TrotskyProletariatLibrary

Loud in Libraries

2007-04-18T10:38:00.000+12:00

The Get it Loud in Libraries scheme

"Last year 290 million visits were made to Britain's 3,500 libraries. Where once it was simply to take out a book, now it is to read the newspapers, browse the internet, borrow CDs - or listen to live music. Get It Loud is a great example of the way libraries are diversifying, says Culture Minister David Lammy. 'We know that teenage boys are one of the hardest groups to get into libraries, and with libraries like this one drawing them in, it's exciting.'

What's next? Parsons wants to start a library-based festival in the North-West, 'a sort of mini-Glastonbury/Live 8 thing'. 'We need to think big to make people sit up and take notice,' says Parsons. 'Libraries as a rule are far too humble, yet we've got resources which can change people's lives.'"

Christchurch City Libraries will be making music in the libraries this May for New Zealand Music Month ...

Higher power of lucky

2007-02-20T11:05:00.000+13:00

A new upset has hit the world of childrens literature. On the first page of “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron, this year’s winner of the John Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature, appears the word “scrotum”. The uproar is outlined in a New York Times article With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar. And so the book must be banned in case it corrupts the land of the free.

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Find John Newbery Medal - Winners in your library.

Guilty pleasures

2007-01-05T15:04:00.000+13:00

The Whitbread Book Awards have undergone a revamp, and under a new sponsorship deal they will be the Costa Book Awards. They will be announced on 10 January 2007.

The Costa Book Awards just undertook a survey in the UK to find out which authors were considered "guilty pleasures".

Stephen King was revealed as the UK's favourite literary guilty pleasure author. It turns out that 85% of us have favourite authors that we enjoy reading but wouldn't necessarily own up to in public.

The top five authors most secretly enjoyed are:

1. Stephen King
2. J.K. Rowling
3. John Grisham/Dan Brown
4. Danielle Steele/Catherine Cookson
5. Terry Pratchett

If you have a literary guilty pleasure that you want to conceal, you can download one of four specially designed book jackets and ensure no-one can judge you by your book jacket.

This provoked me into thinking of other trashy but enjoyable reads:
Sergeanne Golon - The Angelique series featuring a golden haired minx and her adventures in the time of Louis XIV in France. The beautiful and courageous Angelique de Sance de Monteloup, the daughter of an impoverished nobleman, and the gallant, intelligent and charming Joffrey Comte de Peyrac discover and share a love that few people ever experience. However they have only a brief time to enjoy their happiness together before they are cruelly torn apart by forces beyond their control. See this Literature map of Sergeanne Golon.

The Library still has the Angelique books in Store.

Can you think of other authors of pleasurable potboilers?
How about Harold Robbins, Jackie Collins, Shirley Conran ...?

Personalize Your Penguin

2006-12-20T13:42:00.000+13:00

Penguin Classics, celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, have launched a new feature - My Penguin - a series of six Classics published with naked front covers, including Emma, Meditations, The Waves, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Magic Tales and Crime and Punishment. You can purchase a copy and have it personalised with your own illustration.
Some of the results are displayed on an online gallery.

what to know

2006-12-20T07:42:00.000+13:00

Why

A list of some other libraries blogging
http://liswiki.org/wiki/Weblogs_-_Public_Libraries

what do they do well - bad
who has guidelines?

http://wellington-city-libraries.blogspot.com/

CU - see email
http://www.mlc.lib.mi.us/blog/

What voices do we want to have
real names/personas
relationship with fitch/e lists website/editions

Do we need topics/groups/categories/threads

Should we now invite others to contribute/feedback/comment

How many posts would we need to do per day/week to keep cool/ok

being in the blog space/rssability

on our domain - or away in some other ownership

use covers like WCL - click to amazon

offer tools

bests of musics

2006-12-15T16:05:00.000+13:00

Dub dot dash has a list of best 2006 New Zealand releases from a hand picked list of contributers - including our very own fraserhead. Our lists will be coming soon

The Tyrannicide Brief

2006-12-12T15:04:00.000+13:00

Geoffrey Robertson, an Australian who is an internationally renowned human rights lawyer (and incidentally married to novelist Kathy Lette) has written a fascinating book about John Cooke, the Puritan lawyer from a humble background who prepared the case against Charles I. He paid terribly for this - the account of his trial and death after the Restoration of Charles II is horrific reading - but he established tyranny as a crime and conducted the first trial of a Head of State for waging war on his own people - a forerunner of the prosecutions of Pinochet, Milosevic and Saddam Hussein. He originated the right to silence, the 'cab rank' rule of advocacy and the duty to act free-of-charge for the poor.

