Continuing Education & Training grants help assist Nebraska libraries to improve the library services provided to their communities through continuing education and training for their library personnel and supporters. Successful applications will show how the continuing education and/or training proposed will support the library’s mission.
For this second round of CE Grants, we are accepting applications in three different areas: taking an online course, attending an out-of-state professional conference, and other larger continuing education projects for library staff or library board members. These courses/events/projects must be after July 1st.
This 8.5″ x 11″ black and white photograph of a 19 year old Harriet Fonda and Gordon Reefe seated together in costume for “The Romantic Age” production has the caption “Harriett Fonda and Gordon Reefe in ‘The Romantic Age’ 1927″ overlaid. Harriet is spelled incorrectly (Harriett) in the caption. This is believed to be a copy of a photograph that was recreated at an unknown time with added artwork and captioning for use in an Omaha Community Playhouse celebration or display. “The Romantic Age” was written by A. A. Milne.
This image is published by the Omaha Community Playhouse. Their collection includes digitized images of the Playhouse and some of its performances.
The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.
“In Reach” by Pamela Carter Joern is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.
“In Reach” was chosen as one of the 150 notable Nebraska books to highlight for the Nebraska 150 Celebration. These books represent the best literature produced from Nebraska during the past 150 years and highlight the varied cultures, diverse experiences and the shared history of Nebraskans.
In writing both rich and evocative, Pamela Carter Joern conjures the small plains town of Reach, Nebraska, where residents are stuck tight in the tension between loneliness and the risks of relationships. With insight, wry humor, and deep compassion, Joern renders a cast of recurring characters engaged in battles public and private, epic and mundane: a husband and wife find themselves the center of a local scandal; a widow yearns for companionship, but on her own terms; a father and son struggle with their broken relationship; a man longs for escape from a community’s limited view of love; a boy’s misguided attempt to protect his brother results in a senseless tragedy. In the town of Reach, where there is hope and hardship, connections may happen in surprising ways or lie achingly beyond grasp.
“Pamela Carter Joern’s fictional village of Reach, Nebraska, is populated by people you have known, or known of, all your life. In these glimpses of life as it is really lived, you will encounter your aunt Ella, your grandfather Leland, even the uncle no one mentions. You may agree that God is not absent if you are there. You will never forget Marlene and Vernon. Each character is doing “the best he can do” to harvest satisfaction from their lives. Searching for connections, you will find these folks in reach of your heart.”
—Linda M. Hasselstrom, author of “No Place Like Home” and “Dirt Song”
TBBS borrowers can request “In Reach,” DBC01891 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.
I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for a good book series. I blame my favorite childhood series, because once I find a character I like I just want their story to continue. Lately I’ve been deep into mystery and detective novels, including Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series, Triptych, Fractured, Undone, and Broken. I’m currently on the fourth book in this twelve book series, and have enjoyed the world and characters that Karin Slaughter has created with character crossovers from her other book series including The Grant County Series.
Set mainly in Atlanta, Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series begins with Triptych, where you meet Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Special Agent Will Trent and a slew of other characters that will continue throughout the series. Including his hard as nails GBI boss, Amanda Wagner, various childhood acquaintances, and other law enforcement officers. Orphaned as an infant, Will Trent spent his entire childhood as a ward of the state, growing up in group homes and foster care. And for his entire adult life, Trent has been concealing that he is barely able literate. Due to his unconventional childhood, he’s been living with undiagnosed dyslexia, finding creative ways to work around this problem, and keep it a secret. In spite of all this, or perhaps because of it, he’s an observant, thoughtful, and dedicated detective, solving crimes and seeing what others do not.
Now a series on the Hulu streaming service, Will Trent and his dog Betty are out there for everyone, even those non-readers, and it is a great TV show.
April is National Poetry Month, and we wanted to celebrate by highlighting Nebraskan poet Ted Kooser. Pulitzer Prize winner, 04-06 U.S. Poet Laureate, and winner of many awards including four Nebraska Book Awards and 2011’s One Book One Nebraska; Kooser’s poetry has touched the hearts of many. Each poem in this week’s #BookFace, “Red Stilts” (Copper Canyon Press, 2022), strives to reveal the complex beauties of the ordinary, of the world that’s right under our noses. It’s available for checkout as an ebook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries, along with several other Ted Kooser titles.
