New Facebook page

I have created a Facebook page to share historical information about people, places and things in the Bahamas.
You can find it at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bahamian-History-Highlights/112609982183747

I will also be posting updates from the page to this blog.

Bahamian singer KB pens book based on tales in his songs

Kirkland “KB” Bodie, has published a book entitled “Bahamian Lyrical Tales”.  The book is published by Media Unlimited, and illustrated by Freeport-based art teacher Alisa Streather-Robinson.  The book is being launched in Nassau and Freeport this week.

The book is a group of 15 short stories based on songs he has written that were all hits... except for The Greasy Man, a story that has been told orally for years and for the first time is now in print. Complementing this he has produced a score with the same name that he has on his latest album. KB uses Bahamian dialect also and there is a glossary in the book to help people decipher it if they are unfamiliar. 

Bahamian Lyrical Tales is geared toward children, but adults will enjoy and may recognize some of the stories, in particular of one of his greatest hits, “She Fat” as it is also included under the title, “Gussimae”

Information courtesy of thebahamasweekly.com

Bahamas featured in International Underground Railroad book

Hello again after a long summer.  School is open and the children are back to work.

Just found this story about the underground railroad at Bahamasweekly.com

Linda Cousins-Newton’s book Free Globally!–-The International Underground Railroad has just been released in its third edition.  Included is information on the Black Seminoles of Florida, some of whom settled in the Bahamas, mainly in Andros.


Read the story: here

New Bahamian book launched by Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt

One of our most respected Bahamians has published her biography.  Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt's book is called No Equal to God's Chosen. 
This book chronicles her life growing up in the inner city and shows how she made it against all odds to the position of Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas and Member of Parliament for the St Cecelia constituency in Nassau Bahamas.  She hopes this story will be an inspiration to all children who are growing up in the inner city and can't see their way out of their present circumstances.
A sequel is planned on her political life.

You can read about it in the Tribune here

Maximizing your internet presence

Hello all

Its been a long time since I've posted.

I found a very interesting piece on maximizing your interesting presence from Lorcan Dempsey on his blog at: http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/002177.html

It is a resource provided by the Strategic Content Alliance in the UK and is especially relevant to libraries who need to have a web presence in this day and time when most people search for information on the internet. The social media are something that libraries need to embrace to capture the attention of  the young people today to share information and library activities.

"This document has been produced following a very successful series of workshops during 2010, commissioned by the Strategic Content Alliance (SCA) under the title Maximising Online Resource Effectiveness (MORE). The purpose was to promote most effective use of the internet by SCA member organisations, with an emphasis on producing, maintaining, promoting and developing content available as an online resource."

The link to the PDF is here: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/themes/content/sca/SCAMOREGuide.pdf

Tedx Irie

An offshoot of Ted talks has been established in Jamaica.  It goes by the name of Tedx Irie.

Videos are available on youtube.

Two of note are:   

Wayne Marshall - Jamaican musical innovations, foundation for modern cultural practice --  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ewGS0pccEs&feature=player_embedded#at=1060

Professor Carolyn Cooper - A Speck of Greatness: Repositioning Brand Jamaica  --  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB6ru-CFlUM&feature=related

Anthurium: A Caribbean studies journal-Bahamian issue

This month the Anthurium journal features Bahamian literature.

Anthurium, a peer reviewed Caribbean Studies Journal, publishes original works and critical studies of Caribbean literature, theater, film, art, and culture by writers and scholars worldwide exclusively in electronic form.

Read it here

Commentary by Jean Charles - I stop for public libraries

I came across this commentary by Jean Charles and thought I'd share it.

http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Commentary%3A-I-stopped-for-public-libraries!-6007.html

National Art Gallery library online catalog

As you may or may not know, I am the librarian at the National Art Gallery.

You can browse our holdings by accessing our online catalog from the NAGB website.

Click here for our catalog.

International Journal of Bahamian Studies call for papers

The International Journal of Bahamian Studies has put out a call for papers since last year.

I posted this last year and I just want to repeat it again as the deadline for submissions is coming up in May.
Click here for the original to the post.

ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

I receive email updates from this publisher.  They have an interesting lineup including digital subscriptions.

They also have lists for reluctant readers, and we know we have a whole lot of those in the Bahamas.

Their link: http://us.orcabook.com/index.cfm?countryID=USA

Reluctant readers link.

Something of interest from the Booklist blog

The Booklist blog has an entry about technology in the library with a link to the Educase website.
The link is here

Here is the link to a paper available on Educase on Undergraduate students and Technology:
http://www.educause.edu/Resources/ECARStudyofUndergraduateStuden/217333

Another Educase article recommended by the blog post about information technology in the library "3.0" is at:
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume45/You30TheMostImportantEvolvingT/218701

Both have valuable information for librarians and the evolving library.