Called The Tyrannicide Brief the book is scholarly but full of fascinating detail about the troubled times of the English Civil War.

How to do?

2006-12-11T14:15:00.000+13:00

Just came across this new Web2.0 attraction today - the idea behind it is that "Everyone in the world is an expert on something" so this is a site where people can contribute instructions on how to do things. There is some control though - you have to sign in and create a bio that explains why you are an expert in the areas that you want to write in and you have to be approved by the editors. Then each how-to also goes through and editorial process.

Thus far is very US-centric, well what isn't? It will be interesting to see what happens when two people make How-tos for different parts of the world which are both correct - maybe they'll label them with geographical information?

There's a bit there now - have a poke around.

Smile, you're on Candid Camera

2006-12-05T13:28:00.000+13:00

In case any of you have nothing to do and would like to fill their time with some aimless amusement, you may wish to read this story.
Apparently, the Swedish town of Gavle constructs a giant goat to celebrate Christmas and to see in the New Year. However, the goat has become a popular target for budding arsonists. Over the last 40 years, all but 10 goats have been set alight way before their time. To ensure this year's goat will see 2007 uncharred, the local authorities have gone to great lengths. They also have a web camera aimed at the goat at all times. So, if you have nothing better too do, you can keep an eye out for anybody attempting the unattemptable, i.e. set fire to the goat.

New collections at Matapihi

2006-11-28T17:21:00.000+13:00

Matapihi has added some new collections from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the University of Auckland Library.

Auckland stuff is

Anthropology Archive
4900 items(containing NZ archaeology collection and Pacific anthropology collection)
http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/dbtw-wpd/anthpd/basic.htm
Architecture Archive
362 items (NZ architecture plans, designs and photos, mainly of Auckland)
http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/dbtw-wpd/gummer/basic.htm

dont seem to be any chch stuff

Te papa/MONZ

4400 objects - not much retrieved by a search Christchurch - but some cool and eclectic stuff nonetheless
find them all via a search "Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa"

Council counselling

2006-11-27T11:33:00.000+13:00

The Melbourne Age published a story on local councils on its blog and invited comments. There are some interesting contributions there.

There is a surprising amount of support for local councils and town planners like this comment: "If everyone did what ever they wanted, what would our towns look like? Unfortunately someone has to enforce the rules the State Government set, and the Town Planners are it. Just remember, being a Town Planner is just a job, they dont do it for a reward and they certainly don't do it just for the sake of putting obstacles in your path. Just be patient."

But, inevitably, there is also some criticism: "Unfortunately I do not agree with the proposal that councils only do good. They are the weakest form of government and there is no way to stop the major conflict of interest which comes up, namely them having the right to approve developments in which they have a direct or indirect interest."

Interesting!

I still call New Zealand home

2006-11-23T10:38:00.000+13:00

I've just stepped off an Air New Zealand A320 at Christchurch Airport after 12 days in Australia. For me, spending time across the ditch always creates a sense of friction. On one hand, Australia offers a wealth of opportunities and experiences not available in New Zealand. On the other, a visit is always a good reminder of why New Zealand is home.

Comparing NZ to Australia is all but inevitable. Although we don't always like to admit it, we have more in common with our neighbours than we haven't - our recent histories, our largely shared Australasian English language, our many joint businesses and institutions, our isolation from the rest of the world. The great trans-Tasman rivalry that both sides love to perpetuate is firmly rooted on our closeness and mutual admiration, in that true ANZAC spirit.

So, how do we stack up against Australia? First up, there's the weather. No matter how we try to dress it up, our New Zealand weather can leave visiting Aussies thinking they've landed in the UK by mistake. We cross our fingers and hope for a good summer while the Aussies bask in hot days, balmy evenings and warm seas for much of the year. Then there are the comforts of modern life (love them or loathe them). Let's face it, New Zealand is still stuck somewhere in the last century when it comes to buying, whether it's clothes, cars, petrol or furniture. The choices in Australia are endless and the prices so much lower (and that's even before taking the significantly higher salaries into account).

