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October 2002 LIBRARY NEWS iVKat uoO did d«/»')v%<^ i^t^r^ev vacatioi^. Tir^e ^li€f yo’j't'G UJe l^ad a <jk'eat j’wr>/^eK J>/Ly woa^ 01^6 0^ "fl'lC bv/^l6/^ r^Qlnthff VA^I'/’b tbe HI6HBT ^^o^^t^»Ly cii^CyLatio^s /*% tbe bifto^y tbe Libk-ak'y. We bad ovek- 11,G00 book;, CP;, video; aK^d all ki^^d; o^ otbek" woo»^dek-A/l Libk-ak-y “;tv//^^' checked out by patk-o^;. The Youth lek-vice; Pepak-t/^e^t uua; hoppi»>’j a; vuelL wuith a k-ecok’d rtu/^bek 0^ childke^ a»%d tee^; k'e^);tek'ed i^^ the Iur>/^ek Read;i-.<j CUb. Theke wek'e ovek' 1,300 pakt»c»pa»%t;. Lot; o^ =)keat pkize; uoeke <^)ve^^ auoay, po;tek-;, t-;hik't;, CP; a^d, 0^ couk-;e, book;. To celebk-ate the;e yout^^j keadek; acco/-'pr;;hr'e«t;, the Libkaky held a Medal Auoakd; ceker^o»%y uoith Mayok Wood ok ha^d to coKcjkatulate all tho;e uuho ;ucce;;A'lLy co/^pLeted the pko'jkar'. Ouk (KtekKet ;tatioK; becar>e a*% /KtekKatioKal co/^/^uK)catioK; ce^tke uuith v/;itok; to ouk Aik city, pickiK<j up a»%d ;eKdiK^ /^e;;a«^e; to Aie^d; a^d A/^ily at hor>e. Ouk authok v);it; a^d akti;t;' ope^i^'j; uueke veky uuell attended a; /->oke a^d r^oke people ake di;covekiK^ the;e excitiK«j eve^t;. 5^0, a; you caK ;ee ouk ;ur^r>ek voa; Kot a fine to kick back a^d kelax. A»>d woeVe ju;t be<jiKKiK<^ to kev up Ak the All. Theke ake lot; 0^ ^e^u a^d thkilliK<ij thiK<j; co/^ikcj up, ;o ;tay tutted a; the adve^tuks coi^tiKue;. WEST VANCOUVER MEMORIAL LIBRARY 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC,V7V 1J8 Tel: (604) 925-7400 Library Hours: (604) 925-7401 Fax: (604) 925-5933 Website: www.westvanlib.org REFERENCE SERVICES The QWERTY KEYBOARD. The letters QWERTY represent the first six letters of the top alphabet row. How did such an illogical arrangement of letters come about? In fact, there is a paradoxical logic to a technology designed to increase the speed of written transcription, while simultaneously invent- ing a keyboard arrangement to slow down the inscription. Because the state of this technology at the time relied on gravitational mechanics, there was the problem of typebars tangling if a letter following the previous one was struck too quickly. When Christopher Latham Sholes built his first typewriter in 1868, he merely arranged the letters alphabetically in two rows resulting in jams when typing common letter combinations. Amos Densmore’s study on letter frequencies offered him a way to rearrange the mechanical linkages based on the most awkward positioning of letters so that common combinations would be as distant as possible. QWERTY was subsequently assembled allow- ing for a significant reduction in snarls. In 1878, the patent for the QWERTY typewriter was granted to Sholes. By 1932, the mechanics of the typewriter had greatly improved, and it was considered time to change the keyboard to a more effi- cient positioning of the letters whereby the common letters would be used by the strongest fingers. This innovation might have doubled the speed at which typists perform. However, a number of generations had passed with millions of people, especially in business, using the machine. The overwhelming number of trained typists were resistant or unable to adapt to the new experi- mental keyboard adjustments, and the effort would have likely set the already depressed industrial and commercial economies even further back while everyone was being retrained and businesses were buying new typewriters. The experiment has rarely, if ever, been repeated.. .and so we are stuck with an ungainly keyboard in a high-speed, hi-tech world. Sources: Diamond, Jared M., Guns, germs, and steel: the fates of human societies. NY: Norton, 1997. ConsiderQWERTY http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html ADULT SERVICES IN THE GALLERY ... This month the Gallery features photographic images of our environments-near and far-presented to us by three North Shore photographers: George T. Horne, “Beneath the Waves,” Janice Mann-Walker, “Land Marks,” and Sharia Mattern, “Urban Murals.” George T. Horne: A former land nature photographer now explores the oceans and his current images reflect the wonders of all that inhabit the undersea world of tropical reefs. Janice Mann-Walter: “My eyes become the viewfinder, my experience the light meter and my hands, the shutter release. My images are the result of a long experimentation with the pin hole camera and reflect my feeling for community.” Sharia Mattern: “The reality of September 11*, 2001, changed my photographic subject matter from ‘the perfect’-landscapes, flowers, and puppies-to “Urban Murals” which is a reflection of Vancouver’s graffiti and the ‘imperfect’ of their conception and perception.” Opening reception hosted by the Gallery and the exhibiting artists is on Friday, October 4, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. TAI.K ART TALK Demystifying Art: An Evening with Artist Susanna Blunt “Everything you wanted to know about art, but were afraid to ask...!” Find your answers at the Library when West Vancouver artist Susanna Blunt joins us for a talk and discussion about art and what it’s FOR! Susanna is interested in generating curiosity about art in an infor- mal, relaxed atmosphere; in guiding us away from intellectual reasoning to help us develop our intuitive response to art; and in making us feel less intimidated when we enter an art gallery. Please join us for a stimulating evening with a local artist who is known internationally for her trompe I’oeil paintings and her impressive portraits of well-known people. Date: Time: Place: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Peter J. Peters Room