The 2010 Ken Book Award winner is the moving photo-essay volume Asylum: Inside the closed worlds of state mental hospitals, which is available in the recent non-fiction section.

This oversized work captures snapshots of state mental institutions truly frozen in time. As facilities which were build to be cutting edge at the beginning of the 20th century declined and the scope of mental health care evolved, the massive state medical compounds began to close. The structures and the memories of those who lived or worked within them remained. Christopher Payne captures these images of painful history and tormented memory. The images are surreal, eerie, and bleak: massive, brick-strong structures as homes to some of the most frail inmates; the overwhelming size of the crumbling facilities juxtaposed with the absence of any human life. The accompanying text passage by Oliver Sacks gives a brief, though comprehensive, statement on mental health treatment, facilities, and concepts influencing the state funded institutions, but it is the photographs that communicate issues of humanity in care and the revolution that ended this form of care for the mentally ill.

Check out the Asylum book website.

The Ken Book Award is given by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of NYC-Metro, to book raising awareness of mental illness. Past winners have included Jane Pauley, Gary Trudeau, and Wally Lamb.

Valuable Resource - Living on a Shoestring

Living on a Shoestring: Over 1000 best-kept secrets to stretch-and save-your money

Don’t let the silly cover art of the authors, self-dubbed the Tightwad Twins, be a deterrent, or the 1997 publication date. In checking for outdated materials on the non-fiction shelves, I came across this gem that is still very relevant in today’s economy, with advice like:

*Mount magazine photos on poster board for inexpensive children’s room decorations (page 51) (Check out the library’s magazine exchange shelf)

*Use an empty tissue box to neatly store plastic shopping bags (page 57)

*Make a free table centerpiece by floating fresh flowers in a glass bowl (page 63)

*Give the kids empty and cleaned squeeze bottles for playing with water outside (page 137)

*Reuse mailing envelopes by using address stickers/return labels over the writing (page 142)

*Sprinkle salt and wet with water to get rid of weeds between cracks (page 144)

My suggestions (Not suggested by the Tightwad Twins):
*Free entertainment – June 9th PCL welcomes the Annual Summer Celebrity, Carol Higgins Clark. More details.

*Find gently used books at the Friends of the Parkland Library book sale – July 24 – 31. Check the PCL website for more information.

*Make an appointment at a beauty school for discount salon services. I recently caught a May special at Metro Beauty Academy off Route 222 and got a very nice shampoo and condition, haircut, and blow out for only $1 plus the stylist tip. Their normal rates are about half the price of professional salon fees. If you aren't comfortable with a student cutting your hair, you could always get a summer manicure or relaxing facial.

What I’ve read lately…

by Gina, Head Reference Librarian
Dead end gene pool: a memoir This week I breezed quickly through a new biography which was shocking, blatantly descriptive, and offered a glimpse into a lifestyle which only few have access. Dead end gene pool is the reminisces of Wendy Burden, a Vanderbilt heir. Burden relates incidents occurring within her ultra-rich, blueblood family such as her brother and her as children “robbing” the family’s “cottage” of all kitchen edibles and placing them on the roof, her mother’s sunbathing techniques, and laughable tales of weird and woeful relations. Told in a factual manner, Burden sometimes has to educate the reader as to why she (as a child) believed the described events were normal. As Burden approaches adolescence and her teenage years, she develops her own way of coping with the pressures and expectations of the family name. I found this humorous, sad, and enlightening and appreciate the candid snapshot of an American aristocratic family. The author's speaks about her work in this short video clip: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m1B2A107GE556T

An older title I recently enjoyed was Kenneth Davis’ Don’t know much about anything. Examined in one page entries were facts about a person, location, event, along with a few trivia questions. This is great reading for crossword aficionados (I’ve already used some tidbits learned to fill in squares) or Jeopardy! contestants in training. The only complaint I have with the format is having to turn the page for the answers to post-entry quizzes multiple times while self-testing myself. I would definitely peruse other titles in this series. Visit Kenneth Davis' webpage http://www.dontknowmuch.com/

PCL owns the following in adult non-fiction:
*Don't know much about anything / Kenneth C. Davis.

*Don't know much about geography: everything you need to know about the world but never learned / Kenneth C. Davis.

*Don't know much about mythology: everything you need to know about the greatest stories in human history but never learned / Kenneth C. Davis.

*Don't know much about the Bible: everything you need to know about the "Good Book" but never learned / by Kenneth C. Davis.

*Don't know much about the Civil War: everything you need to know about America's greatest conflict but never learned / Kenneth C. Davis.

*History: everything you need to know about American history but never learned / by Kenneth C. Davis.

Davis has also authored juvenile titles in the same style.

On NPR recently, the oil spill in the gulf was considered in relation to hurricane threats. Dr. Emanuel, Professor of Meteorology at MIT commented:
“Right now, sitting out there as it is in the Gulf, you have this black surface and it's doing two things. First of all, it's absorbing sunlight. And secondly, it is curtailing evaporation from the Gulf right now. So, theoretically, the Gulf underneath this oil slick should be getting hotter than it normally would be.”
The oil spill could make a small hurricane larger due to the warmer water.


