E-Library News

Just last week, Amazon announced that they are working with our e-library provider, Overdrive, to make the Kindle compatible with library lending!  (read the full press release)

The partnership will directly integrate the Kindle with the thousands of already existing titles in our E-Library collection and they will work the same as they do on other e-reader devices already compatible with the service.  Kindle users will be able to browse for titles on any desktop or mobile operating system, check out a title with your library card, and then select Kindle as the delivery destination from the Overdrive e-library site. The borrowed title will then be able to be enjoyed using any Kindle device and all of Amazon’s free Kindle Reading Apps.

We will update as more information regarding the Kindle and Overdrive become available.

Source: Kindle Library Lending — What it Means for Libraries and Schools

Building Update

As you can see by the two pictures at the right the Central Library is rapidly being deconstructed. Work has begun on removing the existing roof and demolishing the northwest corner. We are hopeful that the new exterior of the library will be in place by the end of 2011.  Local residents have complemented Dustin Construction for handling noise and waste issues favorably and they continue to work diligently to keep these disruptions to a minimum. 

A project this size has many facets: scheduling work and deliveries to keep the workers busy, planning around local utilities schedules, consideration of the neighborhood with regards to noise, traffic, and safety and taking into consideration the 1914 Maryland Roadside Tree Law! County Public Works staff is working closely with Dustin Construction to ensure that this project is successful for all parties concerned.

Little known fact: When building the columns in the current library (1964) cement had to be hauled up by buckets and poured into the framework by hand. Today machines are able to do it quickly and safely.

 

We continue to post photos on Facebook and our website. Watch us build our Great New Library and visit our two temporary locations, Downtown, 59 W. Washington St. and North Pointe Shopping Center (off Route 11).

 

- Mary Baykan,

Director of the Library

Music on your computer

We try to provide information and entertainment in whatever format is most useful for our customers, and we know a lot of people are using online music these days.  We still have over 1800 CDs to borrow, but we’ve just added a music download service as well.  It’s called Freegal, and you can download up to 5 songs a week in MP3 format.  Best of all, they don’t have due dates!  All you need is a library card (contact us to get one).  Go to the library’s homepage, click “E-Library” and you’ll find the link to Freegal.  They have millions of songs in every type from hip-hop to pop to jazz to  classical to rock to tango.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Music in the air

picture of Bach, Haydn, Bizet, and the Beatles

We’re always happy when we can team up with another educational or cultural institution in the area.  For example, we’ve partnered with the Maryland Symphony to present a series of free lectures this Spring all about great composers.  From Bach to Haydn to Bizet to the Beatles, our guest experts will illuminate great musical works and the geniuses behind them.  Lectures take place the first Thursday of the month, February through May, at the Maryland Symphony office on West Washington Street.  For details, see our news page.

If you are interested in classical music, you should also know about some great online resources that we have — these are listed on our database page, under Arts and Humanities.

Grove Music Online is a gigantic encyclopedia, with detailed entries written by experts about all aspects of the history of classical music.

Music Online combines streaming audio, video, reference, and musical scores into one comprehensive resource.  It goes beyond classical music to World music, jazz, American song, and other genres.

Great newsletters for readers

If you’re like me, you’re alway asking yourself “What should I read next?”  To answer this question, the library has some great email newsletters that give you excellent suggestions every month for books in your favorite genre or subject, from Armchair Travel to Thrillers and Suspense.  There are newsletters for kids, tweens, and teens, and plenty for adults to choose from. 

Each newsletter recommends several newly published books, and suggests older books that you might have overlooked, too.  Each book has a detailed description explaining why it’s recommended and what you might like about it.  All the books featured in our newsletters are available from the library, and you can click a link right in the newsletter to find out which branches have the book, or to put it on hold.

We think you’ll find these newsletters are a great way to learn about books you’ll enjoy.  To see examples of each newsletter and to sign up, click here.

Newbery and Caldecott winners announced

The best books for kids, at least according to the American Library Association, have just been announced — the winners of the Newbery and Caldecott awards.  According to the ALA website, the Newbery Medal “is awarded annually … to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”  The Caldecott Medal goes to “the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.”

