Lib"Scare"ians

This year the library is filled with Halloween spirit. I'm pretty sure that in the close to 4 years I've worked here this is the most dressed up we've been. I took the easy road by just bringing in my Ronald Reagan mask. But that still counts, right?

Then I ran into Heather, who dressed up like Eddy from Eddy's coffee shop in our lower lobby!

And our staff room is filled with treats, my favorites? These awesome witch fingers that Kathy from tech services brought in. They're almost too creepy looking to eat, but they taste delicious.

Word Woman

Welcome to another wild and woolly Halloween episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, the Word of the Week is of the spooky variety. Don't make the grave mistake of letting your brain cells rot; extend the lifetime warranty on your mind by expanding your vocabulary:

Uliginous: [yoo-lidj-uh-nus] an adjective meaning 'swampy, slimy, oozy'. From a Latin word meaning 'full of moisture'. -- "More Weird and Wonderful Words", Erin McKean, Ed., Oxford University Press, 2003.

Example: Loathsome and uliginous creatures prowl the streets in search of treats on Halloween night.

Happy Halloween to all, and to all a frightful night!

Sad News

Our longtime friend and inspiration Mona Frangos died this week. You may not have known Mona, but if you've ever stepped foot inside our building you no doubt know her handiwork:

The gnome house has inspired wonder and imagination in children for 20+ years. Odds are most of our patrons remember the gnome house much longer than anything else about the library. While working upstairs at the desk, I see kids crowded around the gnome house almost all day long. The intricacies and details of the house are a testament to Mona's artistic prowess and her sense of wonder. Whenever we look at the gnome house or the entrance to the children's area, which was inspired by the gnome house, we'll think of you Mona. RIP.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the details in the gnome house.

Celebrity Poetry Reading

Missoula Public Library provided space for several events of this year's Montana Festival of the Book. The large meeting room was home to a poetry reading which featured some well-known names.

First up was Montana's Poet Laureate, Greg Pape.

Then Senator Jon Tester read a favorite of his about the farming life.

Missoula's Mayor John Engen then explained how hard it was to find an appropriate poem to read, eventually offering one about politics.

A good time was had by the full room's attendees, judging by the laughter and applause that echoed around downstairs.

Word Woman

Welcome to another exciting installment of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! As you may or may not know, this weekend is the Montana Festival of the Book, an annual celebration of all things literary. As part of the action, several of Missoula Public Library's best and brightest are out there tonight competing against other teams from around Missoula in an event called the Define-a-thon, a test of mental muscle. Since Word Woman herself is unable to participate, she wishes her co-workers (including the Master of Socrates Cafe) the best of luck in their efforts to bring honor to the name of Missoula Public Library. May the Word be with you, teammates! For more information about the Montana Festival of the Book, feel free to visit http://www.humanitiesmontana.org/BookFestival/bookfest.shtml
Now, let's move on to the Word of the Week:

Glocal: (glow-cul) [adjective] In business jargon: simultaneously global and local; taking a global view of the market, but adjusted to local considerations. Also as a verb glocalize, to organize one's business on a global scale while taking account of local considerations and conditions; process noun glocalization. -- "The Oxford Dictionary of New Words", Compiled by Sara Tulloch, Oxford University Press, 1991.

Example: Businesses with a glocal outlook tend to fare better in the long run than their more short-sighted associates.

Big Rock

We've been dealing with road construction on the Front Street side of the library for about 3 weeks now. I'm not sure exactly what they're doing, but it requires them to dig up portions of the street . About 2 days ago, they unearthed this monster rock which apparently can't be moved as easily as the others. So even thought they've moved down the street a bit, this rock sits on the side of the road with a orange cone warning motorists.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a little short on news today, but I've walked past this rock about 6 times on my way to and from work, and today decided it was blog worthy.

Recognized...19 years later.

After a period of only 19 years, the Missoula Public Library has officially recognized rap/hip-hop as a legitimate musical genre. Hip-hop music as an artform is much older, of course; 19 years is the length of time since the first mainstream hip-hop single.

In the past, rap and hip-hop cds were scattered between soul, blues, contemporary rock and countless other genres in perhaps an ode to the fact hip-hop borrows from all genres of music. But now, under the dewey classification 781.649, you'll find all of our rap and/or hip-hop in one place.

Downloadable audio has arrived!

After months and months of planning, we're proud to announce we now offer downloadable audiobooks!

To get started go to our website and click on the downloadable audiobooks link or head to http://montanalibrary2go.org. You will be instructed to download and install a media console, which will allow you to download audiobooks to your computer. You can download complete books, or select individual chapters if you have a slow connection. Head to the help section if you're having trouble getting started. To see if your mp3 player/iPod will work take a look at the supported device page, but remember, everyone with a computer computer running windows can listen on the computer itself. (edit: reader jon brought up the fact that the media console currently only works in a windows environment. A mac friendly console should be out around the end of the year, but there is no firm release date set. And Linux will be later down the line.)

