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Category Archives: General
Throwback Thursday: Epworth Lake Park
Hope you’re keeping cool this #ThrowbackThursday!
This 14 x 9 cm color postcard shows a view of Epworth Lake Park in Lincoln, Nebraska from around 1901-1907. In the lake are people in a row boat near a dock and wooden house to the right. The lake is surrounded by trees and other buildings are seen beyond the trees. The name Epworth is misspelled on the card as “Epsworth Lake Park, Lincoln, Nebr.”
The Epworth Association was formed in 1897 with ties to the Methodist Church and patterned after the program and meeting grounds at Lake Chautauqua, New York. A large area southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska, along Salt Creek was purchased and Epworth Lake was dredged near its center and filled by the creek. Buildings erected included a dormitory, hotel, four restaurants, post office, an amphitheater seating 500, and a huge, roofed, open-sided amphitheater which seated between 2,500 and 3,000 people. Many small cabins and 857 wooden, raised tent bases were also built to accommodate vacationing families. The park could provide accommodations for 2,500 and by 1910-11 it was in full swing. The Burlington Railroad built a spur line from Lincoln to the park offering summer specials. Because evening programs and Chautauqua were popular, it was common for 25 railroad cars to wait outside the gates to return attendees to Lincoln after the shows. Daily admission was 25 cents or an 8-day pass for $1. Speakers included Booker T. Washington, Enrico Caruso, Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, and Howard Taft. During the summer daily attendance ran from 2,000 – 2,500. With the advent of the automobile and the ability of city dwellers to go anywhere, in 1930, only 13,682 admissions were recorded for the entire year. In 1935 torrential rains nearly destroyed the camp grounds and in 1940 the Epworth League moved its programs to Bethany Park. In about 1966 the land was willed to the City of Lincoln and became Wilderness Park.
— McKee, James L. “Remember When: Memories of Lincoln”. Lincoln: J & L Lee Co., 1998, p. 17.
This image is published and owned by the Omaha Public Library. They have a large collection of 1,100+ postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation
Tagged Epworth Lake, Epworth Park, Lincoln Nebraska, Postcard, Throwback Thursday
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Nebraska Book Now Available on BARD!
The “Catfish at the Pump” by Roger L. Welsch, with Linda K. Welsch, 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.
Were our forefathers liars? “You bet they were,” says Roger Welsch, “and damned fine ones at that.” The proof is in “Catfish at the Pump”, a collection of the kind of humor that softened the hardships of pioneering on the Great Plains. From yellowed newspapers, magazines, and forgotten Nebraska Federal Writers’ Project files, the well-known folklorist and humorist Roger Welsch has produced a book to be treasured. Here are jokes, anecdotes, legends, tall tales, and lugubriously funny poems about the things that preoccupied the pioneer plainsman: weather extremes; soil quality; food and whiskey; an arkload of animals, including grasshoppers, bed bugs, hoop snakes, the ubiquitous mule, and some mighty big fish; and even sickness and the poverty that would inspire black laughter again in the Great Depression.
“The book is more than a collection of good tales and jokes; it is, in fact, a serious study about humor. . . . well documented and well written.”
—Nebraska History
TBBS borrowers can request the “Catfish at the Pump,” DCB02038 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.
#BookFaceFriday “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds
This #BookFaceFriday will really push your buttons!
This week’s #BookFace, “Long Way Down” by New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, is a Newbery Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book.
This electric YA novel is available as a part of our Book Club Kit collection, along with five other books written by Jason Reynolds.“Spanning a mere one minute and seven seconds, Reynolds’ new free-verse novel is an intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger. Reynolds’ concise verses echo like shots against the white space of the page, their impact resounding. He peels back the individual stories that led to this moment in the elevator and exposes a culture inured to violence because poverty, gang life, or injustice has left them with no other option. In this all too real portrait of survival, Reynolds goes toe-to-toe with where, or even if, love and choice are allowed to exist.”
