Library Sites of Interest

Hi All,

Prepare for an extended library plug in today's post!

Who doesn't love libraries?  Indeed, check out this survey and see how much people really like their library! And check out this survey about library love!

So without further ado, check out this  article from MentalFloss.com titled '24 Library-Centric Sites We Love'.  The article might be somewhat old, but library love never is!

Three of the more interesting links in the article are:
1. 'Love the Liberry',
2. Librarian's Guide to Etiquette 
3. Books and Other Geekery

Enjoy the links - and remember, there are 21 other sites to visit! :)
Oh, and check out (get it) the best library of them all!

Regards,
Stu

Another Clean Up Entry

Hi All,

Well, we're heading to the mid-year mark of 2017 and I still have way too many websites to discuss on the blog. Which means that I need to do another 'clean up' entry where I cover a bunch of websites with a brief summary next to each title...


Path For Climate Change, Beyond Paris - From the NYTimes. 

Meditation Basics - Psychology Today

Medical Identity Theft - FTC.gov - what's worse than regular id theft? medical id theft....

20 Great Public Library Websites - interesting blog

Serious Eats : A Food Blog and Community

Beyond Google: 56 Authoritative Untapped Resources

Top 10 Tech News Websites 

MIT OpenCourseWare - free online course materials

Our Automated Future - the New Yorker

Compare Cell Phone Plans, Internet Plans and Tablets - WhistleOut

Enjoy the sites!

Regards,
Stu

One To Ten In the Library...Step by Step...

Hi All,

A few months ago I generated a post titled, 'A to Z in the Library'.  Today's post is similar, but different - this time I'm using numbers!  Kind of cool, eh?

1 - One library building - our address is 116 Merritts Road. Link goes to Google Maps.

2 - Before the new building was built (in 1994), there were two branches of the Farmingdale Public Library.  One on Main Street - where the Library Cafe now stands - and another branch where the CVS resides on Merritts Road.  Click links for more information.

3 -  Three great special collections in the library! Parents Collection material, Home Sweet Home Collection (all things related to home repair, painting, gardening, remodeling and more) of material and our Special Needs Collection of material (all things related to infant, toddler, and children's parenting). All of which circulates!

4 - Four great departments to help you with your various library queries: Children's Department, Young Adult Department, Adult Reference, Reader's Advisory.

5 - Five ways to contact us: phone (516-249-9090), internet, email, visit, snailmail (our mailing address is: 116 Merritts Road, Farmingdale, New York 11735)

6 - Six awesome services you possibly didn't know that we had: Book Club in a Bag, Book Fanatics of Farmingdale, Call Ahead Pick-Up, Career and Education Center, Community Directory, Free computers and free wifi connection anywhere on the first floor of the library.

7 -  Seven spectacular ways we connect you to the digital world! iTunes, Audio Books, Nassau Digital Doorway/Overdrive, Playaways, Zinio, Freegal, video games (seriously, we have them!)

8 - Eight exciting databases you might want to use in the near future: Auto Repair Reference Center, Hoover's Company Profiles, ReferenceUSA, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, HeritageQuest, Health Reference Center Academic,  Transparent Language Online, General Reference Center Gold

9 - Nine must have links from the library website: Books, Entertainment, Research, Services, Events, Calendar of Events, Newsletter, Library Policies and Contact the Library.

10 - Okay...this is a stretch...from Wayne State University comes this article titled, '10 Ways That Public Libraries Are Using Pinterest'.

So there you have it - 10 ways to use the library in-person or via the computer...and a multitude of other ways to use our varied, free and easy-to-use resources!

Enjoy the ride!!!
Regards,
Stu

Banned Books Week - September 22-September 28, 2013.

Hi All,

Banned books - you've read about them, you've heard about them.  And now you can learn about them in the news.  I just found an article in Google News entitled, 'North Carolina School Lifts Ban on Invisible Man' - which makes for a rather excellent segueway for this blog entry.

Click on this link - which goes to Amazon.com - where you can buy the book, read customer reviews about the book and more.  Not that I'm suggesting this is the only banned book...its not.  Witness this next link which if from Wikipedia and titled 'List of Most Commonly Challenged Books in the United States'.

You can also go to this link from the American Library Association which discusses 'Frequently Challenged Books'.  From this link you can also find other articles about  '30 Years of Liberating Literature Timeline',  'Banned/Challenged Classics', 'Top Ten Frequently Challenged Book Lists', '100 Most Frequently Challenged Books By Decade', ' Most Frequently Challenged Authors Pages of the 21st Century' and an 'Extended List of Books Banned or Challenged'.

As you might have guessed, the American Library Association is a proponent of banned books week.  No, they don't try to ban books...the ALA tries to educate the public about banned books, what the books are and how users can gain access so the books can be read.  Banned books are a topic of great interest to many librarians and many public libraries since freedom of speech is such an essential part of public libraries.   

That said, I had no idea that Banned Books week in 2013 was (is) from September 22nd through September 28th.  Users who want to learn more about the various challenges to library materials and how freedom of speech can be celebrated might want to visit this ALA website - the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. 

OIF has sections' regarding the Mission, Responsibilities, Initiatives and Projects, Oversight Groups and Intellectual Freedom Links and Resources.  It is quite a comprehensive site - folks interested in freedom of speech and intellectual freedom would do well to visit the page.

Finally - and to bring the issue home - the Farmingdale Public Library has dedicated a pyramid display of banned books in the library.  That is, we have a display of books that were banned in other libraries.  The books are opposite the Circulation Desk when patrons walk in to the library. 

Enjoy the books and the links!

Regards,
Stu