Wolfner News Winter 2007 

Staff Notes

We would like to welcome our new Public Services Manager, Barb Davis.

Hello, my name is Barb Davis, and I am the new Public Services Manager at Wolfner Library. My job is to help the Reader Advisors make sure you are happy with the services we provide. I also participate in outreach activities for the library, to spread the word about our programs.

Prior to moving to Jefferson City this summer, I lived in Valley City, North Dakota, where I was the Electronic Resources Specialist for Valley City State University’s Allen Memorial Library. I’ve only been living in Missouri for a few months, and I really like it so far!

My favorite books have always been the ones that I can read several times without getting tired of them. I know a book is one of my favorites when I can open it up to any page at any time and immediately get interested in the story all over again. Some of my favorites are Gone with the Wind (RC 33082), The Thorn Birds (RC 51148), The Outsiders (RC 22433), Of Mice and Men (RC 48515), and Fall into Darkness (RC 32941).

Live Dangerously- Read Banned and Challenged Books for the Adult Winter Reading Program

Sometimes books are challenged because they contain material that is offensive to some people. Other times, books are banned because they contain unpopular ideas, or for political reasons.

This winter, we invite you to celebrate your freedom to read by joining the Adult Winter Reading program. The program will run from January 14 through April 6, 2008, and the deadline for registration is January 10. As always, we ask that you read a minimum of 12 books during the 12-week program in order to be entered in the prize drawing.

To sign up, call us at 1-800-392-2614 and tell us what format you would prefer for your catalog - large print, cassette or braille. After you receive your catalog, call us to place your book order and get ready to read! We will send your first few books in plenty of time to start the program.

Here are a few rules:

1. You must be an adult to participate.

2. The only books that count toward your reading goal are books in this year’s Adult Winter Reading Program catalog.

3. Books only count if they have been read during the designated program period, January 14 through April 6, 2008.

4. We will total the books you have read at the end of the program. There is no need to call to report book totals.

5. Have fun! The whole idea is to read and enjoy!

Suzy Higgins, Reader Advisor

From the Editor’s Desk: Presidential Aspirations

The February 5, 2008 primary election in Missouri is quickly approaching. For those who are interested in learning a bit about the candidates’ lives, politics and families, here are books by and about some of the people who would like to be the next President of the United States. Candidates not listed here do not have books available in the Wolfner collection.

Democratic Party candidates

Joe Biden, current U.S. Senator from Delaware

This is not Biden’s first run for president, and you can read about his unsuccessful 1988 campaign in What It Takes: The Way to the White House (RC 35150) by Richard Ben Cramer, which profiles six of the 1988 candidates.

Hillary Clinton, former First Lady and current U.S. Senator from New York

For Clinton’s views in her own words, try It Takes a Village (WOD00477), in which she discusses how to raise strong children or Living History (RC 55882, BR 14703), in which she reviews her life and experiences as First Lady.

Some of the books about Clinton’s life and politics include A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton by journalist Carl Bernstein (RC 64250) and Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton by reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta (RC 64985).

John Edwards, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina and 2004
Democratic Vice Presidential candidate

Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers (RC 63105) is a memoir written by John Edwards’ wife Elizabeth Edwards about the end of the 2004 election and her subsequent battle with cancer.

Barack Obama, current U.S. Senator from Illinois

In The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (RC 63126, BR 16808), Obama discusses his ideas for improving our country, and in Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (RC 43877), he examines the impact of his ethnic heritage on his life.

Barack Obama (RC 64442) by Sherri and Mark Devaney is a general biography reviewing Obama’s life and politics.

Bill Richardson, former Secretary of Energy and current Governor of New Mexico

In his autobiography Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life (RC 62268), Richardson describes his childhood and his vision for America.

Republican Party candidates

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City

Giuliani describes his tenure as New York City’s mayor and his role after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Leadership (RC 55051).

Reporter Andrew Kirtzman has written a biography titled Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City (RC 54285) that examines Giuliani’s policies, personality, rivalries and family problems.

John McCain, current U.S. Senator from Arizona

Faith of My Fathers (RC 48807) and Worth the Fighting For: A Memoir (RC 56852) are autobiographies in which John McCain describes his political career, values, his family’s history of military service and his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

McCain explores the character traits of exceptional people in Character Is Destiny (RC 60907) and Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life (RC 58324).

The biography John McCain: An American Odyssey (RC 49113) by Robert Timberg was written when McCain sought the 2000 Republican presidential nomination.