And then there's the culture - so much more of everything readily on tap, from arts and music to cutting edge digital TV - plus excellent non-commercial media in the form of the ABC and SBS. Then there are all the benefits of a more multicultural country - from a huge range of authentic foods to the vast melting pot of creativity and community diversity. There are trains (yes trains, definition provided) and long, wide, uncongested roads to make driving much less of the life-and-death experience it is in NZ. And of course there are the 400,000+ other Kiwis already living there.

And then there are the flies, crawling everywhere you don't want them to crawl, getting into your mouth, up your nostrils. Although give me flies rather than killer spiders or snakes any day. There's the overt national identity change going on which can leave you feeling that you've landed in the newest state of the USA - the unquestioning willingness to follow the American way, in politics, culture, diet and energy generation. And there are still all the true blue ocker Aussies with a distrust of anyone different to themselves. OK, I've held back long enough - there's also the coffee. Nobody makes coffee as good as Kiwis do. The Aussies are probably not too far behind us on the world coffee-making scale, but my flat whites over there just didn't do it for me.

Being on holiday is Australia is one thing, but coping with the daily grind isn't quite as easy. When I lived in Sydney a few years ago, my working day started much earlier, as I fought my way from a remote suburb into the central city on a packed train. I dodged the 38 degree temperatures at lunchtime to fight my way through the cafe queues. Then, after getting home later, it got dark earlier, and there was too much American rubbish on TV. And then there were the flies.

I still love Australia, but it's good to be home. It's reassuring to know that we haven't gone the same way as the Aussies - yet. Having more choices, better wages and warmer weather is all very well, but if the flipside is more people, greater loss of national identity and more flies, I know which side of the Tasman I'd rather be on.

1980s cover versions

2006-11-15T16:48:00.000+13:00

Grant Lee Phillips has released an album called nineteeneighties. (read a review - hold this item. His cover versions of songs by The Cure, Robyn Hitchcock etc are dreamily low key and evocative. He even takes on one of my favourite epics - Echo and the Bunnymen's The Killing Moon.

Coincidentally, Q magazine (August 2006) focused on the 80s music scene and came with a cd of cover versions.

And yes it is official - every 80s cover version album must feature The Smiths - Phillips does "Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me" and the Q magazine cd has Clayhill doing "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want".

I'm here

2006-11-15T16:42:00.000+13:00

Well, this is my first contribution. I have been racking my brain about what to put on the blog and this is the best I could do. Sorry!
I love visiting this site every day for a quick chuckle.
Daily Dilbert
Enjoy!

Best books of 2006

2006-11-15T16:30:00.000+13:00

Tell us your favourite reads of 2006

What books did you read this year that you just couldn’t stop telling people about? Now is your chance to share your impeccable literary taste with a very wide audience via our Best Reads of the Year list (see the 2005 list).

Tell us which books you loved in 2006 and why - preferably books that came out this year but there could be room for a timeless classic section if you are passionate enough about them.

The Library has kept lists of staff and customers' favourite books since 2001 - reading them is a great way to find out something interesting to read.

How to Green Your Supermarket

2006-11-15T16:25:00.000+13:00

From the United Kingdom comes a very amusing article in the Guardian about excessive packaging in supermarkets and what to do about it. UK environment minister Ben Bradshaw urged shoppers to teach supermarkets a lesson by dumping wasteful packaging at the cash till. It's not often a member of the government recommends direct action. What would the big chains make of it?The Guardian sent three writers to find out and the results are very amusing - and instructive for New Zealanders who may see their produce exports under attack as not being green enough.

The reactions of the hapless check out chicks and fellow shoppers as the reporters determindly ripped shrink wrap from their cucumbers and cardboard from their chocolates were priceless. The final report from an Asda supermarket sums it up

"All this wrongness doesn't make the tutting any easier to bear. As the bits of wrapping begin to pile up, and I fall woefully behind with my unpacking and repacking, the checkout woman, still calm, tells me that she has thought about this before. "It is ridiculous, all this, isn't it?"
I tear open the Ready to Eat peaches (in November?) and ask what she'll do with all the rubbish I'm leaving. Asda has committed itself to send no more waste to landfill by 2010. "Ooh. I don't really know," she says. Her desire to get rid of me is peeking through now, but she still gives me a very kindly smile. As I walk away I clearly hear someone laughing. This is why you don't get a lot of guerrilla warfare in England."

