Yarn bombing Calistoga library

Christmas weekend was a good one for installing “tags” at area libraries. On Saturday I attached a length of scalloping to the tine of a rusty bike rack at the Middletown library. On Sunday I sewed “ LOVE MY LIBRARY” to a railing at the Calistoga library.

League bowling: my first game

Bowled my first Lake County Chamber of Commerce Bowling League game last night with the Lake County Record-Bee “Killer Bees.” The next game is in two weeks.

At the end of work today, Record-Bee publisher Gary Dickson had printouts from the night before and from the previous weeks of the league. My scores for last night’s three games were 67, 69 and 67. Consistent games, and my scores will likely improve with practice.

I enjoy bowling and will be given a “handicap” that compensates for my lower scores. The “handicap” will be based on the results of my first three games.

League bowling: Repurposed team shirt

Updated photo, taken Feb. 7, 2012

Got my Record-Bee bowling team shirt fringed and beaded for tonight's games! (Originally posted to Twitter)

Twitter and Storify at work

Record-Bee newsroom employees are supposed to use Twitter at work. People can post status updates with a limit of 140 characters. I was using Twitter already but now I’m using it as part of my regular routine at the Record-Bee.

Adults with autism ‘hidden in plain sight’

As reported in the LA Times, “Missing millions” of adults with autism are “hidden in plain sight.” I’m glad we’re finally being noticed. From the article:

“Scientists are just beginning to find cases that were overlooked or called something else in an earlier era. If their research shows that autism has always been present at roughly the same rate as today, it could ease worries that an epidemic is on the loose.”

I will officially bowl with Record-Bee bowling team

I will officially bowl with the Lake County Record-Bee bowling team. I have my own team shirt and everything. The Record-Bee recently hosted a staff holiday party at the bowling alley in Lakeport. I played a pretty decent game and word got back to Shawn Garrison, the person who was organizing the team.

Thank you for doing the right thing

“To publish an article without talking to people with autism … what were you thinking? On the other hand, it’s the norm!” — Landon Bryce to Alice G. Walton, related by Alice G. Walton

‘Pedro and Me’ by Judd Winick

Pedro and Me (Henry Holt, 2000) is a graphic-format biography of HIV/AIDS educator Pedro Zamora. Zamora and author Judd Winick were roommates on MTV’s “Real World” television series.

Pedro and Me is a selection from the readings for a class in “Connecting Young Adults with the Library” that I’ve registered to take in the spring. It can be found shelved with Juvenile Biographies at Lake County Library’s Redbud Library.

Originally posted to the Facebook page of the Lake County Library

Spare public libraries from the trigger

The California Library Association (CLA) is urging its members and library supporters to ask that libraries be spared from further state budget cuts.

As explained by the CLA, the Governor’s Budget in January proposed to eliminate $30.4 million in funding for three California library programs: the California Library Services Act, the Public Library Foundation and the state literacy program.  Thanks to heavy lobbying and strong grassroots support from the library community, the CLA was able to retain $15.2 million in funds for state library programs.

But Assembly Bill 121, the “Budget Trigger” bill, specified that if $4 billion in projected state revenues failed to materialize, there would be budget cuts at the beginning of the year that would eliminate the last of library funds.

‘Taking Back the Knit’

A worldwide movement is bringing knit and crochet into the realm of public art. As a crafter, this subject is of growing fascination to me.

Yarn bombing Rincon Valley Library

My second tag, which I applied Sunday night, Nov. 20, was a book drop handle cozy for the Rincon Valley Library. I crocheted it out of sock yarn self-striping in brown and black.

I used the same yarn to create a loom-knit balaclava. I mixed a “Homespun” Lion Brand yarn in shades of green and brown, with two sock yarn skeins. The result was to mimic tree bark and I’m very pleased with the result.

As for the tag, it took two trips to the Rincon Valley Library: first to scout the area for an inspiring object to tag. I measured the length of the book-drop handle against the span of my hand’s pointer finger to thumb. I approximated the width from the curl of my fingers around the handle itself.

