New movies!

Here are some hot and fresh DVDs that just went on the shelf:

Alphaville; Gladiator; American History X; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Children of Men; A Fish Called Wanda; Ferris Bueller's Day Off; House of Flying Daggers; The Refugees of the Blue Planet; A Zed and Two Noughts; Pulp Fiction; Fight Club; Se7en; Ghostbusters; Bowling for Columbine

...and keep an eye out for a whack of Flying Circus episodes soon to come!

Get your drink on in the library!*

We are pleased to announce that beverages are now allowed in the library...so bring in that coffee and study even longer!

*Fine print: This does not mean you can now consume alcohol in the library.  In an effort to reduce waste and keep the library clean, WE WILL ONLY ALLOW DRINKS IN RE-USABLE, RE-SEALABLE AND UNBREAKABLE CONTAINERS, such as screw-top bottles and travel mugs**. This privilege can be revoked anytime so don't ruin it for everyone else. Please drink responsibly.

**Side note: Travel mugs are available for sale from the Melville Cafe and most other coffee shops. If you drink coffee or tea you should be using a re-usable mug all the time anyway...aside from reducing waste they keep your coffee hot longer, and most places will give you a discount for using one.

New Books - on what's natural...

Blubberland: The Dangers of Happiness

Elizabeth Farrelly

BF 575.H27F37 2008

Welcome to Blubberland – a world of quadrangle-garaged mansions, vast malls, gated communities, stretch limos, and posh resorts. Blubberland is a place, but it is also a state of mind: we expect to be happy [trophy house, SUV in the driveway, home entertainment system, pension fund, cosmetic surgery], but in fact we’ve grown increasingly bloated, bored, and miserable.

In Blubberland, award-winning critic Elizabeth Farrelly looks at our “superfluous superfluity,” our huge eco-footprint, and asks why we find it so hard to abandon habits we know to be destructive. Why can’t we build human-scale cities, design meaningful public spaces, eat reasonable meals, and stop assaulting nature. 

Nature Design: From Inspiration to Innovation 

N7650 .M386x 2007 

Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the design of the human environment, but in recent years this relationship has grown even more intense, being revealed in a broad spectrum of forms and functions. This book presents complex and innovative projects and objects from design, architecture, landscape architecture, photography, and art that have been inspired by nature. Themes include: sea, topography, plants, human beings, animals, scent, and climate. Watch how 1^st Ave Machine has inserted artificial natural elements into real nature to create an eye-popping music video

Biophilic Design 

Stephen R. Kellert, Judith H. Heerwagen, Martin L. Mador 

NA2542.35.B56 2008

Biophilic design is about humanity’s place in nature and the natural world’s place in human society, where mutuality, respect, and enriching relationships can and should exist at all levels and should emerge as the norm rather than the exception. Incorporating the positive experience of nature into the design of the built environment is critical to human health, performance, and well-being.  Learn more about the theory, science, and practice of biophilic design through this guide.

Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature

Douglas Farr

HT241.S8736 2008 

Written by the chair of the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) initiative, this book is both an urgent call to action and a comprehensive introduction to "Sustainable Urbanism" - the emerging and growing design reform movement that combines the creation and enhancement of walkable and diverse places with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings. Farr shows where we went wrong and how we need to implement Sustainable Urbanism through leadership and communication in cities, communities, and neighborhoods.