Summer News

Summer has arrived and most of you will have more time to read or if you are like many students, you will be relaxing at the beach or laying out by the pool with a good book. If you are wondering where to find good reads that will keep you going through the summery hot days, just stop by our library and check out our great titles in our new books section, located when you first walk in. Many of the titles have been reviewed on the New York Times Sunday book review section and have been talked about by Nancy Klingener, Library Assistant for the Monroe County Public Library, on Richard Grusin’s radio show on
Konk 1630 AM talk radio , or by Cynthia Crossen, in the
Wall Street Journal .

There are many sources that one can look upon for book reviews, such as the library catalog, Library Thing or “What do I Read Next”, an FKCC database or even on Amazon

Any student, faculty or staff has access to our databases with their library card number and a PIN (the last 4-digits of your ss#). This month, “What do I Read Next” database highlights My Father’s Tears and Other Stories by John Updike as one of their best reads.

You can locate this title in our McNaughton section of the library.

If the title that you are interested in is not on our shelves, we can get it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan.

Some of our most popular book titles include: Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life, Corsair by Clive Cussler, Associate by John Grisham, Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling, and Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. We also own the series on audio CD.

We also have audio books on CD or ones that are downloadable to an MP3 for those of you that are traveling.

Have you checked out a title from our “Playaway” collection? Playaways are digital audiobooks that can be listened to while walking or jogging. They are small enough to fit in your pocket.




Workshops


The library is offering a workshop on Tuesday, June 30 from 5 - 5:45pm that will show you many of the advanced features in Google. For information please call Beverly Westermeyer 305-809-3194.

New show opens Wednesday

Sure, it's summer but the Library Gallery, like FKCC itself, does not take the summer off. In fact we've got a new show that opens with a reception on Wednesday: Art Behind Bars & Art After Bars. These programs, started at the Monroe County Detention Center by local artist Lynne Vantriglia, provide art-based community service by inmates and former inmates. Most of the work is already here and the variety, creativity and quality is not to be missed. So please stop by from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, for the opening reception -- or stop by anytime the library is open through June. Enjoy!

And the winners are ...

The 2009 FKCC Student Art Show was a smashing success -- every year we are amazed by the creativity, talent and hard work shown by FKCC students and this year was no exception. The exhibit is almost gone (to make way for our next show, by the nonprofit Art Behind Bars, with an opening reception on Wednesday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m.). But in case you missed it here's a selection of photos of works that won the various prizes.

And the winners were:
Ceramics: Raquel Ferrand-Jankowski and Kay Jones
Mixed media: Lauren Laird
Sculpture: Kiernan Blasberg
Photography: Ashley Westbrook
Underwater photography: Conner Dawson
Jury Awards: Sarah M. Pyle
People's Choice: Vogue Vandernikoffe

Special thanks to generous sponsors who provided prizes, including Goldman's Deli, Ben Franklin, Regal Cinema, Hot Cuts Hair Salon and Divers Direct as well as art professors Kate Miller and Joy Gogin who personally purchased several of the prizes.

Meg Cabot Coming to FKCC Library

Over Spring Break, we got some bad news -- our speaker for National Library Week, Wall Street Journal columnist Cynthia Crossen, had a family emergency and had to leave town. Fortunately, we in Key West are blessed beyond measure with talented and generous writers -- and miraculously Meg Cabot agreed to join us on such short notice. That's Meg Cabot, as in "The Princess Diaries", "Avalon High" and many other books -- many of which have reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Meg will be here at 5:30 p.m. Thursday -- please join us!

Kindling excitement

National Library week is coming right up -- April 12-18 -- and the FKCC Library is getting ready to celebrate in a big way. The theme this year is Worlds Connect @ Your Library and we're connecting in all kinds of ways with old media and new, as well as hearing from new writers and accomplished professionals.
We're going to have our second annual student poetry reading on Tuesday, April 14, a talk by Wall Street Journal books columnist (and FKCC student!) Cynthia Crossen ... and a drawing for an Amazon Kindle 2, among other great prizes. This hot new electronic book reader retails for $359 but tickets for the drawing are only $10 -- so stop by the library any time to find out more. Proceeds benefit the Library Gallery Fund at the Florida Keys Educational Foundation.

Querschnitt

What, you may wonder, is a Querschnitt?
It's a German word for cross-section -- and it's the title of the next show at the FKCC Library Gallery, featuring the work of photography professor Alexander Holst.
The show's subtitle is "A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That" and Holst promises a show that will feature Polaroid transfers and Polaroid liftings and other obsessions.
The opening reception for the show will be Wednesday, March 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. -- with refreshments by local culinary stars Chris Otten and Erin Kelly. All are welcome!

Celebrating Black History Month

The FKCC Library has been celebrating Black History Month with a display including books and audiobooks about black history, from W.E.B. DuBois to Barack Obama. Check it out any time the library is open.

And on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. the Library will be hosting the college's Black History Month event, a talk by the Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Magby, pastor of Key West's Trinity Presbyterian Church. All are welcome -- please stop by!