How much do you know about emergency preparedness? Here are some websites recommended by the book Survive! The disaster, crisis, and emergency handbook.

Federal Emergency Management Agency http://www.fema.gov/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/
National Weather Service National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
United States Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program http://www.earthquake.usgs.gov/
United States Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/

Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime Work

Earlier this month, the Edgar Awards were named by the American Mystery Writers of America. In the best fact crime category - Columbine by Dave Cullen was the winner. This relates the events of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High outside of Denver. This book answers many questions remaining about ‘why’ and ‘how,’ even after all the publicity this tragedy received. The documentation style alternating among the months of pre-planning the attack, to the day of, to the days following is tedious at times, but journalist Cullen brings the many players and points of view cohesively together to provide a well researched and well cited document by the conclusion of the account. Riveting, revealing, and disturbing. Highly recommended for an in depth look at the teenagers involved, areas where higher authority may have been remiss, and the lasting effects for our national education system.
Other nominees:
Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti (Random House - Alfred A. Knopf)
For those who may not know, the Mona Lisa was indeed stolen from the Louvre in 1911, was not noticed missing for 24 hours, and was gone for 2 years before being found in Florence. Motives for the disappearance of La Joconde, the most recognized painted woman are unknown. Still a mystery, the case of the missing DaVinci involved noted painters, French authorities, Louvre security, and a cast of colorful characters. R.A. Scotti makes both Mona Lisa and the facts of her disappearance come alive in this tale of historic art theft. An enjoyable education in art history.
Also recommended by R.A. Scotti – Sudden Sea, the great hurricane of 1938. This perfect storm brewed in the Atlantic bore down on the Northeast coast with short notice and affected thousands of residents. Personal stories and historical detail show a well researched documentary.
Another nominated title in the PCL collection is:
Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo (The Penguin Press) – I have yet to read this work recommended by Publisher’s Weekly and the Washington Post, but would welcome reader comments.
Reviews by Gina, Head Reference Librarian and avid true crime reader

Resources on Travel

Are you ready for summer vacation season?

PCL has an array of DVDs to put you in the travel spirit:

The National Parks: America’s best idea – 5 DVD volumes of the National Park System produced by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, authors of the book of the same name.

Anthony Bourdain No Reservations – the consummate traveler in episodes ranging from international locales to New Jersey.

America’s best road trips and scenic drives – 6 DVD’s travel the interstates of the US making stops at historic and cultural attractions along the way.

Other DVDs on individual countries and cities are located in the 900’s section of non-fiction DVDs

PCL’s travel guides from Fodor, Mobil, Access, and the Discovery Channel are available for national and international cities and regions are can be found in the 900’s section of non-ficiton.

National Geographic’s website has a variety of quizzes to test your travel knowledge of international cities
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/travel-quizzes/

If you are going to be traveling this summer, you may want to research airline meals. This website offers photos and customer reviews http://www.airlinemeals.net/

Mapping the Gulf oil spill

As containment and cleanup of the oil spill continue, this interactive map shows the relative size of this environmental hazard in proportion to other recognized locations.
http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/

Consumer resources from the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation's consumer protection agency. Here are some helpful contacts to fight fraud and deception:

To report a rip-off: http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
To sign up for the National DO NOT CALL Registry: http://www.donotcall.gov/
To learn about credit, loans, & mortgages: www.ftc.gov/credit
To get a free copy of your credit report: http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
To report identity theft: www.ftc.gov/idtheft
To get consumer tips: www.ftc.gov/consumer
To order free publications from the FTC: www.ftc.gov/bulkorder

PCL collection holds top titles

Publisher’s Weekly (April 5, 2010) listed the hardcover non-fiction books with the most sales in 2009. It is notable that 19 of the top 20 books were purchased by PCL. Circulation counts illustrate just how many PCL readers utilized these books.

Out of the top 20 titles:
PCL collection holds 95% of the titles listed
Total circulation = 348 (and growing!)
Average check outs per title = 18
PCL has purchased multiple copies of 35% of these titles to meet reader demand
Cost to purchase the top 20 titles in hardcover from Amazon.com = $336.51
Cost to borrow these books at PCL = FREE!

How many have you read?
Top 20 hardcover, non-fiction titles of 2009 ( based on sales)
1. Going rogue – Sarah Palin
2. Act like a lady, think like a man – Steve Harvey
3. Arguing with idiots – Glenn Back
4. Liberty & tyranny – Mark R. Levin
5. True Compass – Edward M. Kennedy
6. Have a little faith – Mitch Albom
7. It’s your time – Joel Osteen
8. The last lecture – Randy Pausch
9. Stones into schools – Greg Mortenson
10. Superfreakonomics – Levitt & Dubner
11. Mastering the art of French cooking – Julia Child
12. Master your metabolism – Jillian Michaels
13. The Yankee years – Joe Torre
14. Open – Andre Agassi
15. Time of my life – Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi
16. Paula Deen’s the Deen Family Cookbook
17. Uncommon – Tony Dungy
18. Highest Duty – Chesley Sullenberger
19. Catastrophe – Dick Morris
20. Fearless – Max Lucado (PCL does not hold this title in the collection)