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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Did You Know 4.0

 
 

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

 
 

via iLibrarian by Ellyssa on 9/27/09

This new video about the changing media landscape was developed for the Media Convergence Forum in partnership with The Economist and provides some interesting statistics including:

  • The average American teen sends 2,272 texts per month.
  • 40 million people have been Rickrolled.
  • 95% of all songs downloaded last year weren't paid for

via The Bivings Report


 
 

Things you can do from here:

 
 

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Read.gov Launches Today With Numerous Features


Sent to you via Google Reader

Read.gov Launches Today With Numerous Features

First publicly announced in this Library of Congress news release from September, Read.gov officially launches today.


The site comes by way of The Center for the Book at LC.


[You'll find] "resources from throughout the Library designed to encourage the reading of books and to interest users in learning about the authors and illustrators who create them."


What follows are some Read.gov features that we noticed while reviewing the site and reading this blog post.


+ Read Classic Books (in their Entirety) Online

Move through a book page-by-page (forward or backwards) by simply clicking on the page you're currently reading or looking at. The LC Book Reader also allows you to see facing pages, the option to go directly to a specific page, zoom (in and out), and the ability to view the book in "scroll" mode. At the moment books are available in two categories: Teens and Kids.


Some of the titles available today are: The Raven, A Christmas Carol, A Wonder-Book for Girls & Boys (Teens) and The Baby's Own Aesop, Baseball ABC, Denslow's Humpty Dumpty, Mother Goose Finger Plays, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and The Wonders of a Toy Shop (Kids).


+ Episodic Reading: The Exquisite Corps Adventure


Our "Exquisite Corpse Adventure" works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, has written the first episode, which is "pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!" He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end.


Every two weeks there will be a new episode [a total of 26] and a new illustration. The story will conclude a year from now…"This story starts with a train rushing through the night…." No one knows where or how it will end!


+ Author Webcasts

More than 20 webcasts are currently available including presentations by: Steven King (and Family), R.L. Stine, David Baldacci, Jan Brett, Jane Goodall, Kay Ryan, Neil Gaiman, and Sara Paretsky.


+ Suggested Reading Lists


+ The Storybook Adventure Game


+

Friday, September 25, 2009

Westernport and Spectrum Design Services Win 2009 Commercial Interior of the Year




Each year ChesapeakeHome and ASID Maryland recognize the best interior design projects and concepts in the state through an annual design competition. The annual awards ceremony was held at Pier 5 Hotel, Inner Harbor on September 17th, 2009. Andrea DePalatis of Spectrum Design accepted the award.

The Westernport Library Renovation project began with planning and applications for funding in 2007. No significant improvements had been made to this facility since 1969. The renovation enhanced the library’s ability to deliver services by making badly needed safety, lighting, and electrical upgrades as well as reconfiguring the floor plan, upgrading the furnishings, and modernizing the interior spaces. The primary goal of the renovation was to create a 21st Century library that delivers value added services such as rich collections, access to the internet, educational software on library computers, and quality public programming to the Westernport community.

After seeing DePalatis’s concepts, the area’s arts community quickly embraced this project. Terry Bachman of Tangram Woodworks constructed the forest trees from detailed drawings using cooper techniques. The forest canopy was hand cut by the designer. A quilter’s guild designed textile artwork depicting images from literature. Other local craftsman executed glass tile mosaics and custom upholstery conforming to flowing organic forms.

Kurt Bonello, local sculptor created “Infinite Migration,” a mobile that floats over the youth seating area depicting abstract interpretations of woodland creatures. Just within reach, the slightest touch sets it into motion. Bonello might have said it best when he voiced his hope “that his work would inspire the youth to know that anything they can imagine is possible.”

DePalatis added “Libraries connect us to the outside world, but can also be a place of refuge that nurtures the soul, delight the senses and fires the imagination. It is an honor, a challenge and a joy to create a design that combines technology, fantasy and service to the community.”

Library Director John Taube says “ we are so fortunate to live in an area with such artistic talent and the willingness to give back to our public spaces like our libraries.”

Westernport Branch Librarian Nancy Sudine reports “We’ve always strived to make this building kid friendly, but the children’s room is the icing on the cake. It actually draws the kids in and the books are more accessible to younger children. We’ve had parents sitting over by the trees reading to their kids; we’ve had older kids sitting by the trees reading to younger kids. More people are sitting in the reading areas than ever before: taking advantage of the wireless or just reading.”

Thursday, September 24, 2009

James McBride on "Song Yet Sung"

James McBride on "Song Yet Sung": "

james mcbrideToday in The Baltimore Sun, find out how a whim brought author James McBride to Maryland's Eastern Shore, and provided the spark of inspiration that led to "Song Yet Sung." McBride's latest (he also wrote the best-selling memoir "The Color of Water") is the 2009 selection for the statewide reading program called One Maryland One Book.

He'll appear at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sunday at noon (here's a photo gallery of some other festival authors), and at Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia at 4 p.m. Here are some excerpts from Chris Kaltenbach's story, which describes the book as "a tale of slavery, freedom and hard-fought victories whose opportunities could still be squandered, set in the labyrinthine swamps, bogs and waterways of the Eastern Shore":

With the Eastern Shore as its pointedly idiosyncratic setting and “The [Underground Railway] Code” as a plot device relentlessly keeping readers on their toes, struggling to decipher the clues and keep pace with the narrative, “Song Yet Sung” flowed readily out of McBride’s imagination, the author says. Repeated visits to the region, including research at the Dorchester County Historical Society in Cambridge, helped the characters and events come to life.

