Check out the local talent
Check out the local talent!Hi everyone,
Firstly, thanks to everyone who has read a scary tale for our Halloween “staff picks” blog. (If you haven’t had a chance to add your review, there’s still time). So, now that you have scared yourselves silly, don’t be afraid to participate in our next staff selections blog. With the Sutherland Writers Festival approaching, (14th November) why don’t we create a list of staff favourites written by local authors. (This includes both current and previous residents). The Sutherland Shire has heaps of local authors writing both fiction and non fiction, across a wide range of genres and subject areas. In the fiction titles you’ll find crime, fantasy, childrens books and more. Non fiction, subjects cover a diverse range including biographies, histories of the local area, flora and fauna, murder and money. We have self published authors, authors who have won prestigious writing awards and even authors of best selling titles in our midst. So give them a chance to tell you what’s on their minds, then add a comment or write a review for “checkmeout” telling everyone why you love the locals.
Bates, Katherine “Help your child to excel at reading”
Blesyzynski, Nick “Bloodlust: The unsavoury tale of Alexander Pearce, the convict”.
Bowles,Robin “Blood Brothers”
Burgess, Colin “ Natures doorstep: the Bonnet Bay story”
Connolly, Antoinette, “Cauchemar trilogy” Childrens series, (fantasy)
Cosgrove, Marilyn- various childrens books
Cummings, Ray “ A bag full of inspiration”
Curtis, Gay “Smart girls guide to money”
Duyker, Edward, an academic who has written many books on various subjects.
Fairley, Alan “Native plants of the Sydney region”
Harvey, Sandra, “Done like a dinner” (Coauthor)
Kavanagh, Merle – “Echoes from the bay: The Yowie bay story "
Kennedy, Patrick- Local Heathcote historian
Koenig Cheryl local author of two books.
Lette, Kathy prolific author, notably of “Puberty Blues” set in Cronulla.
Llewellyn, Marc “Finding Nino”
Malone, Debbie “Never alone: a medium's journey”
Mitchell, Susan “Kerryn and Jackie: The shared life of Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker” Title is in Local studies
Patrick, Carly “The Chocolate Moose” Port Hacking resident
Quay, Emma, “Bear and chook” Childrens Book week winner.
Small, Mary “Lennie's ride"
Stewart, Peter “Demons at dusk: Massacre at Myall creek”
Tate, John “ Berry berry” There are two books, 1 & 2.(Resident at time of book writing)
Young, Brett, “Twontle” This is a tenuous link- the book is set in Cronulla.
Zusack, Marcus Our most well known author.
A big thanks to Helen McDonald for her help in compling this list of titles by our local authors. This is a selected list, it is not exhaustive, so please feel free to add a comment about any other local authors you may come across.
Copyright Violation - is it impossible to stop?
I suppose we can blame Gutenberg.Before the printing press if you wanted to copy a book you needed to find a monk with a quill and the key which would unchain the book from the library shelves.
But printing presses are expensive and so remained the domain of professionals.
Before photocopiers the best we amateur copiers could hope for was access to a mimeograph machine like those made by Gestetner or Roneo, a duplicator which would fill the room with the stink of spirit ink as you hand cranked out mulberry coloured copies.
Very few people bothered to copy whole books, perhaps because you could borrow them from the library.
Here at Sutherland, we did not stop at print. The first venture into audio was a collection of 12" vinyl LP records.
And although vinyl records and early cassettes were collected by libraries long before anyone had a computer at home, I know at least some of them were, to use the digital term, 'ripped' by borrowers.
Long before anyone owned a PC, there were many serious music fans equipped with four-track tape recorders and then cassette recorders, merrily copying LP vinyl records and duplicating cassettes. You could even buy double-well cassette decks designed to make copying easier.
And we all bought VCRs to make totally illegal recordings of TV programs.
Along came the Compact Disc and turntables were discarded in their thousands.
The music industry thought it was Christmas again. Having already sold you Hunky Dory on a 12" vinyl LP and then again on cassette, lucky you could now spend $25 to buy it on CD. Of course all this order was about to descend into anarchy courtesy of the personal computer and the emerging internet.
