Biographies at the Library

Biographies at the Library

A lot of people like reading about people. That's one reason that the library's fiction sections are very popular. But what if you prefer factual books about real people? Where should you look?

If you would like to browse, then you can head up to our biography section, which is located on the second floor of the library. Biographies are shelved in the 920s and 921s. Books in the 920s tell about the lives of more than one person. Sometimes the people are a couple (e.g., "Elizabeth and Philip:

The Untold Story of the Queen of England and Her Prince" by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley), are members of the same family ("The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys," by Doris Kearns Goodwin), or share something else in common, such as the same profession ("Women of the

World: The Great Foreign Correspondents" by Julia Edwards), or same ethnic group ("Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish" by Abigail Pogrebin).

Individual biographies are located in the 921s. These are arranged by last name, so if you are interested in biographies about a specific person (say, Thomas Jefferson), you can go to the 921s and then look for their name (the spine labels for books on Jefferson start with 921 J).

What if you don't find the person you are looking for in the 921s? First of all, search for their name in our online catalog. Sometimes books have information about the life of a person but don't quite qualify as biographies. This can be especially true for celebrities or sports figures--"Elvis Presley: A Southern Life" is located in the 921s with the other biographies, while "Elvis: The King Remembered" is in the 782s.

If you are having difficulty finding what you are looking for, just ask at the reference desk. The librarian there can help you track down a book, find an encyclopedia with biographical information, or--if the library does not have any information on the person you are interested in--order a biography through interlibrary loan.

submitted by Elizabeth Johnston

Medical Dictionaries

Medical Dictionaries

Medical terminology can be hard enough for medical students to learn, let alone anyone else. You can look up medical terms on the internet, of course, but what if you have a long list of terms you need to understand? What if having an authoritative source of information is important, and you don't have the time to search everything individually? In that case, a medical dictionary might be your best bet.

Medical dictionaries only include words that are related to medical and health topics. Many medical dictionaries include illustrations to help you understand what a condition (warts, anyone?) looks like. They include common medical terms like "arthritis," offering specific definitions of different varieties of the condition. And then there are the extremely unfamiliar terms. "Under "A," you can find words like "apraxia," "arcus senilis," and "avulsion." Under "Z," you can find "zeolite," "zonulitis," and "zygoma."

Some of our medical dictionaries are available in the reference section, but others can be checked out. For a reference book with some good illustrations, try "Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary." Or, if you would like to take a medical dictionary home, a copy of "Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary" is available for checkout in our nonfiction section.

Submitted by Elizabeth Johnston

“THE MONOPOLISTS” by Mary Pilon

“THE MONOPOLISTS” by Mary Pilon

Have you ever wondered how “Monopoly”—one of the world’s most popular board games—came into existence?  The folklore surrounding the game is that it was invented during the depression by an unemployed Pennsylvanian by the name of Charles Darrow.  But the truth is that a version of this game was invented in the early 1900’s by a liberal feminist by the name of Lizzie Magie. “The Landlord’s Game” was the name she christened her patented creation and adaptations of this game were played by various groups long before the 1930’s.  The book “The Monopolists” by Mary Pilon tells the complicated and politically-charged history of everyone’s favorite board game.

This book has been carefully researched by the author and illustrated how the basic philosophy behind the game has been altered by different players over the years.  The game has certainly been played and enjoyed by ardent capitalists but has also been embraced by left-wingers beginning during the Progressive Era at the turn of the century and continuing to the present day.  One of these individuals, a professor named Ralph Anspach, went so far as to try to market his own version of the board game giving it the title “Anti-Monopoly”.  As you might guess, this endeavor resulted in lengthy and torturous litigation.

I certainly hope this has intrigued you enough to check out a copy of this book to learn the whole story concerning the evolution of this game.  We have several copies available within our Berkeley County library system.  Parts of the book read like a human interest story and parts of the book read like great detective fiction.  It is truly a fascinating story!

David Porterfield

Musselman Branch Librarian

Candle Light Romance Book Group

Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library

126 Excellence Way

Inwood, WV  25428

304-229-2220

Contact Tina Hess (tina.hess@martin.lib.wv.us)

 THE KING

By: J.R. WARD

Book Discussion NEW TIME AND DAY

August 4^th  2015 at 6 p.m.

(1^st Week instead of 2^nd Week due to school starting)