Inexact but successful and the second trip was to attach the finished piece. I posted photos on Facebook.com on a page specifically for “Yarn Bombing @ Your Library.”

First yarn bombing tag at Middletown library

Jonathan and I got up at 5 a.m. this morning so that I could stitch a piece of knitting to a tree at the Middletown library.

The “tree sweater” idea came from a book that I checked out through the library: Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009. I’d been intrigued by yarn bombing since seeing pictures in my Lion Brand catalog.

I requested the book and arranged for pick-up at the Middletown library so I suppose that makes the yarn bomber’s identity a fairly obvious one.

(That and the newspaper column that listed the book among others in my favorite knitting books).

But I plan to “tag” other libraries in the area where my identity may not be so obvious. I have my own pin-on tags that say “Yarn Bombing @ Your Library;” they’ll accompany my pieces.

Transcribed from personal journal

Winter is a great time to knit

The rain that fell on Saturday accelerated my interest in knitting hats — and in reviewing my favorite books on the subjects of knitting and crochet.

Double-thick loom-knit hats with rolled brims

These hats were created with Lion Brand's Homespun on Provo Craft knitting looms. The hats are my own creation, based upon techniques taught in Isela Phelp's book Loom Knitting Primer. They were knit as tubes to a length that was nearly twice that of the desired length of the finished hats, then folded back to create a double-thickness for warmth. The men's hats include enough length to accommodate a rolled brim. The crown's last inch-and-a-half to two inches was knit single-layer thick to allow ease when gathering.

Library children's room holds fond memories

Saturday found me volunteering in the children’s section of my library.

‘The Steampunk Bible’ by Jeff VanderMeer

Some of my favorite science fiction stories (Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation among them) bring characters from the future into the Victorian age.

The Steampunk Bible by Jeff VanderMeer with S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image, 2011) offers an illustrated guide to an aesthetic that has its roots in the works of Jules Verne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Originally posted to the Facebook page of the Lake County Library

Make a difference in the lives of animals

As Lake County residents prepare to take part in “Make a Difference Day” this coming Saturday, I hope they will consider ways that they can make a difference daily in the lives of companion animals.

‘Defend the freedom to read -- It’s everybody’s job’

The American Library Association is promoting the importance of reporting challenges with artwork available for download in a variety of formats: “Defend the freedom to read -- It’s everybody’s job.”

“Since 1990, the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom has maintained a confidential database on challenged materials. ALA collects information from two sources: newspapers and reports submitted by individuals. All challenges are compiled into a database. Reports of challenges culled from newspapers across the country are compiled in the bimonthly Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom; those reports are then compiled in the Banned Books Week Resource Guide. Challenges reported to the ALA by individuals are kept confidential. In these cases, ALA will release only the title of the book being challenged, the state and the type of institution (school, public library). The name of the institution and its town will not be disclosed. A list of most frequently challenge books is compiled from these challenges for each annual Banned Books Week.”

To report a challenge, the ALA provides an online Challenge Database Form. People can also print the Challenge Database Form, complete it, and fax it to  the Office for Intellectual Freedom, at  312-280-4227.

For assistance with actual and possible challenges to library materials, services, and programs, the ALA invites libraries to contact Angela Maycock, OIF assistant director, by telephone at 800-545-2433, ext. 4221; fax at 312-280-4227, by email at amaycock@ala.org, or at the Office for Intellectual Freedom, 800-545-2433, ext. 4223.

October is sweater weather

“Pity about the scarf — Madame Nostradamus made it for me — a witty little knitter. Never get another one like it.”

— The fourth Doctor, “Ark in Space”

What better way to spend an overcast autumn Saturday than to put on a comfortable sweater, drape a thick wool blanket over my legs and sit outside reading in the fresh air with the cat stretched out at my feet.

