Google Zeitgeist

How many times a day do you use a Google website? The just-released Google Zeitgeist ranks searches done during the 2007, classifying the most popular topics and people. In their words:

To get a glimpse of what's been on our collective consciousness, we mined billions of search queries to discover what sorts of things rose to the top. We encourage you to check out our findings to see if you, too, reflect the zeitgeist — the spirit of the times.

Webster's Open Dictionary

Have you seen any robotainment lately? Met anyone that calls themselves a concoctionist?

Are these really words? Yep. According to a new Merriam-Webster online dictionary anyway.

In addition to their online dictionary and thesaurus - the Merriam-Webster web page also contains a dictionary that classifies unusual words created from popular usage, colloquialisms and current slang. Terms found in the Open Dictionary are submitted by readers and are REALLY different from typical entries in the regular dictionary. Some recently submitted definitions include:

• Gastronaut (noun) : An out of this world chef. Derived from latin 'Gastro-' meaning stomach, belly. Usage: Such a meal could only be cooked by the finest Gastronaut in the galaxy.


• Informatia (noun) : a collection of individuals or groups that form a collective online or electronic-based identity. Usage: Informatias are beginning to serve as the foundation of online interaction.


• polkadotical (adjective) : Having a lot of polka-dots. Usage: The shirt Caroline was wearing was very polkadotical.


• Starbuckian (noun) : The lingo used by Starbucks employees to converse with each other. Can also be altered to refer to other coffee shops and their lingo. Usage: She isn't fluent enough in Starbuckian to understand what was said.

New Books---

New books processed this week in the Library. These are just a few items, if you'd like to see more new items OR need a particular title, stop by the Reference Desk and the staff will be happy to help you!

• Age of fallibility : the consequences of the war on terror / George Soros. 973.931 S714a
• The art of innovation : lessons in creativity from IDEO, America's leading design firm [compact disc/unabridged] / Tom Kelley, with Jonathan Littman. CD 658.4 K29a
• Field guide to office technology / Ed Sobey. R 651.2 S677f
• Food safety : old habits, new perspectives / by Phyllis Entis. 647.95 E612f
• Happy hour at the Two Keys Tavern : poems / Jeff Worley. 811.54 W927h
• Quest for global dominance : transforming global presence into global competitive advantage / Vijay Govindarajan, Anil K. Gupta. 658.049 G721q
• Scams & swindles : phishing, spoofing, ID theft, Nigerian Advance Schemes, investment frauds, false sweethearts ; how to recognize and avoid financial rip-offs in the Internet age. 364.163 S283
• Understanding Moore's law : four decades of innovation / edited by David C. Brock. 621.3815 U55
• Voices of the American past : documents in U.S. history, / [edited by] Raymond M. Hyser, J. Chris Arndt. 973 V889
• What the bleep do we know!? : discovering the endless possibilities for altering your everyday reality / William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, Mark Vicente. 530 A767w

More information on each title can be found in the catalog.

Best of Books - 2007 Lists

Still trying to find the perfect holiday gift? Ask a librarian -- books make great gifts and if you need some ideas, take a look at these Best Of... lists.

• American Library Association - notable children's books
• New York Times - 100 notable books of the year
• Publisher's Weekly - 150 books, separated by category
• Amazon Editors - best 100 of 2007
• Guardian Unlimited - best of the year
• Times Online - best of the year in cookbooks
• Miami Herald - another best of list for children's books
• Kansas City Star - top 100
• Washington Post - best of in fiction, non-fiction and critic's picks
• Food & Wine Magazine - top 25 cookbooks
• Epicurious - top cookbooks, by category

What did we miss? Remind us in the comments.

This week's new books~

New books processed this week in the Library. These are just a few items, if you'd like to see more new items OR need a particular title, stop by the Reference Desk and the staff will be happy to help you!

• Accidental connoisseur : an irreverent journey though the wine world / Lawrence Osborne. 641.22 O81a
• Almanac of business and industrial financial ratios / by Leo Troy. R 338.74 A445 2008
• Basic manual for the lawyer's assistant / prepared by NALS and edited by Textbook Development Committee. R 349.73 B311
• Conflict of laws in a globalized world / edited by Eckart Gottschalk. 340.9 C748
• Expert resumes for people returning to work / Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark. R 650.142 E566e
• Food snob's dictionary : an essential lexicon of gastronomical knowledge. R 641.503 K15f
• Muslims, Christians, and the challenge of interfaith dialogue / Jane Idleman Smith. 261.2 S651m
• Social atlas of the United States / William H. Frey ; with Amy Beth Anspach, John Paul DeWitt, and staff members of the Social Science Data Analysis Network. R 912.13 F893a
• Tourism and gastronomy / edited by Anne-Mette Hjalager and Greg Richards. 910.83 T727
• Web application hacker's handbook : discovering and exploiting security flaws / Dafydd Stuttard, Marcus Pinto. 005.8 S937w

More information on each title can be found in the catalog.

Word of the Year

Oxford University Press, the august group that authors the largest dictionary in the world, has announced their choice for Word of the Year for 2007. This year's word: locavore. What is it?

The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation.

The blogsphere is buzzing about the choice -- see discussions at Britannica Blog as well as debates at New York Times and Boston Globe regarding the merits of the runner up choices.

Previous winners include podcast for 2005 and carbon neutral for 2006.