Library Journal articles from February 2009

Library Journal archives from February 2009

35 going on 13: teen books for adults.(ON THE WEB)(Excerpt)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Those who ignore their history are doomed to repeat it. [Karen] Blumenthal was a bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal and knows how to make economic history interesting. Unfortunately. much of Six Days in...

Xpress reviews: first look at new books.(ON THE WEB)(The Miracles of Prato)(Brief article)(Book review)
February 15, 2009... "Verdict: A well-narrated account of the forbidden love between the Renaissance painter-monk Fra Filippo and his model, Lucrezia Buti, served up with hefty portions of political intrigue, Italian-style. Recommended for historical fiction...

Better than Hennen: LJ introduces "America's Star Libraries," rating public library service.(Index of Public Library Service)(Editorial)
February 15, 2009... FOR YEARS WE'VE HEARD CRITICISMS OF THE Hennen ratings of American public libraries. Library directors, statisticians, state librarians, and others challenged the nontransparent methodology and arbitrary weighting of 15 statistical measures...

At UIUC, $4.38 in grant income for $1 at library?(newsdesk)(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Return on investment (ROI) studies have become commonplace in the public library arena, but a pioneering ROI case study involving the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) suggests that each dollar invested in the library in 2006...

New AG and PATRIOT Act.(newsdesk)(Attorney General Eric Holder on PATRIOT Act)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The American Library Association (ALA) recommended that the administration of President Barack Obama "conduct a thorough review of the USA PATRIOT Act," along with "amending Section 215, which allows searches of business records, including...

Board backs Sacramento overhaul plan.(newsdesk)(Sacramento Public Library)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Following the retirement last September of Sacramento Public Library (SPL), CA, director Ann Marie Gold, in the wake of a grand jury report bashing the library, SPL's governing board has unanimously approved a comprehensive plan to revamp...

New structure established across LJ, SLJ, PW.(newsdesk)(Library Journal, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Responding to the economic downturn, Ron Shank, Group Publisher of Library Journal, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, has created a new management organization at parent company Reed Business Information (RBI)'s Publishing...

Denver attendance drops.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(American Library Association's midwinter meeting)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Despite advance registration totals that kept reasonable pace with last year's figures, the total attendance at the American Library Association's (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Denver represented a notable drop-off from the 2008 meeting in...

ALA finances pose worries.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(American Library Association)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... As with private investors and endowed institutions, ALA suffered significant endowment losses in the past fiscal year, 24.1%, but thanks to budget adjustments and some new sources of revenue (notably grants), net operating income in FY08...

UC's open access deal.(NEWSDESK)(University of California)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The University of California (UC) Libraries and Springer Business and Media have announced a groundbreaking new journals licensing deal that will subsidize the open access fees of UC researchers who wish to publish in Springer journals. The...

Survey: Texas voters support Library funding.(NEWSDESK)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... More than eight in ten Texas voters support increased funding for school and public libraries, according to a statewide survey released by the Texas Library Association. While the survey did not ask how much residents would be willing to pay,...

Pittsburgh Library urged to explore new funding.(NEWSDESK)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP) should explore other funding sources, such as creating an autonomous library district, according to a study it commissioned from the Rand Corporation. CLP also needs to "right-size its programs and...

NYPL, Vault.com help jobless.(NEWSDESK)(New York Public Library and Vault.com seminar)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The New York Public Library (NYPL), with the assistance of Vault.com, on January 27 drew more than 1000 people to "Back to Work: Jumpstart Your Job Search," a free event aimed to help laid-off professionals with not only career information...

Presidential candidates' forum.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Both Kent Oliver, executive director of the Stark County District Library, OH, and Roberta Stevens, outreach projects and partnerships officer at the Library of Congress (LC) and the National Book Festival's (NBF) project manager, have long...

Grassroots advocacy needed.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The atmosphere in the country is one of hope and opportunity, according to Lynne Bradley, who directs the Office of Government Relations in ALNs Washington Office, even as "competition is ever more difficult" for library advocates. ...

