By Carole Howard and the Library Staff

If you enjoy doing research on your computer, you will be pleased to know that your library has just signed up for three additional database services that have a wealth of information available to you for free. You easily can access these databases on our web site from home, from your laptop, from the library computers or from anywhere else where you have a computer:

• Consumer Health Complete is available in both English and Spanish. It gives you access to the latest health and medical information plus videos and all the best encyclopedias. Topics you can research on this site include alterative treatments, beauty, children’s health, diseases, exercise, parenting, pregnancy, sexual health and substance abuse.
• Novelist is a service for adults that provides descriptions of books, information about authors and discussion guides for book clubs.
• Novelist K-8 is a similar service for children’s books suitable for kindergarten through 8 th grade.

To access any of these databases, follow these simple steps:

• Go to the library’s home page at our web site: www.pagosalibrary.org.
• Click on Databases in the Reference box in the upper left corner.
• Click on EBSCOhost
• Enter your barcode and PIN number from your library card.
• Explore and enjoy!

While you’re taking advantage of those three new databases, you might also want to spend time at some of the others that are available there:

• Business Searching Interface provides information on markets around the world plus company and industry profiles.
• Student Research Center gives you access to magazines, newspapers, books, encyclopedias, maps, videos and more on any topic that interests you.
• Kids Search is for youngsters wanting to know more about animals, arts and music, geography, health, current events, language arts, math, science, social studies and sports.

Speaking of computers…

Our apologies if any of you have been inconvenienced in the past week or so when trying to search for and reserve books through our web site. On occasion the search software did not work – it said it “could not find” some books when they were right there in the library, or checked out but available to be reserved. The company that provided our software is working on the problem and we trust it will have been corrected by the time you read this.

Mark your calendars

• The free Lifelong Learning lectures continue at the library at 3 p.m. this Saturday, October 27 with “A Land Alone: Colorado’s Western Slope,” presented by Duane Smith, Southwest historian, author and Fort Lewis College professor. November 3 will be “Birds of Archuleta County,” when Linda Newberry, Southwest Colorado Regional Director of Audubon Colorado, talks about the wonder of birds. The last lecture is November 10, “A Comparison of Native American and European Worldviews,” when Raymond Dutton explores the Hopi/Dine comparisonof tribal and western views about values, relationships, land, property, rituals, myths, andthe supernatural.
• Saturday November 3 is the Woman’s Civic Club holiday bazaar, this being the ladies’ primary annual fundraiser for the library. Join us at the Community Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to get a head start on your Christmas shopping. A huge selection of creations by artists, crafters, jewelers and other vendors will be available, and you can purchase homemade baked goods and delicious food for lunch. In addition to the ever-popular raffle, there will be a silent auction for the first time this year.

Dropping Value Line?

Library director Jackie Welch, always adept at spending the library’s money wisely, is seriously considering not renewing our subscription to Value Line, a stock evaluation service, when it comes up for renewal in December. That’s because the subscription costs $800 a year and only three of our patrons used it this year. If you have any comments or concerns about Jackie’s plan, please contact her at the library at 264-2208. And if you’re interested in market information, try the Business Searching Interface database mentioned above.

Christian fiction and non-fiction

We have three new novels that will be of interest to our Christian fiction fans, including “A Promise to Remember” by Kathryn Cushman, and “ Sunrise” and “Summer” by Karen Kinsbury. On the non-fiction front, “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light” is a collection of private writings and reflections published on the 10 th anniversary of her death. “Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t” by Stephen Prothero takes us through the highlights of what we should know about all the world’s religions.

The infamous O.J. book is here

“Confessions of the Killer” is the retitled book written by O.J. Simpson but never published under its original title, “If I Did It.” After public outrage that O.J. would benefit from the book’s sales forced the publisher to cancel plans for the book, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the book’s rights to the Goldman family as partial payment for O.J.’s unpaid $38 million civil judgment. The Goldman family is promoting this book, viewing it as O.J.’s confession, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated by them to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice.

Poetry

“For the Confederate Dead” is a collection of poems by Kevin Young that takes up a many African American griefs and passages ranging from a poem about Lionel Hampton’s last concert in Paris to one which addresses the tragic loss of a close friend in conjunction with the first anniversary of 9/11.

Mysteries and thrillers

James Patterson’s latest bestseller is “You’ve Been Warned,” co-authored with Howard Roughan. “Three of Smoke,” a novel by Denis Johnson, is set in Vietnam. “The 47 th Samurai” by Stephen Hunter is a thriller featuring two men bound together by a single moment at Iwo Jima in 1945. “What Came Before He Shot Her” by Elizabeth George is the anatomy of the shocking murder of a Scotland Yard inspector’s wife.

Books about real people

“Dead Certain” by Robert Draper is an assessment of the presidency of George W. Bush based on interviews with the president and 200 of his administration’s players. “Blonde Ambition” by Rita Cosby bills itself as the untold story behind Anna Nicole Smith’s death. “Wonderful Tonight” by Pattie Boyd tells of her life with George Harrison and Eric Clapton when she was an iconic figure of the 1960s and ‘70s rock scene and the most famous muse in the history of rock and roll. “How Starbucks Saved My Life” by Michael Gates Gill is the story of a white man of privilege who loses almost everything in his life and then regains his self-respect and humanity by working with a black staff at Starbucks.

Cookbooks

“Chocolate” by Nick Malgieri includes 380 recipes and full-color photos from simple cookies to extravagant showstoppers. At the other end of the spectrum, “The New American Heart Association Cookbook/7 th edition” presents easy-to-understand information and more than 600 recipes – including 150 new ones -- to help you maintain a healthy heart. “The New Southwest Cookbook by Tucson master cook Carolyn Niethammer is a collection of 135 recipes from 71 chefs at outstanding restaurants and resorts in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Just in time for hunting season, we have “Game for All Seasons Cookbook” by veteran hunter, fisherman and chef Harold Webster.

Thanks to our donors

Our gratitude to Donna Formwalt for her donation in memory of Ethel Sarah Dillabaugh Lill Lynch, and to Kay Grams for hers in memory of Kate Terry. Thanks also to Jeanette Pike, who made a donation as a thank-you to a staffer for his special help to her. For books and materials this week we thank Marcia Bledso, Lisa Brown, Barbara Carlus, Betsy Chavez, Stan Church, Marilyn Copley, Dean Dussell, Gwen Fisher, Kathy and Martin Golden, Addie Greer, Betsy Higgins, Philomene Hogrefe, Anita Hooten, Sue Kehrey, Linda Kelsey, Susan Mercer, Charlene Raumgardner, Ann Rasich, Gail Shepherd, Charlene Stipe, Cory Warden, Dick Warring, Sue Werth and Lynne Wooldridge.

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