The music industry really started to bleed money when CD burners appeared and ripping and copying software became freely available. Little did they know that mp3s were just around the corner and millions of music files would soon be shared willy nilly across the internet.
Lately it has been the movie industry being seriously ripped off. The people who spent many millions making it very difficult to copy DVDs, watched in horror as file sharing technology like that used by BitTorrent combined with faster broadband and bigger cheaper hard disk drives to make movie downloads quick and easy.
The next industry to get plundered by the pirates is one closely related to libraries. It's publishing - at least where audiobooks and e-books are concerned.
It's no more difficult to copy audiobooks than it is to copy music. Both are audio files of one format or another. A bigger worry for publishers is how to protect the exploding e-book market.
Writing in the online Telegraph, Adrian Hon predicts the imminent arrival of e-book piracy on a massive scale and explains how the latest best sellers are yours for free in the e-book format of your choice, if you know where to look.
Read the full article HERE.
A good argument and a good book
A good argument and a good bookYou may have noticed that “Points of View Reference Centre” and “NoveList Plus” are the two latest additions to the Library’s Web Resources collection. I have recently attended a workshop for these databases and would like to share my learning.
“Points of View” Reference Center
Points of View Reference Center is an online database which includes full text articles from a wide variety of sources. It is designed to provide students and schools with a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue.
The database provide students with information for assignment as well as writing tips in the writing of a persuasive essay or give an oral presentation on one or more sides of a current issue. It provides more than 272 topics from a span range of current issues. Topics covered include : AIDS/HIV, Arts & culture, Earth & Environment, Energy & Conservation, global issues; human rights; immigration; media & communications, people & society, war & peace…..and many more.
Each search resulted comes with 4 major articles: An overview (general information and objective background about the issue); Point (argument supports the issue); Counterpoint (opposing argument to the issue), and Guide to critical analysis (helps students better understand and judge facts vs opinion of the issue).
The essays in the “Points of View” provide questions and materials for further thought and study and are accompanied by thousands of supporting articles from the world’s top political and societal publications. They are including
leading political periodicals, newspapers, government documents, reference books, radio and TV news transcripts.
Navigating the database is user friendly. To conduct a quick search, researcher can either use “Browse by Category” or “View All Topics” search. However, performing a keyword search while viewing a Category or Topic, the entire database is searched. This means results are not limited to the Category or Topic selected. The “How to…” area provides information and guidance when conducting research for an essay.
The coverage of each full text article includes: current topics of debate, information type, abstracts, general reference sources, citation and Lexile scores (difficult level of the document). Each article is created by two authors who are experts in that particular subject field. The database also contains images, illustrations, video, charts, graphs and diagrams that are related to the topic. Each article concludes with a “Further Reading” section that contains links to more articles on the topic. The database is frequently updated and new articles are added to.
However, the “Points of View” is an American database. The controversial issues contents are mainly American, therefore, search terms are needed to be American terms.
The database is topic driven, it may be difficult to know where the topic goes to due to broad headings eg “facebook” would be in the topic of “People & Society” instead of “Media & Communications”.
Although I have not had a chance to introduce this database to library users, I believe it would be useful for school assignment information enquiries.
“NoveList Plus” Online Database
Being given a storyline or plot characteristics to find a book or asked for looking for a book in a specific genre or search for a series; may be, sometimes, challenging and time consuming. NoveList Plus provides the solution to answer the request quick and simple.
Developed by librarians, NoveList Plus is an upgrade to NoveList. In addition to the fiction database that NovList has offered, NoveList Plus adds nonfiction pleasure reading. It is a comprehensive online readers’ advisory tool for librarians.
NoveList Plus offers bibliographic information on more than 200,000 titles, including over 50,000 nonfiction titles selected for their appeal to the general reader. Approximately 20,000 new titles are added each year. In addition, using NoveList Plus, you can retrieve author read-alikes( include suggested titles), book discussion guides, book talks and feature articles. It also contains over 1,850 searchable Award Lists (the best in a specific area or additional ‘hot’ titles), over 185,000 book cover images and nearly 36,000 first chapter excerpts.
