Afloat in the (E)Mailbox

A sharp-eyed mystery reader of the DorothyL email list found an article on an English language site from Sweden about a strongly negative book review-- for a book that wasn't ever written...

A librarian on the Public Libraries email list pointed out that Google now has a patent search. It has been possible for a long time to search the US patent database directly, but it's now possible to use the familiar Google interface and clarity of results display. Click on the About Google Patent Search link for more information.

One of our readers sent us a story about San Francisco Public Library's outreach program for the homeless; and another story from the Journal of the Online Bookseller's Association by a librarian who fell in love with the work of children's book illustrator Louis Slobodkin, and began collecting his books both personally and professionally.

If you're following the development of open access to journal articles, the SPARC Open Access Newsletter posted a fascinating summary of progress in 2006.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft team gave us a collection of terrific images for a seasonal gift, including the one to the right of Enceladus transiting Rhea, and a 3D view of Pandora (where oh where are those red-and-green spectacles that used to be on my desk!?).

American Library Association put out a press release with a seductive list of websites they have recently added to their Great Websites for Kids page. They also pointed out in the American Libraries newsletter that someone has posted the 1969 Monty Python skit about the Gorilla Librarian to YouTube.