Look at this guy's socks! He is ready for fall.What a wild month. August 2011! Maybe you were away for all or part of it, but it will surely go down in the NYC record books as "Month With the Most Unusual Meteorological/Geological Events." Earthquake! Hurricane! Read Down Your Fines! On the NYPL blogs we didn't just tell you about all of the wonderful collections and services we provide every day; we also gave you useful information for when our doors are — unfortunately for Jake Gyllenhaal fans hoping to reenact scenes from Day After Tomorrow — closed!

• We read Maisie Dobbs in the Reader's Den, and got transported to World War I England.
• We were glued to our Sci-Fi television set, beaming in transmissions from previous decades.
• We helped you research genealogy, pamphlets, and business plans.
• We watched the Tilden Library come into existence, and the Mona Lisa vanish.
• We pretended to be DJs instead of librarians, and took your requests live on air.
• We experienced LOVE—the tennis, as well as the Lucy kind, and KISS—the rock and roll all night, party every day kind.
• We traveled to more exotic locales.
• We talked to our friends Nick Tosches the writer, Tika the scone-maker, Shanta the anime addict, Devlynn the volunteer, and Theo the border collie-greyhound mix!
• We gave you recommendations for fantasy, lots of teen reads, sci-fi, slam poetry, and more.
• We remembered the other Little Italy, and the library that was built there.
• We weathered the storm, providing you with resources and real time updates. And I don't know about you, but we finally got some real reading done!
• We tried not to judge this summer too harshly. Five more days 'til Labor Day...

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