Info Newsletter Index

In This Issue: Details of our upcoming meeting about Hillsborough County's "One Book, One City 2004" project ... pointers to fun reads ... news about your SIS board ... and a summary of November's meeting about the creative uses of poetry in any type of library.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 11, 2004

WHEN and WHERE.  6:00 to 8:00 PM
Jan Platt Regional Branch, Tampa Hillsborough County Public Library
3910 South Manhattan Avenue
Tampa FL 33611
(813)-272-6000

PROGRAM: The Hillsborough County community-wide reading project "One Book, One City" featuring Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics, set in Tampa's Ybor City in 1929. Presenters will be Roberta Whipple and Patrice Koerper.

RSVP: to Paul Wetmore, e-mail pwetmore@scfn.net or phone (813) 273-3680. Please RSVP by Friday, February 6.

New SIS Board is Off and Running

Scroll down to the bottom of this issue for a moment and read the listing of the SIS Board of Officers for 2004. Notice the contact information provided.  There's a good reason for this: we want to hear from you! The Board will be meeting very soon to hash out plans for the new year. Please contact any of us with your ideas for programs, activities, direction for the organization, etc.

-Alicia Ellison 

A Fun e-Book

I suspect the Nigerian email scam goes back even further than most people suspect. A short story called "The Spanish Prisoner" by Arthur Train, was published in 1910 in Cosmopolitan Magazine, and describes a similar swindle. In the story, a Spanish prisoner wrote to an American asking for help in obtaining a large amount of money he had hidden, but could not access from prison. I don't know if the term "Spanish Prisoner" predates Train's story, but it became popular in the 1920s. The legend was mentioned in passing in the 1997 movie "The Spanish Prisoner," written and directed by David Mamet.

This is a fun story, and a quick read. It is available on the Web at: http://www.hidden-knowledge.com/funstuff/spanishprisoner/spanishprisoner.html

-Betsy King

What's in an Image

A friend in another state turned me on to this funny and enlightening article from the Special Libraries Association, about the image of librarians in popular culture: "You Don't Look Like A Librarian: Librarians' Views of Public Perception in the Internet Age." It's been out for about a year - but maybe, like me, you hadn't had the pleasure of reading it already. It's available on the Web at: http://atst.nso.edu/library/perception/perc.html

-Alicia Ellison

Past Meeting: Dec. 8, 2003, at Pinellas Park Public Library

Thirteen people (including President Anita Lindsay’s granddaughter) attended the December 8, 2003 meeting of the Suncoast Information Specialists held at the Pinellas Park Public Library. We had four attendees from the Stetson Law Library. Participants gathered around 6:00 for food and fellowship. The meeting began at 6:30 PM. President Anita Lindsay of Eckerd College Library introduced the 2004 elected officers: Vice President Robin Leigh of Safety Harbor Public will become President; Secretary Paul Wetmore from Tampa/Hillsborough Public will be the Vice President; Karen Wilber of Tampa Bay Library Consortium will take the post of Secretary; and Betsy King of CAE, the current Treasurer, will remain at that position. An appointed officer - Alicia Ellison of Hillsborough Community College, Newsletter Editor - will remain in her position. There was no old business and, since Treasurer Betsy King was not present, no treasurer’s report.

Vice President/President Elect Robin Leigh, who in addition to her MLS degree has a MFA in creative writing, then began the program entitled: "Read this poem and call me in the morning." The main focus was how librarians at various agencies can incorporate poetry into their service for customers. Libraries can provide poets with exposure and visibility and provide a place of honor for the arts and involve the community. She gave each member a handout which emphasized the major points of her presentation. She asked each participant their experience in using poems to serve clients. Various examples were given: HCC staff had a service called "Love Lines at your Library" for Valentine’s Day; Stetson Law staff members found an obscure poem that was sought by administration; Tampa Public Library celebrated National Poetry Month in April with programs and staff members sharing their favorite odes.

Suggestions on how to make poetry available for patrons were given: displays and programs either having a poet or people interested in poetry were mentioned, as well as creating bookmarks with staff’s favorite poems. Try to make poetry a year-round project instead of just focusing on National Poetry Month in April; ways to do this are by art and posters as well as collection development (don’t forget AV materials). Some good internet resources are: Academy of American Poets (www.poets.org/npm/fac.cfm) , Poets House (www.poetshouse.org) , and the Poetry Society of America (www.poetrysociety.org) . Don’t forget local and state resources, such as county arts councils, regional organizations, such as the Tampa Writers Alliance, bookstores, and the Florida Humanities Council.

Poetry’s role in bibliotherapy was discussed. Bibliotherapy uses literature to bring about a therapeutic interaction. There is a National Association for Poetry Therapy (www.poetrytherapy.org) . Robin ended the program by conducting a discussion of two poems: "Death Message" and "In the Library."

After a five minute break Assistant Director Gary Bogart of the Pinellas Park Public Library gave a tour of the agency. The group disbanded at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Paul Wetmore,
Secretary

Get Published! If you would like to submit articles for future newsletters (a great way to communicate with local colleagues in all types of libraries!), please e-mail me at aliciae@tampabay.rr.com.  Thanks!   - Alicia Ellison, Editor