I have a customer who needs to research a condition his dog has been diagnosed with. Are there books or online resources for pet health?

Most libraries will have a basic book or two about dog or pet health/diseases. These are examples of titles found in many Maryland libraries:

• The complete healthy dog handbook: the definitive guide to keeping your pet happy, healthy & active by Betsy Brevitz. Workman Pub., c2009
  
  
• The Merck/Merial manual for pet health edited by Cynthia M. Kahn. Merck & Co., c2007
  
  
• Dog owner's home veterinary handbook by Debra M. Eldredge. Wiley, c2007
  

You know how there are books on how to communicate better with your doctor? Since veterinary care has become more sophisticated, there are now a couple of books discussing getting second opinions, specialty vet care, communicating with your family vet, money issues, questions to ask in specific situations, etc. These books don’t go into details about health conditions or diseases, but help you to get your pet the best care.

• Speaking for spot: be the advocate your dog needs for a happy, healthy, longer life by Nancy Kay. Trafalgar Square, c2008
  
  
• Vet confidential: an insider's guide to keeping your pet healthy and safe by Louis Murray. Ballantine Books, c2008
  

Of course, there are many online resources!

Free Animal Health Resources Web Sites
From the Veterinary Library at Cornell University’s Vet School (College of Veterinary Medicine), this list of Web sites (mostly for non-veterinarians) includes sites on alternative medicine, nutrition and poisoning in addition to sites on diseases and conditions.

Merck Veterinary Manual
The 9th edition (2006) of the Merck Veterinary Manual is available online. It contains information about animal anatomy and physiology, diseases, behavior, and emergency treatment. It includes over 1400 images, video and audio files you can use to identify plants poisonous to animals or see lesions characteristic of a specific disease. The language can be technical. I find it irritating to be forced to constantly be clicking to move on to the next page.

Pet Education
This site from retailer Foster & Smith includes advertising, but the information provided by is the site is so useful it makes me almost forget the advertising. This searchable site on contains information on diseases and treatments, lab procedures & tests, drug information sheets, a dictionary of veterinary terms, and articles related to alternative and holistic medicine. It also has excellent articles on symptoms in their “Symptom Checker” section.

VeterinaryPartner.com
The University of Tennessee’s Agriculture & Veterinary Library calls this Web site “the best place to start looking for information on the Web” for general care and health information on dogs. It provides information on health, medications, therapies, surgery, behavior, and safety. New articles are added weekly.

WebMD: Healthy Dogs
Did you know that WebMD included information on pet health? Healthy Dogs is part of their Pet Health Center. Healthy Dogs has major sections on conditions, symptoms and behavior.

Please keep in mind that Maryland's State Library Resource Center has some more specialized resources that can be useful. While these books are reference (noncirculating), we are would be happy to send you any appropriate pages:

Blackwell's five-minute veterinary consult: canine and feline edited by Larry Patrick Tilley. Blackwell, c2007 (4th ed.)

The new edition of this title is on order. This book does wonderful 2 page overviews of dog and cat diseases and conditions. While technical, it is fairly understandable—I’d say it is more like a nursing textbook than a physician’s textbook if it was medical textbook.

Blackwell's five-minute veterinary consult clinical companion: canine and feline behavior by Debra F. Horwitz. Blackwell, c2007 (1st ed.)

This only covers behavioral issues.

Textbook of veterinary internal medicine: diseases of the dog and cat edited by Stephen J. Ettinger. Elsevier Saunders, c2005 (2 volumes)

We have a newer veterinary internal medicine textbook on order; as in medicine, 2005 is old for veterinary medicine. This is definitely written in technical language.

Libraries seem to have so much specific vocabulary--as well as acronyms. Is there a guide to Maryland library language?

Merlin, Maryland's Essential Resource for Library Information Networks, has put together just the right document for you! If you want to know what ARLD*, BRAC**, or WRP*** mean, check out their Library Lingo page!

If you are interested in learning about the American Library Association's various acronyms, check out their ALA & LIS Acronyms page.

Hopefully, between these two pages, you'll feel as though you've found a secret decoder ring for library lingo!

* Academic Libraries Research Division of the Maryland Library Association
** Base Realignment and Closure
*** Winter Reading Program

I went on the SLRC Tour this past fall and remember that SLRC can do a lot for the public library at which I work.

Can you tell me more about what the State Library Resource Center has to offer?

Maryland's State Library Resource Center does offer many services for Maryland public libraries. On the State Library Resource Center web site there is a great deal of information. You'll want to check out the section for Public Librarians.

