If you enjoying reading about animals, especially dogs, here are some new titles that you might enjoy.

Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean tells the story of the famous dog's journey from an orphan puppy to a movie star.   A young American soldier found the German shepherd puppy on a WW1 battlefield in France and brought the pup back with him to California.  Rin Tin Tin went on to star in many movies and he became the most famous dog in the world.  This is his story.   636.7376 ORL

 

Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog by Susannah Charleson tells the story of Puzzle, a   golden retriever, and her search pilot owner as they search for the missing, including a lost teen and an Alzheimer's patient.   636.70886 CHA  

 

No Buddy Left Behind: Bringing U.S. Troops' Dogs and Cats Safely Home from the Combat Zone is about American troops serving in the Middle East and the stray dogs and cats they rescued.  Author Terri Crisp makes it her mission to save these animals and bring them back to the states and back to the soldiers who love them.  636.08 CRI

 

Sergeant Rex by Mike Dowling tells the story of a bomb-sniffing   German shepherd in Iraq and his handler.  They were part of the first military working dog team sent to the front lines since Vietnam.  This is a tale of courage and devotion set against the backdrop of war.  956.70443 DOW

 

For other titles, check our online catalog or Ask Us!

 

kt

A new state law adds 13 electronic devices to the list of items than cannot be disposed of with your regular trash collection.

Banned items include computers, TVs, fax machines, scanners, stereos, microwaves, printers and other similar devices.   It is now illegal for Illinois residents to place these items in their trash and it is likewise illegal for the landfills to accept these items.

The purpose of the law is to encourage recycling and the reclaiming of the valuable resources these items contain, such as gold, lead, silver, and cadmium.

Kane County is continuing to offer a drop-off service for electronics on the second Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kane County Circuit Clerk's Office, which is located at 540 Randall Road, St. Charles. 

For more information, visit the Kane County Recycles website. 

  kt

The Stop Online Piracy Act seems like a good idea - protect copyright owners from digital piracy. Who wouldn't agree with that? Turns out quite a few people, including free speech activists and technology companies and sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, Google, Reddit, and others who fear that the language of the bill would make it easy to shut them down on just an accusation of piracy. How worried are they? Some major sites, including Wikipedia, are planning to "go black" on January 18th as a protest. Are they overreacting?

Check out these overviews and opinions: 

PC World Pro and Con                                             

 New York Times

Fox News

CNET

SOPA is not the only Internet anti-piracy bill making its way through Congress. PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) is more narrowly focused on similar issues. If you want to learn more, check out Congressional Digest's overview and scroll down for the Pro/Con arguments. Outside of the library, you'll need your library card and PIN to access this copyright-protected content.

hk

The Survey of American Industry & Careers is a new Reference set for job seekers and students.   This six volume set, shelved on the library's Career and Job Information table, provides in-depth overviews of 112 core North American industries and related jobs and careers.   This set is also available online for St. Charles card holders.

The industries profiled include manufacturing, the service sector, e-businesses, etc.  The scale of industries range from those dominated by individuals or small businesses to those dominated by national and international corporations.

A wealth of information is provided for each industry including an industry snapshot, industry market segments, organizational structure and job roles, industry outlook and related resources.

If you are looking for information on an industry, this set would be a great place to begin your research.   For additional resources on industries and careers, check out the other titles shelved on Career & Job Information Table or ask us!

kt

 

If you have a new eReader or tablet computer, congratulations! We'd love to help you get started checking out library books online. We hope you'll love borrowing digital books for free.

The Rules:

• Library books are checked out to you for 14 days.
• You don't have to worry about returns or over dues, the books are returned automatically.
• You may have up to 5 downloadable items checked out at once.
• Most eBooks may be returned early (so you can download another immediately) and you may place holds on checked-out items.

How-To:
How you download library items depends on your device.

• Have a Kindle? Start here.
• Have a Nook, Sony, or other eReader? Start here.
• Own an iPad, Xoom, smartphone or other tablet computer? Start here.
• Would you rather listen? You can download audiobooks to compatible devices, too!

Help!
The My Help! on our eBook site is easy to use and understand. Just click the icon to get started.

If you would like some in-person assistance, we offer drop-in sessions for adults and children accompanied by an adult. No reservation is required, but please bring your device,and any and all cords. If you are using a Nook or other eReader and own a laptop, please bring it with you, too.

We have lots of upcoming dates and times for you to choose from.


Tips and Tricks:

All readers, except Kindles, read the Adobe EPUB format.

Begin your search for titles on the Library's eBook/eAudiobook site.

If you do an advanced search, you can limit to your device's format, items that are immediately available to checkout, and genres such as mysteries, biographies, or romance.