If you’re looking for ways to celebrate National Poetry Month, take a look at the poetry genre from the drop-down menu on our Book Club Kit page. There are also a handful of Kooser’s titles available for request as well.
“Red Stilts” demonstrates that poets, like fine wines, continue to improve with age… Those familiar with Kooser’s work will recognize his skill at connecting the ordinary events of daily life to the sublime.”
—Lincoln Journal Star
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team
Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive! Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,174 audiobooks, 36,611 ebooks, and 5,210 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!
Dated 1922, “Cornhusker Rose” is a love song written by Howard Adamson, a long-time resident of Lincoln, Nebraska. He dedicated it to his sweetheart Miss Vivian Hanson, whose picture is on the cover of the sheet music. Below is a transcript of the lyrics; you can also listen to a performance of the ballad on the Nebraska Memories archive, performed by Carolyn Dow, mezzo-soprano, and Linda Marsh Helfman, piano.
Verse 1:
I found a rose, sweet in repose, Blooming in love’s garden fair. Beauty so rare, none can compare, Fairest of all anywhere. And even though we’re apart dear, Still you are near to my heart.
Cornhusker rose of Nebraska, Prettiest flow’r that I know. Cornhusker rose of Nebraksa, The sweetest rose that grows. Those golden hours together, Hours that I spent dear with you. For there in love’s bower is blooming one flow’r. ‘Tis the cornhusker rose of my heart.
Verse 2:
Cornhusker girl, my heart’s a whirl, I’m thinking only of you. Cornhusker girl, Oh! What a pearl, Promise you will be true. For’neath the blue skies above dear, You taught the meaning of love.
Cornhusker rose of Nebraska, Prettiest flow’r that I know. Cornhusker rose of Nebraksa, The sweetest rose that grows. Those golden hours together, Hours that I spent dear with you. For there in love’s bower is blooming one flow’r. ‘Tis the cornhusker rose of my heart.
This image and musical performance is published and owned by the Polley Music Library (Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln, Nebraska), which contains just over two hundred fifty pieces of Nebraska sheet music, as well as concert programs, manuscripts, theatre programs, photographs, and other Nebraska memorabilia which features an element of music. You can also listen to a dozen performances of selections from this music collection performed by local musicians.
The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Andrew “Sherm” Sherman 402-471-4559 800-307-2665 andrew.sherman@nebraska.gov
Nebraska Library Commission Partners with Medica to Improve Public Libraries’ Internet Access
In partnership with Medica, the Nebraska Library Commission (NLC) can assist Nebraska’s public libraries with the purchase and installation of new network technology to improve Internet access and digital equity for their communities.
The funding provided by Medica will be utilized to provide libraries with up-to-date and secure networks and WiFi for public use that can support current and future high-speed Internet connections. “Medica is pleased to provide funding to the Nebraska Library Commission to help local libraries improve internet access and digital equity in their communities,” said Pat Bourne, Medica Market Leader for Nebraska.
Many of Nebraska’s small and rural public libraries have challenges accessing the funds and resources needed to select, purchase, and install new technology. The funding provided by Medica combined with the technical resources provided by the NLC will provide the assistance these libraries need to support their communities in this increasingly connected world.
The NLC will initially be contacting libraries that may need assistance with their networks based on the recent Public Library Survey results or have an identified need via the Technology Reviews that have been conducted so far. Libraries interested in upgrading their network can contact Andrew “Sherm” Sherman to arrange for a Technology Review so the current state of their networks can be determined and needed upgrades identified.
As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”
I know summer reading is taking the world by storm right now, but kids still want some circuit goodness even during the summer! If you’re looking for some quick and easy projects you can do right out of the box, try the circuit kits from Brown Dog Gadgets!
Their Sewing Circuits, Micro:bit rover kits, Solar kits, Origami Circuits, and a lot more are a level above the other kits I’ve tried. Here’s why:
Excellent instructions
Well packaged for individual or large group use, depending on the kind you buy
Crazy Circuits system is better for little fingers
Nylon Conductive Tape: For those who have used circuit kits before, I want to clarify those last two items. Traditionally conductive tape is metal and can be pretty sharp. I’ve walked away with far too many cuts on my fingertips after the old paper circuits. Brown Dog uses nylon conductive tape that feels like fabric. It’s durable, but can be repositioned on your project without losing stickiness. They sell their tape separately, so even if you have a bunch of paper circuit supplies already, it’s worth it just to gleefully throw out your old, metal, finger-hating, conductive tape.
