Pioneer Library System

May 16 is Biographers Day

Pioneer Library System - Monthly Picks

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 May 2012 12:15

May 16 is designated as Biographers Day. It was on that day in 1763 that James Boswell first met Samuel Johnson, initiating what would become the most famous biographer-biographee relationship in history and resulting in Boswell's classic Life Of Samuel Johnson. Thus, according to Chase's Calendar of Events, "this day is recommended as one on which to start reading or writing a biography."

Pioneer Library System has thousands of biographies about fascinating people from all walks of life, as well as guides to help you put your own life story down on paper. The next great biography may be the one you write!

Homemade biography : how to collect, record, and tell the life story of someone you love by Tom Zoellner

How well do you really know the older people in your family? And how will you make sure their stories will be preserved for generations to come? This book serves as a practical guide to recording a relative's story so it will never be forgotten.

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Oklahoma Crossroads

Pioneer Library System - Monthly Picks

Last Updated on Monday, 07 May 2012 07:57

Did you know that Bonnie & Clyde's thirteenth and final victim, Constable William "Cal" Campbell, was killed in a shootout near Commerce, Oklahoma in April of 1934?

Or that in 1908, when the Oklahoma City Fire Department began using horses to pull their equipment, they hired circus performers who had experience with horses as firefighters - and they practiced acrobatic routines in and atop the station between fires? 

These are a couple of examples of the amazing things you can see and learn about our state using the Oklahoma Crossroads database.

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Reading The Rails

Pioneer Library System - Monthly Picks

Last Updated on Thursday, 03 May 2012 16:29

Did you know that Amtrak, the United States' passenger railroad service, officially launched on May 1, 1971?

There's no better time than summer to travel by train, and you can start your journey right here in Norman at our historic train depot, where Amtrak's Heartland Flyer passes through every single day.

Pioneer Library System has lots of great books about trains, stations, and railway journeys, as well as guides to help you plan a great train trip of your own!

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PLS remembers the RMS Titanic

Pioneer Library System - Monthly Picks

Last Updated on Tuesday, 03 April 2012 13:12

On April 10, 1912 the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England for New York City. Four days in to crossing the North Atlantic, with 2,228 passengers and crew on board, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank 12,415 feet to the ocean floor. This year marks the 100th anniversary for the maiden (and last) voyage of the glorious vessel.

The tragic event, with only 710 survivors, has spawned countless fiction, nonfiction and even parody retellings. Here are a few new titles, for all ages, available from your hometown libraries on this amazing vessel and tale.

The Band that Played On: the Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic
by Steve Turner
Call Number: 910.452 TU
Adult Nonfiction Collection
The movies, the documentaries, the museum exhibits. They often tell the same story about the "unsinkable" Titanic, her wealthy passengers, the families torn apart, and the unthinkable end. But never before has "that glorious band"-the group of eight musicians who played on as the Titanic slipped deeper and deeper into the Atlantic Ocean-been explored in such depth. Steve Turner''s extensive research reveals a fascinating story including dishonest agents, a clairvoyant, social climbers, and a fraudulent violin maker. Read what brought the band members together and how their music served as the haunting soundtrack for one of modern history's most tragic maritime disasters.
 

The Dressmaker: a novel
by Kate Alcott
Call Number: F Alcott
Adult Fiction Collection
Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the "Titanic" comes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young seamstress who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.
 

Read more: PLS remembers the RMS Titanic