This is not quite in our catalog yet, but it is assuredly going to be ordered soon.  Believe it or not, I have not yet gotten a single RINC for this, but I anticipate requests will start coming in. At this point, if people inquire, please go ahead and RINC the title and they will be added to the holds queue in the order their requests are received.  Again, you can assure customers we will be getting this title.  My apologies for not anticipating the buzz on this one.

Thank you!

  A member of Navy SEAL Team 3 describes his life as a father and husband, and as the serviceman with the most confirmed sniper kills in the history of the United States military while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Posted by Darren

Here’s the straight dope on rental DVDs.

• Rentals contain the theatrical release of the film without any extras
• Customers who use Redbox, or other avenues to rent DVDs have probably seen these before
• Only select DVDs get the rental DVD treatment  (mostly blockbusters)

Rental and Retail there’s a difference

Consumers who buy HP &DH part 2 at their local grocery store or Costco are purchasing the retail version of the film.  This contains not only the theatrical release but also all the extras that come along with the film.

Warner Brothers doesn’t allow our vendor to sell the retail version to libraries, and outlets such as Netflix and Redbox.  In some cases films will also have an embargo period of 30 to 60 days before the movie is available for purchase by the library also so that consumers will be encouraged to go out and buy their own copy of the DVD rather than be able to get it at the library or a kiosk on the day it comes out for purchase.

In the end its all about money.

posted by jim

For U.S. libraries only at this time. 

Changes to BrillianceAudio library lending
Effective January 31, 2012, as instructed by the publisher, BrillianceAudio will suspend the availability of all download audiobook titles for library purchase across all vendors. This change does not affect any titles currently in your library’s catalog. You will not, however, be able to add any additional copies.
If you have questions or comments, you can reach BrillianceAudio directly at AskSales@brillianceaudio.com or 800.648.2312.

Gary Price at INFOdocket  noted connections with Amazon that may indicate this isn’t a brinkmanship move by Brilliance Audio that might end in a compromise solution as the Penguin Group ebook did in November.

Price notes that:

“Brilliance Audio was acquired by Amazon.com in May, 2007. Amazon also owns Audible.com, the popular audiobook download service.

A Few of the Many Possibilities That Quickly Come to Mind

• Brilliance Sells Access to Titles via Audible, No Need To Lend
• Amazon Will Add Some/All Brilliance Titles to the Their Amazon Prime Program”

Practicalities — what does this mean for the library today?

1. Brilliance Audio talking books on CD aren’t affected by this development.
2. Fewer audiobook offerings by popular authors such as Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz and others.
3. Our current Brilliance Audio download titles will remain in the collection.
4. We may have difficulty maintaining our holds to copy ratio of 5 to 1 for Brilliance Audio downloads.

Let’s hope this doesn’t become a trend.

posted by jim

Darren Nelson will now be selecting International materials.  He previously selected Spanish at other libraries.

Becky Buckingham is taking over selection of Best Bets.

Posted by Becky and Darren

The winners are:

The sisters brothers by Patrick DeWitt

West of here by Jonathan Evison

Feathers by Thor Hanson

Shards by Ismet Prcic

Habibi by Craig Thompson

The chronology of water by Lidia Yuknavitch.

The PNBA website has more information including shelf talkers.

I must be on their wavelength because I have Feathers, Habibi and West of here in my stack of books to read next.

Sno-Isle owns all of these titles.

Posted by Becky

No Shelf Required 2: Use and Management of Electronic Books

From the publisher’s Web site:

With their explosive sales and widespread availability, the past few years have definitively proven that e-books are here to stay. In this sequel to her best-selling book of the same title, expert Polanka dives even deeper into the world of digital distribution. Contributors from across the breadth of the e-book world offer their perspectives on what’s happening now and what to expect in the coming months and years. Included in this invaluable resource are

• Guidelines for performing traditional library processes such as cataloging, weeding, archiving, and managing e-book accessibility for patrons with special needs
• Explorations of topics such as the e-book digital divide and open-access publishing
• Case studies from an array of academic, public, and school libraries, offering firsthand accounts of what works, what doesn’t, and why
• Discussions of the emerging model of the electronic-only library and the rich possibilities of enhanced e-books

All librarians will want to familiarize themselves with the wealth of advice in this volume on best practices for use and management of e-books.

For more information, consult ALA Store.

Posted by Darren

Brown, Rita Mae.  Murder Unleashed

Summary: Settling into ranch life outside Reno, Nevada, with her gregarious great-aunt Jeep Reed and Jeep’s German Shepherd, King, former Wall Street trader Mags and her dachshund Baxter witness the cutthroat world of investment banking here in the remote Silver State. The foreclosure crisis has taken a huge bite out of the local real estate market, where rows of homes sit unsold and forsaken- but not empty. A group of squatters, including desperate single mothers with children, are living under the radar in the houses on Reno’s Yolanda Street, without water or electricity. Big-hearted real estate broker Babs Gallagher enlists Jeep and Mags to start a community outreach program, but that means going up against uncaring utility companies, corrupt officials, ruthless politicians- and a merciless murderer. When a former banker is found brutally slain in one of the abandoned homes, the notion of “cutthroat business practices” takes on a whole new meaning.