—Booklist, starred review
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
This title is also available as an Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. You can find ten other books by Jason Reynolds in our Kids and Teens collection! 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 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Throwback Thursday: Welcome Sign, Crawford NE
Take some time to enjoy the great outdoors this #ThrowbackThursday!
This 4″ x 6″ black and white postcard shows the now-famous sign that was erected at the entry of Pinney Ranch along White River in Dawes County. It reads, “Notice: Hunt and Fish all you Damn please! When the bell rings come to dinner. B.G. Pinney, First Erected in 1887.” Just below the sign the postcard reads “Greetings from Crawford, Nebr.” The ranch was owned by Bailey G. (“BG”) Pinney from 1864-1938.
This image is published by the Crawford Public Library, and owned by the Crawford Historical Society and Museum. They partnered together to digitize a number of images of the Crawford area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
Is Your Public Library the ‘Best Small Library in America’?
Calling all libraries serving communities of 25,000 or less!
Library Journal is now accepting applications for the Best Small Library in America Award, made possible by Ingram. Library Journal‘s annual award for the Best Small Library in America was founded in 2005 to encourage and showcase the exemplary work of these libraries. It honors the U.S. public library that most profoundly demonstrates outstanding service to populations of 25,000 or less.
The deadline to nominate your library is June 26, 2024.
This is an amazing opportunity to show off your great rural or small library. Anyone can nominate a library – the library administration itself, patrons, members of the community, library peers, etc.
Judges want to hear about how, in the last two years, you have raised the profile of the library in your community, reached out to new users and remote users, impacted literacy in the community, and used technology to support and grow patron access to materials and information. Share your innovative approaches to traditional problems, including seemingly small fixes that work, and specific innovations that can be readily adopted by other libraries of all sizes.
The winner will be presented at the 2024 Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Conference, September 11-14, 2024 in Springfield, MA, and will have the opportunity to speak there.
The winning library will receive a $5,000 cash award, and two finalist libraries will receive $1,000 each. All three will be featured in the September 2024 issue of Library Journal and online.
Nominate your favorite Nebraska library today! Learn more about the guidelines and submit your nomination on the Best Small Library in America Award website.
Posted in General, Library Management, Public Relations
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#BookFaceFriday “Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice” by Elle Cosimano
Feel the wind in your hair with #BookFaceFriday!
You know what every good road trip needs? A great read, like this week’s #BookFace, “Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice: A Novel” by Elle Cosimano ( Minotaur Books, 2024.) The fourth book in Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series, it’s available for checkout as an eBook and as an Audiobook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries, along with the first three books in the series. This oddball adventure, featuring themes of friendship, motherhood, and complicated relationships keeps Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero’s story rolling.
“Cosimano’s fourth Finlay Donovan novel is brilliantly plotted, bringing the witty humor and thrilling, nail-biting action the series is known for while also tackling emotional family dynamics. Cosimano knocks this one out of the park. Highly recommended for all fans of the series.”
— Booklist (starred review)
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 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Throwback Thursday: Linotype NPG
We’re back with another #ThrowbackThursday!
This 8” x 10” glass plate negative was taken in June of 1915, as shown by the calendar in the back of the room advertising the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. The negative shows off a wooden room with two linotype machines, one currently in use.
This image is published and owned by Townsend Studio, which has been in continuous operation since its foundation in 1888 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The studio holds a collection of glass plate and acetate negatives of early Lincoln and its residents.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
New Book Now Available on BARD!
The “The Battle of the Little Bighorn” by Mari Sandoz, introduction by Elaine Marie Nelson, 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.
