Read This Book!

Read This Book!

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Read This Book! episodes

  • The Best from Pen and Press: Exhibit sneak peek
    Take a sneak video peek at our current exhibit, The Best from Pen and Press, which includes 3,000-year-old cuneiform tablets, a 16th century "Remembrancer Scroll," and much more.

    The materials come from the James Ford Bell Library, the Wangensteen Historical Library, and the University Libraries' Rare Book collections.

    The exhibits — located in two galleries at Andersen Library and at the Wangensteen Historical Library — focus on the “best” rare and unique books and manuscripts drawn from Minnesota institutions and individuals.

    "One of the things we were hoping to accomplish with this exhibition is to bring materials out for the general public that they can see and can actually relate to," says Marguerite Ragnow, co-curator of the exhibit and the curator of the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota. 
    Materials include 3,000-year-old cuneiform
    Ragnow listed a number of rare and unique items, including: 

    * Cuneiform that is more than 3,000 years old
    * A book containing a Rembrandt etching
    * William Bligh's book that tells the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty and his 47-day open boat journey across 3,600 miles on the Pacific Ocean
    * A 1611 handwritten charter from King James of England to the emperor of Japan

    Co-curator Tim Johnson talks about an English, 16th century remembrancer scroll. 

    "It was put together by an official in the court — either of the queen or the king — a list of items that needed to be attended to," Johnson says. 

    Lois Hendrickson of the Wangensteen Historical Library was also a contributing curator of this multi-site exhibit.  

    "We are showcasing rare medical books spanning from the 1500s through the 1800s," says Hendrickson. "We selected materials that discuss women and midwifery, diversity in human anatomy, and the knowledge of indigenous peoples in the Americas."

    Of the many noteworthy rare books included in the Wangensteen Historical Library's exhibit, Hendrickson shares a few of her favorites:

    * Conrad Gesner's  Historiae Animalium (1551), considered to be the first modern zoological work.
    * Robert Burton's The anatomy of melancholy (1621), one of the most popular books of the 17th century.
    * Jane Sharp’s The Midwives Book (1671), the first English book on midwifery published by a woman.
    * Japanese measles posters (mid 1800s), wood-cut public health posters from the Edo period reveal health attitudes on measles prevention and control (also part of our digital collections). 

    "This is an exhibit that has broad appeal — from school groups to retired adults," Johnson adds. "Everybody will find something of interest here."
    Exhibit details
    What: The Best from Pen and Press
    4 min
  • Breakfast with Beatrice

    Breakfast with Beatrice and Original Scandinavian Recipes were featured on this installment of Read This Book with Megan Kocher, Curator of the Doris Kirschner Cookbook Collection, and host Lisa Von Drasek. Kocher also announced that the University Libraries recently acquired Beatrice Ojakangas' cookbook collection — which includes Original Scandinavian Recipes — for the Kirschner Collection, which is available to the public at the University of Minnesota's Magrath Library on the St. Paul campus. 

    The post Breakfast with Beatrice appeared first on UMN Libraries News & Events.

    6 min
  • Breakfast with Beatrice
    Breakfast with Beatrice and Original Scandinavian Recipes were featured on this installment of Read This Book!
    Megan Kocher, Curator of the Doris Kirschner Cookbook Collection discussed these books with host Lisa Von Drasek. Kocher also announced that the University Libraries recently acquired Beatrice Ojakangas’ cookbook collection — which includes Original Scandinavian Recipes — for the Kirschner Collection, which is available to the public at the University of Minnesota’s Magrath Library on the St. Paul campus. 
    Breakfast with Beatrice, by Beatrice Ojakangas

    * At University of Minnesota Libraries
    * At Hennepin County Library
    * At Saint Paul Public Library