6 word stories at Wired

2006-11-15T15:25:00.000+13:00

Wired this month (Nov 2006) has a great little article wherein they've asked a bunch of, mostly sci fi and fantasy, authors to write a story in six words. In the printed magazine many of them have then been designed into artworks but print being limited in size they had to leave some out so pop along to the web site to read them all - and additional ones in the comments.

They are mostly pretty great so its hard to pick a favourite but I did like Joss Whedon's: "Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so." and "Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back." by David Brin.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

2006-11-15T12:29:00.000+13:00

Not yet out in NZ but surely on its way, this very topical film covers the short life of the EV1 -an electric car made by General Motors that was leased to customers for a few short years before being recalled and sent to the scrap heap. No amount of money could buy you one of these cars and the leasees were not happy to part with them. One such person was motivated enough to make a film about it! The film looks at the factors that led to the demise of this promising solution to some very serious environmental/political (and fuel supply) problems.

My day with the GM EV1 - Road Joy An EV1 fan spends a few days with one.

The car that could : the inside story of GM's revolutionary electric vehicle Like books? A History of the EV1.

Who Killed the Electric Car a news feature on PBS' NOW show.

GM Responds to the film "Who Killed the Electric Car" and a response from General Motors that puts a slightly more positive slant on things.

Broom, broom...

Are you canine-centric?

2006-11-14T15:31:00.000+13:00

Enhancing the lifestyle of your surrogate child/pet is a task requiring tireless effort.

For the superior social adaptation of your ward have a look at The Dog Listener on DVD.

Does your whippet find the winter a bit nippy? You can whip him up some winter woollens. See Doggy knits : over 20 coat designs for handsome hounds and perfect pooches for ideas.

Intellectual stimulation is as important as exercise for your 'dog of leisure.' With all the hours in the world to spare and no occupation Playtime for your dog : keep him busy throughout the day is packed with fun things to do. As is Doggy days : dozens and dozens of outdoor activities for you and your best friend - tricks and games, arts and crafts, stories and songs, and much more! so there's no excuse for hole diggers and shoe chewers.

And it's all worth it when puppy shows you his 'wy wuv ooo' face.

But if it's all for nothing

2006-11-14T14:59:00.000+13:00

I stumbled upon All the roadrunning by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Preview or Get from the library.

I have to admit kinda liking "Sultans of Swing" some time ago (long ago...) but havent listened to the dire one much since intentionally. However i am very fond of Miss Harris and her last record Stumble into grace struck a chord. Shame though that i dont seem to be the right demographic for this duet album. A couple of good songs but dominated by Knopfler - the best songs for me were by Emmylou.

This reminded me of the "Western wall: the Tucson sessions" a duet between Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris. This i liked a lot - the version of Sisters of mercy walks all over the stuff on the Hal Wilner Leonard Cohen record.

Some days later i stumbled upon Adieu false heart by Linda Ronstadt and Anne Savoy (also known as the Zozo Sisters) - this is great, and i remembered the shimmering record 'Round Midnight that Linda Ronstadt did with Nelson Riddle.

I think i still have that on vinyl...

Vote for more corporate boxes at Lancaster Park

2006-11-14T14:31:00.000+13:00

Have your say with the floating rugby corporate box - help convince the goverment that Christchurch should get the game.

The New Zealand Government has given the residents of Auckland 2 weeks to decide on whether the Rugby World Cup Stadium will be built on the waterfront.

Your vote will be forwarded to the minister of rugby and the mayor of Auckland City via email. The votes will be collated and presented to the council in hardcopy before the decision deadline.

http://www.stadiumvote.co.nz/

Audrey Goes Large

2006-11-07T16:25:00.000+13:00

In the lead up to Canterbury Fashion Week and the fashion events of Cup Week in Christchurch the Reading Cinemas at the Palms Mall are screening the classic "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Audrey Hepburn radiates timeless chic and this is a great opportunity to view her on a big screen.

