At the same time that the Philip S. Miller Library hosted a talk by a Denver-based Islamic Center leader, the United States attacked Afghanistan.

Imam (or spiritual leader) Kazerooni was very articulate, very clear. He succinctly outlined the beliefs of Islam. He roundly condemned the horror of the terrorist attack, and patiently explained why none of bin Laden's actions (or those of his agents) could be considered the acts of a Muslim.

I need to correct a news story that came out last week on the front page of the News Press. The facts got badly scrambled.

Three Mideastern men did NOT come to Castle Rock seeking information about the Highlands Ranch water supply.

Shortly before September 11, three men who may have been Mideastern came to the Highlands Ranch Library asking about companies in the Denver area that specialized in desalinization. Desalinization is the process of preparing drinking water from salt water.

Recently I attended a lecture by a library professor. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the delightful Virginia Boucher. "Ginnie," as she is known to her many friends and admirers, lives in Boulder, but has a more local connection. She attended library school, and was dear friends, with Genevieve ("Nicky") Mead, one of the true founders of Douglas County's libraries.

Ginnie is another pioneer. She was one of a handful of people who invented something librarians call Eye-Ell-Ell (ILL) -- InterLibrary Loan.

Many people think fantasy and science fiction are the same. They're not.

"Fantasy" takes place in a world where certain, often basic, things are just impossible. Take the Harry Potter series. The author doesn't spend a lot of time trying to work out sort-of-sensible explanations for why magic works. It's a given, part of the background. Spells work, ghosts inhabit Hogwart's halls, and brooms fly. On with the story!