This year’s winners are:

Newbery Medal:  Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
[click here to find this book in our catalog]

The Publisher’s Weekly reviewer said, “Set in 1936, this memorable coming-of-age story follows 12-year-old Abilene Tucker’s unusual summer in her father’s hometown of Manifest, Kans., while he’s away on a railroad job. Having had an itinerant upbringing, Abilene is eager to connect to her father’s childhood, a goal that proves difficult. The immigrant town has become rundown, but is populated with well-developed, idiosyncratic characters and has a dynamic past involving the KKK, an influenza scare, and a bootlegging operation. Manifest’s history emerges in stories recounted by Miss Sadie (a Hungarian medium) and in news columns written in 1917 by Hattie Mae Harper, “Reporter About Town.” With new friends Lettie and Ruthanne, Abilene pieces together the past, coming to understand, as Miss Sadie says, that “maybe what you’re looking for is not so much the mark your daddy made on this town, but the mark the town made on your daddy.” Witty, bold, and curious, Abilene is as unforgettable as the other residents of Manifest, and the variety of voices allows the town’s small mysteries to bloom. Replete with historical details and surprises, Vanderpool’s debut delights, while giving insight into family and community. Ages 9-12.”

Caldecott  Medal: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead.
[click here to find this book in our catalog]

According to Publisher’s Weekly, “With quiet affection, this husband-and-wife team tells the story of a zookeeper whose devotion is repaid when he falls ill. On most days, the angular, elderly Amos rides the bus to the zoo, plays chess with the elephant (“who thought and thought before making a move”), sits quietly with the penguin, and spends time with his other animal friends. But when Amos catches a cold, the animals ride the bus to pay him a visit, each, in a charming turnabout, doing for Amos whatever he usually does for them. The elephant sets up the chessboard; the shy penguin sits on the bed, “keeping Amos’s feet warm.” Newcomer Erin Stead’s elegant woodblock prints, breathtaking in their delicacy, contribute to the story’s tranquility and draw subtle elements to viewers’ attention: the grain of the woodblocks themselves, Amos’s handsome peacock feather coverlet. Every face-Amos’s as well as the animals’-brims with personality. Philip Stead’s (Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast) narrative moves with deliberate speed, dreaming up a joyous life for the sort of man likely to be passed on the street without a thought. Ages 2-6.”

Cool new features in our catalog, part 2

A couple months ago, we wrote about some new features in our catalog, and now there are even more.  When you view the detailed record for a book or DVD, you’ll see recommendations of similar books and similar authors, coming from the NoveList database. 

For each of these, as you can see, the reason why it’s recommended is explained, and there may be other links as well, for example to an article about the author.

As always, please contact us if you have any questions or would like help with these new features.

Happy reading!

E-Library Openhouse

On the snowy, slippery afternoon of December 10, 2010, we held an openhouse to showcase our e-library resources and some various devices compatible with the services, most notably the Barns&Noble Nook and the Apple iPad.  Despite the bad weather and tied up traffic through out town, there was a good turn out at the event as people came to learn about the service, tinker with the devices, and ask questions.

We will be holding another E-library Openhouse event on Friday, January 14 from 3-5 pm at our North Pointe location (18739 Northpointe Drive in Hagerstown).  In the meantime, take a look at our e-library and tell us what you think!

Where did all the books go?

Now that the temporary Downtown Branch has opened, you may have visited there or North Pointe and thought to yourself, “Where are all the books?  There were thousands in the old library, and I only see a small portion of them here.”  In fact, most of those books have gone into storage, but we can get them for you – just ask at any branch.

The movers have worked like crazy this week to get everything out of the old building and moved into our temporary storage facility, in the former Phoenix Color printing plant on Western Maryland Parkway.

The new arrangements will take some getting used to, but we want to be sure all our customers can get the books (and audiobooks, and DVDs) they need.  If there’s something you want that’s not on the shelf at the temporary branch, just ask us to get it for you, or put it on hold when you look it up in our catalog.  Either way, it will be delivered to the branch of your choice within a day or two.

Our first temporary branch is open!

 The library’s new temporary branches are opening this week!  North Pointe opened today (that’s a picture of some of our first customers), and Downtown opens tomorrow.  Moving out of the former main library was more than a little melancholy, but we’re excited about the construction project and glad to have two new locations that will fill in for the main branch until 2012.  Both temporary branches have public computers, children’s areas, and a selection of books, DVDs, audiobooks, and reference materials.  Much of our collection is in storage, but we can retrieve anything you want within a day or two and have it sent to whichever branch you choose.  Just contact us to request the item.  Or you can submit the request yourself from our catalog – click “Details” for the book or DVD you want, then click “Place Hold.”

Countdown to the move!

As you’ve seen on our homepage, we’re getting ready to close the downtown branch and move to temporary locations for two years.  November 9th will be the last day of service downtown.  A lot of things have already been moved out – the main floor is starting to feel positively spacious! For answers to all your questions about the closing, the temporary locations, etc., see our FAQs.

Just as a reminder of why we’re putting our customers and ourselves through all this, here’s a short video of what the new library will be like:

Looks like it’ll be pretty nice!  Detailed plans are on the website for our capital campaign.

