Library Journal articles from May 2009

Library Journal archives from May 2009

Hell is a runny nose (or inflamed lungs): ten titles for allergy & asthma redemption.(ON THE WEB)(Brief article)(Recommended readings)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Never mind the connotations of rebirth--spring means hell for many allergy sufferers. Your library is no doubt experiencing increased demand for consumer health information on asthma and other allergic disorders;...

Xpress reviews: first look at new books.(ON THE WEB)(Until It Hurts: America's Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... "Verdict: Sports journalist Hyman gives a cogent analysis of the detrimental effects of adult over-involvement in youth sports, arguing for a more kid-centric approach. A solid base hit."--Julianne J. Smith's review of Mark Hyman's Until It...

Memoir maniacs, take note: more than 50 summer pubs.(ON THE WEB)(Brief article)(Recommended readings)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Check out our ongoing series of memoir Short Takes by Lynne Maxwell, Elizabeth Brinkley, and Lauren Gilbert. Andy Raskin's The Ramen King and I, Daniel Asa Rose's Larry's Kidney, and Danzy Senna's Where Did You Sleep...

E-reference ratings: now available online!(ON THE WEB)(assessing databases online)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Ever dreamed of a tool that would assess all the great databases out there--all at once? Your wish has been granted with the launch of E-Reference Ratings. This one-of-a-kind online tool will help you make smart purchasing decisions based on a...

The irreplaceable Krug: we need a candidate who can lead OIF in our brave new world.(blatant berry)(Office for Intellectual Freedom's Judith Krug)(Editorial)
May 1, 2009... JUDITH KRUG, DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) since it was founded in 1967, died on April 11. A giant among librarians, she was ALA's best-known and strongest leader. Her service to the...

Professional sans MLS.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... The incredible professional performance by Tina Adams deserves to be promoted (John N. Berry III, "Paraprofessional of the Year 2009: Tina Adams," LJ 3/1/09, p. 24-25). There are some MLS librarians who would do well to look at her...

Keep the "L" word.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... Rutgers School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies (SCILS) should not remove the word library from its title because it does diminish its longstanding history as a fine library school ("Rutgers Agrees To Drop 'Library' from...

A favor to the profession.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... I graduated from the University of Michigan School of Library Science (now School of Information) in 1975. At that time, graduates either took jobs as "librarians" or "information specialists." The only difference was that "information...

Unfortunate trend.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... My wife and I earned MLS degrees from the Rutgers Graduate School of Library Service in the early 1960s. We are both retired now. The name change seems ill-advised ("Rutgers Agrees To Drop 'Library' from Name," Newsdesk, LJ 3/1/09, p. 14). If...

Can't violate "guidelines".(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... The report "Lawsuit over Bible-Related Financial Session" (Newsdesk, LJ 2/1/09, p. 16) ends with, "The library then changed its old meeting room policy... in apparent violation of American Library Association [ALA] guidelines." Guidelines...

Denying genocide?(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... In Elizabeth R. Hayford's review of Grigoris Balakian's Armenian Golgotha: A Memoir of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1918 (LJ 3/15/09, p. 111), I was taken aback by her comment that the book is "Important for readers who want to judge whether or...

Missed the mark.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... We did guard against just reacting to Warren Hawkes calling our film Little Brother, BIG PHARMA "poorly executed" (LJ 9/15/08, p. 92). So we reviewed his review, asked others to look at the film and the review, and have concluded that there is...

Gates gives OCLC $5m for library support project.(news desk)(Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Aiming to build on previous research regarding latent public support for libraries and to offer libraries a hand in a time when they're both ever more used and stressed, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has granted $5 million to OCLC to...

Google case heats up.(news desk)(Google Book Search)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Concerns about the pending Google Book Search settlement (see Corner Office, p. 26) have begun to hit critical mass, as two sets of academics plan to file amicus briefs, joining library groups. Objections/ comments can be filed until May 5,...