If you don't want the big screen experience the library has copies of the film on DVD, as well as the original book by Truman Capote and heaps of recordings of songs from the great soundtrack by Henry Mancini. For a complete list of what can be borrowed search the catalogue under Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Curb your enthusiasm

2006-11-07T14:16:00.000+13:00

Larry David was the hidden genius co-creator of the comedy Seinfeld. The neurotic character George Costanza was based on Larry.

But in the series Curb your Enthusiasm he is the star - sociopathic, inappropriate, and living out all the dilemmas of modern day manners.

Not everyone will find his misadventures funny, but if you like your humour dry and bracing this is the show for you. Painfully funny and cringe inducing.

For more tv comedies at the library:
see Comedy - video recordings
and Television comedy

Our collection includes Blackadder, The Office and Extras by Ricky Gervais, and The Good Life.

Christmas reading

2006-10-17T15:36:00.000+13:00

What books will be finding their way under the Christmas tree this year?

The Guardian Books section has made their guess, and this article also provides some useful information on the state of publishing in the UK.

Jamie Oliver - Cook With Jamie (Michael Joseph)
Publisher's pitch: "With this ultimate kitchen companion you can be a student of Jamie's in your own home."
We say: After retailers' furious price-cutting last Christmas, Penguin has ramped up the RRP of Jamie's latest offering to £26 in an attempt to stop shops selling him below £10. Are people still hungry for Jamie in his incarnation as the "new Delia", and will he match last year's record sales? Odds: 7/4 favourite

Michael Palin - Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years (Weidenfeld)
Publisher's pitch: "Perceptive, funny and riveting reading."
We say: Patron Saint Palin already has a couple of festive number ones under his belt for his travelogues. These diaries don't have an accompanying television series, but his unmatchable appeal and the promise of Python stories should guarantee a place in the top three bestsellers. Odds: 3/1

Billie Piper - Growing Pains (Hodder)
Publisher's pitch: "The funny, honest and insightful story of an extraordinary young life."
We say: Of the crop of starlets with Christmas autobiographies - Kerry Katona, Chantelle - Billie will stand out. The ex-Doctor Who star has the mum-and-daughter market wrapped up and supermarkets will sell this by the trolleyload. Odds: 3/1

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? (Profile)
Publisher's pitch: "Popular science at its most entertaining and enlightening."
We say: "The pick of the loo reads. This could find even more readers than its predecessor, Does Anything Eat Wasps? - number five last Christmas." Odds: 33/1

Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion (Transworld)
Publisher's pitch: "A hard-hitting, impassioned rebuttal of all religion."
We say: This has topped Amazon's bestseller list all week. Could Dawkins pull off an unlikely coup and outsell the celebrity autobiographies? Odds: 33/1

What happens when the library Blog dies - Shirley Library blog:

2006-10-17T13:00:00.000+13:00

Its not quite a year since a post here but its all but dead. However the story that the article Shirley Library blog: One News Library story features has not been captured by the library it features (us).

NZ history looks to the future

Dreaming in Dewey

2006-10-17T11:52:00.000+13:00

At a recent Library conference this was unvieled. It turns out to be the work of Brian Flaherty - a librarian at the University of Auckland. This is a part of the Digital Poetics section of the nzepc (new zealand electronic poetry centre). Brian is the one of the editors of this site which has amazing range of poetry, including lyrics.

Bootiful Bookmarklets

2006-10-11T16:14:00.000+13:00

Search our catalogue, cinch database or localeye web site from any web page anywhere by bookmarking these links. Once you've added them to your bookmarks all you have to do is highlight some text on any web page and click the bookmark and a search will begin.

We're working on ones that will do the search in a new window so that you don't lose your current page. This could be really useful if you want to know if we have a book that is referred to on a web page.

Fired up or frustrated?

2006-10-06T11:46:00.000+13:00

A couple of library blogs posts got me a bit fired up - or maybe it was the mochaccino and half a spinach & cream cheese muffin from our neighbouring muffin break. The first was Michael Stephen's post on tame the Web "Ten Things I Know About Libraries in 2006 (A Response to "Libraries are Obsolete")". The article that he is responding to has received quite a lot of reponses in the library blogosphere (did you even know that such a thing existed?) and you can read it here. Basically it's saying don't build another library - give people at home access to broadband and then they can get everything off Google. As most librarians will tell you there's a lot that isn't accessible through Google, however its a popular view.

