FKCC Library News & Events

Blog No Longer Active - Please See Our New Blog

2011-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

If you would like more information about Library Research assistance, please see our other blog, From the FKCC Library. We will no longer be updating this blog.

One Island One Book 2010

2010-02-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Join the 1st "One Island One Book" group at the Monroe County Public Library by reading Ernest Hemingway's To Have and Have Not. The Book Bites Reading Group discussion will be held in our library on March 8 @ 3pm with guest Professor Pat Silcox. Copies of the book are available at both libraries.

Also a showing of the documentary, Soul of a People will be previewed on Friday, March 12 @5pm in our seminar room.

For more information contact our library @ 305-809-3194 or visit the Monroe County Public Library's "One Island One Book" blog http://www.oneislandonebook.blogspot.com/

2nd Annual Ask a Librarian Day

2010-02-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 23 is the 2nd Annual Ask a Librarian Day.

FKCC Library celebrates Black History Month

2010-02-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

Our library is celebrating Black History Month with a book display located in our reading area by the circulation desk. These books may be checked out with a library card.

Author Jane Dawkins speaks at FKCC Library

2010-02-11T20:59:00.001-08:00

Please join us on Friday, February 12 at 4pm in the library's seminar room as we welcome author Jane Dawkins. Mud Pi and the Florida Keys Educational Foundation will be sponsoring Jay Gogin's famous paella.

Island Sting

2010-02-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Author Bonnie Doerr is in the Keys this month and is sharing her newly published book, Island Sting with students in Monroe County Schools, FKCC, members of the Key West Wildlife Center and the National Key Deer Refuge. Her new book is an eco-discovery teen reader focused in the Keys. Bonnie was in our library on Tuesday evening where she taught students about writing styles, formatting, and answered questions from the students of professor Pat Silcox's class and others attending the evening program. Students throughout our schools submitted their art work and selected pieces are on display at the FKCC Library.

Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition

2010-02-02T08:18:00.000-08:00

Have you used the "Touch of Wellness Kiosk" available in the library? The interactive kiosk provided by the Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition identifies services in our community which promote a healthy life for all women. The touch screen is a self serve resource which will provide a confidential printed report. For more information please contact the library or Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition by phone 305-293-8424 or email liaison@keyshealthystart.org

Martha Cook & Jane Roshneider Art Exhibit

2010-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

The FKCC Library Gallery Presents the work of Martha Cook & Jane Roshneider. The opening reception will be held on Friday, February 5 from 5-7pm with refreshments being served and music by pianist Jay Wetzel . The show will run from January 12 - February 20.

Celebrate National Friends of Libraries Week!

2009-10-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

The FKCC Library is celebrating National Friends of Libraries Week October 18-24, by recruiting new members and providing coffee & muffins each morning. Our goal is to increase membership by 10%. Membership to the FKCC Library's Friends group is a great way to support the library's educational events and programs, or provide funding for special collections and materials. Levels of memberships are $10 - students, $25 -friend, $40 family membership, $100-honorary librarian. Donations are always welcomed. Friends also donate materials to be add to our collections, or volunteer their time.

Please visit the library located on the second floor of building A to check out a book or DVD, use our computers, or watch the sunset in our beautiful reading room.

Celebrate the Freedom to Read!

2009-09-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Libraries all over the country are celebrating the freedom to read during Banned Books Week taking place September 26 - October 3. Stop by to see some of the titles owned by our library that have been challenged. These titles have been reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom and have been asked to be removed from the shelves of a library. Librarians and others that support the freedom to read believe that books should not be censored. According to statistics provided by the American Library Association, a total of 517 books were challenged last year. Some of the titles on the list include:

Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Forever by Judy Blume

Visit the American Library Association's website for the complete list of titles.

Constitution Day

2009-09-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Florida Keys Community College will be observing Constitution Day by presenting "The End of America" documentary at the Monroe County Public Library auditorium on Thursday, September 17 @ 4pm. Professor Henry Woods along with members from the Florida Keys chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union will be speaking about the constitution and holding a discussion.

The college library will display books related to our Constitution and will be giving out free booklets provided by student activities to all students and library customers.

The Student Government Association representatives will be on campus to pass out the free booklets. As well as someone from our local voter's registration office.

For more information please contact the FKCC Library @ 305-809-3194 or the Monroe County Public Library @ 305-292-3595.

Celebrate Library Card Sign Up Month

2009-09-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Library Card Sign Up Month by stopping by the FKCC Library located on the second floor of building A and pick up your card today. September is the month when the American Library Association and Librarians world wide promote library cards. Your library card is the most important school supply that students will ever need. Your library card will connect you with a wealth of resources available at your finger tips.

Welcome back students and staff!

2009-08-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to all of our students and staff!
The library staff had a great summer and is ready to assist customers with their research and literary needs. Stop by to pick up your library card so that you will have access to a wealth of resources. We are also back to our normal hours of operation. They are Monday 8:30am - 9pm, Tuesday - Thursday 8:30am - 8:30pm, Friday & Saturday 8:30am - 4pm.