Rutgers drops "Library".(news desk)(School of Communication and Information)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... In an emotionally charged meeting April 2, the Board of Governors of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, approved a resolution changing the name of its School of Communication, Information and Library Studies (SCILS) to the School of...

Ala's Judith Krug dies.(news desk)(American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom director)(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Judith F. Krug, longtime director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and executive director of the Freedom To Read Foundation (FTRF), died April 11 after a yearlong fight with stomach cancer. She...

ALA, allies ask congress to revise patriot act.(news desk)(American Library Association)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... In an effort to steer the Congressional debate, the American Library Association (ALA) and allied groups have asked Congress to exempt library and bookstore records from the provisions of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which should be...

In Cedar Rapids, FEMA will pay for a new building.(news desk)(Federal Emergency Management Agency)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The Cedar Rapids Public Library, whose management team won LJ's 2009 Librarian of the Year Award for their response to a devastating 2008 flood, will be able to build a new main library downtown after a decision by the Federal Emergency...

Darien summit on libraries.(news desk)(Darien Library)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Around 40 librarians gathered at the new Darien Library, CT, on March 26 to discuss the challenges facing libraries. Speakers included John Berry, LJ editor-at-large, and Kathryn Greenhill, emerging technologies specialist at Australia's...

From OUP, library haiku.(news desk)(Oxford University Press)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... In preparation for National Library Week last month, Oxford University Press's publicity team asked staffers to write haiku about libraries. A selection: Librarians' bane: Index finger to mouth: "Quiet, shhhh..." iPod tipping...

Is it ok to lend a kindle?(NEWS DESK)(e-book reader)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... As a few more libraries begin lending the Kindle, the ebook reading device from Amazon, the company continues to offer ambiguous messages regarding its policies. Though a support staffer told the Howe Library, Hanover, NH, it was OK, Amazon...

Providence branches to new organization?(NEWS DESK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... After months of tension between the nonprofit Providence Public Library (PPL) and the city of Providence, as well as the emergence of the Providence Community Library (PCL), the PPL board has agreed to explore transferring the nine branch...

Public libraries looks at mentally ill in libraries.(NEWS DESK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Does a new survey released in the March/April edition of Public Libraries, the journal of the Public Library Association, indicate that "[p]eople with untreated severe mental illnesses may pose a greater risk to... America's public libraries...

Harvard library gets $5m.(NEWS DESK)(Arcadia Fund)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... After giving $5 million each to libraries at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Yale University, the UK-based Arcadia Fund has awarded $5 million to the Harvard University Library. The money is intended to support core functions...

St. Paul's Huggins named Richland County director.(NEWS DESK)(Melanie Huggins)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... St. Paul Public Library director Melanie Huggins, one of two finalists hoping to head the Richland County Public Library (RCPL), Columbia, SC, has been named executive director, replacing veteran David Warren. Warren led the 11-location RCPL to...

Virginia tech budget boost.(NEWS DESK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... After an outpouring of support in the face of a nearly $900,000 library budget cut aimed at subscriptions, administrators at Virginia Tech (VT) have not only restored those funds but increased the budget by $300,000. Dean of Libraries Eileen...

ARL releases report on special collections.(NEWS DESK)(Association of Research Libraries)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has released a "discussion report" that urges library leaders to take action to increase access to and visibility of special collections, as well as to consider "best practices" for their stewardship....

Cuts protested at Canada's national science library.(NEWS DESK)(National Research Council Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Library organizations in both Canada and the United States are protesting major cuts planned in Canada's national science library, known as NRC-CISTI. The Canadian Association of Research Libraries warns that the budget would be "cut by 50...

Salary advocates honored.(NEWS DESK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALAAPA) and ILS vendor SirsiDynix have recently announced the three winners of the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Salaries and Status for Library Workers. ...

