Springfield Library Corner
April 24, 2003

ELEANOR'S CHOICE: FUN AND USEFUL WEBSITES FOR THIS WEEK

Alexander Hamilton on the Web at http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/hamilton/

Berenstain Bears at http://pbskids.org/berenstainbears/

Frost Date Selector at http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/

National Park Service at http://www.nps.gov/

Single Parent Travel at http://www.singleparenttravel.net/

Window to My Environment at http://www.epa.gov/enviro/wme/

JOY'S PICKS

Did you ever considering planting a garden in the woods? Author Rick Darke explores this idea in “The American Woodland Garden.” Learn how to conserve nature by combining gardening with forestry to get dramatic results. Gorgeous color photographs and personal insights from the author reveal unlimited botanical possibilities. [Editor's note: Mr. Darke will be lecturing at the Free Library of Philadelphia Chestnut Hill Branch on April 30]

“Glimpses of Paradise” is naturalist Fred Bruemmer’s photographic compilation of massed animals. This is the product of a ten year study of creatures existing in immense numbers all over the world. It’s no surprise that these concentrations of animals appear where humans are scarce. The pictures are amazing!

“The Final Confession of Mabel Stark” by Robert Hough is a fictional biography of the life of the greatest female tiger trainer in history. Mabel became famous in the early 1900’s when the circus was the most popular form of entertainment in North America. She is a fascinating heroine who captivated audiences with her brave undaunted spirit.
Did you know that your toothbrush is dirtier than your toilet seat? Nicholas Bakalar tells it like it is in “Where the Germs Are.” This is scientific but humorous information about the microbes that we come in contact with every day. They’re unavoidable and not all bad, so you might as well educate yourself on how to live with them.

Malachy Doyle’s “Storm Cats” is an adorable children’s book about neighbors who meet in a very unusual way. The ending is a happy one and is sure to elicit smiles from old and young alike. Beautiful watercolor illustrations add to this book’s charm.

NAT'S "YOU SAW IT HERE AT SPRINGFIELD FIRST"

Federal and local investigators have sought patron records from 550 libraries in the past year and more than a third of these, to protect the confidentiality and rights of their patrons, have resisted these requests according to a survey reported in the April 10, 2003 Washington Post.

Has the Free Library of Springfield Township Library been asked or given information to government authorities about what books you’ve borrowed? Under the USA Patriot Act of 2001, an acronym for the “ Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act of 2001, passed by Congress in the wake of September 11th, the library would not even be allowed to tell you if such a request has been made.

For these and other reasons, the American Library Association and many libraries across the nation believe the Act presents a clear and present danger to your constitutional rights and privacy. The Springfield Library does not keep a reading list of what books you’ve borrowed and respects your confidentiality under the code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

And, as always, the Library acquires books of merit which you not only have every right to borrow and read, but which the Library hopes you will borrow and read, again and again if you so wish!

In that spirit, Nat invites you to climb Mt. Popocateptl in “Back on the Road (Otra Vez): A Journey Through Latin America” with Ernesto “Che” Guevara, learn how to dispute the IRS before a Federal Judge in “Going Into Tax Court” by Holmes F. Crouch, or experience “Graphic accounts of military exploits by the world’s special forces” in “The Mammoth Book of Elite Forces,” all new additions to the Springfield Library collection.

LIBRARIAN'S PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Close to Home” by Peter Robinson. Alan Banks, now a Detective Chief Inspector in Yorkshire, is a conflicted man, divorced, not always in tune with his adult children, but devoted to his job and always eager to get to the truth, no matter how painful.

Banks was created twelve books ago, and following his life has always been interesting. He moved from a high-crime job to Yorkshire to get away from the stresses of the job, only to find himself involved in some of the most personal of crimes. Here, Banks is unsettled by the discovery of the bones of his best friend, missing for some thirty-five years, and the skeletons in Banks’ closet are exhumed as well. Banks is on the edge already, and the investigation takes an emotional toll. Superior reading.

Also new and recommended: “Damned Good Show” by Derek Robinson; “Waiting for April” by Scott Morris; “Shutter Island” by Dennis Lehane; “Substantial Threat” by Nick Oldham; “Money for Nothing” by Donald E. Westlake; “Lost in A Good Book” by Jasper Fforde; “Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman’ by Elizabeth Buchan; “Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons” by Lorna Landvik; “Bet Your Life” by David Lindsey; “The Three Miss Margarets” by Louise Shaffer; “Amendment of Life” by Catherine Aird; and “The White Road” by John Connolly.

New in nonfiction: “The Killer Strain” by Marilyn Thompson; “The Retirement Savings Time Bomb” by Ed Slott; “A Quiet Walk in Central Park” by Fredric Winkowski; “Spies Beneath Berlin” by David Stafford; “Dreamweaver 4” by Heather Williamson; “The Little Book of Healthy teas” by Erika Dillman; “The Barbary Plague” by Marilyn Chase; “Greenwich Village” by Judith Stonehill; “The Biotech Investor” by Tom Abate; “Krazy & Ignatz” by George Herriman; “How the Cows Turned Mad” by Maxine Schwartz” and “The Chrysler Building” by David Stravitz.