WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU

     Before I went to lunch today, I watched a small portion on a Yahoo! live feed of the dedication of the Bush Presidential Library  (for the last President Bush).  There was a running dialog box on the lefthand side of the screen.
     One person stated: "Libraries are so 1950s.  Couldn't we just make him a website and save a ton of taxpayer money?"
     Another person responded:  "Shame on you.  Libraries are the greatest gifts to us and should not and will not be replaced entirely by websites."
     How do you feel about that?  Are libraries so 1950s?  Should we replace them and save the taxpayers a ton of money?  How about..."should not and will not be replaced entirely by websites?"  I thought about that word "entirely."
     I feel a little biased working in a library.  And this is my second library.  I don't believe I could answer those questions without taking into consideration all of my feelings about libraries.  Or websites, for that matter.  It might take me a long time to write it all down.
     But I did wonder if you have an opinion on this subject and are willing to share it with us.  If so, please leave a comment here. 
     We'd love to hear from you...here at our library and on our website.
     Thanks in advance.

Here's A "Find" On The Internet

I've never told you about the websites I find on the Internet that are related to books. In fact, I don't think I've ever talked about computers, except to say we have 20 for public use here at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. However, yesterday, while checking out several library sites, ezine sites, and authors' sites, I ran across this website. It's called Fantastic Fiction and it originates in the United Kingdom.
I added it to my "Favorites," along with sites for the American Library Association, Bookreporter, Southern Literary Review, The New York Times Book Review, and the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame; stuff like that.
The Fantastic Fiction website has bibliographies for over 15,000 authors and information on over 250,000 books. I felt I'd dropped into a reader's/writer's heaven in the United Kingdom.
What I liked about the website was it showed books from the USA (latest published): new hardbacks, new science fiction, new fantasy, horror, mystery, etc. And since I've been on a "cozy" mystery kick for about two years (I'll never be able to read them all!), I searched for an author I recently discovered.
When her webpage came up, it showed her picture and gave a three-sentence biography. Best of all, it showed her new and forthcoming hardbacks and paperbacks, as well as listing the fourteen books (with dates published, so I could start at the beginning) of the mystery series I'm interested in reading.
Now, here's another best...I immediately clicked on our library website's home page and the PINES icon. In the PINES Catalog, I looked up the author to see how many of her books we have in our library. And you know what? I found there are five of her mysteries here, just waiting for me to check them out, including the very first one of the series! Talk about another reader's heaven...our library, with the books I want to read, right at my fingertips.
So, now I'm telling you that you can do the same thing. Go to http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ and find any author you like. Pull up their webpage and see the books that are listed.
But before you go out and pay all that money for a book you're interested in, go to the PINES Catalog on our library website. See if we have that book in our library. Or talk to one of our circulation clerks and order it from another library through the Interlibrary Loan. In this day and time, it's a good idea to use your library and save some money on books, audio books, DVDs, etc.
And if you think of another website I should add to my "Favorites," let me know. I'm always on the lookout for interesting book and author sites.