This blog began in 2003 as Mrs. Rabbitt's Bookbag and continued as From the Library Director from 2005-2010. You can read my newspaper columns at FromtheLibraryColumn published Thursdays in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Librarian Dressup


Warning: Not for those without a sense of humor. But fun nevertheless for librarians and non-librarians, alike.
Thanks to my husband, Gerry, for sending this. He aims to makes me smile. And he bravely married a librarian.
LibrarianDressup.com

Monday, February 25, 2008

Smiles on Monday


This certainly made me smile on a Monday morning.
Found this posted to Reddit.com

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Green-Clean CityCat


ZeroPollution will introduce the six-seater Air Car to the US Market in 2009. Read more about this revolutionary car at ZeroPollutionMotors
"If you can, imagine a vehicle that runs on air, achieves over 100 gas-equivalent mpg and over 90 mph, has zero to low C02 emissions, seats six, has plenty of space for luggage, cuts no safety corners, and costs no more than an average economy to mid-size vehicle."
ZeroPollution's Mission? To bring zero pollution motoring at any speed, for any distance, to the largest number of motorists possible and, in doing so, significantly improve the quality of the air we breathe.

12 Things

Photography: Joshua Strang/ USAF

Friday, February 22, 2008

Solar Eclipse from the Moon March 2, 2007

If you were on the moon on during the Solar Eclipse last March, 2007, this is the sight you would have seen. Solar Eclipse from the Moon Illustration Credit & Copyright: Hana Gartstein

Discover the Cosmos through NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Endless Possibilities

Beverly Beckham's latest column in the Boston Globe - I think she might be a closet librarian. It's what WE do.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Mass.gov/libraries



The Public Relations Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (of which I am a proud member) has produced an outstanding television commercial that you've probably seen on local tv this winter. Go to Mass.gov/libraries and watch the tv spot or listen to the radio spot.

Looking forward to Indiana?

The fourth Indiana Jones will be out late this spring. Harrison Ford will star ... but there's a younger Indiana, I think. Watch the trailer here ... it's a bit mysterious.

Poet's Online

I didn't get this one up in time for a Valentine's poem ... but Poet's Online is fun to use anyway. And if you have writer's block? Try these 10 Tricks To Get Your Writing Started.

Your Green Footprint

Here's a very interesting Ecological Footprint Calculator from France. You can use it here but keep in mind that the cultural differences are apparent. It's still an interesting result.

Outstanding Career Move


I knew I'd made a perfect decision to become a librarian but did you know that you can
"forget about that image of librarian as a mousy bookworm. Librarians these days must be high-tech information sleuths, helping researchers plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records. It's an underrated career."
Read the report on Best Careers 2008 in US News and World Report, February 15, 2008 issue.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Photoshop Video Tutorials

Mashable.com has a list of 20 great video tutorials including Photoshop Girl where you'll have to check the site daily (or search the archives, PhotoshopKillerTips and ScreenFrog

Paying Up

From the Resource Shelf, a page full of great quotes about taxes.
I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is – I could be just as proud for half the money.” — Arthur Godfrey, entertainer


Listen to the Audio Interview - New IRS.gov Tools found on the IRS website.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Stuck At Prom


Stuck on an idea for your prom attire this year? Need a scholarship for college, too? Check out Duct Tape Brand's Stuck At Prom contest. There were six entries from Massachusetts in 2007 and this year's contest begins on March 3, 2008 and ends on June 11, 2008. You can view the multiple-year Yearbook for ideas ... or be simply amazed. I once made a TinMan costume using duct tape and never knew my creativity was so downright commonplace.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Man In the Mirror

Man In the Mirro

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Cricket Chirps

"Try this: Count the number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds, and add 37. No, you didn't just calculate your age in cricket years - you measured the temperature outdoors in degrees Fahrenheit. You just used a rule of thumb."
"A rule of thumb turns information you have into information you need. The goal of the website is to gather every rule of thumb on earth into one gargantuan, easily searchable online reference database that will be accessible from anywhere in the world and continue to grow forever."

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Reading: Making You Dumb, Making You Smart

One very intiguing site I stumbled upon in this week's Boston Globe Brainiac is Books That Make You Dumb (and sister site, Music That Makes You Dumb)and spent a very silly amount of time searching, cross-searching and chuckling to myself. The premise is this: If you register on Facebook and affiliate with the college you attended and admit to the books you read, we can then correlate something. The author of the site, a pretty creative guy with time on his hands, put this together with the average SAT requirements for your college. The correlations? Does reading certain books make you dumb? or smart? Not exactly, but visit the site - it makes for some interesting browsing and some time wasting, for sure, by those of us intrigued by these things, although I know for a fact that we are not ALL librarians.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Best Part of Superbowl: The Ads!

After the game, vote on the best ads of 2008.

On MSNBC you can watch and vote on the best Superbowl commercials shown over the years including the infamous Apple “1984″ ad..
No. 1 Apple Computer, '1984'
No. 1 Apple Computer, '1984'


Tired of football? Watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

Want more sites for Superbowl resources? Visit Mashable.com

Revisited: A Journey Gone Wrong


Read the book review of Desperate Passage: The Donner Party's Perilous Journey West published in the New York Times Book Review this week.

The story of the ill-fated Donner Party's trek across the country is the reverse image of Lewis and Clark's: seemingly everything that could go wrong, did go wrong -- from bad leadership to disastrous choices, from fatal accidents to murderous fights, and finally a ghastly ordeal in the Sierra snows. It's a remarkable story for all generations, and with the advantage of updated research and a keen eye for detail, Ethan Rarick builds a quick-moving narrative.--Dayton Duncan, author of Out West: An American Journey Along the Lewis and Clark Trail

Reusable Bags

Whole Foods has announced that only recycled paper bags and reusable cloth bags will be offered at their stores. Gone are the plastic which have been clogging up our trash for years.