Mari Sandoz’s beautifully written account of the battle in which General George Armstrong Custer staked his life and lost it reveals on every page the author’s intimate knowledge of her subject. The character of the Sioux, the personality of Custer, the mixed emotions of Custer’s men, the plains landscape all emerge with such clarity that the reader is transported to that spring in 1876 when the Army of the Plains began its fateful march toward Yellowstone. The background of the tragedy is here: the history of bad blood and broken treaties between the Indigenous nations and the United States, the underlying reason for Custer’s expedition and for the convocation of Indians on the Little Bighorn that particular year. Sandoz’s final book was the first analysis of Custer’s motives and political ambitions to shed light on an old mystery that was hotly disputed by the general’s admirers. Historian Elaine Marie Nelson introduces this iconic work to a new generation and details the long, challenging road this book took to publication. Sandoz raced against time to complete the volume while undergoing cancer treatments, and the book was published just three months after her death. “The Battle of the Little Bighorn” is widely considered the apex of her writing.
“Mari Sandoz’s beautifully written account of the battle in which General George Armstrong Custer staked his life in 1876-and lost it-reveals on every page the author’s intimate knowledge of her subject. Historian Elaine Marie Nelson introduces this iconic work to a new generation.”
—Bison Books
TBBS borrowers can request the “The Battle of the Little Bighorn,” DCB02003 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.
#BookFaceFriday “Miss Morissa” by Mari Sandoz
We’ve struck gold this #BookFaceFriday!
This week’s #BookFace is “Miss Morissa: Doctor of the Gold Trail” by Nebraskan author Mari Sandoz; it tells the story of a young pioneering woman doctor on the Nebraska frontier in the 1870’s as rumors of gold strikes begin to spread. This dramatic and moving historical fiction novel is available as a part of our Book Club Kit collection, along with eight other books written by Mari Sandoz.
“Beautifully written and full of striking images and masterful descriptions.”
—New York Times
This week’s model is model is our brand-new Computer Help Desk Support, Kim Ramsey! Kim recently transferred to the Library Commission from Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services. She reached 25 years of state employment in May and most of that time has been providing computer and technical support to state employees and other agencies. Kim lives in Lincoln with her husband Mike, and their two cats, Mei and Juno, who are their entertainment and sometimes their alarm clock. Science fiction is her favorite genre and she is currently re-reading “The Expanse” series by authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Gardening and reading are her stress relief, and garden/plant talk is probably the best way to distract her from whatever she’s supposed to be doing. If you get the chance, say hello to Kim!
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
While we don’t have this particular title available through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, we do have a significant number of the author’s other works available. You can find eleven books by Mari Sandoz, including the 2007 One Book One Nebraska selection “Crazy Horse” on 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 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged book club kit, Book Covers, bookfacefriday, Historical Fiction, libraries, Mari Sandoz, Miss Morissa, Nebraska Author, Reading
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Throwback Thursday: New Moon
Happy #ThrowbackThursday, did you know there’s a new moon tonight?
This black and white photograph on a postcard shows a photo of the night sky, taken by John Nelson, focusing on the new moon with stars through the treetops. The photographer’s initials appear in the lower right corner, with the J imposed on the N, and the title “The New Moon” is written in the lower left hand corner.
This image is owned and published by History Nebraska. They digitized content from the John Nelson and the J. A. Anderson collection. John Nelson came to Nebraska with his parents at the age of seventeen from Sweden. His photographs tell the story of small town life in Nebraska during the first decades of the twentieth century.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
#BookFaceFriday “Defiant” by Brandon Sanderson
Adventure awaits for this #BookFaceFriday!
With another school year ending, that can only mean one thing: Summer Reading Program is upon us! This week’s #BookFace is “Defiant” by Brandon Sanderson (Random House Children’s Books, 2023), the fourth book in his Skyward series.
It’s available for checkout as an eBook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries; it can be found in the “Adventure Begins at your Library” collection. This action-packed epic Sci-fi series is an excellent YA pick for both boys and girls and fits perfectly in this year’s Summer Reading Program theme.“Sanderson delivers a cinematic adventure that explores the defining aspects of the individual versus the society…[and] fans of [his] will not be disappointed.”
