Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Libraries? Social Networking?

Thinking Library!

Carole Stanger

January 29, 2011

New Books Upstairs @ the library!

Hammersteins by Oscar Hammerstein

Fields of Ukraine by Haim Tal

Prostitutes Ball by Stephen Cannell

Rivers Bend by Jayne B. Murray

Weight Watcher’s New Complete Cookbook

Strategic Moves by Stuart Woods

Other Eyes by Barbara D’Amato

Tick Tock by James Patterson

Coming Events @ the Library!

  • Library Hours!

Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Sundays—closed

  • The Library Board Regular Meeting Monday, Feb. 14 5:30 p.m. upstairs
  • Story Time Programs for 3, 4, & 5 year olds! No registration necessary! Free!
  • Wed./Thurs. Feb. 2/3 Preschool Story Time 10-10:45 a.m.
  • Wed./Thurs. Feb. 16/17 Preschool Story Time 10-10:45 a.m.
  • Sat. Feb. 12 Cass Co. Conservation Backyard Bird Count 1-2:30 p.m. Library Program Room

Did You Know… the theme for the February Preschool Story Times at the library will be “Lovable Pets”? The story times run through April, and are for boys and girls ages 3-5. They are free and there is no registration. Come join the fun!

Behind My Desk… Last week I spent a whole day attending a conference…online…including exhibits! It was the Fourth Annual Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference. Each year gets better and better. That saved me time on the road in January. It was well worth the time for me to attend. People from across the country are interested in trying a similar idea.

One of the sessions was on social networking and libraries. I will be honest, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to attend it, but decided to at the last minute. There was a terrific list of things librarians are doing online. I want you to see the list:

· Digitizing materials

· Mitigating rural isolation

· Answering questions for our patrons

· Sharing news

· Recommending, downloading, discussing solutions to old problems

· Finding emerging trends

· Marketing and promoting their libraries

Well, surprise! A lot of these things we’ve been doing for decades…just not online.


Another list I found equally worthwhile was a list of things libraries can do online and save money for the library. Have a look…

  • Instant chat…fewer long distance phone calls
  • Post events…reduce costs for ads
  • E-Learning…travel costs
  • Online notices/signs/flyers…postage costs and less paper and ink used.
  • E-Collections…savings of materials not being returned, replacement costs
  • Online grant applications…postage savings and administrative time savings

Not everything is bad about computers and the Internet—far from it!

We keep getting closer to spring…Keep Thinking Libraries!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New Books for Those Snowy Days!

Thinking Library!

Carole Stanger

January 15, 2011

New Books Upstairs @ the library!

Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

Judas Gate by Jack Higgins

Damage by John Lescroart

Naked Cruelty by Colleen McCullough

Dilemma by Albert Cutie

Color of Night by John Timmerman

To Have and To Kill by Mary Jane Clark

Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

Coming Events @ the Library!

  • Library Hours!

Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Sundays—closed

  • The postponed Library Board Regular Meeting Monday, Jan. 17 5:30 p.m. upstairs
  • Story Time Programs for 3, 4, & 5 year olds! No registration necessary! Free!
  • Wed./Thurs. Jan.19/20 Preschool Story Time 10-10:45 a.m.
  • Wed./Thurs. Feb. 2/3 Preschool Story Time 10-10:45 a.m.
  • Wed./Thurs. Feb. 16/17 Preschool Story Time 10-10:45 a.m.
  • Sat. Feb. 12 Cass Co. Conservation Backyard Bird Count 1-2:30 p.m. Library Program Room

Did You Know… the Atlantic Public Library has an online reader’s advisory source? It’s called NoveList and is right on our webpage! Have you read every one of Louis L’Amour’s books…several times? Checkout NoveList for suggestions for similar authors that you might enjoy reading, too!

Behind My Desk… There is no good time to talk about death and grief. On the other hand, it needs to be talked about. The library has books on dealing with grief for all ages. If you go to our online library catalog and type in “grief”, you will find quite a nice list of books available at the library to check out. We have books for the younger ones in our children’s section downstairs, as well. It’s one of those subjects that will come up sooner or later, and you now know that the library may have some helpful items for you.

I had a visitor to my office today. She was so excited to share her thoughts about ebooks and ereaders. She loves her books. They are important in her life, but she saw a bigger picture. She saw the thing I have been emphasizing about ereaders. They are a GIFT to a person with visual disabilities. Ereaders are wonderful to increase print size. They are wonderful also because they are not heavy to hold. I would hope that our local care centers would take a real serious look at this new reading format. There are tons of free titles to download through Project Gutenberg.

Another interesting thought was expressed through the Iowa library online discussion group. Some bright person realized that some people are generalizing the term “Kindle” to mean an ereader. (It’s like Kleenex.) A “Kindle” is an ereader from Amazon.com. A “Nook” is an ereader from Barnes and Noble. They are two entirely different things, but similar.

And don’t forget about downloadable audio books! There are wonderful titles online that are free, as well for this format.

Stay warm and safe and…Keep Thinking Libraries!