Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Trunk or Treat!!- Thursday Oct. 25

Hey all. 
Well, it's that time of year again.  Time for candy and costumes.  Halloween is right around the corner.

Here is a special program that the Massillon Rec Center is hosting.  Trunk or Treat is where kids 13 and under can come to the Rec Center parking lot and go around "trick or treating" in the safety of the parking lot.  That's where the "trick" part comes but the "trunk" part comes from the cars that fill the parking lot with their trunks filled with candy. 

The owners of the cars are going to dress them up as well as dressing themselves up.  We at the Massillon Public Library will be there with my 1970 Volkswagen Beetle that will be dressed up, but what it is will be a surprise.  The event will start at 6:00pm and go all the way until 7:30pm.  SO mark you calendars- October 25, 2012; THIS THURSDAY.

So come on down, bring your kids and enjoy this night of fun, safety and most importantly CANDY!
Hope to see ya there,
Tim Pawlak
Reference Department

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Annual Booksale is Coming this Saturday, October 20!!!!

Hi there.  Do you love books as much as I do?  Well, you are in luck!

The Friends of the Massillon Public Library Annual Book Sale is going to take place this Saturday, October 20th at the Massillon Public Library from 10:00am until 3:00pm.  The sale will take place in the library auditorium.

Everything from cookbooks to teen fantasy to auto repair manuals will be there for the taking.  And all at rock-bottom bargain prices.  Who can resist that?  There will even be a selection of audio visual materials to choose from.

But wait, there's more.  In the final hour (2:00pm-3:00pm) shoppers will receive an even better deal.  For the meager sum of One dollar, you can fill a grocery bag with items from the sale.  Unbelievable, I know.

For those who are "Friends of the Library," a private early preview will be held on Friday, Oct 19th from 6:00pm-8:00pm.  Members will have to show their membership cards at the door.  But fear not, if you are not a member, you can join that night and get in on the preview. 

All of the proceeds from the book sale will go to the Friends of the Massillon Public Library, a non-profit organization which supports the Massillon Public Library.  For anyone that would like adisional information on the event, please contact Mary Ellen Brown at the Library- 330.832.9831, ext. 301. 

So come on down and feast on these crazy deals of ours.  It only comes once a year so don't miss it.

See ya there,
Tim Pawlak
Reference Dept.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Chris Spielman Book Discussion at Lincoln Theater



Hello again,

I come today with very exciting news.  On Monday October 15 at 6:30pm, the Massillon Public Library is organizing a book discussion on That's Why I'm Here by football great and former Massillon Tiger, Chris Spielman.  This program will be held at the Lions' Lincoln Theater as part of the "One Book, One Community" reading program. Here is a link to the announcement page on the website.

The discussion will be led by several men who either coached or played along side Spielman during his Massillon High School career.  It will be a fun night for all who love football and Massillon history.

Speaking of Massillon, why not come check some of the resources that we have here at the Massillon Public Library?  Our Local History & Genealogy room is full of information on the history of the City of Massillon as well as the history of our favorite football team.  We also have many links on our website that you can use: Local History Links

So until next time, I ask you to take a couple minutes out of your day to just relax and curl up with a good book, you'll be glad you did.

Happy reading,
Tim Pawlak

Friday, October 5, 2012

Author Visit at Next Writer's Group October 8th

Hello again,
I come with exciting news for you.  On Monday, October 8th, at 5:00 p.m, the Massillon Public Library's Writer's Group will be hosting a free author visit with guest speaker and author, Paul Pusateri.
Here is part of the press release from the event: 

While living in Ecuador as an exchange student, Pusateri, captured by the romanticism of Latin America, discovered that love transcends time and geographical borders. Pilar’s Miracle, a riveting story which heralds the power of forgiveness and redemption, was born out of his love for the people and beauty of Ecuador.
During this program, Pusateri will share some of his experiences with the group, plus valuable writing tips and techniques. There will also be time for attendees to ask questions.