Quotable quotes

In my last post I recommended a book by Rudy Gurley.

Mr Gurley uses many quotes that he has picked up along life's road, which he uses to inspire himself when he faces challenges in life.

One in particular caught my attention:

Without books the development of civilization would have been impossible.
They are the engines of change,
windows of the world,
lighthouses erect in the sea of time.
They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind.
Books are humanity in print.

--Barbara Tuchman

Book recommendation - Sent From Overseas by Rudy Gurley

I would like to recommend a book for everyone to read. Sent From Overseas by Rudy Gurley
A very engrossing and riveting book.  This is the story of Rudy Gurley told in his own words, about his experience at Cable and Wireless St Lucia.  He is the top executive of the company when an expatriate is sent in to hold on as CEO.  The expatriate's appointment is only supposed to be for 18 months and a low key position.
Jealousy rears its ugly head and we see how Mr Gurley is unceremoniously kicked out by the expatriate because of his high profile in the country.  The expatriate sees Mr Gurley as the company's figurehead and how he is placed on a pedestal by all and sundry, and wants all this fame for himself.
Because of the machinations of the expatriate, C & W loses ground to Digicel, who enters the Caribbean market and gains a big share of the cell phone market.

This book shows the behind the scenes dealing that goes on when multinational companies become a part of the Caribbean landscape.

It should be read by anyone who wants to find out what can happen when BTC is taken over by C & W.
It should be read by all BTC employees.

Read about it and order it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sent-Overseas-Rudy-Gurley/dp/1427621861

A blog I just found digitalcollaboration

"where digital librarians, archivists, museologists and computer scientists come together"


Courtesy of the USF school of information on Facebook.  Link here
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Protests in England against countrywide library closures

There are currently almost 450 libraries and mobile libraries threatened with closure as a result of local authority budget cuts, according to the Public Libraries News website - and that figure could rise dramatically. At least 1,000 library workers face losing their jobs and opening hours face being cut.

This is an excerpt from a news story at The Telegraph. All over England people supported National Library Action Day on Feb 5th to fight for the future of Britain's libraries. 

I wonder what would happen in the Bahamas if the government said they would close half the public libraries.   Would there be any protests, or would it be business as usual.

There is even a Library Action day website at: http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/

The Alexandria Library in Egypt still intact

Read the story on the library from the Wall Street Journal here.

The library "has proved to be a key tool in "a battle for
the hearts and minds" of Egyptians, and whose programs served as a catalyst for
the current civic unrest. "We're spreading the values of democracy, freedom of
expression, tolerance, diversity and pluralism that I'm hoping are taking
root in the young generation.""

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library

The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library is an initiative of the Digital Library of the Caribbean.


It "provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean newspapers, gazettes, and other research materials on newsprint currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. CNDL will have on-going newspaper digitization, expanding the geographic, temporal, political and linguistic variety of the newspapers."


Read about it here

Some links for those interested in writing and reading Bahamian writings

I would like to share some links with you.

For those of you who are trying your hand at writing there are some online magazines that accept poetry and short stories from the people in the Caribbean.  You can also encourage your students to send in their poetry or prose.

Nicolette Bethel has a site called Tongues of the Ocean It is an "online literary journal of Bahamian, Caribbean and related writing."  We publish three times a year - in February, June, and October. We reserve the right to be picky about what we publish. We’re now accepting prose as well as poetry.
They are now accepting for the February issue... read here.  Deadline is January 24th.

Summer Edwards a graduate student from Trinidad and Tobago. She started an online magazine for children in the Caribbean last year called Anansesem.  It accepts submissions of children's literature from both adults and children in the Caribbean.  They publish  three times a year - in May, September, and December.  See the website here for more information.  They also accept art: illustrations, drawings, paintings, poster art, computer art, cartoons, comics etc., that will appear on the cover of the magazine.
Summer also has a blog at http://www.summeredward.blogspot.com/

Teenink is a website for teens by teens based in the US.  Teenagers from all over the world are invited to submit their writings at: http://www.teenink.com/submit

Please pass this on to any  English teacher you know.

The importance of libraries

I found this article today.  I tells about the importance of libraries in a time when many of them are being closed.  article from the Guardian.UK

Greetings

Hello all

I have not posted in a while, but be that as it may, life gets a bit busy at times, especially when you have two teenagers to look after. 

Merry Christmas and happy new year.  I wish you all the best in the new year.

Let this be a year when we, librarians, continue to encourage our children to read and consequently be on the quest for interesting literature for them to carry out this enriching pastime.

Continue to check back now and then for informative posts on librarians, books, writers, reading, Bahamian topics and other interesting tidbits that I may find.