Now available is LINCCWeb2.0, our new catalog.

It is accessible from our website http://library.fkcc.edu/ the new format encourages library customers to add reviews and tags to their favorite items. Attend one of our workshops every Thursday 5:30-6pm & Saturday 2-2:30pm during the month of September, with librarian, Beverly Westermeyer.

Please join us for the closing reception of the Art Behind Bars Exhibit on Friday, August 28 @ 5:30pm.

This exhibit has brought us many different art media pieces created by very talented artists. Members of the community along with our faculty and staff have really enjoyed this exhibit. For more information about the program, visit http://www.artbehindbars.org/. For more information about the FKCC Library Gallery, visit http://library.fkcc.edu/ or call 305-809-3194.

2009-07-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

The library staff is straightening their shelves, printing up tip sheets and gearing up for Fall to welcome everyone back.

Art Behind Bars show will be having a closing reception on Friday, August 28, from 5:30 – 7:30pm. And refreshments will be served.

**Just a reminder that new fees will be implemented on August 24.

Have you needed help as you work on an assignment in the late evening? Well Ask a Librarian service is there to help you. You can access this free service by going to the library’s website http://www.library.fkcc.edu/ and clicking on the AAL icon. If you would like assistance from one of our local librarians we staff the desk on Tuesdays 3-4pm, and Fridays 1-2pm.

Are you interested in joining a book group?
Contact us @305-809-3194.

Our catalog will have a new look when you log in at the end of the month. Our library is proud to be one of the first to bring up our new LINCCWeb 2.0 catalog.

Watch for new additions coming to our Gale literature databases. To get “hands on” assistance with using our resources please contact us today. Our friendly staff is available at the information desk.

Summer News

2009-06-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T11:10:00.001-07:00

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 ...

2009-05-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-06T10:21:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

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!

Ask Us About Ask A Librarian

2009-02-20T05:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Ask A Librarian Day!

What, you may ask, is Ask A Librarian Day?

It's a reason to talk about and celebrate a statewide service that allows you to get reference help almost any time from a librarian at a public or academic library in Florida. Just go to http://www.askalibrarian.org/.

Almost any time is for real -- from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday-Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Best of all the service is free -- and if you happen to need help when Ask A Librarian is not available, you can send an email and a librarian will get back to you within 24 hours.

Come to think of it, every day should be Ask A Librarian Day!

Susan Nugent reading

2009-02-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Susan Nugent's reading at FKCC Library on Thursday attracted an interested group -- her book, "Women Conserving the Florida Keys," is available on amazon.com.

2009-02-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered, while traveling in the Keys or mainland South Florida, how it was that so much of our island chain escaped the development that has paved over so much of our region?

The answer is that a few committed people -- many of them women -- worked very hard over the years to protect the unique environment that makes Florida Keys such an interesting place to live (not to mention such an attractive place to visit).

Former FKCC English professor Susan Nugent tells the stories of 11 of those women in "Women Conserving the Florida Keys" and on Thursday, Feb. 12, she'll tell us all about the women, their struggles and triumphs and the book right here at the FKCC Library (5901 College Road, upstairs in Building A). Nugent now lives in Gainesville where she's working on her next project, "Women Conserving Alachua County." There will be a book signing after her talk and, as is true for almost all of our library events, refreshments will be served!

John Updike

2009-01-28T06:12:00.001-08:00

The world of letters is mourning today over the death of John Updike. He was a novelist, story writer, critic of books and art and one of the nation's best loved writers.

The New Yorker, for which Updike had written since the 1950s, has a very nice collection of remembrances -- including one from the journal of John Cheever, who received a false report of Updike's death. (Cheever died decades ago.)

I knew we had a pretty good collection of Updike's work here in the library and I ran a catalog search to be sure -- it yielded 34 titles; a couple are anthologies or works for which Updike wrote an introduction but most are by him, including novels, poetry, criticism and all four of the Rabbit books, for which he is best known. We also have his most recent work, The Widows of Eastwick, both as a hardcover and an audiobook.

What In the World

2009-01-08T12:31:00.001-08:00

New year, new semester ... and a new show opening soon at the FKCC Library Gallery. What in the World will feature the work of Tom Charette, a longtime student of FKCC's own Hairy Potter, Jay Gogin.
Charette's creations are uniquely his own, as y ou can see from the example at left -- and there will be many, many more. So please come to the opening, 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Not only can you view the art and meet the artist but Gogin's planning a special treat, his own paella.
For those who can't make the opening, the show is scheduled to be up through Feb. 14.