This free event will take place in the second floor meeting room where the Writer's Group is usually held and is open to the public.  Also, you don't need to register so come on down and check out this exciting event.

For any questions that you have, you can call Stephanie Span, the coordinator of the group at 330.832.9831, Ext. 311 or you can log on to the library's website: www.massillonlibrary.org.  Here is also a link to the information page about the event.  The Massillon Public Library is located at 208 Lincoln Way East. The Second Street entrance is handicap accessible.  

Tim Pawlak

http://www.massillonlibrary.org/sites/default/files/images//AuthorVisit-WritersGroup.jpg




Saturday, September 29, 2012

Well, back to business

Hello again.
Nothing ground-breaking today but just wanted to let everyone know that the Library is back to normal (relatively lol).  That is to say that our shiny new floor and circulation desk are open for business.

What this means to the Reference Department is that we are back to our normal setup.  What is our normal setup? some of you may ask. 
  • Well our main reference desk is the big blue desk in the Reading Room with the Non-fiction and the YA section.  Our extension here is ext. 312
  • Our other desk is located in the Local History and Genealogy Room which is out beyond the Audio-Visual room.  The Local history phone extension is ext. 325.  Just turn to the right when you come in and go on past the AV section.  I wanted to touch on this because many people still do not know that we are back there and sometimes it gets lonely.
So please come on out to the library to take a look and enjoy our new rotunda floor and circulation desk.  We will continue to strive to provide the great service to our patrons that you have come to know us for.
Have a great day,
Tim Pawlak

Monday, September 17, 2012

Comic Book Workshop at the Library!!

Hey all you fans of Comics/Manga/Graphic Novels.  Look what's coming to the Massillon Public Library.

On Tuesday, September 25th from 5:30-7:30pm, Dan Gorman, a comic book illustrator will be coming in and leading a workshop on comic books.  Dan is an established comic book illustrator who is currently working on the art for the "Femforce" comics.  He also works with Upperdeck for their series of "Avengers: the Beginning" trading cards.

Dan will be exhibiting some of his artwork for the workshop as well as teaching how to create your very own comic books.  What's cooler than that?  Even for those who don't like to draw, it will be a cool learning experience and a window into the world of comic book making.

So come on down and check out this program.  If you have any questions, please contact Angel Vaughn @ 330-832-9831 ext. 321

Hope to see you there.

Tim Pawlak

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Learn a New Language at Your Library

Ever want to learn a new language?
In today's world, it really pays to be bilingual.  So what better way to learn a new language than with this free software provided to our patrons called Mango Languages.  Think of it as Rosetta Stone©  Software but without the cost.  It shares the intuitive nature in that instead of memorization drills, it teaches you in a way that is more conversational than lecture.

All you have to do to get started is to go to the Library's website and click on the Research tab.  Then click on the "Alphabetical List of Databases" link and click on Mango Languages (about half way down the page).
It will give you a page that looks like this:

On the right hand side of the page, you can create a new profile and once you do that, the world of Mango Languages is at your fingertips.
Mango Languages boasts an ever-growing list of languages (45 right now) that you can learn from Spanish (both Spain and Latin America) and French to Hebrew and Hindi.  You can even learn to speak Pirate if you like. Arrrg!!!
Most of the languages offer both beginners courses as well as intermediate courses for those who are farther along.
And Mango Languages is not just for English speakers wanting to learn another language, it also offers 15 ESL (English as a Second Language) courses for those who want to learn to speak and understand English.  
So give it a try, you got nothing to lose and you will be able to expand your Linguistic horizons with Mango Languages, brought to you by your friends here at the Massillon Public Library.
So Hasta luego, Au revoir,  Auf wiedersehen, Ciao, Sayonara, Do svidaniya and so long.
Til next time,
Tim Pawlak

Update: Did I mention that Mango Languages also has a translation feature as well?  It is your one stop shop for language learning.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

We're Back!

