Tuesday, April 26, 2011

May 2, 1611

I'm a little ahead of schedule, but I didn't want the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James version of the Bible to go unremarked. As a librarian, I'm interested in the Bible because it is one of the most widely read books in the English language. It is also one of the most often translated books, whether into other languages or colloquial English. I started to try counting how many versions we have here, but eventually gave up. We have The Jewish Study Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Learning Bible, New American Standard Version, Positive Bible, and on and on--to the tune of about 131 items under the title heading Bible. And more if you count DVD and audiobook versions. Granted some are study versions or concordances, but still--that's a lot of Bibles.

I think most people would agree that the King James version has set a high mark for poetic language. Phrases from the Bible find their way into book titles, and these books find their way into our collections. The web site Goodreads has a list of book titles that come from the Bible with over 170 entries. Here are just a few: East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Rembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter, and Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl.

You don't often think that something put together by a committee, even when assigned the job by a king, will prove to be so enduring. Happy 400th to the King James Version of the Bible.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

National Library Week at EPL

This is National Library Week, and we've been celebrating all week--in a low key sort of way. If you visited either branch on Tuesday, April 12, you had an opportunity to have your photo taken with your favorite book as part of Library Snapshot Day. On Library Snapshot Day libraries all over the country took photos of what's going on in their buildings to document all the different things that go on in libraries. We are in the process of posting the photos we took on our new Facebook page. You'll find us there at facebook.com/everettlibrary. You can friend us or like us. The page will be another way to keep up with what's going on at your library, and we also hope to use it to gather some feedback--so look for the occasional survey there.

Have a great National Library Week. Check out a book--it's on us!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Rain, rain, go away

I have to admit that a trip to someplace warm and sunny right about now sounds appealing. But since that's not happening, I have decided to just look forward to things I know are going to happen around here. And there is actually quite a lot.

We are finally getting ready for our teen space project by getting rid of most of our old magazine archive, rearranging collections on the first floor, and lowering our shelves to make access more convenient. You're probably wondering why you should even believe me, since I've been talking about this project for so long. However, it really is going to happen. While the construction contract is being signed, we're picking out paint, carpet, and furnishings. I'm looking forward to seeing all our work pay off with a great place for teens and a story room large enought to hold everyone who would like to attend.

You may have noticed the street in front of the Main Library is almost finished. And just in time for our next door neighbor, Library Place, to begin building the last part of their project. This time next year we should have almost 200 new neighbors--more if you count those who live in the Schack Arts Center.

The last thing on my list to look forward to is National Library Week, which is April 10-16. Come help us celebrate Library Snapshot Day on April 12 (and get your photo taken with your favorite book), or National Bookmobile Day on April 13. There will be activities going on at both locations, so stop by and check it out.