Out of Print but Not Out of Reach

by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt   Rowan Public Library

                In conversation with a patron the other day, I was reminded that one of our great local authors, Christian Reid's materials are not readily available to read.  While we have most of her works in the History Room, primarily for preservation reasons, these books are not available for check-out.  If you want to read them, you have to make a few trips the History Room and read them here.  Is there another way to obtain older books that may be out of print and no longer available in your library?  Indeed there are a few ways that the Rowan Public Library (RPL) can assist you in finding books that may not reside on the shelves at the library.

                RPL tries to provide popular fiction and non-fiction books for the patrons of Rowan County.  Once a book has gone through its peak readership, it may not circulate much and eventually its place on the shelves at the library is taken by newer more "up-to-date" books.  However some readers just discovering an author may want to read each and every book.  Take for instance, Jane Austen, who has enjoyed waves of popularity.  One can readily find her books "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma" on the library shelves, however "Lady Susan" is a bit more difficult.   A patron can request this book via an Interlibrary Loan service.  RPL requests this book from another library system, say Davidson College or Durham County Public Library and one of these libraries may loan the book to RPL and its patron for a month.  

                If, however this book is not available through an interlibrary loan, it is possible that it can be found in an electronic format and downloaded.  There are two particular websites that provide many books in a digital format both for preservation and access - Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive.        

                Project Gutenberg began in 1971; currently they have over 50,000 items and add about fifty new e-books each week.  Although most items are in English and are predominantly literature from Western cultural traditions, they have added cookbooks, reference materials, some music notation and audio files and include works in French, German, Finnish, Dutch, Italian and Portuguese.  The materials can be downloaded in a variety of formats.  For instance, I found "Lady Susan" in the Gutenberg collection and downloaded on an ipad using a Kindle app.   

                Internet Archive has been invaluable in the History Room for out-of-print or not readily available non-fiction works that have aided folks in genealogical research.  Internet Archive digitizes volumes itself, but also has partners, including colleges, universities and other repositories all over the world that provide items.   Started in 1996 as the "Way Back Machine" archiving web pages, Internet Archive now includes  texts, audio, moving images, and software.  They also provide specialized services for adaptive reading and information access for the blind and other persons with disabilities.  Some of the old Salisbury city directories are on the site.  Internet Archive also provides a free digital library for ebooks.  Anyone can sign up for "Open Library" and check out ebooks including almost all of Christian Reid's out-of-print books.    Check these websites www.openlibrary.org, www.gutenberg.org & www.archive.org. for treasures of the past.

Olympic Summer at the Library

by Hope Loman  Rowan Public Library

If you have watched any of the commercial breaks on NBC or read the sports section of a newspaper recently, then you probably know that the 2016 Summer Olympics are set to open in Rio de Janeiro this August.  There, over 10,000 athletes from 207 countries are expected to participate in a combined total of 306 events from 28 different sports.  Perhaps you’re curious to see how some of the storylines the media is already hyping will play out: if swimmer Michael Phelps will win his 20^th Olympic medal; if gymnast Gabby Douglas will win back-to-back gold; or how far the USA men’s basketball team will go now that various NBA all-stars will not be attending the games. Whether you’re counting down the days until Opening Ceremonies or consider yourself more of a Winter Olympics person, there is still something you can get excited about in the weeks leading up to this big event: exercising your mind (and maybe your body too!) at the Rowan Public Library.

The summer reading programs at the Rowan Public Library this year all have a sports theme, with weekly events that often have a distinctive Olympic Games influence: “On Your Mark, Get Set…Read!” is for kids ages 1 through 5^th grade, “Get in the Game…Read!” for teenagers going into the sixth through the twelfth grade, and “Exercise Your Mind…Read!” is for adults ages 18+.  Weekly programs are free and open to everyone in the community, and include a wide range of activities--from hands-on crafts and trivia games to interactive story times and sessions on learning stress relief techniques. Be sure to check out the days and times of the programs that appeal to you, as they will vary by library branch.  On Tuesday nights at HQ and Wednesday afternoons at South we will also be hosting a variety of sports-themed movies, including the true story about the Jamaican bobsled team that raced in the 1988 Winter Olympics, Cool Runnings.    

