theme day: shoes!

You know the old woman
who lived in a shoe?
And had so many children
she didn't know what to do?

I think if she lived
in a little shoe-house--
That little old woman
was surely a mouse!

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)
from Apple Dapply's Nursery Rhymes

the theme for this week is shoes!

I recently ran across mention of an interesting sounding coffee table book entitled shoes: a history from sandals to sneakers the book was written by giorgio riello and was published in 2006.

gentle bridges

"What is the essence of the mind? Could computers ever have consciousness? Can compassion be learned? When does consciousness enter the human embryo? These are just some of the many questions that were discussed during a historic meeting that took place between several prominent Western scientists and the Dalai Lama. Gentle Bridges is a chronicle of this extraordinary exchange of ideas." (from product description)

the dalai lama has always been most interested in building bridges between the insights of buddhist philosophical thinking and scientific endeavors and theory. I've read that every year his holiness invites groups of scientists to his home in dharamsala to discuss their work and how buddhism might contribute to it.

there are many books out that explore the intersection of buddhism and science. in addition to Gentle Bridges the bookmouse has found these interesting sounding books:

The Universe in a Single Atom by Dalai Lama
Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge by B. Alan Wallace
The Joy Of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness by Eric Swanson, Rinpoche Yongey Mingyur, Yongey Mingyur, Daniel (FRW) Goleman

mouse guard

how fitting that the book currently needing archiving sports orange cover art.

the bookmouse joins other bloggers who are celebrating the color orange today.

the book mouse guard fall 1152 was published in 2007 (and the paperback came out in 2008) it contains six issues of david petersen's captivating series. in david's world brave mice battle forces, conditions and predators that create a constant state of code orange!

apparently there are mouse guard action figures, good thing I don't have a problem taking care of my inner child!

p.s. the color of the bookmouse will return to a non-orange state soon.....

a trip to the library: ithaca new york

last week while on a wander I checked out the tomkins county public library in ithaca new york where blogging bud salty jill likes to hang.

it's a very nice library. airy and spacious and based on all the folks inside during a gorgeous summertime afternoon, quite popular with the locals!

I've long been a fan of artists who interpret the peaceable kingdom story (most notably quaker artist edward hicks) and was most impressed with the art quilt hanging in the children's department by alice gant.

lakewood library II

here's a glance at the rest of the newly renovated lakewood public library. I really commend the designers on their choice of colors and comfort of the furnishings.

nowadays libraries are so much more than just a place to check out books!

the public computer room has 60 new computers - all with internet access!! plus additional computers in the adjacent classroom. the librarian in the computer department did mention that the computer in the children's department (see last post) are not hooked up to the internet (wise move).

the audiovisual department is shaping up to be enormous!

good job lakewood!

lakewood library

for the last year the main lakewood public library has been in the midst of a major expansion. construction is finally finished, for all intents and purposes everyone and everything is moved back in and it's back to business as usual. the official grand opening ceremony is scheduled for june 1.

one of the jewels of the newly renovated library is the children's department. an integral part of the children's department is the 'librainium' - a 2,000 square foot 'organic learning center with reading readiness activities for children from infancy to age five.

today's slide show focuses on the children's department. I expect other pictures to come of other sections of newly renovated library.

the main lakewood public library is located at 15425 Detroit Avenue
hours are monday-saturday: 9 am - 9 pm and sunday 1 pm - 9 pm

the madison branch is located at 13229 Madison Avenue
hours: 9-9 m-f, 9-6 saturday, 1-5 sunday

cleveland public library

a few random pictures from the cleveland main library. cleveland's main library is located at 325 superior avenue, between e. 3rd and e. 6th streets. when I first moved to cleveland someone told me that cleveland has the second or third largest library system in the united states and for years I made the same claim. unfortunately this is not true! perhaps it's ranked as the second or third in something other than size, but it is not the second or third largest library in the u.s..

according to the american library association it's not even in the top 10, or top 20; in fact it is ranked as the 44th largest library. however, if we subtract academic libraries and only consider public libraries, the cleveland public library is the 12th largest library. in terms of population size, cleveland has dropped considerably over the last century, cleveland is now #39 in terms of city size (compared to being #5 in 1920; #7 in 1950; and #23 in 1990) .

regardless of size the cleveland public library system is great as are the other libraries in the greater cleveland area. according to hennen's latest rating of america's public libraries, the cuyahoga county public library system is the #1 rated public library system in the largest city category (over 500,00) and lakewood public library is #1 in the category for cities with a population between 50,000 - 99,999.

speaking of the lakewood library, it has recently completed a major expansion. I'll be showcasing the newly expanded and renovated lakewood library soon!