New Librarian in the House at Florence

Hello Everyone,
I'm the new librarian here at the Florence location and I'm thrilled to be here!!
I come to you from the main library at the University of Cincinnati where I was a Student Supervisor in the Reference and Instructional Services Department.
I spent many hours a week at the reference desk where I was given the opportunity to help students with all sorts of problems, including how to use microsoft applications, citing sources, researching topics, and finding articles. I love to help students with all types of library, research, or writing problems.
So come on by and lets work it out together!
-Zarleen Watts

The Lost Art of the Short Story?

In theory, the short story seems like the perfect way for a person to read without making a big commitment. So why aren’t short stories more popular? It seems that hearing the phrase “short story” is an immediate turn-off to students who are browsing for reading materials. It may be that this is just the result of residual trauma from an unhappy high school English class. Or maybe you haven’t had the opportunity to read many short stories in the past. Whatever the case may be, short stories are an easy way to read even if you don’t think you have the time.

Regardless of the reason for this fear of the short story, Southwestern College owns some great collections. If you aren’t sure that this genre is for you, maybe one of these books can help to change your mind:
Freedom in this Village
Me Talk Pretty One Day
The Things They Carried
Flash Fiction
Points of View
The Thing Around Your Neck
25 and Under
Black-Eyed Susans

If you have questions or would like to check out one of these books, talk to your Librarian!

‘Forever…’ By Judy Blume

If my daughter were just a few years older she would be reading this book right now. As it is, we’ll have to wait a few more years. Forever… is a story about teenage relationships and adolescent sexuality. The main character, Kath, meets Michael at a party and they begin dating. As their relationship progresses they naturally become physically intimate as well. This book is an entertaining and honest story that can be easily enjoyed by many, not just the target audience.

There are many books that criminalize teenage sexuality; Judy Blume is accepting. Some authors would have punished the sexually active protagonist with pregnancy, illness or parental wrath, but this is not the case with Blume’s classic. Written in 1975, Forever… gives a teen perspective on many sexual issues that are important to adolescents: virginity, contraception, peer pressure, abortion, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Teens (and others) who read this book will understand that Kath is an average teen who is learning about herself and her body in a healthy way. Even though they seek to protect her, her parents don’t make her ashamed of her sexuality, which is another refreshing departure from the norm. So even though nothing lasts forever (especially teen love), this book’s relevancy is likely to last for a very long time.

‘Living Dead in Dallas’ By Charlaine Harris

As many True Blood fans may (or may not) know, Living Dead in Dallas is the second volume in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. In this book Sookie’s relationship with Bill continues and the two of them are ordered to go to Dallas to investigate the disappearance of a vampire in that city. Sookie’s job is to use her telepathic ability to try to discover who was involved in the vampire’s disappearance.

The series grows increasingly strange as more and more supernatural elements are introduced: more telepaths and shape-shifters, adding werewolves and maenads. But to be perfectly honest, I think that the television show probably becomes much more far-fetched than the book. This is the draw of the Sookie Stackhouse franchise; the campy fantasy is addicting. Wouldn’t we be disappointed if it weren’t a little ridiculous?

‘Red Families v. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture’ By Naomi Cahn & June Carbone

In Red Families v. Blue Families Cahn and Carbone discuss ways in which political and ideological alignment affect and reflect a person’s views on family and family formation. Interestingly, the authors point out the fact that blue families, or liberal families, are more likely to be structured in the traditional family style, with both parents in the home. Red families, or more conservative families, are more likely to result from unplanned pregnancies and eventually lead to divorce. This seems counterintuitive because liberal individuals are usually more likely to support non-traditional family styles while conservatives are more concerned with a specific type of family structure. Several factors are discussed as contributing to this phenomenon, including birth control, sex education, abortion and gay marriage.

The book ends with several suggestions from the authors for reevaluating marriage and lowering the rate of unplanned pregnancies, especially to young mothers. Though the authors are for the most part very sensitive to both groups, their ideas for reform all seem to be more likely to appeal to blue families, families that don’t need to be convinced. Suggestions including reevaluating our definition of marriage, expanding contraception availability to both adults and minors and teaching sex education in a more comprehensive way are all things that are unlikely to appeal to conservative groups, despite the fact that these suggestions are aimed at achieving a goal that is important to them: promoting stable, two-parent households.