“If you’re driving the back roads of the Eastern Shore, as soon as you pull your car over and start walking,


it’s not hard to imagine what it was like 150, 200 years ago,” McBride says. “There are lots of places where you can still see slave cabins, old windmills. And the water, the power of the water.

“The geography of the place really affected me strongly,” he says. “Just about any vantage point on the Eastern Shore, you’re not far from the water. You can smell it, you can feel it, you can feel it in the wind.”


"

Monday, September 21, 2009

Popular Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe cheat sheets



CustomGuide has guides for popular Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe software. Most entries have both present and past versions of the application in question. The entry for Outlook, for instance, has quick-reference sheets for Outlook 98 through Outlook 2007.

Each guide includes a diagram of the main interface, keyboard shortcuts, summaries of the menus and the tools found in them, and other relevant tips for using the application more efficiently. Thanks to Lifehacker for the posting

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Sharing more and posting less

It seems with the new sharing features built in to Google Reader, my practice of sharing ideas, thoughts, and fun stuff has shifted toward "sharing" rather than re-posting on the blog. The Shared items widget is visible on my blog page but it does not kick out a RSS post to alert you that there is something new.

Thanks to upgrades in Google, you can subscribe to my shared items when you visit my shared items page (http://www.google.com/reader/shared/jetaube) .

Monday, September 14, 2009

Free Library of Philadelphia scheduled to close

All Free Library of Philadelphia Branch, Regional and Central Libraries Closed Effective Close of Business October 2, 2009. See the news release.

Cory Doctorow, of Boing Boing has a particularly pointed (and honest) post about"
an unwillingness to spare one banker's bonus worth of tax-dollars to sustain an entire region's connection with human culture and knowledge and community."

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Job and Career Center Newsletter --- Enoch Pratt Free Library


To unsubscribe, reply to this email with the word unsubscribe in the title.




Job and Career Information Center Newsletter

Greetings!

Have you tried informational interviewing in your job search? It might be a great way for you to make connections and learn more about potential jobs.

But what is information interviewing? According to Richard Bolles in What Color is Your Parachute?, informational interviewing is "trying on jobs to see if they fit you." This allows you to learn about a particular job and work environment before you apply to work there.

Some good guidelines for informational interviewing include:

  • Identify an individual to interview. You can try to find people who work in a field you are interested in by talking to friends, family, or aquaintances. Professional or volunteer organizations can also be a good place to ask individuals for an informational interview.
  • Do your homework -- research the individual's company!
  • Come up with an extensive list of questions to ask the individual. Quint Careers has an extensive list of potential questions that could be a good starting point!
  • Make sure to follow up afterwards and send a thank you note to the individual

You can read more about informational interviewing in The Job Searcher's Handbook or many other books located in the Job & Career Information Center.

Best,

Rebecca Immich Sullivan

September Classes

Check our calendar for the full listing of upcoming classes!

Onlne Job Application Tutorial
Tuesday, September 22, 2009. 10 - 11 am
Central Library , Business, Science & Technology Department

Practice filling out an online job application with assistance from a librarian. If you don't have an email address, we'll help you sign up for one and show you how to check your email. Class is limited to 4 participants.

Registration is required for all classes; call 410-396-5317 to register.

Résumé Review Service

Make your résumé work for you! Call the Job and Career Information Center (410-396-5317) for a free résumé review appointment. Bring a copy of your résumé and get tips and suggestions to create a résumé that will help land a job.

Featured Videos

Getting a Job Using Nontraditional MethodsGetting a Job You Really Want Video Series: Getting a Job Using Nontraditional Methods
DVD Reserves – Careers, DVD HF5382.7 .G48 2005

This video discusses how to talk to employers before a job is available through informational interviewing (refered to as "cold contacting") and networking. It breaks the hiring process down into four stages and discusses methods for entering the job search at each stage.

Job Search Strategies
DVD Reserves – Careers, DVD HF5382.7 .J63 2000

Learning Seed's job search strategies shows viewers how to use the internet for the job hunt. It also advises how to network through personal contacts, research possible employers, and avoid dead-end job leads.

How to Set Up Informational Interviews Video on Ehow.com

Gloria Campbell, Advantage Training Systems offers a number of brief videos about interviews, including how to set up an informational job interview, how to discuss weaknesses, and other interviewing tips.

Follow Us on Twitter!

JobCenter_Pratt on Twitter Are you using Twitter in your job search? The Job & Career Information Center has a JobCenter_Pratt Twitter page which will provide tips for job seekers, information on Library programs, and other job related information for the Baltimore area. You can keep up with new job searching tips by becoming one of our followers!

Two-Hour Job Search Computers

Need to apply for a job? Have to file for unemployment? The Job and Career Information Center has a computer available by appointment for you for up to two hours. To make an appointment you will need a valid library card. Please call 410-396-5317 today!

Job & Career Information Center

The Job and Career Information Center at EPFL provides materials and services to individuals exploring careers or seeking jobs. It contains job postings, circulating book and test study guide collections, and databases. We are happy to provide free access to these materials. If you have questions please call 410-396-5317 or email job@prattlibrary.org.

Enoch Pratt Free Library. Baltimore. Maryland. www.prattlibrary.org