Mar 31
Sarah MurphyDispatches from the Editors awards, library blogs, Salem Press
We recently found out the the Desk Set blog has been nominated by our lovely and clever readers for a Library Blog Award from Salem Press.
We’re grateful to YOU for the recognition, and to our amazing guest bloggers for sharing their voices and musings.
Judging will take place this spring, and the winners will be announced on June 15th.
Wish us luck!
With love,
Maria & Sarah
p.s. For a sightly more cynical point of view, check out this post and the responses. Steven of Designing Better Libraries says:
Personally I think the profession would be just fine without award proliferation. These awards often go to the same old blogs time and time again, while many lesser known but equally (and sometimes better) blogs go unrecognized. My preference would be for all librarian bloggers to reject the enticement to enter this competition, but perhaps the promised cash prizes will present too much temptation. Perhaps those who win will contribute Salem’s cash to good causes.
Since we are definitely not one of the “same old blogs” getting recognized “time and time again,” we’re going to enjoy this good feeling while it lasts.
Mar 17
Sarah MurphyDispatches from the Editors books, flavorwire, librarians in fiction, movies, television
Flavorwire writes about fictional librarians, with a little inspiration from the Desk Set!
Check out some of our favorites, and share your own with a comment.
- 5 Real Librarians Talk About Their Favorite Fictional Librarians
- 11:19 am Tuesday Mar 16, 2010 by Bethany Larson
Librarians have a bit of a reputation to live up to. We expect them to be kind and resourceful. Well-read. Soft-spoken. These days, the bun and glasses are optional, but if you ask us, still fun in a kitschy way. But have you ever wondered what real librarians think an ideal librarian should be like? And more importantly, who are the imaginary librarians that they look up to? To find out, we caught up with our favorite blogging librarians from The Desk Set… read more.
Feb 24
Sarah MurphyDesk Set Sponsored Events, Dispatches from the Editors a.p. tureaud, blue point brewing, book drive, Daddy's bar, greenpoint gazette, mardi gras
Last week’s Mardi Gras party at Daddy’s was a terrific success. Thanks to all who braved the winter weather in order to throw down NOLA style and support the Desk Set’s quest to bring books into the classrooms of the A.P. Tureaud school in the 7th ward of New Orleans. If you missed the party, check out this article from the Greenpoint Gazette describing the event, and the motives behind it.
We are pleased to announce that nearly 300 books have been bought, which means that we are more than a third of the way to our goal of 840. Those 840 books represent requests from teachers of all grades at Tureaud who are aiming to get classroom sets of the books that they teach as part of their curriculum. A book per student seems like a reasonable goal, and we are thrilled to help them meet it.
So far, we have obtained entire classroom sets (30 copies of each title!!!) of the following:
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Charles R. Smith
And we’ve collected one of two requested classroom sets of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.
We would like to take this opportunity to send out our enormous thanks and endless gratitude to those of you who took the time and spent the money to help us in this endeavor. We understand that your resources are limited, and we are truly moved by your generosity. Please know that a student will soon benefit from your gift, and appreciate it even more than we do!
If you haven’t already donated, you can still visit our wish list, which we will keep active all year. (Hint: use the wishlist widget on the right of the page, and the delivery address will be added automatically. When in doubt, please send all books to: A.P. Tureaud School c/o Donna Falgoust, 94 Donelon Dr., Harahan, LA 70123.)
We only need 17 more copies of the classic Pippi Longstocking and 20 more to complete a class set of The Little Prince. Won’t you consider buying a few copies? (There is a 4 for the price of 3 deal with Amazon!)
We’re seeking tons of different books – everything from classics to new and noteworthy titles – and there will surely be something you’ll want to contribute.
Thanks also to our brilliant corps of volunteers: the formidable pusher of raffle tickets Sarah Gentile, NOLA’s own Sarah Simms, the information superstar Alex Crossier, the librarian most likely to be the only guy in a room Matt Haugen, everyone’s favorite barbrarian Maria Alegre, the super sweet bakers of super sweet delights Carolyn Vega and Jennifer Carnovale, the mistress of the catalog Amber Billey, and the honorary library scientist Steve Fujita. Our party would not have been nearly as rockin’ if it weren’t for the incredibly knowledgeable DJ’s, Matt Fiveash and Steve McGuirl. This party wouldn’t not have been possible without the help of Laura Rogers and Greg Anderson. Thanks ya’ll!