I would be remiss if I failed to mention all of the materials we have available to check out at the library that are Olympics- and sports-related. For juvenile readers, there is the Olympic Sports series, which covers a range of games from combat sports to cycling, as well as how-to guides for beginners trying to learn a new game or hone their skills. YA fiction readers might want to try out titles written by John Feinstein or Mike Lupica, and teens that gravitate more towards non-fiction can learn about the science behind sports or about potential careers in the sports industry. Adult readers might be inspired from reading biographies of Olympic athletes like runner Jesse Owens or may wish to read various social commentaries about our sports-centered culture. There is even more to discover, so be sure to explore all of your options--and don’t forget to record all of the time you spend reading over the course of the summer for a chance to win raffle prizes at the end.

So what are you waiting for? Head on down to the library today and check out all that we have to offer you—mentally and physically!--this summer.

Library Notes by Melissa Oleen

bu Melissa Oleen Rowan Public Library               

               Everyone has very specific genres they love.  Lately, I have been enamored of historical mysteries, pre-1500 with a nun/monk as the sleuth.  Good writers in this genre treat the reader to interesting historical facts, insights into the lifestyles of early religieuse and puzzling mysteries in which the reader is given everything they need to know to solve the crime on their own.  In a period where the common person had few of the luxuries we enjoy today, why would anyone wish to commit to a lifestyle where unless you were one of the top ranking members, you would experience even fewer?  Obviously religious beliefs are the prime reason but social and political intrigues often played a part as well – and these reasons combined with differing religious philosophies can lead to some good mysteries.  Add close living quarters, limited freedoms, lots of sin and you’ve got plenty of criminal motivations.

                You may already be thinking of The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.  Set in an Italian Abby in 1327, Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate allegations of heresy and then murder.  Besides an excellent whodunit, the reader receives an education in Middle Ages religion and the histories of various sects. A reviewer once wrote that reading a novel by Eco instantly raises your IQ by a couple of points.  If Name of the Rose seems a little much for summer leisure reading, try the Sister Fidelma and Brother Cadfael mystery series.

                Sister Fidelma is a young “brilliant and beguiling” heroine-sleuth with green eyes and red hair who lives in 7^th century Ireland.  British author and Celtic scholar Peter Tremayne inserts plenty of historical information about the Roman church and how it was overcoming the Celtic church.  Readers get an idea what life was like in Celtic Ireland.  There were still mixed sex monasteries, monks and nuns were allowed to marry and women could become lawyers and judges.  Sister Fidelma, a practical, no-nonsense woman and wise beyond her years, is also a qualified dalaigh, an advocate of the ancient laws of Ireland.  She is often joined on her adventures by her friend and ideological opposite, Anglo Saxon Brother Eadulf.  Absolution by Murder is the first title in this series that now includes over 25 novels and short stories.  Penance of the Damned will come out this July so you have plenty of time to catch up.

                Author Ellis Peters (pseudonym of Edith Pargeter) set her historically accurate mysteries in the first half of the  12^thcentury.  Her wily Brother Cadfael, was a soldier who fought in the crusades and then sea captain on the coasts of the Holy Land before taking orders at the Benedictine abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul near the Welsh boarder in Shrewsbury.  Brother Cadfael, a little less reserved than Sister Fidelma, is a “squat, barrel-chested, bandy-legged veteran of 57” with a healthy sense of mischief.  Morbid Taste for Bones is the first title in this 20 title series.

Already familiar with the series covered here but would like to discover more clerical detectives?  I recommend you visit www.detecs.org for a very comprehensive list of clerical detectives.