— School Library Journal
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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Throwback Thursday: Bookmobile at Nehawka Public Library
Let’s take a drive down memory lane this #ThrowbackThursday!
This 4-1/8″ x 2-1/2″ black and white photograph dated 11/09/1937 shows several woman standing beside a bookmobile parked on Maple Street outside of the log cabin building of Nehawka Public Library, which continues to serve as a library to this day. The panel doors on the truck are open, showing books on shelves inside, and several of the woman are either reading or posing with a book. Among the woman are Isadore Sheldon Tucker on the far left and Evelyn Wolph on the far right. Isadore Sheldon Tucker’s father built Sheldon General Store in 1888 and Miss Wolph was a long time 4-H leader in Cass County.
This image is published by the Nebraska Library Commission. The collections include material on the history of libraries in the state of Nebraska, items from the 1930s related to the Nebraska Public Library Commission bookmobile, as well as items showcasing the history of Nebraska’s state institutions.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
Nebraska Cookbook Available on BARD!
The “Nebraska Pioneer Cookbook” by Kay Graber 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.
Nebraska’s pioneer food tells us much about how our forebearers lived, and in compiling this cookbook the aim was to achieve a balance between recipes and descriptions of the way of life the pioneers exemplified. Interspersed with the recipes are descriptions of food preparation and fare which tell us much about how our forebears lived—industriously, ingeniously, and sometimes very well. Although many of the recipes could not be duplicated in today’s kitchens, there is plenty here to challenge and stimulate amateur and professional chefs—and plenty of food for thought for social historians. Published by University of Nebraska Press.
TBBS borrowers can request the “Nebraska Pioneer Cookbook,” DCB02022 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.
#BookFaceFriday “Better Living Through Birding” by Christian Cooper
Keep your eye’s peeled for this #BookFaceFriday.
This week’s #BookFace is perfect for those of us who are outdoorsy, as in we like a nice cocktail on the patio. “Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World” by Christian Cooper (Books on Tape, 2023), is the nonfiction story of a New Yorker bird watching in Central Park. It’s available for checkout as an Audiobook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries, it can be found in the “Best Titles of 2023” collection.
“This unforgettable memoir, featuring fun birdsongs between chapters, is well narrated by Cooper, the science and comics writer who was falsely accused of threatening a white woman in Central Park in 2020 as she was walking her dog and he was bird-watching. This brilliant multidimensional nonfiction debut by Cooper, now the host of National Geographic’s Extraordinary Birder, should be cherished by all memoir fans and will strike a chord with his fellow sci-fi and comics fans.”
—Library Journal
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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Throwback Thursday: Edwin Lyndon May Jr. and Dog
This #ThrowbackThursday is extra adorable!
This 4″x6″ glass plate negative is a portrait photograph of Edwin Lyndon “Ned” May Jr. and a small dog. Edwin was born in Nebraska, December 15, 1904, and the photograph is dated October 16, 1906 making him just under two years old in the portrait. He was the son of Edwin and Jennette May, and according to the 1920 census, the family was living in Beatrice, Nebraska, where his parents ran a hotel. Later in life Edwin married Evelyn Johnson on October 8, 1942, in Jackson County, Missouri. He died at the age of 89 on May 9, 1994, in Pierce, Nebraska.
This image is published as part of the Boston Studio Project collection, and is owned by both 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.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
NLC Staff: Meet Andrew “Sherm” Sherman
Questions and answers with NLC’s Library Technology Support Specialist, Andrew Sherman AKA Sherm, who started working with us in December 2022. Take a few minutes and get to know him with a few fun questions!
What was the last thing you googled?
MapQuest to plan a trip to multiple libraries
What advice would you give your 21 year old self?
You never stop learning and you’ll be much happier if you embrace change
What’s your ideal vacation?
Hiking in the mountains or lying on a beach
What do you do to relax?
