Question: What do these two lists have in common with Nashua?

1. America’s Favorite Architecture

2. The Princeton Review’s Best 368 Colleges for 2009.

Answer: Both pay tribute to the renowned American architect and New Hampshire native Ralph Adams Cram, designer of Nashua’s Hunt Memorial Building located at the head of Main Street on Library Hill. To know more about the architect, check out The architecture of Ralph Adams Cram and his office by Ethan Anthony (Norton, 2007).

America’s Favorite Architecture is sponsored on the web by the American Institute of Architects and features the AIA150: the top 150 architecture projects selected by the American Public. New York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine is #23 on the list. Cram’s firm took over the project in 1907 and rendered an imposing gothic design for which the still unfinished cathedral is now famous.

The Princeton Review’s annual Best Colleges is a perennial favorite among the college-bound set. Representing less than 5% of 7000 colleges in the US (see the US Department of Education’s College Navigator for the complete list.), the Princeton Review, along with competitor US News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” slices and dices rankings into all sorts of categories. While not all rankings are coveted (such as “Best Party Schools”, where UNH holds this years #11 spot), the lists are of particular interest to students, parents and administrators alike. Ranking #1 on this year’s “Most Beautiful Campus” list is Princeton University, where Cram served as Consulting Architect from 1907 to 1929 and during which time was responsible for the design and construction of 25 buildings.

Cram’s gothic revival style lives on across the country and is elegantly represented in Nashua in the Hunt Memorial Building. The Hunt, Nashua’s public library from 1903 to 1970, is a testament to the civic-mindedness of the Hunt family, who donated $50,000 to the city for this architectural gem “for the use of the public forever.”

Categories: Local History/Genealogy

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As many of you know, we have a very high demand for meeting space here at the library. Researchers occasionally find that the Hunt Room, our local history and genealogy room, is being used for a meeting. In such cases, librarians at the reference desk are always happy to retrieve materials from the Hunt Room for our researchers.

We have also set aside hours that are reserved for research only, when the Hunt Room cannot be used for meetings. Recently, we doubled the number of hours that are research only. In addition to our standard Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 (6 to 7 on the third Wednesday of each month), the Hunt Room is now reserved for research on Friday and Saturday mornings from 9:00 to 12:00.

As always, it's a good idea to call ahead if you wish to use the Hunt Room at other times. Call us at the reference desk, (603) 589-4611, and we will let you know whether the room is free.

Categories: Local History/Genealogy

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The library is a great resource for students of all ages. The Nashua Public Library has great resources for everyone at every stage of learning. One request I get often at the Reference desk is for practice exams for the GED or other exams for professions that require the job candidate to take. Examples include law enforcement, teaching, and civil service careers. While the Nashua Public Library has many books on different professions, as well as materials on practice exams, there is another great resource you can use. As a library card holder, you can access the database Learning Express Library.

From the NPL homepage, you will see the NPL banner with menu items. Under Database – Most Popular, you can access the Learning Express Library, or Click Here! to see an alphabetical list of our databases. If you are using the database at home, you will need to enter the last 5 digits of your library barcode.

Once in Learning Express Library, you can create a username and password (for free) and begin taking practice exams for the GED, GMAT, ESL, Praxis, Real Estate, and much more! When signed into with your individual username and password, you can take those practice exams, get scores and answer explanations.

To find out what books we have on different careers, you can browse the libraries Career Books section, or see the Reference Department for assistance. For you searching convenience, I've linked some of the practice exam examples I've included above, to our catalog.

What are some resources you have found useful for studying?

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"The more I observed, the more I began to formulate the notion that flexibility is the key to pleasing customers. Retail outlets that adhere strictly to store policy tend to antagonize people. We all like to think that we have unique needs, preferences, and desires. I concluded that good stores -- and libraries -- focus on people, not policies. [But] the biggest skeptics were always the circulation clerks." (Will Manley, "Rule-Benders Rule", American Libraries 9/08, p 80)

"Great service is hard to find because, quite simply, it isn't fair." (Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service, p 33)

Circulation departments can be nesting places for inflexible attitudes towards customers, and usually in the name of "fairness". Many of us have this notion that life should be fair, and that we should never back down when customers are in the wrong. But that isn't the way customer service works. As Weinzweig tells his employees, "'Fair' is another planet. If you need things to be fair, then it's time to think about a different place to work." (ibid, p 34) Library stewardship isn't jurisprudence, and circulation clerks aren't magistrates. It's often the case that unpleasant patrons get more attention (and better service) by complaining about what upsets them.