Cool new features in our catalog

Our catalog has always been the place to find out what books, DVDs, audiobooks, and CDs we have — but now it’s a place to express yourself, too.  We’ve recently added some new features, including book reviews written by you.  When you’re looking at the “details” of a particular item, as in this picture, you’ll see the heading “Reviews” and a link to where you can read and write reviews.  Is there a book you love?  Tell everybody why.  Or warn us that a book is different from what it seems — maybe better or worse, but not what you’d expect.  To write reviews, just click the link and set up a quick, free, confidential account for yourself.

You’ll notice some other new features, too.  Below the reviews are “Tags” — meaning keywords that help describe what the book’s about.  To the left are “Other Titles You May Like” — a list of books that are similar to this one in some way.

If you have any questions about these new features — or about finding things in our catalog, or anything else! — contact us anytime.

A fun find in the Western Maryland Room

One of the things I love about working in a library is the opportunity to run across unusual, interesting books.  I don’t even remember how I happened to stumble upon the catalog listing for our copy of The Washington County Hospital “Benefit” Cook Book, from 1914, but when I went to look at it in the Western Maryland Room, it was a trove of old-fashioned local color.  Who knew that cookbooks were sold as fund-raisers for community organizations 100 years ago.  Not to mention the great recipes — for example:

Deviled Veal
2 cupfuls of chopped veal, 2 cupfuls of bread crumbs, 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs chopped fine, butter the size of an egg. Season with nutmeg, cayenne pepper and salt, 2 cupfuls of milk and cream.  Mix all together and when heated thoroughly put in a pudding dish and bake a light brown. – Mrs. Frank R. Leib.

Grandmother Nebinger’s Buckeye Cake
1 lb. of sugar, 1 cupful of butter, 1 cupful of sweet milk, 6 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of soda, 1 tablespoonful of cream of tartar, 1 lb. of flour.

Doughnuts
2 cupfuls of mashed potatoes (hot), 4 tablespoonfuls of shortening, 3 cupfuls of sugar, 4 eggs, 5 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 3 cupfuls of milk, salt, nutmeg, and lastly, flour enough to stiffen. Make a cream of potatoes, shortening, sugar, and eggs, then add milk, salt and nutmeg, flour sifted with baking powder and cook in boiling lard. And they are fine! Mrs. Adaline Cluck.

In the back of the book are some charmingly outdated tips on child-rearing, home-remedies, and so on, including this advice:

When Visiting the Sick. – Never go into the sick room when in a perspiration, nor visit any one with any infectious malady when your stomach is empty. In attending an invalid, stand where the wind passes from the door or window to the bed; never stand between the person and the fire, if there is any in the room, as the heat draws the infectious vapors toward it.

Of course, it’s easy to laugh at long-ago customs and ideas, and I’m sure some librarian 100 years from now will be chuckling over our quaint recipes and medical advice.  But it’s also nice to think about all the people who came together to create this book in support of their very new hospital, and to know that the hospital continues to thrive.  My colleague in the Western Maryland Room informs me that some recipes from this cookbook were used for the banquet celebrating the hospital’s 100th anniversary a few years ago.

The library on Facebook

We want to keep in touch whatever way our customers prefer, so besides our website, and this blog, we’ve also got Facebook pages.  There are:

• The main library page (Washington County Free Library)
• A page specifically for teens (Teens – Washington County Free Library)
• A page for WHILBR, our online history collection (Western Maryland’s Historical Library)

All of these pages feature our latest news, announcements of events, recommendations of what to read or watch, and links to fun stuff we found online.  Our friends at WHILBR are also posting some of the cool historical photos that they scan for their website. 

So, check us out on Facebook and let us know what you think!

More reviews from summer readers

Here are some more reviews from folks who are participating in our adult summer reading club. For information about how to join, call us or stop by any branch.

No Choice But Seduction, by Johanna Lindsey
Reviewed by Paige M.
This is a wonderful continuation of a family saga. Lindsey does an excellent job of telling a fresh, new story while weaving in characters from previous novels.

 The Opposite of Love, by Julie Buxbaum
Reviewed by Staci C.
This book was a revelation of sorts – it was very well written.  Main character thought she was a “lost cause” but turns out she was no different than the rest of us!

 Shadow Kiss: A Vampire Academy Novel, by Richelle Mead
Reviewed by Jade G.
Shadow Kiss is an excellent book.  It is a fast-paced book that does not have any unnecessary filler parts. The ending of it is not what you expect, but that makes it all the better.  You fall more in love with the characters; the same time as them you learn new things about them and their history and family. You eat it up and cannot wait to get to the next book.

 The Mighty Queens of Freeville, by Amy Dickinson
Reviewed by Barb T.
A book about a very strong group of women and a small town.  Written with a great sense of humor.  The author is “Ask Amy” who took over for Ann Landers.