Category Archives: Uncategorized

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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

The library has added several new books about horses that will interest all the horse lovers in our community.

The Eighty-Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts is the true story of a horse named Snowman, who was saved from the slaughterhouse and went on to become America’s show-jumping champion in the 1950s.   (798.25 LET)

Horses Never Lie: the Heart of Passive Leadership by trainer Mark Rashid covers his principles and techniques used in training horses.  (636.10835 RAS)

Horses: the Story of Equus is a DVD that was originally produced as a motion picture in 2001.  It explores the lives of 3 remarkable horses.  (599.6655 HOR)

Complete Horse Care Manual by Colin Vogel is a thoroughly updated volume covering new technological and medical developments and lots of photos and diagrams.  (636.1 VOG)

Handy Hints for the Horse Person: Hundreds of Hints to Save Time & Money by Karen Bush covers feeding, grooming, exercising, competing and more.  (636.1 BUS)

For additional titles please check our online catalog or Ask Us!. 

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Well, we all rent (or check out) lots and lots of DVDs. Did you know libraries check out more DVDs than Netflix rents? Well, Warner Home Video has noticed how much business we all do.

Warner Home Video has announced that libraries and rental outlets now have to wait an additional 28 days to get their theatrical releases on DVD. In addition, DVDs for the rental and library market will not have the DVD extras or bonus features which are included in the retail versions.

Are we happy? No! But it’s their content and they control its sale and release. Hopefully other studios will not follow suit.

What this means for our patrons is some frustration when they see the last Harry Potter DVD for sale everywhere, but the Library cannot legitimately purchase it or check it out until the following month. Warner releases about 12 theatrical titles per year, so it affects a fairly small number of releases, but they are also likely to be in-demand items.

The first three affected titles are listed below.

While you’re waiting for Crazy Stupid Love, maybe you could check out all of Ryan Gosling or Julianna Moore’s other movies? Or we can always recommend a good book to read, listen to, or download.

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The Library recently acquired the latest edition of a classic job search book, What Color is Your Parachute?   You will find this book in both the circulating collection (650.14 WHA) and on the Careers & Job Table near the Reference Desk.

Now in its 40th edition, this title has been updated each year to reflect changes in the job market.  The new edition has a chapter titled “Networking in the Age of Social Media” to show readers how to use sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

The Library of Congress has included this title on its list of “25 Books that have shaped readers’ lives.”

The Library has many sources, both print and online, to assist job seekers.   Search the online catalog or AskUs! for assistance. 

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                                       Finally!  Finally we’re able to offer Amazon Kindle users a free way to read library books. All of our eBooks are now available (barring items being checked out) on Kindle devices.

Here’s a little video to help get you started. Our site looks a little different, but the steps are all the same for Kindle users.

Don’t worry Nook, Sony, or Kobo people, we continue to buy eBooks in nearly every format for nearly every eBook reader.

Prefer to listen? Audiobooks and music tracks are downloadable as well. Bonus – the music never has to be returned – it’s yours to keep. Rock on!

While we’re excited to offer eBooks for our users, we recognize that it’s not always an easy process, and the different instructions for different devices can be confusing. Please stop in if you have questions. We’re also offering some drop-in one-on-one sessions to help you get started. Coming up:

Wednesday, October 12, 10:00 a.m.-Noon   
Wednesday, November 16, 1:00-3:00
p.m.
Monday, November 28, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 7, 6:30-8:30
p.m.
Tuesday, December 13, 10:00 a.m.-Noon

The 2011 edition of the Comparative Guide to American Hospitals is a recent addition to the Reference area of the library (REF 362.11 COM).

This title compares and ranks more than 4,500 hospitals by 49 measures of quality in treatment areas that include heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical procedures, pregnancy care,   children’s asthma care, medical imaging and patient satisfaction.   These profiles illustrate how each hospital rates by state and nationally.  You can easily see how each hospital measures up on caring for patients with specific conditions.

Helpful contact information is provided for each hospital, including naming several key personnel.

The set is divided into four regional volumes.  There are also state by state hospital rankings on accepted quality protocols.

For additional information on this topic, see our blog post Paging Doctors of Excellence. 

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