By Jo Ella Straley
The latest news on South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford prompted NPR's own human catalog of US politics--known to most people as Ken Rudin--to compile a list of recent sex scandals. Here in the archive, though, we have a real long memory and today I'm going to take us all the way back to Gary Hart, a man who could have been president but a few things got in the way.

In the following interview, Myra MacPherson discusses the role of the wife in politics with NPR's Susan Stamberg. "The political wife is always called on to shore up the unshoreable," she says referring back to Joan Kennedy who "lock-stepped" with her husband Edward through the 1980 presidential campaign, only to divorce soon afterward. What is it that makes politicians' affairs more noxious than regular celebs? MacPherson's suggestion: "It's the sense of '...oh, I owe it all to my wonderful wife, what's-her-name,' as they go off having affairs. It isn't so much having an affair that bothers people as much as the hypocritical stance that a politician seems to willingly take. And he can do that about something such as marriage, then can he do that about other issues?"

I should mention this interview about marriage and politics ran over 20 years ago (May 10, 1987 Weekend Edition Sunday). Reader question: what do you think, if anything, has changed?

By Maureen Clements

OMG! Alright everyone, are you ready for this? According to MIT's Technology Review, Wikipedia will soon be launching a module that will enable users to access, edit and attach open source videos to Wikipedia entries. Article author David Talbot writes, "Erik Moeller, deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation, says that he hopes the effort will help promote wider access to vast stores of historical material, political speeches, interviews, documentaries, and anything else that could figure into Wikipedia, the world's seventh most popular website."

For an open-source proponent like me, this is a dream come true. I can't wait to watch what happens - pun intended of course!

By Maureen Clements

generic romance genre imagery iStockphoto.com

Ever heard of the website Smart Bitches Trashy Books? If you haven't, you should. Web site propietors Sarah and Candy are hilarious, irreverent and unrepentant in their love for all things romance--including romance novels. Much to my suprise and delight, SB Sarah recently interviewed Jennifer Lohmann, a librarian and romance novel expert for the Durham County Library in North Carolina. Jennifer discusses coming clean about her romance novel luuurve and what it's like working with the romance novel as a public librarian. It's a great interview about an often misunderstood and much maligned literary genre.

By Jo Ella Straley
Yesterday I was searching for forecasted figures on Internet connectivity in the US, which naturally got me thinking about the past. Do you remember how impressed you were in the '90s when you logged in, waited 20 minutes for a site's graphics to download, and then first viewed the wonders of the Internet? Was it apparent to you back then how much would change -- how information would be more useful affixed to a map (or, I'm sorry, "mashed up" on), how international phone calls would become cheap and easy with VoIP, or how you'd stop writing checks because you can just pay everything online? If you said yes, then you're a FUTURIST. Way to go.

Continue reading "Your Internets In 2020: Future Shock!" >

By Maureen Clements

Library Journal has just named the Queens Public Library as their 2009 Library of the Year .

Despite a current (FY08) budget cut of $5 million and the threat of reductions of nearly $20 million more in the next budget, the Queens Library has maintained massive and excellent programs of service and incredibly high levels of use by a public that lines up at every one of its 62 sites, every day, and occupies every space until it closes. The service includes some 23,000 free educational, cultural, and entertainment programs each year and a circulation approaching 20 million items. The Queens Library serves a population of 2.27 million, 55 percent of whom speak a language at home other than English--it is just one of the 160 different languages spoken in that diverse borough. No one in Queens lives more than a mile from a library branch.

I'm in awe....

By Maureen Clements

Professional Category Winner:

Student Category Winner:

By Maureen Clements

Gwen jamming on the bass Maureen Clements

Today, we're beginning the first in our series of Patron Profiles, the feature where we highlight fun facts about our patrons and how they use the library. Please allow me to introduce Gwen Outen. She's the director of NPR's Talk of The Nation, affectionately known around the office as TOTN (TOTE-n). It takes an ultra-cool demeanor, mad planning skills and insane music knowledge to direct a live, two-hour radio show and lucky for us Gwen has those qualities in spades.

To keep the show flowing, Gwen uses music to fill breaks and end segments. She often flexes her considerable music knowledge muscle to select songs that will fit seamlessly with the various topics being covered on TOTN. So, where does she get that music from? From the broadcast library's music collection, of course! Gwen likes to mix it up so she selects a variety of genres to fill in the gaps including folk, electronica, pop and classical. When a topic is particularly perplexing, she works with our music librarian, Robert Goldstein, to select the perfect cut.

If Gwen had to pick one genre of music over all others, she admits it would be jazz. She also cites the incomperable Michelle N'degeocello as one of her musical inspirations. A little known fact about Gwen: she's an amazing bass guitarist who gets together with other NPR musicians to entertain her fellow staffers at various functions. Above is a pic of Gwen playing the bass during a lunch time jazz music gathering. It's patrons like Gwen who make working at the NPR library one of the best jobs in the world.

Gwen with our music librarian, Robert Goldstein, picking just the right song for that oh-so-hard topic Maureen Clements

 

By Kee Malesky
This week, some of the NPR librarians are attending the annual Special Libraries Association conference, here in DC. It's the centennial of the organization and the 85th anniversary for the News Division -- whose members work in the print, broadcast, and online news media, and who don't have much to celebrate these days.

The conference kicked off with a tour of the NPR libraries on Saturday, and last night the keynote address was by former Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was funny and charming, and really spoke to the audience. He talked about bringing the State Department into the digital age and the importance of the human connection between leader and follower. He also told us that the work we do is essential -- and sounded as if he really believes it.

Today I attended a session on voting technology, and this afternoon there's one about the 2010 census. Tomorrow, there are meetings on social networking as research tools, time management practices, and a talk by an editor of The Onion. We also have lots of opportunities to chat with our vendors and give them feedback and suggestions. Plus plenty of time to socialize with friends and colleagues from around the world. It's actually a great way to spend a few days!

By Maureen Clements

If you're among the millions of Boss fans who waited in line all those years ago to purchase Born In The USA, then you'll love this month's episode of Playback, NPR's monthly podcast that highlights all the news that's fit to hear from 25 years ago this month. June's episode features All Things Considered's review of Bruce Springsteen's iconic LP, a wonderfully weird interview with the man behind the voice of Donald Duck, and a riveting 40th anniversary retrospective of D-Day. So sit back and take a listen because I can't think of a better Friday time-waster!

By Barbara Van Woerkom

This summer, in the Winter Water Wonderland that is Michigan, you can go to the library and check out a book and a state park pass at the same time. Through the Park and Read Program, library cardholders will be able to check out a one-day pass to any Michigan state park or recreation area, bypassing the $6 motor vehicle fee.

It's a novel collaboration between the Department of Natural Resources and the state's public libraries. In addition, hammocks will be available in many parks, courtesy of The Hammock Co., for participants to lounge in and enjoy the breezes while devouring the latest summer read.