State and local advocacy.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(American Library Association)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Stressing state and local advocacy, ALA recently launched its Advocacy University and an Advocacy in a Tough Economy Toolkit. An advocacy committee, chaired by former ALl, president Carol Brey-Casiano, is focusing primarily on state and local...

NC state library speeded up.(NEWSDESK)(James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... While some states have put academic library building projects and other construction on hold, the North Carolina Council of State has accelerated the sale of bonds to finance the $127 million James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State...

New Jersey funding debate.(NEWSDESK)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The New Jersey League of Municipalities has called for reducing the required payment for library funding from one-third to one-sixth of a mil for every dollar of assessable property--a reduction of 50 percent. The league has forwarded its...

Troy, NY, must close two branches.(news deck)(Troy Public Library, New York)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... As of February 2, the Troy Public Library (TPL), NY, was to close two branches, lose 4.5 FTE staffers, reduce the materials budget by 30 percent, and cut programs by 60 percent. Though voters last November approved the formation of a special...

SLA forms academic division.(NEWSDESK)(School Library Association's Academic Division)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... The SLA Board of Directors has voted to approve the formation of an Academic Division to address issues relevant to the broad academic community. Members of that cohort already take part in existing SLA divisions that deal with specific...

The Section 108 Spinner.(NEWSDESK)(United States Copyright code Section 108)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... While Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright code allows libraries and archives, under certain circumstances, to make reproductions of copyrighted materials without the permission of the copyright holder, it's complicated to follow, so the...

Core competencies approved.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(American Library Association)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... After more than a decade of debating what LIS students should have learned after earning a master's degree at an ALA-accredited program, ALA Council, following minor editing, approved the Core Competencies (CCs) developed over the past two...

OCLC defends records policy.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(Online Computer Library Center)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... On one level, OCLC's recently revised--and suspended--policy regarding record-sharing, aimed at "moderniz[ing] record use and transfer practices for application on the Web, foster[ing] new uses of WorldCat data that benefit members and...

Google Book Settlement.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Discussing the topic "Google Book Settlement: What's in It for Libraries?" Dan Clancy, engineering director for the Google Book Search Project, was not ready to answer some of the big questions, however, such as how much institutional...

Cedar Rapids PL, IA, interim director Tamara Glise and children's services manager Carol Hoke, the only two of the 11-member management team to make it to Denver.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cedar Rapids PL, IA, interim director Tamara Glise (r.) and children's services manager Carol Hoke, the only two of the 11-member management team to make it to Denver, say LJ's Librarian of the Year award is...

Summon aims at one-box discovery: Serials Solutions expands line with search portal to preindexed content.(ALA MIDWINTER CONFERENCE REPORT)
February 15, 2009... With Summon, a "unified discovery service," Serials Solutions has set its sights on the holy grail of library resource interfaces: a true one-box search, collecting article--level results from electronic resources with local catalog holdings...

EBSCOhost adds federated search.(infotech)(Integrated Search)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Responding to many libraries' increasing reliance on electronic resources and a desire to maximize e-resource budgets, EBSCOhostat the ALA Midwinter Meeting filled LJ in on its own plans to add a federated search service called Integrated...

LibLime debuts [double dagger]biblios.net.(infotech)
February 15, 2009... As OCLC and its central role in the library cataloging world has become a subject of much discussion (see News, p. 15), LibLime has brought an open source approach to cataloging, debuting [double dagger]biblios, an open source, web-based...

LITA sessions a model for ALA?(infotech)(Library and Information Technology Association and American Library Association)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Besides the themes identified by the speakers on the LITA Top Tech Trends panel at Midwinter, the added effort made to extend participation in the discussion to as many LITA members as possible marked a trend in itself. Days before the...

LibraryThing and Bowker paired.(infotech)
February 15, 2009... The Cambridge Information Group (CIG) announced on January 22 that it has acquired a minority stake in the social book cataloging company LibraryThing. As part of the deal, Bowker, wholly owned by CIG, will become the exclusive distributor of...

