Librarian's Column debuts on Publishers Weekly.

Reprinted from GalleyCat by Maryann Yin:

Award-winning librarian Nancy Pearl (pictured) has joined Publishers Weekly. Pearl’s new library-themed column, “Check It Out,” will feature her responses to questions, comments, and observations from librarians, publishers, readers, and others.

The column will run on a monthly basis in Publishers Weekly‘s print periodicals. It will be introduced in both the May 30th print issue and online.

Pearl had this statement in the release: “[I'm] looking forward to hearing from readers across the street and around the world on book- and library-related topics large and small. In my radio work and public presentations, my favorite part is always taking questions from the audience. With my ‘Check It Out’ column there are two things you can count on: I have lots of opinions, and I will always be honest in my responses.” 

Pearl has worked in libraries in Detroit, Tulsa, and Seattle. She has won American Library Association’s Allie Beth Martin Award (2000), Washington Humanities Award (2003), and the Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award (2010). She has written several books, includingBook Lust (2003) and Book Crush (2007).

National Library Week 2011: April 10 - 16, 2011

Honor the contributions librarians and librarians make every day by celebrating with us this week.
National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use.
This year, bestselling author John Grisham serves as the Honorary Chair of National Library Week.

There's always something new going on at the Corona Public Library. This week on Sat. April 16, 2011 we have author Dan Koeppel stopping by to discuss his thoughtful take on "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that changed the World" as part of our popular Written By Author Event Series,  and a celebration of National Library Week with our own "Night at the Library". More details on the Friends' website.
Even if you're not in Corona be sure to visit your own library today! :)
"A Library is more than just books!" 

The Future of Libraries: how will e-books impact

Reprinted from npr April 4, 2011:
You can listen to the audio from  NPR's All Things Considered broadcast of this story here...

A lot of attention has been focused on the way bookstores and publishing companies are managing the e-book revolution. The role of libraries has often been overlooked. But when HarperCollins Publishing Co. recently announced a new policy that would limit the number of times its e-books can be borrowed, it sparked a larger conversation about the future of libraries in the digital age.

These days, you don't have to go anywhere near a library to check out an e-book. You can download one to your digital device in a matter of seconds. And there's no more pesky overdue notices — the e-book simply disappears from your device when your time is up.

"The fact is that with a digital item, if you give it to somebody you still have it. It doesn't have to come back," says Eli Neiburger, the director for IT and production at the Ann Arbor District library in Michigan.

E-books, says Neiburger, are really digital files, but libraries and publishers are still trying to deal with them as if they are just like print books. In other words, they're trying to do business the way they have always done business

"Part of the models we've seen so far are still trying to force 20th century business models onto digital content," Neiburger says. "And any digital native says, 'You mean I have to wait to download an e-book? What sense does that make?' And they're off to the Kindle store to spend $3.99 or $4.99 or $9.99 to get that same book."

In the current climate, libraries worry they'll become obsolete. Publishers are afraid they won't be able to make any money. That's why HarperCollins came up with a new e-book policy that says an e-book can be checked out 26 times, after which it has to be repurchased. Leslie Hulse, a senior vice president at HarperCollins, says publishers have to place some limitations on the way libraries lend e-books.
More...

Sounds like fun : NY Library launches overnight Scavenger Hunt for 500 lucky invitees

The New York Public Library, which became the first public library to launch a Foursquare badge this week, is going one step further in mobile innovation by inviting 500 people to compete in a smartphone-based challenge for a library game night.

“Find the Future: The Game,” devised by renowned game designer Jane McGonigal, is a series of “quests” delivered via an app on players’ mobile devices that can be completed at the Library’s 42nd Street location. A group of 500 players will be invited to play the game for the first time at 8 p.m. on May 20 to tackle a list of 100 overnight challenges.

The challenges are designed to encourage players to explore and reflect upon the objects from the library’s collections. A player might be tasked, for instance, to scan a QR code located at the Declaration of Independence, and then respond to a creative essay prompt. Once enough quests have been completed, they will be “unlocked” for the public, who can begin playing the game online May 21.

“There is something to be said for being in the presence of rare, historic objects,” says Caro Llewellyn, producer of the Library’s Centennial celebration. “Wikipedia and Google are fantastic, but to see objects like these in the flesh has enormous power and can truly inspire creativity.”

To sign up to become one of the first 500 participants, interested parties are asked to go to nypl.org/game to complete a “top secret” quest for entry. Judges will invite the authors of the 500 most “innovative and creative” entries to the event.

More here on how to play: http://game.nypl.org/#/menu

Self-Published Author Amanda Hocking Makes Millions From eBook Sales

Unknown, living paycheck to paycheck in Austin, Minnesota, rejected by publishers all over New York, Amanda Hocking decided to self-publish on ebook platforms only. She sold 100,000 of her works in December, and over 10 months she's more than 900,000. She's 26 and is now making enough money to quit her day job and become a full time writer, in fact she's a millionaire. She's going to be featured in Elle Magazine's April issue, all without what everyone thought was essential to make it as a writer: a big New York publishing house.

Alexandra, Egypt Library one of most beautiful libraries in world

Wow! Check out this Library in Alexandra, Egypt. Between the ancient pyramids and the Bibliotheca Alexandria, Egypt now has the best of the old and new. Like a giant discus landed at an angle or an enormous light switch, Alexandria's oceanfront library is arguably the a great design of the new millennium. Completed in 2002, it's inspired by the original Alexandria Library, founded in the 3rd century BC and acclaimed as the greatest of all classical institutions. The building's sloped design represents a second sun rising beside the Mediterranean. The vast rotunda space can hold eight  million books.

