The century-old Gentlewoman’s Guide to Love and Courtship is no ordinary book club choice. But for the little book club in Smitten, Vermont, it might be their best pick yet! The thick, leathery tome Heather pulled out of the dusty cardboard box was definitely coming home with her. Not only was The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Love and Courtship an appealing curiosity by virtue of its title; it was also written by Smitten, Vermont native Pearl Chambers, a local gentlewoman from three generations back. Little did Heather know the repercussions this little curiosity would have on her and her friends’ romantic exploits. When Heather and her fellow book club members begin passing the book around, their respective interpretations are unleashed on their respective love lives . . . for better or for worse. Is it a mystery? An idealist fantasy? An intimation of Jane Austen? As romantic love finds its way to each woman, the Guide proves itself both surprisingly prescient and hilariously irrelevant. What’s more, a handwritten inscription indicates that the arcane book might hold the only extant clues leading to buried gold—exactly what one of the members needs to keep her house. How could they not go treasure hunting?

Autumn leaves aren’t the only things falling in the historic Virginia village of Taylorsford—so are some cherished memories, and a few bodies October in Taylorsford, Virginia means it’s leaf peeping season, with bright colorful foliage and a delightful fresh crew of tourists attending the annual Heritage Festival which celebrates local history and arts and crafts. Library director Amy Webber, though, is slightly dreading having to spend two days running a yard sale fundraiser for her library. But during these preparations, when she and her assistant Sunny stumble across a dead body, Amy finds a real reason to be worried. The body belonged to a renowned artist who was murdered with her own pallet knife. A search of the artist’s studio uncovers a cache of forged paintings, and when the sheriff’s chief deputy Brad Tucker realizes Amy is skilled in art history research, she’s recruited to aid the investigation. It doesn’t seem to be an easy task, but when the state’s art expert uncovers a possible connection between Amy’s deceased uncle and the murder case, Amy must champion her Aunt Lydia to clear her late husband’s name. That’s when another killing shakes the quiet town, and danger sweeps in like an autumn wind. Now, with her swoon-inducing neighbor Richard Muir, Amy must scour their resources to once again close the books on murder in Shelved Under Murder, the charming second installment in Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mysteries, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Miranda James.

From the author of the highly praised The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things comes another captivating history of the seemingly mundane: the book and its storage. 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, readers are guided along the astonishing evolution from papyrus scrolls boxed at Alexandria to upright books shelved at the Library of Congress. Unimpeachably researched, enviably written, and charmed with anecdotes from Seneca to Samuel Pepys to a nineteenth-century bibliophile who had to climb over his books to get into bed, The Book on the Bookshelf is indispensable for anyone who loves books.

As U.S. strategy shifts (once again) to focus on great power competition, Strategy Shelved provides a valuable, analytic look back to the Cold War era by examining the rise and eventual fall of the U.S. Navy's naval strategy system from the post-World War II era to 1994. Steven T. Wills draws some important conclusions that have relevance to the ongoing strategic debates of today. His analysis focuses on the 1970s and 1980s as a period when U.S. Navy strategic thought was rebuilt after a period of stagnation during the Vietnam conflict and its high water mark in the form of the 1980s' maritime strategy and its attendant six hundred -ship navy force structure. He traces the collapse of this earlier system by identifying several contributing factors: the provisions of the Goldwater Nichols Act of 1986, the aftermath of the First Gulf War of 1991, the early 1990s revolution in military affairs, and the changes to the Chief of Naval Operations staff in 1992 following the end of the Cold War. All of these conditions served to undermine the existing naval strategy system. The Goldwater Nichols Act subordinated the Navy to joint control with disastrous effects on the long-serving cohort of uniformed naval strategists. The first Gulf War validated Army and Air Force warfare concepts developed in the Cold War but not those of the Navy's maritime strategy. The Navy executed its own revolution in military affairs during the Cold War through systems like AEGIS but did not get credit for those efforts. Finally, the changes in the Navy (OPNAV) staff in 1992 served to empower the budget arm of OPNAV at the expense of its strategists. These measures laid the groundwork for a thirty-year "strategy of means" where service budgets, a desire to preserve existing force structure, and lack of strategic vision hobbled not only the Navy, but also the Joint Force's ability to create meaningful strategy to counter a rising China and a revanchist Russian threat. Wills concludes his analysis with an assessment of the return of naval strategy documents in 2007 and 2015 and speculates on the potential for success of current Navy strategies including the latest tri-service maritime strategy. His research makes extensive use of primary sources, oral histories, and navy documents to tell the story of how the U.S. Navy created both successful strategies and how a dedicated group of naval officers were intimately involved in their creation. It also explains how the Navy's ability to create strategy, and even the process for training strategy writers, was seriously damaged in the post-Cold War era.

As libraries strive to maintain collections with limited space, many have turned to high-efficiency, off-site shelving facilities. This work addresses virtually all major issues in planning, building, and operating high-density storage. Using the Harvard Depository model, but applying the issues and activities to other models as well, a host of contributors cover such issues as governance and cost, design and construction, preservation, selection, pre-shelving preparation, systems, access and management, services, and transportation. An essential guide to anyone considering or involved in high efficiency shelving, this book is also a valuable reference.

Vampires, zombies, ghosts, and ghoulies: there are more things going bump in the night than ever. So how do you wend your way through all of them to find the ones that interest a particular reader? RA expert Spratford updates her advisory to include the latest in monsters and the macabre, including Lists of recommended titles, authors, and sub-genres, all cross-referenced for quick reference Tips for effectively practicing horror RA, with interview questions for gauging a reader’s interests An expanded resources section, with an overview addressing the current state of horror lit, and suggestions of how to dig deeperAs both an introductory guide for librarians just dipping their toes into the brackish water of scary fiction, as well as a fount of new ideas for horror-aware reference staff, Spratford’s book is infernally appropriate.

The how's and why's of successful drug repositioning Drug repositioning, also known as drug reprofiling or repurposing, has become an increasingly important part of the drug development process. This book examines the business, technical, scientific, and operational challenges and opportunities that drug repositioning offers. Readers will learn how to perform the latest experimental and computational methods that support drug repositioning, and detailed case studies throughout the book demonstrate how these methods fit within the context of a comprehensive drug repositioning strategy. Drug Repositioning is divided into three parts: Part 1, Drug Repositioning: Business Case, Strategies, and Operational Considerations, examines the medical and commercial drivers underpinning the quest to reposition existing drugs, guiding readers through the key strategic, technical, operational, and regulatory decisions needed for successful drug repositioning programs. Part 2, Application of Technology Platforms to Uncover New Indications and Repurpose Existing Drugs, sets forth computational-based strategies, tools, and databases that have been designed for repositioning studies, screening approaches, including combinations of existing drugs, and a look at the development of chemically modified analogs of approved agents. Part 3, Academic and Non-Profit Initiatives & the Role of Alliances in the Drug Repositioning Industry, explores current investigations for repositioning drugs to treat rare and neglected diseases, which are frequently overlooked by for-profit pharmaceutical companies due to their lack of commercial return. The book's appendix provides valuable resources for drug repositioning researchers, including information on drug repositioning and reformulation companies, databases, government resources and organizations, regulatory agencies, and drug repositioning initiatives from academia and non-profits. With this book as their guide, students and pharmaceutical researchers can learn how to use drug repositioning techniques to extend the lifespan and applications of existing drugs as well as maximize the return on investment in drug research and development.