Dear library directors.(THE TRANSPARENT LIBRARY)(Viewpoint essay)
February 15, 2009... WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK, positive and negative. As we move into 2009, even as you grapple with budget challenges, keep in mind that these Five Things We Just Can't Ignore in Libraries require moxie more than money. Privacy: We really...

Web design matters: ten essentials for any library site.(INFOTECH FEATURE)(Viewpoint essay)
February 15, 2009... The web site is your library's most important feature. Think about it: Where do people go to find out if a book is available, or if you carry a particular DVD or magazine? Patrons use the web site for numerous functions, such as renewing...

America's star libraries: the LJ Index of Public Library Service 2009.(Library Journal)(Statistical table)
February 15, 2009... In June, LJ announced the development of a new assessment tool for public libraries--the LJ Index of public library service output. "The New L.J Index" (LJ 6/15/08, p. 38-41) described the analysis informing its design. Here, we announce the...

"It's the economy": the current economic crisis will mean less money for libraries, but circulation has never looked better.(BOOK BUYING SURVEY 2009)
February 15, 2009... How bad is the economy? Bad enough that in LJ's annual book-buying survey of public libraries, circulation took the biggest leap recorded since the survey was launched in 1999. Historically, circulation goes up when the economy founders,...

Acito, Marc. Attack of the Theater People.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Acito, Marc. Attack of the Theater People. 9 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 9 3/4 hrs. Recorded Bks. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4361-3798-0. $123.75; Playaway[R] digital. F In this follow-up to Acito's How I Paid for College (2004), aspiring actor...

Bell, Ted. Tsar.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Bell, Ted. Tsar. 15 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 17 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4233-7487-9. $127.25; 15 CDs. retail ed.; 2 MP3-CDs. library/retail eds.; digital download. F Bell continues his New York Times bestselling Alex...

Box, C.J.: Out of Range.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Box, C.J. Out of Range. 8 CDs. library ed. unabridged, 9 1/4 hrs. Recorded Bks. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4361-2381-5. $92.75; Playaway[R] digital. F Available for the first time on CD, this fifth book in Anthony Award[R] winner Box's Joe...

Bradford, Barbara Taylor. Being Elizabeth.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Bradford, Barbara Taylor. Being Elizabeth. 11 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 13 hrs. Macmillan Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4272-0497-4. $44.95; 11 CDs. library ed. Macmillan Audio from Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America; digital download. F ...

Burke, Alafair. Angel's Tip.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Burke, Alafair. Angel's Tip. 10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 11 1/4 hrs. Recorded Bks. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4361-5101-6. $123.75; Playaway[R] digital. F Three Indiana University co-eds find New York City's nightlife horrifically uninviting...

Deaver, Jeffery & others. The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Deaver, Jeffery & others. The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller. 6 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 6 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4233-7703-0. $82.25; 6 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library/retail eds.; digital download. F ...

Evans, Chris. A Darkness Forged in Fire.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Evans, Chris. A Darkness Forged in Fire. 12 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 15 1/2 hrs. Tantor Media. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4001-3836-4. $99.99; 12 CDs. retail ed.; 2 MP3-CDs. retail ed. FANTASY Evans's debut military/fantasy novel, the first in...

Le Guin, Ursula K.: Lavinia.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Le Guin, Ursula K. Lavinia. 10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 11 3/4 hrs. Recorded Bks. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4361-5702-5. $44.95. FANTASY Le Guin (A Wizard of Earthsea) makes literary fantasy read like historical fiction in this well-wrought...

Mayor, Archer. The Catch.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Mayor, Archer. The Catch. 6 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 7 1/4 hrs. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 2008. ISBN 978-0-7927-5781-8. $64.95; digital download. F When a Vermont sheriff's deputy is murdered, Joe Gunther is called to...

Proulx, Annie. Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Proulx, Annie. Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3. 6 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 7 hrs. S. & S. Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-0-7435-7277-4. $34.99; digital download. F The National Book Award[R] and Pulitzer Prize[R] winner returns to...

Sittenfeld, Curtis. American Wife.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Sittenfeld, Curtis. American Wife. 19 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 23 1/2 hrs. Books on Tape. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4159-5697-7. $129; digital download; NA CDs. retail ed. abridged. Random House Audio; digital download. F [ILLUSTRATION...