‘Annotated Legends’ by Weis and Hickman

The Annotated Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (Wizards of the Coast, 2003), a trilogy of fantasy stories in one volume, offers an intriguing take on the hero’s journey. The main character is an alcoholic because, once home from his earlier adventures (referred to in the authors’ marginalia), no one needed him to perform heroic deeds anymore. As the story opens, his wife has kicked him out, saying he needs to find himself. He now embarks on a quest that will pit him against his twin brother. This book combines three novels: Time of the Twins, War of the Twins and Test of the Twins, which were originally published separately.

Originally posted to the Facebook page of the Lake County Library

“All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome” at Lake County Library

Cover image: All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome

In my column a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about placing an interlibrary loan request for “All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome” by Kathy Hoopmann. At the time, the book was unavailable in the Lake County Library and its cooperative partnering libraries.

Read a banned book this week

Banned Books Week began Saturday and is being observed through this coming Saturday. As a lifetime reader and more recently as a library volunteer, I welcome this occasion every year to think about the effects of censorship.

New Middletown library breaks ground

The Middletown library groundbreaking on Wednesday was very welcome news to this library volunteer. Each week that I shelve books presents me with an interesting challenge to fit the library’s inventory into its finite space.

‘The Son of Neptune’

The Son of Neptune is the second book in Rick Riordan’s series Heroes of Olympus. If you read the original series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or saw the film “The Lightning Thief,” you were introduced to the Greek gods and their demigod offspring.

This new series introduces readers to the gods in their Roman aspects. The members of Camp Halfblood learn that there is another group of demigods, children of the Roman gods, who have historically been the enemies/rivals of the children of Greek gods. For that reason each camp has been kept ignorant of the existence of the other.

Originally posted on Facebook

EqUUal Access: Accessibility guidelines

EqUUal Access has prepared Accessibility Guidelines for Unitarian Universalist Congregations, which were approved Sept. 7 by the EqUUal Access Board. EqUUal Access promotes equality and access for Unitarian Universalists with disabilities.

I served on the policy committee that generated this document. Full inclusion and participation is of personal significance to me and the EqUUal Access policy committee offered a chance to act on this conviction.

From Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, writing at the EqUUal Access blog: “Policy Committee member Cynthia Parkhill wrote the section on Advocacy, and also pointed out that the needs of people using a printed copy of the document were different from those using an on-line copy. This resulted in having two different versions, one for print and one for online use.”

The purpose of the guidelines, according to EqUUal Access, is to address the “inclusion of all people (whatever their ability may be) in activities and physical accessibility to facilities of the Unitarian Universalist Association and its member congregations.

“It is the goal of this document that our religious institutions, the UUA and every Unitarian Universalist congregation become not only fully accessible under the law, but take the next step to truly welcome people with disabilities, and integrate people with disabilities into every facet of UU religious life.”

‘Little Free Libraries Are Coming to Town’

Source: Little Free Library

As reported by Michael Kelley in Library Journal and summarized on Utne.com, Rick Brooks and Todd Bol are on a mission to top Andrew Carnegie’s 2,509 libraries.

“The diminutive, birdhouse-like libraries, which Brooks and Bol began installing in Hudson and Madison, Wisconsin, in 2009, are typically made of wood and Plexiglas and are designed to hold about 20 books for community members to borrow and enjoy. Offerings include anything from Russian novels and gardening guides to French cookbooks and Dr. Seuss.” 

Interlibrary loan expands resources

As a patron of Lake County Library, I have the combined catalogs of Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties available to me. Lake County is additionally part of the North Bay Cooperative Library System, which allows me access to the holdings of Napa, Solano and Marin county libraries. Public and community college libraries alike are represented by the cooperative.

‘Libraries and Autism: We’re Connected’

Libraries and Autism: We’re Connected

Scotch Plains Public Library and the Fanwood Memorial Library, with their partners, created “Libraries and Autism: We’re Connected” in 2008. It offers a video and online resources with recommendations for best practices. I particularly like the statement about “using individuals on the spectrum and with other developmental disabilities as staff and volunteers in the library.”

What if Hollywood remade ‘Desk Set’?

