“Author Jessica DuLong has written a book titled, “My River Chronicles, Rediscovering America on the Hudson.” Ms. DuLong will be at the Ossining Public Library on Wednesday, October 28th at 7 p.m. in the Budarz Theater. Books will be available for purchase and signing following the discussion.

“In rich and captivating prose, Jessica DuLong kindly invites the rest of us on the journey of her lifetime: from a dot-com job to the fabled waters of the Hudson River, where she became a fireboat engineer. This is an unusual and fascinating book.” – Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

“Because of Ms. DuLong’s knowledge and skills, in any given interview Jessica DuLong can discuss the following: What it was like being on the John J. Harvey following the September 11th attacks, pumping river water to firefighters at the World Trade Center site – the only water available to Ground Zero for days, How we as a society find meaning by working with our hands, How America was born on the Hudson River; creating a revolution that affected the entire world and the differences between white-collar and blue collar work. All of these topics make for a great discussion at the Ossining Public Library.

“Ms. DuLong became one of the world’s only female fireboat engineers and tells the story of a mechanic’s daughter and Stanford graduate who left her blue-collar upbringing behind for discovering the waters of the Hudson River.”

Here’s a press release we got from the National Council of Teachers of English:

“On October 8, the U.S. Senate unanimously agreed to S.RES.310, declaring the importance of writing to the nation and declaring October 20 the National Day on Writing.

On this day, The National Gallery of Writing will go live, unveiling over 5000 compositions in nearly 1500 local and partner galleries. Here’s the link: http://www.galleryofwriting.org/

As National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Past President Kathleen Blake Yancey notes, “People have always had the impulse to write.”  She adds that now, however, writing is “exploding” and taking on a new social dimension.

The first of its kind, the National Gallery will give the nation the opportunity to view writing from people of all ages and from all parts of the country.

NCTE established the National Gallery and the National Day to spotlight just how writing is changing.

Viewers will see an array of compositions that matter to their authors: personal writings, graphic representations, samples of work writings, videos, scrap writing, podcasts, and more. This snapshot, different from collections of school or work writing, will allow NCTE, and its 17 national partners, to begin reshaping a writing pedagogy to better develop writers of the future.”

“Nominations are still open for the 2009 Carnegie
Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

“The award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community.  Nominations will run through October 9 and are being accepted online at
www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.

“Up to 10 librarians will be selected.  Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a
plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and
reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December.  In
addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library.

“Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a programaccredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.  Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.

“Nominees will be judged by a selection committee based on quality of service
to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources and
commitment shown in helping library users.

“In 2008, Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded the American Library
Association (ALA) $489,000 to support the award, which will continue
annually through 2012.  The award continues in the tradition of one The New
York Times presented from 2001 to 2006.

“Last year, more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian, and 10 librarians received the award.  For more information on last year’s winners, visit ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.

“The award is administered by ALA’s Public Information Office and Campaign
for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the
value of libraries and librarians.

“Carnegie Corp. of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to
promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.”
For more than 95 years, the foundation has carried out its founder’s vision of
philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and
advancing education and knowledge.  Each year, the private grant-making
foundation invests more than $100 million in nonprofit organizations to fulfill
Mr. Carnegie’s mission, “to do real and permanent good in this world.”

“The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2008 revenues of $2.9 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com.  The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

“The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association
in the world, with more than 65,000 members.  Its mission is to promote the
highest quality library and information services and public access to
information.”

There have been more than 10,000 attempts to keep books out of public hands since the American Library Association began recording the practice electronically in 1990. Among the books that have been targeted for repression from young and not-so-young readers are “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, “Beloved” by Toni Morrison and “Forever” by Judy Blume.

According to a press release from the Catskill Ramapo Library System, there were 513 known attempts to remove books in 2008 — written complaints filed with a school or a library asking that specific books be removed from shelves because of content or appropriateness.

The top five most challenged books in 2008 were “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (requested banning because of anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint and unsuited to age group); “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Phillip Pullman (cited for political viewpoint, religious viewpoint and violence); “TTYL: TTFN; L8R G8R” series by Lauren Myracle (for offensive language, sexual explicitness and unsuited to age group); “Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz (for occult/satanism, religious viewpoint and violence); and “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya (for occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint).

“Dr. Harry Bloomfeld, a member of the New City Library’s Board of Trustees, was awarded Honorable Mention for the Anthony J. Knipp Library Award. This award is presented by the Ramapo Catskill Library System, the regional managing system, and honors those trustees who have done exemplary work beyond the normal trustee duties.

“Dr. Bloomfeld, a retired New City dentist, has remained an active volunteer in his community. He has held many positions in the New City Rotary Club, served on the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Rockland and currently is a library trustee. His continued dedication and service to the library warrants this special award.

“Dr Bloomfeld will receive his award at the Ramapo Catskill Library System’s 50th Anniversary celebration, October 25.”

“At the New City Library, several collections are being moved in an attempt to make materials more readily available to customers. The changes made reflect the library’s ongoing focus to make a customer’s visit quick and easy. To start, Large Print books have been moved from the second floor to the first floor by the Adult Reference collection. All collection changes should be completed by September 5. Assistance is available at the Adult Reference desk if a person has difficulty finding materials.”