It's Literary Seminar time

2009-01-07T08:22:00.001-08:00

It's January, and for people who love books and reading and are in the vicinity of Key West that means one thing: it's Literary Seminar Time. This year's seminar is a double-header, with two full sessions. The first starts this Thursday, the 8th and runs through Sunday afternoon. The second starts on the following Thursday, the 15th and runs through that Sunday, the 18th. This year's topic is Historical Fiction and the Search for Truth -- and we've included a large smattering of historians, which should lead to lively discussions. The line-up, as always, is stellar -- National Book Award winners Peter Matthiessen and Andrea Barrett, Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, Booker Prize winner Barry Unsworth, living legend Gore Vidal -- and many more.

If you're not already signed up and you're interested in attending, here's the most important information: Session 1 is sold out but there are still spaces available for Session 2. And if you can't afford the time or money, there are sessions that are free and open to the public on Sunday afternoon of both sessions. Schedule, registration and lots more information is all available on the Seminar website, http://www.keywestliteraryseminar.org/. See you at the San Carlos! We also have the seminar's lovely program, featuring the art of Key West's own Mario Sanchez, excerpts from the writers and lots more, along with a display of books by many of the writers right here at the FKCC Library. The public library on Fleming Street also has programs, seminar books on special display, along with this great online display.

We're batting .800!

2008-12-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

The New York Times just came out with its annual list of the 10 Best Books published in the last year -- and the FKCC Library, I'm proud to say, has eight out of the 10 in our collection! That's four of the fiction and four of the nonfiction. Since we don't acquire that many books compared to many libraries, I'm particularly proud of this accomplishment.

Here's the list for folks who don't like following the link:

Fiction:

Dangerous Laughter by Steven Millhauser (New books collection)

A Mercy by Toni Morrison (McNaughton collection)

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill (McNaughton collection, large print)

2666 by Roberto Bolano (we don't have it)

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (McNaughton)

Nonfiction:

The Dark Side by Jane Mayer (New books ollection)

The Forever War by Dexter Filkins (McNaughton collection)

Nothing To Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes (McNaughton collection)

This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust (New books collection)

The World Is What It Is by Patrick French (we don't have it)

In case you're wondering what "collections" means, McNaughton is a service from which we lease books -- they're the ones with the green labels in the book case right when you first come in to the library. New books are kept on the other side of the same case; they have round blue labels that say NEW on the spine. And if you have questions about finding a book, please ask at the circulation desk.

Blogging about blogging

2008-11-21T07:36:00.001-08:00

Ever thought about starting your own blog but didn't know how to get going? Ever heard of the latest trend in scrapbooking -- digital scrapbooking? (That way family and friends from all over can see what's going on in your life.) Graphic artist Sandy Santiago can show you how -- and she'll be at the FKCC Library on Thursday, Dec. 4, to offer a free workshop. The workshop is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It is free and open to all -- if you have questions, give us a call at 809-3194.

This blog, along with the college, is about to go on Thanksgiving break -- the library will be open on Saturday, Nov. 22, and then we're closed until Monday Dec. 1. But before we go, I wanted to congratulate National Book Award winner Peter Matthiessen, who just won the fiction award for Shadow Country, the single volume reworking of his trilogy about Edgar Watson, originally published as Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River and Bone by Bone. This is exciting news for several reasons.
1) The books are all set in South Florida, specifically the Everglades, and if you've ever visited the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades City, you'll know the terrain.
2) Matthiessen is going to appear at this year's Key West Literary Seminar -- and at a free Florida Humanities Council session on the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 14.
3) We have all three of the original Watson books AND Shadow Country in our collection. Read on!

Good things in small packages

2008-11-14T05:54:00.000-08:00

Just as we were coming off the excitement of the reception for Kate Miller's Encaustics show -- and thanks to all who came by -- we're getting ready for another here at the Library Gallery.

This one is for longtime Keys resident Sheila Barker, who creates astonishingly detailed worlds in small boxes.

Sheila's Small World will feature more than a dozen of Barker's miniatures, which she has assembled by hand and via exchanges on the Internet (astonishingly helpful when you're in a faraway place like Key West).

The opening reception is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, here at the library -- as always, all are welcome and we will be providing refreshments.

Barker, who retired as the county's Community Services director, also works in other artistic arenas, including oil paintings and mixed media. More about her work is on her two blogs, one about art at www.junkandjewels.blogspot.com and about miniatures at www.raggedykingdom.blogspot.com.

Next up ...

2008-10-31T10:53:00.001-07:00

We had a great evening with Terry Schmida last night and now it's on to our next event: the opening reception for art professor Kate Miller's encaustics show is planned for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6 here at the library.

All are welcome -- invite your friends! -- and as at all our events, refreshments will be served.

What's an encaustic? For that you can check out this week's edition of Solares Hill, available online as a PDF.

Scary stuff

2008-10-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Local author Terry Schmida, author of True Crimes of the Florida Keys volumes 1 and 2, joins us here at the FKCC Library at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.

Terry, who is also features editor at The Key West Citizen, will read from upcoming volume 3 and will also share some work from another upcoming book, about Key West characters. No shortage of those around here.