An information overload.
Movieclassics.wordpress.com

One of the texts in my online studies for Library and Information Technology reprints a photo still from “Desk Set,” a 1957 movie starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. In it, Hepburn is the director of a corporate research library.

Tracy’s character has been brought in to install a super computer that can supposedly look up any fact quicker than Hepburn’s staff of reference librarians. The movie ends with victory for the librarians when the computer blows a fuse.

I was reminded of that film this week during my reading on reference services for one of my Cuesta College courses. “Libraries in the Information Age” by Denise K. Fourie and David R. Dowell state that reference librarians and technicians must increasingly help patrons evaluate information for credibility.

Nothing like life with an adolescent cat

Starfire

Our home is blessed to be occupied by a new cat! Starfire, a young cat, needed a home and filled a void caused by the death of our cat Elizabeth.

Cat-tested, cat-approved halter top

T-Bird, #47, Generation T

It was only fitting to photograph Starfire for Project #47, “T-Bird,” from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt by Megan Nicolay (Workman Publishing, 2006). Starfire was extremely interested in the strip I cut to serve as the drawstring for the halter top. She darted out from under the bed to pounce on it.

Originally posted to Facebook

Generation T: Fabulous find at the library

‘It’s a Cinch,’ Project #8, Generation T

I checked out a really neat book from the Middletown Library: Generation T, 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt by Megan Nicolay (Workman Publishing, 2006). It demonstrates how to reconstruct T-shirts into various other things.

For Project #8, “It’s a Cinch,” I cut open the front of my “V-Day” T-shirt just off center, stitched it back together with an approximately one-inch casing on each side. I threaded a drawstring up one side and down the other.

Welcome home, Starfire

A lovely little cat needed a home who’d been staying on Harbin property, fending for herself after her owner suffered a severe stroke. Jonathan brought home the cat, whom we call Starfire, on Friday, July 15.

Goodbye to a beloved cat

Elizabeth

My husband and I said good-bye this week to our cat of many years, Miss Elizabeth. She died peacefully on Tuesday.

‘Hattitude’: Hand-made hat out of Guatemalan cotton

The best hats are the ones I make myself. Here is a hat of Guatemalan cotton in shades of navy, white and dark burgundy, paired with a lining of burgundy flannel.

Who gets to be a geek?

A bitter debate is raging online whether Miss USA Alyssa Campanella is a genuine “geek” or whether she is too pretty, too popular or too whatever to qualify as a genuine fan.

QR codes bring hyperlinks to newsprint

Credit: Imgur

In a column earlier this year, I reflected upon the meaninglessness of instructions to “click here” in press releases that are submitted to print media. The creators of this type of publicity seem more familiar with interactive online platforms and I argued in my column that an effective PR officer will create publicity suitable to the characteristics of the medium that he or she is writing for.

Public libraries expand horizons

The Lake County Library is hosting summer reading programs for teens and younger readers between June and August.

Student elections need online outreach

As a former Santa Rosa Junior College student and Oak Leaf staff writer, now attending courses online through another community college, I could relate to the sentiment in the May 16 editorial, “Student elections train us for future apathy.”

Fresh-baked bread on rainy day

Fresh-baked bread: whole wheat with sunflower seeds ... a great way to spend a rainy day.

Originally posted to Facebook

Guest blogging for Autism Women’s Network

Cynthia Parkhill guest-blogs for the Autism Women’s Network

My guest-blogging post for the Autism Women’s Network is about the benefit of my involvement in a medieval reenactment group, the Society for Creative Anachronism: that medieval reenactment brought me friends and professional skills.

Lending Library’s collection policy approved

The UUCLC Lending Library has a collection development policy, created by administrator Cynthia Parkhill for her studies toward an Associate’s degree in Library and Information Technology from Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. The policy was approved May 1, 2011 by the UUCLC Governing Board.

Author’s update, Aug. 6, 2014: A link to the document in my Slideshare account corrects a severed link on the UUCLC website.

Armstrong’s ‘Twelve Steps’ is timely read

What moment can be more exciting to an aspiring librarian than the arrival of an order of books, particularly when a title in the selection has direct bearing on contemporary happenings.