The State Library Resource Center brochure also lists many services offered to local libraries.

Display Tips & Tricks

When creating displays, it is very important to make sure you have enough materials to replenish the display. But there are a few pitfalls!

Here are few rules to follow when creating displays:



1. Don’t overcrowd

When setting up a display, be careful not to overcrowd the display. It’s important to create a display that is easy for customers to browse. The titles in the above display are difficult to read and not very inviting.



2. Don’t skimp

The above display is easy to read and looks balanced; however, if a customer decides to check out one or two of the titles, the display will look empty. To avoid this pitfall, be sure to add a few more titles to fill out the display. If possible, use book easels available from library vendors.

3. Just Right!

The best solution to avoid the above pitfalls is to create a display that is balanced and eye catching. In the above example, the display is balanced and each title is clearly visible. In addition, materials are readily available to replenish the display, as needed. Always remember to display replacement books with the spine out.

By following these three simple rules, your displays will be eye catching, inviting, and balanced.

SLRC Treasures: Humanities

The Humanities Department has a run of the Baltimore/Washington edition of the TV Guide from 1957 to the current issue, in paper. These are wonderful for the covers alone, remembering Father Knows Best, I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show, The Man from UNCLE, and others. If you need to know the listing for a local program or just want to take a walk down memory lane, this collection is a great place to start.

Interested in an 1854 Italian English Dictionary? A pronouncing dictionary of Gaelic?A Hopi/English-English/Hopi dictionary?Or Yoruba/English? Want to look up a word in Middle English or see how Samuel Johnson defined “Lexicographer?” How about tracing the etymology of a Russian word or looking at a 1700 page Chinese dictionary from 1925? If you ask for bouji while in Haiti, what will happen? The Brothers Grimm compiled an historical dictionary of German, if you’d like to explore the history of that language. The Humanities Department has language dictionaries for most known languages and will be glad to share the information in them!

I keep repeating the same display themes. Where can I find some ideas for fun or timely displays?

Displays are a great way to share the library’s resources and creativity with your customers.

Here are a couple of sources for new display ideas:

• Chase’s Calendar of Events, upcoming holidays
• Community Events, Neighborhood Activities
• News, Scandals
• Readers’ Advisory:
• Databases: NoveList (RA & School Resources) and Books and Authors (Browse by Genre)
• Read-alikes
• Booklists
• Authors: Visiting Authors, Author Tributes, and Award Winners
• Web Search – Google, Flickr, Library Thing
• Popular Display Topics: Gardening, Home Improvement, Sports, Back to School, etc.

Another possibility is to ask your staff for ideas. What are their interests? What are some popular subjects that they have noticed customers’ checking out? One of the most popular displays in bookstores is the Staff Picks display; why not try this at your library?
You might also do an informal survey of your patrons.What kinds of displays do they want to see? What are popular topics in school projects and papers? Maybe there is an upcoming school theater production that could generate a display topic. Staying in touch with the activities and themes popular with your customers is a sure way to create timely displays.

SLRC Treasures: Business, Science & Technology Department

Probably the greatest hidden treasure of the Business, Science, and Technology (BST) Department at Maryland's State Library Resource Center is the collection of old department store catalogs, including Sears (1897-1993), Wards (1922-1985), and Penney’s (1984-2002). These catalogs allow you to walk down memory lane and see the styles and prices of the old days. Sears used to sell just about everything from clothing and furniture to pure-bred dogs and houses.

BST also owns a fantastic collection of old car shop manuals that date from 1929-1988 and owner’s manuals that range from 1913-1984. These manuals are great for people trying to restore a classic car, and the cars they cover include the Model T, Studebaker, Edsel, Reo Speedwagon, as well as the more common makes and models.

If you’re interested in historical business information, BST has old business directories, such as the Thomas Register (1925-2005), Moody’s Manuals, which also give financial information, (1900-present), and Best’s Insurance Reports (1915-present). The department also carries Jane’s Fighting Ships (1898-present) and Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft (1915-present).

The most important treasure in BST, however, is its crack staff of librarians, who will find your answer!

What Curriculum resources are available for homeschoolers?

Before seeking out curriculum resources, homeschoolers will want to familiarize themselves with laws and regulations governing homeschooling. Start out by taking a look at the Maryland State Department of Education’s Home Instruction Fact Sheet. The Baltimore County Public School system’s Homeschooling Guide is a particularly valuable guide for homeschoolers. Here, you will find sections on homeschooling procedures, frequently asked questions about homeschooling, and other useful resources. The Baltimore County Public School site also provides a convenient link to the Maryland State Department of Education’s Voluntary State Curriculum. Homeschoolers can view the objectives for each grade level for the subjects that the Maryland Home Schooling regulations require you to include in your curriculum.