Crazy Circuits: Their Crazy Circuits components make it easier to grip and work with LED lights and other small components. Traditionally, LED lights have two small wires and you have to figure out which side is the positive side, and which is the negative side, then make sure the tape makes contact with the right side. Crazy Circuits components are connected to a little circuit board and are easy to grip. So you can tape directly to the board, or use their conductive thread to build a circuit. The large holes also work with Lego bricks so you can make more cool creations.
Pre-packaged kits or individual components: Brown Dog’s pre-packaged kits are great for Code Clubs, make ‘n’ take kits to send home, makerspace activities, or anything your librarian heart desires. Some of their kits use their custom Crazy Circuits system, others use regular LEDs and traditional components. So you have your choice.
Check out Brown Dog Gadgets for quick and easy projects you can order online. They’re geared more towards K-8, but who doesn’t love to sew felt creations that can actually light up with joy? Stock up and pull them out on a rainy day.
Obviously this week, National Library Week, is the best week of the year! Celebrations include Right to Read Day, National Library Workers Day, National Library Outreach Day, and Take Action for Libraries Day. While we all know the importance of the library ecosystem, former San Francisco Library Laureate, Allison Hoover Bartlett, shares the story of what happens when greed and personal gain take over and infiltrate the book market. In her book, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession, Bartlett follows the trail of notorious book thief John Charles Gilkey and peeks into the psyche of those who collect rare books, and what happens when that collecting becomes a compulsion.
Allison Bartlett entered into the world of book thieves by way of coincidence. A friend had come into possession of a stolen rare book after his brother’s passing, and Allison was drawn to its mysterious pages. As she felt this pull towards the illicit book, she began researching the history of book thievery, asking: “What makes someone cross the line from admirer to thief?”. It’s not long until two names come to her attention: Ken Sanders, a rare book dealer whose obsession with catching book thieves, leads Allison to the main focus of her story, John Charles Gilkey. For John, his (stolen) book collection is not about the contents of the books themselves, but merely the status it affords him. Growing up, he dreamed of being like the upper-crust gentlemen who honed grand libraries and garnered admiration. John takes to fraud and theft to achieve this dream, growing bolder and more self-assured as his collection grows. And his curation list? The Modern Library’s List of 100 Best Novels. Follow along with the strained and strange relationship between booksellers and the titular book thief. Where each believes the other is the true criminal.
“It wasn’t merely a love of books that compelled him, but also what owning them would say about him. It’s a normal ambition—that our choice of music or cars or shoes reflects well on us—taken to the extreme.”
Allison Hoover Bartlett
Part True Crime, part history of book collecting and fervor, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is about trying to understand the psyche of these collectors and those who experience book-collecting mania, or Bibliomania. According to Bartlett, in rare book collections, the physical properties of the books, the memories associated with the title, or the historical importance of that edition are often more valuable than the actual contents within them. Book Club Groups will love the low-stakes True Crime aspect and exploring what in the mind can drive us to place such value on having personal library collections.
As Bartlett finds herself more entrenched in the rare book collection space, she notes that it largely consists of rich white men. While their hobbies are viewed as intellectual, there has been a trend of treating young female celebrities and models who carry around the latest literary fiction novel (“Literary It Girls”) as lesser and shallow attempts at intellectualism. But what is their real difference? Rare book collecting and John Gilkey’s obsession with the status symbol he associated with the books he stole can bring to light a much-needed discussion about the value we place on our favorite pastime, classism and maybe even a hidden misogynistic agenda.
If you’re interested in requesting The Man Who Loved Books Too Much for your book club, you can find the Request Formhere. There are 5 copies available. (A librarian must request items)
Bartlett, Allison Hoover. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. Riverhead Books. 2009
Learn how to do ‘Program Planning with a Marketing Mindset’ at your library on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, April 10 at 10am CT.
Libraries have been offering programming for decades, and in many cases the model has been, “Let’s plan a program, promote it, and see who shows up.” This approach hasn’t changed much, even with social and technological changes, not to mention the pandemic and streaming programs. Program planning with a marketing mindset starts with identifying your customer’s needs and wants, then developing programs and services to meet those needs and wants. We’ll discuss how to use research – quantitative and qualitative – to plan and market programs that will engage your customers. We’ll talk about “bundling” programs and services for different audience segments. We’ll also cover how this more strategic approach can save time and resources for your library.
