Readers Recommend

I've just updated the "Readers Recommend" page of our Web Catalogue to include a few titles that were nominated in some informal feedback sessions a couple of months ago, plus a couple of recent entries in this blog.

There are a few lists on this page:

• The "Readers Recommend" list is pretty much what it says on the tin.
• "Readers' Group Choice" are titles nominated by reading groups in our libraries. We're about due another canvass to update these. The Home Library Readers' Circle is a group of customers of our Doorstep Library Service which delivers books to housebound people; Sharon encourages them to share opinions and suggestions (you'll see a few of them in this blog).
• "A change of format" is just a selection of alternative format versions of "Readers Recommend" titles. Some are in large print, some are in audio versions of one sort or another. the original aim of this was to make sure that we had something listed for people who can't use — or don't want — the "normal book" version of a title. I'm havering a bit on this and wonder if it might not be better to just incorporate them in the main list, same as I have with the Richard & Judy Summer Reads. I'm open to feedback on this.
• "Readers' Polls" is made up of the results of various national polls I've bumped into at one time or another. I thought it might be interesting to see how similar or different these may be to local results.

I hope this is useful. If you have any ideas/comments I'd be pleased to hear them!

— Steven

Authors of the Month

We've just updated the "Authors of the Month" feature on our Web Catalogue. This is a list of the authors featured in some of our libraries, click on any entry in the list and you'll see which of their books with got in our libraries. If you then click on any particular title you'll see which libraries have copies and whether or not any are available.

If you're a member of our libraries and have your barcode and PIN to hand you can reserve a copy to be picked up at your nearest convenient library. This is a free service to our customers. If you don't have a PIN, next time you call into the library please ask for one to be set up for you.

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Not all of our libraries run "Author of the Month" features. Some prefer to run features celebrating particular genres or subject areas. Others prefer to run features that cut across genres and collections, including both fiction and non-fiction. These last can be particularly difficult to turn into searches that can be build into the Catalogue, the Love Stories list in "Themed Reads" being one of the few examples we've done so far. (As its name suggests, it's also the easiest!) Every so often we'll include one of these wider-ranging features in this blog.

Comic strips from the sixties

Great to see that you've got the reprints of the old comic strips from the sixties. The Steel Claw and the Spider are a real nostalgia rush.

Have you seen that they've collected together the recent "Albion" comic series that gives an update to those stories? There's also "Albion Origins" which includes reprints of Kelly's Eye and The House of Dollmann. And an eye-wateringly beautiful Brian Bolland cover. Check it out!

Micki

Thanks Micki. Yes that's definitely a very beautiful Brian Bolland cover! I'll pass on your suggestion. For those of you wondering what we're talking about I've added the links to our Web Catalogue to your post.
Cheers,
Steven

The Truth About Teachers

"The Truth About Teachers" is an really very funny collection of rhymes and poems about teachers.

It dishes the dirt on their secret lives: that competetive streak on the football field; translations of common "teacher's phrases" used in the classroom; and the truth about tea and cakes in the staff room. Great stuff!

James

"The Truth About Teachers" is written by Paul Cookson, Davide Harmer, Brian Moses and Roger Stevens and generously illustrated by David Perkins. We've just bought seven copies for children's collections in libraries around the Borough.