The Daily Yonder's take on rural libraries and more.....

What is the Daily Yonder, you may ask? (And you know that Miss Bun, small town librarian, encourages any and all questions.) Well, it looks like the Daily Yonder is a website that filling a void . . . read on.

If you are one of the 55 million people living in the rural U.S you may have noticed that mainstream TV and newspapers are retreating from small towns.  The Daily Yonder aims to be "your daily multi-media source of news, commentary, research, and features."

Check out their article on rural libraries The Backroad Librarian: Five Forwards to find out how rural libraries are faring these days and some points on keeping them people focused.

If folks in towns of fewer than 10,000 people "get" how important libraries are why is it taking the rest of us so long to acknowledge that one, small fact?

(Miss Bun would like to borrow the phrase "Libraries are people-centers, not warehouses for books!" and make it her battle cry. It just gives her chills!)

Read This To Put A Chill on Your Summer Heatwave!

 What ever happened to the ships Erebus, Terror and the 129 souls that set sail for the top of the world confident that they could conquer the frozen landscape and find a sea route through the Arctic Ocean?

The Terror by Dan Simmons is a 600 + page turner of an historical novel that recreates the doomed Sir John Franklin expedition of 1845 that was charged with searching for the Northwest Passage.

If you are sweltering in the summer heat this is the perfect book to cool off with as temperatures are typically well below zero. And, as a result of Simmons' meticulous research, you will find yourself a part of the crew facing starvation, disease, and something not quite human that roams the ice. (Chills!)

Intrigued?

Take a look at the book review by David Masiel in the Washington Post:
The Thing on the Ice

Check out the author's site:
Dan Simmons Official Web Site

 

Links about the Franklin Expedition:
NOVA'S Artic Passage

Franklin's Lost Expedition


Check out this video from the NOVA program:




The story continues! 

This just in from BBC News dated 7/21/10:
Canadian Archaeologists Hunt Long-Lost Arctic Explorers


Enjoy!