Mendocino Wildfire Information Update

This is not fog.

Just wanted to alert people to a few good fire related websites:

Here is a link to the best wildfire location maps that I've found. Here is another. Peter Armstrong's pictures are here.

Mendocino County suggests regularly checking their Office of Emergency Services site to get updates on air quality and evacuation information.

Come to the libraries get some materials to watch and read and stay out of the unhealthy air.

Changes in Ukiah

Customers coming into the main Ukiah branch today could be forgiven for feeling lost. Over the past few days, the library moved things around. Here are some of the changes you can look out for next time you visit:

• The books and other materials that people have reserved are now self-service. They on new shelving to the north of the check out desk. The DVDs will remain behind the desk but anything else will be out on the shelves for pick-up. They can be found alpha-numerically, using the first four letters of your last name and the last four digits of your library card. For instance, my reserves would be under LIGH-7927.

• The library has a new quiet area. Back where the public computing used to be, there will now be a table and comfortable chairs, the newspapers and magazines and reference books. It will be a quiet, comfortable place to read and contemplate the world.

• The public computers will be to the south of the reference desk once they are set up again. They are currently being moved but we're hoping they'll be up and going again by the 2nd of July. They will be located much more conveniently so that customers can see if they are being used easily.

There will be a few more changes yet to come but for now, come in and pay us a visit and tell us what you think of our re-arranging.

Quilt of the Week -- Laura Fogg

The quilt featured this week is from Laura Fogg and it is called "A FUN-damental view on Life" Fogg says:

"This quilt is part of our "Show Your Attitude" series. For me this was a therapy piece, exploring my movement away from my rigid "You've had enough fun for the day" upbringing to my more fun-indulging present self. I used traditional pieced block patterns to represent where I came from and then superimposed exuberant raw-edged applique over them to express the loosening of my boundaries."

These quilts will be on display at the Ukiah Library through the middle of August.

~mel

Annual Quilt Show

The Ukiah Branch of the Mendocino County Library is pleased to present the award-winning work of the Mendocino Quilt Association. For the next few weeks, we'll try to present each quilt and their accompanying explanations.

This show will be in the main reading room of the Ukiah Main Branch Library through the middle of August. The address is 105 N Main in downtown Ukiah.

Come visit and see the beautiful display.

New Mysteries at Ukiah Library

The magazine Booklist, beloved of librarians everywhere, recently published the Year's Best Crime Novels.

Although Ukiah Branch of the Mendocino County Library had several of these books, we decided to buy the rest. All of these books are either available in Ukiah Library or you can request them and have them sent to your local branch to pick up.

Top Ten
A click on the title takes you to a page where you can order these items to be held for you.

1. An Ancient Rain by Domenic Stansberry. Series protagonist, Dante Mancuso investigates a 30 year old mystery.

2. Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett. Mystery hero Sonchai Jipleecheep is a police dectective and co-owner (with his mother) of a brothel in Bangkok. Moral ambiguity continues to be a theme.

3. Devil's Peak (pictured) by Deon Meyer. After the death of his son Thobela Mpayipheli turns vigilante and begins killing pedophiles.

4. Down in Darkness (pictured) by David Lawrence. Sleuth Stella Mooney is the focus of a noir series by poet David Lawrence.

5. Good Physician by Kent Harrington. CIA employee transforms into a man of action. The humanity of the terrorist and the inhumanity of their acts is the focus.

6. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain. Portland (Oregon) cop Archie Sheridan seeks the advice of a notorious female sociopath in solving the murders of several high-school students.

7. Redbreast by Jo Nesbo, translated by Don Bartlett. Harry Hole, hard-drinking Oslo policeman runs into the continuing resonances of history.

8. Second Objective by Mark Frost. WWII thriller takes an actual historical Nazi plot and morphs it into an attempt to assassinate Gen. Dwight Eisenhower.

9. Victory Square by Olen Steinhauer. Final installment of the story of Emil Brod, chief of the People's Militia.

10. Zugzwang by Ronan Bennett. An apolitical Jew in 1914 Russia, Otto Spethman becomes involved in a murder plot by major political players of the time.

Have you read any of these? Feel free to comment below!