New & Noteworthy @ WHPLibrary

The sights and sounds of our "National Jukebox" are great fun, but how many websites also give you a behind the scenes look at the technology and talent that make it all possible? How did they take a huge pile of dusty old 78 rpm acoustical discs and transform them into a digitized collection of recordings, easily available to anyone with an internet connection?

When you go to www.loc.gov/jukebox, scroll down until you find the "How'd They Do That?" heading, under which you will see three clickable links. The first takes you to a fascinating, extensively captioned slide show. After starting the show, you can enlarge the photos by clicking on any one of them. This will make it necessary to scroll down for the captions, but will enable a closer, clearer image of the equipment. For a deeper understanding of "acoustical recordings" and "takes," return to the list for links to pages giving expanded explanations of these key terms.

What next? We'll be heading in a whole new direction. See you soon!

This is the 4th installment of a series of articles about the early sound recordings preserved and presented on the Library of Congress website. These reports were written by M.Cole, Reference Librarian

Bestselling author Philippa Gregory will read from and discuss two of her books on Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at The Landmark on Main Street.

Ms. Gregory, well known for her novel The Other Boleyn Girl, will read from and discuss her new book The Lady of the Rivers which will be published in October 2011. It tells the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, who lived during the reign of the Plantagenets.

She will also discuss the non-fiction book The Women of the Cousins' War which she co-authored with historians David Baldwin and Michael Jones.

New novels are now available from bestselling authors John Sandford and Chris Bohjalian.

Shock Wave, by John Sandford, is the 5th book in the Virgil Flowers series.
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two angry groups want to stop it: local merchants and environmentalists. The protests don't seem working so someone decides to take matters into his own hands. The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage - and they do. Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out before more people get killed.

In Night Strangers, by Chris Bohjalian, Chip and Emily Lipton are attempting to rebuild their lives with their ten-year-old twin daughters after a tragic accident brought Chip's career as a pilot to an end. Chip had to make an emergency landing of a small jet when birds engulfed by the engines caused them to fail. Thirty-nine people lost their lives in this crash, a young girl being one of them. The Liptons decide to move to New Hampshire to a small town called Bethel. Their new home is a beautiful Victorian building with its own greenhouse.The townspeople are welcoming, particularly when they learn the children moving into the home are twins. Apparently this home has a past of it's own, involving a 12-year-old boy, a twin, committing suicide. In addition, they discover something very mysterious in the basement: a old chimney chute sealed shut with 39 6-inch long carriage bolts.

You can reserve these or other books by stopping by or calling the reference desk or by using your online library account.

New books are now available by bestselling authors Nicholas Sparks and M.C. Beaton.

The Best of Me, by Nicholas Sparks, is the story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they've taken divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined and neither can forget the passionate first love that altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of a mentor, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made and ask whether love can rewrite the past.

As the Pigs Turns, by M.C. Beaton, is the 22nd book in the Agatha Raisin mystery series. The picturesque Cotwsold village of Winter Parva has decided to warm the winter months by roasting a pig in the town square. Agatha has arrived with her former protegée and business rival, Toni, to enjoy the merriment. But as the spit is placed over a bed of charcoals and the pig is carried toward its final resting place, Agatha realizes the "pig" is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the people of the village. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police, everything changes when Gary's ex-wife hires Toni to investigate. With that provocation, what can Agatha do but solve the case herself?

You can reserve these or other titles by stopping by or calling the reference desk or by using your online library account.

A little nostalgia!
Here's what our library looked like just before we moved from the Chestnut Street School to our new building at 500 Hempstead Avenue in October 2007:

Now take a look at our library after 4 years!
If you haven't already done so, we welcome you to visit us (in person, or online). Join in our programs, check out (or download) our materials, and use the many services we offer to our West Hempstead residents and the local community!

New bestselling books by James Patterson, Iris Johansen and Phillipa Gregory are now available.

In The Christmas Wedding, by James Patterson, the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.

Bonnie, by Iris Johansen, is the conclusion of a triliogy that includes Eve and Quinn. On a class trip to a local park, Eve Duncan's seven-year-old daughter Bonnie vanished. A woman who would stop at nothing to find her own daughter's killer and bring her body home. With the help of Joe Quinn and CIA Agent Catherine Ling, Eve gets closer and closer to answering the questions that have tormented her. But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Bonnie's father, John Gallo, is a key player in solving this puzzle. And that Bonnie's disappearance was not as random as everyone had always believed.

The Lady of the Rivers, by Phillipa Gregory, is the third book in the Cousins' War series. It is the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford who lived during the War of the Roses. Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, her only friend in the great household is the Duke's squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke's death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen. Jacquetta fights for her King, her Queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth Woodville, a young woman married to a neighbor for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future including the throne of England and the white rose of York.

You can reserve these or other books by stopping by or calling the reference desk or by using your online library account.