'Dead Until Dark' by Charlaine Harris

I am probably one of the last people on Earth to partake in the True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse phenomenon. It seems like everyone I know has either watched the show or read the books; until a couple weeks ago, I had done neither. In this situation the summary of the book seems a little unnecessary, but I’ll include a brief explanation anyway. Sookie Stackhouse is a mind-reading cocktail waitress in Louisiana. Vampires have come out of hiding and are somewhat commonplace; they are able to drink synthetic rather than human blood to survive. Sookie is very excited when a vampire shows up in her hometown. I’ve only seen one episode of the True Blood television program, but I understand that the first book corresponds pretty accurately to the first season of the show.

I sort of knew that I should be expecting the book to be completely ridiculous, but I didn’t really realize the extent of it. The writing and narration are just cheesy enough for me to really latch onto it, and Sookie is unbelievable enough to be a fun main character.

Should we be creeped out that Bill keeps referring to Sookie as being “his” human? Probably, but Sookie seems a little irritated by it too, which is nice. Their whole relationship is pretty spontaneous, but maybe that’s the point. I think that if you’re looking for depth in character relationships when you read then Sookie Stackhouse probably isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for an outrageous, sex-filled vampire drama, then Dead Until Dark is perfect.

Methland: After all, it was you and me

When I lived in Iowa City in the ‘80s, I’d sometimes go on drives (“drives” were normal things then) through the quaint town of Oelwein. I’d be thinking--blah-blah--about the the wholesome residents' wholesome lives in these fertile oases. Then Nick Reding's Methland (HV4831 .I8 R43 2009) pointed out a few of my illusions.
Even back when Oelwein had $18/hour slaughterhouse jobs, meth was popular because it gave workers the energy to do those double shifts. Then in 1992, Gillette busted the unions and brought pay down to about $6.20 an hour. The replacement of smallish farms by large conglomerates was also a problem. Some of the people of Oelwein turned to meth cooking: for their own use out of despair or to sell because it paid a lot more than $6.20 an hour.

During World War II, the American, British, and German armies gave soldiers meth to keep them energized in battle. Meth is different from some other drugs in that at least initially it encourages the "work ethic." Its awfulness is well known, however: just visit sites like Faces of Meth. Methland is clear on the drug's negatives, following the four-year struggle of a recovering addict named Major who at the end of the book still hauntingly misses his former life's pleasures.

Good police work put many local Oelwein meth cooks (like Lori Arnold, sister of actor Tom Arnold) out of business, but the economy didn’t get better. Gillette and subsequent stockyard owners recruited Mexican workers for Iowa jobs, and meth-cooking is now dominated by Mexican importers and cooks.

Oelwein is fighting back, but it’s difficult. If you’ve never been able to empathize with an addict or a small-time meth cook/dealer before, you probably will after reading Reding’s sobering and enlightening Methland, which I completely recommend.

'Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism's Work is Done' by Susan Douglas

Susan Douglas totally amazes me; in Enlightened Sexism she covers just about every problem that confronts women in the media and negatively affects female body image. The variety of media that she covers spans most of popular consumption; music videos, reality television, prime-time dramas, newscasts and more. In each case, Douglas shows the reader how females are given increasing amounts of exposure and seem to have responsibility and respect that doesn’t exist in real life.

One of the best things about this book (there are several best things going on here) is the fact that Douglas manages to be humorous about so tragic a topic as female degradation. The sarcastic tone and well-timed personal commentary help to make the book as entertaining as it is educating. After reading Douglas’ book, I feel much more inclined to speak out in favor of childcare reform and against female objectification in the media. In short, Susan Douglas is a genius and Enlightened Sexism is an inspiration.

‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’ by Phillip Pullman

This book is Pullman’s re-imagination of the story of Jesus’ birth. Rather than a single child, Mary gave birth to twins. There are still mysterious events that take place in this retelling, but not events that are as miraculous as those from the bible. And the reader is certainly not given any reason to believe that either brother is of divine parentage. Jesus seems to do unpredictable things, but has consistently good intentions; he attracts followers and inspires people with his faith. Christ tracks his brother and records his movements and actions for a mysterious third party. He frequently bends the truth in his records to make things seem more miraculous than they actually were.

I’m especially inclined to like anything written by Phillip Pullman, as I enjoyed the His Dark Materials trilogy so much. This was another interesting book, but it represents a departure from the material that Pullman’s readers are familiar with. It is written in shorter bible-like chapters. There are short stories/episodes that represent events of importance. I suspect that this book would be more fun for a person who is more familiar with the bible than I am. I recognize many bible stories that have been altered to fit Pullman’s version of the story, but I’m certainly no expert.

