Snails, Glorious Snails!

I haven’t worked in the library long enough to put together a top ten list of reference questions. The leader in my top two list, however, went something like this: if a snail mated with a slug would the babies have shells or not? Needless to say, snails have been on my mind since being asked about the stealthy mollusk.

Regarding snails the newspaper world points to one of two options - it’s basically eat or be eaten. ProQuest Newspapers shows me one hundred and twelve thousand, two hundred and three articles on either cooking the little slime nuggets, or how to stop said slime nuggets from devouring any gardening endeavors. The cleverest of journalists have managed to combine both topics with poignant snail combat tips. And butter.

I did find one theatre review. Though I don’t think I will skip Hamlet in favor of Feast of Snails. I’m all for new and different but the obscure Icelandic play revolves around a wealthy Reykjavik tycoon, and I think the lowly mollusk gets eaten in the end. Then again maybe the tycoon hold up a hollowed shell in the palm oh his hand and also declares, “alas, poor Yorick!”

I’m sure ProQuest is a serious research tool but I couldn’t help but laugh at the headlines. I had to share some here. (Read out loud in various announcer voices for full dramatic effect. Also picture a montage of killer snail graphics over your right shoulder.)

“Federal Agents on Trail of Fugitive Giant Snails – Buffalo News

“Snails are like tanks – slow yet difficult to destroy.”  Houston Chronicle

“For Snails, the Slimelight is Fleeting” – Washington Post

“Drown those Snails with Beer” – The New Straights Times (Kuala Lampur)

“Globetrotting Snails Criss-Crossed Oceans by Hitching a Ride on Birds” – The Daily Telegraph London

“Giant Alien Snails attack Miami, Though They’re Not in Much of a Rush – Wall Street Journal

“Slugging it Out With Snails” – San Francisco Chronicle

“Pupils say Shell-o to Snails” – South Wales Echo, New South Wales

“Stand Back! The Snails are Running!” – Bangor Daily News

I may have spent too much time in the children’s room this week as all those headlines seem like grand ideas for new books. Perhaps a whole story hour on the delightful creatures!

From reading other MARVELousERs’ blogs(KIDSRSU2 your headers are hilarious) I see that I am not the only one who couldn’t get the alert feature to function. I understand the gist of the service though as I have used Google alerts in the past. Certainly a helpful tool in ongoing research though I think the general database is helpful on its own. ProQuest does a great job of allowing the user to filter results by year, source type, location, language etc.

FYI the best way to get rid of a garden snail is to get a turtle. The best way to get rid of a turtle is to get a raccoon. The best way to…and pretty soon you are singing an Elton John song from a lion musical while building an ark and hoping for rain.

If you’re still wondering about the snail’s mating habits The National Post has a great piece on how “Snails May Have been the Original Cupid”. Beware though; it’s not for the faint of heart.

Happy Reading & Cheers!

Encyclopedia Britannica and Funk Music in Space

The last time I used the Encyclopedia Britannica was in 1991. Tasked with reporting on space travel for a 3rd grade science class I eagerly consulted my family's well-loved 26 volume encyclopedia seeking out a moon landing. I pulled out the M book and lugged it to the kitchen table. I copied facts and figures, stats and phrases. I even doodled several stick figures floating between also stick-like stars and planets. As I neared the end of the entry heading "moon" I read, "Someday, man will travel to the moon." Turns out the family encyclopedia was published in 1963. A cherished family heirloom sure but no help in updated research. Even for a 3rd grade science report.

Things have changed in the past 21 years (thank you, interweb). Online Britannica - Public Library Edition - means current, relevant research. Wind energy seems to be a hot button issue in my area so that is where I started. First up were basic terms and definitions. The how-tos and the wheres. A brief history of the topic. The next several articles delved deeper into the why and why nots, citing the good bad and uglies along with the why we shoulds. I learned about the possibilities and the limitations of wind power from many angles. Very informative.

I was amused that among the top eight articles was a biography of Earth, Wind and Fire. Then again, a break to rock out to some Afro-Caribbean funk/soul/jazz-fusion from the 70s can't hurt. I mean 11 consecutive gold albums proves they must have been doing something right. " You're a shinning star, no matter who you are!" (Tangent achieved.)

Workspace Projects is killer! What a great opportunity to collect and store articles online. Saves printing paper plus gathers unlimited sources to build a database for any project. Also, the built in how to cite this page is fantastic.

I don't see the "Turn on Spanish Translator" feature as having a great impact on my library's patrons. Franklin county is 1.1% "persons of Hispanic or Latin origin." A French translator might be more apt. I did amuse myself by learning some topic based Spanish vocab. Viva la energia del viento!

It's always fun to check out a This Day in History. This is a good place to look for daily book display ideas. Plus who can resist checking out what happened on their birthday? (December 2nd. Send gifts.)

Even though the voice is a bit computer creepy I liked the read aloud option featured in the "for Kid's" version of Britannica. This could be a useful feature for all ages.

Country comparison proved very enlightening. Vanuatu and Azerbaijan have more in common than you might think. Also like the flag feature here.

Quotations by Author was mid-line useful. I was surprised at the lack of X or Z authors. In the history of saying something witty I would have assumed Mr. Xanthu or Mrs. Zither would have said something of note. The set up feels a bit wonky here. It seems more likely to seek out the sayer (is that not a word?) of a particular quote versus famous quotes by a particular person; who was it that said, "Go west, young man" versus what great thing did Horace Greeley say.

Lastly, Year in Review proved to be an amusing time suck. All that stuff really happened in 1997?! The obituaries section was of particular interest.

It's all great.
My faith in encyclopedias has been restored.
Yes, I checked under "moon".
The Eagle had landed.

Happy Reading and Cheers!

a MARVELous week to begin a blog...

My very first, all time, ever, blog. Welcome to the twenty first century indeed.
I'm a new player in the library world (insert ominous yet uplifting music here). My background as a bookseller has helped - with the book part. But there's so much more! As a lifelong book lover I came to know the library solely as the place that housed my favorite stories; shelves of books waiting to be borrowed.

It seems I may have overlooked the many, many other things that mysteriously happen in the library.
 
Bring on the learning! I am thrilled to include Maine Marvel in the list of my go-to websites. I wish I had know about it years ago.

In the next ten weeks I hope to learn the ins and outs, ups, downs and arounds of Marvel to add a whole new set of skills to my stealthy book ninja bag of tricks!

Happy Reading & Cheers!