Can’t wait ’til we get to party with you again… until then, enjoy some photos:
Feb 08
Sarah MurphyDesk Set Sponsored Events, Dispatches from the Editors a.p. tureaud, book drive, mardi gras
Simply order a book (or more!) from the A.P. Tureaud Wishlist.
(HINT: order by using the 2010 A.P. Turead School Book Drive by the Desk Set list on the right side of the screen, and the shipping address gets automatically filled in! No more cutting and pasting for you!)
The Saints won the Superbowl, Mardi Gras is next week, and we’re 27 books closer to fulfilling the needs of Tureaud’s classrooms! We are full of love for NOLA, so please join us and help us reach our goal of 840 books by the end of the month.
Find out more about the Desk Set’s Mardi Gras party and book drive.
Feb 04
Sarah MurphyDispatches from the Editors, Events from Other Orgs All Write, Literacy, Symphony Space
Indeed we should all write. And thanks to Symphony Space, New Yorkers can take advantage of an adult literacy program that “emphasizes that literacy is not only about learning to read but about discovering and writing about the world around us.”
All Write! is a free program offered to adults all over New York City, and next Monday, you are invited to celebrate this experience, and help to keep it free.
Symphony Space is offering a limited amount of discounted tickets to their All Write! Benefit for teachers and librarians.
Here’s the dirt:
New New York Voices: Celebrating the All Write! Adult Literacy Program
For nearly two decades, Symphony Space has offered the All Write! literacy program, absolutely free of charge, to adult students throughout the five boroughs. Celebrate this innovative program at this one-night only performance featuring Sonia Manzano, S. Epatha Merkerson, Isaiah Sheffer, Sam Waterston, and B.D. Wong, plus musical guests Ivy Austin, Jay Leonhardt, and Lanny Meyers.
SPECIAL OFFER!
Get tickets for only $25! Just use code NYVC when ordering at 212-864-5400, at symphonyspace.org, or at Symphony Space, Broadway and 95th Street. A limited number of tickets are available at this special price.
Feb 03
Sarah MurphyDesk Set Sponsored Events, Dispatches from the Editors a.p. tureaud, book drive, Daddy's bar, new orleans
Twelve wonderful books have been ordered so far as part of our annual Mardi Gras book drive to benefit the kids at A.P. Tureaud School in New Orleans, LA. But here’s the thing. We’re trying to get 840 total copies of the requested titles by the end of February.
No way! you might say. 840 books, that’s a lot of books! And February is a short month.
You would be right, of course, but we think it can be done. Why? Because two years ago, you all helped to donate 1076 new books for the Book Drive! And that was before the book drive was connected to the utterly amazing Mardi Gras Party at Daddy’s! And, let’s face it, paperbacks are pretty cheap; almost everything on the list is under $10. But a little help from you will go a long way towards helping us reach our goal.
Come on, y’all! Show the teachers and students at the A.P. Tureaud book some love and order a book or two today. Just 828 books to go!
Jan 29
Sarah MurphyDesk Set Sponsored Events, Dispatches from the Editors a.p. tureaud, book drive, Brooklyn, class sets, Daddy's bar, DJ, mardi gras, matt fiveash, new orleans, Steve McGuirl, The Desk Set, Williamsburg, wish-list
The Desk Set has always felt the need to spread both literacy and mirth, and for the last several years, Mardi Gras has been an ideal time for us to do that. We hope that you will join us to celebrate this fattest of Tuesdays with greasy, bumpin’ tunes recorded strictly in the state of Louisiana from DJs Matt Fiveash and Steve McGuirl, homemade King Cake, Mardi-Gras beads, and good – no, fabulous – company. Making the evening even more satisfying is the opportunity to once again contribute to the literary life of A.P. Tureaud Technology Academy in New Orleans, LA and be rewarded with a pint of Blue Point beer for your generosity.