In defense of the brother Christ, he makes some bad decisions, but isn’t the scoundrel that the title lead me to expect. Really, he just seemed like a sad man.

'What is the What: The autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng' by Dave Eggers

Like “How many licks does it take to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop?”, the world may also never know the answer to the question “What is the what?” The question refers to a Sudanese religious fable that is told by the father of Valentino Achak Deng, the subject of What is the what. In the fable, the Dinka (indigenous people of southern Sudan) are given a choice by God to receive either cattle or the what as a gift. Not knowing what the what is, the Dinka choose the cattle, and this pleases god, because it shows that they are able to be content with the known rather than desiring the unknown.

The source of the title, though it is brought up numerous times in the book, isn’t really the central action of the book. Valentino Achak Deng is one of the Sudanese Lost Boys who escaped Sudan and was eventually able to move to the United States. There are two story lines in the book: the present day, Valentino is being robbed in his home in Georgia, and a flashback to his boyhood experiences. There are parts of the book that made me cry and terrified me, but there were also points that made me laugh out loud. But I suppose that is one of the makings of a really good tragedy – the inclusion of a little laughter. Maybe that is the what.

The book is described as an autobiography, but Dave Eggers did write the story and used a bit of creative license as I understand it. I don’t suppose there is a way to tell a story like this without having it be heartbreaking and horrifying; I can’t imagine how one person could have suffered as much as Valentino. But the book manages to be optimistic and hopeful, despite all that life has done to him, Valentino manages to be admirable and resilient.

‘The Bridge of San Luis Rey’ by Thornton Wilder

I always enjoy unusually formatted books and movies. Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey is the story of a Peruvian bridge that collapses, killing the five people who are crossing at the time. Brother Juniper, a local friar, takes it upon himself to investigate the lives of the five people who perish. If he can discover the secrets of their lives, he can understand the reason that they were chosen by god to die. The book is broken up into sections that tell the stories of the people who die, with Brother Juniper’s story acting as an introduction and conclusion; the reader learns that the lives were connected by more than just the bridge collapse.

Obviously, Brother Juniper’s mission is problematic for a number of reasons. One of the fundamental aspects of most well-known religions is that the great majority of people aren’t supposed to know the motives of whatever supreme leader the religion happens to worship. Of course, people try to understand their god’s motives anyway, which leads to another problem: you can rationalize anything if you try hard enough. However dubious Brother Juniper’s investigation and results may be, it is interesting to try to look at these lives through his point of view; trying to understand why a particular person would have been selected to die.

The premise of the book reminds me very much of the evangelical religious figures who try to justify natural disasters by referencing the so-called sins of the affected area. From lesbianism to voodoo, every area that is struck by tragedy is sure to have at least one shortcoming. If people keep looking hard enough, they may be able to justify all death, and the result may end up being the same as Brother Juniper’s.

'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls' by Steve Hockensmith

The first Pride and Prejudice and Zombies book had the advantage of being able to use Jane Austen’s own language and storyline – just add zombies. The prequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, does not enjoy this same advantage. The author, Steve Hockensmith, created the story using many of Austen’s characters, without Austen’s famous wit to animate them. Oh well.

That said, those who enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will probably enjoy Dawn of the Dreadfuls. The book is fun and zombie-filled; including more of those sexual references and innuendos that would surely make Austen blush (or worse). In my humble opinion, it wasn’t quite as good as the first, but really, people who read these books aren’t really looking for good writing. Or at least, hopefully they are not.

The Girl who Played with Fire By Stieg Larsson

Of course, I wouldn’t have read The Girl Who Played With Fire without first reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I can happily report that I have enjoyed The Girl Who Played with Fire as much or more than the first installment in the series. The original book featured recent crimes and not-so recent crimes, and we certainly get more of the same in this book.

One of my favorite things about the first book is that it was an investigation into a mysterious crime from many years ago. My favorite thing about this book is that Investigators Blomvkist and Salander are more personally involved in the investigation that takes place. Though Blomvkist is technically working on articles for his news magazine Millenium, he contributes the amount of energy that he does because of his personal involvement. Larsson successfully creates suspense right to the last page.