All are welcome; come along and bring your friends -- and as always at library events, there WILL be snacks.

Celebrating the Freedom to Read

2008-09-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Sept. 27-Oct. 4 is Banned Books Week -- an event that libraries all over the country mark to celebrate our freedom to read, and to remind ourselves that this freedom requires vigilance.

Here at FKCC, we have a special display set up with information about book banning and examples of frequently banned books that we have in our collection (including the Harry Potter books as well as titles by the likes of Judy Blume and Toni Morrison).

For more information, check out the American Library Association's website about Banned Books Week, or check out the Monroe County Library's digital display. And read on!

Falling ahead

2008-08-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, it doesn't feel so much like fall here in the subtropics -- but the Fall term at FKCC has officially begun and boy, can you tell. The pace on campus and in the library has picked up considerably. And there's lots more to come.

For example:

On Saturday, Sept. 6, from 9 a.m. to noon we'll be holding a Book Sale in the library -- offering books withdrawn from the library collection, donations and a special offering of audiobooks on cassette -- all materials for the low, low price of $1! Stop on by, enjoy the view and pick up some bargains.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 5:30 p.m. library patron and author Bill Laney will be reading from his new book "Homeless Isn't Hopeless" -- a book that was written in this library. How cool is that? And there will be snacks.
On Thursday, Sept. 25, we'll be holding a closing reception for our next Gallery exhibit, featuring quilts provided by local quilting guru (and teacher) Margo Ellis. This one won't be up for long so don't miss it (and watch this space for notification of when the show goes up). Naturally, there will be snacks.
Sept. 27-Oct. 4 we'll be marking Banned Books Week -- not a celebration, exactly, but an event to remind ourselves of the importance of books and libraries to freedom of speech -- a cornerstone of our democracy.

And that's just September -- stop by the library any time or watch this space for more information and announcements to come.

Bard on a wire (or at least the Internet)

2008-07-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

The late Philip Burton (that's him on the left, with his adopted son Richard and Richard's then-wife Elizabeth Taylor) was a longtime Key Wester and renowned Shakespeare scholar. And now his work -- in his own voice -- is available to everyone for free online, thanks to Susan Mesker and the fine folks at the Philip Burton online project. Here he is reading his book The Sole Voice: Character Portraits from Shakespeare.

It's timely, too, because Shakespeare has been in the news lately, or at least his work. Recently a guy walked into the Folger Library in Washington, D.C., and asked them to appraise his First Folio. Turns out, it was stolen, from a university in England. And the guy who brought it into the Folger was an interesting character to say the least. Here's a good Washington Post summary of the whole affair. If you're curious about what a First Folio is, we have one here at the library! A reproduction, of course, thieves, forget about it. But it gives you the feel for what it looks like.

Picture this

2008-07-23T11:47:00.001-07:00

Just in time for the highest-grossing movie of the summer, the FKCC library is beefing up its collection of graphic novels. "Graphic" in this sense does not mean dirty! It means it uses images to tell the story -- like comic books, but much much more. Some of our titles did start out as comics -- like "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller. Another blockbuster movie-related title: "The Indiana Jones Omnibus."

But it's not all popcorn and movies. Graphic novelists are tackling serious issues these days. Among the best known is Art Spigelman and one of our new titles is "The Complete Maus." In this book, Spigelman tells the story of his father's experience in the Holocaust. Another is "Gorazde" by Joe Sacco, a graphic journalist who covered the war in Eastern Bosnia in the 1990s. A much, much older war is covered in Eric Shanower's Age of Bronze series; we have the two most recent titles and if you're one of those linear people who likes to read things in chronological order, the Monroe County library has the first one.

So check them out -- right now they're all collected on the display table to your left when you first walk into the library. Trust me, they're not just for kids any more.

From the headlines straight to our shelves

2008-07-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Three times is the charm for books in the news this week that also happen to be in our collection.

OK, I'm cheating on the first example. But lots of people are talking about the story about Florida's woes in the current edition of Time magazine (which we also have in our collection). I wasn't surprised to see the writer was Michael Grunwald, Time's man in Miami and author of a terrific history of the Everglades and Florida called The Swamp. I figured it was probably in our collection but just to be sure, I checked the catalog. It is, and for anyone interested in how Florida, especially South Florida, got to be how it is, environmentally and politically, this is an essential read.

Example 2: The best feature in the weekly New York Times Book Review is often the essay in the back. This week's is about the 50th anniversary of an Italian novel of which I'd never heard: The Leopard, by a writer with the excellent name of Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa. Just because you never know, I thought I'd check and see if we happened to have a copy in the collection and what do you know, we do. How cool is that? For those of us with a shaky grasp of 19th century Italian history (ie. how they went from a bunch of nation-states to the country more or less as we know it today) this looks like a fun way to learn.