Homeschoolers looking for ideas for a curriculum for their children should start at our Home Schooling How-to Guide. Go directly to the section on Curriculum and Lesson Plans and you will find links to a variety of free Web resources. You’ll find several print sources listed as well, which are available for borrowing through interlibrary loan. One of these, Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, covers a number of related issues for homeschoolers such as learning styles and age appropriate learning.

It is always helpful to consult with other homeschoolers to see what curriculum and lesson planning resources they have used. You might want to try a national, state, or local homeschooling association. For links to these, go to the section of our guide that asks the question, “Are there home schooling organizations/associations?”. There, you will find information on such organizations as the American Homeschool Association, National Black Home Educators, and Homeschool Connections – Central Maryland.

If you would like more information on homeschooling, e-mail us through our Ask A Librarian service or contact the Social Science and History Department.

SLRC Treasures: Social Science & History Department

The State Library Resource Center’s Social Science and History Department contains a large variety of resources that can assist you with geographic, genealogical, and historical questions. We frequently work with customers attempting to find the village in which one or more of their ancestors were born. Sometimes, a village or town from the 19th century no longer exists and we need to look for it in older sources. For locations in Germany, Meyers’ Orts und Verkehrs Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs, a gazetteer published in 1912, is often helpful. Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas, published in 1906, provides detailed maps for various parts of Europe. Another gazetteer, Ritter’s Geographisch-Statistisches Lexikon, published in 1895, helps in identifying other geographic locales. Obviously, German language sources will be more oriented toward Germany, Austria, and other German-speaking countries.

What else can we offer to researchers? The Nouveau Dictionnaire de Geographie Universelle, a multi-volume source published in 1895, offers another approach to finding older towns and villages. Customers whose ancestors emigrated from the southern part of Italy might find Baedeker’s Southern Italy, a guidebook published in 1900 useful in familiarizing themselves with their ancestral homeland. Looking for a map of Charleston, South Carolina before the Civil War? Colton’s Atlas of the United States and Mexico from 1850 contains a nicely detailed street map. While we’re mentioning maps, don’t miss our digital exhibit of seventeenth and eighteenth century European maps. You’ll find colorful maps of various parts of Europe from 1629 through 1759.

Genealogists and historians aren’t the only audience for these types of resources. Aspiring authors of historical fiction need facts and authenticity to buttress their works. A writer needing to describe fin de siecle Vienna accurately would certainly benefit from perusing a 1900 edition of Baedeker’s Austria. One of the most interesting maps in our general Map Collection is the 1830 map of the former Kingdom of Poland. This huge map displays thousands of towns and cities as well as some topographic details. We have many other kinds of maps in our collection. A Guide to the General Map Collection will provide more information about our maps.

If you would like more information about our atlases, maps, and geographic resources, e-mail us through our Ask A Librarian service or contact the Social Science and History Department.

I have a customer who is interested in learning about Caribbean literature. Where should I start?

The African American Department carries some resources on Caribbean Literature. We have anthologies and critical interpretation titles that focus on women writers, politics, migration, etcetera, as well as interpretation of individual writers’ work. We also have a collection of fiction by Caribbean writers well known to the Americas such as Jamaica Kincaid, Paule Marshall, Edwidge Danticat, Claude McKay and Derek Walcott, just to name a few.

While the African American Collection focuses on a wide range of peoples of the African Diaspora, our selection of Caribbean Literature is smaller than what you may find in the Humanities and Fiction Departments. For instance, the Humanities Department has an Encylopedia on Caribbean Literature by D.H. Figueredo that may be a good place for you to start exploring your interest on the subject.

More SLRC Treasures: Sights & Sounds Department

The Sights and Sounds Department (SAS) just has so many treasures that we had to make it two blog entries! Learn more about the great hidden gems of SAS.

Frederick Wiseman Documentaries: Along with Ken Burns, “cinema verite” devotee Frederick Wiseman is considered one of today’s greatest living documentary filmmakers, but because Wiseman controls his own catalog and sells his films at prices (often several hundred dollars per title) beyond the budget of most institutions, few viewers get to see his critically acclaimed work. Thankfully, SLRC has purchased a number of his best titles over the years, including his groundbreaking Titicut Follies, High School, Hospital, Law and Order, and Near Death. The investment has paid off in terms of customer satisfaction, with the Baltimore City Paper honoring Pratt’s Wiseman collection as “Best of Baltimore” in 2005.