I suspect that people who enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon tattoo will enjoy this book as well; there is much to be said for reading the first book before starting this one. As with any series, there is catch up information for those who didn’t read the book, or who haven’t read it recently, but Larsson builds on many relationships that were established in the first book. In my opinion, this would be quite confusing if you haven’t read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Normally, I don’t read many suspense/thriller novels, even though I typically enjoy them. The fact that this series is a bit of a sensation has attracted me though. I recommend the book, and I’m looking forward to The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

When I initially read an NPR review about this book, I was immediately interested. Not only is Gawande attempting to present solutions to preventable failures in the medical professions, but in other business environments as well. The Checklist Manifesto is Gawande’s non-fiction account of how to construct and implement checklists in meaningful ways. His particular area of interest is that of safe surgery, but he also offers examples in construction, aviation and investments, to name a few.

The style of this book is very anecdotal. He immediately grabs the reader’s attention by sharing a couple gory surgery horror stories about failures to address key steps or pieces of information in operations. He continues this pattern throughout the book, each section tells a story about how he learned about checklists in a variety of settings and how each checklist is effective or not. His journey is that of a surgeon who is researching checklists for the WHO; he tells us how he came up with the idea, how his checklists were constructed (and re-constructed), and how checklists have measurably changed surgical practices in several of the world’s hospitals.

As an aside, I can barely fathom how Gawande manages to write books in between all of his other jobs. He is a surgeon, a director for patient safety with the WHO (World Health Organization), Harvard professor and father. Any one of these tasks seems like it could be all-consuming. He must be very organized – I suppose he uses checklists to keep track of it all.

Side note: This is not Gawande’s first book. Check out Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science (RD 27.35 .G39 A3 2002 )

36 Arguments for the Existence of God By Rebecca Goldstein

The title of this book is misleading for a couple reasons. First, it is not a list of 36 arguments for the existence of god (although this information is in the appendix). Second, the title makes it sound like the author is making a case for god’s existence. Even if you take the novel format into account, this is not the case (The appendix that includes arguments for god’s existence only includes the arguments so they can be refuted). When I initially discussed this with a friend, I was chastised for not calling the book 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction (I kind of think it is a pain to include this subtitle in conversation), but it does help one know what to expect.

The book takes place during a couple weeks of Cass Seltzer’s career; he is a university professor of the psychology of religion and an author who has recently written a book about atheism. The book is not a list of 36 arguments for the existence of god, but he did include an appendix in his book (I believe that Goldstein’s appendix is meant to be Seltzer’s appendix). Even though the book spans a short amount of time, approximately half of the chapters are flashbacks, so the reader really gets to know Cass from the time he was in his 20’s. Several periods of Cass’s life are explained, his relationship with his eccentric mentor, his background as an Orthodox Jew, a failed marriage and a happy new relationship.

Although this is a book about one man’s explorations in religion and life, we can easily put Cass Seltzer’s atheism in perspective. Can’t we be good without the expectation of an eternal reward? Can’t we love our fellow humans without feeling that we are obligated by our religion? In my opinion, the book is less about the faiths that people embrace and more about the ways that they share their faiths and lives with others.

Poll Everywhere - mostly free surveys!

I originally saw the program Poll Everywhere on a different blog that discussed technology in school libraries, so I can’t take all of the credit. But it seems like such a fun idea to engage students in classroom discussion. Almost all of Southwestern’s students carry cell phones to class, right? So why not use a poll to ask students questions about projects, social issues or classroom topics? Students can respond by using their cell phones to text their vote or by voting online. When you include the polls in presentations or websites, the results will update in real time.

Of course, this program is only free to an extent. If you only want to poll 30 or fewer people, the program is free, but if your audience is larger, there is a monthly subscription cost. For most class sizes, a free subscription would probably be all that was needed.

This seems like it would also be a great way to get feedback and opinions from people in class who may not be as outspoken as others. Or in classes that talk about current events, students may feel concerned about voicing unpopular opinions. For example, some students may feel more comfortable expressing their opinions about controversial topics (abortion, international politics) anonymously.

And classrooms are certainly not the only place where this tool could be used – I’m thinking of creating a poll on library usage!

Create Great Puzzles

For the past few months, I’ve been including word search puzzles in the student newspaper, The Southwestern Eagle. Just one of the many reasons that I have for doing this is the fact that they are so easy to make! The site http://www.blogger.com/www.puzzle-maker.com/ makes it easy for me to supply a list of words and generate a puzzle that includes them all.