Example 3: From something old to something new, this week the winner of the 2008 BBC 4 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction was announced -- and it's a book that's been on my "must-read" list for awhile, "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" by Kate Summerscale. It's in our New Books collection at the moment and available for checkout as of this writing. So check it out -- or check out her first book, which I have read and can recommend, called The Queen of Whale Cay about a wealthy and EXTREMELY eccentric 20th century Englishwoman who was a WWI ambulance driver, international motorboat racer and, eventually, owner and empress of a Bahamian island. Her closest companion and I think you could even say the love of her life was a stuffed doll named Lord Tod Wadley. I know, the part about the doll seems unbelievable but there are photos. We don't have that book in our collection -- but they've got it at the Key West branch of the Monroe County Public Library.

Booking it

2008-07-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

Books are, for obvious reasons, on our minds a lot lately around here. How libraries work -- and how we make sure our patrons can find and borrow what we have -- was even more so this week as several of our staff took part in a two day workshop on cataloging, provided by our state library consortium, the Southwest Florida Library Network. This is a very technical specialized area that would only be of interest to librarians and serious information geeks -- but if you've ever wondered what it's like to work in and/or run a library, we do happen to have a couple books on the subject intended for laypeople. One is Quiet, Please by Scott Douglas, a young librarian and McSweeney's contributor who works at a public library in Anaheim, Calif. Another is Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles, which is a more serious but still very accessible review of libraries throughout history. Both, I can personally attest, are good reads.

From Potter to Plutarch

2008-06-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

There's an interesting piece in the new Chronicle Review blog (produced by the Chronicle of Higher Education, which we get in physical form here at the library, and which also produces the invaluable Arts & Letters Daily online). It seems J.K. Rowling was the commencement speaker at Harvard this year and made a couple of great points: 1) You and your resume are not the same things and 2) If you love Harry Potter books you should understand those are grounded in the classics. We have the Harry Potter books here at the library (PZ7.R79835). We also have Plutarch (look for DE7.P5 or AC1.G or H).

You heard it here first

2008-06-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

The FKCC Library was recently the site of a reading from a new novel with strong Key West ties. "Six Weeks Out of Rabat" by Alma College student Aaron Pooley was born during a Key West Spring Term course that Alma College held here in May 2007.

Pooley says that by the end of the course he had written 60 pages. He kept corresponding with his professor throughout the summer and they continued working together in an independent study last fall. This summer, the 400-page manuscript is getting its final revisions, with submission to a publisher planned for the end of August.

According to Pooley, the novel "depicts the lives of two humanitarian aid workers struggling to make an impact on the world without losing control of their lives and each other. The manuscript is set primarily in Key West; the locations of Morocco, Kenya and Amsterdam also highlight the trans-Atlantic separation of the protagonists."

Pooley's reading drew an appreciative audience to the library on a June Wednesday evening. Check here for updates on the novel's publication; we'll be sure to have a copy in the collection when it's out.

Good reads

2008-05-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

The National Book Critics Circle spring list of Good Reads is out and a decent number of them are books we have in our collection (though some haven't made it onto the shelves yet) -- in any event, it's always interesting to see what people who read a lot of books recommend.

Speaking of good reads, I was really interested in this piece from last Sunday's New York Times magazine -- it seems the latest printed edition of the venerable Oxford English Dictionary may be the last (in print, anyway). We've got it at the library and it does come in handy but you can also see why such a massive and always-updating enterprise might be better suited to a more nimble format.

Six reasons the FKCC library rocks

2008-05-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

-- Great hours (8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Mon-Thurs., 8:30-4 Fri., 9-3 Sat.)
-- Ample parking
-- Terrific book selection. Old? New? Brain candy? Serious thought? History? Mystery? Biography? Fiction? Try us. And coming soon: graphic novels! (By "graphic" we mean illustrated, not dirty. Just so you know.)
-- Movies. We've had a great VHS collection for some time; now we're getting into DVDs. Check out what we've got, including cool documentaries, movies that were made here (including "Reap the Wild Wind," "Operation Petticoat" and "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef"), along with a bunch of great films from the American Film Institute's list of best movies.
-- Periodicals. We've got Artforum. We've got Science News. We've got Newsweek. We've got People. As with the books, it runs the gamut from brain candy to Serious Thought. Sometimes those are the same! Comfy reading chairs, too.
-- And the number one reason, now that we're rounding spring and heading into summer: AIR CONDITIONING.
Note to all: anyone is welcome at the FKCC library! Local residents can sign up as community borrowers and take out books and movies. Students have free use of the computers. Community members who want to use the computers can do so for a $10/month charge. Questions? Stop by or give us a call at 809-3194.

Some cool stuff

2008-05-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

A couple sites worth checking out:
1) The Gallery & Public Display Class spring art show, "Piece of Mind," is slowly leaving the library -- but lives on in cyberspace, in an online gallery created by a class member. Check it out here.

2) Miami Herald Book Editor Connie Ogle, on her excellent blog Between the Covers, reports some excellent news: People are, too, still buying (and, one presumes, reading) books! Take that, all you "reading is dead" gloom-spreaders ...