    About Lisa Von Drasek, Megan Kocher, and Read This Book!
    Lisa Von Drasek is the Curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries and host of Read This Book! Megan Kocher is a Science Librarian and the Curator of the Doris Kirschner Cookbook Collection at the University’s Magrath Library. 
    Read This Book! is a video podcast produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries. It is available on YouTube and iTunes. Audio from Read This Book! is available on iTunes at Lisa’s The Blue Ox Review podcast. 
    6 min
  • An online library for all Minnesotans
    By Mark Engebretson
    Following a two-year pilot, readership of Ebooks Minnesota, a free online book collection available to all Minnesotans, is taking off.
    The Ebooks Minnesota collection — managed by Minitex at the University of Minnesota — saw an 86 percent increase in readership during its second year. Through April 2018, out of 4,000 available ebooks in the collection, Minnesotans of all ages have connected to an ebook a total of 158,868 times.
    Now in year three, Ebooks Minnesota eyes continued growth on a wide variety of subjects. The platform requires no login (the only requirement for any user is to be within Minnesota borders) and is accessible at no cost through iTunes, Google Play, and Kindle apps.
    “We learned that many schools and some rural public libraries didn’t have access to ebooks, so by making this vibrant collection available statewide, we are leveling the playing field for all Minnesotans,” said Valerie Horton, director of Minitex, a joint program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota Libraries.
    Ebooks Minnesota was created by Minitex in partnership with State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education. The collection was made possible in part by funding from the Minnesota Department of Education through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and by Minitex.
    Unlimited access benefits schools, book clubs
    Readers can access any book at any time from the Ebooks Minnesota collection — regardless of how many other readers are using the book. This feature makes the collection particularly useful for community book clubs and schools.
    “The best thing about Ebooks Minnesota for us is the cost — which is free,” says Bethany Kaufmann, a media specialist at Roger High School, part of the Elk River School District. She adds that the unlimited access is especially helpful for school libraries with limited resources.
    That means schools don’t have to buy books for every student in the class. And it’s also convenient, says Kaufmann’s colleague, Annie Allen, a media specialist with Rogers Middle School.
    “It’s really hard with a print book to be able to have all of the students researching out of that book — it’s nearly impossible,” says Allen. But with Ebooks Minnesota, she says, “you can have an entire class of students all accessing that same content at the same time.” She adds that students can access it on the Chromebook provided them by the school or on their home computer, tablet, or even their smartphone.
    Ebooks Minnesota for Schools launched in December 2017
    Part of the overall growth in use of Ebooks Minnesota can be attributed to the December 2017 launch of Ebooks Minnesota for Schools. In the first five months, a total of 35,695 ebooks were accessed via Ebooks Minnesota for Schools.
    At Rogers High School, Kaufmann works with teachers in many different subject areas to connect them to quality resources that are also affordable. Ebooks Minnesota, she says, is a great fit.
    “Over the course of the last two years, we’ve been able to use Ebooks Minnesota in several content areas,” says Kaufmann. “For example, in one of our foreign language classes, we recently studied Spanish speaking countries and sure enough there were ebooks available through Ebooks Minnesota that we were able to access for the class.
    Another recent addition to Ebooks Minnesota is the World languages collection, which includes books in Ojibwe, Somali, Spanish and Karen languages.
    Says Kaufmann: “We’re so grateful for the resources provided by the state of Minnesota and by Minitex through the University of Minnesota Libraries.”
    2 min
  • An online library for all Minnesotans
    By Mark Engebretson

    Following a two-year pilot, readership of Ebooks Minnesota, a free online book collection available to all Minnesotans, is taking off.

    The Ebooks Minnesota collection — managed by Minitex at the University of Minnesota — saw an 86 percent increase in readership during its second year. Through April 2018, out of 4,000 available ebooks in the collection, Minnesotans of all ages have connected to an ebook a total of 158,868 times.

    Now in year three, Ebooks Minnesota eyes continued growth on a wide variety of subjects. The platform requires no login (the only requirement for any user is to be within Minnesota borders) and is accessible at no cost through iTunes, Google Play, and Kindle apps.

    “We learned that many schools and some rural public libraries didn’t have access to ebooks, so by making this vibrant collection available statewide, we are leveling the playing field for all Minnesotans,” said Valerie Horton, director of Minitex, a joint program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota Libraries.

    Ebooks Minnesota was created by Minitex in partnership with State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education. The collection was made possible in part by funding from the Minnesota Department of Education through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and by Minitex.
    Unlimited access benefits schools, book clubs


    Readers can access any book at any time from the Ebooks Minnesota collection — regardless of how many other readers are using the book. This feature makes the collection particularly useful for community book clubs and schools.

    “The best thing about Ebooks Minnesota for us is the cost — which is free,” says Bethany Kaufmann, a media specialist at Roger High School, part of the Elk River School District. She adds that the unlimited access is especially helpful for school libraries with limited resources.

