Library News, by David W. Keeber
Red Rock News
Date: May 16, 2008
Spring is here in full force. For most of us, this is a time of rejoicing at the burgeoning signs of life all around us. But, I have seen full grown men and women driven to tears at the sight of what for most of us is the glorious scene of lovely clouds of yellow pollen drifting from the branches of a juniper tree. Yes, spring is here, but so is allergy season, a long period during which normally happy, free-breathing folks stagger from pillar to post gasping, sneezing, and watery-eyed.
This month, Sedona Public Library has a display of books in our collection that offer some possible avenues to remedies. On the shelves just inside the front doors, you will find a representative collection of titles that deal with allergies and hearing loss. While these books won't stop the symptoms by themselves, they offer many ways to make changes in your life that may well reduce or eliminate the suffering.
Take for example, How to Outsmart Your Allergies, by Dr. Art Ulene. It describes how allergies cause symptoms, how to identify and avoid your allergy "triggers," when to see your doctor and what to ask, which drugs can prevent allergy symptoms and when to use them, and when you need to see an allergy specialist.
Dr. William Briner has written a guide to managing exercise and medication to relieve allergy symptoms in his book Action Plan for Allergies. It shows you how to take control of your health, boost your energy, and reduce or eliminate the need for medication with the latest scientific research and proven exercise plans.
Are your pets the cause of your allergy symptoms? Try reading Allergic to Pets? The Breakthrough Guide to Living with the Animals You Love, by Shirlee Kalstone in which she covers what causes an allergic reaction and how to ward off the worst of it, how to care for your hairy, furry and feathered pets to minimize allergens, how to allergy-proof your home, room by room, and when to get professional assistance, medicines for the sufferer and nontoxic allergen-reducing products for animals.
If you love to garden but hate to sneeze, read Allergy-Free Gardening: The Revolutionary Guide to Healthy Landscaping, by Thomas Leo Ogren. Given that in the move to Arizona, many people have brought along the very plants that caused their allergies elsewhere, this guide offers sane information on what to plant and much more.
Our display also offers books on hearing loss and prevention of hearing loss. Sedona's own Dr. Richard Carmen has edited an excellent consumer handbook on the subject entitled Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids: A Bridge to Healing, now in its second edition. There probably isn't a better overall guide to the subject and its remedies than this book.
Even before you lose your hearing, consider Save Your Hearing Now: The Revolutionary Program That Can Prevent and May Even Reverse Hearing Loss, by Michael Seidman, MD. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, they say.
If, though, your hearing loss is acute and permanent, you may wish to read The Joy of Signing, by Lottie L. Riekehof who offers a basic, yet comprehensive guide to learning International Sign Language, including effective communications with the many subtleties that regular verbal communications offer.
No one wants to suffer from allergies or hearing loss. Yet, many of us either suffer ourselves, or know someone who does. This small representation of the books in our collection may well provide you the information you need to overcome what can be truly impairing problems.
Remember, when you look at the Library's catalog, either online from home or while in the building here, you are seeing the titles offered by all of the members of the Yavapai Library Network, a collection of more than 1.4 million items. When you place an item on hold, whether it is available here or at one of the nearly fifty other libraries in the Network, it will be delivered here free of charge for you to pick up. You can order the item to be available for pick up at either the main Library in west Sedona, or at the Village Service Center on Cortez Drive in the Village.
Finally, as the Village community grows and highway construction continues to place impediments in the path of those seeking to visit the main Library, we are working to provide services at that Village Service Center site. During Memorial Day weekend, May 24th, 25th & 26th, there will be a book sale to support that Service Center held at the Weber's IGA shopping plaza in the old Ice Cream Store site. You can donate books to the sale by calling Carolyn Fisher at 284-4683, and by shopping for your summer reading materials at the sale.
I also wish to encourage residents of Sedona proper to support the sale. For many years, the residents of the Village of Oak Creek have supported this Library through their donations of money and volunteer hours. Let's all help them get local Library service in the Village. That's one more way we can show our commitment to this community. Thank you.