Updike, John. The Widows of Eastwick.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Updike, John. The Widows of Eastwick. 9 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 11 hrs. Books on Tape. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4159-5765-3. $90. F In this sequel to The Witches of Eastwick (1984), listeners will find the witches--now widows--older but not...

Following the Apple January 6 announcement that it will be dropping digital rights management (DRM) protections from the music tracks in its iTunes store, LJ asked audiobook providers how this development might impact audiobooks in the library market.(Apple Inc., Library Journal)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Following the Apple January 6 announcement that it will be dropping digital rights management (DRM) protections from the music tracks in its iTunes store, LJ asked audiobook providers how this development might impact audiobooks in the...

OverDrive reported last month that checkouts of downloadable media at its roughly 8500 network libraries exceeded ten million items in 2008.(OverDrive Inc.)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... OverDrive reported last month that checkouts of downloadable media at its roughly 8500 network libraries exceeded ten million items in 2008. The number of users increased by 45 percent over 2007, with readers making Stephenie Meyer's Twitight...

On February 24, Oasis Audio imprint Springwater will release an audio edition of longtime LJ fiction reviewer Robert Conroy's latest novel of alternate history, 1942, with Roger Mueller reading.(Library Journal)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... On February 24, Oasis Audio imprint Springwater will release an audio edition of longtime LJ fiction reviewer Robert Conroy's latest novel of alternate history, 1942, with Roger Mueller reading. Also forthcoming from Springwater are audio...

Christian-based publishing services company Innovo Publishing launched its new audiobook division last month with Bart Dahmer's sf thriller Primal Screams, narrated by Ralph Wallace, as a downloadable MP3 title.(science fiction)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Christian-based publishing services company Innovo Publishing launched its new audiobook division last month with Bart Dahmer's sf thriller Primal Screams, narrated by Ralph Wallace, as a downloadable MP3 title. Innovo audios are available in...

Richard Petty's Audio Scrapbook.(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This month's release of Richard Petty's Audio Scrapbook coincides with the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR king's record 200th career victory. The four-disc series also features the voices of racing announcer Barney...

Chapterhouse Dune, the final audio installment of Frank Herbert's original series, includes a 5 1/2-minute video about the making of the audiobooks.(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Chapterhouse Dune, the final audio installment of Frank Herbert's original series, includes a 5 1/2-minute video about the making of the audiobooks. The title is available this month as both a retail-edition (Macmillan Audio) and a...

Brother Yun, with Paul Hattaway. The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Brother Yun, with Paul Hattaway. The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun. 8 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 10 hrs. Hovel Audio: Christian Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-59644-649-6. $24.98. AUTOBIOG Brother Yun...

Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. 14 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 17 hrs. Tantor Media. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4001-3864-7. $72.99; 14 CDs. retail ed.; 2 MP3-CDs. retail ed. with PDF ebook. SCI Amazingly, 150 years after the publication...

Humbert, Agnes. Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Humbert, Agnes. Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France. tr. by Barbara Mellor. 10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 12 hrs. Tantor Media. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4001-3833-3. $69.99; 10 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD....

Lehrer, Jonah. Proust Was a Neuroscientist.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... * Lehrer, Jonah. Proust Was a Neuroscientist. 7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 7 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4233-7421-3. $87.25; 7 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library/retail eds.; digital download. SCI Blogger...

Rice, Anne. Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Rice, Anne. Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession. 6 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 7 hrs. Books on Tape. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4159-5671-7. $40; 6 CDs. retail ed. Random House Audio; digital download. AUTOBIOG/REL The best-selling...

Sanborn, Mark. The Encore Effect: How To Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Sanborn, Mark. The Encore Effect: How To Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. 3 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 3 hrs. Books on Tape. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4159-5722-6. $40; 3 CDs. retail ed. Random House Audio; digital download....

Wagner, Robert J.: Pieces of My Heart: A Life.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
February 15, 2009... Wagner, Robert J. Pieces of My Heart: A Life. 5 CDs. retail ed. abridged. 6 1/2 hrs. HarperAudio. 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-166462-5. $29.95; digital download. FILM [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Screen/TV legend Wagner has tales to tell in this...

