The February Tally

Alright, it's the first of March and I've got my February book tally. I checked out 12 books this month - 3 of which I received via the Prospector inter library loan service. I used many of the books as reference or read just a chapter or two of. Others, like The Moviegoer, Zazie in the Metro and How to Rig an Election I am on my way to completing. But more on those later, for now let's go to the tally!

As explained last month I keep a spreadsheet of the titles I check out and what each one costs according to the book jacket. Then I take the price of each book from the web sites for Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble to come up with an average price. Finally, I determine which books I would have definitely purchased were I buying books to come up with my monthly savings. In addition to this I enter my books into the Denver Public Library's value calculator.

I determined that I would have purchased 7 out of the 12 books I checked out for a savings of $103.46.

According to the Denver Public Library's "Library Value Calculator" for my 12 books (3 of which I obtained via inter library loan):

I received $50.50 individual return on investment meaning for every dollar in taxes I spend on the library, I received $50.50 value in return for the month of February.

I received a monthly value of $210.00 for the month of January.

...
As an aside, tonight I am going to see recent Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight! at the Temple Buell Theater. Hope to have a report for you tomorrow.

Zazie in the Metro? Oui, oui!

As noted in my last post I was in need of a copy of Raymond Queneau's Zazie in the Metro middle of this week. When I could not find one at either Denver Public or the 16th Street Mall Barnes & Noble (this all took place on a lunch break) I decided to let it go for the moment.

That is when Michelle from Denver Public gently reminded me about Prospector:

Hi,

I have a search feed for Denver Public Library so I occasionally see your
posts. I checked Prospector and a couple local libraries have the Zazie book,
including DU, and it says it's currently available so with your DPL card you can
place a hold on it and should get it in a couple days. http://prospector.coalliance.org/

Hope that's helpful.

Michelle

February 20, 2008 6:13 AM

It was helpful and I now have a copy of Zazie courtesy Prospector and the University of Denver Penrose Library.

I know I have mentioned Prospector before but I do not think I've explained or described it. Basically it is an agreement among some libraries in Colorado and Wyoming to provide inter library loan services to members of those libraries. It also offers a singular search platform.

Their web site describes it as:

Prospector is a unified catalog of twenty three academic, public and special
libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Through Prospector you have access to over 20
million books, journals, DVDs, CDs, videos and other materials held in these
libraries. With a single search you can identify and borrow materials from the
collections and have them delivered to your local library.

I am quite a fan of Prospector, actually, and I believe this is my 4th book this year that I have obtained through the system. Part of what makes it so user friendly is that I do not have to go through a Denver Public search before accessing it. If I have the feeling that a certain title might be somewhat obscure, I often go to Prospector first. That way it will search Denver Public's holdings as well as the other libraries in the Prospector system. It's a nice intermediate step between my local library and WorldCat.

---
On a completely unrelated note I downloaded the latest album by The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride this morning. Somehow I found the time to to listen to the album twice in its entirety today and I am particularly smitten with the first two tracks, "Sax Rohmer #1" and "San Bernadino."

To say I have been meaning to check The Mountain Goats out for a while would be an understatement. A friend first played them for me back in 1995 or 1996. Though I remember liking them, my introduction came at a time when I was trying to break out of my indie rock shell. And so I shelved them, but only for a dozen years.

That initial impression stuck with me, though, and work this evening I tracked down the first song of theirs I ever heard, "New Star Song" from the 1996 ep Beautiful Rat Sunset, all based on the way he sang "Canada."

Then you find the Uzbek warlord

One album I cannot stop listening to in the year or so since I first picked it up is Olé! Tarantula by Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. I've always liked Robyn, but this is the first album of his I've become fanatical about. It doesn't hurt that his band includes Pete Buck of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, who help give the album a late 80s college rock feel that sounds remarkably fresh and undated.

Of my favorite tracks is the acoustic guitar and single-finger piano tune "Belltown Ramble." When I lived in Seattle I worked very close to Belltown, and thus know the neighborhood rather well. In his narrative Robyn walks its streets, muses on life and:

Then you find the Uzbek warlord
You collide with Tamerlane
His teeth are brown

Tamerlane. I know that name, but from where? Ah yes, the 14th Century Tatar ruler and conqueror. Hasn't someone written a biography on him?

Well yes, as a matter of fact, several people have, the recent book of most note being Justin Marozzi's Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World.

Only Denver Public Library does not hold a copy. Fortunately, nearby Jefferson County’s library does, and through the remarkably easy Prospector Inter Library Loan service I was picking up their copy on my lunch break yesterday.

"This was easier than falling off the couch," I told the circulation librarian, who seemed quite pleased to hear it.

Thanks Robyn. Thanks Prospector.

(Photo from Wikipedia.)