“Medicine for the soul.”- Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes.

“Without librarians, I wouldn’t be a writer today,” said Brad Meltzer, best-selling author and honorary chairman of National Library Week 2012.  (Meltzer is author of “The Book of Fate,” “The Inner Circle” and “Heroes For My Son,” and the host of Brad Meltzer’s “Decoded” on the History Channel.)  http://lincolnnewsmessenger.com/detail/205037.html

On March 15, 2012, updates to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) went into effect.  The new standards—known as the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design—focus specifically on creating wayfinding signage for the visually impaired.  The good news is that libraries are already doing well in compliance from a technology standpoint, providing visually impaired patrons with text-manipulation software and closed-circuit televisions to enlarge print.  The better news is that these new standards offer more guidance in making traditional wayfinding signage more patron-friendly.  Fatima Kukaswadia is one of those who will benefit from the standards.  A senior business and economics major at North Park University in Chicago, Kukaswadia is legally blind.  Signs that normally help patrons navigate through the stacks are not as simple for Kukaswadia, who has a rare genetic disease known as achromatopsia.  The vision disorder prevents her from driving, seeing in color, and reading the whiteboard in her classes.  Kukaswadia told American Libraries that reading signs with glare is difficult.  “I also have difficulty tolerating bright light and am forced to close my eyes when there is too much of it,” she said.  The new ADA standards will help Kukaswadia, because they require a non-glare finish on all signage and recommend a 70% contrast between the sign background and lettering.  To meet the 70% guideline, the ADA provides a formula that uses light reflectance values to determine contrast.  The formula was published in the 2002 amendment to the 1991 standards (Appendix, 4.30.5).  The new ADA standards include several differences from the 1990 rules, which became enforceable in 1992.  Perhaps the most noticeable change is the recognition that signage created for the visually impaired needs to accommodate those who read by sight, those who read Braille, and those who read raised characters—particularly because only an estimated 10% of all people who are blind read Braille.  Liz Humrickhouse   Read more at:  http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/04252012/new-ada-signage-standards-take-effect

Affixes:  -archy and -arch

Words in -archy are abstract nouns for types of government, leadership, or social influence or organization.  They correspond to nouns in -arch for a person or people who rule or command in that way.  For example, a monarch (Greek monos, alone or single) is a sovereign head of state, in a type of government called monarchy.  Find examples including anarchy and synarchy at:  http://www.affixes.org/a/-archy.html  Find examples including diarchy and tetrarchy using -archy, -ism and more at:  http://www.faqs.org/ologies-isms/Fir-Gra/Government.html

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has opened its Library and Archives to the public, granting scholars and fans alike access to over 200 archival collections, including the personal papers of performers, radio disc jockeys, photographers, journalists, critics, historians, poster artists, collectors, fans, and fan clubs.  The strength of the Rock Hall’s archival collections currently lies in hundreds of boxes of music business records from record executives, artist managers, labels, historic venues, recording studios, specialists in stage design and lighting, and long-running concert tours.  The collections also contain important individual items, such as personal letters penned by Aretha Franklin and Madonna; handwritten working lyrics by Jimi Hendrix and LL Cool J; and rare concert recordings from CBGB in the 1970s.  The Library and Archives also houses a growing library collection that includes thousands of books, sound recordings, and video recordings.  The state-of-the-art facility is housed in a new four-story, $12 million building located on the Metro Campus of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, approximately two miles from the Museum.  See picture plus links to catalog, location, parking and more at:  http://rockhall.com/library/

Q:  What do senators and congressmen earn?
A: Senators and representatives earn $174,000 a year.  The House speaker earns $223,500 and party leaders earn $193,400.  Members are covered by the same retirement plans as other federal employees, the Civil Service Retirement System for those whose service began before 1984, and the Federal Employees Retirement System for those whose service began in 1984 or later.  There are differences in age eligibility, years required, and contributions.  Members elected after 1984 also participate in Social Security.  As of October 2007, the average annual pension was $63,696 under the pre-1984 plan and $36,372 under the post-1984 plan. -- Library of Congress.
Q:  What is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?
A:  Ironically, it's the fear of long words. -- dictionary.com. 

http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2012/Jun/JU/ar_JU_061812.asp?d=061812,2012,Jun,18&c=c_13

Dan Leno (1860-1904), born George Wild Galvin, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era.  He was perhaps best known, aside from his music hall act, for his dame roles in the annual pantomimes that were popular at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from 1888 to 1904.  Leno was born in St Pancras, London, and began to entertain as a child.  In 1864, he joined his parents on stage in their music hall act, and he made his first solo appearance, aged nine, at the Britannia Music Hall in Coventry.  As a youth, he was famous for his clog dancing, and in his teen years, he became the star of his family's act.  He adopted the stage name Dan Leno and, in 1884, made his first performance under that name in London.  As a solo artist, he became increasingly popular during the late 1880s and 1890s, when he was one of the highest-paid comedians in the world.  He developed a music hall act of talking about life's mundane subjects, mixed with comic songs and surreal observations, and created a host of mostly working-class characters to illustrate his stories. In 1901, still at the peak of his career, he performed his "Huntsman" sketch for Edward VII at Sandringham.  The monarch was so impressed that Leno became publicly known as "the king's jester".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Leno

He is an artist.  He is 97.  His Toledo apartment displays his works in every room from floor to ceiling.  On June 27, he showed me his works including a painting he finished the day before.  He is Jim Brower.  He is a consistent exhibitor in state, regional and national shows and has achieved signature membership in the Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia watercolor societies, as well as the National Watercolor Society and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America.  He is an honorary life member of the Ohio Watercolor Society.  Jim is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.  The listings honor his many years in advertising art and his accomplishments as a fine artist.  His more than seventy watercolor painting awards have included the Watercolor Ohio ’84 Gold medal, the 1990 Georgia Watercolor Society Gold Medal, and awards in the San Diego International, National Watercolor Society and Oklahoma Watercolor Society exhibitions.  Jim has served as president of the Northwestern Ohio Watercolor Society and of the Toledo Federation of Art Societies.  He served on the board of the Ohio Watercolor Society from 1986 to 1992.  http://lakecurrents.com/release-room/20100708/mood-and-mode-art-jim-brower-view-now-through-august-31-main-library

The acronym SERP often means Search Engine Results Page or Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (nontax-qualified).  See about two dozen definitions at:  http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/SERP