But what kind put the icing on the cake for me this morning was SuperPatron's posting "Library catalogs have represented stagnant technology for close to twenty years" which echoes exactly what I've been feeling for years. How come we're stuck with library catalogues with such antiquated search technology when Google and Amazon (and del.icio.us etc etc etc) have advanced so far over the years? And how are we supposed to convince our publics that we're still relevant? grrr

Info Island Grand Opening

2006-10-06T08:53:00.000+13:00

With all the talk about the place of digital libraries vs bricks and mortar libraries a consortium in the US is building a digital bricks and mortar library in the online virtual world Second Life. They've been going for a while now but are having their official opening next week. Here's what they say about themselves:

"Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by over 600,000 people from around the globe. There are shopping malls, events, homes, lands of different types, and best of all, participants can contribute content, buildings, and other digital creations.

Alliance Library System and OPAL are teaming up to utilize the programs currently offered online to librarians and library users to extend the programs to the Second Life virtual reality world. Although there are a couple of libraries currently on Second Life, none currently offers programs or services. Alliance and OPAL will start with programs and eventually hope to offer library services."

They have a blog at http://www.infoisland.org/ which is worth checking out if you're interested but you'll need a broadband connection to actually have a look at info island itself.

The fall of Troy

2006-09-20T14:38:00.000+12:00

Peter Ackroyd is one of the top writers of the modern era. His novels and non-fiction writing are equally applauded. He has a strong interest in history and historical figures, having written on Thomas More, the city of London, Oscar Wilde, the Lambs, and poet Chatterton.

Coming soon is his new novel The Fall of Troy. Amazon has some information on this novel:

Synopsis
'I cannot wait to bring you to the plain of Troy. To show you the place where Hector and Achilles fought. To show you the palace of Priam. And the walls where the Trojan women watched their warriors in battle with the invader. It will stir your blood, Sophia.' Sophia Chrysanthis is only 16 when the German archaeologist Herr Obermann comes wooing: he wants a Greek bride who knows her Homer. Sophia passes his test, and soon she is tieing canvas sacking to her legs, so that she can kneel on the hard ground in the trench, removing the earth methodically, identifying salient points, lifting out amphorae and bronze vessels without damaging them. 'Archaeology is not a science,' Obermann says. 'It is an art.' Obermann is very good at the art of archaeology - perhaps too good at it. The amosphere at Troy is tense and mysterious. Sophia finds herself increasingly baffled by the past...not only the remote past that Obermann is so keen to share with her in the form of his beloved epics of the Trojan wars, but also his own, recent past - a past that he has chosen to hide from her. But she, too, is very good at the art of archaeology...

From the Publisher
Brilliant historical novel, set during the 19th century at the time that the Bronze Age site of Troy was being excavated. Peter Ackroyd returns to one of his favourite themes: fakes, forgeries and plagiarism.

See some reviews and more information on Ackroyd

Sunday Herald
The Susjun Agency
Contemporary Authors

Keri Hulme Publishes At Last

2006-09-12T09:46:00.000+12:00

Keri Hulme publishing drought is over. On 12th September she was published in the Christchurch Press newspaper
"There is neither wit nor humour in the Tremain cartoon showing bare-bottomed MPs lining up to be caned(Sept 9. It is ugly, stupid, juvenile - and ill-drawn. Bring back Tom Scott (I never thought I'd hear myself say that!)"

So far the critics response has been muted.

Sign Up for E-newsletters

2006-09-12T09:42:00.000+12:00

Sign up for e-news from your library - new titles, tips and library news
Do you want to be one of the first to know about the latest releases for your favourite genre or area of interest? Are you ever stuck for ideas on what to read, watch or listen to next? Want to be able to browse our newest titles and even reserve them, all in one go?

Now you can sign up for Christchurch City Libraries brand new free email newsletters. From thrillers to armchair travel, biographies to DIY, we’re offering a range of regular newsletters to keep you up to date with the latest titles, together with helpful tips and suggestions.

We're proud to be the first library network in New Zealand to offer this service and we know you'll find our e-newsletters informative, useful and convenient.

CCL on ZoomIn

2006-09-01T16:45:00.000+12:00

If you're going off to one of our new libraries, or maybe just one you haven't visited before you can now get a great map view of how to get there from the ZoomIn maps. We've created a group called Christchurch City Libraries or just search by the name of the library e.g. Lyttelton Library. As well as streets it also has aerial photography - only black and white unfortunately.

