Cassidy B. Charles

Cold Spring Harbor Library & Environmental Center

Volunteering with INALJ keeps me consistently looking at job boards and assessing the LIS job market. I also get to do a bit of virtual library tourism when I see a cool job title or library name.

I am fascinated by this one. Library AND Environmental Center! What could that mean?

What I Read Last Week:

Llamas with Hats 8 : If I sent this to you in this last week that was because I care about you + swans. And zoo books.

Wellcome Library archive sheds new light on history of mental healthcare | The Guardian
Are QR codes dead yet? | LITA blog (re: I hope so.)
How to talk to our daughters about women in refrigerators | Panels (tw: strong language about violence against women)
The revolutionary e-book that never got a chance to be read | Mental Floss
Cocoa Quest: Ho-ho-ho-hot chocolate | RVA News
Some early childhood experiences shape adult life, but which ones? | WPSU
ID cards will also work at NYC’s libraries | Wall Street Journal

What I Read Last Week:

We had a teen interview his teachers about their favorite music | Noisey/Vice
How can community colleges get a piece of the billions that donors give to higher education | New York Times
How we made…Now That’s What I Call Music | The Guardian
West Virginia coal country sees new era as Donald Blankenship is indicted | New York Times
Friendship breakups are our first heart breaks | New York Magazine
FDA considers allowing blood donations from some gay men | NPR
The 2014 hater’s guide to the Williams-Sonoma catalog | The Concourse

Reference Question : Eagles in New Jersey

Broadcast live streaming video on UstreamAs of late I’ve been watching the Eagle Cam at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ. This started a few weeks ago when I was on the reference desk and the phone rang. I answered and was replied to with “Is the bird outside my window an eagle?”

Um…

After disclaiming that I was not a birder of any sort, the patron and I figured out that she wanted to know if eagles still lived in New Jersey.

In New Jersey the bald eagle, osprey, and peregrine falcon were all on the brink of extinction. BUT THEN (after several decades of conservation work) they bounced back a bit. The bald eagle is still categorized on the threatened list federally.

So…yeah! She was super excited to hear about that — especially since she thought that the bird was an eaglet. I gave her contact information for local Audubon Society chapter and the DEP section.

INALJ : Associating with State and Regional Associations

This month for I Need A Library Job I wrote about state LIS associations and job hunting.

What I Read Last Week:

Salt of Kanawha County

Your adult siblings may be the secret to a long, happy life | NPR
Kentucky jail uses tunnel to grow fresh food | USDA blog
SheRides, a New York taxi service aimed at women, finds a loyal following | New York Times
Grant energizes Springdale Junior-Senior High School | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Women in comics: Bringing history to life | YALSA The Hub
Brilliance in bumps and bruises, on air and on screen | NPR Music
Why do people cry tears of joy and pinch babies’ cheeks? | The Washington Post

What I Read Last Week:

life

via a softer world

Uber should be keeping women safe, but Uber has a women problem | The Guardian
For millions of millennials: some college, no degree, lots of debt | NPR
John Hodgman: “The government should be laying down broadband like Eisenhower laid down interstates” | The Washington Post
Why no one can design a better speculum | The Atlantic
The secret life of passwords | The New York Times Magazine

What I Read Last Week:

The World Is… – Invalid Litter Dept. (ATDI Cover)

Adventures of a comic book newbie: Talk to me about writing/pencils/ink/colors/letter | Panels
Nicholas Hilton breaks course record at Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon | Competitor (LHU alum!)
Valerie Jarrett, The Obama Whisperer | New Republic
What a library levy means to a West Virgina town | The Atlantic
The Art of Ping Pong [Pictures] | The Guardian

Much scary, very books

I am the buyer for Mysteries, Thrillers, and Suspense Fiction (in addition to Large Print, Periodicals, Foreign Languages and ESL resources…) Which is kind of a joke because I HATE scary things and I do not like to read or watch about people in pain or danger. That being said, I am trying to read what I buy for and I do like the “figuring it out” element of mysteries and what works for my reading tastes.

I like the Anna Pigeon series. Each book is based in a different U.S. National Park. Though I don’t care for the protagonist, I like the descriptions. I read the Claire DeWitt books (which is all of two) when I was on a New Orleans/San Francisco kick. Heavy on nonchalant drug use and more heady than the typical mystery. I hope to god there is a third book, but only time will tell.

I want to start Margaret Truman’s Capital Crimes series, too. Considering that that series started in the 1980s and went on until the mid-2000s, the evolution of crime-solving could be interesting. Plus, Washington D.C.

I guess my reading interest lies in place and setting…

The Tempest – Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

The Tempest - Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

Usually I don’t participate in Throwback Thursday, but I found this post in my draft folder. Cheers, from last spring’s viewing of “The Tempest” at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.