Poetry in motion

2008-04-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

It was a full house here at the FKCC library on Wednesday when National Library Week and Poetry Month converged for a reading featuring students from English Professor E.J. Miller Laino's Poetry Workshop, followed by readings from faculty and an open mic. One student even performed an original song. There were more than 70 people here and the readings were well-received.

It was great to see so many people enjoying the library and enjoying poetry -- we've got a display up showing a small selection from our poetry collection -- stop in and check it out.

Happy Library Week!

2008-04-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's National Library Week, something you can read all about at the American Library Association website -- or check out a video from Library Week Chair Julie Andrews at the Monroe County Public Library's site. We're celebrating all this week at the FKCC library, starting with a talk Monday from Key West resident and esteemed writer Robert Richardson. Richardson recently won the prestigious Bancroft Prize for his biography of William James. He talked about libraries, his experience doing research in them, the experience of others (including the guy who found notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci that had been lost for 500 years but had been hiding out unnoticed in a library).
Richardson also addressed the much-debated question of whether, in the age of Google, libraries are still necessary. He says they are. He's no Luddite: Google is wonderful for many things, he said, but in some cases you can't beat good old Bartlett's Familiar Quotations or other printed reference material. Plus there's the physical experience of reading and consulting a printed book. This is very different from reading on screen -- and in some cases it's actually easier to find information in a book. Richardson said computers are actually a throwback in reading technology to the scroll -- you read in order -- while books are codexes.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. is our first annual student poetry reading and at 6 p.m. art students will show us their digital book projects. Read on!

Countdown to Library Week ....

2008-04-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

We're still adding events to our celebration of National Library Week here at FKCC -- two students from Lynne Bentley-Kemp's Digital Camera Work course will be presenting their projects -- books they've created -- at 6 p.m. Wednesday here at the library. As with all the events, everyone's welcome and refreshments will be provided.

And don't forget our other events: Biographer/literary scholar Robert Richardson will speak at 6 p.m. Monday about libraries and why they matter and at 11 a.m. Wednesday, E.J. Miller-Laino's poetry workshop students will do a reading, followed by an open mic. Free entertainment! Free food! Libraries rock!

And ... we're back!

2008-04-08T06:02:00.001-07:00

Spring Break is over, the college and library are back in session and things are hopping -- the library is gearing up to celebrate Poetry Month and, next week, National Library Week. Some special events already planned:
* Monday, April 14, at 6 p.m., special guest Dr. Robert Richardson, Bancroft Prize-winning biographer, will give a talk about why libraries matter
* Wednesday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to noon, Dr. E.J. Miller Laino's Poetry class will be presenting a reading, featuring students and faculty. And refreshments!
* No Limits, the Haitian art show presented by Dr. Lynne Bentley-Kemp's Gallery & Display class is still up at the Library Gallery and well worth checking out. Come on in!

A study in contrasts

2008-03-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

Over break, Library Director Juana Careaga says she plans to finish reading "The New Year's Quilt," a part of the Elm Creek Quilts series, and start Jim Cramer's "Stay Mad For Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)."

Spring Break reading

2008-03-26T07:15:00.001-07:00

For some people, Spring Break means getting serious beach time and/or serious bar time. For some of us, it means serious reading time. So we're polling FKCC people to ask what they plan to read over Spring Break. Personally, my list includes the new Library of America volume collecting the poetry, fiction, translations and letters of Elizabeth Bishop, "The Right Hand of Sleep," a historical novel by John Wray and -- in preparation for Library Week which is coming right up in April -- a book from our collection called "Library: An Unquiet History."
The first person to respond to my highly unscientific email survey this morning was former librarian/current distance learning maven Gavin McKeirnan who has more ambitious plans: "Other than catching up on my epicurean magazines, National Geos and Self (yes, I have to fit a little attempt at health in there somewhere) I’ll be reading Tolle’s "A New Earth" and books in my Pema Chodron for some Zen while gazing at the volcano in Costa Rica next week. It’s that time of the year for renewal and refreshing! I’ll also be reading my textbooks for my Educator’s Prep Institute classes that begin when we return from break. Beyond that I won’t have time for much else but really need to get back into some serious fun reading soon!"
Stay tuned here for future posts on what FKCC people plan to read over break.

Chess game

2008-03-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered about that cool chess game in the reading area of the library? It actually does get played sometimes -- especially now that a missing pawn has been replaced, courtesy of FKCC student and library volunteer Abalyn, shown here trouncing library specialist Nancy Klingener in a quick game.

Gatherings

2008-03-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Most people think of libraries as a place to get books, periodicals and, these days, use computers -- but the FKCC Library is also host to a wide variety of college events. Yesterday there were two -- a meeting of the Student Government Association about leadership and a talk from distinguished Florida writer Sudye Cauthen, author of "Southern Comforts: Rooted in a Florida Place." What's coming up? Watch this blog, look in the library window or ask a library staffer, like Kevin McGarry or Director Juana Careaga, pictured here. We're happy to help!