Upon learning about the Charter for Compassion, I was determined to secure Karen Armstrong’s book, “Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life,” for my small church lending library. Its emphasis upon the Golden Rule made it a valuable resource for nearly every religious faith and local interest in a Lake County charter gave it special timeliness and relevance.

Armstrong, a religious scholar, is author of many books including “A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam” and “The Case for God.”

Hand-made pouch for bus pass

Made a new ID holder out of brocade fabric to hold my Lake Transit rider's pass.

There are pockets on each side with a picture-frame opening through which the bus pass is visible. The fabric partition in the center has a grommet so I can hang it from a laniard.

I modeled my design after a plastic holder that was beginning to split at the seams.

Took two attempts to get the ID holder the right size but it turned out beautifully.

‘Say Something’ by Peggy Moss

The UUCLC Lending Library’s featured book of the month for May 2011 is Say Something by Peggy Moss.

A child who never says anything when other children are being teased or bullied finds herself in their position one day when jokes are made at her expense and no one speaks up. Say Something by Peggy Moss teaches children that being a silent bystander isn’t enough.

Lea Lyon’s bright, fluid watercolors illustrate the story, which also includes resources for getting involved in the community.

Peggy Moss worked as an assistant attorney general in the civil rights unit of the Maine Department of Attorney General and as associate director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence. Moss now works with schools, both as a consultant to the center and independently, to prevent bullying and teasing.

Student member of American Library Association

I am officially a student member of the American Library Association.

Medieval reenactment brings friends and professional skills

My name is Cynthia Parkhill and I learned at age 39 that I am on the autism spectrum.

Gas prices make the bus a bargain

Among the messages on an e-mail group I subscribe to, were the instructions not to buy gas on April 15. The timing was ironic because I had added gas to the tank only one day before.

No time for reading at the library

I had to laugh when I read the opening sentence in a recent “Library File” column in the Ukiah Daily Journal: “Oh, you are so lucky to be a librarian; you get to read.” I need count no further than one digit on one hand to enumerate the times I have gone to a library and the person on duty was reading a book.

Gaining mastery over disorder on library shelves

I got a lot done at the Middletown library today, beginning with several stacks of books to be reshelved. Not every book could go on a shelf, however; there are more books than available shelf space.

‘Catalyst’ by McCaffrey and Scarborough

Catalyst by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (Ballantine Books, 2010) is an exciting first book in what appears to be an interesting series.

Spacefaring ships’ cats are highly prized, their bloodlines carefully regulated. The story begins as a pregnant queen is kidnapped while her ship is in port. One of her kittens and a human child form a unique psychic bond.

Originally posted to the Facebook page of the Lake County Library

A&E sections earn finalist mention

For the second year in a row, the Arts & Entertainment section that appears each Thursday in the Lake County Record-Bee has earned a "finalist" mention from the California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA) in its Better Newspapers Contest.

The A&E section is produced each week by Cynthia Parkhill, a former editor of ArtNotes.

Volunteering at Middletown library

I am now volunteering each Saturday at the Middletown library. Since July 2010, my husband and I have lived in an apartment in Middletown and it seemed an unnecessary expense to drive into Lakeport when I could walk two blocks.

Newspapers do not have hyperlinks

Credit: Imgur

Having utilized both print and online media to generate publicity for groups that I am involved with, I believe it essential for a public relations officer to understand the characteristics of each medium and to create publicity that is compatible with each of these medium’s constraints.

Evaluation of a ‘jobber’: Baker & Taylor

Image credit: Kinross Cattery

Baker & Taylor began binding and publishing books in 1828, according to a history on its website. It later began distributing books. “While [Leo] Tolstoy crafted the classic ‘War and Peace’ and [Jules] Verne became one of the fathers of science fiction, Baker & Taylor made sure their books made it onto library and store shelves and into readers’ hands” (Baker & Taylor).