Serving students in grades pre-K through 6, Tureaud is a public school (located in the 7th ward) and part of the Recovery School District (RSD), an organization dedicated to turning underperforming schools into successful places for children to learn. Organized in 2003, the RSD is Louisiana’s attempt to turn around a state-wide trend of low performance in education. Since 2005, the idea of recovery in New Orleans has been intrinsically linked to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. While the RSD was implemented after state legislation passed in 2003, almost all of the 112 participating schools were added after the Hurricane. Without visiting New Orleans, it is easy for us to believe that recovery has been largely achieved, and indeed many aspects of life in NOLA are approaching normal. But we would be in error to assume that the public schools – notoriously struggling even before the hurricane – aren’t still in great need of resources.
For the last two years, Desk Setters have participated in a yearly book drive to try to augment the collection of classroom libraries at Tureaud. Last year, we collected and raised money for over 275 books, which went directly into the classroom libraries at Tureaud. This year, we are working with the classroom teachers to try and provide class sets of titles that will be read by every student and taught. The wish-list includes an array of award-winning and otherwise acclaimed tales; some are classics, some are new, and all will be excellent additions to the school’s collection.
We are hoping to provide thirty copies of each of the titles in the Book Drive, so please be as generous as you can be and spread the word!
Purchase some paperbacks here.
All books can be sent in care of Maria Falgoust’s (co-founder of The Desk Set) family in Louisiana:
A.P. Tureaud School c/o Donna Falgoust
94 Donelon Dr.
Harahan, LA 70123
United States
When your books arrive, your name will be placed on a donor book plate, and the books will be delivered in person to A.P. Tureaud.
We hope to see you at the party, and we hope that you can continue to help us make the world a more literary place, one book at a time. Show the kids and teachers at A.P. Tureaud some love!
Jan 14
Sarah MurphyDispatches from the Editors, Events from Other Orgs Literary Magazines, New York Society Library, NYSL
The New York Society Library is the perfect place to indulge your old-fashioned, book loving, quiet library yearnings. Their events are consistently terrific, and they provide great opportunities to turn off your smart phones and engage in some 20th-Century style social media: listening, talking and thinking about literature.
And if some cocktails and some super cool writers are involved, so much the better.
Purchase tickets ($10 advance, $15 at the door)
Spread the word on Facebook.
A Literary Magazine Salon
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 6:30 PM
Members’ Room; $10 in advance/$15 at the door
Join us for this unique evening of cocktails and readings celebrating the literary magazine. Hosted by Jenny Lawrence, this special evening features:
One Story editor Hannah Tinti (The Good Thief) introducing
Terese Svoboda (Trailer Girl and Other Stories)
jubilat publisher Rob Casper introducing
Cathy Park Hong (Dance Dance Revolution)
A Public Space editor Brigid Hughes introducing
John Wray (Lowboy).
Dec 15
Sarah MurphyDesk Set Sponsored Events, Dispatches from the Editors Biblioball
Baby, it was cold outside, but the Bell House was hot on Friday night. 406 gorgeous guests joined nearly 80 talented performers of all ages, 11 rad DJs, and a host of generous volunteers to make Biblioball 2009 the biggest party the Desk Set has ever had the pleasure to throw.
We managed to raise over $7,000 for Literacy for Incarcerated Teens thanks to partygoers, raffle donors, zinesters, an army of volunteers, and an incredible line-up!!! This far surpassed our expectations and we are in awe of the generosity of our community. Those who arrived early enjoyed complimentary small-batch whiskey tastings as poured by Ralph Erenzo of Tuthilltown Spirits and generously flowing Apollo White Ale from Sixpoint Craft Ales. Happily, local artisan chefs and bakers Sharif Hassan, Victoria Bott and Fabiana Lee, were on hand providing sandwiches, pies, cake pops, and more.
Further highlights included the impressive (and sexy) feats of Anne Weshinskey and Jean Loscalzo (the former juggling umbrellas and fabric with her feet, the latter swinging and flying above us on a cloud swing), the unexpected inspiring jam between rappers Nine 11 Thesaurus and the Lucky Chops Brass Band, the rather more expected but nonetheless surprising battle of the raucous marching bands and fancy dancers featuring Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Hungry March Band, and the haunting late night performance of indie pop outfit Living Days. The charming word-smith, author Robert Sullivan and fetching librarian Sarah Simms kept things moving and amused us in between performers and DJs, and graciously awarded over 40 raffle prizes shortly after midnight!
