Thursday, July 23, 2009

Peas in a Pod or Cast Out Your Audio



I have been wanting to podcast my weekly library newsletter Page by Page for quite some time but have not cast off into that world of the unknown...yet. Though this assignment has given me more information, I am still not quite ready, though closer. I have been told by our IT department that the town website provider will be adding podcasting capabilities soon so I am waiting to use their tools. I tried to open an account with podcastplatform but it said fatal error and at one time even said I already had an account but I kept being sent in a circle. I will keep trying because I did like the information there. I did put it in my favorites and tagged it in my Delicious account. I also liked the podcast friendly music links. Speaking of which, when listening to some of the library podcasts I was a little confused because I heard stories being read. Aren't there copyright issues? Did the libraries have to get permission to read the stories first? I am sure I will probably find out these answers once I thoroughly read through all the podcasting information. I hate to say this but some of the podcasts were kinda boring...zzzz. One thing that people need to remember when doing podcasts is to be careful of the letter p and b and to try not to be close to the mike when saying words with those letters. I like music in the background before a podcast because it gets you in the mood and ready to listen to what's coming up. I think I would be dangerous if I knew how to properly use all the podcast tools and toys because I would probably use a lot in my podcast. A lot of the podcasts that I heard were book talks, reading books, or interviews...standard library stuff.

Podcasting would definitely be useful to my patrons. As I stated earlier, the first podcast I plan on doing is the weekly library newsletter. I think the patrons will find it useful because I know people already read it. I am planning on doing a podcasting survey once we are close to providing that service to find out what people would like to hear.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

What's Happening @ the Little Elm Public Library?

07/21/09

We have questions…do you have answers? Take the library survey and give us your answers to our questions. We look forward to hearing from you! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=UkdfCWoar5rDr_2fPF4XgQWw_3d_3d

New bestsellers added to the collection this week include: Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult; Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro; The Apostle by Brad Thor; The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner; A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey; There’s Something About St. Tropez by Elizabeth Adler; Knock Out by Catherine Coulter; Burn by Linda Howard; and Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson. New Christian fiction added includes Take Two by Karen Kingsbury and Tender Grace by Jackina Stark.

Are you a safe driver? Make sure by attending the AARP Safe Driver Program on Saturday, July 25th at 10am. AARP members pay $12 and non-members pay $14. There is still room so call the library at 214-975-0430 to register today! Attending this class could help save money on car insurance. Check with your agent to see if you would qualify. Also on that same day, the business fair will be taking place from 11-2! You can meet with business representatives from Luxury Interior Creations; Jeane’s Lacy Accents; Pixcha Captcha; Premier Martial Arts; Santana Studios; and Marc Matney State Farm Insurance.

This is the last chance to attend Drama Kids camp for the summer. The last camp will be held on Monday, July 27th at 3:30pm. The camp is for ages 5 through 12 and costs ten dollars. Learn fun theatrical activities that you can do at home.

Another last chance opportunity is the Twogether in Texas class. The healthy marriage initiative in Texas (Twogether in Texas) promotes free, skills-based marriage education and provides couples with the tools they need to manage the challenges inherent to relationships. Engaged couples who complete a qualifying class will receive the added benefit of having $60 of their marriage license fee waived, and they will not have to wait 72 hours to get married. Classes will benefit couples who are seriously dating, engaged to marry and those married for any length of time. Non-married couples will receive a certificate of completion that is good for one year and serves as proof that the couple is eligible for the discounted marriage license fee. The Little Elm library located at 100 W. Eldorado Parkway, will be hosting the class on Saturday, August 1st, from 8am-4pm. To call for details and to register for the classes please pre-register with Sharp Focus Centers at 1-940-381-5010. The Twogether in Texas classes may end at the end of August so call Sharp Focus to take advantage of this important opportunity.

For more information about these or other upcoming events call the library at 214-975-0430, email library@littleelm.org, or visit the website at http://ci.little-elm.tx.us/library.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

What's Happening @ the Little Elm Public Library

Little Elm Public Library newsletter
07/14/09

Four armadillos sniffing in the dirt, all stayed together so none would get hurt. My husband and I went for a walk at the Elm Fork Nature Preserve trail in Carrollton and were lucky enough to see four baby armadillos rooting for food. We stayed very still so not to scare them. One of them came close enough to sniff my husband’s shoe. I wanted to bend down to pet it but I did not want to scare it or them away. So the moral of this story is to take time to smell the roses, watch the armadillo’s or anything else that involves taking a breather every now and then. Life is too short to be stressed out ALL the time.

Speaking of taking a breather, check out these hot new bestsellers added to the collection which include: The Doomsday Key by James Rollins; Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich; Star Wars Fate of the Jedi (Omen) by Christie Golden; Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann; and Knock Out by Catherine Coulter.

