What Are You Doing November 7?

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves—and the only way they could do this is by not voting. – FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

Several items will be on the ballot in Texas on November 7, including a Senate seat, all 32 US Representative seats, and the Attorney General.

Texans will also have the opportunity to head to the polls to cast their vote for the next governor of the Lone Star State. Unfortunately during the last election for governor of Texas, only 29% of voters bothered to show up at the polls to vote. With hot topics facing Texans, such as immigration, education, toll roads and ethics reform, there is a lot at stake for the next four years.

We’ll have a choice among the following six official candidates for governor of Texas:

• Carole Keeton Strayhorn – Republican running as an Independent
• Chris Bell – Democratic Party candidate
• James Werner – Libertarian Party candidate
• James Dillon – only official write-in candidate
• Kinky Friedman – Independent candidate
• Rick Perry – Republican incumbent candidate

Come on, y’all! Stand up, make your voice heard and head to the polls to cast your vote Tuesday, November 7.

More information about voting can be found on the Secretary of State website.
 

Youtube may be the destination of choice for viewing the latest, the greatest and sometimes the lamest in video, but where do you go for the best of, say, the 1940s? Enter the Internet Archive.

The non-profit Internet Archive “was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format.” While its collection includes digitized versions of films in the public domain, such as F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, the scope of the archive also covers music, radio broadcasts, audiobooks, text, software and even 1,400 courses from MIT.

Another feature of the archive is its Wayback Machine. Instead of surfing the Internet that is, surf the Internet that was. The Wayback Machine takes periodic snapshots of websites and preserves them in the face of the relentless march toward fresh content. With the Wayback Machine, you can assume the role of a digital archaeologist and see how the almost all-text content of Yahoo! from 1996 compares to the dynamic Ajax-powered portal of today.

Though its stated purpose is to preserve information for researchers and scholars, it is a public library after all. Download the audiobook The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, watch a Charlie Chaplin festival or listen to a Grateful Dead show from 1967.
 

Do They Like You? Do They Really Really Like You?

Library Journal is currently accepting nominations for its eighth annual Paraprofessional of the Year award. The award and its $1500 cash prize is given annually to those who advance the role of paraprofessionals and who support the traditional library principles of advocating literacy and freedom of access to information.

Last year's winner was Valeria Fike of the College of DuPage Library, who won not for one single accomplishment, but because she "has been a mentor to dozens of librarians, resident librarians, interns from MLS programs, and some of the most seasoned professional staff." If this describes someone you know, why not nominate them?

The deadline for nominations is January 10, 2007. For more information on nominating guidelines and criteria, see the announcement at Library Journal.
 

The National Geography Society promotes the importance of geography during National Geography Awareness Week, officially celebrated during the third week in November since 1987. We live in a complex global era, and geography can give us a better understanding of our own country and international relationships.

Take a minute to see how much you know about geography with our National Geography Awareness quiz!

1. What is the capital of Canada?
a) Toronto
b) Ottawa
c) Vancouver
d) Edmonton

2. Mount McKinley is the highest point in the United States. In what state can you climb this mountain?
a) Colorado
b) Montana
c) Utah
d) Alaska

3. Mexico borders all but what country?
a) United States
b) Guatemala
c) Honduras
d) Belize

4. The Mississippi River begins in which state?
a) Mississippi
b) Missouri
c) Montana
d) Minnesota

5. What is the northernmost capital city in the world?
a) Moscow, Russia
b) Stockholm, Sweden
c) Reykjavik, Iceland
d) Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

6. Jakarta is the capital of what country?
a) Indonesia
b) Cambodia
c) Bolivia
d) Austria

Scroll to the bottom to see how you did.
 

Discovery Series: Orhan Pamuk

While visits often become routine, the library should be about discovery. Discovery of worlds unknown, books unexplored, ideas yet unrealized and uncovering wonderful authors hiding in the stacks is all possible every day at your library.

You may be familiar with top-selling authors such as J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, David McCullough, Nicholas Sparks and Christopher Paolini, but one of the best of the best this year is Orhan Pamuk.

Who?

Unknown to many Americans, Orhan Pamuk is an internationally known Turkish author who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in October 2006. His works have been translated into 40 languages and earned him acclaim in Europe and beyond. But it isn’t just his long and varied body of work that makes Orhan Pamuk worth discovering.

In early 2005, Pamuk made comments to a Swiss magazine regarding the 1915 slaughter of 30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians in Turkey. He believed that initiating the discussion of the taboo topic was important for his country. Later the same year, Pamuk was charged under a new penal code of “insulting Turkishness.” Even facing a trial and possible jail time, Pamuk reiterated his statements in hopes of opening a dialog regarding historical accuracy and free speech.

The charges led to an international outcry involving Amnesty International and members of the European Parliament, then considering Turkey’s entry into the European Union. Several international authors, including Gabriel García Márquez, Günter Grass, Umberto Eco, Carlos Fuentes, and John Updike issued a joint statement supporting Pamuk. The charges were eventually dropped.

Margaret Atwood calls Pamuk’s novels “essential reading for our times.” So if you’ve never heard of Orhan Pamuk until recently, discover him at your library today! Check out our catalog for availability of his translated works.
 

Geography Quiz Answers

FEATURED Staff Recommendation

Raissa Marking (Librarian, Pan American Library) gets comfortable with a good book.

Currently Reading Nonfiction
Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig

Currently Re-reading Fiction
Temple of my Familiar by Alice Walker

Recently Read
Every book I could find by Octavia Butler, including Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents

Favorite Children's Books
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, including Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons and Calling on Dragons

Favorite Picture Book
The Rainbow Tulip by Pat Mora
 

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