Daily Thoughts 01/20/2012

[Students in the Reading Room of the Library of Congress with the Librarian of Congress, Herbert Putnam, watching] Date Created/Published: [1899?]

Daily Thoughts 01/20/2012

I read some more of A Nation Rising by Kenneth C. Davis on the way to work.  I am reading about the the Monroe Doctrine and how it affected Native Americans.  The author is writing about the wars with the Seminoles in the 1830s in Florida.  He is describing how African Americans allied with the Seminoles in Florida to fight United States troops.  It is an interesting account.

I checked the displays this morning and updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts.  I also worked a bit on the flyers for programs as well.  I read the latest Booklist to see what was new.  We are going to put up a new display next week for February.  February is Black History Month.

The book, Who's In Charge? Free Will and the Brain by Michael S. Gazzaniga has come in for me to read.

I worked on a few flyers for upcoming author events.  I met with William Bowden this morning to get a copy of his photograph and a picture of the front cover of his new book.  We are having William Bowden coming on February 14, 2012 to read from his book, Soul Sister Sister Sonnets II.  We are also having Bimpe Fageyinbo on March 13, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. reading from her memoir, "So Maybe, That's the Bee's Weakness."

I also had a chance to look at The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow by Cory Doctorow.  It is a science fiction novel licensed under Creative Commons.
http://craphound.com/gbbt/Cory_Doctorow_-_The_Great_Big_Beautiful_Tomorrow.pdf

There is going to be a staff party tonight which should be entertaining.

I had a chance to finish reading A Nation Rising while I was waiting for my ride to the staff party.  It was very enjoyable reading.  Kenneth Davis was seeking to expose parts of our history that were not well covered in standard history books.

The staff party went very well. It was very much a reminder that we are looking forward to a brighter future.  The library I work at currently is seeking a new director.  We are in a transitional phase where we are working with tbe board of directors while they are seeking a new director.  The food was good and the music was excellent.  I had a chance to talk to a few people I had not seen in a little while.