February 2009

  • Learn to Use Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage

    Don’t miss an upcoming opportunity to learn about one of our business and investment databases, Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage on Thursday, March 12 at the Central Library. There will be two 90-minute sessions, one from noon-1:30 and one from 6-7:30 pm. Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage is an excellent resource for company, industry, and investment information.… Continue reading

  • Magnolia’s Favorite Audiobooks

    “If I don’t like the [narrator’s] voice, I can’t listen. If I like the voice, I can listen to almost anything!”  — Magnolia Library Patron While there’s nothing like sitting down with a good book and thumbing through the pages, sometimes listening to a book read by a really talented narrator can be an even… Continue reading

  • Music at the Library in March

    In a previous post we gave you an overview of the many arts programs that take place every month at the Library. Now I would like to tell you about three exciting musical events that are coming up in March.  All these programs take place in the Central Library, Microsoft Auditorium.  Check the Library Calendar… Continue reading

  • Viewing history with a tightly focused lens

    I think I’ve spotted a trend in the History publishing world.  The days of sweeping, sprawling sagas that cover a vast canvas appear to be over.  This is the day of the mono-history (to coin a term), the history of a single invention, food, natural resource or other singular item.  The titles below are in… Continue reading

  • A New Craze in Memoir Writing

    Writing your life in six words… Is it too hard a challenge— or just the kind you like? Here’s a book with others’ examples (sequel to this timeless tiny tome): inspiring, hilarious, meditative, poignant, regretful, triumphant. Try it next time you’re free!              ~ Ann G Continue reading

  • February Question of the Month: an irregular series

    The reference librarians at Seattle Public Library are pretty darn amazing.  They don’t know everything, instead they know where to findeverything.  As part of an irregular series of posts we salute the talented and dedicated reference staff at your local library. Names and other identifying information have been removed from the questions we showcase. Got a… Continue reading

  • Job Search Resources: Career Discovery

    Need work?  Need a career change?  Need help?  The Seattle Public Library has you covered.  We’ve an entire page on our website devoted to resources for job seekers.  And because some of them are a bit intimidating we’ve prepared a series of short videos to help you get the most out of these sites.  Let… Continue reading

  • My iPod, the best present ever!

    Ah, what could be better than young love? How about young gadget love! Libraries are all about transformation and discovery, and we regularly enjoy our patrons’ enthusiasm as they discover new ways of experiencing life and culture. This account of one librarian’s thrilling honeymoon with her new iPod will bring back fond memories for some, and perhaps tempt… Continue reading

  • Publisher Crush: Hesperus Press

    Perhaps it is a side effect of being around books all day, but about as often as I find myself falling for a particular author’s style or voice, I become fascinated with a particular publisher or imprint. I’m especially fond of re-print houses that specialize in bringing back into print those lost treasures and hidden gems… Continue reading

  • Northwest Flower & Garden Show, 2009

    It’s that time of year again. Like thousands of other gardeners, I have eagerly awaited the Northwest Flower & Garden Show.  This huge annual February event at the Convention Center is always a welcome chance to experience the joys of gardening while the ground outside is still frozen.  This year’s theme is “Sustainable Spaces. Beautiful… Continue reading

  • Will Work 4 $$$$

    Back in May 2008, we posted an article on how to find a job using resources available at The Seattle Public Library. Well, that was nine months ago, and a lot has changed!  The economy has tanked. Unemployment is at the highest point since the dot com crash. Now, more than ever, the good folks… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reading: Get your recommendations from Scottish mystery author Val McDermid

    Crime fiction fans take note: Val McDermid, author of several popular series (including the Tony Hill series) will be at the Seattle Public Library this Sunday at 2 p.m. to read from—and talk about—her newest book, A Darker Domain. We’re wildly excited to host Val on one of her rare Seattle visits as she reads… Continue reading

  • Celebrating Honest Abe

    Abraham Lincoln, nicknamed “Honest Abe” was born 200 years ago today, and his impact on our nation is enduring.  We’ve heard much about him recently, as President Obama was sworn in using his Bible, and did a pre-inaugural train trip along the same route as his predecessor.  An earlier post mentioned the commonality between the… Continue reading

  • Odd Jobs: Someone’s got to do it . . .

    Ah, just another day outside of the Central Library: Beautiful maybe-sunny-maybe-rainy-probably-cloudy weather, roving gangs of Greenpeace canvassers hunting down unsuspecting pedestrians for their signature, the occasional person shouting obscenities at an imaginary friend/hands-free cell phone, and, of course, men in climbing gear rappelling down the glass on the side of the library. These climbers are,… Continue reading

  • The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, by Gail Tsukiyama

    I haven’t really thought about the lives of ordinary Japanese people during World War II  until I started to read The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama. The concepts that were deeply rooted in my mind were how the war and Japan’s soldiers brought disaster, tragedy, and despair to the Chinese people and… Continue reading

  • Maps for Your Reading Pleasure

    I was three chapters into reading Gertrude Bell, Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations, when I discovered the maps in the front of the book.  Gertrude Bell, “poet, scholar, historian, mountaineer, photographer, archaeologist, gardener, cartographer, linguist and distinguished servant of the state,” was instrumental in helping define the borders of modern day Iraq.  As I read… Continue reading

  • Toronto, Mon Amour

    I grew up in Seattle, and am used to hearing out-of-towners who visit the downtown library raving about our breathtaking city (and libraries). Well now I know how they feel. I just returned from my third visit to Toronto, where I was speaking at a library conference, and have been boring everyone silly with effusions… Continue reading

  • A shed of one’s own

    My husband and I have decided we need separate rooms. For more than a decade, we’ve shared a home “office” that hasn’t worked well for either of us. There’s no room for flat files for him, nor is there the quiet retreat I crave for writing. I look longingly at our friend John’s backyard music… Continue reading