It also includes special sections for teens, older kids (9-12) and young kids (0-8). It also contains the option to sort by popularity and/or Lexile scores. The picture book extenders are brilliant for story time activities.
In NoveList Plus, you can search for books with certain plot characteristics or a series by entering a series name or finding authors who write like your favourite, using similar subjects, themes, and appeal factors.
In NoveList Plus certain indexes can be filtered to a specific reading level due to the existence of Lexile scores. Use the “Featured Book Display” ideas to create a display for different reading levels in the Library. NoveList Plus also contains helpful training materials for readers’ advisors.
This link provides a tour of the database and is worthwhile trying.
http://support.ebsco.com/training/flash_videos/NoveList/NoveListOverview?NoveListOverview.htm
The above two online databases also link to the Library catalogue to display the availability of the search item.
Becky
Where is the digital stack?
National, State, University and to a lesser extent Public libraries are where writers go when they need to research history. But as more and more information is only made available on the internet, where will the writers of tomorrow go to do their research?How will they find that Facebook post which led to the fall of the 2025 Turnbull government?
According to www.telegraph.co.uk "The average life expectancy of a web page is 75 days; 10 per cent of UK web pages are gone or replaced after just six months"
The British library has released, "A 10-year strategy to ensure we remain a leading hub in the global information network" Read more about what they plan to do to conserve digital history HERE
Haven't I met you before? The Enneagram Part 2
A while ago I posted a blog describing the enneagram tool. Just for fun, I have created a short description of how these personality types behave as library staff members based on a couple of journal articles I came across. Do you recognise yourself in one of these?1. The Perfectionist.
They are very attracted to working in the library profession, as the perceived orderliness and defined systems of the library are very appealing. They are generally effective bibliographic instructors, due to their technical competence and patience with others. When you give them a task to do, it will be completed to a high standard.
2. The Giver
These people develop very good rapport with both co workers and customers. They are great on the circulation desk, are hard workers and strive to meet the needs of others. They have the ability to serve people and anticipate their needs. Relationships are very important to 2’s and they often view their co workers as like family.
3. The Achiever
As a member of staff, they are optimistic and likely to see alternative ways to solve problems which arise in the library. They are efficient and have great communication and promotional skills. They are the most likely to rise to the top of the library administrative structure. As they seek status, 3’s may join committees, or become active in library associations at all levels. They can be valuable public relations boosts to the library.
4. The Individual
Fours can bring their artistic talent to the library as they enjoy creating displays and exhibitions. They have innovative ideas about how to capture the imagination of patrons, through use of public areas, both physical and virtual. These people think laterally, coming up with alternative (and often unique) means of solving problems. They often have special activities and areas of interest.
5.The analyst
Many library staff are 5’s. This because this profession brings them close to the data they enjoy. The library environment attracts them as a neat orderly place, with technical services of particular interest. Fives are interested in everything, read a lot of information over a wide range of subject areas, and often have innovative ideas. They pay great attention to detail and like to spend time on research.
6. The Questioner
Sixes are very diligent, loyal workers, and they enjoy being involved in staff wide activities. They are team players. Sixes like the consistency of the library organisation, and dislike change. They have an awareness of possible problems that may arise in the library environment. They love written routines and rules, and are very good writing clear procedures and guidelines.
7. The Optimists
These are the fun people. They have a good time in life, and are full of energy and optimism. They are not often found working in libraries as they do not perceive libraries as a fun challenging place to work. When they are found in the library, they are natural multitaskers, are adaptable and fit into new situations easily. Sevens are aware of the latest trends and are constantly looking for new possibilities and available options. They are the most likely to move jobs without thought for the consequences.
8. The Leader
Eights are rarely found in the library. They like to be in charge. When they are in the library, they like to try new things, and will meet with the supervisor as little as possible. They are efficient, have high standards, visions of what they want to achieve and the willpower and confidence to do so. They are able to make difficult decisions and see serious problems as challenges to be overcome.
