Josephine Baker just because.

For a woman with the most mundane of names, doesn’t she just define exotic? Although she apparently considered Josephine Baker an upgrade from her original name, Freda Josephine McDonald. Or Josephine Freda McDonald, depending on whom you ask. Already a mystery! Even without the bananas she's an art deco poster come to life. Born 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri - the Midwest for pity's sake - died 1975 in France. She achieved top billing as a dancer in the Folies-Bergere, and was a spy for the French Resistance during World War II. Spying. She and her fellow expatriate Julia Child had this in common. Hard to imagine, isn't it?
Josephine Baker Biographies

Graphic Source: eLibrary
You can access eLibrary from home with your Des Moines Public Library card and PIN. And you can limit your search to photos!

Constable Logan and the Permits

You never know what's going to escalate, even in the 19th century. Here's the first instance we know of an officer of the law in Des Moines being killed in the line of duty. Constable S.E. Logan was shot and killed on Monday March 7th, 1887 at the Corner of 4th and Walnut in Des Moines. He had requested delivery permits from the drivers of a wagon of goods at Hurlbut, Hess & Co. The permits were not brought forth and Constable Logan drew his gun and fired. One of the drivers, Mr. Joseph Rowe, returned fire and killed Constable Logan. Mr. Rowe was soon apprehended. He offered no resistance and confessed to the shooting. I wonder what they were delivering.

Source: Des Moines Register 3/8/1887 p. 3, 6
(The illustration is not a photo of Constable Logan)
Graphic Source: Flikr Commons

Rerun - Shiny and New

Hello, new book fans! Just for you, there is a way to look at a list of new books that we have on order - before they even arrive! Just go to our catalog and click on "Popular Lists". You can see New Mysteries, New Fiction, plus CD's and DVD's. You can even click on an item in the list and put a reserve on it immediately. So go on, get ahead of yourself!

Barking Spot

Have you met George Booth? If not, allow me to introduce him. Booth is best known for his cartoons in the New Yorker. Picture a group of oddly dressed people in a thread-bare room playing various instruments. An ancient woman flails away at the fiddle, scrawny arms and legs flying. The caption: "Mrs Rittenhouse is really cooking tonight". I find this hilarious. If this sort of humor appeals to you, check out his new book About Dogs. Dogs appear in most of his cartoons and as seen at right they're not pretty. They're grumpy, and they are prone to sudden alarming spasms of movement Since the book consists of about 100 cartoons it's easy on the eyes. Read it. Love it.

Relaying Relay Facts

It's the 100th anniversary of the Drake Relays! Here's what I'm sure you're dying to know: According to Drake Relays: 75 years of excellence, in 1922 Drake had the first major track and field event to be broadcast live on radio. In 1953 the Relays were the first major track and field event to be broadcast live on television. The first year women competed was 1961 and Wilma Rudolph ran! Seven short years later she was the first woman inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame. Lastly, on the 50th anniversary of the Relays 13 major records were set. Let's see how this year shapes up.

Drake Relays: 75 years of excellence
This book cannot be checked out, but you are welcome to read it in the Franklin Avenue Library and the Central Library.

Graphic source: flickr

Free Computer Class Today!

Admit it. You know people who have never touched a computer. There, was that so hard? They just need a little help to get started. We have free classes! Today's class focuses on the most basic skills, like touching the mouse for the first time. Mouses (mice? meeces?) are tricky to use. There are two sides you can click which is not clearly marked, and those two sides have entirely different functions. Don't get me started on the double-click. So send people who say they are computer-illiterate and really mean it to our Computer Basics class. The class will be held in the computer lab at the Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, Thursday April 23 from 3-4. The class is for adults, and will be repeated May 21 at the same time, same place. We can help conquer musophobia.

Earth Day Today!

Remember back when this all started? We called it 'ecology' then. The closest thing to a carbon footprint - one of my high school friends had really cool oxfords with the ecology symbol on them. 1969 was the year the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted it caught fire. The river was on fire. Maybe that woke people up because 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day on April 22nd, 1970. It would be nice to say those were the bad old days and we're all better now. We can't. But we do have books with ideas for environmental responsibility.

Source: Time; 5/5/2008, Vol. 171 Issue 18, p13-13. Via EbscoHost

Jane Hamilton Speaks!

Author Jane Hamilton will be speaking at the Central Library,1000 Grand Avenue, on Wednesday April 22 at 7 PM. You may know her from The Book of Ruth, a novel touched by Oprah and therefore familiar to everyone in the universe who has a television. I exaggerate a smidge. I just finished her latest book, Laura Rider’s Masterpiece. A romance is manipulated by a woman without a romantic bone in her body, but she nevertheless wishes to write romance novels. Guess how well this goes.
More of Jane Hamilton's oeuvre.

East Side's Turn

Dismayed because you missed the annual North Side Book Sale? I'd say 'fear not' but that is just sad. So let's say instead that you get another chance at a fabulous sale, East Side style. The tables are loaded with books, magazines, vidoes, DVDs, compact discs, encyclopedia sets, and more. Cheap! The sale runs through Saturday, April 25 during normal business hours at the East Side Library. What could be more fun?

Graphic source: Dover Publishing