Reading, playing video games, and streaming shows at home – currently Fallout on Prime
Describe your first car:
A sweet 1967 Competition Orange Mustang Coupe with chrome Cragar wheels that my twin brother and I bought and shared.
If I weren’t working in a library, I’d be …
Working as an IT Professional
What was the first concert you remember attending?
Black Sabbath
What movie can you watch over and over again?
Galaxy Quest
What was the last book you read?
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
What was the last movie you watched?
Barbie on Max
What is a quote you live by?
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”
– Leonardo da Vinci
What is your proudest handyman moment?
Full kitchen and bathroom remodels of my homes
What phrase describes you?
Git-R-Done!
What smell brings back great memories?
My mom’s chocolate chip cookies
If you could have one superpower what would it be?
The ability to fly
What’s the last thing you do before you go to bed?
Plug in my phone and put it on the nightstand
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Patient to a point then Boom
Do you have any tattoos?
No
What is your favorite comfort food?
Just like the song. “I like mine with lettuce and tomata, Heinz 57 and french fried potatas. A big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer. Well good God almighty which way do I steer?!” Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffett
What words or phrases do you overuse?
Sweet! and Cool!
What’s your most treasured possession?
Memories of vacations with my family
On what occasion do you lie?
Answering I’m fine when people constantly asked me how I was doing after losing my 1st wife to breast cancer.
What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
Stevie Nicks (love her!) and other singers and bands as they came and went
Do you love or hate rollercoasters?
LOVE
Do you have any pets?
A corgi named Baxter and three cats named Minnie, Lucius, and Umbra
What is your guilty pleasure?
Ice cream
Favorite technology you could not live without?
My smartphone
If you could get rid of one holiday – which one would you abolish?
I enjoy all of the holidays
If you could only eat one kind of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pizza
If you could call anyone in the world and have a one-hour conversation, who would you call?
David Whyte – the author of Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. His book was very comforting while grieving.
Posted in General, Public Relations
Tagged Nebraska Library Commission Staff, NLC Staff, Staff
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Friday Reads & BookFace Friday: “Making It So” by Patrick Stewart
I remember watching and enjoying Star Trek: The Next Generation, starring Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, but I wouldn’t call myself a diehard Trekkie. That was no barrier to finding Making It So, Stewart’s recently released memoir, enchanting and delightful. Especially the Audie award-winning audio edition, narrated by Stewart, himself.
As you can imagine, he declaims every word of every sentence with gusto!Stewart (b. 1940) starts at the beginning, describing what it was like growing up working class in Yorkshire in the 1940s and early 1950s. This includes a brief etymology lesson on the Yorkshire dialect he grew up speaking, which, according to Stewart, would have been “nearly incomprehensible to Londoners, let alone Americans.” For instance, he explains that “ata,” which meant “are you,” descended from “art though”; “nowt” meant “nothing”; “Geroff!” meant “leave me alone”; and a chamber pot was a “gazunder,” because it “goes under” the bed. This is relevant since in order to become an actor he had to learn “received pronunciation,” or “RP.” (RP was the standard pronunciation used by BBC broadcasters back in the day.)
Stewart also does a good job conveying the degree to which theater permeated English society at the time. It ranged from amateur dramatics (“am-drams”) at the local level, to a network of regional repertory theaters, all the way up to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and the National Theatre in London. And thanks to financial support by the government in the form of grants and scholarships, it was accessible to all—even a working-class boy like Stewart, who got his start locally and then worked his way to the top.
If you are particularly interested in the Star Trek: Next Generation portion of this memoir, you’ll have to be patient, or skip to chapter 16. From there on out (there are a total of 25 chapters in the book), you will be rewarded with lots of insider, behind-the-scenes information about Stewart’s time as Picard. There are also plenty of details about his stint as Charles Xavier in the X-Men movie franchise, and voice work for Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy and American Dad, as well as other television, film, theater, and social media projects he’s participated in, including reciting all Shakespeare’s sonnets on Instagram during the pandemic lockdown.