April 17 – 2024 One Book One Nebraska: Dancing with the Octopus
April 24 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Computers in Libraries 2024 Highlights & Trends
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
Grab your life jackets, this week’s #BookFace is about to hit rough waters!
“The Second Mrs. Astor: a Novel of the Titanic” by Shana Abé (Kensington Books, 2021) is the story of the scandalous marriage of one of America’s wealthiest businessmen and his decades-younger bride. After a lovely honeymoon abroad, they head for home on a brand-new ship… and you probably can guess how that chapter ends! This historical fiction title is available as an ebook and audiobook in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and is one of many titles that are always available; their publishers allow for for simultaneous use (SU), so you can skip the wait and find a great read now!
“Abé is an exquisite storyteller. Rich in detail and deeply moving.”
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace
This week’s model is our brand-new Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS) Reader Services Advisor, Jo Mezger. Jo comes to us by way of Lincoln City Libraries, and their favorite genre to read is magical realism (but they could while away hours with the hip-hop books at LCL’s Polley Music Library as well!) Welcome aboard Jo!
Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive! Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,174 audiobooks, 36,611 ebooks, and 5,210 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!
If there were a year that many would like to forget, it would likely be 2020. The worldwide pandemic that brought the spread of a novel virus, originating in rural China, sparked global disruption and changes that will continue into the future. In his new book, 2020, sociologist Eric Klinenberg chronicles the experiences, stories, and research associated with the pandemic, public health measures, economic peril, political distress, and societal changes.
The COVID pandemic, George Floyd’s death and the social justice movement, and the presidential election were prominent in this historic year. Klinenberg observes, “This story is not over. We are living through the long 2020.” 2020 includes an extensive presentation of data and is global in scope. However, as broad and sweeping as it is with comparisons and contrasts, a unique feature is the personal stories that reflect on individuals and their experiences living through this extraordinary time. Experiences depend on individual circumstances. Location, lifestyle, and access to resources all played a significant role. A takeaway is how these disruptive events affected each individual in their own personal way.
Disturbing was the growing divide over policies and actions to address the pandemic. Policies and actions varied from neighborhood, community, state, national, and global. The United States lacked consistency in providing direction. States differed in the extent of public health safety policies – some highly restrictive and others much less so. Communities varied based on local leadership and circumstances. Overall, the pandemic strained public trust in both government and science, leading to deep divisions over measures like mask mandates, social distancing, lockdowns, and vaccinations.
Klinenberg profiles seven New Yorkers including a new bar owner, an elementary school principal living in a multigenerational home, a transit worker, a local political aide, a retired district attorney turned neighborhood organizer, and others. Notable is the Staten Island bar owner who declared his bar an autonomous zone and refused to follow New York City’s health safety requirements. Questionable as his actions were, we can sympathize with his dilemma – opening a new business and having it shut down soon after. Others interviewed spoke of depression, food insecurity, and employment uncertainty. For others – the vulnerable – those living in high-density neighborhoods, nursing homes, those lacking homes with the resources school age children needed to participate in online education.
Despite the negative, there are remarkable examples of compassion and courage, as well as the day-to-day efforts of many to provide care for family, friends, neighbors – donations, pantries, deliveries, childcare, and more. To be appreciated are the health care workers, teachers, and all in “essential” occupations with close exposure to illness.
Klinenberg’s book is difficult to read because it is a reminder of the tragedy of pervasive illness, death, disruption, and economic uncertainty. Consequences have lingered and polarization continues. A troubling question remains whether we are now better prepared and less vulnerable for the next pandemic.
Eric Klinenberg is Professor in the Social Sciences and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. Among his other books is Palaces for the People, published in 2018. In regard to Palacesfor the People, Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, commented that “Klinenberg is echoing what librarians and library patrons have been saying for years: that libraries are equalizers and absolutely universal.”
Klinenberg, Eric. 2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed. Knopf. 2024.
This map from January 1905 shows the water supply system of Omaha, Nebraska. A legend shows that the dark blue lines on the map represent the city’s pipelines, and the dark blue dots represent water hydrants. There is also a scale for size. Printed between the scale and the legend it says “City Engineers Office, Andrew Rosewater, City Engineer.”
This image is published and owned by the Omaha Public Library, and is specifically part of their collection of Omaha-related maps dating from 1825 to 1922. They also have a large collection of 1,100+ postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.
