of a Child Star. She will also be available for book signing.

With her love of animals, Danielle Spencer attended the University of California-Davis for two years  to pursue her degree in veterinary medicine. She then took a break from her studies to play her character, Dee, in What's Happening Now!! (1985).

Danielle Spencer went back to school and attended Tuskegee University Veterinary School, in Tuskgeee, Alabama and became a veterinarian in 1996. She also portrayed a veterinarian in several films. Danielle now lives in southern California with her husband, dogs and cat.

In this memoir, she talks about the tragedies and challenges she faced growing up and how she changed her life around and became a successful vet.

 

She is in this month's issue of Ebony and People Magazine's June 5th online article.

Danielle is also speaking at a fundraiser for Tim Kaine on the 28th of July.

This program will be held at Main, July 23rd from 7-8:30 p.m.

New Children's Picture Books @ RPL

Summer is a great time to check out new titles at your library and the children's collection at the Richmond Public Library is growing every day.  Stop by soon and pick up some of these new picture books.

Zorro Gets an Outfit, written and illustrated by Carter Goodrich.  In this follow-up to Say Hello to Zorro, Mister Bud and Zorro are having a wonderful time together, following their daily routines.  Everything changes the day their owner brings home a costume for Zorro.  Even the cat, Slim, teases Zorro about his new look on their daily walk to the park. The author/illustrator has a great talent for small illustrations that convey emotions perfectly.  Zorro is completely subdued until a new friend arrives at the park named Dart.  Dart is fast, does tricks, and has his own outfit!  The following illustrations convey their exuberance with few words.  Let's hope the adventures of Zorro and Mr. Bud continue for many books to come.

Dolphin Baby!  written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Brita Granstrom.  Part picture book and part non-fiction, the new title Dolphin Baby! tells the story of the birth of a new dolphin and the first days with its mother.  Each illustration is filled with the colors of the ocean, varying from pale blue-greens to deep, dark indigo.  "Tail first, head last, Dolphin pops out into the blue."  The text is accompanied by sidebars in small font that give the factual details to the story as it unfolds.  On the last pages the author gives a brief description of the variety of dolphins on Earth and gently suggests the dangers they face.  Included is an index. 

Zero the Hero, written and illustrated by Joan Holub and Tom Lichtenheld.  Meet Zero the Hero!  All the numbers feel Zero has no worth.  He's never included in counting games and his friends sometimes confuse him with other round objects.  They even run away when they realize that any number multiplied by 0 equals 0!  So Zero moves on feeling that he is just a big Zero.  It's not long before his friends realize that they don't "add up" to much without Zero.  This brightly illustrated, comic version of numbers is both a wonderful introduction to the concept of zero and an excellent review for older children. 

One Two That's My Shoe! by Alizon Murray. With simple, block print illustrations this book takes the old rhyme and gives it a new twist. A young girl chases her dog to try and catch her shoe. Large numbers and little text makes this a refreshing new number book for toddlers and preschool children.

I Know a Wee Piggy by Kim Norman, with pictures by Henry Cole.  This new color book will have children reading along.  A big piggy begins by wallowing in the brown mud.  He then continues through the fair and wallows in a rainbow of colors.  Each page repeats the color line from the page before making this a great read-aloud.  A wonderful title to introduce and reinforce colors as well as give an introduction to a country fair and some of the things you might see when you visit.

Reading YA with Amanda- RPS Summer Reading Style

It can be hard sometimes to decide what to read off of your school's Summer Reading List. Never fear, help is here. The handy flowchart below will help rising high school students in Richmond Public Schools navigate their reading selections. Click HERE for a printable version of the HS chart.

Introducing Ande Tensae

The staff of North Avenue are excited to welcome our new Community Services Manager, Ande Tensae, to Richmond Public Library! I was fortunate to interview Ande at the end of his first week, and so that we may all get to know him a little better, he graciously agreed to be included on our blog.

After earning his MLS, Ande started as what was called a "generalist" at a library in Queens, NY. During his time there he mostly worked with Young Adults and doing collection development.

Bringing to North Avenue a wealth of knowledge of library and management experience, Ande is excited to be leading "such a well rounded staff" and about the challenge of continuing and increasing the library's relationship with the Northside community and the local schools.

His professional passions include education and collection development. "The job of  the librarian is so important to the educational development of children, and you never know if you are helping a future CEO or president." His wide background includes teaching Italian and Religion at the University level, socioal work, and even publishing!

In his free time he enjoys reading about international affairs, religion and political discussions. He didn't have the opportunity to read much as a child, but his son loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series!

Next time you are around North Avenue, stop in and welcome Ande!