Ramblings

Library wins "Weed & Feed" grant!

     Last summer, the Illinois State Library, through the Library Services and Technology Act, offered grant opportunities to "allow libraries to enhance their circulating non-fiction collections." Parkland Library partnered with Lake Land College Library to ask for funds for the H call number area (social sciences). Parkland received $4000 to purchase materials in the HF (business, human resources, accounting, advertising, commerce) and HM (sociology, social psychology) call number areas.
     The "Weed" portion of the grant asks us to look at materials on our shelves and withdraw items that are outdated or inaccurate. The "Feed" portion is helping us to purchase materials that might normally be beyond our budget range and to enhance our collection. This grant gives us an opportunity to work cooperatively with another library in the state — encouraging resource sharing is an important part of the State Library’s mission. Nearly all the materials we purchase with the grant money will be available for loan to patrons at other libraries through ILLINET Online or OCLC, a worldwide library database.
     Librarians are now busy working on other grant applications to further improve our collections and resources.

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Professional Development Day

Library staff took part in the Library's "Each One Teach One" Professional Development Day activity. Staff members had the opportunity to demonstrate one area of many aspects of their job. Topics included:

	organizing and editing digital photography using Picasa (see below)
	callslip management (interlibrary loan) through the ILLINET Online catalog
	how to obtain an audiovisual item for preview
	the usefulness and beauty of cascading style sheets for webpages
	how to use the research databases for personal research
	finding material in the Library's Reserves collection

The excellent presentations were educational, informative, and fun.

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Free photo editor and organizer

Google offers Picasa which enables users to easily manage and share their digital photographs. Photographers of all skill levels will find that Picasa has easy-to-use tools that will enhance picture editting and organization.

	To get Picasa, go to www.google.com and click on more>>
	Scroll down and click Picasa under "Google Tools."
	Then follow the instructions for a free download.

Looking for a good magazine?

Parkland Library has started several new subscriptions this year. Stop in and browse these new titles:
+  Bust — a groundbreaking women's lifestyle magazine; covers pop culture, fashion, news, celebrity interviews
+  Cinefex — the cinema special effects journal
+  Criticas — a comprehensive review of the latest in Spanish publishing
+  E: the Environment Magazine — contains independent, non-partisan reporting covering personal, community and global issues
+  Fine Gardening — provides inspiration, practical information, and resources to help you create garden spaces that reflect your personality and home
+  Natural Home & Garden — offers today's health-conscious, environmentally-concerned homeowners the information they need to practice earth-inspired living
+  3D World — the international magazine for 3D artists
+  Videomaker — covers camcorders, video editing, desktop video and audio production for the novice and expert videographer
+  Village Voice — offers news, opinions, etc., from Greenwich Village
+  XXL — covers all aspects of hip-hop culture ... particularly the ones that are not obvious

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And you thought your books were late!

The University of Cincinnati Medical Library holds the world-record for the most overdue book ... 145 years overdue. In 1833, James Curie checked out "Medical Reports of the Effects of Water, Cold & Warm, Remedy in Fever & Febrile Diseases." His grandson, Richard Dodd, returned it to the UC Medical Library on December 7, 1968.
source: www.horizons.uc.edu/ReelStories/Trivia.htm

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Every day's a holiday

Blame Someone Else Day. Share the responsibility and the guilt for the mess you're in. Blame someone else! Held annually on the first Friday the thirteenth of the year. Mark your calendar for Friday, May 13th, and be prepared to start pointing fingers.