Will digital kill print? An update.(NEWS DESK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... LJ Digital Libraries blogger Roy Tennant takes heart from a blog post by Chris Bourg of Stanford University on how undergraduates use digital books to make better use of the hard copies they check out. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] His...

Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center's (CCPLIC) Bordeaux Branch Library.(people)(Jean Boyer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Jean Boyer has joined the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center's (CCPLIC) Bordeaux Branch Library, Fayetteville, NC, as Information Services Librarian I. MaryAnne Sommer has taken the same post at CCPLIC's East Regional...

Columbus Metropolitan Library.(people)(Tony Howard)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Tony Howard is now Service Area Manager at the Karl Road and Northern Lights branches of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH. He was Assistant Manager at the Reynoldsburg branch.

Sacramento Public Library.(people)(Mary Mijares)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Mary Mijares is now Branch Services Manager for the Sacramento Public Library (SPL), CA, overseeing the operations of nine city and county branches. She had been SPL's Marketing Manager.

H.W. Wilson Company.(people)(John Regazzi)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... John Regazzi has been named H.W. Wilson Company's first Chief Strategy Officer, focusing "on a broad range of initiatives, including new products, product enhancements, business development, and marketing." He holds an M.S. in Library and...

Patricia Williams.(people)(Enoch Pratt Free Library's Pennsylvania Avenue Branch)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Patricia Williams, Office Supervisor, Enoch Pratt Free Library's Pennsylvania Avenue Branch, Baltimore, and a 38-year library veteran, received the 2008 Baltimore City Richard Lidinsky Sr. Award of Excellence in Public Services. It includes a...

New Mexico State University Library.(people)(Nirmala Gunapala, Paula Johnson, Ingrid Schneider)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... New Mexico State University Library has three new hires: Nirmala Gunapala is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Librarian; Paula Johnson is also a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Librarian, as well as a Faculty Member; and...

Beverly P. Lynch.(people)(University of California Los Angeles Information Studies Professor)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... University of California Los Angeles Information Studies Professor Beverly P. Lynch is this year's recipient of the American Library Association's Joseph W. Lippincott Award. Founded in 1938, the award is given annually to an individual for...

Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), Parma, OH, branch managers switch locations.(people)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), Parma, OH, branch managers switch locations. Caroline Vicchiarelli, currently at the Maple Heights Branch, will go to the Beachwood Branch, replacing Wendy Bartlett. Bartlett is now in CCPL's Collection...

Ebsco host unveils discovery service.(infotech)
May 1, 2009... As many in the industry predicted, it was only a matter of time until EBSCOhost got in on the discovery game: on April 10, the company announced EBSCO-host Discovery Service, to be made available by the end of 2009 as a component of its...

ChiliFresh launching Opac-based social network.(infotech)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... It looks like ChiliFresh is making the next move in the ongoing struggle to "unsuck" the OPAC: at the SirsiDynix users group meeting in Dallas (see SirsiDynix story, below), the company unveiled its plans for a "full" social network to be...

Worldcat iPhone app offers "smart prefix" search.(infotech)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Following a number of previous mobile site redesign efforts, OCLC has released a dedicated iPhone application for the WorldCat.org bibliographic database. Notably, the WorldCat iPhone app makes use of existing features like the phone's GPS...

SirsiDynix users confident in merged customers group.(INFOTECH)
May 1, 2009... The Joint Conference, a meeting of SirsiDynix customers, was both the first and the last of its kind, drawing some 746 librarians to Dallas from April 6-8. Beginning with the election of a new single board, the two former users groups--the...

Tumblebooks #1.(INFOTECH)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... According to a Stat of the Week from the New York Public Ubrary Labs blog, tumbtobooks is the most searched-for term, not in the library's OPAC but on the library's separate sitewide search box. As the post explains, tumblebooks are...

