Independence Day Holiday

Here's a quick reminder that the Library will close tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:00 pm for the Independence Day holiday. We'll reopen on Thursday, the 5^th at 8:00 am. Good luck to all Summer I students during this finals week!


The view today over the Radney Memorial fountain looking toward King House through heavy rain.

Photos: Palmer Auditorium Roof Work

Tonight brings the third installment of our efforts to document the work going on next door on Palmer Auditorium. Workers were busy loading excess scaffolding onto a flatbed truck and they were nice enough to let us get a few shots of their work. The men told me that they would be removing a large portion of the stacked materials from the parking lot before pulling out for Birmingham.

Alan added some terrific shots of Palmer last week, so be sure to head over to our Flickr profile to see all of them.

Cultivate the Reading Habit

One of the blogs I follow is Lifehack. The daily posts are filled with tips on managing life, work, projects, and time. Today's post is especially appealing: 14 ways to cultivate a lifetime reading habit. Of course, my favorite tip is "Have a Library Day." Whether it's a classic you've been meaning to read or a book from the best seller lists, it's likely to be available in a library near you. To read the entire list of reading tips, go to: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/14-ways-to-cultivate-a-lifetime-reading-habit.html

Another great tip from this list: "Read to your kid." Remember that Carmichael Library has a collection of children's books, including most of the Newberry, Caldecott, and Coretta Scott King award-winning books. Reading together is a great way to spend time with a child, and you'll be helping the child get into the reading habit.

Break out the popcorn!

What do Citizen Kane, A Night at the Opera, and The Lord of the Rings have in common? Two things -- they are all among the American Film Institute's latest list of the top 100 films. And they are all among the DVDs in our collection. In fact, the library has 72 of the top 100 films (the remaining 28 will be ordered as funds permit). So if you're looking for a way to beat the summer heat, check out a classic film!

Any Suggestions?

It's been nearly a year since we made significant changes to our website, and I would like to get feedback concerning the design. Do you see any problems with the site? Do you have any suggestions? If so, click on my name (under contributors, Alan May, in the upper right of your screen) to let me know what you think.

We appreciate feedback, and we look forward to what you have to say.