Oregon Book Award Winners Announced

Congratulations to the winners of the 24th Annual Oregon Book Awards!




Ken Kesey Award For Fiction


Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin of Portland



Stafford/Hall Award For Poetry

The Book of Men and Women by David Biespel of Portland



Francis Fuller Victor Award For General Nonfiction


Savages & Scoundrels by Paul Vandevelder of Corvallis


Sarah Winnemucca Award For Creative Nonfiction



The Far Corner by John Daniel






Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award For Children's Literature



Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix by Graham Salisbury of Lake Oswego



Leslie Bradshaw Award For Young Adult Literature



The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys by Scott Carter of Salem

Among the Truthers - a new book shedding light on the mind of the Birthers

Kay, the managing editor and columnist at Canada's National Post newspaper, delivers an insightful (and slightly scary) exploration of America's conspiracy movements. Focusing primarily on the Truthers (who believe the U.S. government engineered the September 11 attacks)—and to a lesser extent, the Birthers (those who claim President Obama is a foreign-born Muslim), Holocaust deniers, and JKF assassination theorists—he argues that we must take these movements seriously, however outré they may seem, for the disturbing anti-intellectual trend they epitomize: a "nihilistic distrust of government" and a "rejection of logic and rational discourse." Kay, who spent three years immersing himself in conspiracy culture, traces America's flourishing conspiracism back to Greco-Roman times and explores the technological developments that allow conspiracy theories to flourish: Web sites and message boards where Truthers and Birthers can get news "tailored to their pre-existing obsessions." Kay, although generally a fair-minded conservative, reveals that he isn't immune to conspiracy theories himself: he excoriates the rise of multiculturalism and feminism in the academy for prompting a "reconstruction (and in some cases wholesale invention) of history according to the viewpoint of women, blacks, gays... a project that replaced the historian's once unquestioned goal of objective truth with an explicitly political, Marxist-leaning agenda aimed at empowerment and solidarity-building.
-Publisher's Weekly Review (May)
Other reviews: http://amongthetruthers.com/

New Non-Fiction DVDs

Lucky: If money can't buy happiness, can winning the lottery come close?
DVD 795.3809 LUC

Sniper: Inside the Crosshairs
DVD 356.162 SNI

The President's Book of Secrets
DVD 323.448 PRE

Walkability is the New Black

The simplicity of living in a compact, easily maintainable, well-designed home with quick access by foot, to goods and services has long been a dream of mine.


If you share that dream, consider adding Ross Chapin's book
Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small Scale Community in a Large Scale World,
to your reading list.

Unemployed?

If you are looking for a new job or wishing to change jobs memorize one website, http://www.employment.oregon.gov/ . This is the State of Oregon's employment website.

This site offers quality information to assist Oregonians find work or improve their employment prospects. Information includes help on benefits, taxes, education, childcare, links to jobs and so much more.

This site has great resources and links to job fairs and events.

If you are a Veteran, there is a site dedicated to assisting Veterans.

The website is also available in Spanish.

Love to travel but...

Love to travel but always stumped by what to pack? Imagine having to prepare and pack for a trip to Mars. Mary Roach tells us all about what it takes to pack for Mars in her book, Packing for Mars, the curious science of life in the void.
Check the catalog for availability.

Quirky Westerns

Are you looking for a good western, but want something a little different, a little off the beaten path? Check out these DVDs!

A hardened American gunslinger is repeatedly thwarted in his attempts to mount a showdown in a friendly town in Canada where no one seems to understand or appreciate the brutal code of the American Wild West. An action-comedy-drama.

Five hundred years in the future, a renegrade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the galaxy. Horses, cattle, rifles, and desert landscapes all make an appearance in this short-lived but immensely popular "space western" science fiction series. Action drama with a lot of humor.

A Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synogogue in San Francisco. On his way, he meets up with a bank robber and hijinks ensue. Comedy.

Gateway to Science Information

As the website states, "Science.gov is a gateway to government science information and research results. Currently in its fifth generation, Science.gov provides a search of over 45 scientific databases and 200 million pages of science information with just one query, and is a gateway to over 2100 scientific websites." We all have had the experience of trying to do an Internet search and coming up with less that stellar results, usually because someone wants to sell us something! This website is an interagency initiative of 18 U.S. government science organization within 14 Federal Agencies. It is an easy-to-use site which allows you to browse topics like agriculture & food, biology & nature, physics & chemistry and a number of other science related subjects. This site would be of interest to students, the layperson, or those within a science profession. All would benefit from this interesting resource.

Crafters Rejoice!

Check out our new crafting and jewelry magazines.

Cloth Paper Scissors

Jewelry Artist

Step by Step Wire Jewelry

Antiques & Collectibles

Ever wonder what that Mickey Mouse tea set your Great Aunt Hilda gave you is worth? Wonder know more. Check out The Prices 4 Antiques database. This easily searched database includes a picture of the item, the last known sale date and the price it was sold for. For instance, a Walt Disney Mickey Mouse ceramic 15 piece tea set, circa 1939, sold for $201 in March 2005. Lots of unique items are listed. A 37 inch, German Kitchen & Pantry diorama sold in November 2008 for $2,645! Score!

Learn to Play!

Have you always wanted to know how to play an instrument or sing a tune? Don't wait any longer! The library has great books, cds, and dvds to get you playing and singing in no time.

Just ask a librarian to help you find the information that's right for you!

New DVDs in Blu-Ray too!

Beaverton Cares Awareness Program

The Beaverton Cares Awareness Program was developed by the Mayor's Neighborhood Program to raise awareness of the resources available to those in need and to identify ways that members of the community could help their neighbors. The website has an extensive listing of resources available in Beaverton for those who are struggling to make ends meet. Included in the list is information on food pantries, discount drug cards, housing, utility bill assistance and much more. Also included on the website are opportunities for those who would like to volunteer or donate their time or goods to local organizations who assist those in need. Shopping locally can also give a boost to our business community, keeping jobs within our area and helping our local economy. A definite win-win situation!