Library News, by David W. Keeber
Red Rock News
Date: February 29, 2008
Often, as readers we find a genre or author and stick to reading books in that area. Yet, this and all libraries offer so much more than a single type of book that, given sufficient impetus, if you were to wander into another area you would find so much more to read. Sedona Public Library's Arizona Collection is just such an area with the added advantage that an armchair traveler can rather easily go from shelf to real life without much trouble. Take a few moments to "tour" the collection there to learn what we have to offer.
First, the Arizona Collection is located in the center stacks right behind the Reference Collection shelves. On the very first shelves, you will find the City of Sedona collection that offers such things as the City Code, the General Management Plan and even the text of each year's Resolutions and Ordinances. If you have business with the City and need to review the documents pertinent to your matter, we probably have them here.
There is also a Reference section in the Arizona Collection that offers really fascinating things. Take for example the bibliography of the Grand Canyon. Who would have imaged that a hole in the ground could be the subject of reams of writing? We have information on Arizona population growth, business directories for the state, the complete Arizona Revised Statutes, the code of laws for the state, data on geology and the flora and fauna of this place and even County documents for both Yavapai and Coconino.
There are fiction titles and nonfiction, too. Just as there is a complete set of call numbers according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System in the rest of the Library, there is a similar system of numbering in the Arizona Collection. Are you a gardener? We have books specifically about gardening in Arizona. Do you like to cook? Try Arizona cooking books featuring recipes from the settler years or by state celebrities. Architecture? We've got books on that topic, specific to styles prevalent in our state. Art, history, whatever, you can find a book on the topic as it relates to Arizona.
Are you an outdoorsy type? Do you hike or even do driving trips through the state? You might try Susan Makov's guide to the trading posts of Arizona or pick up a guidebook to the different architectural styles of Tucson.
Do you need a killer barbeque recipe for a gathering of friends prone to sporting cowboy hats and boots? Pick up a recipe for chili that will only taste right when stirred with a mesquite stick!
The history of our great state is well represented in myriad titles that examine the native population, the emigrants who have been flooding into Arizona for the past 150 years, or where we might be heading given current trends.
One very interesting item in the Arizona Collection is the Journal of Arizona History, a product of the University of Arizona Press. If you are interested in the individual and personal stories of our state's history, take a gander at this fascinating journal. There is so much there that is beyond the capacity of this column to explain. Take a look!
In addition to the Arizona Collection, we have recently made some changes to how we present a number of heavily used areas of the collection. We have moved the New Books, the most frequently visited section of what we offer to be right next to the magazines, much easier to access. We have move all the videotapes to be beneath the front windows and then shifted the DVD collection to give it room to grow. Finally, the previously over-stuffed shelves of Large Type books have been extended to make them easier to read and less crowded. All of these shifts in location are intended to make finding items quicker and easier. Come into the Sedona Public Library and see what we have to offer. It never gets boring here!