Hello all and welcome back to the Reference Blog.  It has been a while since the blog has been updated.  This is due to a changeover in blogger.  I will now be writing the blog.

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Tim Pawlak and I am a Reference assistant as well as working with our Outreach Program.

In the coming weeks, I am going to be regularly updating the blog by shining a light on some of the databases that we have here at the Massillon Public Library.  I know that many already know the databases that we have here but some who are new to the library may not so I just wanted to bring everyone up to speed.

The first recourse that I will be talking about is our language learning software called Mango Languages.  I will also be talking about the MUZZY language learning system for kids.  This will be coming in the next week or so.

Happy reading,
Tim Pawlak

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

New Book Awards: The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction


[news release] The American Library Association (ALA) is proud to announce the first recipients of the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, funded through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Anne Enright’s "The Forgotten Waltz" received the medal for fiction and Robert K. Massie’s "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman" received the nonfiction prize. The medals recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published the previous year in the United States. The selections were unveiled during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

This is the first time that the ALA, which sponsors the prestigious Youth Media Awards, including the John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott Medals for children’s literature, is offering single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction. Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction winners and finalists were selected based on the expert judgment and insight of library professionals who work closely with adult readers.  This is a departure from most major book awards, which are judged by writers and critics.

In Enright’s "The Forgotten Waltz," published by W. W. Norton & Company, the vicissitudes of extramarital love and the obstructions to its smooth flow—including spouses, children, and the necessary secrecy surrounding an affair—are charted in sharp yet supple prose. In a year without a Pulitzer Prize in fiction, this award becomes even more meaningful for the literary community.

Massie’s "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman," published by Random House, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, is a compulsively readable biography of the fascinating woman who, through a combination of luck, personality, and a fine mind, rose from her birth as a minor German princess to become the Empress of all the Russias.

Congratulations to Anne Enright, Robert K. Massie and our finalists,” said Nancy Pearl, high-profile librarian, NPR commentator and chair of the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction selection committee. “We are so excited to have such a talented and deserving group of authors for our inaugural awards.”

The medals are made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York and are co-sponsored by ALA’s Booklist magazine and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

In many ways, librarians are the first book critics many readers come into contact with, and hence we are deeply thankful for their insight and guidance,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York and a former president of the New York Public Library. “The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction take that notion one step further and place the librarians’ seal of approval on these wonderful books.”

Enright and Massie each receive a medal and $5,000, and each finalist receives $1,500.

Nonfiction finalists include "The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood," by James Gleick, published by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., and "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention," by the late Manning Marable, published by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA).

Fiction finalists include "Lost Memory of Skin," by Russell Banks, published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers and "Swamplandia!," by Karen Russell, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

For annotations and more information on the winners, finalists and the awards please visit www.ala.org/carnegieadult.

Members of the 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction inaugural selection committee include: Chair, Nancy Pearl; Brad Hooper, editor, Adult Books, Booklist, Chicago; Danise Hoover, associate librarian, Public Services, Hunter College Library, New York; A. Issac Pulver, director, Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) Public Library; Nonny Schlotzhauer, librarian, Collection Development/Social Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.;  Donna Seaman, senior editor, Adult Books, Booklist, Chicago; and Rebecca Vnuk, editor, Reference and Collection Management, Booklist, Chicago.

About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy.

About Booklist
Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers' advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years. Booklist Online includes a growing archive of 135,000+ reviews available to subscribers as well as a wealth of free content offering the latest news and views on books and media.

About Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
The Reference and User Services Association is responsible for stimulating and supporting excellence in the delivery of general library services and materials, and the provision of reference and information services, collection development, readers' advisory, and resource sharing for adults, in every type of library.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Five Summer Reading Lists

Looking for a summer read? You're sure to find the right book for you in one of the following lists:

National Public Radio Summer Books Page
Oprah's Summer Reading List
The Daily Beast Best Summer Reads 2012
Publisher's Weekly Best Summer Books
CNN.com Summer Reading: 10 titles to watch for

If you can't find a title in the online catalog, give the reference department a call at 330.832.9831 x.312. Could be the book is on order, or available in another library system. We'll do all we can to find the titles you want to read.  For new books we've ordered but not yet received, we'll make sure you are on the reserve list and contacted when it is available.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Mango Adds Classic Languages

[From the Mango Blog] We are thrilled to announce the release of Mango Languages’ Religious and Scholarly Language Collection. This means you can now learn Latin, Koine Greek, Ancient Greek and Biblical Hebrew for free through your library and Mango Languages, the only language learning company offering a Religious and Scholarly Language Collection. These specialized courses focus on passages from historical books, poems and religious documents, providing insight into the cultures in which the languages were spoken.
Your Massillon Public Library card provides FREE access to Mango Languages. Just click here to start.

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Remarkable eBird

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "The most abundant grebe in the world, the Eared Grebe breeds in shallow wetlands in western North America" and on April 13, an Eared Grebe was spotted in Fostoria, Ohio.  How do we know? eBird.org. This site is a project of the Cornell Lab and wonderful resource for bird-watchers of all levels and interests. Volumes of data, interactive maps, news and information. So why not checkout one of the following identification guides and try some watching of your own? You can then compare and share your results with others through the remarkable eBird.

Bird Watching Guides available at the Massillon Public Library:
  • The backyard bird lover's ultimate how-to guide : more than 200 easy ideas and projects for attracting and feeding your favorite birds by Sally Roth. [598.072/Rot]
  • The bird watching answer book : everything you need to know to enjoy birds in your backyard and beyond by Laura Erickson. [598.0723/Eri]
  • Birds: an explore your world handbook by Discovery Books. [598/Bir]
  • Birding for beginners: a comprehensive introduction to the art of birdwatching by Sheila Buff. [598.0723/Buf]

Friday, May 25, 2012

Video: Searching EBSCOhost databases

The library offers you free access to an incredible source of information on just about any subject you can imagine - EBSCOhost databases. What are they and how do you use them? Watch these short videos to find out.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Ohioana Book Award Finalists

[press release] Columbus, OH — The Ohioana Library has announced the 28 finalists for the 2012 Ohioana Book Awards. The Ohioana Awards were first given in 1942, with James B. “Scotty” Reston, Walter Havighurst, and Willard M. Kiplinger as the first recipients. During the past seventy-one years, more than 400 books have been recognized with an Ohioana Book Award.

“This was an outstanding year for books by Ohio writers and books about Ohio and Ohioans.” said Linda Hengst, executive director of the Ohioana Library. “We receive 600-800 traditionally published books each year, which become eligible for the book awards, so the authors of the books selected as finalists this year should feel truly honored.”

The book awards are given in five categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, juvenile literature, and about Ohio/Ohioans. Ohioana will announce the winners in each category near the end of August, and recipients will be honored at the annual Ohioana Awards Ceremony in mid-October.

2012 Ohioana Book Award finalists
* = not Ohioans.
(note, books about Ohio or Ohioans need not be authored by an Ohioan.)

FICTION
Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo - Minotaur Books
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - Crown Publishing Group
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - Ballantine Books
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock – Doubleday
Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell - Random House
Ziggy by Tom Wilson (II) - Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC

NON-FICTION
History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life by Jill Bialosky - Atria Books
Toward a Better Life: America's New Immigrants in Their Own Words--from Ellis Island to the Present by Peter Morton Coan - Prometheus Books
Dance Anatomy by Jacqui Greene Haas - Human Kinetics
The Quest for the Perfect Hive: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture by Gene Kritsky - Oxford University Press
Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean - Simon & Schuster

