|
Since its inception in 1992, the Forest Legacy Program has conserved over one million acres across 33
<br />states and territories. The final congressional budget is expected to be approved in fall of 2006. For
<br />more information contact Parks and Open Space Landscape Architect Philip Richardson at 682-4906 or
<br />philip.s.richardson@ci.eugene.or.us.
<br />
<br />Readin' in the Rain Author at Hult Center
<br />This February, Readin’ in the Rain invited the
<br />Eugene/Springfield community to read, talk about, and
<br />celebrate Crescent, Diana Abu-Jaber’s award-winning love
<br />story set in L.A.’s Arab-American community. Starting with
<br />a bellydancing extravaganza at the Downtown Eugene
<br />Public Library, this year's Readin’ in the Rain events have
<br />been enjoyed by enthusiastic crowds.
<br />
<br />On Thursday, February 23, at 7 p.m., Abu-Jaber will visit
<br />Eugene for a free reading at the Hult Center. An engaging
<br />and entertaining reader, she will share passages from her
<br />novel, which The Washington Post Book World described
<br />as “a sensual feast.” Crescent won the 2004 PEN Center
<br />USA Award for Literary Fiction and the Before Columbus
<br />Foundation’s American Book Award. Abu-Jaber’s other
<br />works include Arabian Jazz, winner of the 1994 Oregon Book Award and nominee for the PEN/Faulkner
<br />Award, and The Language of Baklava, a 2006 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award-winner
<br />and finalist for the Oregon Book Award. According to Kirkus Reviews, “What might have been the stuff
<br />of any romance is forged into a powerful story about the loneliness of exile and the limits of love.” In a
<br />starred review, Booklist reported “Abu-Jaber’s language is miraculous.”
<br />
<br />Warmly remembered locally for her time on the University of Oregon faculty, Abu-Jaber is currently a
<br />writer-in-residence and associate professor at Portland State University living in Portland and Miami.
<br />While visiting Eugene/Springfield, she will also conduct a professional staff training and college-level
<br />writing workshop sponsored by Readin’ in the Rain. Other opportunities to meet Abu-Jaber include a
<br />fundraising “Dinner with Diana,” Saturday, February 25, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. at 5th Street Public Market,
<br />hosted by Café Soriah (tickets are $15 or greater donation and are available at the UO Bookstore and
<br />Tsunami Books).
<br />
<br />Now in its fifth year, Readin' in the Rain is organized and sponsored by a consortium of organizations
<br />and businesses including Eugene Public Library, Springfield Public Library, University of Oregon
<br />Libraries, Lane Community College Library, Fern Ridge Public Library, Northwest Christian College
<br />Kellenberger Library, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, UO
<br />Bookstore, Borders Books, Music, and Café, Eugene Barnes & Noble, Smith Family Bookstore, Tsunami
<br />Books, Café Soriah, Harold, Leahy and Kieran, and W. W. Norton & Company. For a complete Readin’
<br />in the Rain calendar of events, visit www.read-rain.org, or call 682-5450.
<br />
<br />Library "Authorities" Project a Success
<br />In January after months of complex preparation by Library Technical Services staff, the "authorities"
<br />project was completed. Explains TS Manager Sam Richmond, “Authorities are the catalog's hidden
<br />resource for organizing entries; for example, catalogers use authority records to track relationships
<br />between different names for the same author—such as Mark Twain and Samuel Clemens—to make sure
<br />they cross-reference properly. The update means improved searchability and better all-around
<br />performance of the catalog.”
<br />
<br />An unavoidable side effect of this update was a period of three days during which returned materials
<br />could not be checked in as usual. Impressively, once the catalog was online again, Circulation staff
<br />caught up from the backlog in only four days, while also handling the current incoming returns. This
<br />achievement is due in part to a new shelving procedure proposed by LA1’s Priscilla McCool and Jon
<br />Levitt, and honed by a logistics planning group including Wendy Beck, Jeff Blonde, Marilyn Kent, Lemia
<br />Mahayni, Betsy McCluer, Suzanne Schmidt, Meg Stewart-Smith, Rick Slama, Terri Theobald, and Honey
<br />Vizer. The enthusiastic teamwork of all involved has contributed to this immediate success, with all
<br />signs indicating that the new system will meet its goal of speeding bookdrop-to-shelf turnaround and
<br />
<br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
<br />March 3, 2006
<br />
|