If you think you have the “write” stuff, visit the Little Elm Writer’s Group on Thursday, July 16th at 6:30pm. Author/Musician Rochelle Rabouin will be working with the group on their musical short story romance and the group will also be working on their short story anthology. Whether you are thinking about writing or are already a published author, come join the Little Elm Writer’s Group. The group meets the third Thursday of each month at 6:30pm. We are also looking for any agents or publishers who would like to speak to the group.

Pepperoni, gooey cheese, black olives, tasty tomato sauce, and every thing else that is edible…oh sorry, I was thinking about the pizza that I was going to have at the Peter Piper Pizza fundraiser on Friday, July 17th between 5pm-8pm. Peter Piper Pizza is located at Eldorado and Dallas Toll way, 12021 Dallas Parkway in Frisco. The Little Elm Library will receive 15% of all food and beverage sales and if you buy your game tokens at the counter we get a portion of that as well. It’s a great way to spend a Friday with family or friends and make a difference at the same time. Either stop by the library for a flyer to bring with you or send me an email at thager@littleelm.org and I will send you a copy of the flyer for you to print off. Family, friends, food, and fun for a Friday night…life is good.

Stories, songs, movies, and crafts for adults and children. These are all happening on Saturday, July 18th. Family story time for all ages is at 10:30am; Children’s film festival happens at 11am. From 11am-noon Natalie McPhail will teach Mini-Mosaics to age 4-9 for $5 (registration required). Then at 1pm there will be a Saturday movie matinee. Also at 1pm the new Knitting club meets (bring a project and enjoy the company of others who like to knit) and there will be an Intro to jewelry design class for ages 13 and up ($15 per person and registration is required because there is a list of supplies that need to be brought to class) For more information about library events call 214-975-0430, email library@littleelm.org or visit the website at http://ci.little-elm.tx.us/library.

Friday, July 10, 2009

A Simply Delicious Buffet of Bookmarks

Delicious is going to come in handy. For one thing, I have a habit of wanting to save a lot of sites. For another, I have a lot of sites that I have the Page by Page library newsletter so it is going to make it a lot easier to keep up with where to update my weekly library information. I did add the bookmark buttons and that does make it easier to save sites by tagging the site but I also tried the manual way to get the "full" experience.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

What's happening @ the Little Elm Library

Little Elm Public Library newsletter
07/07/09
Being right handed, I never really gave my left hand a whole lot of credit except that it was conveniently around when my right had needed help. Currently, my left hand has been put into a brace until the doctor figures out why my hand is bothering me. This has made my right hand very sad because my left hand has been a bigger help all these years than I gave it credit for. Actually to narrow it down, my four left fingers can still function, but my thumb has decided to go on strike. I guess I won’t be bowling anytime soon.

One handy thing that you can do at the library is read. Hot new bestsellers that have just arrived at the library include The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe; Divine Soul Songs by Dr. Zhi Gang Sha; and The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. I just finished listening to Swimsuit by James Patterson and it was awesome! I think it is even better than Sail by Patterson. Check it out and let me know what you think.

If you like reading award winning fiction books then you might want to bookmark the National Book Foundation’s book a day blog http://www.nationalbook.org/nba77fictionwinners.html. The National Book Foundation is presenting a book-a-day blog on the Fiction winners from 1950 to 2008 in order to celebrate the 60th year of the National Book Awards. The blog will run from July 7th to September 21st. If the library does not have a book that you are looking for, we can either provide you with a bookmark that has the phone numbers of the seventeen public libraries in Denton County or do an interlibrary loan that enables us to borrow books from across the United States. What’s on your reading list?

We need you! On Thursday, July 9th, at 7pm, the Friends of the Library will be electing new officers. If you are interested in being part of an organization that is helping the library grow up, now is the perfect time to get involved. The library has between 5500 and 6500 visitors a month and provides a lot of different services and programs to the community. Friends are very important to the library so we hope that you will either become an officer or join the friends of the library.

Upcoming programs of interest include the investment and retirement seminar on Saturday, July 11th at 10:30am. Learn how to determine if you’re on track to reach your retirement goals and what steps you can take to help. The Drama Kids workshop is every Monday through the middle of August at 3:30pm (first class free, then $10 per week); Summer memories scrapbooking for kids on Wednesday July 15th starts at 11:30a.m. (registration); Intro to Jewelry Design class for ages 15 and up at 6pm (cost is $15 and registration is required) and Little Elm Writers Group at 6:30pm happen on Thursday, July 16th; the Library fundraiser at Peter Piper Pizza is on Friday, July 17th 5-8p.m. (drop by the library to pick up your flyer). Saturday, July 18th programs include Mini-Mosaics art project for ages 4-9 ($5 fee and registration required) at 11am; Knitting club at 1pm and Intro to Jewelry Design class ages 15 and up ($15 fee and registration required). For more information contact the library at 214-975-0430 or email library@littleelm.org.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Tag, Your It!