World Digital Library debuts in dozens of languages.(INFOTECH)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The Library of Congress (LC) recently announced the launch of the World Digital Library (WDL), an online partnership among LC, UNESCO, and 32 partner institutions to share cultural materials. LC officials said the first edition of the site...

Ala connect: networking for library professionals.(INFOTECH)(American Library Association)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... On April 6, the American Library Association (ALA) launched ALA Connect, a platform that allows dues-paying librarians to mash up their professional affiliations with other features typical of social networks like profiles, blogging space, and...

Information on the go.(ONLINE DATABASES)
May 1, 2009... CELL PHONE UBIQUITY IS YESTERday's news: now, between PDAs, iPods, ebook readers, tablet PCs, and other handheld devices, all of us are rarely without full-fledged information instruments at our fingertips. So how do libraries and...

Publishers & librarians two cultures one goal: both aim to put books and readers together.(Essay)
May 1, 2009... For two professions so committed to meeting the needs of readers, publishers and librarians have distinct cultures. Put simply, one culture is all about developing and selling books; the other is about sharing them and fostering a culture of...

Google' Dan Clancy: as the Google Book Search settlement deadline looms, the company's point man talks about pricing, orphan works, and the role of libraries.(LJ SERIES CORNER OFFICE)(Interview)
May 1, 2009... If you thought Google had a strong presence on the web, you should see its playful, spacious New York digs. The fret impression is to wonder how anyone works there. But the coffee bars, cafe tables with board games, Legos, and artful displays...

Booked solid in Gotham: hot programs for librarians.(BEA PREVIEW 2009)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For the past half dozen years or so, BookExpo America (BEA) has biennially touched down in New York City, hopping to Chicago, DC, and Los Angeles in between. No more. For the next four years--at least--the annual...

Best of 2008 magazines: ten new launches buck the downturn.
May 1, 2009... Last year was remarkable not only for the financial difficulties faced by many publishers but also for the quality of new launches in the face of tough times. Without question, the magazine market is volatile. Magazine publishers and editors...

Out, out, and away!(Collection Development: Outdoor Recreation)(Recommended readings)
May 1, 2009... Summer is fast approaching, and it will soon be time to climb the mountains to get their good tidings, as naturalist John Muir put it. In other words, librarians must now prepare for the influx of patrons making weekend recreational and summer...

The cell phone police.(BACKTALK)
May 1, 2009... MOST OF US CAN'T IMAGINE A TIME when we didn't have cell phones. We use them to stay connected, to take pictures, send text messages, check our email, and with the advent of smartphones and other handheld devices, increasingly we use them to do...

Baker, Tiffany. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Baker, Tiffany. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. 10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 12 1/2 hrs. Blackstene Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-14332-4695-1. $29.95; 10 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library ed.; Playaway digital; digital download. F ...

Bauermeister, Erica. The School of Essential Ingredients.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Bauermeister, Erica. The School of Essential Ingredients. 5 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 6 hrs. Books on Tape. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4159-6260-2. $80. F In her first novel, Bauermeister (coauthor, 500 Great Books by Women) crafts a charming...

Digital audio publishing company Creative Content just signed a deal with digital media distributor OverDrive to sell its business etiquette and self-improvement titles in libraries and schools as well as through online retailers.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Digital audio publishing company Creative Content just signed a deal with digital media distributor OverDrive to sell its business etiquette and self-improvement titles in libraries and schools as well as through online retailers. Creative...

The new Music Online suite from e-database publisher Alexander Street Press debuted last month with 88,000 classical, world, and American music tracks, 285 hours of dance and opera video, 13,000 scores, and 45,000 pages of reference content.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The new Music Online suite from e-database publisher Alexander Street Press debuted last month with 88,000 classical, world, and American music tracks, 285 hours of dance and opera video, 13,000 scores, and 45,000 pages of reference content....

