Liverpool Public Library radio station first in nation!

Even though Liverpool Public Library is not part of our library system, many of our patrons, along with myself, have Onondaga County library cards. They use both Baldwinsville and Liverpool Public Libraries frequently so I wanted to let you know about a new service available to everyone.

Liverpool Public Library recently announced their web-based radio station. They are reported to be the first library in the nation to have this service. The radio station plays songs from CDs in the library's collection. So, if you are listening to a song you like, simply go to their catalog and place a hold on the CD. To quote a teen I recently told about the service, "How cool is that?"

I have not heard any discussion of the Finger Lakes Library System or our member libraries hosting a radio station, but until then, feel free to enjoy the Liverpool Public Library's new radio station. Here's the web link: Radio LPL at Live365.com

Encyclopeida of Life on the web

"Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth..." - Edward O. Wilson


I almost always learn something new when I watch the CBS Sunday Morning show. This past Sunday's show dealt a topic close to my heart, animals.

One segment that I thought was especially interesting highlighted the creation of a new web site: Encyclopedia of Life. This is a new project to create an online reference source and database for every one of the 1.8 million species that are named and known on this planet. Like Wikipedia, the site uses information submitted by scholars and lay persons to compile the vast database.

"It serves as a primary resource for a wide audience that includes scientists, natural resource managers, conservationists, teachers, and students around the world. We believe that the EOL's encompassing scope and innovation will have a major global impact in facilitating biodiversity research, conservation, and education. "-- Encyclopedia of life.

The web address is: http://www.eol.org/

I highly recommend you check it out.

Travel Packs now available

Do you start your family trips dreading hearing those ubiquitous words, “Are we there yet?” I must admit, even as an adult after four hours in the car, I too, find myself asking the same question. With analysts predicting that Americans will be driving more this summer it is a good time visit your local library to see what materials are available to make road trips more enjoyable for the whole family.

Using funds from a grant received from the Finger Lakes Library System (FLLS), the Lang Memorial Library has developed Travel Packs. These colorful backpacks were developed by children's librarian, Kitrina Hall-Barnes and will make travel time fun and educational at the same time. Each pack is age and interest oriented so anyone wanting to borrow a pack is encouraged to contact the library a week prior to the pick-up date so
that the pack can be tailored to your child's interests and reading level. Packs may include a recorded book (either tape or CD), a Klutz travel survival kit, map, books, movie, activity sheets, travel game, and even a snack. Children may also use the packs as
credit toward the completion of the summer reading program, “Get Creative @ Your Library.” The packs will be available for loan by July.

But what about teen and adult patrons? The popularity of recorded books continues to grow in all age groups. To help fill those needs, FLLS and its member libraries offer Overdirve audio book download service allowing patrons to download books to home computer for transfer to CDs or MP3 players. If a patron has trouble transferring files to their devices at home, the Lang Memorial Library has a public computer dedicated to
downloading recorded books and music from the FLLS web site. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can transfer a book to your MP3 player in just a few minutes.

While looking for information about recorded books on the Web I recently discovered instructions on how to create your own recorded book using Powerpoint or similar software designed for creating presentations. This would be a great way to remember your trip, preserve a special family event, or record history. The instructions can be found on the web at: http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/Tutorials/talkingBooks/powerpoint.php. Patrons are welcome to use the library's public computers to create a truly meaningful and lasting remembrance.

Your local library can make your travel easier with recorded books, with maps, sightseeing and campground guides, and even books on traveling with pets. So next time you plan your get-a-way, schedule a trip to your local library and make getting there half the fun.

Library Poem

The Open Door
by Donna Marie Merritt


Truth sails across great spaces
Of invitations,
Offering images, which before,
Have only been mine in dreams...
The chance to be everywhere,
anywhere, nowhere
At once.

Who else knows of this wonder?
Has it popped up like a mushroom,
Stirring the silent earth
In the quiet of the night?
Where does this enchantment begin?
Do its delights ever end?

I step through
The open door
As other seekers appear, then
Disappear along myriad, marvelous paths
Into the secret world of possibilities...
The library.

I

as published in Book Links magazine May 2009.

Duck Duck Go - a new easy to use search engine

If you like a simple search without all the bells and whistles try the search engine: duckduckgo.com. I found it very user friendly for all ages.

Take at look into New York's past

If you enjoy looking at old photos and learning about our state you will enjoy this site.

Library of Congress New York State Guide http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/newyork/ has links to digital materials related to New York that are available throughout the Library of Congress web site.

In addition, it provides links to external Web sites http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/newyork/external.html focusing on New York and a bibliography containing selected works for both a general audience and younger

Literacy Resources

Here’s a list of a few great websites that promote literacy. Reading Rockets has activities that you can download for free.

www.ReadingRockets.org.- The definitive resource for teaching kids to read
www.ColorinColorado.org - Helping English language learners read... and succeed!
www.LDOnLine.org - The world’s leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD
www.AdLit.org - All about adolescent literacy!