ABOUT OHIO/OHIOANS
Literary Cincinnati: The Missing Chapter by Dale Patrick Brown - Ohio University Press & Swallow Press
George Szell: A Life of Music by Michael Charry - University of Illinois Press
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz* - Henry Holt and Co
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard* - Doubleday
Over-the-Rhine Tour Guide: Cincinnati's Historic German District, Over-the-Rhine, and Environs by Don Heinrich Tolzmann - Little Miami Publishing



JUVENILE
Roots and Blues: A Celebration by Arnold Adoff - Clarion Books
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins
Where Do You Stay? by Andrea Cheng - Boyds Mills
Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth by Sandra Dutton - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
So Shelly by Ty Roth – Delacorte Press
Butterfly Tree by Sandra Markle - Peachtree Publishers
Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer - Clarion Books

POETRY
Your Father on the Train of Ghosts by John Gallaher and G.C. Waldrep* - BOA Editions
Weather by Dave Lucas - University of Georgia Press
Hotel Utopia by Robert Miltner - New Rivers Press
Mechanical Fireflies by Doug Ramspeck - Barrow Street Press
Wait by Alison Stine - University of Wisconsin Press

The mission of the Ohioana Library, established in 1929 by First Lady Martha Kinney Cooper, is to recognize and encourage the creative accomplishments of Ohioans; preserve and expand a permanent collection of books, sheet music, manuscripts, and other materials by Ohioans and about Ohio; and disseminate information about the work of Ohio writers, musicians and other artists to researchers, schools, and the general public. Individuals may visit the Library at 274 East First Avenue, Columbus, OH, or online at www.ohioana.org.

Friday, May 11, 2012

How Many Short Stories Did Edgar Allan Poe Write?

Among the questions asked at the Big Read kick-off last week end was "How many short stories did he write?" Seemed simple enough. "We'll look it up and get back to you." No problemo!  Ten books, fifteen websites and several long distance phone calls later - and we still do not know the answer with any certainty.
"Almost eighty" it says on page 373 of the official volume of the Big Read. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore says the number is sixty-nine - counting "both short fiction and novels." This appears to be the most widely published number.
So how many short stories did Edgar Allan write? Only the Poe himself knows for sure.

Friday, April 20, 2012

A Titanic Headline

A group of 4th grade students visited the Local History and Genealogy Room recently and asked to view the Massillon Independent for April 15, 1912 - the day the Titanic sank. The children were shocked and confused to discover the headline "Titanic Crew and Passengers Safe." How could this be? What was going on? This was a great opportunity not only to teach the students how to use microfilm (which they found mysterious and fascinating), but also about how much the pace of information has accelerated over the last 100 years.

Monday, April 9, 2012

National Poetry Month

This month is a great time to explore the magic and power of poetry. New to the art? Check out the PBS Series Poetry Everywhere to discover what you like and what you don't. You may like the poem in the video above. I may hate it. Talking and thinking about why is what this month is all about.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Expand Your Search Horizons


If you are like most people, you use only one or maybe two search engines to find information on the internet. Here are a few more you may like to try - just for the fun of it. And if you don't find what you need from a search engine - give us a call at the reference desk! 330.832.9831 x312

For general searching, try:
To search news, blogs and user-generated content, try:
To search for videos, try:
For more, click here
Is there a search engine we should know about? Leave a comment and tell us.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Letters from England (No. 3)


Barbara Wittman
Letters from England is written by Barbara Wittman, archivist of the Rotch-Wales Collection at the Massillon Public Library. Wittman is currently telecommuting to Massillon from Cambridge, where she is a Visiting Scholar, Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.