In March, NetLibrary and Recorded Books (RB) unveiled a catalog of 1000 MP3 audiobook titles compatible with iPods, iPhones, and other MP3 players.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... In March, NetLibrary and Recorded Books (RB) unveiled a catalog of 1000 MP3 audiobook titles compatible with iPods, iPhones, and other MP3 players. Available through RB subscription collections and purchase programs only, the titles include...

Nation Earth.(Earthlings)(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Newly available from Nation Earth on CD ($19.99) and as a digital download ($13.97): an audio adaptation of Earthlings, Shaun Monson's award-winning documentary about animal abuse, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and with music by Moby. "We...

Box, C.J.: Three Weeks To Say Goodbye.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Box, C.J. Three Weeks To Say Goodbye. 8 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 9 hrs. Macmillan Audio from Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7927-6001-6. $79.95; 8 CDs. retail ed. Macmillan Audio; digital download. MYSTERY ...

Feehan, Christine. Murder Game.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Feehan, Christine. Murder Game. (GhostWalker). 12 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 141A hrs. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7927-6026-9. $110.95; digital download. FANTASY/ROMANCE In this slow-going seventh entry in No....

Genova, Lisa. Still Alice.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Genova, Lisa. Still Alice. 7 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 8 hrs. S. & S. Audio. 2009. ISBN 9780-7435-8325-1. $39.99; digital download. F Fifty-year-old Mice Howland, a highly respected linguistics professor, suddenly begins feeling...

Graves, Sarah. A Face at the Window.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Graves, Sarah. A Face at the Window. (Home Repair Is Homicide). 8 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 9 1/2 hrs. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 2009. ISBN 978-07927-5976-8. $79.95; 1 MP3-CD. library ed.; digital download. F This is...

King, Stephen. Just After Sunset.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... * King, Stephen. Just After Sunset. 13 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 14 3/4 hrs. Recorded Bks. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4361-7829-7. $123.75; 13 CDs. retail ed. S. & S. Audio; Playaway digital; digital download. HORROR In his first collection of...

Lincoln, Abraham & Stephen Douglas. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... * Lincoln, Abraham & Stephen Douglas. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. 14 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 16 hrs. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7927-6031-3. $115.95; 3 MP3-CDs. library ed.; digital download. HZST/POL SCI ...

The Rivalry.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... * The Rivalry. 2 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 1 3/4 hrs. L.A. Theatre Works. 2009. ISBN 978-1-58081-5697. $25.95; digital download. DRAMA [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Academy Award nominees Paul Giamatti and David Strathairn square off as...

Moore, Christopher. Fool.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Moore, Christopher. Fool. 7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 8 1/2 hrs. Recorded Bks. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4361-7519-7. $123.75; 7 CDs. retail ed. HarperAudio; Playaway digital; digital download. F In his 11th novel, Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends) has...

O'Neal, Barbara. The Lost Recipe for Happiness.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... * O'Neal, Barbara. The Lost Recipe for Happiness. 10 CDs. unabridged, library ed. 12 1/4 hrs. Books on Tape. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4159-5447-8. $110; digital download. F O'Neal's debut, with its cast of intriguing characters and touch of...

Suarez, Daniel. Daemon.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... * Suarez, Daniel. Daemon. 13 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 16 hrs. Penguin Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-0-14-314444-1. $44.95. F This first novel, originally self-published under the pseudonym/anagram Leinad Zeraus, is a roller-coaster ride of a...

Goodman, Matthew. The Sun and the Moon.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Goodman, Matthew. The Sun and the Moon. 10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 12V2 hrs. Blackstone Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-1-43325562-5. $90; 10 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library ed.; Playaway digital; digital download. HIST The focus of this...

Jarvis, Jeff. What Would Google Do?(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Jarvis, Jeff. What Would Google Do? 8 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 9 3/4 hrs. HarperAudio. 2009. ISBN 978-0-06-172633-0. $39.95; digital download. BUS Media columnist (Guardian), blogger (buzzmachine.com), and journalism professor (CUNY)...