9.The Peacemaker
Nothing bothers these easy going people. Everyone likes them. They will make the most of the work situation they are in, without complaints. Nines work at their own speed but always complete tasks given to them. They have the ability to bring people together and listen to them. Nines create harmony in the work environment, emphasising the positive so that conflict and tension is minimised. Being supportive and inclusive, they make them great team members.
These are very general descriptions and in order to be accurate in your assessment of yours (and others) personality type, undertaking an enneagram questionnaire would be recommended. Versions of the enneagram test, without copyright restrictions, are available on the internet. Just remember, casual observation of an individual may lead to wrong conclusions about their personality type. Just because someone acts in a particular way on a particular occasion does not automatically place them as a particular enneagram number.
Happy Halloween
Happy HalloweenIf you don’t feel like trick or treating this year, get “into the spirit” of Halloween with the following alternative way to celebrate. Why not curl up with a piping hot cup of pumpkin soup, (or if it’s hot, maybe some pumpkin scones and a lime spider drink) and read a scary book. There are heaps of titles out there that would suit the theme, including ghost stories, horror stories, witch stories, even vampire stories(if you haven’t read them all yet). When you have been sufficiently scared out of your wits, it would be great if you could write an annotation or a review. I know everyone is really busy, but I thought that if we can get enough contributors to write these, we could create a "staff picks" for Halloween on the blog. You could include any scary books you have enjoyed in the past, including old and new favourites, and any number of books are fine. Reviews about scary movies are also welcome! Reading a kids book is also a good way to get a headstart on this years summer reading club theme, “scare up a good book”. Titles include anything from slightly scary to terrifying tales. Please leave your annotation/s in a comment, or if you prefer, you can post your own review on "CheckMeOut.blog", telling everyone about your favourite Halloween reads.
So if you are interested, please contribute by the 28th October, so Karen has time to compile the post before the 31st October.
Here’s a really short list of titles available in the library to get you started.
Honey Brown. “Red Queen” (2009, Australian shadows award finalist)
Agatha Christie. “Hallowe’en party”
D. Harding. “Tricks and treats: The ultimate Halloween book”
Steven M. Irwin. “The dead path” (2009, Australian Shadows award finalist)
Stephen King. We have approximately 50 titles to choose from.
Tracey O’Hara. “Nights cold kiss”
Edgar Allan Poe. “Tales of mystery and imagination” (1001 books)
Preston Douglas. “Cemetery dance”
Mark “Chopper” Read. “One thing lead to another” (anything he writes is scary in my book, there are no requests on this title at time of posting)
Anne Rice. “Interview with the vampire”
Mary Shelley. “Frankenstein” (available from Overdrive as an audiobook)
Kaaron Warren. “Slights” 2009 (Australian Shadows award winner)
If you would prefer to try a kids book, there are loads of titles to choose from. I searched using “Halloween” as the general keyword, and was able to access about 100 titles (mainly kids books).
Bats wishes
Monique
Hi from Banff Public Library
Hi all,
Visiting the library in Banff today, after a good walk this morning. That's Banff in the pic with the mountain - not bad for a view from the street the library staff work in eh?
The other pic is Vancouver Public Library - I was only allowed to take photos outside the library - was asked to put my camera away inside. The library there takes up a whole block - massive. These are the coffee shops outside the library. They have a fast reads section - 1 week loan period, fines are $1.00 per day for overdues on these loans, and they have to be returned to library they were borrowed from.
Mark's iPad has been great - but I can't figure out how to get to blogger from it - where are Karen B or Max when I need them? That's why I've had to use the library internet. $2.00 for 30 mins.