March birthdays

2008-03-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

It's the start of a new month, so we're changing the display in the corner of the library, in the lounge area where you first walk in. March is a little harder to come up with material for than February (Black History Month and Valentine's Day), so I got to thinking about writers with March birthdays. There's got to be a website, I thought, and no doubt there is, but I didn't find it in my initial stumblings in Google. So I decided to take a radical step and look in ... a book! An actual reference book, right on our shelves. The World Almanac and Book of Facts, right near the start of our reference collection (REF AY 67.N5 W7 in Library of Congress-speak) and wouldn't you know they have a listing of modern writers and their birthdays. So I wrote down all the ones for March -- and even better, the vast majority are represented on our shelves! The list is posted now in the monthly display area -- but for those of you following along at home, here it is: *Edward Albee, *Russell Banks, *Billy Collins, *Dave Eggers, James Ellroy, *Gabriel Garcia Marquez, *Alice Hoffman, *John Irving, Horton Foote, *John McPhee, *James Patterson, *Marge Piercy, *David Rabe, *Philip Roth, *John Updike, *Mario Vargas Llosa, *Tom Wolfe.
(* means they have at least one book in our collection)

No Limits opening

2008-02-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

The reception for the No Limits show of Haitian art was held at the Library Gallery Thursday evening and was a great success, attracting a range of college staff, students and visitors (and, toward the end of the evening, a troop of Girl Scouts). Distinguished guests included San Carlos Institute President Rafael Penalver, former Miami Herald Keys staffer Susana Bellido Cummings, bookbinder/conservator Bob Muens, Mark Hedden (aka Florida's Most Powerful Birding Columnist (TM)) and two well-traveled ladies from New Jersey. A highlight of the evening was a talk about Haiti from FKCC's own Rev. Ebenson Michelin. Here are some photos of the event, courtesy of Library Specialist Nancy Klingener and the Diva Vogue. In the bottom right photo, Professor Lynne Bentley-Kemp, whose Gallery and Display class is responsible for the show, greets Boris and Marie from the Haitian Art Company, who provided the work for the show. No Limits is up until April 3 -- stop by and see it!

From page to screen

2008-02-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

Weekends are a great time to read -- and to go to the movies -- and this weekend, three movies at The Tropic Cinema in Key West are literary adaptations. The first is "The Kite Runner," based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini(we have a large-print copy that is, of this writing, checked out). The second is the much-lauded "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" -- we have a copy of that as an audio book (two cassettes, unabridged -- it's a short book), ready and waiting to be checked out. And the third is a documentary, "The Rape of Europa," based on a nonfiction book about how the Nazis pillaged Western art during World War II. Read, watch, listen: So many options.

To your health

2008-02-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Ever used a library to find information about your health? Woman's Day magazine and the American Library Association are collecting stories about how readers have used libraries to get information on their own or a family members health. Find out more by following this link.

Elizabeth Bishop

2008-02-26T14:29:00.001-08:00

Some exciting news about Elizabeth Bishop, the late poet who lived in Key West in the 1930s -- she is the first woman poet to be featured by the Library of America in a one-volume edition featuring her poems and selections from her prose and letters.
We haven't gotten the new volume in the library -- yet -- but we do have in our circulating collection several of her works, including the "Complete Poems," "The Collected Prose," a recent collection of her previously unpublished work called "Edgar Allan Poe & the juke-box" and "One Art," a generous selection of her letters. We also have some works of literary criticism about her work, which you can find by searching our catalogue with "Elizabeth Bishop" as the subject.
Even if you're not a poetry fan, Bishop is worth checking out -- the prose is especially accessible and includes several pieces about Key West, including an essay about a painter named Gregorio Valdez, whom Bishop hired to paint a portrait of her house. I've only seen one work by Valdez and it's hanging right here at the FKCC Library. Stop by and check it -- and Bishop's work -- out.

From the archives

2008-02-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about libraries is that we keep things around so in case you missed them when they appeared, they're available. Take, for example, the
Spring 2007 edition of The Paris Review, which includes an interview with Key West's own Harry Mathews, author of "My Life in the CIA." It's a fascinating interview -- this and other volumes of The Paris Review and other journals are available in the library stacks for perusal (in the library). For students, there are lots more available through our databases.
We don't have any of Mathews' books in our collection -- but we do have almost all the books he mentions as influences, including "A Journal of The Plague Year" by Daniel Defoe, "The Aspern Papers" by Henry James and "Twice-Told Tales" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (of that last one Mathews says, "I've always said that I was greatly influenced by Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, although I've never read them.").

