New Online Resources Wrap Up

Brian
See below for a summary of new additions to our collection of online resources in the last couple of months.
Once federated searching becomes available in the near future, searching our wide range of online resources will be much easier for everyone.
Until then, familiarise yourselves with these resources, and keep them in mind when assisting patrons.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography - very good for long articles on famous scientists. See blog post here.
Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders 3rd ed.
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine 4th ed. - new print ed. also coming to most branches soon!
Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health, Infancy through Adolescence 2nd ed.
Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine
Environmental Encyclopedia 4th ed.
Princeton Companion to Mathematics
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Global Medieval Life and Culture
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes through World History

Infobase E-book Collection
Encyclopedia of Judaism
Encyclopedia of Protestantism

Salem History - A suite of ebooks that came free with print purchase.
Great Events from History Ancient World
Great Lives from History Ancient World
Great Lives from History Twentieth Century
Great Lives from History Notorious
Great Lives from History Inventors
Milestone Documents World Religions

Britannica Online Library Edition
Includes Student and Junior content. Try it next time instead of World Book Online.

Britannica Image Quest
Get students onto this instead of google images.

Who Else Writes Like...? - see blog post here.


Websites
Wars, Conflicts and Peace Operations - Educational Resources
- under Australian History, excellent material from Dept. Veterans' Affairs.

Bibilography of Slaving and World Slavery
- under History. Extensive coverage of slavery scholarship.

Australian Poetry Library
- under Literature. See blog post here.

The Conversation
- under News. Launched in 2011, independent news analysis from the Australian university and research sector.
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011 , , , ,

rugame - Libraries and games

Sutherland Shire Libraries

Recently me and Michael were lucky enough to attend the rugame seminar at the state library where we picked up some inspiration about how libraries can benefit for games of all forms.

Libraries and board games
Who they appeal to- mainly boys 10 - 17
Board games Lake Macquarie listed as working well for their library were:
Monopoly, scrabble, Uno, chess, cards, jigsaws, slidder games, jenga.

One other fabulous example of a game in the library was an eye spy display. Perhaps an idea for our branches that have display cases. Fill them with all sorts of objects. Then compile a list of its contents asking patrons to locate them. Lake Macquarie went further and printed of check list sheets and when kids brought them to the desk they received a small token such as a sticker/stamp.

Benefits to libraries and board games
  • Cross generational (chess is a great example- a grandfather could play his grandson)
  • Cross cultural (such as chess which many cultures play)
  • Can be used as alternative while waiting for computer or playstation to free up. (such as jigsaw puzzles)
  • Develops library as a community meeting place (jigsaws are another great way to allow patrons to involve themselves in the fun by adding a few pieces. I believe Sylvania has already achieved some success with jigsaw puzzles in this regard)
Issues to consider
  • choking hazards
  • pieces going missing (games could be kept behind desk until requested
  • and check upon return?)
  • food and board games don't mix
  • Can become a very noisy activity.
One of the biggest points is the cross generational aspect of board games - Lake Macquarie has had some great results where Seniors began seeking through the library other chess players and set up regular weekly games.

Something else which was discuss in detail was Dungeons and Dragons, something that is very unfamiliar to me. Essentially it’s a role playing game. Live role playing generally involve many participants and appeals to Males aged 25 - 35! - a demographic which is generally hard to temp into the library. Many of these males have been exposed to role playing groups through universities where they are very popular.

Positives for libraries
  • encourages team work
  • tolerance of other
  • problem solving
  • discussion of social issues.
  • Can be linked to our collections through research on time period you choose to set your story in eg Medieval as well as weapons used during this period.
  • Also readers advisory eg. If you enjoyed the story played out in DnD then you should try these books which deal with similar issues.
Issues to consider:
Inter-personal issues
  • Public liability insurance is required encase characters get carried away - and it apparently does happen!
  • Finding an appropriate venue such as meeting room or large open area (privacy is always a plus to allow characters )
  • Player attrition and recruitment of new players
How to run one
You will need a game master (someone who creates the rules and scenarios)
Then players create there characters (the more detailed the better)
The Game master then sets the scene and first scenario players then act out their characters to deal with the scenario/events. When a conflict can not be resolved a dice is rolled to continue the game.