Bye for now,
Sue S
Futures Forum Scenario Cards - Menai's Response
Culture: E-book Platforms dominate the book publishing mainstream.If e-book platforms dominate the book publishing mainstream it will mean major changes for libraries perhaps even their ultimate demise. Obviously there would be a surge in library membership if e-books were freely available without limitations through libraries. However this could cripple the book publishing industry which would miss out on sales. Why would the public buy an e-book if they could sit at home on the internet and download it for free from a library? The only way for the book publishing industry and libraries to co-exist would be to restrict the terms under which libraries lend e-books. This is already the case with Overdrive, concurrent loans are not allowed so everyone can’t access the popular titles instantly, they must wait their turn. Other ways around the problem could include libraries reimbursing publishers per loan or paying a higher price than consumers for titles. These greater costs for libraries may mean that patrons might have to pay a yearly subscription fee to the library to offset the higher costs. However if most books are electronic, staffing and facilities (buildings, shelving etc.) costs may be reduced so costs to councils may not increase. With the glut of information in the future there will probably still be a role for the information professional to highlight, interpret and direct patrons to fulfil their information needs. How many of us they need is yet to be determined.
ECONOMY: we are enjoying a 50-year economic boom
More money would be made available to undertake major changes such as new buildings, large renovation projects and the purchase of new types of collections. Buildings would be improved and design would be exactly what was wanted, rather than compromising due to budgetary restrictions. New furniture, carpets and paint would be a given in each library. There would be an impact on collection management with new types of resources being bought and a continued expansion of digital collections and formats available for download. Possibly we would be able to make various devices such as e-book readers available for loan to a ‘large majority’ of the population. It could be anticipated that due to the economic boom our community may find us less useful if they chose to buy rather than borrow traditional print or downloadable titles. The purpose and promotion of library services would have to evolve so that we could find a new niche from which to serve our community.
Ideas: Society abandons logic & experience in favour of intuition & spirituality
A spiritual and intuitive library would be a library of empowerment and inspiration. It would be aesthetic and exude a relaxed and soothing ambience. Space would be available for spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation and contemplation. Personal development and metaphysical classes would be offered under the guidance of spiritual teachers such as Eckhardt Tolle, Carolyn Myss and Deepak Chopra. Collections would be developed based on instinct – the spiritual and esoteric collection would be vast compared to the maths and science collection. Previous borrowing patterns would be ignored as would surveys and statistics. Trends would be intuitively gauged and items purchased that way. People would function at a higher level of awareness and show more respect for each other and library property. Items would be returned on time and in good condition. Conflict resolution, late fees and legal letters would be relegated to the past. It would be a great pleasure to be on the staff of this library!
NATURE: the world is green
We would assume that there is sustainable living in most countries with recycling a top priority. Fossil fuels are no longer in use and have been replaced by various types of natural/renewable energy sources. These sources power the library buildings and computers etc. If the library wholly embraced technology we would see a big reduction in print materials, possibly only keeping rare and collectible print items. Collections would be primarily digital/downloadable and remotely accessible 24/7. We would buy multiple copies of the same e-title, or buy copies which allow simultaneous customer use. As digital titles need some type of device to play on libraries may find they are having to make e-book readers etc available to borrow. If ‘the world is green’ is more of a ‘back to basics’ scenario then the effect would be different. Libraries would be focused on purchasing resources that are made from sustainable forest materials. This could include buildings, furniture and collections. If these items suffer more wear and tear there will be financial implications with items needing to be replaced more regularly. This may lead to various collections not growing as rapidly as they do now.
Politics: WW3 breaks out
Predicting the impact of world war 3 on libraries depends on what we think constitutes “World War 3”. Is it the number of countries engaging (or being engaged) in hostilities? Is it the number of people being killed or maimed? Is it the type of weapons being used (machetes, H-bombs, torture etc)? Is it the duration of the event (1 week, 5 years, 10 years etc)? Do all countries have to be fighting? For instance the past world wars were not given the titles “World War?” till well after those wars ceased. We may already be experiencing WW3 – or at least its beginning!? It’s possible that the civilian inhabitants of Afghanistan or Iraq would (understandably) feel this way? For the sake of the exercise we will assume a “traditional” conception of WW3 (e.g. the U.S. and her allies in a nuclear exchange with Russia or China). This impacts libraries in many ways. If Sydney is devastated by a few bombs then the libraries that survive will become, amongst other things, triage units; housing and treating radiation and blast affected people. Other changes to the libraries function and responsibilities will occur. For instance lower levels and underground car parks would become bunkers or shelters from any riots or looting in the streets. Shelves of books would have to be disassembled to make room for emergency accommodation and relief efforts. Libraries, more than ever, will be ideally placed to service the community in its time of need.
