Memories of a grand master

Gateway, by Frederik Pohl, is one of the finest science fiction novels I've ever read. Published in 1977, it's undeniably an oldie, but I think it's still fresh and exciting.

Gateway is an adventure novel, featuring a vanished alien race, mankind's exploration of their incomprehensible technology, and perilous journeys of discovery into the unknown. But what makes it timeless is its powerful human story. Bob Broadhead is a space wildcatter, who once experienced a ghastly calamity, and is struggling to come to terms with it. As Bob speaks to a psychiatrist, what really happened, and how he survived, are slowly revealed.

Interestingly, Frederik Pohl, at 90, is an active blogger. Pohl is one of science fiction's most influential figures. Not just a brilliant novelist, he was an agent, anthologist and publisher throughout a long and prolific career. He was a lifelong friend of Isaac Asimov, and his capacious memory is filled with anecdotes about the most interesting authors of science fiction, like Arthur C. Clark, Donald Wollheim, Robert Heinlein, and more.

For instance, he was friends with Frank Herbert, author of the sf classic Dune. In a recent blog post, Pohl writes that Herbert was inspired to write his epic novel of the desert planet Arrakis by the Oregon Dunes. He also writes this: "Arrakis was Frank Herbert code for Iraq, The Baron was Dick Cheney, Selusa Secundis was Afghanistan and so on."

When I read that, I said "Wow!" If you agree, or if you're interested in golden-age science fiction, you really must start reading The Way the Future Blogs, by Frederik Pohl.

Newport Library's Twenty-First Century Services

Newport Library offers a full range of information technology services, both in-house and online, available to patrons and visitors alike.

The library has 13 public access internet computers (30 minute and 1 hour stations). We also maintain two stand-alone multi-media PCs available for 2-hour use. Library users may also access the internet via their own devices as we have Wi-Fi capability available throughout the building.

The library’s online presence starts with our homepage, the virtual portal to a world of services. There you’ll find basic information such as library hours and contact info, as well as a schedule of special events, computer classes, literary readings, films, children’s storytimes and adult book-club information. But our homepage is just the start of what we offer online. You can browse our two-county-system catalog of material and request those items either through our reserve system or Interlibrary loan request for those items not available locally.

Internet users can access L-Net, a state-wide web-based reference service accessible 24/7. Users can either chat directly with a librarian or email their questions for later response.

Patrons with reserves can enable email notification, eliminating annoying phone messages and paper notices for reserves and overdues.

From the homepage, library patrons can log on to our subscription databases which give them access to magazine articles, health, business and legal information as well as an extensive collection of resources for the genealogically inclined. You will need your library card number to log into these databases.

Newport Library’s blog, Salmagundi (the one you’re reading right now), is filled with reviews, information on services, and is a good way for patrons and visitors alike to comment on the job we’re doing.

In the future, Newport Library hopes to expand its online presence even further. Look for exciting changes here at Salmagundi and at some of our other online locations. You could live your whole library life online at our site. But, hey, stop by, we haven’t seen you in a while.