Get reading & listening suggestions

2006-09-01T09:15:00.000+12:00

A new site has launched where you can get suggestions from "trusted authorities" such as Oprah, Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and heaps more - so far the topics seem mostly based around self-improvement and business topics. Its just getting going, but an interesting idea. Check out Suggestica now.

Guardian First Book Award Longlist

2006-08-30T14:46:00.000+12:00

Book prize list spans centuries and species by John Ezard, Thursday August 24, 2006
The Guardian
'Vigorous, engaged and elegant' works on longlist
Shortlist for Guardian award due in November

The contenders

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living
Carrie Tiffany, above (Picador), fiction

Harbor
Lorraine Adams (Portobello), fiction

John Donne: The Reformed Soul
John Stubbs (Viking), biography

Lonesome George: The Lives and Loves of a Conservation Icon
Henry Nicholls (Palgrave Macmillan), natural history

A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveller
Jason Roberts (Simon & Schuster), biography

Running for the Hills
Horatio Clare (John Murray), memoir

Poppy Shakespeare
Clare Allan (Bloomsbury), fiction

Waiting for the Night-Rowers
Roger Moulson (Enitharmon), poetry

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Yiyun Li (4th Estate), stories

In the Country of Men
Hisham Matar (Viking), fiction

Book Collecting Madness

2006-08-29T15:44:00.000+12:00

Write a rave review of a book after only one chapter? Yes it can be done. I’m totally hooked on John Baxter’s A Pound of Paper; confessions of a book addict. Baxter is a well known film critic and biographer who has long been a committed book collector. He describes the joys (and frustrations) of collecting Graeme Greene and the eccentric book runners who fuel the antiquarian book trade. His writing is humorous and well informed. I learnt for instance, that the writer Larry McMurtry is also famous as a collector and bookshop owner. In 1999 he purchased most of the Texas town of Archer City, the setting for the movie the Last Picture Show, to turn into America’s first book town.
Baxter is a very engaging writer and I had already enjoyed his book We'll Always Have Paris

VALA Conference

2006-08-23T11:51:00.000+12:00

Two library staff members went to the VALA Conference in Melbourne this year.

They have posted comments on the sessions they attended.

The Sopranos

2006-08-17T09:06:00.000+12:00

The new series of popular HBO mafia series "The Sopranos" has started on Wednesdays 9.30pm TV2.

One of the hallmarks of this programme is the use of music on the soundtrack. They play some very interesting music. The Library has two soundtracks as well as a cookbook and some guides to the series.

Making the most of your digital life

2006-08-16T11:37:00.000+12:00

My favourite magazine, Wired, has a great pull-out this month entitled "HowTo: a step-by-step guide to making the most of your digital life" which we think is great because it fits so well with our own feature Get a digital life who Knows - maybe Wired is watching CCL for great ideas.

In the article Wired covers the best tools for all things digital: photos, ipods, MySpace, youTube and more. In our feature we show you how to make the best use of our resources to find the best information online.

Here's a couple of other fun online tools for the digerati:
LibraryElf: CCL sends out email notice of when books are ready for you to pick up and when they are overdue but those in the know use LibraryElf to get those messages at the times that suit them and to multiple email addresses
LibraryThing: catalogue your own books and add tags (more on tagging later). Find out who has the same books and other books that they have - a great way to grow your own collection. LibraryThing has also recently added a feature to create groups - an excellent feature for clubs where members are happy to swap books

Anti-tourism

2006-08-12T09:04:00.000+12:00

Lost Cosmonaut by Daniel Kalder

"The anti-tourist does not visit places that are in any way desirable. The anti-tourist eschews comfort. The anti-tourist embraces hunger and hallucinations and shit hotels."

This book kicks "A year in provence" and all those romanticised travel books into touch as Kalder goes to places where the locals laugh when they hear is a tourist. Because no tourist ever comes to Tartarstan.

This book is so absorbing, it has 2 bookmarks in it because two of us are reading it at once ...

"Going Nowhere" - The Guardian reviews "Lost Cosmonaut"

Welcome

2006-08-11T14:12:00.000+12:00

welcome to the Trotsky Proletariat Library blog
Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free ...