The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories /participation.aspx for more information.
“The Old-Time Cowhand” by Ramon F. Adams is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.
The American cowboy emerges from these pages as a recognizable human being with little resemblance to the picturesque inventions of the horse opera. Ramon F. Adams, a highly respected authority on the Old West, talks straight about what the cowhand really did and thought. His cow-punching, broncobusting, trail driving; his rodeo riding, poker playing, socializing; his horse, guns, ripe, clothing, sleeping bag; his eating and drinking habits; his attitude toward God, women, bosses; his unwritten code of conduct–everything about this vanished breed is told with absorbing authenticity, in the rich and varied lingo of the range.
“Encyclopedic in its coverage of the subject.”—Library Journal
TBBS borrowers can request “The Old-Time Cowhand,” DBC02042 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.
All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.
“Part of a Trustee’s responsibility is to evaluate the library director, yet many organizations do not have an annual review procedure in place. During this Learning Live, library Trustees will acquire the tools needed to conduct an annual evaluation. This session is designed with the understanding that many Trustees do not have HR experience. We’ll offer practical strategies and tools to effectively assess the performance of library directors, with insight from a variety of library stakeholders. Trustees will gain the knowledge and confidence they need to conduct meaningful evaluations of their library directors. Especially when things are going well!”
Statewide Group Members receive FREE registration for the live webinars and on-demand access for the duration of the active statewide group membership. These “Learning Live” sessions are recorded and can be accessed through the United for Libraries eLearning course.
Discover new and exciting ways to make learning fun with interactive S.T.R.E.A.M. program boxes on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, on Wednesday, April 3 at 10am CT.
Joanne Neemann, Director, Beatrice (NE) Public Library is joining us to talk about the library’s S.T.R.E.A.M. program boxes. With each themed activity box, students will have the opportunity to engage their minds and creativity on a multi-faceted journey exploring the Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math of a chosen topic.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
April 10 – Program Planning with a Marketing Mindset
April 17 – 2024 One Book One Nebraska: Dancing with the Octopus
April 24 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Computers in Libraries 2024 Highlights & Trends
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
This #BookFace Friday is out of this world! We love featuring Nebraska authors and this week it’s a real life astronaut to boot. Astronaut Clayton Anderson is the author of five books including “It’s a Question of Space: An Ordinary Astronaut’s Answers to Sometimes Extraordinary Questions” (University of Nebraska Press, 2018.) This title as well as his memoir “The Ordinary Spaceman” are available as eBooks in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. This week’s model is Clayton Anderson himself! He was in the office this week dropping off posters for Nebraska Libraries! We’ll be getting these posters to your Nebraska Regional Library System Directors at the spring Systems Meeting so librarians can let their local Systems know if they are interested in a free poster.
“Clay Anderson dispels myths and simplifies complex subjects for the reader and with examples from his personal experiences provides insight into the daily life of an astronaut. As a teacher trying to fuel the curiosity of and relate relevant topics to students, I would keep a copy of this book on my desk.”
—Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, earth scientist, educator, and retired astronaut
Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive! Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,174 audiobooks, 36,611 ebooks, and 5,210 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!
My favorite book discoveries are often found nestled amongst travel guides. While guidebooks often shrink small towns into succinct paragraphs, and weigh their significance based on subjective criteria suited for outsiders, I love a book that digs deeper into a place. Dark, Salt, Clear: The Life of a Fishing Town is one of these finds.
Lamorna Ash is a twenty-something Londoner, who ventures to the Cornish coastline to learn about fishing. Although she is an outsider, she has roots in Cornwall. Her mother was raised there and named her daughter for a Cornish village. Lamorna settles in Newlyn, a town centered on the fishing industry, steeped in tradition, but also rapidly changing. The locals quickly welcome her into their lives and workplaces, allowing her access to the various enterprises, including participating in the catch, processing fish, and observing the wholesale auction in an ever changing global market.
Dark, Salt, Clear is not just a story about fishing. It’s about the people, the place, and the complex beauty of it all. Ash peppers her story with poetry and prose from others who experienced the sea and its coastlines. The book’s title comes from the poem “At the Fishhouses” (1947) by Elizabeth Bishop:
“It is like what we imagine knowledge to be: dark, salt, clear, moving, utterly free, drawn from the cold hard mouth of the world, derived from the rocky breasts forever, flowing and drawn, and since our knowledge is historical, flowing, and flown.”