As I emphasized before, this doesn't mean that rules go out the window (nor that we become doormats, especially to those who frequently exploit our flexibility), only that policies are forever subject to people, not vice-versa. As Manley implies in the American Libraries article, there's a higher law in customer service, one riddled with ambiguity and subjectivity. It's the law of flexibility and good public relations, and we follow it at the Nashua Public Library. Or at least we try.

Categories: Library Services

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Most of us have probably heard, if not used, this phrase to describe someone sleeping soundly or peacefully. As a new mom, I can assure you that babies, at least the really young ones, do not "sleep like babies" themselves. They are often restless. My baby makes all sorts of faces when she's sleeping. Her eyes flutter and she grins. It's very cute (of course I think so), but not peaceful. Also, newborns tend to not sleep through the night. Being woken up at 2:30 a.m. is not the highlight of motherhood.

So, what is a new parent to do? You can find relief right here at the library! Numerous experts have written books about getting your child to sleep. Take a look at the books below. If the call number includes "JUV," the book is on the parenting shelf in the children's room.

Solve your child's sleep problems / Richard Ferber JUV 618.9284 F
The no-cry sleep solution : gentle ways to help your baby sleep through the night / Elizabeth Pantley 618.92 P
Healthy sleep habits, happy child / Marc Weissbluth 618.92 W
The 90-minute baby sleep program : follow your child's natural sleep rhythms for better nights and naps / Polly Moore JUV 649.122 M
The happiest baby on the block : the new way to calm crying and help your baby sleep longer / Harvey Karp 649.122 K
Sleep : the Brazelton way / T. Berry Brazelton, Joshua D. Sparrow JUV 649.122 B
Good nights : the happy parents' guide to the family bed (and a peaceful night's sleep!) / Jay Gordon and Maria Goodavage JUV 649.122 G
American Academy of Pediatrics' guide to your child's sleep : birth through adolescence / editor, George J. Cohen 618.92 A

If you're too tired to read, and you may very well be, we also have The happiest baby on the block on DVD MAM DVD 649.122 H.

I cannot guarantee the success of any of these programs. Every baby is different, and if one of these methods does not work, you can try another. Good luck and sweet dreams.

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It's me again, for my second Nashua Public Library blog post. Did you miss me? Or were you busy reading about Bigfoot?

I used the library before I started working here, and I considered myself a relatively savvy user of the website and the online catalog. But there are aspects of it and neat little tricks that I didn't discover until later on. Did you know about these already?

1. Hold Request

   If you're browsing the catalog and find a book you like, but it's checked out, you can hit the button to place a hold on it. But here's where it gets cool. If you want a specific item - say the 2008 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, or the third disc of Doctor Who Series 2 -- you can put a hold on that one particularly. Look at the Copy/Holding Information and over to the right next to the due date column, there's a link for "Request Copy".

   
   
   

2. Title versus Title Only Keyword Search

   Have you ever noticed how a Title Keyword Search turns up items that don't have your search terms in the title? That's because it's actually searching the title and a couple of other fields. If you want to narrow that down to just items with your terms in the title, you need to select Title Only Keyword. You can get to it under Advanced Keyword on the Search tab.
   
   

3. Browsing the Deweys

   Ever get a craving to browse the library shelves without actually being at the library? Never know if your search is actually turning up everything that might be useful or interesting to you? You can browse by Dewey number. A search for vampires will show you a number of nonfiction books about vampires are 398.45. Go to Browse and then select "Dewey Call Numbers", type in 398.45, and find not only the vampire books you saw previously, but other related books that might interest you. It's almost as good as browsing in person. (Note: When it pulls up the list for you, click on the call number rather than the title. For some reason, the title links don't go anywhere.)
   