Society: 24x7x365 connectivity kills off privacy and the barrier between work and leisure.
This future scenario is very close to being a reality. With the rapid and widespread adoption of mobile phones, personal organisers and social networking technologies many of us are already connected 24 hours, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. And it does have the potential to kill off privacy and the barrier between work and leisure. Libraries are encouraging their staff to be active on social networking sites and so have a vested interest in how staff present themselves and the things they publish. It is a very tricky thing to negotiate as written words can be misinterpreted in a way that a face to face conversation can’t. Even those employees using the sites for their own personal interactions not to promote their work can be vetted for appropriate behaviour by current or future employers. Also given the spiderweb like connection of networking sites library patrons may be aware of what you are posting and could potentially try to befriend staff, complain about things you had posted or send through a work query to your personal account. Patrons will have greater expectations because of these technologies perhaps even wanting an immediate response around the clock. Will staff have to be on a 24 hour roster? The ease of getting hold of staff via mobile phone and personal organiser technology too encourages contact during times when they are not at their place of work. The barrier between work and leisure is blurred and staff can feel as if they are permanently on call. Obviously policies have to be put in place to clarify the situation for employees and employers. But I believe those people engaging in social networks need to be very wary of what they say because you are publicly publishing your thoughts and you will be held to account.
Technology: Tiny Tim Inc. becomes the world’s largest corporation (nanotechnology)
Nanotechnology is the science of building at a sub-atomic level. Mechanics, circuitry, nanophotonics and NEMS (Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) are all included. Instead of the 6 top 10 world corporations being oil and gas nanotechnology corporations will fill these slots. Tiny Tim Inc, involved in the early production of Bluetooth technology is at the top. When nanotechnology allowed power to be produced from a single chip libraries and library patrons were able to downsize all technological devices. This included self-check units, computers, photocopiers and security systems. Nanotechnology and its products are less costly and have the potential of being better for the environment than traditional processes. Instead of CDs, Playaways and novels patrons will be borrowing small chips with music, movies and novels on them. The possibilities are endless, for example imagine seeing something you like in the library and transporting it digitally to your house through the IPAC. Libraries do not accept cash, with all monies owing being paid by smart cards.
New Items in EBSCOHost Folder
I emailed everyone a couple of weeks ago about the Library EBSCOHost folder.Since then I've been adding articles based on various assignment questions. I've also started adding articles about the set texts for HSC English Area of Study. If all our study guides are checked out, students can find a lot of information in these areticles. I know the HSC starts next week but I think the syllabus stays the same for next year.
So far I have created folders for the following subjects:
- Belonging
- The Joy Luck Club
- The Namesake
- Idi Amin
- Aboriginal Australians
- Massacres
- Commonwealth Games
- World Heritage Sites
If you're not sure how to login to the Library account just contact me and I'll talk you through it. If you want to add anything to the folder you're more than welcome to. Feedback or suggestions would be great as well. Many students aren't aware of our Online Databases and often head straight to Google. It would be really good to eventually take a more hands-on approach to educating users about these resources e.g. run user education workshops, screencasts etc. If you've got any other ideas I'd love to hear them.
Thanks.
Karen
Ref Rap More Science Madness
Ref rap- More science madness!Seeing the presentation of mad science at Sutherland library in the school holidays has reminded me of the great resources the library has relating to information about science. For aspiring scientists and anyone else who would like more science project ideas, or to conduct further experiments, there are lots of great ideas available on the World Book database. These can be accessed from world book on for kids by clicking on the Science projects icon. There are heaps of projects to choose from covering eight different areas including animals, plants, machines, matter and energy, microscopic life, our planet, your body and science you can use. There are long term experiments, last minute experiments, as well as tips for working safely. You can also access these projects plus more experiments for older students from The World book Online Info Finder.
