RISD Grad Wins Caldecott Medal

From the Providence Journal- Sunday, February 17, 2008

Brian Selznic wins Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Synopsis: ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you. From theinventionofhugocabret.com

Come by the library and check it out!

New Fiction Book of the Week

The New Fiction Book of the Week is:


The Clique #9: Bratfest At Tiffany's
by Lisi Harrison


From the Publisher:
The Clique tells the story of an elite group of thirteen-year-old girls from the wealthy suburbs north of New York City, the likes of whom the world has never before seen. Through the coolly observant eyes of their leader, Massie Block, we enter a sophisticated suburban world of ferocious put- downs, fabulous gossip, and fantastic Frederic Fekkai haircuts. The Clique. . . . The only thing harder than getting in is staying in.

New Research Tools Available

The NEW Evaluating Web Sites Resource Guide is now available in the library and is also posted on the library web site http://dragon/library/ (located under the General Reference button). The guide provides information about deciphering web addresses and lists criteria for examining authorship, content and quality of a site. HAPPY SEARCHING!

Chicago Style Bibliography and Footnote Ciation Sheets have been updated! For the latest version of the citation sheet, you can pick up a copy in the library or you can find it posted on the library web site http://dragon/library/ under the General Reference button.

New Non-Fiction Book of the Week

The best new non-fiction book of the week is...

Hotel: An American History

by A.K. Sandoval-Strausz

From Publishers Weekly

In this lucid and creative work, Sandoval-Strausz, an assistant professor of history at the University of New Mexico, situates the rise of hotels within the history of the triumph of capitalism and of an increasingly mobile society. Hotels, he says, facilitated mobility and the integration of frontier lands into larger networks of capital and commerce. Hotels were also part of the gradual process that dissociated people from particular places. If hotels solved some social problems, Sandoval-Strausz shows, they created others: guardians of domesticity, for example, worried about urban dwellers who chose to live full-time in hotels. In exploring the social and political meaning of hotels, the author pursues countless avenues, from menus to morals (Hotels were magnets for prostitution and other forms of illicit sex). There's a bit of labor history thrown in, too, since, in order to make good on the promise to be patrons' home away from home, hotels employed a huge number of workers, from cooks and launderers to janitors, Sandoval-Strausz also traces hotels' exclusion of Jews and blacks—the book ends with the 1964 Supreme Court case that desegregated public accommodations. From start to finish, this is a fascinating study.

New Fiction of the Week

And the award goes to...

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett

From Publishers Weekly:

Briskly original and subversively funny, this novella from popular British writer Bennett (Untold Stories; Tony-winning play The History Boys) sends Queen Elizabeth II into a mobile library van in pursuit of her runaway corgis and into the reflective, observant life of an avid reader. Guided by Norman, a former kitchen boy and enthusiast of gay authors, the queen gradually loses interest in her endless succession of official duties and learns the pleasure of such a common activity. With the dawn of her sensibility... mistaken for the onset of senility, plots are hatched by the prime minister and the queen's staff to dispatch Norman and discourage the queen's preoccupation with books. Ultimately, it is her own growing self-awareness that leads her away from reading and toward writing, with astonishing results. Bennett has fun with the proper behavior and protocol at the palace, and the few instances of mild coarseness seem almost scandalous. There are lessons packed in here, but Bennett doesn't wallop readers with them. It's a fun little book.

There are plenty more new fiction and new non-fiction ready to be checked out in the library too. Come on over and pick up a new read!

Exam Week Wrap-Up

Well, it's the the first day back after exam week and the library (and the students) have survived. The library was the hot spot last week for studying, snacking, and the occasional down time for the students inbetween studying for exams.

Overall, the library was a productive, quiet space for students last week with the students self-monitoring the space and creating an academic atmosphere. Please be on the lookout for a student survey on Blackboard regarding how the library was used during this past week so you can give us your feedback.


We in the library would like to thank everyone for their help exam week in keeping the space cleanproductive and intellectual. It's great to see students working hard and cleaning up after themselves in order to keep the library functioning. Now that exams ended, please keep up the excellent work ethic and behavior of which you are definitely capable.


It was a busy week, hope you enjoyed your time off this past weekend!

Library Use During Exams

As mid year exams approach, the Library will definitely be a busy place so we are going to tighten up the ship for exam week (January 20-25th).

• The library will be a silent study space with individual study only during study hall.
• During the day, there may be some students taking exams here so be respectful of them.
• The library will be open its normal hours (7:30am-10:00pm) from Monday, January 21 - Thursday, January 24th and will be open during the day on Friday, January 25th.

Good Luck and Happy Studying!