Anyway I think this is another great opportunity although I admit I still am a newby we could possibly connect with a local business and ask if they are interested in running one or have any contacts.

Anyway these are just a few things that I feel could potentially work for our library service. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to chat about some of these ideas or even if you would like to challenge me to monopoly. (But beware I cheat!)

Tara
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Thursday, July 14, 2011

Harry Potter Trivia Night

Sutherland Shire Libraries
Last Thursday we held a Harry Potter Trivia Night at Sutherland Library to celebrate the release of the final movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

We weren't sure of our age range for the teams, when I'd called them they all sounded like teenage boys which should have been the first clue. We'd expected and hoped for a fun, lively night and we got it in spades! Rowdy teenagers flooded the Southern lounge dressed in an assortment of costumes, ranging from a hastily added tie representing the Hogwarts uniform, through to a plastic molded voldemort face and flowing black cape. We also had a whole team turn up as a quidditch team - the Chudley Cannons resplendent in their bright orange capes with team names emblazoned on the back and all carrying a broomstick! The Ministry of Magic turned up late of course but we still managed to kickoff at 6.30pm as arranged.

We were so impressed with each team's enthusiasm and their knowledge. Our questions weren't hard enough! Many teams scored 100% for nearly all rounds and it was a very close match with the 'Chudley Cannons' winning by just two points over 'The Death Eaters'. The Cannons received Movie Tickets to go see the final movie.

Best dressed went to the Dark Lord, but not before a fabulous duel took place between our snitch/harry ('Snarry') Tara and Voldemort who ultimately claimed his prize - a beautiful boxed set of the first four books in hardcover donated by Melinda McNaughton. The look on the boy's face and the envious glances he got from his team-mates was priceless!

Lolly bags, slice and soft drink got consumed at a startling pace and with everyone high on sugar we were constantly telling them to please BE QUIET so we could read out the questions. This was then punctuated with a loud 'OI!!!" from a helpful adolescent male which finally got them to SHHH!

It was a fantastic night and the lead up to it - making the lolly bags, writing the questions, creating the powerpoint & organising the prizes/decorations/food showed fantastic team spirit from across all our library branches and positions. A huge thank you to Anne, Michael, Karen B, Angela, Jenny, Monique, Deb and Tara for their assistance in preparation for the night and for also running the actual trivia night. A big thanks to Susan Payne for her fantastic props and the costumes!! (I still have Hedwig & need to return him) and to Melinda for donating the beautiful Best Dressed prize.

There are lots of teams on the waiting list and it would be great to hold another one in the future, there's always a reason to celebrate Harry Potter!

More photos on our Flickr page

Jess

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The 75 Books Every Man Should Read

Brian
Whether it's books. movies, music or sporting legends, if you want to start an argument, publish a list. The latest in a long line of literary pot-stirrers is Esquire magazine's online slideshow 75 Books Every Man Should Read (actually a reposting of the list from 2008).

What makes this list especially provocative is the sole inclusion of one female writer. To remedy this, short fiction publisher Joyland responded with 250 Books By Women All Men Should Read. You can listen to an interview with Joyland's publishers about their list on The Bookshow.

What do you think of the lists? As librarians giving reader advice, do you have a tendency to recommend male writers to male readers? Are blokes harder to recommend for? Is it all sexist guff this 'books for blokes' caper?
In the spirit of Joyland's cheeky riposte, and to flex your readers advisory muscles, I have a question for you:

What book by a female author would you recommend for a male to read?

To start us off, I will post two suggestions below - one for adults, one for teens.
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Tuesday, July 12, 2011 , ,
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