Top-selling Recorded Books audio titles for 2008.(TOP AUDIO)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... 1 The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. David Wroblewski. 18 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 21 3/4 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4361-4958-7. $123.751 Playaway[R] digital; digital download. F [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Ecco hc and audio edition of this...

The Duchess of Duke Street: The Complete Collection.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Duchess of Duke Street: The Complete Collection. 10 discs, color. 27 hrs. John Hawkesworth, BBC & Time-Life Films, dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www. acornonline.com. 2008. DVD UPC 0-54961-80999-8. $99.99. Closed-captioned. F ...

Arimatsu Narumi Shibori: Celebrating 400 Years of Japanese Artisan Design.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Arimatsu Narumi Shibori: Celebrating 400 Years of Japanese Artisan Design. color. 155 min. English & Japanese versions available. Studio Galli Prods., dist. by AV Cafe, 877-228-2233; www.theavecafe.com. 2008. DVD $29.95. Public performance....

The Extra Girl and The Gusher.('The Stan Laurel Collections, vol. 2' and 'Three's a Crowd and The Chaser')(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Extra Girl and The Gusher. 82 min. 1913, 1923. UPC 7-38329-06142-5. $24.95. The Stan Laurel Collections. Vol. 2. 2 discs. 124 min. 1918-28. UPC 7-38329-06162-3. $29.95. Three's a Crowd and The Chaser. 255 min. 1927-28. UPC...

The Outsider: A Film About James Toback.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Outsider: A Film About James Toback. color & b/w. 83 min. Nicholas Jarecki, Green Room Films, dist. by Westlake Entertainment, 868-733-5824; www.westlakeent.com. 2008. DVD UPC 7-98622-28682-5. $24.95. FILM STUDY Though not a...

On December 30, the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board named the 25 movies it had selected as part of its National Film Registry of "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" works "to be preserved for all time".(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... On December 30, the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board named the 25 movies it had selected as part of its National Film Registry of "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" works "to be preserved for all...

Digital film distributor IndiePix (www. indiepixfilms.com) recently partnered with Apple iTunes in a deal enabling users to rent or purchase films for downloading directly to their iPods or iPhones.(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Digital film distributor IndiePix (www. indiepixfilms.com) recently partnered with Apple iTunes in a deal enabling users to rent or purchase films for downloading directly to their iPods or iPhones. Initial releases include Ilkka Jarvilaturi...

In January, Choices Inc. (www. choicesvideo.net), a specialty distributor of documentaries, educational programming, and feature films, announced it would be lowering the prices of all its catalog titles--except for new releases--to $19.95.(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... In January, Choices Inc. (www. choicesvideo.net), a specialty distributor of documentaries, educational programming, and feature films, announced it would be lowering the prices of all its catalog titles--except for new releases--to $19.95....

Tune in on February 21 to the 24th annual Spirit Awards, to be broadcast on IFC and AMC.(Independent Film Channel and American Movie Channel)(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Tune in on February 21 to the 24th annual Spirit Awards, to be broadcast on IFC and AMC. This year's nominees include Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths (best documentary), Darren Aronofsky and Scott Franklin's The Wrestler (best feature), and...

25th Sundance Film Festival.(Brief article)
February 15, 2009... Among the highlights of the documentary competition at the 25th Sundance Film Festival, January 15-25 in Utah, were Tom DiCillo's When You're Strange, the first feature film to spotlight the 1960s supergroup The Doors, and Greg Barker's...

The 2007 Newport Music Festival: Connoisseur's Collection.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The 2007 Newport Music Festival: Connoisseur's Collection. 10 discs, color. 15+ hrs. Lawrence Kraman, Newport Music Festival, dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www.acornonline.com. 2008. DVD UPC 0-54961-80589-1. $124.99. MUSIC The...

