We Geek Words: Dictionary Day

Today Carnegie-Stout wishes Noah Webster a happy 255th birthday, though we assume that Noah Webster is not an undead monster out there somewhere googling his name. But in case he is, happy birthday!

In Webster's honor, October 16th is known as Dictionary Day. A day to celebrate all things lexicographical, etymological, a dash of the linguistic for good measure. This is the day for every word nerd who's ever spent an hour trying to think of the perfect piece of vocabulary to describe something. Raise your hands if you spent hours memorizing word roots in hopes of making regionals, if not the National Spelling Bee. If you can back your opinion on the use of the word "literally" with research, today is your day.

If you're looking for a way to celebrate, you can check out our Dictionary Day blog post from 2011 for some reading suggestions, or come on down and browse the 400s. We also have DVDs of Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound available for check out.

There are also a number of great online options for your dictionary based entertainment! Did I miss one of your favorites? Share a link in the comments.

Oxford Dictionaries has a blog with info on word origins, changing slang, and more. It was Oxford Dictionaries Online who shocked a nation by announcing the inclusion of "twerk" shortly after Miley Cyrus's VMA performance.

In response to the scandal of twerking in the (online) dictionary, Mental Floss compiled a list of 16 words from the print edition of the Oxford Dictionary that were once as scandalous as twerk, but are now utterly obscure.

Kory Stamper is a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, and her blog about life as a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster (Harmless Drudgery) is a source of constant delight. Start here with a post about the headaches of responding to dictionary fan mail and feedback. Stamper also helps to create Merriam-Webster's "Ask the Editor" web video series, an example of which is hopefully embedded below.

A Spiritually Cleansing Trip to the Hot Springs

NaNo writers, not to put any pressure on you or anything, but you only have four days left!!! To help push you over the edge, here are some blurbs from reviews of novels which are actually being published in the next few weeks. Enjoy! And then grab your pencil nubs and get back to work!!!

Occasional moments of fine writing cannot salvage this unpromising debut. 

Unfortunately, the combination of a melodramatic storyline and a focus on minutiae make for a forgettable read. 

A novel that badly wants to be cool but is rarely more than sophomoric. 

The climax is no more believable than its antecedents. 

It was an interesting and enjoyable story, however the numerous grammatical errors (almost on every page) detract from it. 

The odds that this book will be eliminated in the first round are high.  

... readers should be prepared for some wooden dialogue. 

... feels too overburdened with coincidences to be credible. 

Blatant metaphors of winter, spring, and a spiritually cleansing trip to the hot springs don't buoy the disagreeable proceedings. 

Readers who find the sophomoric jokes funny will enjoy the hijinks. 

Those looking for a thriller with action beyond the occasional gun battle should search elsewhere. 

... yet another religious thriller with a gimmick that fails to match that of The Da Vinci Code. 

... the excessively complicated plot makes for slow-going. 

A disappointing example of how thorough research can hobble a novel. 

Even as a spoof, which is how it reads, this lurid work is less than entertaining. 

The excitement is somewhat undermined by instances of clunky dialogue and the too-familiar setting and cast …  

... the narrative, carried by so many disparate points of view, never quite comes into focus. 

New York's hipster youth scene is ripe for satire, but unfortunately this novel fails to find the mark. 

If this all sounds more than a little familiar, it is.

NaNoWriMo and Carnegie-Stout

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an annual challenge for would be authors to sit down and write. Every November, participants work to try and complete a novel of at least 50,000 words.

If you've always wanted to try your luck at penning the next great American novel, you can create an account and track your progress on the official website: www.nanowrimo.org
Or visit the site for younger novelists:  ywp.nanowrimo.org

This November, Carnegie-Stout has reserved a table on the quiet second floor near the newspapers for NaNoWriMo participants. We've also pulled together a collection of books with help for writers located on a small purple cart next to the official table.

And in case you need a little inspiration, several NaNoWriMo participants have gone on to have their novels published! Including Sara Gruen and Erin Morgenstern (click here for a staff review of The Night Circus). Of course, you shouldn't stress about having a publication ready novel on your first draft! That's why March is NaNoEdMo (Nation Novel Editing Month).

Woman's Day Essay Contest About Your Library

As the economy continues its slump, libraries nationwide continue to play an important role in communities everywhere, as people turn to them for free entertainment, to connect to the Internet and look for jobs. This spring, the Carnegie-Stout Public Library, the American Library Association (ALA) and Woman's Day magazine want to hear your thoughts on why the library is important to your community.

From now through May 9, 2010, women 18 and over are invited to tell their story in 700 words or less and email it to womansday@ala.org. Up to four stories will be highlighted in the March 2011 issue of Woman's Day. For more information and to read the official rules, visit www.womansday.com/ala.

The initiative was developed by Carnegie-Stout Public Library, Woman's Day and the Campaign for America's Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary), ALA's public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign's @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA's Library Champions, corporations and foundations that advocate the importance of the library in American society.

Tell Your Story In Six Words

Tell Your Story in Six Words
6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, 2009
In the Library's 3rd floor auditorium.

I fell in love with the concept of the six-word memoir when I discovered Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. Dr. Alice Oleson consented to facilitate a writing workshop as part of our Adult Summer Reading program. Oleson is a cultural anthropologist, poet, and Sociology Department Head, University of Dubuque.

As part of her work as a cultural anthropologist, Alice Oleson has collected life histories in the Micronesian Pacific as well as in Dubuque, Iowa. In any kind of life history project, participants consciously or unconsciously choose to communicate a few key stories from their lives that are somehow representative of the whole. On June 30, Oleson will use her experiences as an anthropological interviewer and a poet to help guide participants through a workshop on the six-word memoir—a writing phenomenon that was sparked by Smith Magazine in 2006. The six-word memoir project asks writers to crystallize their lived experience into a mere six words that capture a life’s defining events, mood, outlook, and wisdom, among other things—and then to artfully communicate these things to a reader with a six-word palate.

I’m anxious to hear her six-word memoir. I’m also anxious to hear yours. Please come join us at 6:30 p.m. in the newly renovated (and air conditioned) 3rd floor auditorium.

~ Betty, Adult Services

Give us a call at the Information Desk

While at the Information Desk recently, I took a phone call from a person asking for the correct spelling of a word. The caller apologized, saying that she had checked three dictionaries before she wanted to "bother" us.

I assured the caller that we often look up the correct spelling of words, but she said she thought we only looked up things like the names of Santa’s reindeer or the names of the Seven Dwarfs.

Next time you are in doubt about the spelling of a word, need a phone number, or want to know how your stock did that day, please don't hesitate to call us at the Library Information Desk 589-4225, option 4.

~ Betty, Adult Services

w00t . . . for no reason at all!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2007

1. w00t (interjection)

expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word "yay"

w00t! I won the contest!