   

   
   

4. Maximum Requests Have been Exceeded?

   Ever get the error message "Unable to place a request on this item. The maximum requests for this item type has been exceeded."? Once upon a time, I thought that meant I had too many DVD requests at the same time. What it actually means it that it's a Hot DVD, so new that hold requests aren't yet allowed on it. You'll have to come in to the library and find it on the shelf, or wait until it says 'Hot DVDs (requests allowed)'. What I tend to do is save it in a List that I've named 'Movies'. Then every couple of weeks, I see if any of the DVDs in my list have become requestable yet.
   
   

5. What's that in my List?

   Ever get a weird item showing up in your saved List that you're pretty sure you didn't put there? What probably happened is that you used one of the catalog computers in the library to search for something. If there are items saved in a list on one of those computers by a previous user, then when you log into your account, those items will get added to your list. If you've found this problem happening to you, just make sure the list is clear before you log in to your account on one of the library computers.
   
   

I'm learning the quirks of this catalog all the time. Have you noticed something I haven't? Is there anything about the system that still confuses you? Please leave a comment! (Note: The comments are moderated to weed out spam, so your comment won't show up immediately. Check back the next day, Monday through Friday, and I should have spotted it and fished it out by then.)

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I'm going off on a tangent again! I'm sure that many people by now are aware that the discovery of Bigfoot's corpse in Georgia was actually a hoax. Some people were relieved, some people were disappointed, most people didn't care. My husband, the man I said in a previous blog would sit in a cemetery on Halloween night with a tape recorder, was thrilled and heartbroken at the same time. He was heartbroken that it wasn't really Bigfoot, because he really is out there somewhere, you know. At the same time he was thrilled because he sees it as his life's work to go out there and find Bigfoot.

All of this got me thinking about the many mysteries that surround us - mostly imagined - and the number of people who really do believe in the existence of some of these things. I'm talking about things like Bigfoot, aliens, UFOs, crop circles, X-files, religious mysteries, urban legends, and even end-of-the- world predictions! Scientists, cultural anthropologists, and researchers have actually encouraged some of these beliefs.

Television has also got a lot to answer for. People will believe really strange things if they see them on tv. Sometimes viewers don't even notice the disclaimer which should let them know that a lot of this information comes from someone's overactive imagination. Sometimes the show is even touted as an expose of concealed information that the public should know about. Remember Alien Autopsy or Area 51? (The website for Area 51 must be examined with caution, unless you want to find yourself downloading alien landing ringtones to your cell or making a donation to whatever group this represents.) There is a lot of information on there, though, for people who "want to believe". Movies should be held responsible as well. For instance, the Da Vinci code has given birth to a multitude of religious "conspiracy theories".

The "truth" is out there in a lot of books at Nashua Public Library. If you are a "true believer" or a skeptic like me, you can still enjoy the books in the zeros section. Some of us will just laugh harder than others. Here's a selection:

Mysterious monsters: fact or fiction
Monsters: evil beings, mythical beasts and all manner of imaginary terrors by David D. Gilmore
The X-files : book of the unexplained by Jane Goldman
The mystery chronicles : more real-life x-files by Joe Nickell
A guide to the end of the world by Bill McGuire
Magi : uncovering the secret society that read the birth of Jesus in the stars by Adrian Gilbert
The chalice of Magdalene by Graham Phillips
and for those of us who knew it was all make-believe anyway:
The great pretenders : true stories behind famous historical mysteries by Jan Bondeson
The museum of hoaxes by Alex Boese

Categories: Events , Library Materials , Websites
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Archives are a wonderful and fascinating thing. I found my way into the library field because of my interest in archives. I choose my graduate school based on the fact that I could earn my Masters in Library and Information Science with a, what my school called a “special option,” in archives. This meant that I was able to take some archival classes and get some good hands-on experience.

Archives are ‘the non-current records of individuals, groups, institutions, and governments that contain information of enduring value’ (Society of American Archivists). These records can include letters, papers, photographs, video, diaries, etc. Researchers can find archival repositories in many locations, including, but not limited to, government organizations, corporations, hospitals, colleges and schools, and museums.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) hold billions of the Federal Government’s records in multiple buildings throughout the county. Because of the vast amounts of information, it is impossible to make all of the records accessible online. But wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to see some of the records they have! Lucky for us, NARA has developed Digital Vaults, digitizing some of the most interesting pieces of their collection for us to view in the comfort of our homes (or local libraries).