(photo by flickr user aditza121. Some rights reserved)

We have titles for adults, teens and children. Right now our selection for iPods is pretty small, but growing everyday, so be sure to check back often! The library has mp3 players for available for check out and will soon have a download station in our building for those of you who don't have internet access at home. We're getting that set up right now, and will update the blog when it is ready to go.

Be sure to let us know how the service is working, we're excited to provide this service and want it to work well for everyone!

Word Woman

Welcome to another wild and wonderful episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! Maximize your brain power with life-long learning activities such as sudoku, crossword puzzles and, of course, learning new vocabulary. Now let's get those brain cells energized with the Word of the Week:

Lexical (lek-si-kul) (adjective) pertaining to the vocabulary of a language. -- The New York Times Everyday Reader's Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, Mispronounced Words, Laurence Urdang, Ed., The New York Times Book Company, 1972.

Example: Word Woman's blog posts are all of a lexical nature.

Word Woman

Welcome to another mind-bending episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! Keep your brain in shape for the great campaign of life by learning new vocabulary. Now, let's get started with the Word of the Week:


Epirot: [ip-pye-rut] a person who lives inland, not on the coast. From a Greek word meaning 'mainland'. A word that those of us in "flyover country" can use with pride. -- "More Weird and Wonderful Words", Erin McKean, Ed., Oxford University Press, 2003.


Example: The political candidate who takes the nation's epirots into account in his or her campaigning efforts may very well find that the results are worth the investment.

Free Music!

Have you taken advantage of our Alexander Street Press music databases? You can make playlists and stream music from three libraries - Classical, Smithsonian Global Sound, and African-American Song. They offer all their songs as pay-per-download, but you can stream all the tracks for free.

They also offer weekly free downloads, this week the selection offered is J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068. Enjoy!

Teen Read Week

Teens Read! We know they do, we see them in the library all the time. So we're going to celebrate with Teen Read Week Oct. 12-18. It's a national weeklong celebration of books for teens, about teens, and even by teens, and this year's theme is "Books with Bite." So teens ages 13-18, sink your teeth into a book and take part in some of the fun events we have planned from a mystery dinner to candy sushi, and of course a chance to read for prizes! See you at the library!

Reference Gets a Makeover

Once the new reference desk arrived last week, it was assembled pretty quick. Today is the official first day of operation for the new desk.

Here it is all finished. Ok, ok, it might not be totally finished yet, and the old desk is still sitting behind, but it is functional at least.
So stop by and ask our reference staff a question at their new, sleek desk.

Diva Day

Diva Day was a major hit this morning as more than 380 runners took to the streets around Fort Missoula in Run Wild Missoula's Women's 5K. I have to confess right away that I wasn't one of them. But I did get to hang out with them at the library's table before and after the race. It was a great experience to meet everybody who came over to say hi and learn about the cool stuff the library has to offer. The morning rain couldn't put a damper on the day's events - Heritage Hall was practically buzzing with their energy and enthusiasm. Not to mention the funky & fun outfits! I'm so glad we got to take part, and we'll definitely be marking it on our calendars for next year. After all, every diva deserves her day!

Word Woman

Welcome to another wild and wonderful installment of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! With the election only about a month away now, it's time for another piece of political terminology. Let's get our vocabulary set for the debates with the Word of the Week:

Hot button: (noun) a strongly emotive, popular or controversial concern or issue. -- "Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang", Grant Barrett, Ed., Oxford University Press, 2004.

Example: In this highly-contested race, both candidates are looking for the hot buttons that will swing as many voters as possible over to their side and cinch the election for them.

Big Wednesday at MPL!

Today was a busy day! Our brand new reference desk finally arrived and was plopped down in front of the old desk. Starting tomorrow, expect to hear very loud drilling, banging, etc. coming from the reference department. No word on when it will be finished, but hopefully soon.

As I type this, there is a presentation going on in the large meeting room about movies that were shot in Montana. This is part of our Know Montana series facilitated by our genealogist-extraordinaire Paulette. The next Know Montana date is October 8th, with more details here. History buffs, these programs are for you.

And also, we're right in the thick of banned books week. With a little help from some of our Young Adult patrons, we've put labels on banned books on our shelves to highlight the sheer number of books that have been banned or challenged. Here's a great article on banned books.

Ok, that's enough for one day. Tomorrow, I'll be heading to Olympia, WA to attend the WALE conference. I might even have an update from the road, who knows?