Author: nfoster

Solar Eclipse August 21 2017

The partial Solar Eclipse is coming to Richmond at 2:44 PM this Monday, August 21, 2017.eclipse display

This display at the DTC Library shows some of the history of eclipses (with articles from the New York Times for the eclipse in January 1925), the science of eclipses and how to view the eclipse safely (where to buy the safety glasses and the pinhole method). This very cool Vox website (see below) shows a time lapse view of what you’ll see where you live.
NASA also has live video streams of the eclipse from locations across the country.

partial eclipse in Richmond

Straight from the Reference Desk:

December 6th is the feast day for St. Nicholas.

Who is he and why is he celebrated?

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  • He gave three bags of gold to three girls to be used as their dowry, saving them from prostitution.
  • Nicholas and the three children:
    • In many paintings and manuscripts, St. Nicholas is often depicted standing next to a tub of three small children. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, St. Nicholas is “said to have raised to life three boys, after they were murdered in a brine tub by a butcher.”
  • He saved three unjustly condemned men from death
  • And rescued three sailors near the coast of Turkey.
  • The Institution of Santa Clause:
    • Based upon his patronage of children, with the custom of giving them presents on his feast day.

Farmer, David Hugh. “Nicholas.” The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1978. 385-86. Print.

Find your Fandom at the Library

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Comic Con Display at the Downtown Library

Did you miss the New York Comic Con this year?  Are you going to the Virginia Comic Con in Richmond at the end of October?  Get help choosing your Fandom at the Library.  We have DVDs of The Avengers, X-men, The Hobbit, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. along with many Anime DVDs.  We also have books on Superheroes, Manga and Comics.  Once you’ve found your Fandom, you can use this online book, 1000 incredible costume & cosplay ideas a showcase of creative characters, for Cosplay costume ideas.

Comic Con: Comic book convention
Cosplay: Literally “Costume Play.” Dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character (usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character).
Fandom: The community that surrounds a TV show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. Fandoms often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and people.

Definitions from UrbanDictionary.com.

Get Serious about Series at the Library

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Get serious about series at the Downtown Campus Library

Missed an episode? Caught a TV series mid-season? Catch up on TV shows at the Library or binge-watch whole seasons with DVDs from the Library.
Some examples from the Downtown Library include Game of Thrones, American Horror Story, Dexter, Scandal, Downton Abbey and Breaking Bad. DVDs can be transferred between campuses so you can also watch series such as House of Cards, Outlander, Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men from the Parham Road and Goochland libraries.

Come in and check them out!

Downtown Display: Can You Hear Me Now?!

Display about Hearing Loss
One of the worst places for people with a hearing loss to work in is the library, because everyone whispers.   I am one of those people.

In his thirties my father had the hearing of a fifty year old man.  He slowly lost his hearing and became profoundly deaf in his 60s.  He had to retire early because his hearing aids could not give him the hearing he needed for his job.  I have also been losing my hearing over the years starting in my early 40s.  I now have a hearing aid that is much better than his, but my hearing is still not perfect. I often have to ask people to repeat themselves and to face my way so I can read their lips.

Hearing loss can be very exasperating for the hard-of-hearing person and the people with whom he communicates.  Family and friends get tired of repeating everything, and for the person with a hearing loss, it sounds like everyone is mumbling.

Age-related hearing loss has been a problem for generations, but now noise-induced hearing loss is a growing problem.  People who listen to music through ear buds in the high decibel range could lose their hearing many years before they should.  A decibel is a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound which increases on a logarithmic scale.  Listening to sounds greater than 85 decibels for extended periods of time can cause permanent hearing loss.

Young people today may have the option of cooler hearing aids (see below), but being hard of hearing is a permanent and frustrating state of being.  Prevention is the best cure.

levels of noise
Wirear 2
Wired for sound
Plugged in
    All images are linked to original page.

Real Life, Real Drama

Real Life Real Drama
Documentaries and movies inspired by real life.

The Downtown Library put up this display of movies that are inspired by real life.

We have documentaries like 49 Up which follows the lives of 14 children every 7 years to see their progression in life, This Is It, shows Michael Jackson preparing for his final concert, and The Invisible War investigates the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military.

Many movies are based on actual events, like Donnie Brasco, where Johnny Depp plays the FBI agent, Joe Pistone, who infiltrated the mafia of New York. Heavenly Creatures tells the true story of two teenage girls who became so close that they would do anything to keep from being separated by their parents. The Great Escape tells the story of World War II British and American flyers who attempted to escape from a maximum-security German prison camp.

Come to all three campus libraries and check out these movies and many many more.

Graphic novels at the JSRCC libraries with a new Manga collection on the Downtown Campus.

The Reynolds Libraries are now offering graphic novel collections.
ImageThe Downtown Campus is concentrating on Manga graphic novels.

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Manga originated in Japan.  Therefore the reading direction is traditionally from right to left.  And from the back of the book to the front. (see examples below)

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Come by the Library and check out some Manga graphic novels.

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From the novel, Beautiful Creatures.