Top audio.(Brief article)(List)
May 1, 2009... Overdrive's most-borrowed adult audiobook downloads FICTION 1 The Associate. John Grisham. WMA file. unabridged. 10 3/4 hrs. Books on Tape. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4159-5890-2. $85. F [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] See Major Audio Releases,...

Quinones, John. Heroes Among Us: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices.(Audiobook review)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... * Quinones, John. Heroes Among Us: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices. 6 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 6 1/2 hrs. Tantor Media. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4001-4056-5. $59.99; 6 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. retail ed.; digital download. INSPIRATION ...

Readio Theatre. Cruisin' Route 66: America's Main Street.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Readio Theatre. Cruisin' Route 66: America's Main Street. 3 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 3 hrs. Springwater: Oasis Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-1-59859-475-1. $19.99. HIST/TRAV This audio begins perfectly with an old guy on a squeaky rocker...

Romm, Robin. The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Romm, Robin. The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks. 5 CDs. library ed. unabridged. Books on Tape. 2009. ISBN 9781-4159-6257-2. $70; digital audio. AUTOBIOG Romm (The Mother Garden) initially intended this book as a journal of the three...

Tyson, Neil DeGrasse. The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Tyson, Neil DeGrasse. The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet. 4 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 4 1/2 hours. Blackstone Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4332-4407-0. $50; 4 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library ed.; Playaway digital;...

Walker, John Frederick. Ivory's Ghosts: The White Gold of History and the Fate of Elephants.(Brief article)(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2009... Walker, John Frederick. Ivory's Ghosts: The White Gold of History and the Fate of Elephants. 9 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 11 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-1-42337799-3. $92.97; 9 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library/retail eds.; digital...

Major audio releases.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Audiobooks coming next month that are sure to top the charts Del Toro, Guillermo & Chuck Hogan. The Strain. NA CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 131/2 hrs. HarperAudio. ISBN 978-0-06-171520.4. $39.99; digital download. F [ILLUSTRATION...

On view through May 9 at The New York Public Library: "Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts.".(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... On view through May 9 at The New York Public Library: "Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts," a multimedia exhibition tracing the theater's history, community outreach, and productions through costumes, stage props, posters, programs,...

Tribeca Film Festival.
May 1, 2009... For more about the 100-plus movies screening at the eighth annual Tribeca Film Festival, which runs through May 3 this year, visit tribecafilmfestival.org.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment: a restored edition of The Robe (1953).(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Newly available on standard DVD ($19.98) and Blu-ray disc ($34.99) from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment: a restored edition of The Robe (1953), the first motion picture in CinemaScope. Viewers of the Blu-ray disc can simultaneously...

Muskegon Ares District Library.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... In March, the Muskegon Ares District Library, MI, dropped its dollar fee for seven-day DVD rentals at all its ten branches. The library had been putting these rental fees toward the purchase of new DVDs, raising an estimated $3000 annually....

Warner Brothers.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Warner Brothers is now selling exclusively at wbstore.com some 150 of the more obscure titles from its library on DVD ($19.95) and as digital downloads ($14.95). Titles span the 1920s (e.g., Love, with Greta Garbo) to the 1980s (Just the Way...

Barack Obama: Words That Inspired a Nation--Essential Speeches, the fifth book/DVD project that New YorkDVD has produced with Barnes & Noble.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Barack Obama: Words That Inspired a Nation--Essential Speeches, the fifth book/DVD project that New YorkDVD has produced with Barnes & Noble, is the first official licensed book/DVD to include the President's Inaugural Address. The companion...

The Beiderbecke Affair.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
May 1, 2009... The Beiderbecke Affair. 2 vols. color. 300 min. David Reynolds & Frank W. Smith, Yorkshire Prod., dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www.acernonline.com. 2009. DVD UPC 0-54961-81619-4. $39.99. F This "delightfully quirky" British mystery...