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.

Spring Awakening/Teens Take Tonys

Catch up on Broadway theatre doings with Campbell Robertson. Cam is the son of UM Professor Emeritus, Ed Robertson, (Music) and has become a regular critic for the esteemed New York Times. His review of Broadway’s Tony Award ceremony which was broadcast on CBS (June 10, 2007) appeared in the NY Times the next day. You can read his review via Google or go to Carmichael Library’s database Proquest Newspapers where you can find it and the full text of Campbell’s other columns.

Campbell Robertson grew up in Montevallo and graduated in 1998 from Georgetown University where he drew his senior thesis…a comic book! After college he worked on the Metro section of the New York Times and became the first artist to contribute a comic strip within the news section of the paper. The strip was published on November 18, 2003 and follows the day of an imagined paparazzo, Lawrence Schwartzwald, as he photo-hounds Madonna. (Madonna had been in the city that week, creating the photo frenzy that always accompanies her public outings.)


The big winner at the Tony ceremonies was Spring Awakening, as Campbell reports. Among the eight statues awarded to the production was one for Best Musical. Scored by Duncan Sheik (MTV heartthrob) with lyrics by Steven Sater and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, the current production is based on German author Frank Wedekind’s play, The Awakening of Spring. The 1891 play was immediately banned. Although is was finally staged uncut in English in 1974, the play continued to meet with censorship in Europe and the U.S.

What makes Wedekind’s original play and the current musical the source of so much controversy? The play is set in late nineteenth century Germany and deals with the angst of adolescence. Abortion, suicide, and abuse are among the issues which torment the teenage characters. Teenage desires clash with adult-enforced shame and punishment. The musical, which has a rock and roll score, took the creators six years to develop and stage. Unlike the original, the musical received immediate critical acclaim and has been touted as groundbreaking.

Few libraries purchased the Wedekind play. However, if you peruse Carmichael Library’s catalog, you will find a record for the 1910 edition. Acquisition records indicate that a copy was purchased in 1931, probably at the height of its controversy when the Hitlerjugend or Hitler Youth and its fanatical ideals flourished.

For those of you who would like to check out this early and scarce edition of the play, the call number is PT 2647.E26.F8 1910.