No stone touches Bibliotheca Alexandrina

One of the most inspiring stories to emerge from the demonstrations in Egypt, at least for this aspiring librarian, was news that demonstrators formed a protective barrier around the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The Library of Alexandria reopened in late February after having been closed for the last few weeks.

‘The Lost Hero’ by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero (Disney/Hyperion Books, 2010), first book in The Heroes of Olympus, returns readers to the world of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series about demigods, offspring of mortals and Olympian gods.

The first book in this new series takes the story in an interesting new direction: the Greek gods were also known to mortals in the guise of their Roman counterparts — and produced demigod offspring of their own.

Originally posted to Facebook

Web opinions are frequently unreliable

A set of questions from my textbook reading this week for an online course in Library and Information Technology ought to be transcribed and framed above the desktop or slipped into the e-Reader case of anyone who relies on the Internet as a source of information. The questions serve as an important reminder of what each of us should ask about the information we consume.

Poetry is constantly evolving

One of the lasting benefits to my having volunteered producing a newsletter for the Lake County Arts Council is the periodic bulletin I get from the California Arts Council. Of particular interest to me is arts coverage in the media.

‘Farm City’ by Novella Carpenter

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter (Penguin Press, 2009) is this year’s “common read” for Cuesta College, the school where I’m taking my (distance-ed) courses in Library and Information Science.

It’s an interesting dichotomy, to live in such a strongly agricultural area and read about everything the author went through to create a farm out of a vacant lot in Oakland.

Posted to the Facebook page of the Lake County Library

Library purchasing recommendation: Dark’s Tale by Deborah Grabien

The purpose of this paper is to recommend the inclusion of Dark’s Tale by Deborah Grabien in the inventory of the Morro Bay Library and, through it, the San Luis Obispo and Black Gold Cooperative library systems. A keyword search confirmed that this book is not already among its holdings.

Dark’s Tale is Grabien’s 13th published novel ― but her first book for a non-adult readership (Hackett). School Library Journal places the book’s readership at grades four to seven (Jonker).

Other books by Grabien include While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Rock & Roll Never Forgets and London Calling (Kinkaid Chronicles) and a series of mysteries featuring the ghosts of characters from folk ballads: Cruel Sister, The Famous Flower of Serving Men, Matty Groves, New-Slain Knight and The Weaver and the Factory Maid (Grabien, Home page) among others.

Second semester at Cuesta College

I'm really looking forward to the beginning of class. I'm taking three courses this spring, two of which are one-unit courses that last for half a semester. So I will have two courses in progress at any one time this spring, beginning on Jan. 18.

First up are LIBT 102, Introduction to Web Technology, and LIBT 105, Library/Information Center Collections. I have my textbooks for both of these classes. I still need to buy a textbook for LIBT 212, Research Skills, which begins March 21.

Facebook commenting on Record-Bee web site

The Lake County Record-Bee recently introduced a new article commenting system on its web site, www.record-bee.com. Commenting is enabled via Facebook, the social networking site, and requires a Facebook account. The Record-Bee published the following information to explain Facebook commenting.

Cats (and people) are not defective dogs

In what has earned my pick for the worst beginning to a book, Dave Bruno risks alienating a sizable portion of his readership in "The 100 Thing Challenge" (Harper, 2010).

The book arrived in our newsroom just in time for the New Year's holiday with its accompanying focus on new year's resolutions. In his book, Bruno documents his effort to reduce the number of his personal possessions to an even 100.

With his preface, Bruno sets the scene for his "contented middle-class lifestyle." All well and good so far -- until he brings up the subject of the cat that "we have living with us."

Unlike his dog, whose faithfulness Bruno praises, he says cats have their own agenda. To which I respond,  "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Bruno claims that no one ever equates cats with being a part of the "good life." He repeatedly stresses that pet cats  are replaceable.

There is no other word than  "whomperjawed," coined by my heroine Molly Ivins, to describe my reaction to these statements. Setting aside the possibility that Bruno will alienate lovers of cats, what do these statements even have to do with the subject of his book?