LA Times blogs on Book Stores

Yeah, just what exactly is going on with Borders?What used to be a combo coffee hangout and bookstore with tons of lounging areas encouraging browsing and a great selection in dozens of categories now seems on the decline. Stores are closing (including the store in Westwood leaving only the UCLA bookstore in the area) left and right all across the country.  It seems the large bookstore is facing the same financial difficulties encountered by many of the independent bookstores around the country as more buyers explore e-books. Still most bibliophiles agree that browsing titles online is not the same satisfying tactile experience to be found spending a few hours at leisure amongst the stacks of the local bookshop.

Thankfully the Friends of the Corona Public Library still offer up this experience. Stop by the Corona Library and visit soon the Friends' BookShop. You're sure to find that special book you never knew you always wanted and at a bargain price too!


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/bookstores/

ALA presents Newberry and Caldecott Medals, others awarded too

The American Library Association announced winners and finalists of their Youth Media awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, at a ceremony Monday . The Newbery Medal honors a distinguished work of children's literature. The Caldecott Medal acknowledges excellence in illustration. The awards are presented annually.

The Newbery Medal was awarded to Clare Vanderpool's "Moon Over Manifest," which is the story 12-year-old Abileen Tucker and her adventures upon arriving in Manifest, Kansas in 1936.

The Caldecott Medal was awarded to "A Sick Day for Amos McGee" by Philip Christian Stead and illustrated by Erin Stead. The book tells the story of zookepper Amos McGee and the animals who visit him on a day he stays home with a cold.

"Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi, also a National Book Award finalist, was awarded the Printz Award at the ceremony, a prize for young adult fiction. Bacigalupi is previously the recipient of the Nebula science fiction writing award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for his adult novel "The Windup Girl."

Also presented at the ALA ceremony were the Coretta Scott King Awards, which acknowledge an African-American author and illustrator, to Rita Williams-Garcia for "One Crazy Summer" and to Bryan Collier for his illustrations in "Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave" by Laban Carrick Hill. Also presented to an author and an illustrator, the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Awards for New Talent were given to Victoria Bond for T.R. Simon for their jointly written "Zora and Me" and for Sonia Lynn Sadler's illustration of "Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World" by Jen Cullerton Johnson.

The winner of the Pura Belpré Award, presented to Latino writers whose children's books best "portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience," was Pam Muñoz Ryan, for her book "The Dreamer," a fictional biography of Pablo Neruda.

The winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award was Tomie dePaola, author and illustrator of more than 200 books, including "26 Fairmont Avenue" (Putnam, 1999), "I Love You Sun, I Love You Moon" (Putnam, 1994) and "Strega Nona" (Simon & Schuster, 1975). The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors a U.S.-published author or illustrator whose work has made a "substantial and lasting contribution" to literature for children.

Also at the ceremony was the Schneider Family Book Awards for work that depicts or promotes understanding of disabilities. The winners, by recommended reader age, were "The Pirate of Kindergarten" by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Lynne Avril, "After Ever After" by Jordan Sonnenblick and "Five Flavors of Dumb" by Antony John.

A complete list of all award winners and finalists is available on the American Library Association Web site, ala.org.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tops best of lists for 2010

USA Today pegged Stieg Larson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series tops for 2010.
Here's a excerpt from their article by Anthony DeBarros and Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY

Millennium trilogy unbeatable

Stieg Larsson's girl with the dragon tattoo might weigh all of 92 pounds, but she made the late Swedish author the year's ultimate sales heavyweight. His Millennium trilogy —The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest— outsold every other author in 2010.

According to Larsson's publisher, Knopf, the thriller series — set in Sweden and starring computer hacker Lisbeth Salander — has sold 12.5 million print copies and 2.5 million e-books.

This year is likely to be another big one for Larsson and Lisbeth, with David Fincher's film adaptation of Dragon Tattoodue in December.

How the series did on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list:

• It had a perfect week on June 3, taking the three top spots. (The third book, Hornet's Nest, hit stores in late May.)
• For all 52 weeks, at least one Larsson novel was in the top 50.
• Tattoo held the No. 1 spot for nine weeks; Hornet's Nest for one.
• Larsson's trilogy accounted for 5% of all sales tracked.

Read the entire article here.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-01-13-topbooks201013_ST_N.htm

Mr. Z - popular Corona Library storyteller, now School Board Member

From illiterate to role model

January 05, 2011 By Carla Rivera, (Reprinted from the Los Angeles Times) 

Once, John Zickefoose couldn't read to his children or order from a menu. Today, he's a school board member and Corona library advocate.

“I don’t want any child to go through what I went through,” says John…
 (photo credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The metamorphosis is as quick as the turn of a page: John Zickefoose is a hyperactive goose, a laid-back bear, a monkey, a tiger. The children at the Corona Public Library squeal with laughter as the man whose name rhymes with Seuss becomes louder and more animated.

There was a time when reading the simple words of a picture book would have proved impossible for Zickefoose. He spent years in school overwhelmed with sadness that nothing came as easily to him as it did for others. He would become rowdy, preferring to be kicked out of class than to be called on by the teacher.

More