Upcoming OPAL Book Discussions, Poetry Readings, and Other Literary Events

Note: To enter the online room and participate in an event, simply click on the location hotlink and follow the instructions.


• Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Pacific, and 7:00 p.m. GMT:
  
  "Feeling a little poetic this evening": Abraham Lincoln and Poetry
  
  Abraham Lincoln loved poetry: he read, memorized, recited, and wrote poems throughout his life. During an era when poetic tributes to heroes and leaders were common, Lincoln, while president, received and saved many of them; and after his death, he was memorialized in poems by average citizens and leading poets alike. Join the Library of Congress as it explores the many facets of Lincoln as a reader, writer, recipient, and subject of poetry.
  
  To learn more about programs sponsored by the Digital Reference Section of the Library of Congress, see Virtual Programs and Services.
  
  To learn more about Abraham Lincoln and poetry, see the Web Guide created by Peter Armenti, Digital Reference Specialist.
  
  Host: Library of Congress
  
  Location: OPAL Auditorium
• Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Pacific, and 7:00 p.m. GMT:
  
  A Conversation with Mari Mancusi, Author of the Novel Gamer Girl
  
  Mari Mancusi is the author of several fresh, edgy novels for teens and young adults. Her most recent novel, Gamer Girl, published by Dutton in Nov. 2008, was recently selected for the ALA/YALSA list of 2009 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. It tells the tale of Mandy, an artistic, Manga-loving teenager who, after her parents divorce, finds herself at a new high school and living with her grandmother in the small town of Farmingdale, New Hampshire. Suddenly friendless and nicknamed Freak Girl by her peers, Mandy reinvents herself as Allora, a gorgeous elfin avatar in the 3D online game, Fields of Fantasy. Friendships, crushes, and romances develop in both worlds!
  
  Host: TAP Information Services
  
  Location: OPAL Auditorium
• Friday, March 6, 2009 at noon Eastern Time, 11:00 a.m. Central, 10:00 Mountain, 9:00 Pacific, and 5:00 p.m. GMT:
  
  Cruise to Success: Marketing for Libraries
  
  Loreen Phillips, the Head of Information Literacy Services at McDermott Library at the University of Texas-Dallas, has written a recently published book about marketing for libraries, Cruise to Success: How to Steer Your Way Through the Murky Waters of Marketing Your Library, published in Dec. 2008 by Chandos Publishing. Phillips provides clear, step-by-step instructions and guidelines for developing a successful library marketing program. We will speak with her about how libraries of all types, but especially academic libraries, can improve their marketing strategies, activities, and results.
  
  Host: TAP Information Services
  
  Location: OPAL Auditorium
• Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 8:00 Central, 7:00 Mountain, 6:00 Pacific, and 1:00 a.m. Thursday GMT:
  
  Book Discussion of "A Secular Age" by Charles Taylor
  
  Charles Taylor, a Professor Emeritus from McGill University, has written a book that asks and attempts to answer the basic question, "What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age?" Taylor thoughtfully examines the historical developments and meanings of the emergence within Western Christendom of the things that we label secular. A Secular Age has received many awards and citations, including recognition as a notable book of 2008 by the New York Times and the Times Literary Supplement.
  
  Host: TAP Information Services
  
  Location: OPAL Auditorium

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