If you missed the party, you can still make a donation to the very worthy LIT, and ensure that books and services for New York’s detained youth keep on coming.
We love what TimeOut’s Own This City blog had to say (and we hope you are listening, Nick Paumgarten), and we are tickled by photos from Eric Brown and Phillip Kim. Check back soon for more photos from the darling Audrey Evans and portraits from Jeremy Balderson. In the meantime, enjoy these from Jason Planitzer:
A major Thanks to all of you who worked your buns off to make the party a raging success! Especially: Alex Crosier our volunteer coordinator, Marisha Chinsky our publicist and mural maker, Gwyn Hervochon, Laura Bishop, Ryan Phillips and the Desk Set AV squad, back-drop painters Gilbert Ford and Dustin Piper, video invitation and print designers Rick Banister and Ada Egloff, our sweetest zine librarian hero Alycia Sellie, Jessica Pigza (gorgeous pennant maker supporter, and all round incredible lady), Brandon Perry, Elisabeth Stern, Oriana Leckert, Maria Alegre, Karen O., Adrienne Vrettos, Mark Aaron Polger, Ivy Marvel, Emily Legutko, Tom Forget, Leigh Hurwitz, Lindsy Serrano, Polly Watson, Jaclyn Barcewski, Becca Morgan Ardra Whitney, Steve Fujita, John Ortiz, Carolyn Vega, Jay Diamond, Juliet Linderman, Ingrid Redman, Marissa Hiller, Molly Corman, Molly Cronin, Annie Magness, Tatiana Bryant, Emily Drabinski, Lynley Wheaton, Matthew Murphy, Douglas Von Hoppe, Eric Bebernitz , David Kay, Stephanie Anderson , Tara Hart , Ryan Philips, Amber Billey, Sacha Chernoff, Andrew Miller, Jen Carnovale, and everyone who donated raffle prizes!
love,
Maria & Sarah
Dec 07
Sarah MurphyDesk Set Sponsored Events, Dispatches from the Editors Biblioball
1. Happy Hour
Arrive early and benefit from the generosity of Tuthilltown Spirits and Sixpoint Craft Ales. From 8-9pm, enjoy free whiskey tastings or white ale. (While supplies last)
2. Friendly Librarians
Always eager to help you find what you’re looking for, whether it’s in a book, a database, or on the dance floor.
Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo
3. Tasty food
From sweet to savory, we’ve got you covered thanks to vendors Sweetie Pies, La Tia Faby Baked Goods, and Sharif Hassan. Expect to see mini empanadas, special sandwiches, pies, cookies and cupcake-pops!
cupcake pops from La Tia Faby Baked Goods
4. Delicious drinks
Because those who like literary devices often enjoy drinking, our special biblio-cocktails include
- Flashback (Absolute Kurrant, lime, champagne)
- Blank Verse (gin, lemon, Pernod, ginger ale)
- Unreliable Narrator (bourbon, Chambord, bitters).
5. See yourself in pictures
Artist J. Penry will draw your portrait, and photographer Jeremy Balderson will snap your photo in front of illustrator Gilbert Ford‘s wintry backdrop.
Photograph by Jeremy Balderson, backdrop by Gilbert Ford
Portrait by J. Penry
6. The Entertainment
Ten DJs spinning all manner of tunes, two marching bands, teenaged rappers associated with Representing NYC, indie rockers, a brass band, burlesque foot juggling, a trapeze artist, AND an author and a librarian mastering these ceremonies.
DJ Duane at Biblioball 2008 (photo by Audrey Evans)
Jean Loscalzo on the trapeze
Anne-tipodist with umbrellas
7. The Fancy Pants Raffle
Over 40 amazing, inspiring prizes from book stores, bars, restaurants, spas, record stores, and more. Check out the list of these generous businesses who support our efforts.
And your extra special bonus reason: it’s for a damn good cause.
Buy tickets now, or purchase at the door. Last year’s Biblioball sold out, but we took your advice and booked a bigger space. Plenty of room for you and all your friends to shake it! We’re looking forward to seeing you there.
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