@ your library (R) ......by Paige Turner, March 10, 2005 The Library & The Nude Woman Remember your first visit to the library? Was it as "daring" as this story a Florida International University teacher shared with his writing students? When he was ten and living in a rural Kentucky town, his mother dropped him off at the public library. He wandered around feeling uncomfortably out of place. When the librarian approached, he defensively pulled a book off the shelves and opened it, just to head her off. He found himself breathless with excitement. There was a nude woman on the page -- a nude woman lying in the grass! This was both exhilarating and troubling for he knew that by evening it would be all over town that he had been caught reading that "nude woman" book in the library. But he kept going back to furtively finish the book. When he was done, the observant but laid-back librarian reassured him that she loved mysteries too and said, as she piled books into his arms, "This isn't school. You can read anything you want and nobody will give you a test on it." But for a place that wasn't a school, he certainly learned a lot! Though that creaky old library no longer exists, he tells his class, "The largest part of what I am today and what I know about the world and about the affairs of the human heart, began on that one autumn afternoon when I plucked a book from the shelf and encountered that nude woman in the grass. Thus began the long journey, year after year, of filling myself beyond the brim with the accumulated wealth of books." Well, you may not find a "nude woman" book among these latest arrivals @ your library (R), but you will certainly find an "accumulated wealth of books" on plenty of other subjects! "Vanished Hands" by Robert Wilson "Pride of Carthage: A Novel of Hannibal" by D.A. Durham "World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Godel and Einstein" by Palle Yourgrau "Forgotten Man" by Robert Crais "Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug" by Diarmuld Jeffreys "Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History" by John Barry. "Oregon Trail: An American Saga" by David Dary "Future of Ice: A Journey into Cold" by Gretel Ehrlich "Actual Size" by Steve Jenkins "Going North" by Janice Harrington "Inventing the Rest of our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood" by Suzanne Levine "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big" by Jose Canseco Other notes of interest -- No more "Reno Gazette Journal!" We have replaced it with "The New York Times." Also, the Library has two reference copies of the "Town General Plan Update." Come in and take a look! The annual Children's Easter Party is coming up later this month. Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 26th from 10:30 AM to 12 noon at the Mammoth Lakes Library. Bring in your little bunnies for a hopping good time! We'll have stories, games, refreshments and special treats. Plus, the Easter Bunny will be stopping by so come on in for photos! Call the Library at 934-4777 for more information. The Inyo Mono Area Agency on Aging (IMAA) has distributed a Senior Needs Assessment Survey to local libraries. IMAA is seeking input on the needs of Inyo and Mono residents age 60+, as well as certain disabled individuals. The information will be incorporated into the list of prioritized needs in the 2005-2009 Inyo Mono Area Plan for Aging Services and will influence the funding and work plan of the IMAA. For more information call 1-800-510-2020. TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What library holds the largest collection of books? ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION: Where was the world's first public library opened? Warsaw, Poland holds the distinction of opening the World's first public library in 1747.