You'll need your library card and PIN to checkout. The default PIN is changeme. If you've changed your PIN, but can't remember it, it can be emailed to you.

If you're a Kindle owner, you'll need to have your Amazon login and password.

Photo:Sapphireblue on Flickr via everystockphoto


More Free Stuff!
Since we're talking about free digital stuff, don't forget that we also have free music downloads (3 per week, and you get to keep the music). And if you like to listen to books, but don't want to download them, you might like to check out a digital Playaway device. Youth Playaways and Playaway Views are available for kids, too. Just supply your own headphones and batteries and you're good to go.

Enjoy!

hk

Yes, it's that time - our annual eReader purchasing advice. The good news is that if you're hoping for a shiny new eReader or tablet computer this year, chances are better than ever that you can checkout books for free from the Library (Kindle owners, rejoice!). For a complete list of library compatible reading  and listening devices, click here.

But how to decide what to buy?  CNET has reviewed the major players in the field for you. They even talk about library borrowing! Read the review. Stop in the library to see other reviews.

Once you have your reader, check out our Digital and Downloadable page for quick start guides and more information. We regularly hold drop-in help sessions. Just check your current issue of Discover, our website, or give us a call for more information.






Finally, if you're feeling an overload of technostress, we once again recommend turning to the Medieval Help Desk for a laugh.






hk

The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are once again sponsoring the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.  This  program is designed to collect and distribute holiday cards to American service members and their families in the U.S. and around the world.

It is very easy to participate.  Complete your cards and mail before December 9, 2011 to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456. 



Here are a few simple guidelines:
    Use generic salutations, such as "Dear Service Member"
    Send only cards - no letters
    Do not include home addresses or email addresses
    Do not include any inserts, such as photos
    Cards do not need to be in individual envelopes as cards will be removed from envelopes before distribution.

This is a great program for children to participate in. 

Remember our service members and send them holiday cards.

kt

Looking for some new recipes? Try one of these cookbooks available in the library's collection.

It is almost time to start baking those Christmas cookies that we all love.  A new     cookbook full of more than 200  types of recipes is  Very Merry Cookies (641.5686 VER).  This book is for both novices and more experienced bakers.  Every cookie lover should find something to like in this book. 

Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes (641.555 OLI) is just the cookbook for those who need quick and easy recipes.  This is Oliver's 11th book.  He provides recipes with stove to table prep times of 20-30 minutes.   The book includes hundreds of color photographs, tips on how to organize your kitchen, and a list of essential tools and equipment.

                                                                                                               

For Italian food fans, try Jessica Theroux's Cooking with Italian Grandmothers (641.5945 THE).  The subtitle of this book is Recipes and Stories from Tuscany to Sicily.   She visited Italian grandmothers in their kitchens and recorded their recipes and stories.

 

 Comfort Food Fix (641.563 KRI) by the Cooking Channel's Ellie Krieger has 150 recipes for favorites like meatloaf, lasagna, and mashed potatoes made with fewer calories and fat.  Krieger provides lots of simple tips and tricks to serve up healthier foods.  She has recipes for breakfast to dinner, snacks to desserts, and everything inbetween.

For more cookbooks, check our online catalog or AskUs!

kt

 

 

There are many projects around your home that you can do yourself, and the library has a wide selection of books that can help you complete these projects.

Need more closet space?  Easy Closets:  Affordable Storage Solutions for Everyone (643.5 PRO) can give you lots of ideas about how to get the most storage space from the closets you already have.  

 The Complete Guide to Flooring (690.16 COM) will answer your flooring questions.  A DVD is included with this book.        

Need to spruce up the front of your home?  Quick & Easy Curb Appeal (625.88 QUI) will give you tips and ideas on how to make the front of your house and yard more attractive.

 Building Decks (690.893 BUI) covers every aspect of deck design and construction and guides the user through the entire process.  Start now and you will be ready for next summer.

 

 

Check the library's online catalog or Ask Us! for more titles.

Our Hobbies and Crafts database includes woodworking, gardening and home decorating if you like to learn online.

kt

 

Now's a good time to get crafting on Christmas and Hanukkah gifts (or Solstice presents, or New Year surprises, or just because you like to give gifts). But maybe you're tired of giving the same old thing. If you want to really surprise them, check out some of our most unique craft titles.



Don't worry, no cats will be harmed (or shaved) if you decide to try Crafting with Cat Hair. And no, you won't be making sweaters out of your feline friend's coat. The projects involved require just a little of kitty's fur which is usually made into a felted embellishment for a larger project. The pictures of cats and the charming asides will tickle feline fanciers. Even those of us who initially were turned off by the idea of turning cat hair into crafts have found at least one item that we think is the cat's meow in this quirky book.