The Cambridge University Library is a jewel of a place, dominating the university, opened in 1934. In total it holds around 8 million books, around ¼ of which are in open shelves, making it the largest open access library in Europe. The Reading Room with rows of long desks and chairs houses around 17,000 titles. The library contains over 160 kilometers of shelving, has 355,000 registered users, 350 members of staff including 100 working on research projects with outside funding. In 2011, there were 205,281 loans, which comes down to 821 loans per day in 250 working days per year. The Book fetchers fetch around 1,000 books per week.  Only 5 books on loan at a time allowed, probably to remind people to get on with it and return their books.
Cambridge Library Floorplan
 When you come up to Cambridge, to gain entrance to the library, you first have to present your paper work to the admissions office, have your photo taken, and explain why you need entrance before receiving a computerized card which passes you into the library. In some cases, pre-registration can be done on the Library web site.  After receiving your official card, you proceed to the cloak room where you deposit your coat on a rack with your umbrella, book bags and extraneous stuff into a computer lock box before proceeding into the library. Many people take computers into the library and for pence 20 you can buy a plastic library sack for pens, notebooks, glasses and change.  As you approach the tea room on the north wing, a large sign informs you that books are not to be taken into the room and a table is provided for you to deposit library books while you are inside. The tea room food is super, complete with scones and all sorts of morning coffees. You are checked digitally when you leave the library, proceeding again to the cloak room to retrieve your belongings. The library is open 9AM to 7 PM, 5 days a week and 9AM to 5 PM on Saturday with meals available on all days.  Closed Sunday and holidays.  The library is a wonderful place that welcomes us all as does Massillon Public Library. Each of the colleges has its own libraries as do most departments, so we have books here in abundance.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Kendal House History Class

Karen Rohr, Rose Hallett and Katie Woods
review Rohr's history of Seneca Street.
Current residents of the original town plat of Kendal gathered at the library on Saturday, February 4 for a house history class led by genealogy specialist, Jean Adkins.

Among those present was Karen Rohr who grew up on 11th Street NE, but now lives on Seneca. She has been researching the houses on Seneca for several years now, and brought with her a impeccably organized binder of her findings to date.

Sisters Rose Hallett and Katie Woods were there too. Rose lives in the house where she was born. She believes the house was once located on State Street but moved to its current location. Her parents bought it in 1923.

Katie lives near the Quaker Cemetery on Seneca. She said she used to be well known in the neighborhood for chasing children away from the cemetery. "My husband told me not to do that," she said. "He said the children would remember us at Halloween and not in a nice way, either." But he was wrong - her house never suffered the insult of broken eggs or other "opinions."

Cindy Clark and her Aunt Ann learn how to research
the history of their early Kendal house from
genealogy specialist Jean Adkins.
Cindy Clark came with her Aunt Ann. Their residence, in which Ann has lived since 1979, was discovered during the class to be a very early Kendal house. Over a decade ago, a man had told Ann that her house was "one of the two original houses in Kendal." While this may not be entirely true - it is probably close to it. She describes the main portion of her home as containing two large rooms, separated by an archway. The wood framing the arch and windows is extremely hard.  She recently renovated one of these rooms and discovered the walls were constructed of timber logs.

One of the tools used during the class was a map made by Frank Harrison Jr. (1910-1944). This map was recently photographed by the Massillon Museum and made available online at kendalohio.com. Harrison was one of the Museum's first employees and hoped one day to make a scale replica of Kendal. This map contains a wealth of information he gathered while conducting research on the town.

The map below is the modern equivalent to Harrison's map. It contains information on past, present and possible Kendal historic locations. A work in progress, new information is added as it is gained. Thanks to Ann's participation in the house history class, another early Kendal house has been identified.


View Historic Locations in Kendal in a larger map

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Happy Birthday Charles Dickens


Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812
It's amazing how many 200 year anniversaries there are in 2012. Here are just a few:
War of 1812
Columbus, Ohio
State of Louisiana
and of course, Kendal, Ohio.
In terms of literature, the major celebration this year is the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth. One of the most recent biographies of this most famous and prolific of authors is Claire Tomalin's Charles Dickens: a life published in October of last year. For those looking for a fictional take on his later years, try Girl in a Blue Dress by Gayle Arnold. If you want to learn more about him online, visit dickens2012.org. And you may want to plan ahead for a visit to Dickens' Victorian Village in Cambridge, Ohio. What would Dickens write about today? Here's one take on that question. What's yours?