Now, as far as using word search puzzles for actual school assignments, I don’t really see the point. But the site also creates crossword puzzles that could be lots of fun. For example, instructors may want to compile lists of review questions (which most probably do already) then have this program make a crossword puzzle. Each clue could be a review question and the answers would be the puzzle solutions. This is just one idea that I happened to think of, I'm sure there are many other ways that teachers could very easily incorporate this into their curriculum.

This may not do anything to actually improve the work, but it may help make it more fun!

Zamzar

Zamzar will convert your files from one format to another. For example, if you do you do your typing at home in Microsoft Works or Open Office, Zamzar will magically transform your papers into Office 2003 or Office 2007 documents that you can edit and print out at school. Zamzar also works with many music and video files and will also turn Word documents into PowerPoints, Microsoft Publisher documents, and even HTML.

The downside is that the process isn't necessarily instantaneous: you have to upload your document into Zamzar and then wait for the program to email you the converted document.

If you need a document converted right away, come ask for help in the library. We'll probably be able to help you find a computer that has the Office compatibility pack loaded on it, or we'll be able to find some other way of facilitating the conversion process.

Review: Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies

I was really excited to read the book Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies. And not just because of an attractive cover or prominent display. I saw a recommendation on NPR - other NPR recommendations have been very enjoyable. I have lived in Ohio my entire life and this memoir is set in Oberlin, Ohio; I try to seek out literature from or about Ohio. It is also a non-fiction book by a female author. I sort of knew what the book was about, and was expecting an uplifting story about a strong woman.

Here’s the gist of the book: Isabel Gillies and her husband have a very dramatic relationship. They get married and have two kids. Gillies moves from New England to Ohio with her husband who is a poetry professor. After a while, he meets and falls in love with one of the other professors at Oberlin. They separate. Don’t worry, I haven’t just given away the entire book, this is all mentioned at the beginning.

It sounds like I’m leaving out a lot, but I’m really not. When I got to page 17 of this 250+ page book, I set the book down and said to myself “How on earth will she manage to stretch this into a book length memoir?” The author must have wondered what type of information she ought to use as filler too. She seems to have settled on descriptions of designer apparel and home décor items, but she also includes repetitive memories of her privileged upbringing and expressions of amazement at the fact that Ohio is actually livable rather than being a barren wasteland.

I don’t know whether I could briefly sum up the aspects of this book that bothered me. The voice of the novel just really began to irritate me. She struck me as being a frantic, needy, hypersensitive woman who defined herself solely based on appearances and her husband’s status. But it may just be that I don’t relate well to woman and I’m not really the right audience for the book.

For a more enjoyable book about a philandering professor at a small Liberal Arts college, try Zadie Smith’s On Beauty. It isn’t non-fiction, but I found it much more interesting than Happens Every Day.

Picture Perfect Projects with Fotoflexor.com

I used to bemoan the fact that I do not have fancy image editing software on my personal computer, even though I could never justify such a thing. I’ve always made do with the basic image software on my computer when an editing need arose. Until I actually started using Fotoflexor.com (for free!), I didn’t realize how much I was missing.

To give you an idea of some of the things that Fotoflexor can be used for, I’m including a few pictures, an original and two that have been altered. As you can see, drastic changes have been made without sacrificing image quality. Usually, inexpesive image editors leave pictures looking grainy (in my opinion), but this is not the case here.

An example of something more practical that was achieved using Fotoflexor – the map featured on our Library Catalog page. I cut out and outlined the circle shape on an Ohio map, added star stickers to the map to identify Southwestern locations and converted the map to .png so the white areas would be transparent.

Some of the tasks that I frequently use Fotoflexor to accomplish:
Resizing images
Converting images from .jpg to .png (opaque to transparent)
Creating nice looking collages (this is easy to do in Paint as well, but the results are better with Fotoflexor)
Cutting out shapes and backgrounds


Although I use these features less frequently, Fotoflexor also allows you to:
Change shading/coloring of pictures
Add stickers, drawing and shapes
Retouch and Distort
And do many other useful things.

I’m sure I’ve really only begun to discover the possible uses for this free online system; there are so many potential uses that I’ve never had reason to investigate. But I imagine that there are many neat ways that altered images could be used in presentations and projects – rather than just copying an image directly from a search engine.