The site allows you to browse through images of records. When you find one you like, you can click on it to see more information about the document. It will also provide you with ‘tags’ which are keywords or subjects that are associated with the record. These tags will let you search the digital vault for other like documents and records. There is also a search option to let you type in your own keywords or subjects that interest you. There is a ‘back track’ feature to see all the documents you have viewed (which is really nice if you’ve been on the website for awhile!).

The Nashua Public Library has digitized some of its own photograph collection which can be viewed online here.

Check out the Digital Vaults and comment about some of the features of you like or what image you like best!

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A teen's world isn't all video games and text messaging at least that's what I'm concluding from the success of this year's teen summer reading program. Teens in grades 6-12 could read anything that they wanted that was at least 80 pages in length (magazines, graphic novels, fiction, non-fiction).

In the most successful teen summer reading program to date, 53 teens read 291 books and raised $160.25 for the NH Carbon Challenge. In addition, we had a number of great musical performances by local teen musicians.

I'd like to thank this year's generous sponsors:
Friends of the Nashua Public Library
Hayward's Ice Cream
NH Fisher Cats Baseball
Texas Roadhouse
Chunky's Cinema
Tee Shirt Bodega

Most of all, I'd like to thank the teens of Nashua for participating in the program. I hope you had fun.

Jenn
Teen Librarian

Categories: Teen Services

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Robert Darnton's recent article in the New York Review of Books, "The Library in the New Age", cautiously celebrates the digitization of knowledge. It's mainly about the future of research institutions, but has a broader scope of implications for all libraries. Darnton critiques various aspects of Google's digitization project, speaking as a Google fan himself who nonetheless retains a heavy nostalgia for books -- not least for their smells and other tactile pleasures. From the article:

"Books...give off special smells. According to a recent survey of French students, 43 percent consider smell to be one of the most important qualities of printed books—so important that they resist buying odorless electronic books. CaféScribe, a French on-line publisher, is trying to counteract that reaction by giving its customers a sticker that will give off a fusty, bookish smell when it is attached to their computers.

"When I read an old book, I hold its pages up to the light and often find among the fibers of the paper little circles made by drops from the hand of the vatman as he made the sheet—or bits of shirts and petticoats that failed to be ground up adequately during the preparation of the pulp. I once found a fingerprint of a pressman enclosed in the binding of an eighteenth-century Encyclopédie—testimony to tricks in the trade of printers, who sometimes spread too much ink on the type in order to make it easier to get an impression by pulling the bar of the press...

"I may expose myself to accusations of romanticizing or of reacting like an old-fashioned, ultra-bookish scholar who wants nothing more than to retreat into a rare book room. I plead guilty. I love rare book rooms, even the kind that make you put on gloves before handling their treasures. Rare book rooms are a vital part of research libraries, the part that is most inaccessible to Google. But libraries also provide places for ordinary readers to immerse themselves in books, quiet places in comfortable settings, where the codex can be appreciated in all its individuality."

His conclusion?

"Shore up the library. Stock it with printed matter. Reinforce its reading rooms. But don't think of it as a warehouse or a museum. While dispensing books, most research libraries operate as nerve centers for transmitting electronic impulses. They acquire data sets, maintain digital repositories, provide access to e-journals, and orchestrate information systems that reach deep into laboratories as well as studies. Many of them are sharing their intellectual wealth with the rest of the world by permitting Google to digitize their printed collections. Therefore, I also say: long live Google, but don't count on it living long enough to replace that venerable building with the Corinthian columns. As a citadel of learning and as a platform for adventure on the Internet, the research library still deserves to stand at the center of the campus, preserving the past and accumulating energy for the future."

Read the whole article, and then come to the Nashua Public Library and check out some books -- books that you can hold in your hand and savor in all the ways Darnton rhapsodizes about -- about digital libraries and online resources.

Google and The Myth of Universal Knowledge, by Jean Noel Jeanneney.

The Web Library: Building a World Class Personal Library with Free Web Resources, by Nicholas Tomaiuolo.

Internet Digital Libraries, by Jack Kessler.

Coyle's Information Highway Handbook, by Karen Coyle.

Find it Online: The Complete Guide to Online Research, by Alan Schein.

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