No Limits: A Selection of Works from the Haitian Art Co. at FKCC

2008-02-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Library Gallery at Florida Keys Community College will begin hosting a special exhibition of Haitian Art that will be sure to entice a wide audience. Haitian Art Company co-owner Boris Kravitz and his wife and gallery manager Marie Coine have shared their collection of refined folk art with the college from Feb. 21 through April 3. A reception is planned for Feb. 28 beginning at 5 p.m.

Dr. Lynne Bentley-Kemp’s Gallery and Display students have been busy with the planning and the hanging of the show and in the process have learned a great deal about the political and spiritual history of Haiti. There will be a selection of prominent Haitian artists represented. The works of artists like Carlo Jean- Jacques, Agathe Aladin, Murat St. Vil, Jean Sylvestre, Chrysler Bruno and Jean Albert Bernard have been capturing the imaginations of the students as they assemble the exhibit.

The paintings of Voltaire Hector have had a significant impact on the students. Hector is considered one of the best contemporary Haitian folk artists. His paintings are generally autobiographical, often accompanied by a line or two of narrative text. They reflect his experience of daily Haitian life: family life, Voudou ceremonies and icons, medical procedures, political events - especially the events following the fall of Aristide, are important elements of his work and have given the Gallery class extensive insight into the political history of Haiti.

Frantz Zephirin is a featured artist whose work is characterized by its bright colors, patterns, tightly compacted compositions; and by the human figures with animal heads, which represent his cynicism for the ruling body. His inspiration comes from Haitian history, politics, the bible, and vodou. The title of the exhibit comes from Zephirin’s characterization of his art. “There are no limits” sums up the overall effect of the show.

Many of the artists in the show reveal a world that is fanciful and spiritual. The influence of Vodou is powerful and all of the works convey a sense of wonder. Some of the most arresting and beautiful imagery in Haitian painting comes directly from Vodou. There are approximately 80 original works of art on display that include metal sculpture made from oil drums, an intricately beaded spirit flag and a selection of paintings that will enlighten and delight everyone who comes out to visit FKCC’s Library Gallery.

The Library is open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The library is upstairs over the main office in Building A at the Key West Campus, 5901 College Road. The library's main number is 809-3194.

"No one lives of the flesh.
Everyone lives of the spirit."
-Andre Pierre

What's new

2008-02-15T11:10:00.001-08:00

Some recent titles added to the circulating collection from McNaughton, the service the library leases books from:

All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann, Bleeding Kansas by Sara Peretsky, The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters, Diary of a Bad Year by J..M. Coetzee, The Fighting 69th by Sean Flynn, Heroes Among Us, Hogs in the Shadows by Milo Afong,
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin, Memo to the President Elect by Madeleine Korbel, Now & Then by Robert Parker, The Race by Richard Patterson, Salt River by James Sallis, Students for a Democratic Society by Harvey Pekar, World Without End by Ken Follett

Also some new audiobooks:

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (4 CDs), People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (12 CDs), T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (10 CDs)

To see if these books are available for checkout and where they are in the collection, check our online catalogue.

A Distinguished Guest

2008-02-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

The FKCC Library is honored and delighted to be hosting Sudye Cauthen, author of "Southern Comforts: Rooted in A Florida Place" at 6 p.m. March 5.
Carthen is the founder of North Florida Center for Documentary Studies and directed Florida’s First Folk Arts in the Schools program. You can find her work published in Chattahoochee Review, the Florida Review, International Quarterly, and Kalliope. She is a proud recipient of a state of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Literature award.
The book, which chronicles Cauthen’s life after her divorce and her father's death, opens the reader to her view as she returns to five generations of her life in a small town north of Gainsville. Cauthen traces the history of the region back to the late 1540s weaving family and oral histories together into community fabric being smothered by concrete as so called progress evaporates what was once it’s soul. This cautionary tale of progress and pain at least allows what was once to live on in the pages of this captivating book.
The author will read passages from her book and be available to those attending to answer questions about her career and her book.
Light refreshments will be served.

Philip Burton

2008-02-15T09:40:00.001-08:00

A new archive of material by and about the late Shakespeare scholar Philip Burton -- a longtime Key West resident -- is available online here and will soon be catalogued as part of the library collection.
Burton was the adopted father of actor Richard Burton -- the photo shown here shows Philip with Richard and his occasional daughter-in-law Elizabeth Taylor.

Welcome to the new FKCC Library Blog!

2008-02-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

This is the new blog for the Florida Keys Community College Library, the learning resource center for America's southernmost institution of higher learning. The library offers books, periodicals, movies, recorded books and more for students at the college -- and the community as a whole. You do not have to be enrolled to use the library. We also have wireless internet access, so you can bring your own laptop and get online. We offer computer use for enrolled students; community members can also have computer access for a $10 monthly fee.
The library is also home to the college's art gallery; a new exhibit of Haitian art is due to open Thursday, Feb. 21. Come on in and check us out -- we're open 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 9 to 3 on Saturdays -- we're upstairs over the college's main office, 5901 College Road, Building A (the blue one).