    That means schools don’t have to buy books for every student in the class. And it’s also convenient, says Kaufmann’s colleague, Annie Allen, a media specialist with Rogers Middle School.

    “It’s really hard with a print book to be able to have all of the students researching out of that book — it’s nearly impossible,” says Allen. But with Ebooks Minnesota, she says, “you can have an entire class of students all accessing that same content at the same time.” She adds that students can access it on the Chromebook provided them by the school or on their home computer, tablet, or even their smartphone.
    Ebooks Minnesota for Schools launched in December 2017
    Part of the overall growth in use of Ebooks Minnesota can be attributed to the December 2017 launch of Ebooks Minnesota for Schools. In the first five months, a total of 35,695 ebooks were accessed via Ebooks Minnesota for Schools.

    At Rogers High School, Kaufmann works with teachers in many different subject areas to connect them to quality resources that are also affordable. Ebooks Minnesota, she says, is a great fit.

    “Over the course of the last two years, we’ve been able to use Ebooks Minnesota in several content areas,” says Kaufmann. “For example, in one of our foreign language classes, we recently studied Spanish speaking countries and sure enough there were ebooks available through Ebooks Minnesota that we were able to access for the class.

    Another recent addition to Ebooks Minnesota is the World languages collection, which includes books in Ojibwe, Somali, Spanish and Karen languages.

    2 min
  • Summer reading tips for kids — Part 3

    Lisa Von Drasek recommends two children's books for writing on Part 3 of Summer Reading for Children on Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The books are: Heart Maps by Georgia Heard and Happy Mail by Eunice and Sabrina Moyle.

    The post Summer reading tips for kids — Part 3 appeared first on UMN Libraries News & Events.

    5 min
  • Summer reading tips for kids — Part 3
    Lisa Von Drasek recommends two children’s books for writing on Part 3 of Summer Reading for Children on Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The books are: Heart Maps by Georgia Heard and Happy Mail by Eunice and Sabrina Moyle.
    About Lisa Von Drasek and Read This Book!
    Von Drasek is host of Read This Book and the curator of the University of Minnesota’s Children’s Literature Research Collections. She also writes a blog on children’s books called The Blue Ox Review.
    Read This Book! is a video podcast produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries. It is available on YouTube and iTunes. Audio from Read This Book! is available on iTunes at Lisa’s The Blue Ox Review podcast. 
    5 min
  • ‘When Women Didn’t Count’ reviewed by Alicia Kubas

    Alicia Kubas reviewed "When Women Didn't Count: Behind the scenes on data collection and women in the USA" by Robert Lopresti, which details the startling facts of how women have been sidelined, neglected, and just plain lied about in U.S. government statistics for more than two centuries.

    The post ‘When Women Didn’t Count’ reviewed by Alicia Kubas appeared first on UMN Libraries News & Events.

    8 min
  • ‘When Women Didn’t Count’ reviewed by Alicia Kubas
    Alicia Kubas reviewed “When Women Didn’t Count: Behind the scenes on data collection and women in the USA” by Robert Lopresti on this installment of “Read This Book!” from the University of Minnesota Libraries.
    In the book, Lopresti details the startling facts of how women have been sidelined, neglected, and just plain lied about in United States government statistics for more than two centuries.
    Kubas also discussed some of the strangest discoveries she’s seen and heard about from the government publications collections.
    About Lisa Von Drasek, Alicia Kubas and Read This Book!
    Von Drasek is host of Read This Book and the Curator of the University of Minnesota’s Children’s Literature Research Collections. She also writes a blog on children’s books called The Blue Ox Review.
    Alicia Kubas is the University of Minnesota’s Government Publications and Data Librarian.
    Read This Book! is a video podcast produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries. It is available on YouTube and iTunes. Audio from Read This Book! is available on iTunes at Von Drasek’s The Blue Ox Review podcast. 
     
    8 min
  • Summer reading tips for kids — Part 2

    Lisa Von Drasek recommends several books from independent publishers in Part 2 of Summer Reading for Children on Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries.

    The post Summer reading tips for kids — Part 2 appeared first on UMN Libraries News & Events.

    6 min

About Read This Book!

From the publisher's feed

Host Lisa Von Drasek and guests review books from various genres: including children’s literature, cookbooks, science, mysteries, and popular literature. This audio podcast also includes episodes from…