(reprinted from FLLS bulletin)

Best Free Reference Websites

These websites were recently recommended by the Reference and User Services Association:

Bookhive: Your Guide to Children's Literature and Books - http://www.bookhive.org/

Childcare and Early Education Research - www.childcareresearch.org/discover/index.jsp

Cooking Light: www.cookingligh.com/cooking and www.myrecipes.com/recipes

Council on Foreign Relations: http://www.cfr.org/

Discovery School: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/

Education Research Information Center: http://www.eric.ed.gov/

Europa : http://europa.ed/abc/index_en.htm

FactCheck: http://www.factcheck.org/

Indeed (a search engine for job seekers): http://www.indeed.com/

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/

Kids Health: http://www.kidshealth.org/

Kids.gov: http://www.kids.gov/

Kidreads: http://www.kidsreads.com/

National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/

Rotten Tomatoes (reviews movies and DVDs): http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Time, in partnership with CNN provides articles, blogs, and videos: http://www.time.com/

Visual Dictionary Online: http://visual.merriam-webster.com/

Volunteer Match (volunteer opportunities near and far): http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Yahoo!Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/


Personal recommendations:

www.netmom.com

www.mathpower.com

For history lovers: www.shorpy.com

BIG READ - THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston is another book I'd read several years ago that is included in THE BIG READ collection. When patrons check the book out I always say, “This one is a really good!” Still, it is hard for me to put my finger on what it is about this story that makes me say those words.
Hurston's tale begins when a woman (Janie) returns home for a funeral after being gone for many years. There, on the front porch of her friend's house, she tells the tale of her life.
Despite being considered an “African American Feminist Classic,” Hurston speaks to all women. The scene in the book where Hurston describes Janie's sexual awakening under a pear tree (as she watches a bee pollinate the tree's flowers) is not only erotic but remarkably beautiful and sensitive. Hurston's words still linger in my mind, but its more than romance that makes this work so meaningful.
For me, it is Hurston's characters that stand out. On THE BIG READ'S CD Robert Hemingway's comment helped me understand why I enjoyed this book so much. He said simply, “This book is about people.” In Hurston's book we see people struggling, discovering, and growing during difficult times. It is the tale of a journey through life that defies race.
For more information on the Zora Neal Hurston's book the Their Eyes Were Watching God go to http://www.neabigread.org/books/theireyes/, then stop by the library for a copy of the book. It is a really good!

Popular New Books - Place Your Reserve

Nelson DeMille - The Gate House
J.D. Robb - Salvation in Death (available 11/4/08)
Danielle Steel - A Good Woman

Author of Marley & Me, John Grogan publishes memoir

Recently released: The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan

" The Longest Trip Home is a book for any son or daughter who has sought to forge an identity at odds with their parents', and for every parent who has struggled to understand the values of their children. It is a book about morality and grace, spirit and faith, and the powerful love of family" ---from the jacket.

The Big Read - Let's Talk About It

Earlier this summer we received a collection of audio CDs from the National Endowment of the Art’s 2007 The Big Read Program. The series discusses selected literary classics in order to promote community “reads” and discussions. I will listen to a different CD each week and share a few of my thought on the CD and book.

My first selection is title I read and enjoyed several years ago, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. The story focuses on the difficulties four Asian women experienced when the decided to move to America and the stories they left behind. The mothers/daughter relationship is especially poignant throughout this book. On the CD, Tan explains her relationship with her own mother and how it changed over the years. Samples of Chinese music and fables help the listener experience the Chinese culture.

The women discussed how their lives changed when they moved to America, focusing on the belief that their daughters could become anything in America. Tan also explores the the topic "What does it mean to be an American?" Freedom is the word that comes to my mind first. Thanks to our founding fathers, as an Americans we are free to express our different interests, talents and beliefs. Keeping with discussion facet of The Big Read, what does being an American mean to you?

New Computers Are Here!

After months of anticipation we finally received two new computers that were purchased with grant money from the Gates Foundation. They have read-write CD/DVDs and even an "A" drive for all us folks that still need them. We will now have more computers available for the public to use...now we just need the space.

New books added to the collection:

Adult fiction

• One of Those Malibu Nights by Elizabeth Adler
• Bourne Sanction by Eric Van Lustbader
• Home by Marilynne Robinson

Teen Books

• Glass by Ellen Hopkins
• The School for Cool by P.G. Kain (Dorie Dilts)

Juvenile

• The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
• Knucklehead the biography of Jon Scieszka
• Pilgrims: a nonfiction companion to Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne
  

Why do we blog?

The library staff and board of trustees of the Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library developed this blog in order to inform our users about the programs and new materials available at the library. Along the way we will share tips, fun facts, thoughts about what we're reading, listening to and watching.
We hope you will help us learn how we can serve our community better and ultimately bring us all a little closer together.