Actually, THIS is the reason the Internet is a good thing

Especially in combination with wonderful teachers who are willing to be subjected to such pranks. Kudos to Mr. Rayburn and Ms. Kovacs!



Or how about this version?



Thanks to my American Libraries Direct subscription for tipping me off to Jib Jab, Starring YOU!

Like to move while you read?

First there was the bibliochaise. Then there was the bookshelf CAVE. But if you find that you can't sit still while you read, now there's the Bookinist.



Gotta love the lamp and the secret compartment for bookmarks and such.

Thanks to Jessamyn for the tip. I've been saving it since the summer.

Your full service library

It's the annual march of the calculators. Our engraver (aka, the headache-inducing-dentist-drill-sounding-torture-device) is getting a workout as students make permanent claim to their shiny new calculators. Nothing like a little loud drilling (in the library, no less) to induce that feeling of permanence.

Another reason to appreciate the Internet

It so nice to have students back in the library!

Welcome back!

I think it's fitting to start the school year with an entry about a novel with serious academic credentials. Not just plain old academic credentials, but serious math credentials. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (the Printz Award-winning author of Looking for Alaska), tells the story of prodigy Colin Singleton, who has been dumped nineteen times by girls named Katherine. So after Katherine XIX is through with him, he sets out to describe the phenomenon in mathematical terms. The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability is based on Colin's belief that "the world contains precisely two kinds of people: Dumpers and Dumpees. Everyone is predisposed to being either one or the other, but of course not all people are COMPLETE Dumpers or Dumpees. Hence the bell curve." And a single formula that predicts the rise and fall of romances. He finally works it out by page 186. Here's what it looks like:



Colin does a lot of other things in the book too (like go on a road trip with his friend Hassan, anagram the names of practically everyone he meets, and Find Meaning near the gravesite of a famous Archduke).

The library's first baby!

Zoe made her debut at 1:37 a.m. Saturday morning. With mama Jenny a short time later:



And at 36 hours old:



Think she'll be ready for the start of school on Wednesday?

The jury is still out on jury duty

I just finished my summer with a week of jury duty, which involved lots of sitting around, and one really difficult trial experience in the middle. The jury holding tank was thick with teachers and professors who had put off duty until their "free" summer months. During the sitting around time, I caught up on six months worth of Booklist review-reading and probably spent half my budget for the year. So that was good. I observed the intense-yet-tedious jury selection for a civil trial involving injuries in a car accident that took place a couple of blocks from my house. My number was never called for that one. But I made up for it by being selected for a criminal trial that hit the papers when it was all over, a day and a half later.

Let me tell you, the experience both resembles and does not resemble a Law and Order episode. On the resemble side: the opening and closing speeches, the objections (sustained or overruled), the inadmissibility of certain evidence, the ritualistic nature of the proceedings. But on the not-resemble side: the factual evidence which, at least as we heard it, was far from clear. Where were those sharp L&O detectives who dig up the hidden physical evidence and witnesses? I was desperate for the the Perry Mason moment in which someone collapses under Mr. Mason's scrutiny and confesses all.

Here are some of the things I learned on jury duty:
- Bring plenty to read.
- Citizen juries are pretty cool. People seem to take the responsibility quite seriously. I didn't see anyone try to slide out of serving on a trial. Even though I was "foreperson" on mine, I didn't feel stuck. Everyone was fabulous during our four long hours of deliberation and did everything they could to serve the process well. I'd have those folks judge me any day.
- Don't be poor if you are going to court. Civil trial = sharp, experienced, private attorneys. Criminal trial with a public defender = attorneys (on both sides of the aisle) who may also be sharp, but whose average age is 12. Call me ageist, but... Well, just call me ageist.
- Did I mention bring something to read?

I'm thinking maybe I'm ready to go back to school and be with the real 12-year-olds.