A good starting point for future scientists and school students requiring information on general science topics is The Science Reference Centre. This database covers a wide range of scientific topics including biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife. It is a full text database including access to science encyclopaedias, reference books, periodicals, newspapers and biographies. It has all the great search features associated with Ebscohost databases, such as smart text searching, saving selected documents to a folder and creating email alerts and RSS feeds. You can search within particular publications, search for images, or if you want to browse, you can search by subject. For example, typing in “science project” allows you to see all content about this topic showing the number of items available in each format. You can also limit your searches to just images, or use filters including date ranges, lexile reading level, publication type, or benchmarks.
Another choice is the Pro Quest Science Journals. This is a more academic database. It also covers a wide range of science topics in a variety of scientific journals, newspapers, trade journals, reference/reports and dissertations. This database allows the user to conduct basic and advanced searches, as well as searching by topic or publication. In a basic search, after typing the initial keyword, sentence or question, you are offered suggested topics to browse, and you have the option to narrow the search by document type.
Searching by topic allows you to enter the topic of interest or browse the subject directory. Alternatively, you can look up topic A-Z and search by people, locations, companies, subjects, dates and publications.
If you search by publication there are indicators of whether they are full text, and the coverage dates, with some titles going back to 1992. You can also create RSS feeds with certain titles.
This has been just a quick overview to remind you of three databases focusing on science, the library has on offer. They are all fairly easy to navigate and are designed to meet the scientific information needs of different customer markets. So if you have a chance, why not have a look so you can show our customers just how much more scientific it can be to use these free databases, rather than just the internet.
This looks like a contender for the 2011 Book Week short list
Hi everyone,I came across a picture book today that will, in my humble opinion, make it to the 2011 Book Week short list. It's called "Mirror" and it's by Jeannie Baker, the author of other wonderful picture books such as "Window" and "Where the forest meets the sea". The text is in English and Arabic and the book is written in such a way that you can read the story of the Australian family and the Morocco family at the same time. The pictures are, as always with Jeannie Baker books, excellent. Check it out if you can!
-Michael
The customer-focused library
This title on the new books trolley caught my eye during the week Collection Services, Ref and Kids began a merger as part of the library restructure.The customer-focused library : re-inventing the library from the outside-in / Joseph R. Matthews
It is thin (90 pages) and talks about U.S Public Libraries but has plenty of easy and plenty more challenging ideas for change which could be useful for us. In fact it echoes just what management is asking us to do, maybe they've read this book?
There is probably nothing surprising in here for recent library studies graduates but for those of us who have been away from formal study for a while it is very handy.
Dianne
Cultural Awareness
African drummers provided the entertainment when the Sutherland Shire Multicultural Network recently held The 4th Annual Sutherland Cultural Awareness Day at TAFE NSW Loftus Campus. I was lucky enough to go along and to attend four of the workshops held on the day, the focus of which was learning more about working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Many of the problems facing newly arrived migrants and refugees are the same problems which confront those of us who were born here. We all need access to the same basic services but newly arrived migrants and refugees have the added issues of trying to integrate into what may be a very foreign culture.
One of the speakers was himself a refugee and had spent 8 months in detention at Villawood. His talk was inspring and his message was in part that the best thing we can do is to reach out to newly arrived migrants and refugees to help them as best we can. Make them feel welcome and help them settle into life in a new land. He also emphasised the importance of teaching English language skills to new arrivals.
In the Sydney metro area there are literally hundreds of agencies and organisations aimed at providing support and services for newly arrived migrants and refugees. As information workers we should try to acqaint ourselves with such resources so that when newly arrived migrants and refugees come asking us for help, we at least know of some of the better starting points. You could try
The Ethnic Communities Council of NSW
and
Why I chose a Sony Reader
Below is my response to Social Networking - Task 2 (it was easier to put links in a new post rather than in a comment).After much research on forums like MobileRead and Whirlpool (a good Australian site), followed by an in-store demo, I decided on the recently released Sony Reader PRS650. This is a an e-book reader with a 6 inch e-ink screen, the same size display as the Kindle 3, Kobo, Kogan, and a host of other brands. 6-inch screens seem to be the industry standard these days, although Sony and BeBook, for example, also make 5 inch models, while Kindle and Sony have 7 inch readers as well.