Annenberg/CPB Foreign Language Videos: Like Frederick Wiseman videos, these foreign language videos, funded by Annenberg/CPB (a non-profit dedicated to promoting innovation in schools), are prohibitively expensive for most institutions. But their “total immersion” approach (in which viewers are forced to listen, speak and read only in that foreign language) has been critically acclaimed. SLRC’s Annenberg/CPB series include Destinos (a 52-episode video instructional series for college and high school classrooms and adult learners that teaches speaking, listening, and comprehension skills in Spanish), French in Action (a 52-episode video series using professor Pierre Capretz’s immersion method to increase fluency in French, while introducing French culture), and Connect with English (a 50-episode video series designed to teach English as a second language to high school, college, and adult-aged foreign language speakers).

“Eyes on the Prize” Videos and DVDs: Though now readily available on DVD, this award-winning 14-hour documentary series about the American Civil Rights Movement – originally broadcast in 1987 as a PBS TV mini-series - was long out of circulation (due to copyright issues with its archival footage) until 2006. During those years, SLRC always had the complete historical series available for students and educators, who used it as an essential part of their curriculum. In addition to the original six-hour 1987 series Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, which covered the years 1954-1965, SLRC also owns the complete eight-hour video/DVD series Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads (1990), covering the period from 1965-1985.

A customer has been asking about how to find out the value of his old book. What sources should I use?

Everybody has an old book that might be worth a fortune! There are numerous resources both on paper and online to help you help your customer find out.

The condition of the book is important in terms of its market value. The Humanities Department has created a presentation for Determining Book Condition, helpful for both the librarian and the customer.

There are a number of Web sites which combine listings of booksellers for help in determining what items are selling for. Addall Book Price Search and Comparison has a “used books” tab. Fill out the form; use Keyword for publisher and date. The Advanced Book Exchange also has a form to fill out. For the Bookfinder, fill out the advanced option form so you can include more information, such as the date and publisher.

Remember: Prices you find on bookseller Web sites include the dealer’s markup. They will charge the buyer more than they will offer the seller!

There are other, more general Web sites, which are also helpful. Your Old Books lists questions and answers about book collecting, such as “What makes a book rare?” Firsts: The Book Collector’s Magazine has a useful area called “The Fundamentals of Book Collecting.” The Internet Public Library has many other links to follow!

Rare Book organizations are also useful in helping to find information. The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America lists booksellers and appraisers near you. You can also search book titles and find selling prices, and click on the “Learn About Rare Books” tab. The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is a similar organization for booksellers and appraisers outside of the United States. On the other side of the coin, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies is a guide to book collecting organizations.

SLRC Treasures: Sights & Sounds Department

The Sights & Sounds Department (SAS) of the Central Library/State Library Resource Center houses a collection of audio-visual materials reflecting the general scope of most Pratt subject areas. But there’s more to SAS than just popular and world music CDs, fiction audiobooks (on cassette tape and CD), and educational and popular movies on DVD and video. Some of its lesser-known gems include:

16mm Films: Did you know that SAS maintains a collection of over 2,100 16mm film titles, including many obscure and hard-to-find titles not available in other media formats? There is a concentration in the areas of independently produced films (including many Baltimore Film Festival entries), student films, film history, children's films, animation, experimental and avant-garde shorts, and documentary films. The collection also boasts an impressive number of feature films, including films from the silent era, Hollywood classics and a broad representation of world cinema. And because all of SAS’s 16mm films have "public performance rights" (meaning they can be shown at free public screenings without having to get clearance from the copyright owners), they are frequently used by local film curators, including Station North’s Windup Space, Hexagon/Magic Eye Cinema, and the 14K Cabaret’s Nineteen23 non-theatrical film series. (All 16mm films are stored in the third floor A/V Inspection Room; although this room is not open to the public, staff will bring films down to the Sights & Sounds Department upon patron request.)

