Danbury Library Blog

Even if you've already decided which presidential candidate you're voting for, there have probably been times since the end of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions when you've read an email, heard a spin meister, or seen a political ad that made you wonder: Is that really the truth? For example, is Barack Obama really a Muslim? Did John McCain formerly oppose off-shore oil drilling? As much as we'd like to think that we're all well-informed and intelligent voters, there are some statements that we can't be sure of. One non-partisan and respected place to check when you're in doubt is FactCheck.org, which tries to get to the truth of statements, ads, charges and counter-charges that are swirling about during these last five weeks before the election. So when in doubt, try this website to learn the truth -- and maybe help you decide which candidate you can support.

Posted by Mark at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now that the hi-def DVD format war is over (and unlike the VHS vs. Beta war that began in 1976, the better format won this time in the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD contest), the library is proud to announce its new collection of Blu-ray high-definition discs in the Audio-Video area on the lower level. Blu-ray discs offer image resolution up to six times higher than standard DVDs, resulting in the sharpest, most detailed image available. However, they will only play in a Blu-ray player and Playstation 3 and not in a standard DVD player. Starting with 56 titles, the library's Blu-ray collection includes dramas, comedies, musicals, science fiction, nature documentaries (wait until you see Planet Earth on Blu-ray!) and family titles. Until the Blu-ray collection is larger, you can check out one disc per library card for three days but cannot place a hold on a particular title. Funding for this great new collection comes from the FRIENDS of the Library.

Posted by Mark at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Saturday May 27th is the annual Hazardous Waste Collection Day for residents of Danbury and surrounding towns. Click on the link for more details.

Ready for Fall cleanup? Check out Green-up Your Cleanup or Easy Green Living and learn how to clean and live toxin free.

Posted by Mary at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that Assistant Library Director Diane Greenwald will be leaving her position here to become the director of the Warwick, RI, Public Library at the beginning of October. Diane joined the staff in August 1990 and became one of two assistant directors in January 1994. When the second assistant director took early retirement and that position was eliminated in June 2006, Diane not only absorbed some of those job responsibilities, but also had the added task of serving as the acting library director after my predecessor, Betsy McDonough, also took early retirement. Diane worked most closely with the library's public service departments, and we could always count on her to provide insight, careful analysis and probing questions whether she was dealing with simple concerns or helping to plan the library's future. She certainly helped me to adapt to my new position two years ago, and I counted on her to serve as my adviser and library historian. Diane's skills and experience will serve her well in Rhode Island, and Danbury's loss will most definitely be Warwick's gain. We wish her nothing but the best in her new position.

Posted by Mark at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday, September 12, 2008, the literary world lost a great and influential writer. David Foster Wallace committed suicide, succumbing to a battle with depression he had been fighting for 20 years. Wallace was 46.

From the New York Times:
A versatile writer of seemingly bottomless energy, Mr. Wallace was a maximalist, exhibiting in his work a huge, even manic curiosity — about the physical world, about the much larger universe of human feelings and about the complexity of living in America at the end of the 20th century. He wrote long books, complete with reflective and often hilariously self-conscious footnotes, and he wrote long sentences, with the playfulness of a master punctuater and the inventiveness of a genius grammarian. Critics often noted that he was not only an experimenter and a showoff, but also a God-fearing moralist with a fierce honesty in confronting the existence of contradiction.

Posted by Merry at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congratulations to the News-Times on 125 years of service to the community! The News-Times and earlier papers: the Danbury Recorder, the Danbury News are available on microfilm here at the library dating back to 1837. This is a valuable resource used by many to research significant events, family history.

We also have the City Directories covering the years 1885-1992. These allow you to look up by name or address. You will find the occupation of the head of household or who resided at a certain address--great way to research the history of a home. Many other resources are availiable in our Local History collection.

Posted by Mary at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Joel Barlow, American poet & politician, was born in Redding, Connecticut on March 24, 1754. He graduated from Yale University in 1778. During the American Revolution he took part in the Battle of Long Island and served as the chaplain of the 4th Massachusetts brigade. He is thought to have visited the Redding army camps during the winter of 1778-79 encampment. Hence there is a Barlow Circle at Putnam Park. After the war, he became part of the group called the "Hartford Wits" and made his literary reputation with the publication of an epic poem entitled The Vision of Columbus. The poem for which he is most remembered today is The Hasty Pudding which he wrote in 1796 while in Europe. It was a homesick memory of a favorite New England dish. He was appointed United States Minister to France in !811. President Madison wanted him to secure a favorable commercial treaty from Napoleon. He tried to meet with Napoleon but failed & died in Poland at the village of Zarnowiec in 1812.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Even though the holiday season is still several months away, chances are you've started receiving more mail order catalogs than you want. Catalog Choice is a free service that allows you to decide which catalogs will actually show up in your mailbox. Established by the Ecology Center, this project reduces the number of repeat and unsolicitied calalog mailings and saves trees and energy as a result. You simply find the catalogs that you don't want in their list and "decline" them. In about 10 weeks, you'll no longer be on that publication's mailing list. To date, nearly 983,000 people have stopped receiving almost 13 million catalogs. That's a lot of trees!

Posted by Mark at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)