Wikipedia had a mouthful to say about tagging. Librarians have been tagging for years, with the help of Sears Subject headings and Library of Congress subject headings to name a couple. Now with the web, subjects have become a free for all in the name of tagging. It is pretty obvious that some people are good at it and some are not. The topic to be tagged and what is considered important is actually in the eye of the tagger. For example, usually when I write about what the library is doing, the first tag I put is the library's name because I want people to find us. Someone else who reads my articles may not put the library's name because the library may not be the main topic of the article. The tagging assignment could easily be placed earlier on in the web 2.0 training because a lot of the web 2.0 tools give the option for tagging so learning about tagging early on could help know what it is and possibly how to do it. Tagging can be beneficial to libraries serving thier patrons but the most important thing is that the tags still need to be reviewed and evaluated to make sure that it provides the information needed so that the patrons can find the information they are looking for.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

What's Happening @ the Little Elm Public Library

06/30/09
If you need books for the upcoming three day weekend, remember that the library will be closed from Friday, July 3rd through Sunday, July 5th for the Independence Day weekend. Though Little Elm Toastmasters (meeting every 1st and 4th Thursdays from 7-8pm and the first Saturday of each month at 1pm) and Little Elm Crafters Guild are cancelled for that day, make sure to plan on attending the exciting annual Town of Little Elm July Jubilee celebration in Little Elm Park! July Jubilee is a fun event for the entire family that starts at 4pm on Saturday, July 4th.

Kids and teens between the ages of 10 and 18 are invited to join the WWE SummerSlam Reading Jam at the Little Elm library. This is a partnership between your library, the Young Adult Library Services Association and World Wrestling Entertainment. To enter, the first twenty-five kids check out two books by July 16th and receive a numbered poster while supplies last. These posters have been given out to libraries across the United States. On July 17th, WWE will randomly select 2 poster numbers as Grand Prize Winners (a trip for the grand prize winner and one guest to attend WWE’s SummerSlam live event in August in Los Angeles) and ten poster numbers as First Prize Winners (each will receive a WWE Encyclopedia) and fifteen poster numbers as alternates.

On Tuesday, July 7th at 4pm join us for the Parting of the Pants party. Inspired by the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series, by Ann Brashares, three pairs of pants have traveled around! Starting in California, the pants have been to over 40 libraries across the United States, Canada, and Australia! Along the way, teens have been adding their names and drawings representing their home libraries. The two pairs of pants are currently hanging around in the Little Elm library. We will decorate two additional pairs of pants so one Little Elm pair can travel on with the other three pair. We will also create a mini scrapbook to send along with the pants. Everyone is welcome to join the “sisterhood” for the Parting of the Pants party! Brothers are invited too!

If investments and retirement have been on your mind, sign up for the Edward Jones program being held on Saturday, July 11th, 10:30am at the library. The program covers specific financial topics and how to determine if you’re on track to reach your retirement goals and what steps you can take to help make them a reality. Call Linda Bullwinkle, Financial Advisor at 972-292-1824 or 214-215-5453 to reserve your spot today.

For the adult readers, bestsellers added this week include The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan; Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steel; Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton; Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver; Excuses Begone by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer; Relentless by Dean Koontz; Robert Ludlum’s the Bourne Deception by Eric Van Lustbader; Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton; and audio books Brimstone by Robert B. Parker and Swimsuit by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro. Put a hold on your favorites today! To put a hold on these great titles or ask questions about anything else, contact the library at 214-975-0430 or email library@littleelm.org.

Let Me Tell you a LibraryThing or Two

Funny thing, I learned that I had signed the Little Elm Library up on LibraryThing back in 2006 and just hadn't used it yet. Now I have a couple of Friends :-) I have decided to add the really old and rare books that we get as donations and that we will turn into a special collection for people to look at but they are not in the regular collection and catalog yet. I never did find ThingLang, ISBN Check and MARCThing and I looked on every page for close to an hour. My eyesight must be really bad :-( I also found out that I was already a member of the Librarians Who LibraryThing. I See Dead People's Books was not something I was interested in. By the time I got to the Thingology Blog I had already been on the site for awhile so it was information overload time but it did seem to have some good information to reread in more detail. I did add our Writers group as an event and tagged the library and the writers groups as favorites. I am also interested in learning more about the Cue Cat Scanner that I saw on the site for $15.