Daily Thoughts 4/22/2011 (You know nothing of my work!, The Forgotten Founding Father)

Title page of "A Dictionary of the English Language," written by Noah Webster. Image courtesy of the Yale University Manuscripts & Archives Digital Images Database, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.  1830-1840

Daily Thoughts 4/22/2011

I enjoyed reading The Forgotten Founding Father, even though it is written as a popular biography, it uses a lot of primary source material for its research.  It took eighteen years for Noah Webster to write An American Dictionary.  He wrote it by himself.  This is an amzing feat.  Nowadays dictionaries are written by a team of people.

I am looking at Marshall McLun You Know Nothing of My Work.  It is sitting on top of The Forgotten Founding Father.  Both are biographies about people who understood words and meaning.

Marshall McLuhan is famous for the concept of the "Global Village" and "The Medium is the Message."  What is stunning about his work is that it predates the internet and at the same time seems to explain many of the things which are currently happening.  The constant change, the unpredictability, and the fear that go with not knowing what is going to happen next are eloquently described by Marshall McLuhan in terms of television and electronic media.

Daily Thoughts 4/21/2011 (American Vampire, The Forgotten Founding Father)

Noah Webster, 1911

Daily Thoughts 4/21/2011

Yesterday was far busier than I imagined.  I stopped by my library and picked up two more books, American Vampire by Scott Snyder, Stephen King, and Raphael Albuquerque.  I learned that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son which is interesting.  I really enjoyed reading American Vampire.  It is a graphic novel which starts in old west and then moves into the early film era of the 1920s.  I especially like Skinner Sweet, the main character, a vampire and gunslinger with a sweet tooth.

The second book that I picked up was Marshall McLuhan You Know Nothing of My Work by Douglas Coupland.  It is a biography with a different style.  Douglas Coupland adds a touch of pop culture writing to the work.  Marshall McLuhan is best known for his quote, "The Medium is the Message."

Last night, I went to the board meeting for the library.  The place was packed with people.  There was a lot of commentary on the way the library was being run. People were mainly asking for the library to reopen on the weekends which is what most patrons are asking for.  It is the most asked for thing on the library survey.  Part of the discussion was opening the library on Saturday in June for the book sale on June 10 and June 11.  The Friends of the Library are asking for this.  It is more than just about funds.  This seemed to be the focus of the evening.  There was also some talk about the director.  It was an interesting session.

I have been reading some more of The Forgotten Founding Father.  I am learning about the career of Noah Webster.  His main education was as lawyer which he failed at.  He ended up succeeding in the newspaper business starting the first daily paper in New York, the American Minerva.  An interesting fact I learned was that the New York Post was started because of rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Noah Webster.  The biography is quite interesting.  Noah Webster had some fine characteristics; natty dresser, political essaysist,  lady's man, public speaker, newspaper man, lexicographer, lawyer, and lover of dancing.

Web Bits

What Are Libraries For?  by Hugh McGuire
http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/what-are-libraries-for/

Sculpting With Words, This Week is Dutch Book Week
http://www.psfk.com/2011/04/sculpting-with-words-pics.html

Daily Thoughts 4/19/2011 (The Forgotten Founding Father)

John Frederick Peto, Take Your Choice, 1885

Daily Thoughts 4/19/2011


I started reading The Forgotten Founding Father Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture by Joshua Kendall this morning.  Joshua Kendall places Noah Webster with Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.  Noah Webster is important for his standardization of American english.  Noah Webster wrote, An American Spelling Book Containing An Easy Standard Pronunciation Being The First Part of A Grammatical Institute of the English Language.  Webster roots his patriotism in a nationalistic view of American english.

Web Bits

Book Bind Public Libraries Feel Strain of Budget Cuts
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/04/19/112430/book-bind-public-libraries-feel.html

Daily Thoughts 4/13/2011 (The Forgotten Founding Father, Mount Vernon Public Library)

This picture was taken from Jérôme Patureau à la recherche de la meilleure des républiques (Jérome Patureau in search of the best of republics), by Louis Reybaud, illustrated by Tony Johannot. Paris, 1849.

Daily Thoughts 4/13/2011

Today has been a quiet steady day.  I put in a survey, checked the Twitter account, checked the gift books and made sure the book displays are up to date.  I have a program today at 4:00 p.m.

I am going the Book Expo America Annual Librians Luncheon on May 24, 2011.  It should be excellent.  I am considering going to the Day of Dialog between Librarians and Publishers on May 23, 2011.  It is the first time that they are charging for this event. The fee is $39.95  http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/articlereview/889795-457/story.csp

Historical pictures of the Mount Vernon Public Library
http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/node/282

The book, The Forgotten Founding Father Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture by Joshua Kendall came in for me to read.  It should be interesting reading if you like things like dictionaries.