While this memoir will appeal to Trekkies, theater nerds, and Anglofiles, there are also elements that will resonate with anyone who has lived a long life filled with both gratitude and regret. In later chapters, Stewart expresses remorse over the demise of his 23-year marriage to his first wife, and the damage that did to his relationship with their children, Daniel and Sophie: “[T]he hurt caused by my split with their mother has never fully gone away,” he writes. After a second brief marriage falls apart, he laments: “And so, another divorce. I felt stupid and responsible.” But he also joyfully expounds on life with his third wife, Sunny Ozell, to whom he’s been married since 2013, as well as his well-publicized friendship with Ian McKellen. Overall, Stewart comes across as a vibrant, engaged octogenarian who, despite living a full, rich life, is still ready for more!
Stewart, Patrick. Making It So: A Memoir. Gallery Books, 2023.
You can find “Making It So: A Memoir” by Patrick Stewart as an eBook in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries! 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!
Love this #BookFace & Friday Reads? We suggest checking out all the titles available in our Book Club collection, permanent collection, and Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, Ebook, Friday Reads, Making It So, Memoir, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, Patrick Stewart, Reading
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Throwback Thursday: The Rose Bower at Hanscom Park
Remember to stop and smell the roses on this #ThrowbackThursday!
This 13.5 x 8.5 cm color postcard shows a lovely view of a rose bower at Hanscom Park, one of Omaha’s oldest parks. The 50-acre tract was donated to the city in 1872 by Andrew J. Hanscom and James Megeath. There is a long bower covered in pink roses with a woman standing to the right in an off-white skirt, jacket and hat. The reverse is postmarked 1912 over a one cent stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin in profile (attached upside down) along with a handwritten message:
Postmark 1912
Miss Veda Wenstrand
Essex
Iowa
Rt #3
Hello how you was I am fine and dandy what are you doing now days I am working hard all the time are you coming down this way sun will are you game [unreadable due to fading writing] I am game all the time [unreadable]
This image is published and owned by the Omaha Public Library. They have a large collection of 1,100+ postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
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.
Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation
Tagged Color postcards, Hanscom Park, Omaha, Omaha Public Library, Throwback Thursday
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A Fantastical Book on BARD!
“Dragons and Unicorns: A Natural History” by Paul and Karin Johnsgard 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.
Is it generally safe to walk by dragon weyrs on sunny days? Do dragons really lay golden eggs? Do dragon teeth have any medicinal value? And what about unicorns: Do some rare ones have two horns, and when aren’t unicorns white? What is a unicorn “sneeze call,” and what exactly is the best way to capture a unicorn, anyway? Find the answers to these and other questions in this charming and carefully researched book that presents the first scientific look at two of the earth’s most mysterious and elusive creatures.
TBBS borrowers can request “Dragons and Unicorns: A Natural History,” DBC02037 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.
#BookFaceFriday “Two Tribes” by Emily Bowen Cohen
This #BookFaceFriday is the best of both worlds!
It’s a picture perfect #BookFace, with “Two Tribes” by Emily Bowen Cohen (Heartdrum, 2023) it is a graphic novel geared towards YA or tween readers based on the author’s real life. You can hear all about it on our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder’s, “Best New Teen Reads of 2023” NCompass Live presentation. You can watch the recording and find out all about her book lists on the NCompass Live webpage. In this episode, Sally and Dana Fontaine, Fremont High School Librarian, give brief book talks and reviews of new titles recommended to school and public librarians, covering both middle and high school levels, that were published within the last year.
“In Mia’s struggle to reconcile her ancestries, the creator develops a credible portrayal of self-image and acceptance. Plentiful panels rendered in earth tones further enhance this nuanced portrait of Mia’s search for identity.”
—Publishers Weekly
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
