Library Technology

As a kid, Barrington Irving moved from Jamaica to Miami and played football—his ticket to success, he thought. But then Captain Gary Robinson swooped into his life. Barrington had never seen a Black pilot before. Captain Robinson showed Barrington a jet, a cockpit, and what it was like to actually fly a plane—WHOAAA! After that, Barrington had big plans, and two words: Let's Fly!

The daughter of a seamstress and a cobbler, Jeanne Villepreux-Power began her career as a dressmaker, sewing beautiful gowns for the Parisian aristocracy. But her heart longed for more, and when she moved to the seaside, she became fascinated by the ocean's mysteries.

Which websites are fun and safe for kids? What is cyberbullying? What information is dangerous to share with strangers online? Find out how to protect yourself in this book about using online resources safely.

During an ordinary visit to the library, a young girl pulls out a not-so-ordinary book from the shelves. As she turns the pages in this book about coral reefs, the city around her slips away, and she finds herself surrounded by the coral cities of the sea and the mysterious plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide there.

The dream of capturing and organizing knowledge is as old as history. From the archives of ancient Sumeria and the Library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress and Wikipedia, humanity has wrestled with the problem of harnessing its intellectual output. The timeless quest for wisdom has been as much about information storage and retrieval as creative genius. In Cataloging the World, Alex Wright introduces us to a figure who stands out in the long line of thinkers and idealists who devoted themselves to the task.

Dr. Adela Dali, a young ethics scholar, has been invited to join a research team working on a new AI android. Her job is to make sure the AI was programmed with a strong moral compass. She is thrilled but can’t shake the feeling that there is something they aren’t telling her. What she discovers is beyond what she ever dreamed. It is both terrifying and exhilarating and will change her life forever.

From a young age, Stephen Hawking had a strong sense of wonder and was full of questions about the world around him and the stars above. He would spend his whole life trying to figure out how the universe worked, including discovering truths about black holes and energy. And when he was diagnosed with a rare disease called ALS that destroys the nerve cells in the body, he would find his own mental energy to carry on with his studies even after his limbs and vocal chords stopped working. He became one of history's most influential scientists.

Ancient people from many different cultures - Greek, Roman, Mezo-American, Arab - all looked up and imagined pictures in the sky by "drawing" a line from one star to another, like a connect-the-dots puzzle. These star pictures - constellations - represented myths and legends from the various cultures that still fascinate us today.

When he was nine years old, Neil deGrasse Tyson went on a trip that would change his life. While visiting the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, he discovered the world of astronomy and felt like the universe was calling to him. He answered that call by diving deep into astronomy courses. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, he went on to earn a doctorate in astrophysics and eventually found his way back to the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and, later, as its director.

Learn about the phenomenon of a solar eclipse just in time for the Great American Eclipse that will take place on April 8, 2024 in this title in the Who HQ Now series featuring newsmakers and trending topics.

This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great--the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction listeners and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. This book features I. M. Pei, the award-winning Chinese American architect whose projects include the John F. Kennedy Library and the pyramid at the Louvre.

Karl is an Abyssinian ground hornbill with a special challenge. His lower bill had broken off and made eating difficult. Karl did a great job of adapting and finding new ways to eat, but he wasn't getting all the food he needed. His zookeepers at the National Zoo and friends at the Smithsonian Institute wanted to help. Could an old bird skeleton and a 3D printer give Karl a new beak? Karl's new adventure was about to begin!

Beep! Beep! Here comes a dump truck! Young students can learn basic facts about these load-bearing machines through simple text to support listeners who are just starting out.

Bridges take cars, trains, and people across rivers, lakes, and canyons. This introductory title covers the materials used in bridge construction, the types of bridges, and the scientific concepts that make bridges work.

Hope Jahren is an award-winning scientist, a brilliant writer, a passionate teacher, and one of the seven billion people with whom we share this earth. In The Story of More, she illuminates the link between human habits and our imperiled planet. In concise, easy-to-understand chapters, she takes us through the science behind the key inventions—from electric power to large-scale farming to automobiles—that, even as they help us, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere like never before.

Most of us take for granted that our books are vertical on our shelves with the spines facing out, but Henry Petroski, inveterately curious engineer, didn’t. As a result, listeners are guided along the astonishing evolution from papyrus scrolls boxed at Alexandria to upright books shelved at the Library of Congress. Petroski takes us into the pre-Gutenberg world, when books were so scarce they were chained to lecterns for security.

The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, physicist and chemist Marie Curie is the 19th hero in the New York Times best-selling book biography series about heroes. This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great - the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of one of America's icons in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction listeners and that always includes the hero's childhood influences.

A trailblazing scientist made famous by her favorite primates, Jane Goodall will forever be linked with the chimpanzees that she's studied for over 50 years. A pioneer in scientific research, she revolutionized longstanding views about chimps, forest conservation, and women in scientific fields. This Up Close biography tells the story of how a demure young woman from London went to Africa and changed the world.

As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was often scolded for conducting “useless” experiments. Yet his passion for the natural world was so strong that he suffered through terrible seasickness during his five-year voyage aboard The Beagle. Darwin collected new creatures from the coasts of Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands, and expanded his groundbreaking ideas that would change people's understanding of the natural world. This audiobook will make Darwin and his theory of evolution an exciting discovery for every young listener.

Discover the extraordinary stories behind everyday things! Did you know that the ice cream sundae was invented because of a law forbidding the sale of ice cream on Sundays? Or that the first motorcycle was really just a tricycle with a motor? Would you believe that Mickey Mouse started out as a rabbit? Arranged in alphabetical order, this fascinating book is packed with the stories behind these and over 100 more inventions.