One of the titans of science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke, died yesterday in Sri Lanka. He was 90. Many of you will recognize him as the author of the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels. You might be surprised to learn that he also wrote extensively on nonfiction topics such as space and the sea.

If you search for Arthur C. Clarke in the Literature Resource Center database, you'll find an extensive list of honors and awards. He won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Rendezvous with Rama and The Fountains of Paradise, among others, and the Grand Master Award by the Science Fiction Writers of America. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and had an asteroid named in his honor.

More significantly, he won the Stuart Ballantine Gold Medal in 1963, for originating the concept of communications satellites (Contemporary Authors Online, Thompson Gale, 2007). He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Price in 1994.

Though he was 90 years old, he was still publishing. His latest fiction title was Firstborn, which he cowrote with Stephen Baxter. Published just this year, it's the third book in the Time Odyssey series. When it's not checked out, you'll find it in the library's New Arrivals display.

Those of you who read and loved his work, please drop us a comment about his contributions.