Everyone who considers buying an e-reader will have different priorities, and mine were readability, portability, file formats and a touch screen.
Readability – The new batch of Sony Readers use E Ink Pearl, an e-ink screen that offers a 16 grayscale display with a contrast ratio of 10.1 (compared to 6.1 for most other e-ink readers). Simply put, the contrast and resolution is better, particularly in bright, natural light. The text appears blacker and sharper against the almost-white electronic page. At time of writing, the Kindle 3 is the only other e-reader using Pearl, so this was a big factor for me.
Portability – So why not choose the much cheaper Kindle, considering they both use E Ink Pearl? Well, despite the Sony and Kindle 3 both having 6 inch screens, the Sony is a smaller and lighter unit:
Sony = 168 x 119 mm, 215g
Kindle 3 = 190 x 123 mm, 246g
File Formats – In addition to PDF, DOC, RTF and Adobe DRM, Sony Reader supports the open-source EPUB format. I have a lot of public domain texts in this format on my PC ready to go. If created with care (like those available for FREE from epubBooks), EPUB texts read quite nicely on an e-reader. Kindle will not read EPUB. Also unlike Kindle, the Sony Reader is Overdrive compatible.
By the way, PDF can a tricky format for any e-reader and it is also the most difficult to convert to another format (like EPUB). Even though the Sony Reader can re-flow PDF text to fit the screen, the results are mixed. If you love your PDFs, maybe get an ipad, or a bigger e-reader.
Touch Screen – No clicking of buttons required to turn the page, just a light swish of the finger. You can even program which direction (right to left, or vice versa) to swipe to turn a page forward / backward. Includes the option of clicking buttons. Additionally, the touch screen is fantastic for quick access to the dictionaries – just tap twice on a word and your preferred dictionary supplies a definition.
You can also add notes, (with a keyboard or freehand with stylus), search text and the battery lasts for weeks and weeks. Above all, I suggest try before you buy. Happy (e) reading.
Re: Ebook reader promotion @ sunshine coast libraries.
Great idea.
I'm buying a library Sony e-reader on the weekend
Angela Livingstone
Information Services and Outreach Coordinator
Postal address
Sutherland Shire Libraries
C/O Sutherland Shire Council
Locked Bag No 4004, PO Sutherland 1499 Australia
Tel: 61 2 9710 0346
Fax: 61 2 9710 0236
Email: alivingstone@ssc.nsw.gov.au
Library web: http://library.sutherland.nsw.gov.au/
Council web: http://www.sutherland.nsw.gov.au
(Important: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify the sender via return mail. You must not disclose the contents of this email to any third party without the consent of the sender.)
| Library Sent by: Monique Gyamfi 01/10/2010 11:34 AM |
|
Hi,
I thought that the ebook reader promotion sounded really good, but wondered about issues with being able to download books from the library website. Maybe its food for thought for a future promotion.
Monique
| Sunshine Coast Libraries <libraries@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au> 01/10/2010 10:52 AM
|
|
| | |||
| October 2010 | |||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interlibrary Loans
Sutherland Shire Libraries
Locked Bag 4004, PO
SUTHERLAND NSW 1499
AUSTRALIA
DX 4511, SUTHERLAND
ILL PHONE 02 9710 0454 FAX 02 9710 0236
library@ssc.nsw.gov.au
http://library.sutherland.nsw.gov.au
NSCL
**************************************************************************************
Important: This email / fax and any files transmitted with it are confidential
and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. If you have received this email / fax in error please notify the
sender via return mail. You must not disclose the contents of this email / fax
to any third party without the consent of the sender.
**************************************************************************************
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
6 comments :
Post a Comment