Libraries Borrow Books, too!

- Lynn Leave a comment

Have you ever searched our catalog for a book you loved as a kid? Or, yInterlibrary Loanour grandmother keeps asking about a song popular in the thirties. You can’t find it anywhere and you give up and walk away. Well, ask us at Reference about going one step further.

Did you know that Davenport Public Library card holders can request books, dvds, and audiobooks from all over the U.S. – for free?

If PrairieCat doesn’t have an item, we can broaden the net for you.

Interlibrary Loan is a Library-to-Library transaction. You don’t have to get in your car and drive to Chicago or call the library or anything. Just sit back and relax and we will get it for you. What a deal.

We can save you time and money and you can have hands-on access to that book that is special and valuable to you.

Whole magazines are usually not sent, but we can get articles photocopied and mailed to you (there may be a charge for this, depending on the lending library).

Public libraries are all about cooperation and have set up a system (called OCLC or Online Computer Library Center) so we can see what other libraries own and request the item from mulitple libraries at once. The library that plucks it off their shelf first notifies the others and sends it on it’s way. You’ll soon be enjoying your treasured item that may have traveled hundreds of miles and passed through the hands of a dozen people to get to you.

Into Great Silence

- IT 3 Comments

Into Great SilenceInto Great Silence is a compelling film that chronicles the lives of the ascetic monks of the Grande Chartreuse in the picturesque French Alps. This is a unique movie in that there is no voice over and few subtitles. The tolling of the immense church bells calling the monks to prayer provides us with a rare glimpse of the rhythm of daily life for the men who live outside of the hustle and bustle of our modern time. This stark yet beautiful documentary introduces viewers to the symbols, rituals, and traditions that the Carthusian monks have followed since the founding of this hermit order in the eleventh century.

What is PrairieCat? or Why We Are Lucky to Live in the Quad-Cities

- Lynn Leave a comment

PrairieCatWe have always been progressive here in the Quad-Cities because of our extremely cooperative, cross-border library system. For decades, citizens of Davenport could go to Rock Island , for instance, and check out their materials. Moline residents could check out materials in Bettendorf, return them in Eldridge, and so on and so on till your head spins.

In the past few years our catalog has grown from the Quad-City area to include northern Illinois – from the outskirts of Chicago to LaSalle, Ottawa and Kankakee to the Wisconsin border. PrairieCat, as it is now called, has more than 8 million items and includes more than 100 libraries (public, college, hospitals, schools, etc.).

Now we have access to more variety – MP3s, books on cd, as well as books that we may not own. This also means that more libraries with more copies of bestsellers are able to fill holds quicker.

As we all learned on the first day of Kindergarten, it’s all about sharing.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

- Lynn 3 Comments

Uncommon ReaderA very quick read (120 pages) about the Queen of England who discovers a love of reading when she wanders into a bookmobile. She reads widely and indiscriminately with the help of a young palace employee. She finds that she is changed by what she reads, as well as by the process of reading.

The Queen as a character is immensely likeable and honest, yet the author gives insight into the very real class and status differences she has always had to live with. One (as the Queen refers to herself) gives an insider view of what life as a monarch may be like.

The act of reading as subversive and suspect is also explored – very interesting for those who love reading, books and libraries. Though the style is light and funny, there are many poignant moments, and a surprise ending as well. Highly recommended.

The Commoner by John Schwartz

- Ann Leave a comment

The Commoner by John SchwartzOffering a peek into the largely closed and secret world of the Japanese royal family, The Commoner by John Schwartz is the story of Haruko, the first commoner to marry into the oldest monarchy in the world. Set in the years immediately after World War II when Japan was undergoing great change, Haruko goes from the relative freedom of a well-educated college graduate to a tightly the controlled world of a princess whose only duty was to produce a male heir. Spare and beautiful, it is a culture very foreign to us, but the thoughts and feelings of its characters are universal. While the storyline is somewhat similar to recent real-life events in Japan, this is a novelization, beautifully imagined.

Welcome to the new Reference Blog!

- Ann Leave a comment

Welcome to the Davenport Public Library’s reference blog. The focus of this blog will be two-fold:

-reference services – websites, databases, current information you can use

-and reader’s advisory – books worth reading (as well as movies to watch and music to listen to), staff picks, what to read next.

We will be drawing on the various interests and talents of our reference staff to bring you a lively and interesting site. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the department and the diverse personalities that make it up. Comments and discussion are encouraged. Be sure to check back frequently (or subscribe to our feed) – there’s always something new happening at the library!

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