But the sale did spark a discussion with my oldest daughter about what she called the family tendency toward compulsion. Mentioned were my habit of going up and down each aisle in the supermarket, even if I’m only there for a single item … her own habit of placing the bills in her wallet facing the same direction … and the family habit of literature.

I seem to have passed on my habit of reading books in a series in order, and of collecting an entire series if it’s something I like. If I pick up a third book in a series at a tag sale, I won’t start the book until I’ve purchased the first two. If I find an author or series I like — most recently it was Dorothy Dale (1909 et al) — then I’ll search for the rest of the series wheresoever it lies hidden.

My oldest, who is creating her own library now that she’s living in her own apartment, was picking up classics: Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dickens’ Christmas Carol, Alexander’s Black Cauldron and as many Xanth books as she could find. She said she debated picking up the fourth one as it was the sixth in the series and she had books 1-3, but decided to take the chance on spending 50 cents, since she’d have to pick it up anyway. But she actually debated buying it because it was out of sequence. Hence the discussion on compulsions.

So there I was in the Pequot, cruising through the “old and interesting” tables, and noticed an old Jackson Gregory western titled “I Must Ride Alone.”

I mean, really. How can you resist something like that? This one had a dust cover (thereby making it $3, instead of the $1 for the plain version sitting beside it), and the description said that Tim was doing just fine until the girl arrived, although she didn’t look much like a girl in her 10-gallon hat, her boots and, one assumes, her six-shooters. But Tim had made a vow that he would always ride alone ….

Next to that title was “Man to Man,” and then another, “The Cavaliere.” “The Caviliere” has this lovely picture in the frontispiece of a man dressed in slashed doublet and feathered hat wielding a sword and protecting a woman from a band of miscreants.

All my buttons were  pushed. I figured, well, I can pick up all three of the books for $3, why not? I grabbed an empty box from under the table and began collecting Jackson Gregory titles.

Gregory, according to violetbooks.com, “was born in Salinas, California on March 12, 1882. Gregory taught in California high schools, eventually becoming a principal, before his journalistic, then novelist, career took flight. He had two sons by Lotus McGlashan, whom he married in 1910. He began writing for the pulp magazine Adventure in 1915 & was later a regular in Western Story. His first western in book format was The Outlaw (1916); he produced one to three westerns a year up to the time of his death on June 12, 1943, with additional books appearing posthumously. His last was a paperback original, Hardcase Range (1958). He dabbled at fantasy, mysteries, & south seas adventure but the greater percentage of his works are action-westerns.”

Of course, I didn’t know all this at the time, especially the part about him writing three books a year for the better part of half a century. I did a (relatively) quick search through used book sites for Gregory titles and came up with 61.

However, there I was, looking at Westerns and checking authors. I ended up with 19 books by Jackson Gregory that were in the sale.

I’ll let y’all know how they read once I finish “The Shuttle,” the odd Frances Hodgson Burnett book I picked up two weeks ago at another sale. It appears to have been written between  “Little Princess” (1888) and “Secret Garden” (1911), but it’s not what you’d call a children’s book. More a romance and dissection of an abusive marriage. It was published in 1907.

Good thing I’m on vacation next week. I have all sorts of books to enjoy!

“The New City Library will introduce a newly designed web page. The address, www.newcitylibrary.org remains the same but the home page will have a completely different look.

It is clear and clean looking; easy to use; well organized with many links in file headings, and has all library information at your fingertips.

Now you can register for a card online or make a purchase request as a Clarkstown card holder or join an interest blog.

There is much more. Please take a look and at the bottom of the page under Comments and send us your responses. The New City Library staff remains committed to providing current technology with the latest information to its customers.

I learned a long time ago that driving to the Pequot Library to drift through what this year are 140,000 books makes my legs weak, my heart beat faster and my breath start to come quickly. It’s an odd reaction, but it’s there.

The Pequot Library at 720 Pequot Ave. in Southport, Conn., has been holding its giant book sale for nearly half a century. This year, the 49th annual, runs from July 24 through July 28. The library opens its concert/lecture hall and puts up a huge tent off the side of the building. After nearly 20 years attending them, I know just where to go to find what I like.

The first day of the sale, everything is double price, Saturday and Sunday is regular price day (paperbacks about 50 cents, hardbacks about $1, depending), Monday is half price and Tuesday is $5 a bag. I remember when all the books left by Tuesday were free, but that changed a couple of years ago.

Last year, I picked up whole stacks of recorder consort music for a song, got a steal on a bunch of mysteries and got out-of-this-world deals on some old science fiction. Really.

Like most of the other people in the area, I’ve not only bought, I’ve contributed. The sale is filled with donated books, so each year there’s the chance something old and interesting will show up from somebody’s attic or from an estate sale. A couple of years ago, there was an entire 10-book seet of Arthur Ransome novels from the 1930s (I think); I’ve certainly purchased most of my Jeff Farnol novels during the sales, although they’re getting harder to find; and I’ve picked up better (and better illustrated) copies of old classics, including a lovely (although battered) 1925 illustrated copy of the Three Musketeers.

If anything really interesting shows up, I’ll post something about it. Bibliophiles who haven’t been to the Pequot sale, though, ought to drop by. It’s worth the trip.