Cook, Robin. Death Benefit (2 copies)

Summary: Behind the prim gates of the Greenwich, Connecticut, McMansions, Wall Street whizzes turn their attentions from mortgages to another possible profit source: the $25 trillion life-insurance industry. By securitizing the policies of the old and sick, they hope to make another financial killing. At the same time, Pia Grazdani and George Wilson, two exceptional yet aloof medical residents, are working closely with their medical center’s premier scientist on cutting-edge diabetes research. When their mentor dies suddenly, they launch a quiet investigation. As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that the scientist’s death was not from natural causes. Is it possible someone is manipulating private life insurance information to allow investors to benefit from the deaths of others?

Cussler, Clive. The Race

Summary: Bell has never encountered a case- and an enemy- quite like the one before him now, though. It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than fifty days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates- an intrepid aviatrix named Josephine Frost- and that’s where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in. Frost’s violent-tempered husband has just killed her lover and tried to kill her, and he is bound to try again. Bell has tangled with Harry Frost before, and knows the man has made his millions leading gangs of thieves, murderers, and thugs in every city across the country. He also knows Frost won’t be after just his wife, but after Whiteway as well. And Bell knows that if he takes the case, Frost will be after him, too.–From front book jacket.

Cussler, Clive. Devil’s Gate

Summary: A Japanese cargo ship cruises the eastern Atlantic near the Azores- when it bursts into flames. A gang of pirates speeds to take advantage of the disaster-when their boat explodes. What is happening in this part of the world? As Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the NUMA Special Assignments Team rush to investigate, they find themselves drawn into the extraordinary ambitions of an African dictator, the creation of a weapon of almost mythical power, and an unimaginably audacious plan to extort the world’s major nations. The penalty for refusal? The destruction of their greatest cities.

Eco, Umberto. The Prague Cemetery

Summary: “19th-century Europe–from Turin to Prague to Paris–abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. In Italy, republicans strangle priests with their own intestines. In France, during the Paris Commune, people eat mice, plan bombings and rebellions in the streets, and celebrate Black Masses. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating conspiracies and even massacres. There are false beards, false lawyers, false wills, even false deaths. From the Dreyfus Affair to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Jews are blamed for everything. One man connects each of these threads into a massive crazy-quilt conspiracy within conspiracies. Here, he confesses all, thanks to Umberto Eco’s ingenious imagination–a thrill-ride through the underbelly of actual, world-shattering events. “– Provided by publisher.

Griffin, W. E. B. Victory and Honor

Summary: One war may be over, the fight continues for Cletus Frade and the members of the OSS. Politics are getting involved with the very existence of the OSS as various government entities try to break up the unit. But a larger threat looms in the Soviet Union as Joe Stalin begins to make his visions a reality. Frade and his men must now embark on a top-secret mission, one that cannot be discovered. If their mission is uncovered, it could be deadly for all.

Mccall Smith, Alexander.  The Forgotten Affairs of Youth

Summary: Isabel Dalhousie helps a new friend discover the identity of her father. But Isabel also manages to find time for her own concerns: her young son, Charlie, already walking and talking; her housekeeper, Grace, whose spiritualist has lately been doubling as a financial adviser; her niece Cat’s latest relationship; and the pressing question of when and how Isabel and Jamie should finally get married.

Sandford, John. Shock Wave

Summary: When protests about a superstore chain’s plans to build a location in a Minnesota river town escalate into bombing attacks at the construction site and the company’s headquarters, Virgil Flowers races against time to find and stop the bomber.

Woods, Stuart.  D. C. Dead (2 copies)

Summary: “Stone Barrington, his former NYPD partner Dino Bachetti and CIA agent Holly Barker investigate a possible serial killer with ties to the White House”– Provided by publisher

Posted by Darren

from the Library of Congress website

Walter Dean Myers has been named the next National Ambassador for Young People’s literature.  According to the Library of Congress website:

The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature raises national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.

Myers will be officially inaugurated for the two-year term on January 10th in Washington D.C. and has named his platform as “Reading is Not Optional.”

He succeeds Katherine Paterson who has held the post since 2010 (Jon Scieszka was the first Ambassador in 2008).  Patterson was interviewed by the Huffington Post: My Term As The National Ambassador For Young People’s Literature.  She said that the theme of her tenure was to:

Read for fun, read for information, read in order to understand yourself and other people with quite different ideas. Learn about the world beyond your door. Learn to be compassionate and grow in wisdom. Books can help us in all these ways.

More articles on the new Ambassador:

• Christian Science Monitor: Walter Dean Myers chosen as new YA literature ambassador
• Huffington Post: Walter Dean Myers Appointed New National Ambassador for Young Readers
• New York Times: Children’s Book Envoy Defines His Mission
• School Library Journal: SLJ Exclusive Interview: Walter Dean Myers, the New National Ambassador for Young  People’s Literature

via Galleycat  and EarlyWord

posting by Lorraine

The authors include:

• Sherman Alexie
• M.T. Anderson
• Lois Lowry
• Gregory Maguire
• Maggie Stiefvater

My least favorite is the TV movie made of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Ring of Endless Light.  The film had characters of the same names and it took place in the same location as the book, but the story was completely lost.  I was so disappointed because this is one of my all-time L’Engle favorites.

What is your favorite Teen book made into a movie or your most disliked?

via Bookshelves of Doom

posting by Lorraine