Phonograph Records: Long considered a “dead medium” in the era of digital CDs, vinyl records are coming a comeback, with a growing number of popular musicians now releasing their works on 33 1/3 albums (with the vinyl version sometimes more expensive than the CD!). Although SAS no longers adds to its phonograph collection, it boasts an impressive collection of both musical and spoken word records, including many that have never been released on CD. Strengths include ‘50s and ‘60s jazz, obscure children’s records (including a number of hard-to-find titles by electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack), UNESCO’s renowned world/folk library, and its spoken word collection that features famous authors and poets reading their works, like the extremely rare H. L. Mencken Conversing with Donald Howe Kirkley (used copies of this out-of-print 1957 interview conducted by the Baltimore Sun’s Kirkley fetch up to $60 on eBay!). You can even hear world-famous mime Marcel Marceau speak (it’s true!) on his instruction record Marcel Marceau Speaks in English. (Like its 16mm film collection, records are stored in SAS’s third floor A/V Inspection Room; staff will bring records down to the Sights & Sounds Department upon request.)

More SAS treasures to be revealed next week!

I have had customers who have become frustrated with using the computers and became upset with me.

Do you have suggestions for how to best handle this situation?

My best general advice is to learn as much as you can about the computers, keep up to date on the technology, and be prepared to apologize. Does that always work? No. The computers sometimes fail. Customers can make mistakes and mess up what they are doing. You may make a mistake. All of this is your fault and you must accept the resulting beatings. All kidding aside, computers cause a lot of frustration for both customers and for you. It helps not to take it personally and to keep your sense of humor.

Many times people who come into the library to use the computers are totally out of their element. This electronic world is frightening, and frightened people are frequently angry, demanding people. You are the Librarian, and you are an expert in all things. So when you can’t help them as quickly as they think you should, or if it is something that you can’t do, they feel even more frightened. Sometimes it helps to make some sort of light comment about having to learn new stuff, but that you will try to work through the issues together. And sometimes, if you are able to fix an issue quickly and they seem to feel foolish, it may be a good idea to downplay your expertise. For instance, they have tried to do something simple and the computer has not cooperated. You walk over and click on the mouse and lo and behold, the computer behaves. I usually make a comment like “It’s afraid of me.” They chuckle and embarrassment is over.

Hardware issues cause major headaches. Nothing is more frustrating to the customer or to you than to have the computer crash. You have to do the best you can. Apologize profusely and try to get the customer on another computer. If you don’t have another computer available, see if you can help at the reference desk. If the customer needed to look something up for example, look it up for him. And print out the results for free.

Printing problems are a big issue and can be highly frustrating. If the printer and computer aren’t speaking to one another or Adobe is not cooperating, I will apologize (notice the trend here) and do everything I can to get the document printed. Generally, that will mean that I will print it at the staff computer for no charge. Good customer service will go a long way in calming the customer down.

Internet problems can be another source of irritation for the customer. There are as many internet problems as there are web sites. The problems may range from blocked sites by your library’s filter to web sites that are down to network problems. Or the web site and your browser aren’t compatible. And don’t forget the confusing job application sites. Patience and education are vital. You will never be familiar with all social networking, blogs or web sites, so don’t let anyone make you feel guilty. Be familiar with your library’s pages, and a couple of good search engines. Share information with other librarians. You may know a lot about several networking sites and someone else may know a lot about job searching sites. Compare notes. If you find a super site on something of interest to many of your customers, post the address on a bulletin board or otherwise spread the word.

Document creation can be a nightmare. Customers want professional looking documents and they expect the librarian to be an expert in all facets of the task. Your best defense is to know as much about the software on your computers as you can. Read, play with the software, and take workshops. Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues or other customers who you know to be well versed in the software for help.

And that brings me to my last point. Be approachable. Smile. Be friendly. If you don’t know the answer, ask for help. Cultivate your regulars who are good with computers. They will feel appreciated. When your customers see you as another person and not as “The Librarian” even problems go more smoothly.

SLRC Treasures: African American Department

The African American Department has a wealth of hidden treasures! For starters, the collection contains several rare and out of print books, dating back to the 1800s. Some of these books are so fragile that they have to be kept in a secure location and handled with extreme care.

We also have an extensive autographed book collection including the signatures of prominent Americans such as Gordon Parks, Lena Horne, John Hope Franklin and Langston Hughes. Our ephemera file has hundreds of brochures, transcripts, playbills, funeral programs and more. A significant amount focuses on the events and accomplishments of Marylanders.

The African American Department also maintain a large set of colorful drawings, posters, photographs and reproductions depicting the rich history and pioneers of African American culture.

The Trouble with Different Computer Files

I have some customers who have come in with different types of files – Open Office and Office 2007. What are some online resources that I can use to help them with these newer formats?