Ash is also adept at interweaving her own poetic observations about life and the natural world, and often reflects on the things she learns from the people she meets including captains, deckhands, birdwatchers, fishmongers, processors, barkeeps, and geologists.
“A geologist’s task is to see beyond the ways in which time tries to smooth out difference, examining layers in order to isolate each sift to our world, to feel every fault line. We discuss how hard this is to do this with people, to imagine our lives not as one continuous line, but comprised of hundreds of versions, stacked up behind us, and hundreds more ahead of us too, like those pairs of facing mirrors that make your reflection curl up infinitely on either side of you.”
The book not only explores what it means to work in the fishing industry, but also what it means to live in a place that is so connected to the sea. As a person who grew up in a small coastal town in the Pacific Northwest, I was intrigued to learn about another coastal town across the globe. Books, like travel, can broaden our horizons, but also connect us. People in Cornwall look for the illusive “Green Flash” just like the residents of my hometown. The fishing industry everywhere is effected by globalization and climate change. Small seaside towns struggle with similar issues like tensions between tourism and industry. Fishing families across the globe are impacted by metal health issues, tragedy, and grief.
If you are curious about the natural world and the human experience in a small town across the Atlantic, check out Dark, Salt, Clear. While I picked up a physical copy of this book from my local library, you can also read it as an ebook through the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries.
Ash, Lamorna. Dark, Salt, Clear: the Life of a Fishing Town. Bloomsbury, 2020.
This 4 x 6 glass plate negative is a full-figure portrait photograph of Dorothy Rich, seated at a small wooden table and serving tea to her doll and her stuffed bunny. Dorothy was born May 3rd, 1903 in Nebraska to Riley G. and Georgie A. Rich. Her father worked as a physician in David City, Nebraska.
This image is published as part of the Boston Studio Project collection, and is owned by them and the Thorpe Opera House Foundation. The Boston Studio Collection consists of over 68,000 negatives that record life in and around David City, Nebraska from 1893 to 1979.
The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.
With the British Royal Family gossip mill recently abuzz, and as the sun sets on Women’s History Month, now is the perfect opportunity to visit Josephine Tey’s 1951 novel The Daughter of Time, and take a step back to the 15th century to investigate the murderous reputation of Richard III. Holding the top spot in the British Crime Writers’ Association’s list of Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, The Daughter of Time is quite the influential novel, leading in part to the discovery of Richard III’s burial site in 2012. Like Nebraska’s own Mignon G. Eberhart, Tey wrote during what is called the “Golden Age of Crime Fiction”, and her novels continue to surprise and delight readers.
Hospitalized from his latest case, Inspector Alan Grant is at a loss for entertainment. Having counted the ceiling tiles and studied the comings and goings of his nurses, he is growing restless. It’s not until a friend suggests he attempt to solve a cold case from his hospital bed does inspiration strike. Examining a portrait of the late King Richard III, Grant (a fan of physiognomy) doesn’t see the ruthless uncle who would kill his two young nephews. He sees a gentle man, lost to time. With the help of the young American Researcher, Grant races across histories written by second hands with ulterior motives. And as the pair work to challenge myths and legends to clear Richard’s name, they can’t help but wonder, what could be gained by besmirching an usurped King?
“The truth of anything at all doesn’t lie in someone’s account of it. It lies in all the small facts of the time. An advertisement in a paper, the sale of a house, the price of a ring.”
Josephine Tey
Chock full of wit and political intrigue, The Daughter of Time is a history lesson like no other. Our copies at the Commission include a 2013 introduction by the late author Robert Barnard whose overview of Josephine Tey (real name Elizabeth Mackintosh) includes her writing style, spot in history, and acknowledgments of prejudices characteristic of her time which are unfortunately present in the text. Book Club groups will enjoy exploring the very real mystery of Richard III and the unknown fate of the two Princes in the Tower against the safe and removed backdrop of Grant’s hospital bed. And the delightful repartee between characters cannot be understated, from puns to inquiring over the ownership of who gets to die in the Thames- Tey is truly a master of the genre.
If you’re interested in requesting The Daughter of Time for your book club, you can find the Request Formhere. There are 7 copies available. (A librarian must request items)
Tey, Josephine. The Daughter of Time. Simon and Schuster. 1951