Elizabeth A. Lang, Editor

Youth Program News: Summer Reading Clubs, 2007

Wolfner Library’s summer readers who joined the children’s club, “Get a Clue @ Wolfner Library” or the teens’ club, “YNK @ Wolfner Library,” discovered a variety of mysteries in science, history and literature. In addition to 38 children and 22 teens, 10 schools participated in the new school category of the program, adding 15 children and 2 teens to the total number of 77 readers. 53 of the children and teens reached their individual reading goals and earned a book to keep and won other prizes such as Playaway® books, games and puzzles. Many thanks to the Friends of Wolfner Library for providing the books and prizes!

Nancy Doering, Youth Services Librarian

From the Volunteer Office: Books from the Wolfner Recording Booth

We have several books by Missouri authors, all with Missouri settings, now available for your reading pleasure.

Author Janis Harrison owns and operates a greenhouse with her husband in Windsor, Missouri. She writes a series of cozy mysteries; not surprisingly, the main character is a florist who lives in the fictional town of River City, Missouri. We have the following books from Harrison’s Bretta Solomon series:

A Deadly Bouquet (2002) (MOD00126)

Lilies That Fester (2001) (MOD00123)

Murder Sets Seed (2000) (MOD00125)

Roots of Murder (1999) (MOD00124)

Author Daniel Woodrell was born in Springfield and now lives in West Plains, Missouri. He has written eight novels, most of them set in the Missouri Ozarks. The phrase “country noir” is often used to categorize his writing. His second novel, Woe to Live On, was adapted for the 1999 Ang Lee film Ride with the Devil. His sixth, Tomato Red, won the 1999 PEN USA award for fiction and was on the long list for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2000. Following are two of his books we have recorded:

Tomato Red (MOD00128) (contains descriptions of sex, violence and strong language)

Give Us a Kiss (MOD00127) (contains descriptions of sex, violence and strong language)

“On this date in Missouri history…” something interesting happened, and for more than 20 years Bob Priddy has been telling stories from Missouri’s rich past in a series called “Across Our Wide Missouri.” In addition to his long running radio series, Bob has published three books about Missouri’s history. These true stories of Missouri men and women run the gamut of human experience, from the tragic to the comical. There are stories of outlaws and lawyers, sports figures and politicians, cities and small towns, colleges and prisons and more! The first volume is now available:

Across Our Wide Missouri, Volume I (MOD00129)

Also available is another entry in the Missouri Heritage Readers series. Paul Nagel’s biography of nineteenth-century American painter and statesman George Caleb Bingham assesses Bingham’s artistic achievements and his service as a political leader in Missouri during Reconstruction.

George Caleb Bingham (MOD00115)

Deborah Stroup, Coordinator of Volunteers

Wolfner Library E-mail Distribution List

Did you know that you can receive news and information about Wolfner Library via your e-mail account? Wolfner has a distribution list which is used to send out timely information about Wolfner’s programs and services to our patrons who use e-mail. Topics include recommended reading lists, staff news, and National Library Service program updates. If you would like to be added to our e-mail distribution list, call the library at 1-800-392-2614 or email us at wolfner@sos.mo.gov with a message stating you wish to be added to the list.

Who Are the Friends of Wolfner Library?

In 1985, a concerned group of patrons met to discuss ways to help Missouri’s Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The result of the meeting was the incorporation of the Friends of the Wolfner Library, and the formal organization of one of the library’s most valuable assets: Friends…

The mission of the Friends of Wolfner Library is to promote public awareness of the library and to raise funds to improve and enhance the library. This mission is accomplished through the acceptance of gifts, bequests, and memorials to help the library, the development of projects to improve the library’s services, promotion of the library’s services statewide, regular meetings to acquaint Friends with other patrons, the library’s staff and services, recognition of the work of library volunteers and supporters, and sponsorship of the library’s summer reading program for children.

The Friends of Wolfner Library is a not-for-profit, tax exempt organization; thus, membership dues and contributions to the Friends are tax-deductible.

For more information about the Friends, or to obtain an application form to join the Friends, contact the Friends of Wolfner Library, PO Box 1671, Jefferson City, MO 65102-1671, or call any of the board members listed here.

Friends of Wolfner Library, Board of Directors

Stan Rock
President
St. Joseph, 816-232-9368

Patricia Morrow
Vice President
Columbia, 573-874-2193

Shelia Wright
Secretary
Kansas City, 816-741-6402

Fran Benham
Treasurer/Newsletter Editor
St. Louis, 314-963-9153

Joe Dobbs
Board Member
Jefferson City, 573-556-6559

Dan Flasar
Board Member
Richmond Heights, 314-646-7128

Rita Lynch
Board Member
Jefferson City, 573-634-3865

Judy Redlich
Board Member
St. Louis, 314-832-2344

Barbara Sheinbein
Board Member
St. Louis, 314-965-8006

Debbie Wunder
Board Member
Columbia, 573-874-1774