The Six-Day Bicycle Races: America's Jazz-Age Sport.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Six-Day Bicycle Races: America's Jazz-Age Sport. color & b/w. 77 rain. Mark Tyson, Jazz Sport, LLC, dist. by AV Cafe, 877-228-2233; www.theavcafe.com. 2008. DVD UPC 8-37101-28715-9. $29.95. Public performance. SPORTS While covering...

Tantalus: Behind the Mask.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Tantalus: Behind the Mask. color. 2 1/2 hrs. Dirk Olson & Benjamin Francis Phelan, Working Arts Library, dist. by Applause/Hal Leonard, www.workingarts.video.com. 2008. DVD ISBN 978-1-55783-533-8. $69.95. Closed-captioned. THEATER ...

Aurora Borealis.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Aurora Borealis. color. 109 min. Liberation Entertainment. 2004. DVD ISBN 978-1-59444-540-8. $19.95. Rated: R. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 25-year-old onetime hockey prodigy turned slacker (Joshua Jackson) forges the sort of bond with...

Great Directors.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Great Directors. Vol. 1. (Five Film Collection). color & b/w. 562 min. English subtitles. Kino Intl. 1957-81. DVD UPC 7-38329-06482-2. $79.95. Five big-name foreign directors are represented by key (if not the best) films in their...

Irma Vep.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Irma Vep. (Essential Edition). color. 96 min. In English & French w/English subtitles. Zeitgeist Films. 1997. DVD ISBN 978-1-57252-238-1. $29.99. Not unlike other films about moviemaking (8 1/2, Day for Night), Olivier Assayas's biting...

Love Comes Lately.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Love Comes Lately. color. 82 min. letterboxed. Kino Intl. 2007. DVD UPC 7-38329-06232-3. $29.95. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Based on short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Jan Schutte's wryly charming look at little-seen senior romance...

Mon Oncle Antoine.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Mon Oncle Antoine. 2 discs, color. 104 min. In French w/English subtitles. Criterion Collection, dist. by Image Entertainment. 1971. DVD ISBN 978-1-60465-052-5. $39.95. Considered a French-Canadian classic, Claude Jutra's affecting but...

The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez. color. 58 min.; 90-min. version available. Heidi Specogna, dist. by Cinema Guild, 800-723-5522; www.cinemaguild.com. 2007. DVD Catalog #2254. $89; acad. libs. $350 (Rental: $85). Public performance....

The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth. color. 94 min. Tom Jennings, History Channel, dist. by New Video, www.newvideo.com. 2008. DVD ISBN 978-1-4229-0732-0. $19.95. Closed-captioned. HIST This film provides the basic facts surrounding the...

Love and Sex in China.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Love and Sex in China. 52 min. In Mandarin w/English subtitles. Annemarie Gallone. $350 (Rental: $85). Match Made. 48 min. In Mandarin, Cantonese, & Vietnamese w/English subtitles. Mirabelle Ang. $295. ea. vol: color. Filmakers Library,...

The Last Ridge: The Uphill Battles of the 10th Mountain Division.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Last Ridge: The Uphill Battles of the 10th Mountain Division. color & b/w. 101 min. Abbie Kealy, dist. by Janson Media, 201-784-8488; www.janson.com. 2008. DVD ISBN 978-1-56829-302-4. $24.95. MILITARY HIST This compelling documentary...

The Wonderful World of Fish Keeping.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... The Wonderful World of Fish Keeping. color. 83 min. Richard Pabis, Tropical Fish Pub., 407-246-6316; www.tropicalfishpublishing. com; Instructional Video, 800-228-0164; www.insvideo.com. 2008. DVD $39.95. Public performance. PETS Not a...

Life After People.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
February 15, 2009... Life After People. color. 94+ min. Flight 33 for History Channel, 800-423-1212; ShopAETV.com. 2008. DVD ISBN 978-1-4229-0939-3. $24.95. Closed-captioned. SCI "What if" planet Earth today had no human beings? This film embarks on a global...

Game ratings rundown.(GAMING BASICS)
February 15, 2009... Most video games released in North America carry a rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), a nonprofit, self-regulatory, third-party entity formed in 1994 by what is now the Entertainment Software Association. ESRB...