Using the Kansas Library Card for Wildebeests!

This is the season for migrating (no, not to Florida or Mexico to getaway from the cold)! The Great Migration is now taking place on theAfrican Serengeti. That means that hundreds of thousands of Wildebeestalong with zebra, and other African wildlife are on the march lookingfor water. This migration is sometimes called the "circle of life"because the animals literally circle the plains of the Serengeti in their search.
During this long trek these African plains become the birthing groundfor almost half a million calves! But, even though these little guys stand up and walk in fewer minutes than your hand has fingers, only half of them survive the predators and diseases that are prevalent.

You and your students can find out more about wildebeests and their yearly migration through the Serengeti by using your State Library'sKansas Library Card ( http://www.kslc.org/ )and trying the Keyword WILDEBEESTS in the ProQuest databases or the SIRS Discoverer database orthe term WILDEBEEST MIGRATION in the Thomson-Gale (InfoTrac) databases. There are plenty of articles (many in full-text) that will provideinformation and, if you have little researchers around, there is atleast one article in the SIRS database (Across the African Savannah)that has a Serengeti Board Game at the end!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~Sherry Hawkins Backhus, MLSInformation Professionalbackhusz@emporia.edu ~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~ "Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." John Cotton Dana
Register for a temporary Kansas Library Card at: http://www.kslc.org/index.jsp

Book review: Cross off "Cross"

James Patterson's Alexander Cross series has always been titled after nursery rhymes such as "Along Came A Spider", "Kills the Girls", etc. Because his newest title is named "Cross", you would expect a major change in the series. That is not case.

Other than the title, the only change is that Alexander Cross, a forensic psychologist, has left the FBI and police work behind to open a private practice. He gets sucked back into crime fighting by looking for his wife's killer. The death of his wife has been in the background throughout the series, and we finally learn something about her and her murder ten years ago. He finds the answers he needs and realizes that he has to get over her to stop his hazardous work and build a permanent relationship with another woman.

Because I have read the entire series, I was disappointed in the plot of the book. I found it followed the same pattern as the other books without adding anything new to the series. Patterson is known for his original and shocking villians. This one seems very boring by comparison, and I ended up not caring if Cross caught him or not. The pace of the book is still very fast paced so if you want a quick, easy read this is a great book. If you have read the series, you may be disappointed.

Judy Bastin

Poetry not for the squeamish...

Review from my daughter:

Although I'm not a huge poetry fan -- I tend to like my prose, and stick with my prose, and be happy with my prose -- I do want to recommend this delightfully disgusting book:Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse, edited by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones.

It's set up much like a Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky book of verses, but the reading material is definitely oriented toward the child inside of the adult. From the ghoulish to the gorey, there are giggles aplenty throughout. At 108 pages (of verse), it's a quick and enjoyable read.

Why am I posting about it here? While it's certainly not a fairy tale, the writers have drawn on that substance from which the best stories are made -- fear of things that go bump in the night, and the dark side of humanity that feeds those very bumpers. With nods to other authors, like Lewis Carrol ("You're Deceased, Father William," etc), this book is definitely one you want to get your hands on.

Happy reading!

State Library Update

The State Library of Kansas is a big supporter of library efforts in Kansas, including this one at Butler Community College.

The State Librarian speaks to all that's happened at the State Library this year:

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/news/publish/article_00314.shtml

And for a further look at libraries in Kansas, check out the Kansas Libraries newsletter for December here:

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/news/publish/cat_index_52.shtml

I'm serving on the Kansas Library Network Board/State Library Advisory Commission and enjoy quarterly meetings with my peers and the State Librarians. Any interested parties are invited... we need to get the minutes and agenda into a public forum or blog so people CAN attend. I'll be working on it!

Micaela

A note from a fellow librarian

Hi Micaela,

I just wanted to take a second and send you and your staff a note of praise! I was working with a transfer student from Butler and was extremely impressed. He knew his stuff! I do one-on-one consultations with our Chemistry students in which we evaluate their information seeking behavior and in his search path there was not one mention of google, wikipedia, etc. He had carefully thought about his keyword selections and used advanced techniques when formulating his query. He spoke very highly of your team and was genuinely appreciative of all the help the librarians at Butler gave him during his time at your college.

Keep up the fantasic work!


K-State at Salina Library
2310 Centennial Road
Salina, KS 67401
(785) 826-2616

That's what we live for... thank you!

--Micaela

Back from vacation... to an upgrade

Hey all,

Just back from a trip to Albany, NY to attend the wedding of my mother-in-law. It was a great time.

This arrived while I was gone:

PRESS RELEASE STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kim Harp, Legislative Reference
State Library of Kansas
300 SW 10th Ave Rm 343-N
Topeka, KS 66612
785-296-2149
kimh@kslib.info

Free Software Streamlines Download Audiobook Use

Topeka, KS 10/17/06

Have you tried downloading a book from the State Library’s Audiobooks, Music and More yet? Now Overdrive gives you one more reason why you should go to http://kansas.lib.overdrive.com to download your next audiobook.

Overdrive, Inc., a leading digital media distributor, announced today the release of Version 2.1 of OverDrive Media Console, free PC desktop software that enables download, management, and playback of digital audiobooks, music, and video. This free upgrade includes “Transfer Wizard,” a feature that with two mouse clicks transfers a downloaded audiobook from a PC to supported portable MP3 players. It is even easier than before!

The new software, available at http://www.overdrive.com/MediaConsole/, also provides audiobook listeners with book marking, speed adjustment, chapter navigation, resume from furthest point played, and hot key navigation features.

Audiobooks, Music and More! provides access to thousands of award-winning audiobook titles from the leading publishers, authors, and narrators including new best sellers by John Grisham, Richard Patterson, Tom Clancy, Amy Tan, Janet Evanovich, Mitch Albom, David Sedaris, Dave Barry, Meg Cabot, Dean Koontz and hundreds more.
Users of earlier versions of OverDrive Media Console 2.0 will be prompted to update to the newer version. All new patrons of Kansas libraries will automatically be offered this new release.
For more information on Audiobooks, Music and More! contact the State Library at 785-296-3296 or audiobooks@kslib.info.

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Chronicle Careers: 10/3/2006: Show Your Librarian Some Love

Chronicle Careers: 10/3/2006: Show Your Librarian Some Love

What a gentle reminder...

And how I appreciate those who do show the love.