Staying up-to-date on the latest file formats is an important part of customer service in libraries. One of the newer software application suites is OpenOffice. OpenOffice is an open-source software, which is similar to Microsoft Office but free to download. Its programs include word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, databases and more, and it is available in many languages. Why Open Office? gives a great overview of the benefits of the software suite.

OpenOffice.org offers a number of resources for its users including FAQ’s, templates, help guides, and tutorials on using the programs.

Microsoft Office has released Office 2010 in June. This latest version of Office is similar to Office 2007 but still a major change from the previous format in 2003. Microsoft Office also has a support service for its users, which is a great place to start to familiarize with their new user interface. It also offers a printable list of Office 2010 commands and buttons. There are tutorials available though some require a free download of Silverlight to view their videos, training, and interactive guides.

One challenge with different types of files is converting files without downloading the software. Zamzar is one resource that converts files, including images, documents, music, video, and e-book formats. It does require an active email account to receive the converted file, and the new version is only available for 24 hours though you can save the new file.

You can also suggest to your customer that they look for free computer classes to become more familiar with computer software and files. Most libraries offer computer training. For example, Enoch Pratt Free Library also offers free Computer Classes, including on Microsoft Office 2010. Classes take place at several locations during both daytime and evening hours.

SLRC Treasures: Children's Department

There is a number of “hidden treasures” in the Children’s Department. We have a vast selection of retrospective as well as historical books. Some are first editions and some are autographed. We carry Children’s Literature Review for those looking for critical commentary about authors and books.

Did you know that the Children's Department has 49 versions of Cinderella or Cinderella-like tales from around the world? Many different versions of narrated or illustrated fairy tales are available from the Children's Department.

I’ve had a customer who is interested in finding an authentic African baby name. Where should I start?

For the customer looking for authentic African names for their new baby, the African American Department has many resources. All of these books fall under the CS 2375-2377 call numbers in our reading room. 1,001 African Names: First and Last Names from the African Continent by Julia Stewart is a great place to start. Not only does it give you male and female names from A to Z with pronunciation, country, village or tribe of origin as well as definition of meaning, yet Stewart also includes an introduction on traditional African naming practices, ceremonies, superstitions associated with names and much more. Other sources to consider:

• The African American Baby Name Book by Teresa Norman
  
  
• What’s In a Name? Unaitwaje?: A Swahili Book of Names by Sharfa M. Zawawi
  
  
• The Book of African Names by Molefi Kete Asante

If you are looking for a way to search for African baby names on the internet, try the following websites:

• Parents Connect: African Names & Meanings
  
  
• Baby Names - can search by country/continent of origin
  

SLRC Treasures: Fiction & Young Adult Department

What are some of the hidden treasures of SLRC in the Fiction and Young Adult Department?

With over 250,000 items, the Fiction Department has the largest collection of fiction in the state of Maryland and is one of the largest in the country. The retrospective collection has items dating back to the early 1900’s and is especially strong in American and English novels from the 1930’s on.

The Young Adult Collection spans young adult fiction from the 1940’s to the present. Many of these titles are long out of print and represent the history of young adult literature in the U.S.

A customer asked me about books being considered "classics." How do they get that designation?

According to A Handbook to Literature, a classic is "a piece of literature that by common consent has achieved a recognized superior status in literary history; also an author of similar standing."

Another definition can be found on Esther Lombardi’s excellent About.com site:

• A classic usually expresses some artistic quality--an expression of life, truth, and beauty.
  
  
• A classic stands the test of time. The work is usually considered to be a representation of the period in which it was written; and the work merits lasting recognition. In other words, if the book was published in the recent past, the work is not a classic.
  
  
• A classic has a certain universal appeal. Great works of literature touch us to our very core beings--partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience. Themes of love, hate, death, life, and faith touch upon some of our most basic emotional responses.
  
  
• A classic makes connections. You can study a classic and discover influences from other writers and other great works of literature. Of course, this is partly related to the universal appeal of a classic. But, the classic also is informed by the history of ideas and literature--whether unconsciously or specifically worked into the plot of the text.
  

Lombardi also discusses modern classics. She makes the point that a modern classic would have to have been written after World War I or possibly World War II because those events marked major events in global history and changed the way we view the world.

Here are some lists of classics to get you started:

• Time Magazine 100 Best English language novels from 1923 to the present
  
  
• Library Thing Most Often Tagged Classic Fiction
  
  
• A great list of links from the Internet Public Library/Librarians’ Internet Index
  
  
• Although compiled in 1999, the lists from Modern Library are useful.
  

Finally, here’s a site that provides "ultra-condensed" classics, good for a laugh but not for an assignment!